Gao Wu: A centenarian old man, many children and good fortune! Chapter 098

Xiao Yan naturally understood this point. He knew that temporary peace did not mean true safety. Those eyes hidden in the dark were still peeking at him, waiting for him to expose a flaw, or… waiting for an opportunity to pull him down from his pedestal.

Strength! He needed stronger strength! He needed to break through as soon as possible to the realm where he could truly control everything and look down upon all beings—the Battle King!

Since his ten wives (Li Xiuying, Chen Yuyao, Lin Xueqing, Wang Ruolan, Su Wan’er, Zhang Jingyao, Liu Feiyan, Lin Yue, Chen Siyu, Ye Zihan) had all successfully conceived, the new “energy feedback source” temporarily came to an end. Xiao Yan devoted all his focus to his own secluded cultivation!

He once again announced that he would undergo a long period of deep secluded cultivation to consolidate his realm, comprehend cultivation techniques and combat skills, and charge towards a higher level!

This time, he didn’t even choose the secret chamber in the manor, but directly entered the top-tier cultivation secret chamber within the Special Operations Brigade camp, which had the highest authority and strongest protection, capable of completely isolating all external disturbances, and was exclusively for the Brigade Commander! He strictly ordered that no one should disturb him unless an emergency of a sky-falling level occurred!

Inside the secret chamber, Xiao Yan spared no expense in using the massive resources rewarded by the Alliance and subsequently plundered (such as the cores obtained from killing priests and fear worms)!

The ten-thousand-year warm jade marrow was used by him to stabilize his physical body and withstand stronger energy impacts!

Dragon blood tempering fluid was used to further stimulate his qi and blood potential and strengthen his physical body!

The Nine Revolutions Condensing Spirit Pill was used by him to nourish and strengthen his spiritual power, improving his comprehension!

Deep sea cold iron essence and other rare materials were used by him in conjunction with the “Imperial Tai Chi Art” to refine the condensation and penetrative power of his true essence!

And with the aid of massive resources, what was even more terrifying was the continuous feedback from the system!

The seven early-conceived wives, whose fetuses were growing day by day, provided basic energy feedback like seven surging rivers, continuously flowing!

The three later-conceived high-level warrior wives (Lin Yue, Chen Siyu, Ye Zihan), the potential of their fetuses was clearly higher! Although the system had not yet given a clear assessment level, the quality and intensity of the energy feedback were significantly stronger than when Li Xiuying and others were in the early stages of pregnancy! It even faintly carried a trace of… a more profound, closer-to-the-source aura of laws?!

Coupled with the eight children who could already run and jump, engaging in various “cultivation games” under Xiao Yan’s guidance, providing continuous but varied “comprehension feedback” regarding power control, body coordination, and skill execution techniques…

With multiple assistances superimposed, Xiao Yan’s strength, like riding a true interstellar rocket, began an unprecedented insane surge!

His understanding of the “Imperial Tai Chi Art” deepened day by day, his true essence circulated smoothly within his body, and he even began to spontaneously draw the energy tides between heaven and earth, faintly showing the雏形 of “unity of heaven and man”! It seemed that it wouldn’t be long before he broke through to the next realm of the cultivation technique!

His control over “Nine Waves of Startling Thunder” progressed by leaps and bounds! With the support of immense true essence and increasingly refined control, he not only applied the first four waves with consummate skill but also successfully broke through the threshold of the fifth wave, “Splitting the Shore”!

Now, when he struck with a saber, the superimposed power of five waves was enough to cause spatial vibrations and widespread tearing effects! Its terrifying power was many times stronger than when he killed the eighth-grade Blood Bat Elder before?!

And his spiritual power, nourished by the continuous feedback from the system and heavenly treasures like the Nine Revolutions Condensing Spirit Pill, grew wildly like an inflating balloon! His already extremely powerful spiritual power was now as vast as a sea of smoke, even faintly touching that invisible barrier representing the leap in life level!

That was… the threshold of a Battle King!

Xiao Yan was immersed in the pleasure of this rapid increase in strength, forgetting the passage of time, forgetting the outside world’s disturbances, leaving only an infinite yearning for a higher realm and… a firm belief in the future!

He knew that when he emerged from his secluded cultivation again, the entire Fourth New Nanjing City, and even the entire Alliance’s structure, might change because of him!

…

Ten months had quietly passed since the tragic and heroic joint raid by the Blood Ghost Sect and Brain-Devouring Fear Worms, which almost dragged Fourth New Nanjing City into an abyss.

Ten months, for a massive steel city that had experienced the baptism of war, was enough to heal most of the superficial wounds. Collapsed buildings were cleared, damaged facilities were repaired, the names of the sacrificed were engraved on monuments, and the survivors, with the official’s comfort and the promotion of reconstruction plans, worked hard to restore the former vitality and order.

On the surface, Fourth New Nanjing City seemed to have returned to its former prosperity and peace. Traffic flowed, lights shone brightly, as if the city-wide disaster had never happened.

But only those who had truly experienced that catastrophe understood that the shadow left by the war had not yet dissipated.

The news that the three Battle Kings were seriously injured and in secluded cultivation, their lives unknown, hung over the city like a sharp sword, causing a hint of unease among all who knew. Although the Blood Ghost Sect’s Deputy Leader “Blood River” had escaped with severe injuries, his venomous curse before leaving still lingered in some people’s minds like a nightmare. And the worry about whether there were still remnants of the Brain-Devouring Fear Worms and whether they would return kept the security department and military high command on constant alert.

Worry about the future, like an invisible cloud, always enveloped this seemingly peaceful city.

And in these ten months, Xiao Yan, as the rising star in that great war and now one of the most powerful individuals on the surface of Fourth New Nanjing City, his life also seemed calm, but in reality… earth-shattering changes were occurring that only he himself knew.

He fulfilled his previous promise and entered the deepest top-tier cultivation secret chamber in the Special Operations Brigade camp, beginning a long period of deep secluded cultivation.

This secluded cultivation, for him, was an unprecedented period of terrifyingly high efficiency in strength improvement!

Firstly, there was the unreserved investment of massive resources! The heavenly treasures rewarded by the Alliance, which were usually priceless and exclusively for Battle King-level powerhouses, were consumed by him as if they were free. Ten-thousand-year warm jade marrow tempered his physical body, dragon blood tempering fluid stimulated his qi and blood, and the Nine Revolutions Condensing Spirit Pill strengthened his soul… These top-tier resources, enough to make any transcendent drool, laid the most solid material foundation for his strength improvement.

Secondly, and most crucially, was the unprecedentedly powerful feedback from the [Many Children, Many Blessings] system!

Ten wives were pregnant simultaneously!

Among them, Li Xiuying, Chen Yuyao (second child), Lin Xueqing, Wang Ruolan, Su Wan’er, Zhang Jingyao, and Liu Feiyan, although their mothers’ strength was relatively weaker (quasi-warrior or newly entered first-grade), their fetuses, after ten months of gestation, were growing more vigorous in life force, and the basic energy feedback they provided was like seven continuously surging rivers, constant and persistent!

And the other three—Lin Yue (seventh-grade warrior), Chen Siyu (seventh-grade genius), and Ye Zihan (sixth-grade peak, accumulated through resources)—their strength and potential were already far beyond others! The potential of their fetuses, judged by the vague feedback intensity from the system, was very likely to reach “excellent” or even higher levels! Although their pregnancy time was still short, the total energy feedback they provided might not be as much as the first seven, but the “quality” of their energy and the “aura of laws” it contained were clearly more pure and profound! This higher-quality energy feedback, like a catalyst, continuously stimulated Xiao Yan’s own potential, causing his life level to slowly and steadily transform towards a higher realm!

Finally, there were the eight children who were gradually growing up, starting to babble and even run and jump! Under Xiao Yan’s conscious guidance and “cultivation games” that combined education and entertainment, they acted like eight tireless “comprehension collectors,” continuously feeding back to Xiao Yan the most fundamental insights they gained from imitating, playing, and even instinctive breathing and exhalation, regarding power application, body coordination, and energy circulation!

What kind of terrifying effect did these triple assistances have when superimposed?!

Xiao Yan’s strength, like riding a super thruster without any restrictions, began an almost insane surge!

Ten months of secluded cultivation ended.

When Xiao Yan walked out of the secret chamber again, his entire aura had undergone earth-shattering changes!

No longer was it the sharp, imposing aura of a ninth-grade early stage, but it became as deep as an abyss and as calm as an ancient well. But occasionally, a hint of aura revealed in his eyes was enough to slightly distort space!

He came to the strength testing device again.

This time, he didn’t even deliberately condense power; he just casually, as if dusting off, gently pressed his fist against the testing target like an ordinary person.

However, it was this seemingly effortless punch!

Buzz—!!!

The strength testing device emitted an unprecedented, low but prolonged hum! The numbers on the screen no longer jumped wildly as before, but soared linearly at a stable, continuous, yet breathtakingly fast speed!

Sixty thousand! Seventy thousand! Seventy-five thousand!

Finally, it impressively settled on a terrifying number that would silence all powerhouses in Fourth New Nanjing City—

79, 800 kilograms!!!

Infinitely close to 80, 000 kilograms!

Although according to the Alliance’s standards, the theoretical threshold for a transcendent ninth-grade peak required a basic punch force of an unimaginable 100, 000 kilograms, in reality, reaching 80, 000 kilograms was already recognized as firmly stepping into the threshold of the ninth-grade late stage! His strength was already enough to crush most fellow ninth-grade generals! He was only one step away from the legendary ninth-grade peak!

And this was just the basic strength of his casual punch!

What delighted him even more was that his control over his own power had reached an unprecedented level of refinement! The vast, sea-like Imperial true essence within his body circulated smoothly and perfectly; wherever his mind went, power could accurately reach every corner of his body, without the slightest stagnation or waste!

His understanding of the “Imperial Tai Chi Art” deepened further, and every move he made secretly conformed to the principles of heaven and earth, faintly showing signs of attracting the resonance of laws!

And “Nine Waves of Startling Thunder” was successfully mastered by him to the fifth wave—[Splitting the Shore]!

Now, when he struck with a saber, the superimposed power of five waves not only increased its power by several times compared to before but also caused subtle spatial vibrations and tearing effects! Its destructive power was terrifying enough to make any opponent below the Battle King level tremble with fear!

It could be said that after these ten months of secluded cultivation, Xiao Yan’s strength had truly reached the pinnacle of the strongest individuals below the Battle King level in Fourth New Nanjing City and even within the entire known Alliance territory!