186: Chapter 185 Insights into a Thousand Years of Martial Arts

That blade light was formless and intangible, without any sharpness, without any aura, without any presence that could be perceived.

It merely flashed.

And it had already swept past the three Blood Puppets rushing at the very front.

The three Blood Puppets were still rushing forward.

Their footsteps did not stop, their arms continued to flail, and their giant maws remained wide open—

Then, they fell.

They fell silently.

Like three wooden stakes with their support removed, they pitched forward stiffly, crashing into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Their Physical Bodies were completely undamaged.

There were no wounds, no cracks, no traces of any attack whatsoever.

But their Divine Souls—

Had been completely annihilated.

Huo Qingfeng's pupils contracted sharply!

He stared intently at the three Blood Puppets lying on the ground, stared at their undamaged Physical Bodies, and stared at the dark red light that had completely extinguished within their hollow eye sockets—

"Th-this is..." His voice trembled, "A Divine Soul attack?"

Teng Yuzhi's gaze fell upon Jiang Hanzhou, and a flash of undisguised astonishment crossed those cold, clear eyes.

Zhao Yuanjing took a deep breath, his hand gripping his long spear trembling slightly.

Song Hu widened his eyes, his mouth open wide enough to fit a fist.

Liu Ningshuang stood stunned in place, momentarily forgetting the twin swords in her hands.

Jiang Hanzhou ignored their gazes.

He simply activated the Heart Blade once more.

A second invisible blade light struck out again!

Three more Blood Puppets fell in response!

The third.

The fourth.

The fifth—

With every flash of blade light, three Blood Puppets fell silently.

Their Physical Bodies were undamaged, and their demonic cores were still pulsing, but their Divine Souls—had been completely erased by the Heart Blade.

Those Blood Puppets that had originally been rushing over frantically were finally afraid.

They stopped in their tracks and let out shrill roars, filled with fear and confusion.

They did not understand.

They did not understand why their companions had suddenly fallen.

They did not understand why, despite there being no attack, they could no longer sense their companions' Divine Souls.

They simply felt fear instinctively.

Instinctively retreating.

Jiang Hanzhou's gaze swept over the retreating Blood Puppets, and a faint smile slowly curled at the corners of his mouth.

The Heart Blade was indeed useful.

He activated the Heart Blade again.

But this time, the moment the Heart Blade struck out—

A sudden change occurred!

Inside his body, the Dragon essence that had fallen silent after being devoured by the tiger soul saber suddenly emitted a slight warmth!

That warmth was extremely light and faint, like the warm winter sun shining on his body, or like warm water gently flowing over his skin.

But it was precisely this warmth that caused Jiang Hanzhou's body to freeze suddenly!

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, countless images surged in like a tide!

It was the memory of a jiaolong.

It was born in the deep sea, grew up in the abyss, breathed in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, devoured exotic beasts in the sea, and after a thousand years, finally attained the Mysterious Glimpse Realm.

It had once fought with a giant whale, rolling and biting in the deep sea, eventually devouring the giant whale completely.

It had once soared into the sky during a storm, battled with the thunderclouds above the Nine Heavens, withstood nine heavenly thunderbolts with its Dragon Clan body, and eventually dispersed the thunderclouds.

It had once dived into the deep-sea abyss to confront a giant turtle that had been sleeping for a thousand years; the two stood in a standoff for three months, and eventually, the giant turtle retreated, ceding that sea territory to it.

It had once—

The images flashed frantically, and countless battle scenes surged into his Sea of Consciousness!

Every kill, every battle, every life-and-death struggle.

What was contained in those images was not just memories, but the battle experience accumulated by that jiaolong over a thousand years!

How to bite, how to whip its tail, how to suppress opponents with Dragon might, how to find a glimmer of survival in desperate situations, how to exchange the smallest cost for the greatest battle results—

Those experiences, those insights, that battle instinct condensed over a thousand years of time, were now surging frantically into the depths of Jiang Hanzhou's Sea of Consciousness!

His body was trembling.

Not because of pain, but because—

There was too much.

Too much.

So much that his Sea of Consciousness could barely withstand it.

Just at this moment—

Before his eyes, a line of text that only he could see suddenly appeared:

【host's Martial Arts Comprehension accumulation increased: 1,080 years.】

【Current Martial Arts Comprehension accumulation: 2,400 years / 6,000 years.】

The moment that line of text appeared, the images surging into his Sea of Consciousness stopped abruptly.

Those images, those memory fragments, those battle experiences—had now completely merged into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, becoming a part of his own insights.

It was not a simple copy of memories, but a true "understanding."

He understood.

He understood why that jiaolong had chosen to bite the giant whale's abdomen instead of its head when fighting it.

He understood why it had chosen to withstand the heavenly thunderbolts with its Dragon Clan body instead of dodging when resisting them.

He understood why it could persist for three whole months without retreating when standing off against the giant turtle.

Behind those seemingly simple choices was the instinct condensed from a thousand years of combat.

And this instinct was now taking root and sprouting in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, waiting for him to slowly digest and absorb it in the future.

He opened his eyes.

Two dark golden rays of light shot out from his eyes, striking the stone house wall in front of him and leaving two deep holes.

He looked down at his own hands.

His hands were as good as new, without any abnormalities.

But he knew that from now on, his battle instinct would be elevated by a level compared to before.

More than a thousand years of battle memories were not given for free.

"Junior Brother Jiang?" Zhao Yuanjing's voice came, carrying a touch of worry, "Are you alright?"

Jiang Hanzhou raised his head, looked at him, and shook his head slightly.

"I'm fine."

His voice was as calm as water.

But just then—

Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Blade suddenly trembled violently!

The trembling came without warning, yet it was extremely intense, as if the Heart Blade had sensed something that excited it.

On the blade, those winding, dragon-like dark golden patterns suddenly lit up at this moment!

A brilliant dark golden light surged out from the Heart Blade, illuminating the entire Sea of Consciousness!

In that light, there was an indescribable pressure—

Dragon might!

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils contracted slightly.

He had no time to think carefully before that Dragon might surged out from the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, following his Divine Sense!

The invisible pressure spread crazily in all directions, with him as the center!

The moment the retreating Blood Puppets were swept by this Dragon might—

All froze in place!

Their bodies were trembling violently, and the dark red light in their eye sockets flickered frantically, as if it would extinguish at any moment!

That was not fear, but instinctive suppression from the depths of their Bloodline.

The refining of the Blood Puppets had originally used the Dragon evil Qi that had dissipated from the jiaolong remains.

Although those Dragon evil Qi had been refined by Blood Bone Venerable using evil arts, they still retained the essential aura of the Dragon Clan.

And this essence, when facing true Dragon might, had only one reaction—

Submission.

Or collapse.

Those Blood Puppets chose to collapse.

They trembled, roared, and then—

Knelt down.

One after another, they all knelt down.

Over a hundred Blood Puppets were now kneeling before Jiang Hanzhou as if paying homage to a king, not even daring to raise their heads.

Their bodies were trembling violently, the light in their eye sockets was flickering frantically, and they emitted low whimpering sounds—the kind of sound that is only emitted when fear reaches its extreme.

Jiang Hanzhou stood in place, his body surrounded by a faint dark golden light.

That light was extremely faint, so faint that it was almost invisible, but that pressure, that essential suppression from the Dragon Clan, made everyone present feel suffocated.

Huo Qingfeng's expression changed.

He stared at Jiang Hanzhou, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Teng Yuzhi's gaze was even more complex.

She sensed the aura within that pressure—that was Dragon might, pure Dragon might.

How could a human radiate Dragon might?

Zhao Yuanjing, Song Hu, and Liu Ningshuang were likewise stunned on the spot.

The Sea Quelling Department soldiers who were fighting the evil cultivators also felt that pressure.

They turned their heads one after another, looking at the figure of the youth standing in the midst of the Blood Puppets, their eyes filled with shock.

Zhou Lie's pupils contracted slightly.

He was a Sea Quelling Department officer and was well-informed.

He knew there was one possibility that could allow a human to radiate Dragon might—

Devouring Dragon essence.

Fusion with dragon blood.

That jiaolong remains...

He remembered the dragon heart on Black Stone Island that had been slashed open.

The dragon blood that had gushed out, those dragon heart fragments containing Dragon essence—

Had been absorbed by this youth.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the shock that surged in his heart.

Now was not the time to ask about this.

Now was the time to mop up the remnants.

He turned his head and looked at the evil cultivators who were also shaken by the Dragon might and were currently trembling, and said sternly:

"Kill!"

Twenty Mystic Armor Soldiers attacked simultaneously!

Those evil cultivators had already lost their composure due to the suppression of the Dragon might, and now, facing the all-out attack of the Sea Quelling Department elites, they were completely unable to resist.

Sword light flashed, and three heads fell to the ground.

Long spears pierced through, and the chests of two evil cultivators exploded.

Heavy halberds swept across, and four evil cultivators were cut in half at the waist.

One stick of incense.

Merely one stick of incense.

Over twenty evil cultivators were all executed.