Standing up from his bed, Yang Ze began to check his body for any possible injury or hidden danger, but to his relief, the clock truly did revert him back to his peak state and not just temporarily.

Clenching his right fist, Yang Ze felt the strength of a Vein Expanion realm expert before he began to move around. It wasn't until almost half an hour passed that he stopped and sat on the bed once again before closing his eyes to meditate. Slowly, he began to gather his thoughts… the current him needed a plan… a direction to move forward. He could no longer just stay aimless and drift from one place to another without any goal.

He needed to set a goal for himself and work towards it.

"Then, I need to step into the realm of Heaven Step." This was the first thought that came to his mind.

In this world, the Heaven Step realm powerhouses were a myth, and till now, he had only heard and seen one such person… Yun Ning.

He could still vividly remember those magnificent eyes that manifested in the sky that day. It was something that he was going to remember his entire life.

As for Lin Meilin… she was strong, but in his mind, she was at most a Soul Tempering realm powerhouse.

"So, how do I progress?" Since he had made up his mind to step into the Heaven Step, he needed to now arrange the steps that he was going to take.

At the moment, he was in the 1st Vein Expansion realm. Although he had a few Vein Expansion realm pills in his hands from the sign-in, they didn't seem to help him much. After all, he wasn't just another Vein Expansion realm cultivator, but someone whose Veins had turned golden in color as well as a tinge of gold appeared in his internal energy.

"Lin Meilin." Suddenly, this name popped into his mind as she thought about the 'milk' that not only healed him but also turned his veins gold.

"Do I really need to ask her for that?" He couldn't help but narrow his eyes. Were it before, Yang Ze would have definitely blushed in shame and given it a second thought, but now… now the only thing in his mind was to gain strength.

"...." He thought for a moment before deciding to ask her once she comes back.

"And the final thing…" Yang Ze looked at the small cauldron hovering in front of him that could merge things before letting out a cold snort. This was perhaps the most powerful and miraculous thing he currently possessed, but it was a double-edged sword. It would be fine if he got the merged item, but if he couldn't, then the losses would be too great. Especially, when he had already lost so many blue talents and dozens of herbs… Not to mention those ridiculous missions that he needed to complete.

"But can I do that?" Yang Ze suddenly thought for a moment before waving his hand, manifesting a gold coin and then with another wave of his hand, manifested a simple mortal clock.

He then threw the two of them into the Caludron.

With the first mental ring complete, he could now manifest anything he wished. Though there were some limits and it was limited to inanimate objects, it was still heaven-defying.

What if he could manifest different objects and then merge them?

If he could do that, he wouldn't have to worry about finding things to merge in the long term.

Although Yang Ze's imagination was rich, unfortunately for him, the reality was cruel.

The moment he threw the gold coin and the clock into the cauldron, they dissipated into blue lights, leaving behind a stunned Yang Ze.

"It seems like I was thinking too much." With a sigh, Yang Ze shook his head with a bitter smile before focusing back on the personal panel in front of him.

With the disappearance of a few talents, his personal panel looked much shorter than before.

—---------

[Name: Yang Ze]

[Age: 18]

[Realm: 1st Vein Expansion, 1st Mental Ring(Realm Of Mortal)]

[Physique: Supreme Dao Body]

[Talen: Enlightment(Gold), Persistence(Purple), Trembling Fingers(Purple), All Seeing Eyes(Gold), Illusion Master(Purple), Inverted Wail(Gold), Sevenfold illusion(Gold), Earthroot Vigour (Green), Tempest Call(Purple), Windborne(Green), Sky Weave(Blue), Breeze Echo(Blue)]

[Skills: Thousand Years Art, Mystic Nether Art, Black Tiger Technique(First Grade)]

[Evaluation: Still a weakling.]

—-----------

Yang Ze quietly gazed at his personal panel as he began to think about his next course of action.

Because of wanting to construct his first mental ring, he didn't have time to use his Enlightenment towards his cultivation and martial skill. But now…

Yang Ze first looked at his realm and then at the thing that he had for a long time, but he had been neglecting it…

Black Tiger Technique

This was something that he got along with the mask when he left the Lin family with Lin Wan to go on an escort mission. Although he used his Enlightenment to step once, and managed to practise it till the first grade, he never actually practised it afterwards.

It was only after fighting with Han She that he realised his shortcomings.

He had a long list of talents… and even with the suppression of the world, he was powerful enough to go toe to toe against women in the same realm as him and even those in a higher realm than him.

But with the lack of techniques and fighting experience, the little advantage he had wouldn't last for long.

The fight with Han She made him clearly aware of this fact.

Yang Ze took a deep breath as he gazed at the Black Tiger Technique. Even though he no longer had the manual with him, he could still remember everything written on it clearly.

The Black Tiger technique had a total of three grades.

The first grade was enveloping one's fists with internal energy that would turn the fists black to attack, doubling the punching power.

The second grade was when a shadow of a Black Tiger would manifest while attacking, tremendously increasing one's overall strength.

The third and final grade was when one could manifest a complete Black Tiger. At that moment, one wouldn't be fighting against a human, but a ferocious demonic beast. Not only would one's strength increase to an entirely different realm, but they would also gain various abilities.

Against Han She, the only thing Yang Ze was capable of doing was to throw a punch. But if he were to master this Black Tiger Technique… Taking a deep breath, Yang Ze closed his eyes once again before using his Enlightenment to practice the Black Tiger Fist.

Unlike his cultivation and visualisation of mortal objects, the process was extremely simple and even leisurely. Even Yang Ze was surprised by how fast and easy it was for him to practice it.

In less than half an hour, he already managed to step into the Second Grade of the Black Tiger Fist.

Taking a deep breath, he jumped from his bed, slowly bent his knees, getting into a perfect position before pulling back his hand and punching forward.

And the moment Yang Ze threw a punch, an illusory figure of a small black tiger appeared behind him. The tiger wasn't big, hardly half a meter in length. Instead of a fully grown tiger, it looked more like a cub.

But with every punch Yang Ze threw under the state of Enlightenment, its size began to increase at a pace that was visible to the naked eye.

From half a meter cub, to a five-meter giant… It was increasing at an alarming rate. In less than ten minutes, it had almost covered the entire room. If not for Yang Ze's purposefully keeping his strength low and punching lightly, a single punch of his would have shattered the entire room into dust.

Even though the Black Tiger occupied the entire room, Yang Ze knew it was far from its limits. He had a feeling that it could grow even bigger, but Yang Ze suppressed it.

In the next moment, the tiger's illusory body began to turn corporeal.

From its legs, to its teeth, its tail and even its head and body… everything looked more and more like a real tiger. But that wasn't all… not only was the illusory figure of the tiger turning real, but the strength behind Yang Ze's punches was increasing at a whole different level.

Yang Ze was sure that if he were to punch Han She using this… she wouldn't be able to stop it this leisurely.

In the next fifteen minutes, Yang Ze finally managed to master the second grade of the Black Tiger Technique. Now, if he wished to, he could condense almost a ten-meter giant Black Tiger that could shatter everything around it.

"Now then…" Taking a long pause, Yang Ze regulated his breathing as he rested for a while.

It wasn't until half an hour passed that he stood up once again and this time entered the state of Enlightenment while practising his Black Tiger Technique.

Compared to before, the process this time was extremely difficult. If the previous two grades were like a primary school maths book, then the third grade was akin to a nobel prize winner research paper… There was just no comparison.

And it was only now that Yang Ze understood why almost no one in the entire Azure Dragon was able to step into the third realm.

But it didn't dampen his spirit ot discouraged him. On the contrary, the more difficult it was, the more excited he got.

If he could master it completely, his strength would take another leap forward.

Yang Ze kept on throwing punches, practising more and more.

He was so lost in the process that he didn't even notice the passage of time.

Thankfully, during the entire process, Lin Meilin didn't enter the room. She seemed to have gone somewhere to attend to some personal matters. Perhaps in her eyes, Yang Ze would need a week or even a month to get out of his grief.

Even in her wildest imaginations she didn't think that Yang Ze's first action would be to think of a way to resurrect Cang Yue. Even with her strength, she didn't dare to dream about it.

Yang Ze, on the other hand, kept on practising, and after an unknown amount of time, he suddenly felt his entire body tremble. Every pore in his body seemed to be rejoicing and trembling in excitement as he felt a sense of power like never before.

His internal energy was the same as before, and so was his mental energy. Even his strength didn't increase. He was still at the 1st Vein Expansion. But he could feel that there was a dormant power slowly condensing in his dantian… something that he couldn't explain in words.

If he were to describe it, it would be akin to a black tattoo that was slowly beginning to form inside his dantian.

Yang Ze didn't stop there; on the contrary, he practised even harder than before, and with every passing second, the mark began to take form.

It was the tattoo of a small tiger.

After what felt like an eternity, Yang Ze's body trembled for one last time as he collapsed on the ground… his body twitching unnecessarily while he gritted his teeth to suppress his roar.

Yang Ze didn't know how long he was in that state for. Looking at the sun rays entering through the window, illuminating the scene inside the room, he got up and then, with a frown, took off his clothes, which were drenched in sweat.

"Still no changes?" Looking at his body, which didn't have any changes, he couldn't help but click his tongue in disappointment. He was expecting his height to grow a bit after mastering the Black Tiger Technique, but to his dismay, he didn't.

"Forget it…" Shaking his head, he merely bent his knees and checked out his newly mastered technique.

Unlike before, he didn't need to throw a punch or perform a set of techniques.

Instead, the moment he bent his knees and thought about using the Black Tiger Technique, the tattoo of the black tiger appeared on his forehead as a black mist suddenly burst out from his body, enveloping the entire room in darkness.

But the changes didn't just stop there.

For a moment, even the sunlight entering through the window seemed to be devoured by the darkness, leaving behind only an uncomfortable silence and a depressing aura.

With every passing second, the darkness began to thin, and gradually the figure of a Black Tiger appeared in the room…

A tiger that was so massive that its body filled the entire room, as if black ink filled the entire room. Its body was pitch black, and its fur was lusturous dark, almost giving it an eerie charm.

Even the pitiful amount of sunlight was absorbed by its body, reflecting a mass of darkness.

And in that darkness, the only thing visible was a pair of slanted eyes which were enough to chill the heart of the bravest men.

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