‘Master! It’s amazing! I was too focused on the battle I didn’t even notice. Y-your soul world! It changed! No, it’s still growing stronger!’ Her jittery voice only made Qian Yu’s grin wider.

‘Hahaha, While I was fighting, I felt my soul world stir along with the cultivation technique in my consciousness. It was like telling me I was about to break through. Of course I had to keep fighting,’ Qian Yu said. 

‘Mmm… the laws have become a lot stronger. It feels so nice~ ’ Qian Yu somehow imagined Tian Xinyi comfortably lying on the ground in his soul world. 

‘How is it? My soul world now?’ Qian Yu’s interest was aroused.

‘More lightning… I see light at the horizon… maybe it’s a sun! The earth and soil has gotten better now as well. No trees or anything like that but I feel more life in the world,’ Tian Xinyi quickly pointed out a few changes.

‘Alright, that’s fine for now,’ Qian Yu said as he turned his attention towards the cultivation technique. 

‘Mark of Heavenly Lightning! Good name!’ Qian Yu quickly found the new part of the scripture and began to recite it. 

‘It seems that the qi is going to the tips of my fingers. A range technique perhaps?’ Qian Yu calmed his breathing as he felt the qi in his body move. 

‘Compared to the Lightning Spasm or Transcending Lighting Step though, the amount of qi is tremendous… likely I can’t use it as much as the other two skills,’ a few seconds had passed before Qian Yu felt the qi he inputted was potent enough. 

“Tch, you broke through.” The enemy leader had arrived at Qian Yu yet a frown appeared on his face as he felt the new aura emanating from Qian Yu. 

“But do you have the time to learn the technique? DIE!” His speed and strength didn’t waver as he appeared before Qian Yu. 

Transcending Lightning Step!

‘The distance has increased once again!’ Qian Yu smiled as he pointed his fingers at the enemy leader.

“Mark of Heavenly Lightning!” A pulse of energy shook Qian Yu as something blasted forward from his fingertips.

*Zaappp!* a thin but energy potent beam of blue lightning quickly flew through the air with a speed no less than Qian Yu when performing Transcending Lightning Step.

“Fuck, Barbaric Death Slash!” The enemy leader gritted his teeth, realizing that he had no choice but to meet it head on since he had just used his movement technique.

*Bam!* 

“Hahaha, that wasn’t as strong as I expected,” the man chuckled as the cloud of smoke disappeared in a matter of seconds.

“Damn it, it wasn’t strong enough?” Qian Yu weakly stumbled. 

‘Master! Something’s not normal! Your qi! It’s still there!’ Tian Xinyi shouted. 

‘You’re right…’ Qian Yu squinted his eyes as he looked at the enemy’s sword. Small and faint, he could feel the residue of his qi still attached onto the sword. Furthermore, the weak connection he could feel was one that was similar to the energy and feeling of Lightning Spasm. 

‘Perhaps, I can replicate it?’ Qian Yu focused his attention on the feeling as he ignored the enemy leader running at him.

‘It’s like using Lightning Spasm but I have to control it from further away,’ Qian Yu realized as he got the hang of it.

‘Now!’ The mark quickly shimmered before it glowed brightly. 

“What?” The enemy stopped, feeling something amiss.

*Boom!* Yet an explosion of blue sparks erupted from him as he did.

The battles were still ongoing around Qian Yu but he quietly observed the cloud of snow as it dissipated. 

‘Tch… I can only afford to use it one or two more time,’ Qian Yu grunted as he saw the shadow on the ground.

Hunched as it was, it was slowly rising from the ground. 

“You… Fuck you…” The enemy leader stabbed his sword into the ground as he pulled himself back up. His previous armor had been broken leaving his bloody upper torso naked while ripped tads of cloth covered his lower half. 

“I’m going to skin you alive!” He pulled out his sword from the ground. 

*Whoosh!* Yet a sudden barrage of fire appeared out of nowhere, engulfing the man.

“AHHHH!” His roar echoed throughout the battlefielding as he burned in the fire before his burnt body fell down.

“Who!?” Qian Yu turned his head towards the direction of the attack. 

“You are… Jiang Hai?” Qian Yu noticed a somewhat familiar figure in the distance. His clothing was familiar, still donning the imperial robes from his family but his complexion and aura was significantly different. Compared to his innocent and immature demeanor before, he now held a stoic and serious face as he approached Qian Yu. Not only that though, from the new martial technique Qian Yu had just witnessed, it was clear he had broken through to the middle stage of soul foundation as well.

Jiang Hai waved his hands, giving a signal to the troops behind him before turning to Qian Yu. “We are the reinforcements that were sent,” he quietly nodded. 

“But you’re from the Jiang Empire?” Qian Yu said.

“Our countries are allies besides…” Jiang Hai said before he turned his attention to the direction of the Xia Capital. “My sister is still recovering here and I’ve been staying here ever since,” he gritted his teeth.

“I-...” Qian Yu sighed as he remembered the princess’s situation. Being a Martial Fighter, she has been unconscious for weeks and many started to speculate she wasn’t just unconscious from physical injuries. Nonetheless, little official information has actually been released. 

“Well, anyways, I’ll take it from here,” Jiang Hai said. 

“Alright,” Qian Yu said as he turned his head to the other parts of the slope. Their battle had started near the edge of the slope, making it somewhat isolated. Now, as he looked at the chaotic fights on the slope, the soldiers from Jiang Hai had already started pushing back the enemy.

‘I’ll eat some qi recovering pills first and then start with Soul Exploration. By the time I finish, I can start learning more about Mark of Heavenly Lightning,’ Qian Yu quickly decided as he plopped a few pills into his mouth. 

Closing his eyes he calmed himself down and as he performed Soul Exploration, he found his settings had completely changed. The real land of the Xia Empire had been white and snowy but his soul world was the opposite, boasting a very dark environment. 

Even before he opened his eyes, he had already noticed something, ‘The laws are much stronger than before.’ 

As he opened his eyes, he found Tian Xinyi staring at him. ‘Hehe, master!’ she jumped on top of his head. 

“Alright, let’s take a walk,” Qian Yu chuckled. 

‘Mhm, let’s go!’ Tian Xinyi said from atop his head.

Slowly walking around, Qian Yu and Tian Xinyi continued to observe the changed soul world. “Hmm, there isn’t much else outside of what you said,” Qian Yu bent down and picked up the dirt. Previously, his soul world had been mainly composed of rocks and small gravel but now, he felt that the soil had changed a bit in mixture. 

Additionally, like Tian Xinyi said earlier, there was a “sun”, or a source of light as well. However, it was extremely dim and covered by the thick clouds. 

*Drop!* Suddenly, Qian Yu felt something drop onto his cheek. 

“Water?” Qian Yu looked up and stared at the black clouds. 

“Is this new?” Qian Yu asked Tian Xinyi. 

‘Hmm… I am not too sure to be honest. Previously, your soul world had rained two times but it was very weak and inconsistent so I didn’t tell you...’ Tian Xinyi said. 

“Really now… Anyways, tell me if anything unusual appears, no matter how insignificant it may be,” Qian Yu curiously looked up. 

‘Mmm, sorry master,’ Tian Xinyi slumped down on his head.

“No worries,” Qian Yu grabbed her off his head and hugged her in his arms.

“Rain though… something that could be related to lightning but of course, not as much compared to water… is this a result of my comprehension of lightning laws?” Qian Yu muttered. 

*Drizzzle!* The rain suddenly started pouring down. 

“Well, I will leave now, you can come out too,” Qian Yu closed his eyes and recited the technique. 

‘Alright!’ Tian Xinyi shouted.

“Hmm, I should start using Soul Exploration every day again,” Qian Yu decided as he realized his consciousness had returned to the real world. 

“Anyways, the food isn’t that great but it’s all I have right now,” Qian Yu brought out a simple meal containing a few leftover ribs that the soldiers had created the night before. 

‘It’s okay! Looks good!’ Tian Xinyi didn’t seem to mind as she started eating right away.

‘I guess I can learn more about this martial technique now,’ Qian Yu started to channel the qi in his body towards his fingers.

*Zap!*

‘Hmm, the effective range is about the same as the distance for Transcending Lightning Step,’ Qian Yu squinted his eyes.

*Zap!* another bolt of lightning flew out.

‘With its speed and at the maximum distance, it’ll be hard to dodge without a movement skill but it can still be blocked by martial techniques like the Spears of Ice,’ Qian Yu observed.

‘That said… it uses a lot of qi and I can’t casually use it. It’s similar to Zhao Xieren’s martial technique in that aspect,’ Qian Yu sighed as he turned around.

In the distance, he could see swarms of fire engulfing the battlefield. With the enemy leader dead, it was only a matter of time before the enemy troops would give up.

‘But what is the aim of my cultivation technique?’ A confused expression appeared on Qian Yu’s face. 

‘Sun Hong is perfect for close combat and fights and she’ll likely beat anyone in a straight up duel. Zhao Xieren’s is also close combat but not as consistent. Instead, her cultivation technique mainly focuses on the offensive power and speed brought by her sword dance attack.’

‘Bai Jia and Jiang Hai are both the same. They don’t prefer to fight up close at all and their martial techniques are pretty much for long ranged fights.’

‘Previously, I thought I was similar to Sun Hong. A close combat skill followed by a movement skill but now, a ranged skill. Clearly, it’s different and I’m somewhat similar to Zhen Yue in that aspect,’ Qian Yu realized. 

“Brother! They retreated!” Gu Zan’s voice came from afar. 

Qian Yu turned his head to see a large group of soldiers returning back to the top of the cliff. Besides the soldiers he had picked, another set of soldiers with different armor were besides them. Compared to his own though, he could estimate that there were many more of them and as he looked beyond them towards the slope, some soldiers were still occupying the land there. 

The soldiers promptly arrived before Jiang Hai walked out from the crowd of soldiers, and stared at Qian Yu. 

Qian Yu stared back for a few seconds. “Let’s talk over there,” Qian Yu pointed his hand over his shoulder.