12: Soaring Sky-Piercing Slash!

"Saint-rank Martial Skill—Flying Firmament Void-Breaking Slash!"

Old Li explained proudly, "This Martial Skill focuses on the speed and power of the saber's momentum. With one swing, the Saber Qi breaks through the air!"

"Because it is a special Saber Qi slashed out by compressing Origin Power and Mental Energy, whether it's someone playing with shadows or other members of the Spellcasting School, it can directly hit their true body!"

"The true danger of this Martial Skill is that by the time you see the saber's light, your Soul has already been struck."

"Of course, to achieve this effect, the user needs to guide it with their spirit, like an invisible thread connecting to the opponent, and only then can the saber light have this certain-hit effect."

"The Saber Qi cleaves the shield, and the saber light shreds the spirit."

"After reaching Major Achievement, even if the slashed Saber Qi doesn't hit the target, the spiritual attack inherent in the saber light will extinguish the opponent's consciousness!"

At this point, Old Li suddenly gritted his teeth and said:

"Not only that, this Martial Skill can even attack enemies from a long distance. As long as you have enough Origin Power and strong enough spirit, one slash is faster at clearing mobs than the Spellcasting School! It hits even further!"

Old Li shouted excitedly:

"That bastard from Jinsha Prefecture used to bully me for following the Weapon Combat Style, saying he could only kite me. Every sparring session was so frustrating."

"So I kept exploring, drawing inspiration from a 'Blade of the Soul' discovered in an Otherworld ruin. Through actual combat, I perfected it. Finally, I developed my own Saint-rank Martial Skill! Now, I can take on two of him!"

Old Li looked smug.

Well, it seemed that Weapon Combat Style Martial Artists were mostly disgusted by the Spellcasting School in the early and Middle Stages.

Jiang Hao acted as if he were temporarily deaf and interrupted Old Li:

"Then Grandpa Li, can a low-rank Martial Artist like me use this Martial Skill? I won't just shrivel up after one slash, will I?"

"Don't worry, do you think Saint-rank Martial Skills are that easy to practice? By the time you truly reach the entry level of this Martial Skill, you'll be at least fourth-tier."

"Plus, with your freakish spirit and that solid Foundation that even I find ghostly, taking out a fifth-tier with one slash after you reach the fourth-tier shouldn't be a big problem."

"Oh, provided the opponent isn't some Saint-rank descendant or the like; otherwise, if the opponent also brings out a Saint-rank Martial Skill, you can only compete on talent and heritage."

Jiang Hao was shocked. Mastering a Saint-rank Martial Skill allowed one to fight across a whole major Realm?

Then wouldn't the direct descendants of the Xing Family start with a Saint-rank move out of respect? How could anyone fight that?

Jiang Hao thought that if he encountered the direct descendants of those big families in the future and they threw Saint-rank Martial Skills at him for free... he might as well just go to sleep early.

Old Li watched Jiang Hao's expression change constantly, silently placed the Jade Slip containing the Flying Firmament Void-Breaking Slash on the table, coughed, and said:

"You might have some misunderstanding about Saint-rank Martial Skills. Even the direct descendants of a Saint-rank Martial Artist may not necessarily be able to learn a Saint-rank Martial Skill."

"talent is very important."

"Also, some Prodigies from big families use Heaven And Earth Treasures to solidify their Foundation from a young age. Only when their spirit and physical strength are strong enough can they apply to learn Saint-rank Martial Skills."

"Generally, they start comprehending Saint-rank Martial Skills at the third-tier and only truly reach entry level around the fourth-tier!"

"Even if these Prodigies become High-Rank Martial Artists, they wouldn't dare say they've reached Major Achievement in a single Saint-rank Martial Skill, let alone practice multiple ones. It's a complete waste of time!"

"Hmm?" Jiang Hao spotted the key point: start comprehending at the third-tier.

He suddenly remembered that netizen of his who didn't know how to use punctuation—didn't she say she could fight him once she reached the third-tier?

What was her name again? Loves Eating Fish and Bears Paw?

Jiang Hao silently opened his fei xin account and looked at the IP address of [Fish and Bears Paw]:

Hmm, Luoxing City.

Holy cow, is this not-so-smart female swordsman a member of the Xing Family?

It seemed he should be careful during their next chat to avoid making her break down. Jiang Hao didn't want a star shoved in his face one day.

Jiang Hao made a joke to himself and didn't take it to heart; after all, such a coincidence was impossible.

Even if she really was from the Xing Family, she might not be a direct descendant of that Chairman Excellency.

And even if she were a direct descendant of that Chairman, so what?

Jiang Hao didn't believe that for a small matter like a breakdown during an online argument, that Chairman would move against a small fry like him.

However, he couldn't be so sarcastic in their future chats.

This wasn't about being a coward.

It was Jiang Hao's respect and admiration for those Seniors who protected humanity and fought in the Otherworld.

Jiang Hao picked up the Jade Slip and said, "Grandpa Li, I'm really taking this Saint-rank Martial Skill then!"

Old Li waved his hand dismissively:

"Take it, take it. But once you go back, don't think you can successfully Cultivate it in a short time. Saint-rank Martial Skills aren't that simple."

"Be prepared for a long battle! Also, try not to use this Martial Skill when sparring with people in reality."

"In the Virtual Combat Space, the opponent might feel a headache after taking a hit. That's normal; they'll be fine after resting for two days."

"Yeah, I'll just experience how hard a Saint-rank Martial Skill is and won't be in a hurry to Cultivate it," Jiang Hao said insincerely.

Just as Jiang Hao picked up the Jade Slip earlier.

[Ding! Unfamiliar Martial Skill detected. Would you like to consume points to reach entry level directly?]

[Ding! Detected that the Host possesses the 'Martial Arts Prodigy' talent. The points consumed for entry level this time are slightly reduced.]

Jiang Hao didn't add the points immediately. Instead, he chatted with Old Li about some domestic matters before taking his leave.

Taking the elevator to the first floor, Captain Qin, with a lollipop in his mouth, immediately walked over.

Beside him was the Vice-Captain with the explosive figure he had seen last time.

"How was it? Is Old Li gone?" Captain Qin asked nervously.

Jiang Hao gave him a reassuring look: "Just now, after Old Li said 'see you next time,' he just turned around and vanished with a 'whoosh.'"

"I wonder if I'll have a chance to learn that instant-vanishing Martial Skill."

"It's good that he's gone." Captain Qin first breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Jiang Hao askance: "You can have anything in your dreams."

"How many high-rank Martial Skills did you choose this time?"

"Forget it, don't talk nonsense. Come on, I'll treat you to a meal."

Captain Qin put his arm around Jiang Hao's neck and walked out, with the Vice-Captain immediately following.

"Wait, where's that deep-looking Captain Qin? Didn't you have a full-blown cool persona when we first met, even making someone else speak for you?"

Jiang Hao complained in his heart, but his brain reacted quickly: "I want to eat hot pot!"

...As it turned out, hot pot is best eaten with company, and it tastes even better when someone else is paying.

As soon as Jiang Hao got home, he couldn't wait to shout in his mind:

"system panel, add points!"

A blue Light Screen appeared deep in his mind.

Jiang Hao looked directly at the new Martial Skill:

Flying Firmament Void-Breaking Slash [Entry 2000/5000]

The 'Martial Arts Prodigy' talent had directly saved Jiang Hao 2000 points!

It seemed he should save more points in the future to strengthen 'Martial Arts Prodigy' a few times. That way, when he learned Saint-rank Martial Skills later, he might skip the entry level and reach Minor Achievement directly!

As for where the Saint-rank Martial Skills would come from? Jiang Hao decided to leave that to his future self.

"Add points!"

As the 3166 points were fully invested, the Martial Skill panel changed to:

Flying Firmament Void-Breaking Slash [Minor Achievement 167/30000] Saint-rank Martial Skill, mastered!

Suddenly, Jiang Hao felt as if he had practiced the Flying Firmament Void-Breaking Slash tens of thousands of times.

And had fought against different opponents.

He transitioned from simple mechanical saber swings to purposeful ones.

His blade traced paths in the air, paths that seemed to connect head to tail as if he were painting in the sky.

Saber Qi was continuously slashed out, its size, power, and distance released at will!

To summarize in four words:

Full of cool style!

"Phew~" Jiang Hao took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily.

Now he could truly go to the Virtual Combat Space and dominate the third-tier area!

With Jiang Hao's Foundation, his Origin Power capacity was comparable to a Third-Tier Peak Martial Artist.

Although his Origin Power fluctuation was at the second-tier Peak, his capacity already crushed most third-tiers. He was only slightly inferior in the amount of Origin Power he could mobilize.

His spiritual strength had already surpassed most fifth-tier Martial Artists.

That's right!

40 points of spirit was already the limit that ordinary fifth-tier Martial Artists who hadn't taken Heaven And Earth Treasures could reach!

After all, the physique and spirit on the point-adding system panel were not completely equivalent to the Realm. When a normal Martial Artist reached the 4th tier, their physique and spirit would only be between 25-30 according to the panel.

The higher a Martial Artist's Realm and the more Origin Power they had, the greater the power of the Martial Skills they performed.

In the past, Jiang Hao relied more on his own physique to counter others' Origin Power, like with the Collapse Fist.

Even without the enhancement of Origin Power, its power was at the level of a fourth-tier Martial Skill.

And now, he could finally rely on Origin Power to use Martial Skills and crush others!

Jiang Hao estimated based on his feeling: the Origin Power consumed to One-hit Kill a third-tier Martial Artist would allow him to make about thirty or forty slashes before running out!

As for fighting a fourth-tier, he could probably only make a few slashes, since the capacity and mobilization of Origin Power increased significantly after the middle tiers.

To cleave through an Yuan Power shield in one slash, he would need to inject more Origin Power and Mental Energy.

And before reaching proficiency, the Flying Firmament Void-Breaking Slash required Origin Power and Mental Energy to be injected and compressed according to a specific ratio.

"Time to go to the Virtual Combat Space and try it out."

"Let the third-tier leeks feel the pain!"