Chapter 32 Hidden Front

Late at night, in the rental apartment.

The city's clamor outside the window gradually quieted down as Li Ang sat cross-legged on a yoga mat.

The tattered book he had bought for five thousand yuan, emitting a musty smell, titled "Hiding the Edge," lay open on his lap.

Under the dim yellow desk lamp, the scribbled and frenzied ancient seal characters on the pages seemed to come alive, exuding a heart-palpitating chill.

"Hide the edge in the scabbard; once unsheathed, it must kill. Use the body as the scabbard to nurture Qi for a thousand years."

Li Ang's fingers lightly brushed across the page, his brow furrowing slightly.

This was indeed an evil book.

This wasn't a normal health-preserving Cultivation Technique at all; it was more like a self-mutilating sorcery!

Ordinary Breath Concealment Techniques teach one how to steady the heartbeat and constrict pores to reduce one's presence.

But this "Hiding the Edge" taught "Reverse Practice."

It required the cultivator to forcibly compress all the Qi and blood, killing intent, and even Mental Energy dissipating from the body into a single point in the Dantian, to be released through the blade in hand.

It was like pressing down on a powerful spring; the harder it was pressed, the more terrifying the rebound power. However, if one accidentally let it snap, the first thing to shatter would be oneself.

"No wonder that old man said people who practice this either die from reversed Meridians or turn themselves into mummies."

Li Ang took a deep breath.

This tested not only the resilience of the Meridians but also one's absolute control over Qi and blood.

With the slightest lapse in concentration, the violent Qi and blood would run amok inside the body, grinding the internal organs into mincemeat.

"But for me, these are nothing."

Li Ang closed his eyes.

[Blade Path Genius (Blue)] talent activated.

The originally obscure and difficult-to-understand text was rapidly deconstructed and reorganized in his mind.

Those seemingly mad training methods gradually revealed a clear logical thread.

[Hardworking and Enduring (Green)] talent in operation.

Pain suppression activated, mental resilience maxed out.

He prepared himself for the pain of tearing Meridians.

"Let's begin."

Li Ang mobilized the vigorous Qi and blood of his Ninth Stage of Qi and Blood and began his first attempt at "reverse compression."

"Hum..."

The Qi and blood within his body began to emit a low rumble, like a river that had been forcibly dammed.

Waves of stinging pain came from his Meridians, as if countless tiny blades were scraping inside his blood vessels.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have already suffered Qi Deviation from the intense pain by now.

But Li Ang remained expressionless, not even knitting his brows.

Not only that, the Profound Water Power within him, originating from his Profound Water Spirit Body,

Wrapped around the sharp energy that was about to go out of control, gently nourishing his Meridians.

Half an hour later.

The originally sharp and scorching Qi and blood fluctuations around Li Ang, which were as intense as a blazing sun, actually began to dim bit by bit.

From the Ninth Stage of Qi and Blood, it dropped to the eighth stage...

Finally, it stabilized at the level of the Qi and Blood Seventh Stage.

But he could feel that this restrained energy was lying dormant quietly in the depths of his Dantian.

As long as he wished, with a single thought, this power could be vented out with several times the explosive force!

"It's done."

Li Ang slowly opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing within them.

He picked up the Combat Saber beside him, gently stroking the cold blade, while his thoughts drifted back to a long time ago.

Taking the opportunity of having entered the threshold of "Hiding the Edge," he began to review his journey along the path of the blade.

"In the first simulation, I was just a rookie who knew nothing."

During those five days, he had also relied on the [Blade Path Genius] he had scavenged.

By madly swinging his blade before death, he had achieved Minor Achievement in Basic Saber Technique.

But that was very important; it was the foundation.

A skyscraper rises from the ground.

Without that foundation of "Minor Achievement," he might have swung his blade for ten years

And still not even touched the threshold of Major Achievement.

"In the second simulation, I eked out a living in the Chaos Zone for ten years, fighting in the beast tide."

At that time, he understood the difference between humans and beasts.

Exotic beasts were fierce, but their attack patterns were simple, mostly relying on instinct.

Whereas human Martial Artists were insidious and cunning, with ever-changing Moves.

But the essence was the same.

Whether killing beasts or humans, the core was offense, defense, and the tactical game.

"In the third simulation, I met Teacher Wu."

Through anatomy, he completely mastered the structural weaknesses of the human body and exotic beasts.

His blade was no longer blind; every strike pointed directly at vital points.

That was the stage of "precision."

Every strike stabbed straight into the vitals.

Under Wu Changhe's guidance, he established a "defensive counter-attack" tactical system.

He no longer charged into battle like a reckless youth, but instead utilized his superior endurance and recovery power.

First, he would put himself in an invincible position, then seek an opportunity for a certain kill.

To this end, he learned Nine Layers of Overlapping Waves.

This was an explosive skill that solved his shortcoming of insufficient lethality during counter-attacks.

"The foundation is there, the precision is there, the tactical system is there, and the means of explosion are also there."

"My Basic Saber Technique has reached Major Achievement; even when facing Liu Xiyue, I suppress her in terms of technique."

Li Ang looked at the blade in his hand, falling into deep thought.

"But... what am I still missing to reach true Perfection?"

"It's certainly not some mysterious and abstruse Concept. Old Wu was right to scold me; I don't even have Origin Power yet. Talking about Concept is just building castles in the air."

"Since it's not Concept, then it must be... Momentum."

Li Ang's gaze fell back onto the title page of "Hiding the Edge."

"Hide the edge in the scabbard; once unsheathed, it must kill."

He suddenly understood.

Before, his blade had always been 'outside the scabbard.'

His strength was displayed openly; it was an offensive that was continuous like waves, with each strike faster than the last.

But this kind of strength required a warm-up and a buildup.

True Perfection, however, should include the ultimate transition between 'stillness' and 'motion.'

The best saber technique doesn't just consist of the strokes swung out, but also the moment of explosion before the blade is drawn from the scabbard.

"What I lack is the accumulation of 'gathering momentum.'"

"Overlapping Waves seeks momentum within motion, growing stronger like a rolling snowball, but the prelude is too long;"

"Whereas 'Hiding the Edge' seeks motion within stillness, like a powerful bow drawn to its limit—holding back until the last moment, then killing once released."

Li Ang's eyes grew brighter and brighter as the crazy Concept in his mind gradually took shape:

"If I can use the Blade-Nurturing Technique of 'Hiding the Edge' to pre-complete the force stacking of 'Overlapping Waves' within my body..."

"Then, I won't need to swing the first eight strikes to gather momentum."

"The very first moment I draw my blade will be the Peak explosion of the ninth wave!"

He might have found the path for his saber technique to reach Perfection.

...

Having figured all this out, Li Ang was in no rush to continue cultivating.

Haste makes waste.

He stood up and put away "Hiding the Edge."

Then he opened the encrypted document filled with dense notes.

The title of the document was—[Heart-Eroding Cult].

Now that the crisis in reality was temporarily resolved and his cultivation was on the right track,

The next focus was to prepare for the fourth simulation in a few days.

"At the end of the last simulation, that cult sleeper with an overt identity, Liu Qing, was the key to breaking the situation."