Start from Panlong and kill through the heavens

That night, Gong Li once again endured Rean's intense onslaught. She tried to resist, but she was no match for Rean.

Seeing her lying there exhausted and disheveled, with the lingering flush on her face, Rean felt a sense of conquest.

The next day, Rean left the manor and entered the treasure pavilion of the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion's main building to examine the various powerful combat techniques inside.

With his current privileges, he can certainly view the Myriad Swords Pavilion's Heaven-Rank Battle Skill 'Myriad Swords Return to Origin'. This Heaven-Rank Battle Skill is a sword technique, which is more powerful than the Dragon Capturing Hand, but it is also more difficult to execute.

However, this was of course not difficult for Rean. He only needed to imitate it a few times to roughly understand the core of the secret technique.

He arrived at the training ground and began to unleash the Heavenly Rank combat skill, 'Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin'.

The twelve dragon-carved stone pillars of the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion trembled and hummed. Rean's sword sheath drew a half-inch deep arc on the blue brick floor, and hundreds of sword energies condensed from the void into frost-colored fine lines, like silver needles suspended in a glass cup, trembling softly.

Before the gasps of the onlookers had even finished, the sword's cry suddenly transformed from the fluttering of a swarm of bees into the long roar of a blue dragon.

Jade-colored patterns shimmered on his wrist bones, and wherever his sword pointed, the suspended sword energy suddenly seemed to come alive, intertwining with each other. Someone accidentally dropped their pine scabbard, and the charred tip of the scabbard was instantly shredded to dust by the invisible sword intent the moment it touched the ground.

The sunlight falling from the sky shattered into diamond-shaped spots of light amidst the thousands of sword shadows, illuminating the training ground like a seabed filled with fallen stars.

The gray-robed elder's murmur, "The seventh level," was swallowed by the sword's roar. Beads of sweat trickled down Rean's forehead, condensing into crimson ice crystals on his cheekbones.

The swirling torrent of sword shadows suddenly converged into a ring, and the bluish-purple lightning that erupted when the blades clashed made his pupils shine, as if two clusters of inextinguishable thunder and fire were imprisoned in his eye sockets.

The moment the sword wheel took shape, the bronze lamp tree three zhang away was cut in half, the cut as smooth as a mirror.

An uncontrollable gasp erupted from the crowd. A young disciple gripped his clothes tightly, his knuckles pressed against his chest, trying to calm his wildly beating heart.

As Rean finished his move, the wind he created swept through everyone's hair, even severing several strands of hair from the front row.

Before the broken strands of hair could fall, they were already shredded into a flurry of silvery-gray snow by the remaining sword energy.

The copper bells on the eaves of the sword pavilion were still ringing incessantly. Rean looked down at the new cracks on the scabbard, the bloody smell mingling with the pine scent of rust rising in his throat.

As he wiped the blood from under his nose, he noticed the spiderweb-like cracks on the bluestone floor tiles slowly closing up—that was the Wanjian Pavilion's protective array swallowing the violent sword energy left behind by the Heavenly Rank combat technique.

As Rean sheathed his sword, the terrifying aura around him gradually subsided.

Everyone stared blankly at Li En's departing figure. Only now did they truly understand why Gong Yangyan valued Li En so much. A Heaven-rank combat skill, he could master it so easily; he was simply a prodigy.

Over the next period of time, Rean studied all the various combat techniques in the Treasure Hall, combined the strengths of each, and created his own pinnacle secret technique, the "Sword Control Technique".

This pinnacle secret technique is equivalent to a low-level Heaven-rank combat skill, and since it's a complete set, its value is no less than that of a mid-level Heaven-rank technique. Li En publicly inscribed this secret technique directly onto the whetstone in the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion's training ground, causing a tremendous sensation.

All the core disciples of the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion flocked to the sword-grinding stone in the training ground. The sword-grinding stone, which was dozens of feet high, was covered with a whole set of Heaven-Rank combat techniques and secret methods, which excited everyone.

The Sword Control Technique is not difficult to learn initially, but it becomes increasingly difficult to master as you progress, though its power also increases.

Mastering just the first level is equivalent to a low-level Earth-rank combat skill; mastering the second level is equivalent to a mid-level Earth-rank combat skill; mastering the third level is equivalent to a high-level Earth-rank combat skill; and mastering the fifth level will reach the low-level Heaven-rank!
This powerful fighting technique attracted not only ordinary core disciples, but also the Pavilion Master of the Myriad Swords Pavilion, Gong Yangyan, and all the elders, who all came to watch it and were shocked afterward.

A young man in his forties actually created a Heaven-rank fighting technique. This is simply astonishing. If it were to spread, the entire Dou Qi Continent would be shaken.

They knew very well that even if they tried their best to block the news, it would eventually get out, and Chen Mu's name would soon become famous throughout the continent.

Especially since Rean publicly refined an eighth-grade pill, and this matter has already been leaked, the people from the Pill Tower will probably come knocking on our door soon.

However, these two events, along with his previous killing of a three-star Dou Zong from the Tianming Sect, have made Li En's reputation unparalleled within the Wanjian Pavilion. Apart from the Pavilion Master Gong Yangyan, no one else can surpass him.

Li En's position as deputy pavilion master is firmly established and unshakeable. Among the core disciples and elders, almost everyone regards him as the rightful successor to the pavilion master. Even if Gong Yangyan wanted to replace him, he would likely face tremendous resistance.

During this time, Li En's reputation grew within the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion and gradually rose to prominence in the Central Plains. Various rumors about him slowly emerged, but for a time, many people found it hard to believe.

Gong Li, who lived in Biyue Manor, was naturally well aware of Li En's situation. Although she still hated Li En in her heart, she had to admit that the man who was once considered worthless was far more mysterious and terrifying than she had imagined.

Inside the Biyue Manor, Gong Li, dressed in a simple white dress, stood quietly by the pond, the morning breeze ruffling her clothes like ripples.

Her fingertips lightly rested on the white marble railing, the edges of her nails gleaming like pearls. Behind her, several weeping crabapple trees cast dappled shadows on her shoulders, as if embroidering subtle patterns onto her frosty white fabric.

The pool reflected her cool and aloof face—beneath her dark willow-leaf eyebrows were a pair of phoenix eyes that gazed with affection, the natural upward curve of the corners of her eyes softened by the morning mist, yet her gaze was calmer than the black jade immersed in the cold pool.

When a red carp suddenly leaped out of the water, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her pupils, reflecting the shimmering light, suddenly contracted, like stars falling into an ancient well.

As the wind swept by, a strand of her unbound black hair brushed against her neck, making that patch of skin appear even whiter.

The wide sleeves embroidered with silver thread and intertwined branches hung down her sides, and the wrist bones half-concealed by the cuffs were as translucent as thin porcelain, making one suspect that the slightest force would shatter this solitary figure sculpted from ice and snow.

Cherry blossoms drifted across the pond and clung to the hem of her skirt, making it impossible to tell whether the flowers were more pristine or the figure seemed more otherworldly.

At this moment, a long arm silently wrapped around Gong Li's slender waist. She knew who it was and instinctively wanted to resist, but she felt a terrifying force that made her unable to move at all.

Immediately afterwards, her skirt was lifted up from behind, leaving her leaning against the poolside railing, her face flushed and her eyes filled with shame and indignation. (End of Chapter)