Jiang Heng recalled the words Wen Qingxue had said when he left.
"You always talk about the dangers outside, but what kind of danger could there be?"
"Even if there were real dangers, with Brother Jiang Heng's strength, he can definitely protect me, right?"
At that time, Wen Qingxue had looked at him with a smile, repeatedly mentioning the word 'danger.'
And in fact, he did encounter danger later on.
For a moment, Jiang Heng felt that the girl in front of him had suddenly become mysterious.
In Jiang Heng's memories, Wen Qingxue was his childhood friend and the only good friend who had stayed by his side when he became a miscellaneous disciple of the sect. She was kind-hearted and adorable.
"How did you guess that I would encounter danger?" He looked at Wen Qingxue seriously, waiting for her answer.
But Wen Qingxue just smiled and shook her head, taking out a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket.
"I drew this specifically for you, as a gift. You must keep it well!"
After saying that, Wen Qingxue stood up and took her leave.
Watching her leave like a joyful little rabbit, Jiang Heng fell into silence for a moment.
How did the thirteen-year-old Wen Qingxue, the innocent and adorable Wen Qingxue, guess that he would encounter danger?
Coincidence?
At this moment, he suddenly remembered what Bai Haocang had said before – Elder Sun had a simple and easily guessable mindset.
So Elder Wen intentionally sent him out on missions to use him as a pawn for an assassination.
However, no matter what, Wen Qingxue shouldn't be someone who could guess Elder Sun's intentions, right? Moreover, given Wen Qingxue's age and status, she shouldn't have access to information about Elder Sun.
After taking a deep breath, Jiang Heng opened the piece of paper in front of him.
On it was a simple landscape painting.
Two figures, one tall and one short, were rowing a boat on the water. In the distance, there were continuous rugged mountains, and the sky was filled with various shaped clouds.
The painting was simple but had a profound sense of mood.
"A landscape painting, two people, rowing a boat... What does this mean?"
Jiang Heng couldn't help but ponder, but he couldn't discern any special meaning in the picture.
It wasn't until a certain moment, when he was about to put the painting away, that his gaze swept across the entire artwork.
"Huh? This is..."
Jiang Heng's gaze suddenly locked onto the peculiarly shaped clouds in the sky, and when he looked at them together.
"Gasp!"
He finally found a clue.
But this discovery made him involuntarily take a sharp breath, as an unprecedented shock surged through his heart.
He finally understood what set Wen Qingxue apart.
"She was reminding me, and more importantly, she was hinting at the deepest secret in her heart."
"She doesn't want the secret to be exposed to anyone else, and she might even think that the walls have ears, which is why she's hinting at me in this way."
"Being so cautious and willingly exposing the secret to me, is it to show her sincerity? Does she need my help with something? Or does she simply want someone to confide in?"
"Regardless, she's definitely going to drop more hints in the future."
After a long time, he finally came back to his senses.
After calming his chaotic thoughts, he continued to immerse himself in cultivation.
Days passed one by one.
During this time, Wen Qingxue indeed came to visit Jiang Heng multiple times, repeatedly presenting various landscape paintings that she had personally drawn.
Sometimes, they were completely ordinary paintings, while other times, they concealed various hints.
All of this made Jiang Heng understand that Wen Qingxue was indeed taking extreme precautions to prevent any possibility of the secret being revealed to anyone else.
One month later.
Jiang Heng crazily consumed 13,000 contribution points, and all the Blood Qi Pills he had purchased were exhausted. His potential points grew wildly, reaching an unprecedented 13 million.
During this period, he naturally underwent a frenzy of upgrades.
Now, his attributes were as follows:
- Host: Jiang Heng.
- Physical Body Cultivation: Fifth level of the Mortal Realm (Third Realm).
- True Qi Cultivation: Tenth level of the True Qi Realm (Second Realm).
- Physical Body Martial Arts: 'Heaven-Shattering Fist (Heavenly Grade Beginner),' 'Swift Wind Steps (Earthly Grade Perfection).'
- True Qi Martial Arts: 'Qian Heaven One Qi Sword (Earthly Grade Perfection).'
- Primary Cultivation Techniques: 'Primordial Genesis Art (Heavenly Grade Grand Mastery),' 'Diamond Body Technique (Mysterious Grade).'
- Secret Technique: 'Golden Body Secret (Heavenly Grade Triple Mastery).'
- Remaining Potential Points: 293,000.
The most significant improvement was that his physical body cultivation had reached the third realm of martial cultivation, the Fifth level of the Mortal Realm, equivalent to the innate realm of True Qi cultivation.
Additionally, his physical body martial art 'Heaven-Shattering Fist' had been upgraded to the Heavenly Grade and renamed 'Heaven-Shattering Fist.' Even at the introductory level, 'Heaven-Shattering Fist' provided a significant increase in explosive power, with a terrifying eightfold increase.
With the substantial growth in base strength and the multiplication of explosive power, Jiang Heng's overall strength had undergone a dramatic transformation.
Of course, this series of upgrades had nearly depleted more than ninety percent of his previously saved sect contribution points. Currently, he had only 1,900 contribution points left.
"Phew!"
Jiang Heng let out a light breath.
Within the courtyard, it felt like a gale of level eight winds was blowing, with the air howling.
Now, his physical strength, body toughness, organ functionality, stamina, cellular activity, and more had all surpassed that of ordinary people by an immeasurable degree.
With a single leap, he could span dozens of miles; with a breath, he could create a fierce wind. A single punch could shake the earth and move mountains, like a superhuman!
"Then, with my current strength, it should be sufficient!" Jiang Heng clenched his fist and stood up. After calming his breath, he proceeded to the fifth peak.
Main Sect's cultivation hall.
Bai Haocang sat in meditation as usual, his eyes closed.
After announcing his presence, Jiang Heng waited outside the door for a moment before hearing a voice from inside saying, "Come in."
Jiang Heng pushed the door open, bowed slightly in front of Bai Haocang, and then sat down.
"Master!"
"What's the matter?" Bai Haocang raised an eyebrow.
"When I was on a mission outside, my teammate was killed by a core disciple of the Heaven Sword Sect. Unfortunately, there hasn't been enough evidence, so we couldn't do anything about it."
"So, I want to use force to directly deal with him," Jiang Heng said earnestly.
The Heaven Sword Sect and the Dalu Sect both belonged to the top sects in the Fenghe Region. When it came to killing each other's chief core disciples, it was always wise to seek approval in advance.
"Core disciple? Are you absolutely sure you can kill him?" Bai Haocang's expression became serious.
"I'm confident!" His physical cultivation was already equivalent to the fifth level of the Innate Realm. Although the higher the cultivation, the greater the gap between each level, Jiang Heng had martial arts skills far beyond his peers. In the Innate Realm, he could be considered an absolute powerhouse. Added to that was his cultivation in the True Qi Realm, which made his overall strength at the top of the Innate Realm. At the very least, with his formidable defensive abilities, no one in the Innate Realm could break through.
Bai Haocang fell silent for a moment before saying, "We and the Heaven Sword Sect are the two top sects in the Fenghe Region. We have various businesses that directly compete with each other, naturally leading to many conflicts. But with the Holy Land above, it doesn't allow sect wars to be waged at will."
"So, we have another way to resolve conflicts - a challenge in a duel."