"I somewhat underestimated the peak sword of a fourth-grade Vajra. Compared to Cheng Jiahe, the sword masters produced by the Southriver Sword Sect—their desperate sword strikes are far stronger."
Inside the air-raid shelter, Evan Lin sealed the entrance and found a dry spot to sit cross-legged.
At the moment Evan received Sword Master Eric Cui's strike, others saw him as relaxed, but in reality, it was far from easy.
To Evan, Sword Master Eric Cui's sword intent was negligible, and breaking his sword with two fingers didn't injure Evan, but it did make him sense a hint of potential danger.
"Right now, I'm only at early Foundation Establishment. Since entering Foundation, I haven't really trained. In the Southriver Sword Sect, even one Sword Master Eric Cui with a desperate sword strike has considerable power. If there were hundreds of such sword masters, all fighting to the death, with my current strength, I'd probably die with regret."
Evan pondered silently.
In fact, sword masters like Eric Cui are rare even in the Southriver Sword Sect. After all, being a fourth-grade Vajra is already considered a top expert in the mundane world.
But in cultivation, you can't afford to be careless. Since Evan entered Foundation Establishment, he hasn't met a true opponent, which has made him slightly complacent.
"I must choose a Foundation Establishment technique to be absolutely safe."
Evan took a deep breath. From his backpack, the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll and the Scarlet Flame Command slowly floated to his side.
The three Maiden Spirits drifted out of the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll and automatically scattered around Evan, guarding him as protectors.
Evan still had over ten Nourishing Spirit Pills left. Sealed inside the air-raid shelter, he could survive for many days on just those pills.
"In my previous life, I used the Purple Sun Heavenly Art for Foundation Establishment. But in this life, with spiritual qi so thin, cultivation is slow. Using that technique now would only waste effort for little gain."
"I'll have to wait until Jill Jing's spirit spring matures before trying that. For now, as for a suitable cultivation method..."
Evan frowned slightly, memories of various cultivation insights flashing through his mind.
Heaven and Earth Foundation Method, Ten-Thousand Origins Foundation Formula, Longevity Dao-Comprehending Scripture, Common-Sentient Beings Formula, Formless Primal Divine Art...
One after another, these Foundation Establishment techniques flashed through Evan's mind. Even on the Immortal Martial Continent, any one of them would be enough to make factions fight to the death.
But now, Evan ruled them all out. These powerful methods require an abundance of spiritual qi to support cultivation, while Earth's spiritual qi is so depleted it's hopeless. If he follows the same path as in his previous life, he'll likely end up with nothing.
"What a pity. If only the Grand Dao Qi-Refining Art had a Foundation Establishment chapter."
After pondering for a long time, Evan sighed softly, unable to make a decision.
The Grand Dao Qi-Refining Art was something Evan stumbled upon in the ruins of an immortal's estate. When he was first reborn on Earth, it was enough to let his frail body step into the Qi-Refining realm—its effects were mysterious and profound.
But Evan only possessed the Qi-Refining chapter. After reaching Foundation Establishment, he had no clues for what came next, which was a real headache.
Just as Evan was thinking about this, he suddenly felt movement in his left hand—the slumbering dragon there stirred.
"This is..."
With a thought, Evan realized that within his dantian, on the Spirit Platform, the spiritual qi stored in the Platform Spirit Well was suddenly pouring out without his control.
The spiritual qi entered through the Bubbling Spring Point, passed through the middle, gathered into a vortex at the Crown Point, then reached the Heavenly Gate at the top.
"This is clearly the circulation route of the Grand Dao Qi-Refining Art!"
Evan quietly observed the flow of spiritual qi inside his body. After entering the Heavenly Gate, it slowly traveled through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, converging at his left hand.
There, the sleeping dragon took a deep breath, drawing all the spiritual qi into its body. Soon, the originally pale, colorless qi turned blue-green. Once it exited the dragon's mouth, it dispersed and flowed into several of Evan's meridians.
The spiritual qi moved extremely slowly. Each time it passed through a segment of his meridians, Evan's bones emitted a series of crisp cracking sounds.
It was as if thunder was exploding—deep and imposing.
Echoing those cracking sounds was an intense pain, as if ten thousand swords were piercing his meridians back and forth. Many of the qi's routes resembled the Qi-Refining chapter of the Grand Dao art, but some paths were completely new, winding and strange.
"Is this... the Grand Dao Foundation Art, the chapter after the Grand Dao Qi-Refining Art?"
Evan snapped awake, feeling his blood almost boiling throughout his body.
The dragon in Evan's left hand might have been dormant, but it was actually teaching him the Foundation chapter!
Evan couldn't figure out why, but once he realized this, he calmed himself and took a deep breath.
With that breath, all the air in the shelter was instantly sucked away, as if a wind dragon roared to life, swallowing heaven and earth in a single gulp. When he exhaled, the space refilled with air.
Inside the shelter, gust after gust of wind howled. Above Evan's head, wisps of pale mist rose into the air.
The three Maiden Spirits, hiding at the side and guarding Evan, watched him with terror and awe.
In their eyes, Evan's aura surged higher and higher, then dropped suddenly—every time he exhaled all the air, he seemed utterly lifeless, but when he inhaled, he revived as if a fish returning to water.
He hovered constantly between deathly stillness and vibrant life.
At this moment, Evan entered a wondrous state he'd never experienced before. The world seemed to contain only him, yet even in this barren air, he could sense faint ripples of spiritual qi.
It was the spirit of all living things in the mountains and forests!
The sun rose and set, stars wheeled overhead.
In the end, within a hundred meters of the shelter, all the trees and grasses would flourish with Evan's exhalation and wither with his inhalation. Even the world's top biologists would be baffled by such a miraculous sight!
Inside the shelter, for Evan, it was only an instant. But outside, more than a month had already passed.
During that month, in Lynn Chen's class, the newly transferred teen idol Eric Yu began aggressively pursuing her. Some even saw them leaving the school gates together after class.
That month, the Su and Lin families faced growing pressure. Nathan Lin finally succeeded in joining the Southriver Sword Sect and was granted a Southriver Sword!
That month, some reminisced about the godlike youth who stunned everyone at Chunyang Mountain and Sea!
That month, the blazing sun cooled and autumn arrived.
On this day, outside Capitalview City, countless members of the top southern families gathered at the foot of a mountain. Luxury cars lined the road. Victor Su, Xuyan Mu, and Yuhai Lin all watched the giant sealed boulder on the mountain with grave faces, wary of each other and full of awe.
Within the Southriver Sword Sect's Myriad Sword Tomb, some watched the mountain's peak deep in thought.
The sun hung high at noon.
At last, after a long seclusion, Master Baiyun shattered the stone with a single palm and soared into the sky!