190: Chapter 190 Perfection, Code

Deep within the heavenly prison, it was cold and damp.

In the deepest death row cell of Yi Ward, a burly death row prisoner with a fierce face was shackled tightly to the wall with thick steel chains.

This prisoner was named Hu Sandao, once a notorious Gang leader in the Outer City.

To seize a street's territory, he had led his men on a rainy night to slaughter his rival's entire household of over seventy people, not even sparing a month-old infant, using extremely cruel methods.

After being thrown into the heavenly prison, Hu Sandao remained arrogant and overbearing, even biting a Jailer who came to deliver food to death.

But at this moment, this once ruthless killer was staring at the front in extreme terror.

"You... what do you want to do?" Hu Sandao roared, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

In the darkness ahead, a shadow could be faintly seen standing there.

The shadow slowly raised its right hand.

Puchi.

The next moment, a long blade pierced through flesh and bone, penetrating his chest.

An invisible and terrifying suction force suddenly erupted from the blade.

"Ah—!" Hu Sandao let out a shrill scream, his body twitching violently, causing the steel chains to rattle loudly.

But after only two breaths, his struggle ceased abruptly.

[The Soul-Reaping Blood Evil Blade has devoured the Divine Soul, your Soul Power has increased.]

A stream of extremely pure Soul Power flowed continuously along Chen Ran's arm into his Sea of Consciousness.

Chen Ran withdrew his blade and flicked it casually.

"That's the third one." He whispered to himself, his tone calm.

These past few days, life in the Demon Suppression Division had been unusually dull.

Chen Ran would occasionally pick a few heinous death row prisoners in the heavenly prison to send them on their way early.

It was a win-win: clearing out trash while using the Soul-Reaping Blood Evil Blade to devour Divine Souls and strengthen his own Soul Power.

After several enhancements, the invisible ripples in his Sea of Consciousness had grown much stronger than before.

Chen Ran closed his eyes, carefully sensing the changes in his Soul Power.

His previously blurry perception suddenly became incredibly clear.

His range of perception expanded outward again.

Even without using the heavenly net, any movement within a ten-zhang radius could not escape his perception.

The friction sound of a prisoner turning over in the next cell, the subtle movement of a mouse crawling over stone slabs deep in the tunnel—all were vividly displayed in his mind.

"The improvement of the Divine Soul truly has infinite uses." Chen Ran nodded with satisfaction.

"This Cultivation Technique is definitely not just this simple. When I have time, I must go to that cave to investigate..."

This was less of a blade technique and more of a Demonic Technique specifically for snatching people's souls.

Chen Ran guessed that what Shi Taichu had learned in the cave back then was not the complete version.

After all, when this Cultivation Technique was first born, it was inspired by the cave murals that Shi Taichu had seen.

Ultimately, relying on his own talent, he had synthesized a blade technique, which was not the same one recorded in the cave murals.

After finishing his shift at the heavenly prison, Chen Ran returned to his small courtyard and closed the door behind him.

With a thought, he summoned the heavenly book of prison suppression.

The golden pages slowly opened in his Sea of Consciousness, emitting an ancient and mysterious aura.

[Host: Chen Ran]

[Cultivation: Return to Truth Realm Middle Stage]

[Accumulated Cultivation: 270 years]

[Usable Cultivation: 20 years]

During this period, by staying low-key in the heavenly prison and clocking in on time, plus the rewards from occasionally dealing with death row prisoners, he had accumulated quite a bit of Cultivation.

Chen Ran's gaze passed over those Cultivation Techniques that had already reached Perfection, and finally stopped on one entry.

[Cultivation Technique: Treading Snow Without a Trace (Major Achievement) ↑]

"Add points." Chen Ran did not hesitate, directly mobilizing the Cultivation accumulated in the heavenly book of prison suppression and pouring it madly into Treading Snow Without a Trace.

Boom! The heavenly book of prison suppression shone with golden light, and the pages flipped rustlingly.

The Cultivation on the heavenly book turned into streams of light, all merging into the Cultivation Technique.

A massive torrent of memories, like a bursting river, instantly poured into Chen Ran's mind.

These were memories of bitter training in extremely harsh environments for countless days and nights.

In the images, the wind howled and snow sealed the mountains.

He ran, jumped, and turned back in waist-deep snow.

From the initial difficulty of moving—where every step required enormous physical exertion—to later gradually mastering the technique of applying force, leaving shallow footprints on the snow surface.

Then, later, he walked on cliffs as if on flat ground, moving freely through the blizzard, truly achieving Treading Snow Without a Trace.

Then, the figure slowed down.

No longer running with force, but drifting along the trajectory of the wind and snow.

Finally, the figure disappeared completely.

No sound of wind, no trajectory.

He merged into the blizzard; wherever the wind blew, he was there.

All things could be borrowed for power.

A blade of grass, a speck of dust, or even a wisp of breeze.

Chen Ran closed his eyes, his body trembling slightly.

His muscles were vibrating at a strange frequency, as if undergoing some deep transformation.

True Qi surged and roared in his body, constantly widening and reinforcing the relevant acupoints.

A full stick of incense time passed.

Chen Ran opened his eyes abruptly.

A piercing sharp light flashed in the depths of his eyes, as if substantive electric sparks had streaked across the Void Realm.

[You have been immersed in practicing the Cultivation Technique for 20 years. You have gained insights, and your mastery of the Cultivation Technique has reached the pinnacle of Perfection.]

[Congratulations, your Cultivation Technique has upgraded: Treading Snow Without a Trace (Major Achievement) → Treading Snow Without a Trace (Perfection)].

He stood up, took a deep breath, and felt the light power in his body that seemed as if it could ride the wind and return at any moment.

Without any warning, Chen Ran's figure suddenly disappeared from the spot.

Whoosh! In the spacious courtyard, three or four afterimages appeared instantly.

Some were pouring tea, some were standing by the window with their hands behind their backs, and some were even hanging upside down from the roof beams.

These afterimages were lifelike, with even the folds of the clothes clearly visible, as if several Chen Rans existed in the room at the same time.

Until the last afterimage slowly dissipated, Chen Ran's real body appeared at the door.

"So fast." Chen Ran looked at his hands, his eyes full of surprise.

After upgrading this movement technique to Perfection, his speed, explosive power, flexibility, and ability to change direction were all improved in every aspect.

His current speed was at least three times faster than before!

This was the quality of a martial arts masterpiece, far exceeding the Cloud Water Step he had exploded from a prisoner back then.

"It was worth investing decades of Cultivation."

"With my current speed, combined with my hard-body kung fu, even if I meet an expert in the Innate Realm and can't beat them, running away shouldn't be a problem." Chen Ran hooked his lips into a satisfied arc.

Just for this one Cultivation Technique, Treading Snow Without a Trace, he had invested nearly seventy years of Cultivation, and only then did he barely manage to upgrade it to Perfection.

"Seventy years of training without eating or drinking; my talent can only be attributed to amazing perseverance..."

Chen Ran thought about the time he spent cultivating in his Sea of Consciousness.

The Cultivation Technique upgraded by the heavenly book of prison suppression didn't instantly instill martial arts to Perfection.

Instead, it was like throwing him into a training room, where he constantly polished his martial arts.

And practicing martial arts for decades in the Sea of Consciousness was just an instant in the outside world.

This was also why his martial arts had progressed rapidly over the past six months without any unstable foundation.

A few days later. The Martial Arts Plaza in the Outer City of the capital.

It had been several days since the last explosion, and the plaza that had been shattered was already repaired and completed.

The Martial Arts Tournament finally came to an end.

Although there were some accidents along the way, the result was relatively smooth.

After several days of fierce competition, the final winner was decided.

The first person of the younger generation of the Tiangang Sect, Cheng Wuchuan, defeated all rivals and won the championship.

High-ranking court officials appeared in person to award generous prizes. The Tiangang Sect was unparalleled in prestige and became famous.

The streets and alleys of the capital were all discussing this grand event of the Martial Forest.

However, none of this had anything to do with Chen Ran.

He didn't even have the interest to go to the scene to take a look, let alone the serial bombings outside the martial arts tournament venue before.

He heard that the Six Doors were still investigating. Lin Wan had been so busy these past few days that she was running off her feet, taking her men to search for suspicious people all over the capital, and even had very little time to come to the heavenly prison to "inspect" him.

But the Red Lotus Demonic Cult acted extremely secretly, and the clues left at the explosion site were pitifully few. Those captured men in black were all dead men, and no valuable information could be asked from them.

Trying to solve the case in a short time was basically wishful thinking.

Afternoon. The sun was just right, and the breeze was not dry.

Chen Ran changed into an inconspicuous green casual outfit and came to an old-fashioned teahouse in the Inner City.

This teahouse had excellent business. The lobby on the first floor was full of Jianghu guests of all kinds, merchants, and idlers.

A storyteller was spitting everywhere on the stage, telling the exciting duels of the Martial Arts Tournament.

"Speaking of that Cheng Wuchuan of the Tiangang Sect, he is truly a Divine Being!"

"I saw him shout, his fists like a Dragon going out to sea. That punch was like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, unstoppable, directly blasting the talented disciple of the Huashan Sect off the ring..."

"Good!" Applause erupted from time to time under the stage, and copper coins were thrown onto the stage like raindrops.

Chen Ran sat in a private seat by the window on the second floor, drinking high-quality Biluochun tea while watching the bustling street outside the window.

Just then, a slight sound of footsteps approached.

The shopkeeper of the teahouse came over personally with a pot of fresh tea.

The shopkeeper was a fat old man in his fifties, wearing a silk robe, full of smiles, looking harmonious and money-making.

"Guest, your tea is light, let the shop add some new tea for you."

The shopkeeper said, skillfully lifting the teapot to pour tea for Chen Ran.

Chen Ran nodded slightly, his eyes still watching the street outside, not paying attention.

The shopkeeper looked normal, and after pouring the tea, he respectfully stepped down.

"Enjoy, guest."

Chen Ran picked up the teacup, his eyes sweeping across the table casually.

He saw a sticker on the plate at the bottom of the teacup, which had appeared at some point.

The surface of the sticker was carved with a lifelike Red Lotus, the petals enchanting like blood, revealing a strange aura.

Chen Ran's movements paused slightly.

He calmly held the sticker in his palm, his fingertips gently stroking the patterns on it.

"Finally here." Chen Ran thought to himself.

Previously outside the city, Jiang Mengli had promised to notify him after opening the secret treasure of the former imperial family.

Now that the token had arrived, it meant that the Demonic Cult was ready.

"The earthquake a few days ago might also have something to do with them. It's time to go and see..."

Chen Ran picked up the teacup and drank the tea in the cup in one gulp.

He threw a few pieces of broken silver on the table.

He stood up, tidied his clothes.

Turned and walked down the stairs, blending into the bustling crowd.