Chapter 78: Meng Chuan's Speed

"It's my turn!" Meng Chuan immediately stepped forward towards the entrance of the passage. The cold wind blew, and snowflakes drifted onto his face, chilling him. This only invigorated Meng Chuan even more.

This was the entrance examination for Yuanchu Mountain!

His years of cultivation were all aimed at entering Yuanchu Mountain to become a Godfiend! His father was watching nearby, and his family and clansmen back home were waiting for news. This particular test was one he excelled at, so he naturally had to seize the opportunity.

Meng Chuan looked up at the distant area where family and friends were gathered. His father, Meng Dajiang, was watching from afar, and their gazes met.

Then Meng Chuan turned his head to stare at the passage ahead.

"Charge!"

"At maximum speed!"

In an instant, Meng Chuan's true essence exploded with fifteen times its normal power. Years of extreme training had made his meridians fully capable of withstanding such a surge. The surging true essence circulated using specific techniques from the 'Five Thunder Descent' section of the *Thunderclap World-Shattering Blade* art. Lightning burst intensely within him, naturally combining with the power of his Thunderclap Godfiend Body. He immediately began a furious forward charge, transforming directly into a bolt of lightning that streaked through the passage.

Eight thousand times a day, he practiced his draw-and-slash technique, immediately charging forward and drawing his blade the moment a crossbow bolt was fired! To sever the flying arrow more quickly, he needed to draw his blade faster and charge forward faster.

Eight thousand times a day, he practiced explosive speed charges!

Half an hour spent continuously performing movement techniques under an 'arrow rain' had honed Meng Chuan's movement skills.

Furthermore, Meng Chuan's training of this intensity had begun even before reaching the 'Mortal Transformation Stage'. The Mortal Transformation Stage is a crucial period for building a Godfiend's foundation! For ordinary people, the most effective training occurs during adolescence. Someone who trains running daily can significantly increase their speed. Similarly, consistent strength training can transform a scrawny individual into a strong man.

Training during the 'Mortal Transformation Stage' is even more critical than an ordinary person's training during their growth period.

Possessing the Thunderclap Godfiend Body indicated talent in speed. How much of that talent could be unearthed? It still depended on one's own cultivation to uncover it.

Meng Chuan's daily extreme training caused his Godfiend Body's bones and muscles, during their 'growth and development,' to develop in a direction that favored 'explosive speed.' Even someone with the same Thunderclap Godfiend Body and an equally deep foundation as Meng Chuan, if they didn't train as diligently every day, their Godfiend Body would still be inferior to Meng Chuan's in terms of 'explosive speed.'

His meridians, if not for years of consistent, extreme daily training, would never have been able to withstand a fifteen-fold true essence explosion.

Everything was the result of long-term training, and it also required choosing the correct direction.

All of Meng Chuan's cultivation focused on one direction: the pursuit of ultimate 'speed.'

"Boom!"

As he surged through the winding passage, the terrifying speed he displayed was visibly far greater than that of all the previously appearing geniuses.

When Meng Dajiang saw this, his eyes welled up with tears of excitement. That was his son! His son's speed far surpassed that of the other geniuses!

"That speed!"

"Too fast!"

Everyone else was stunned.

Both the geniuses and the watching family members and friends were somewhat shocked. Even the exceptionally proud Chu Yong, Yan Feng, Yan Chitong, Ji Yuantong, Zong Sha, and others watched the scene with a degree of astonishment.

It was incredibly fast! There was no need to even count the number of water drops; it was visibly clear that his speed far exceeded everyone else's. It was far too much!

"Faster! Even faster! Faster still!"

Meng Chuan surged through the winding passage, which contained both straight sections and several curves, resembling a long, coiling serpent overall.

As he raced through the passage, Meng Chuan used his mastered 'Peak Blade Intent' to command his physical body and true essence, his entire being moving like a flash of blade light tearing through the air. The goatee-bearded man couldn't help but widen his eyes, his attention also split to carefully watch the dripping clepsydra. The water drops fell quickly from the clepsydra, but against Meng Chuan's terrifying speed, the dripping water appeared significantly slower.

"Hmm?" The blue-robed woman overseeing the assessment raised an eyebrow, watching the young man who had transformed into a lightning bolt in the passage. "That fast?"

Meng Chuan burst out from the passage entrance in an instant.

The goatee-bearded man, who had been distracted by the clepsydra, immediately shouted loudly, "Seven drops!"

The geniuses were somewhat dumbfounded. Although they were all highly proud and confident individuals, they still felt a sense of pressure upon witnessing such terrifying speed.

"Such speed?" Chu Yong's eyes narrowed slightly. His Godfiend foundation was profound, yet it had taken him twelve drops of water to pass through the entire passage. "He only took seven drops? Is his speed a full seventy percent faster than mine?"

Even a ten percent increase in speed was significant.

Seventy percent faster?

In a real fight, the initiative would be entirely in the opponent's hands.

"This is Meng Chuan's speed. I practice the Yin-Yang Ice-Fire Sword Art, combining two swords... but I'm still completely suppressed by Meng Chuan." Yan Jin, however, remained calm. He was the most familiar with Meng Chuan among the geniuses present, as they had frequently sparred while residing at the Wuzhou Guild Hall for the past six months. He was well aware of how terrifying Meng Chuan's speed was.

Being able to completely suppress him, Meng Chuan could naturally completely suppress other equally talented individuals.

"If I could just land one hammer blow on him, he'd undoubtedly lose. But his speed is simply too fast." Ji Yuantong also frowned slightly; Meng Chuan made him feel pressured.

"Brother Meng, congratulations, congratulations! Your son is truly remarkable. This speed must be unparalleled among mortals."

"Brother Meng, with such movement speed, he's surely bound for Yuanchu Mountain." Many people around congratulated Meng Dajiang. While among this large group, Meng Dajiang had previously proudly boasted, "Look, that's my son," no one had paid much attention before. But this time, in the second part of the Yuanchu Mountain entrance examination, Meng Chuan had utterly astonished everyone.

Speed was an extremely important aspect.

As long as one was fast enough, their attack power wouldn't be weak. Of course, for Meng Chuan to maintain peak speed with his blade art, his blade couldn't be heavy. His blade was a horizontal dao style, with a narrow body, weighing only five jin and two liang. Those who wield fast blades or swords would generally use lighter weapons. It would be impossible to leverage the advantage of a fast blade while wielding a thick-backed great saber.

A lighter blade also allowed for faster movement techniques.

"Haha, this is still just the preliminary selection. Whether he makes it into Yuanchu Mountain or what his final rank will be, it's hard to say yet," Meng Dajiang said with a laugh.

"I heard that in the final selection, Yuanchu Mountain grants valuable treasures to the top three. Meng Chuan might just make it into the top three of this assessment." Some people around him said, intentionally trying to curry favor. Most of them knew their own hopes were low, and Meng Chuan's entry into Yuanchu Mountain seemed a certainty, so they were naturally willing to befriend Meng Chuan's father, Meng Dajiang.

The relationships between Godfiend families were formed precisely this way.

The more powerful the family... the larger its network of connections.

"Such incredible speed."

"This speed can rival that of an ordinary 'Indestructible Godfiend'."

"For a mortal to possess the speed of an 'Indestructible Godfiend' is truly astonishing."

Many Godfiends also watched in awe, their eyes shining. In the first assessment, they had discovered a promising talent in Ji Yuantong, and in the second assessment, they had found Meng Chuan.

A 'Danyun Stage Godfiend' is a newly promoted Godfiend.

An 'Indestructible Godfiend' is the second realm of Godfiends, equivalent to a second-heaven demon monarch.

"If I recall correctly, in last year's Yuanchu Mountain entrance examination, the fastest person to pass through the passage took nine drops of water," a black-robed Godfiend chuckled. "That was also a genius who cultivated the Thunderclap Godfiend Body. Now, it seems Meng Chuan is a full thirty percent faster than him. The same Thunderclap Godfiend Body, yet he's thirty percent faster!"

"I was here last year too," Marquis Nanyun said with a faint smile. "Last year's young man had a Godfiend Body whose foundation was no less profound than Meng Chuan's. However, there's a difference between his Thunderclap Godfiend Body and Meng Chuan's; Meng Chuan's body is better suited for explosive speed. Clearly, Meng Chuan's usual training is more diligent and effective."

"Indeed," many other Godfiends agreed.

"Furthermore, his true essence bursts are incredibly fierce, much more so than most geniuses, yet his meridians can withstand it," Marquis Nanyun continued. As a titled marquis Godfiend, he could naturally discern the power Meng Chuan was unleashing at a glance. "He has also delved quite deeply into his body's potential. Coupled with his higher cultivation realm, having reached the peak of Blade Intent, he is only one step away from true Blade Will. All these factors combined make him a full thirty percent faster than last year's talent."

"Nanyun, aren't you praising him so much just because he's from your Wuzhou?" Marquis Xihai chuckled.

"Have I exaggerated in the slightest?" Marquis Nanyun swept his gaze across the surrounding Godfiends. "Everything I've said is true, isn't it?"

"Hahahaha..." The Godfiends all laughed.