Marvel: The other side of the double-passing door is Devouring the Stars

Chapter 468: Barely Passable Level!
This level of understanding is truly outstanding.

But Blood King remained outwardly indifferent, saying calmly, "Don't think that learning to dodge means you understand the wind. What you're doing now is merely the most basic response, not even scratching the surface."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wen's heart sank.

He thought he had found the key, but he didn't expect that in the eyes of the Blood King, it was just "not even a scratch".

However, this only fueled his fighting spirit.

“Since it’s not even the tip of the iceberg, I’ll keep going deeper,” Rowan said through gritted teeth.

Another half hour passed, and Rowan's perception of the wind became increasingly acute.

He discovered that winds actually have "personalities." Some winds are turbulent and aggressive, coming on strong; some winds are treacherous and cunning, seemingly gentle but harboring deadly intent; and some winds are continuous, one wave after another.

Moreover, these different winds can collide, merge, and cancel each other out. When two winds meet, they generate a stronger force; when three winds converge, they form a terrifying vortex.

Rowan began to try to utilize the interactions between these winds.

When a strong gust of wind came, he no longer dodged, but waited for another gust to arrive. The moment the two gusts collided, a brief vacuum of power was created. Rowan used this vacuum to adjust his posture.

This requires extremely precise judgment and timing; a slight misstep could result in being struck by double the force.

But Rowan, with his amazing comprehension and intuition honed on the battlefield, gradually mastered the skill.

The Blood King's expression changed.

"One hour. He actually grasped the superposition and cancellation of wind in just one hour?"

This can't be explained by exceptional comprehension; it's downright genius.

Blood King recalled how it took him five days to reach Luo Wen's current level when he first cultivated in the hurricane. Luo Wen, on the other hand, only took an hour.

"Master truly has discerning eyes," Blood King praised inwardly. "This lad's talent is indeed rare."

But his face remained cold, even tinged with disdain: "Hmph, you've learned a few tricks. Too bad you still haven't grasped the key point. The essence of the wind lies not in avoidance, nor in exploitation, but in integration."

Rowan opened his eyes and looked at the Blood King: "Fusion?"

"Shut up," Blood King said coldly. "I didn't ask you to ask questions; I told you to figure it out for yourself. If I have to tell you everything, then what's the point of your cultivation?"

Luo Wen quickly shut his mouth and continued to meditate.

融合
What does the fusion of winds mean?
Is it about turning oneself into part of the wind?
Rowan tried to merge his consciousness with the surrounding wind. This was difficult because the hurricane's power was too violent; his consciousness would be torn apart the moment it made contact.

But Rowan did not give up, trying again and again, failing each time.

Two hours later, he finally found a way.

He no longer saw himself as an independent being, but imagined himself as part of the wind. He flowed with the wind, spun with the wind, and howled with the wind.

When he truly let go of his consciousness, stopped resisting, and stopped fighting, something wonderful happened.

The force of those originally violent wind blades when they struck his body was noticeably reduced. It wasn't because the wind had weakened, but because the "conflict" between him and the wind had decreased.

Just like a person swimming in water, if you struggle desperately, the water resistance will be great; but if you go with the current, the resistance will be greatly reduced.

Rowan's wounds stopped increasing. Although the previous wounds were still bleeding, no new wounds appeared.

Blood King's eyes finally revealed obvious shock.

"Two hours. He grasped the basics of Wind Fusion in just two hours?"

It took him a whole month back then.

Blood King Luo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his shock. He walked up to Luo Wen and said coldly, "Alright, that's enough for today."

Rowan opened his eyes and realized that he was covered in blood, his clothes were long gone, and only a pair of pants were still hanging on his waist.

"Teacher, I..." Luo Wen wanted to say something.

“Go back and heal your wounds,” Blood King interrupted him, “we’ll continue tomorrow.”

After saying that, Blood King turned and left, seemingly not wanting to say another word.

Rowan was a little confused, but still bowed respectfully: "Yes, teacher."

Back in the cave, Luo Wen took the healing medicine and began circulating the power of the laws to repair his body. Stellar-level martial artists have strong recovery abilities; unless it's a fatal injury, they can recover most of their injuries overnight.

Meanwhile, the Blood King inside the stone house fell into deep thought.

"This kid's talent is far greater than I expected," Blood King muttered to himself. "If he continues to cultivate like this, he'll probably be able to fully understand the essence of wind and break through to the seventh or even eighth rank of the Stellar level within a month."

This speed is simply astonishing.

But Blood King immediately frowned.

“No, we can’t let him have it too easy,” Blood King’s eyes flashed with a sharp light. “High talent is a good thing, but if things go too smoothly, it’s easy for him to become arrogant and complacent. Especially for a young genius like him, once he becomes arrogant, he can easily go astray.”

He recalled some of the geniuses he had met. They were young and talented, but because things went too smoothly for them, they became arrogant and conceited, and eventually stumbled at a crucial moment, some even perishing as a result.

“I must keep him in check and make him humble,” Blood King decided. “Only then can he go further.”

The next morning, Rowan arrived at the cliff edge on time.

After a night of rest, most of his wounds had healed, leaving only some shallow scars. These scars would soon disappear without leaving any trace.

"Let's continue today," Blood King said, his expression still cold. "However, yesterday's was just a basic level nine hurricane. Today, I'll increase the difficulty a little."

"Increase the difficulty?" Rowan's heart tightened.

Blood King raised his hand and waved it, causing the surrounding hurricane to suddenly become even more violent. The original level nine hurricane instantly escalated to level ten.

A Category 10 hurricane is a terrifying force capable of destroying a city.

"Let's begin," Blood King said calmly.

Rowan took a deep breath and walked to the edge of the cliff.

The moment he stood still, the terrifying wind pressure almost suffocated him. The power of a Category 10 hurricane was far beyond that of a Category 9 hurricane.

In just one second, dozens of wounds appeared on Rowan's body. Blood flowed like a stream, a shocking sight.

But this time, Rowan didn't panic.

He recalled his insights from yesterday and immediately entered a state of "merging with the wind".

Although a Category 10 hurricane is more violent, the principle is the same. Rowan quickly adapted to the new rhythm, and the rate at which the new wounds on his body began to heal began to slow down.

Blood King witnessed this and was shocked once again.

"Adapted so quickly?"

Yesterday, it took Rowan two hours to reach this level, but today, facing an even stronger hurricane, he regained his form in just ten minutes.

This shows that Rowan not only has high comprehension but also an extremely strong learning ability. Once he masters a skill, he can quickly apply it to new situations. However, Blood King Rowan appeared even more indifferent on the surface.

"That's it?" Blood King mocked. "I thought you'd made great progress yesterday, but it turns out you're nothing special. Facing a stronger hurricane, you're still as clumsy as a novice."

Luo Wen felt a little wronged when he heard this.

He had clearly worked very hard and thought he had made great progress, but he never expected that in the teacher's eyes he was "nothing special".

But he did not refute it; he simply persisted.

Since the teacher said he wasn't good enough, he should keep working hard until the teacher was satisfied.

An hour later, Rowan was able to stand firmly in the Category 10 hurricane, and new wounds were almost no longer appearing.

The shock in Blood King's eyes could no longer be concealed.

This speed has surpassed the realm of genius; it can only be described as monstrous.

But he still said coldly, "You've only learned how to avoid getting hurt; you're far from truly understanding it. What you're doing now is just passive defense. Truly understanding the essence of the wind means actively controlling it, not passively adapting to it."

Rowan opened his eyes and looked at Blood King: "Active control?"

"Ask again?" Blood King sneered. "How many times have I told you, figure it out yourself. Do you expect me to tell you everything? Is your brain just for show?"

Luo Wen quickly shut up and continued to meditate.

Take control
Passive adaptation is going with the flow of the wind, so does active control mean guiding the flow of the wind?

Rowan tried to merge his consciousness more deeply into the wind. This time, he wanted not only to feel the wind, but also to try to influence it.

This is very difficult. The power of a Category 10 hurricane is too immense. For a sixth-level stellar-level martial artist like him to try and influence such a natural force is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

But Rowan was not discouraged. He recalled a line from "The Mystery of the Wind": "Laws are not power, but principles. Mastering the principles allows you to use leverage against others, achieving great results with minimal effort."

Rowan no longer tries to fight or guide hurricanes with brute force, but instead looks for the "patterns" in hurricanes.

Although hurricanes are violent, they still follow certain patterns. Air movement, pressure changes, and temperature differences are all factors that cause hurricanes to form.

If we can find the key moment and influence it slightly, we might be able to change the entire course of the hurricane.

Rowan closed his eyes, focusing all his attention on sensing the hurricane.

His consciousness flowed with the wind, sensing every change in the air currents. Gradually, he discovered some special places—the "nodes" of the hurricane, like the center of a whirlpool in a river, where the power was most concentrated and crucial.

Rowan tried to gently touch a node with his meager power of the laws.

The moment they touched it, a miracle happened.

A strong gust of wind that was originally coming from the front suddenly changed direction and swept past him.

"Success!" Rowan was overjoyed.

But he soon realized that his actions were purely accidental and could not be replicated. He tried several more times, but failed each time.

But Blood King had already witnessed what had just happened.

His pupils contracted slightly.

"Three hours. He actually reached the threshold of taking control within three hours?"

It took the Blood King three months back then.

This is beyond description; it's downright monstrous.

Blood King took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

We mustn't let him know how shocked we were, and we mustn't let him become arrogant.

“Rowan,” Blood King suddenly spoke.

“Yes, teacher,” Rowan immediately opened his eyes.

"Your attitude towards cultivation is fairly serious, but your talent is simply too poor," Blood King said expressionlessly. "When I first faced a hurricane to cultivate, I reached your current level in three days. You, on the other hand, took a full two days."

Rowan was stunned.

Two days? He clearly only cultivated for one day and three hours.

But then he thought again and realized he might have misunderstood. Perhaps the teacher was referring to different standards.

"It's because I'm of dull talent," Rowan lowered his head in shame, "that I've disappointed my teacher."

"Disappointing is an exaggeration," Blood King continued, "after all, my expectations for you weren't high to begin with. To have achieved this much is already a barely passing grade."

Barely passing?

Luo Wen felt even more ashamed. It turned out that in the teacher's eyes, he was only barely passing.

"However," Blood King changed the subject, "although your talent is a bit lacking, your perseverance is quite good. At least you didn't cry and beg to give up, which is commendable."

Upon hearing these words, Luo Wen felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

Although the teacher said he lacked talent, he still acknowledged his perseverance. This shows that the teacher did not completely reject him.

“Thank you for the praise, teacher,” Rowan said earnestly. “I will continue to work hard and strive to live up to your expectations.”

"A compliment?" Blood King sneered. "You're overthinking it. I was merely stating a fact. Alright, that's enough for today. Go back and heal your wounds; we'll continue tomorrow."

"Yes!"

Rowan turned and left, his body covered in wounds, but a smile on his face.

He felt that he had made progress again today. Although his teacher said he lacked talent, he believed that as long as he continued to work hard, he would one day truly satisfy his teacher.

Watching Rowan's departing figure, a smile finally appeared on the lips of Blood King.

"This lad has a good temperament," Blood King muttered to himself. "Even after being so blunt with me, he can still maintain a positive attitude. It seems Master was right; he not only has high talent, but also a resilient spirit."

After a pause, Blood King added, "However, we must continue to suppress him. The greatest fear of a genius is arrogance; he must always remain vigilant and humble."

In the following days, Blood King intensified his attacks on Rowan.

On the third day, Rowan had begun to control some of the wind flow in the Category 10 hurricane. Blood King coldly said, "Is that all the skill you've got? You're not even as good as my pet."

On the fourth day, Rowan was able to move freely in the hurricane, and even use the wind to fly short distances. Blood King Rowan scoffed, "Flying as slowly as a snail, you dare call that flying?"

On the fifth day, Luo Wen broke through to the seventh level of the Stellar Realm. Blood King Luo said calmly, "Such a slow breakthrough speed. I broke through in three days back then."

By the sixth day, Rowan was navigating the hurricane with ease, even using its power to launch attacks. Blood King still reiterated, "Barely passable."

(End of this chapter)