Edited by Lord Immortal

From that day on, Lin Xun put Nine Strikes for Shaking Heaven on his practice agenda. Besides meditation, he pondered and practiced this skill every day.

Unfortunately, although the courtyard where Lin Xun lived was large, it was still too small and fragile to withstand the devastation of spiritual power.

Therefore, Lin Xun could only restrain his spirit power, take the rules of practicing Nine Strikes for Shaking Heaven as a guide to understand its mysteries, and dared not easily exert its power.

Even so, when Shue Jin first witnessed this skill, his pupils shrank, and his heart thumped hard.

With his vision, it was natural to notice that Lin Xun’s tactics were incredibly unique. They seemed strange in every way, but they implied the beauty of dynamic, quiet, and rigid Yin and Yang and were full of an indescribable grand momentum.

They were just simple moves.

It was hard to imagine what astounding destructive power Lin Xun would produce when he unleashed all the power of this meritorious skill.

“What’s this skill?”

Shue Jin did not resist his curiosity. “Just looking at the momentum in the maneuvers, it can be regarded as a first-class skill. It’s not a wee bit inferior to those ancient skills inherited by the aristocratic families. Where did you, a brat, get this skill from?”

Lin Xun only reported the name of the Nine Strike for Shaking Heaven and did not mention where he got it. By doing so, he tried to see if Shue Jin had heard of it.

After hearing the name of the skill, Shue Jin frowned and thought hard for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and said, “In the empire, the names of the top secret methods are all probably known to me. Shie Yutang’s ‘Sword Scripture Invincible’ is inherited from the Immeasurable Prajna of the Imperial Royalty. The top skill of Qinglu College is ‘Cyclone Taoism’. There’s no skill named Nine Strikes for Shaking Heaven in the ancient inheritances or the first-class martial arts.”

At last, Sue Jin looked at Lin Xun with a strange look, “Is the skill you’re cultivating never showed up before?”

A never-seen skill meant that it had not appeared in the world for a long time. It might be inherited from ancient times but was lost in the long river of history. Therefore, no one had ever learned it.

As Shue Jin knew, Blood King Ning Bugui accidentally acquired ‘Thunder Power from All Directions’ in his youth because he occasionally went into a remote secret world. It might be a mysterious tradition inherited from ancient times that controlled the power of thunder.

There were more than ten different kinds of ancient secret skills that were as powerful as the ‘Thunder Power from All Directions’ in imperial royalty’s treasure house.

“I’m not sure.”

Lin Xun shook his head as he really didn’t know. All he knew was that this skill was branded in the fragment of Heaven-shaking Seal. He didn’t understand anything else about it.

“I got it.”

Shue Jin was still thoughtful.

…

With the passage of time, Lin Xun mastered all the movements of the nine strikes. But the mysteries contained in them were too complicated and boundless, and it was not possible to achieve all of them in a short time if he wanted to understand and control them fully.

Another day, after having breakfast, Lin Xun pushed the door and walked out of the courtyard.

These days, he had been practicing at home without receiving any news from outside. Now, walking in the busy streets of Mist City again, his heart could not help but be in a trance.

Immediately, Lin Xun shook his head and quickened his pace. He didn’t go out for a stroll today.

Azure Ashram.

This was a place primarily for cultivators to practice martial arts. It was very popular among practitioners.

With the nearing Province Test, Mist City was becoming more and more lively. Many qualified practitioners were streaming in from different cities in the southwestern province of the Empire.

In order to make full preparations for assessment, many practitioners seized every opportunity to enhance their strength and to hone their martial arts.

In such circumstances, the business of Azure Ashram was extremely prosperous. There were endless strong people coming every day.

By the time Lin Xun arrived, many people had already gathered in Azure Ashram, most being young teenagers.

In half a month, the Province Test would begin. It was rumored that the number of applicants had already exceeded five thousand.

“My dear! Only one hundred people can pass the Province Test. That means only one in at least fifty will qualify. This elimination rate is too high.”

“Alas, compared to previous years, this year’s competition is really too cruel. I heard that the youngest generation of the most top influential people in our southwestern province is all involved in this Province Test. Under such circumstances, let alone the normal practitioners, even those first-class figures are afraid of being eliminated.”

“Don’t complain all day long. Province Test is for selecting the most outstanding talents in the empire. Only such persons can qualify to represent our southwestern province to participate in the most prestigious Nation Test of the empire.”

“Spend some more time to practice. Even if the competition is fiercer, no one will give up before the last moment.”

“Yes, it’s a fate-changing test for both the rich and the poor. It’s bound to be a leap of status if someone passes it, like a carp leaping through the Dragon Gate.”

Many people were discussing the topic related to Province Test, which would begin soon. Lin Xun suddenly realized that the examination would start in only half a month.

It seemed that he should seize the time to collect some information about the Province Test and see how many renowned figures would participate in it.

Lin Xun remembered Shue Jin telling him that he must not underestimate the participants.

These young people under the age of eighteen were selected through the provincial level. There was no lack of amazing and talented people. If he was careless, he might get into trouble.

Just think about it: how large the southwestern province must be let more than five thousand young people participate in the Province Test.

Among these thousand elite and outstanding people who had been selected from different places, how could there be no fierce characters?

Without further thought, Lin found a waiter and paid ten gold coins for a secret room to practice martial art. He was arranged a place for a Human-gang practitioner.

The waiter left soon, leaving Lin Xun alone with ten bronze puppets in the secret room.

Every bronze puppet had the fighting power of Human-gang Realm, and its defensive power was also astonishing. The practitioners could choose different numbers of bronze puppets to fight.

Lin Xun thought about it and started all the ten bronze puppets directly. With his present cultivation, the ordinary Human-gang practitioners no longer attracted his attention, let alone bronze puppets.

But this time, he was here to practice Nine Strikes for Shaking Heaven, so he didn’t need a balanced opponent.

Boom!

The eyes of the ten bronze puppets suddenly brightened, as if they were awakened from the dead. The next moment, they rushed towards Lin Xun from different directions.

It was amazing that these puppets were extraordinarily aggressive and knew how to use martial arts. They were almost the same as actual practitioners except having intelligence.

Lin Xun was also quite satisfied with these puppets. He felt that the high price of ten gold coins was not in vain.

Boom!

Suddenly, a bronze puppet attacked first. Its fist burst into rays of light and smashed down the throat of Lin Xun ruthlessly.

Almost at the same time, Lin Xun took a deep breath. The power in his body moved along a unique circulation path, and all his spirit began to boil and gallop.

He pushed his palms out flat. There was an illusory azure light overflowing in his palms and fingers, then he suddenly clasped his hands into fists and burst the accumulated strength in an incredible way.

Mountain Destruction!

Boom!

In an instant, the rushing puppet with a surprising defense turned into powder drifting in the sky like paper paste.

The most surprising thing was that Lin Xun’s strength was not diminished in the least. It spread forward and left destruction in its wake.

Three bronze puppets in the rear had no time to dodge and were hit head-on by the wind of fist. After three loud bangs, all three bronze puppets were quickly turned into ash.

It was instantly struck into powder.

The horrible killing force shocked the walls of the chamber, producing violent vibrations and rumbling noise.

And that was just the power of a Mountain Destruction.

Lin Xun could not help but be shocked. This was the first time Lin Xun had really exerted his power since he started practicing Nine Strikes for Shaking Heaven. He never thought that it would have such terrible might.

Just from this blow, Lin Xun realized that if he were to deal with Huang Jianchen again, Huang would not be able to withstand a single hit.

Most importantly, Lin Xun’s understanding of Nine Strikes for Shaking Heaven could only be regarded as a first glimpse. But already possessed such destructive power at this stage. It could be imagined what dreadful power Lin Xun could exert when he controlled the essence of this skill.

Boom!

By this time, the other six bronze puppets had also come near. But before Lin Xun moved, he heard a bang, and the door of the secret room was thrashed open.

Suddenly, the six bronze puppets stopped and turned still in place. The door of the secret room that opened had activated the gear in their bodies to stop in order to avoid affecting innocent people.

A waiter rushed in, full of anxiety on his face, “What happened just now, my guest? Were you injured? God, why are there only six bronze puppets left?”

When the waiter witnessed the scene in the secret room, he was startled. Obviously, he was shocked by the movement that Lin Xun had just caused before he rushed to the place. But he had never thought that the cultivator in the secret room would be safe, while the bronze puppets were four fewer.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t get the hang of my power just now and destroyed them all.” Lin Xun was apologetic and somewhat embarrassed.

“You…destroyed them? But why did they disappear?” The waiter looked lost. “If you destroyed them, the fragmented body must have been left behind, but there is none here.”

“Sorry, there they are.”

Lin Xun pointed to some residual powder on the ground.

The waiter shifted his eyes and breathed in a puff of cold air. His expression looked like being struck by lightning. He couldn’t believe his eyes at all. The vanished bronze puppets were reduced to ashes!