After acclimatizing for a time, Lu Sheng sensed that he had already etched every movement step of Light Void Skill into memory and fully comprehended its mantra. Without pause, he went on to memorize the techniques of the remaining two levels, then sat down cross-legged.
“Deep Blue!”
He summoned the Modifier without hesitation.
A pale blue frame surfaced before him. As expected, a new entry had appeared at the bottom.
Light Void Skill: Uninitiated.
“Time to begin. Upgrade Light Void Skill to Level Three.”
Lu Sheng pressed the button within the Modifier and focused intently on the Light Void Skill panel.
The square frame shuddered. In an instant, the status shifted from Uninitiated to Initiated, consuming only a single unit of Yin Qi.
“Again.”
Maintaining his concentration, he watched as the frame flickered.
Swish. Swish.
From Initiated, Light Void Skill advanced to Level One, then Level Two, and finally reached Level Three in rapid succession.
A numbing, itching sensation spread across Lu Sheng’s thighs, groin, and waist. A faint ache surfaced briefly, only to vanish as quickly as it appeared.
His physical body was simply too formidable. For a Strength Proficiency qinggong to be refined to full mastery in an instant placed only minimal strain on him, leaving him entirely unharmed.
“So that’s all it takes.”
Lu Sheng rose to his feet. Streams of understanding flooded his mind, along with vivid memories of countless applications and movement variations of Light Void Skill.
He took several steps forward.
“Pu pu pu!”
In the blink of an eye, Lu Sheng crossed the sanctuary in just three strides. Just as he was about to collide with the wall, he twisted sharply to the left, changing direction in mid-charge with effortless precision.
His entire body swung left and shot forward another few meters. In the next instant, he pulled back, zigzagging across the sanctuary, swerving and shifting directions within mere fractions of a second.
“I really am far nimbler than before. In the past, I had to slow down before changing direction. Now I can turn whenever I want without losing speed, even while advancing or retreating. This Light Void Skill is impressive.”
Lu Sheng felt genuinely satisfied.
“Next is the true heavyweight.”
He picked up the second qinggong manual, Cloud Bow Skill.
Cloud Bow Skill was a qinggong specialized for straight-line acceleration and explosive bursts of speed. Like the others, it required no inner Qi and relied purely on outer force.
Lu Sheng practiced it once, committing its mantra and movement patterns to memory. Almost immediately, the technique appeared as a selectable entry within the Modifier.
He then picked up the remaining manuals in sequence. Pegasus Steps. One Breath Lightweight Skill. Three-in-One Arrow Firing Skill. Chaos Wind Art…
Time passed quietly as he memorized each qinggong in turn, adding them one by one into the Modifier’s interface.
Once all the techniques were recorded, Lu Sheng returned his focus to Light Void Skill. He fixed his gaze on the Extrapolate button beneath the technique, exhaled softly, and steadied his mind.
“Extrapolate Light Void Skill to Level Four.”
As he pressed the button, a subtle tremor rippled through his body.
The familiar numbness resurfaced in his legs. Along with it came an exceptionally light, nimble sensation, spreading outward from his lower body.
Lu Sheng did not move an inch. Instead, the fourth level of Light Void Skill unfolded clearly within his mind. This stage of the technique had already incorporated the essence of Cloud Bow Art, granting explosive acceleration that surpassed even Level Three.
At the same time, the entry within the Modifier updated.
Light Void Skill: Level Four.
Special Effects: Level One Explosive Power; Level Three Nimbleness.
“Again. Extrapolate Light Void Skill to Level Five.”
Lu Sheng fixed his gaze on the Modifier and pressed the button once more.
The frame trembled slightly, blurred, then snapped back into clarity.
Light Void Skill: Level Five.
Special Effects: Level Two Explosive Power; Level Three Nimbleness.
Without wavering, Lu Sheng continued.
“Extrapolate Light Void Skill to Level Six.”
The frame blurred again before stabilizing.
Light Void Skill: Level Six.
Special Effects: Level Three Explosive Power; Level Three Nimbleness; Level One Tremor.
When this new effect appeared, Lu Sheng focused his senses inward. To his mild surprise, he realized that the Tremor effect stemmed from the Anti-Tremor technique he had cultivated through the hard-body art Extreme Yang Dao.
“Again. Continue extrapolating Light Void Skill to Level Seven.”
Light Void Skill: Level Seven.
Special Effects: Level Four Explosive Power; Level Four Nimbleness; Level Two Tremor.
He pressed forward, upgrading the technique level by level.
As the levels rose, the consumption of Yin Qi increased accordingly. By the time Light Void Skill reached Level Nine, each subsequent upgrade consumed a full two units of Yin Qi.
…………
“Upgrade Light Void Skill to Level Ten!”
Lu Sheng gazed calmly at the Modifier frame, a faint trace of anticipation glinting in his eyes.
Both of his legs were already swollen. Muscles as hard as forged steel bulged and intertwined, knotting together beneath his skin. Massive torrents of Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi surged toward his legs, rapidly mending strained muscles and reinforcing his bones.
The Modifier screen blurred once more. This time, it took a full three breaths before it stabilized. When clarity returned, the entry for Light Void Skill had transformed completely.
Light Void Skill: Level Ten.
Special Effects: Level One Force Step; Level Seven Nimbleness.
“Force Step… To think it actually emerged.”
Lu Sheng was visibly shaken. This special effect mirrored a powerful ability from a mobile wuxia game he had played in his previous life. A single step could tear the ground apart, sending ripple-like shockwaves surging outward. It was an area-of-effect technique capable of inflicting overwhelming damage.
The shockwaves produced by Force Step bore a striking resemblance to the phenomenon created by Officiator Bai Jiang, when the earth itself had risen and rolled like a wave.
“So beyond a certain level, even pure outer force skills begin to resemble demonic secret arts?”
Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He lifted the hems of his trousers, revealing dark patches spreading across the skin of his legs. They were clusters of muscle nestled between his limbs, blackened and dense like overlapping armor plates. Crimson blood vessels branched across his thighs and calves in a web-like pattern, pulsing visibly. One could even hear the fierce, surging rush of blood coursing through them.
At this moment, Lu Sheng’s legs no longer resembled those of a human. The mutations brought about by the evolution of his muscles, ligaments, and blood vessels had surpassed any recognizable human standard.
“I’ve already expended over ten units of Yin Qi. I can keep going.”
Lu Sheng’s gaze returned to the Light Void Skill panel. By now, the technique had absorbed elements from hard-body arts, outer force techniques, other qinggongs, and even fragments of inner force cultivation. Subtly, it felt as though inner Qi was being injected into his body from the outside. It was no longer an ordinary movement technique.
“Extrapolate Light Void Skill to Level Eleven.”
Szzzz…
The panel blurred before regaining clarity.
Light Void Skill: Level Eleven.
Special Effects: Level Two Force Step; Level Eight Nimbleness.
This upgrade consumed two full units of Yin Qi.
Unperturbed, Lu Sheng continued.
Level Twelve.
Level Thirteen.
Level Fourteen.
Level Fifteen.
Level Sixteen.
Level Seventeen.
Level Eighteen.
Level Nineteen.
Level Twenty.
Upon reaching Level Twenty, Light Void Skill underwent another drastic mutation. The name itself no longer suited the technique, failing to encompass the totality of its effects.
Light Void Skill: Level Twenty.
Special Effects: Level One Unknown.
All previous effects vanished, leaving behind only that single line of crimson text, silent and ominous within the Modifier.
Lu Sheng finally halted the extrapolation.
He lowered his gaze to his legs. Compared to earlier, there were no dramatic changes to his muscles or bones. The only noticeable difference was something growing rapidly around his knees and along the middle of his feet.
Within his body, Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi was being drained at an alarming rate. Vast quantities surged toward his legs, working to mitigate the violent side effects of the transformation.
As time passed, the changes became unmistakable, and Lu Sheng finally understood what was happening.
Even without trousers, his legs now appeared to be encased in a layer of black metallic armor, hard and lustrous. Yet the most profound transformation had occurred to his once-normal feet.
Razor-sharp nails extended from his toes, each one capable of independent, nimble movement like fingers. His feet grew long and slender, and from their centers emerged a crystalline structure, as though a shard of crystal had been embedded directly into living armor.
A ring of sharp, blade-like spikes had grown from his calves, layered like overlapping armor plates. Savage and pitch-black, they encased his entire legs. Viewed from above, countless tiny apertures could be seen between the plates, dark and hollow.
Swish.
Lu Sheng rose to his feet. From the waist down, his body appeared to be wrapped in dense, feral black armor.
“This special effect…”
He glanced once more at the Unknown effect listed beneath Light Void Skill. A quiet warning stirred within his instincts. This was not something to activate here.
“If it surpasses Force Step, an area-of-effect technique… Then this must be the ultimate fusion of qinggong and destructive power. I’ll need an open space to test it.”
His reserves of Yin Qi were nearly exhausted, leaving only a handful of units behind. Lu Sheng was unconcerned. He had already felt the nature of Light Void Skill. Its lightness. Its nimbleness. Its almost absurd explosive force.
“Over there should do.”
He tugged at his trousers and let his robes fall, concealing his legs. Yin Extreme Mode activated instantly. The black armor plates clung tightly to his skin, and a flesh-toned membrane spread over them, sealing the transformation.
In moments, Yin Extreme Mode’s formidable cloaking effect fully manifested.
The armored legs reverted to a human appearance. Only the sharpness of his toenails and the unnatural dexterity of his feet betrayed what lay beneath.
Lu Sheng straightened, walked to the sanctuary doors, and lifted the metal bar. Amid a low rumble, the stone doors slowly slid open.
“I’m heading out.”
“Yes, sir! Your subordinate will prepare the carriage!” a guard replied at once.
“No need. I’m just taking a walk. Don’t follow me.”
His tone was calm and final.
…………
Northern Lands, Spirit Swallow Peak.
Amid the swirling snowfall, the mountain wilderness was draped in silver, an endless expanse of blinding white.
Lu Sheng moved unhurriedly through the frozen snow. Each footprint he left behind was swiftly swallowed by the falling flakes, erased almost the moment it appeared.
“AHH!”
A white shadow streaked across the sky, letting out a sharp cry.
Lu Sheng lifted his head, narrowing his eyes as he tracked the white bird flying past. He was just about to remove his disguise and test the power of Light Void Skill.
Without warning, an immense shadow bore down on him at terrifying speed, enveloping him in an instant.
“That’s—”
Lu Sheng’s pupils shrank abruptly.
A gigantic white wolf vaulted overhead.
Its body was the size of a small mountain, its fur blending seamlessly with the snow, indistinguishable from the surrounding landscape. Yet Lu Sheng’s sharp eyesight still caught its outline.
The white wolf was unbelievably fast. In the blink of an eye, it had leapt past Lu Sheng and surged into the distance like a rolling mass of white cloud.
It had merely been passing through. Stretching dozens of meters long, it resembled a prehistoric beast as it bounded away, carrying with it an overwhelming pressure.
Moments later, the wolf vanished completely into the snowy wilderness.
Lu Sheng watched its departure and sank into brief contemplation.
Then, suddenly, he lifted his leg.
“KA BOOM!!!”
Cracks tore violently across the ground. Snow erupted in all directions, blasting upward in explosive waves.
Centered on Lu Sheng, spiderweb-like fissures spread rapidly across a radius of more than ten meters. A tremendous anti-tremor force surged upward, launching him into the air as he shot off in hot pursuit of the giant white wolf.
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