Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 139 Breakthrough
Excruciating pain, excruciating pain, and more excruciating pain...

Gao Wu's injuries this time were extremely serious, several times more serious than the injuries he sustained at Dacang Mountain.

An ordinary person would have already fainted from such excruciating pain; this is also a human instinct for self-preservation.

Gao Wu's mental strength at level 20 is incredibly powerful, even surpassing that of Wan Canglong. Even if the pain were increased tenfold, it wouldn't be enough to make him lose consciousness.

After waiting for two minutes, Gao Wuqiang's powerful body began to heal itself, and the intense pain was suppressed. He felt a tingling, numb sensation in his internal organs, which was actually somewhat comfortable...

The Book of Immeasurable Merit showed no reaction, clearly indicating that the injury had failed to activate the divine incantation.

Gao Wu was very disappointed. If being seriously injured was not the root cause of activating the divine incantation, how could he activate the remaining three divine incantations?
If you're only competing with your peers, the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra is sufficient. If you aspire to become a martial arts master, the Vermilion Bird Divine Light Mantra is also adequate.

However, if he wanted to become the number one in the world and to slay all the strange beasts and races, these two divine spells would not be enough.

The merit required for upgrading a divine spell has increased tenfold, which is truly terrifying. In his view, one hundred million merits might still be possible, but one billion or even ten billion merits is simply an astronomical figure…

Based on this situation, it can be foreseen that the Vermilion Bird Divine Light Mantra can be upgraded one more time, and the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra can be upgraded two more times.

Gao Wu couldn't help but sigh when he thought of this. Looking at the thirteen million merits on the Book of Immeasurable Merit, he ultimately couldn't bear to upgrade the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra.

Twenty points in physique is already strong enough; he is far from unlocking the full potential of his physique.

Keep these merits; in case they ever trigger other divine spells, they can level up quickly...

Gao Wu didn't wait any longer. He took the initiative to silently recite the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, blessing himself with the mantra again and again.

The injured internal organs healed rapidly under the blessing of the Azure Dragon's spiritual light, and the unabsorbable fragments and residues were dissolved into specks of azure light.

In just half an hour, Gao Wu was able to move freely again. Using his Yin Spirit to observe his internal organs, their outlines were clear and full of vitality, without a trace of injury.

Looking at the Book of Immeasurable Merit, it states that a lifespan of two hundred years was reduced by twenty years. Such a rapid recovery to full health was due to the stimulation of one's vital energy source, at a certain cost.

Fortunately, these problems are not serious, and the lost lifespan can be slowly restored through the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra.

Gao Wu calmed down and quickly accepted the failure of the experiment. Fortunately, the loss was not great. No, there was a gain: he had grasped a bit of the "Regretful Dragon Ascends" technique in the critical moment.

The essence of "the dragon soars too high and then regrets" lies in restraint, not in letting go. As for how to restrain oneself, there are countless details to consider.

Through the battle just now, Gao Wu has grasped the subtle nuances of restraint.

Such subtle changes seem to be able to be transferred to the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra.

The Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra is his fundamental mantra, and the condensation of acupoints is also due to the blessing of the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, which presents an eight-pointed star shape.

The octagonal star not only resembles a star in appearance, but more importantly, it possesses an exceptionally stable and powerful ability to condense energy within acupoints. A single acupoint can generate a source energy value of one thousand, surpassing even that of an average intermediate-level martial artist.

Gao Wu recited the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra again, and as the Azure Dragon flew, he guided it with the Transformation of the Overbearing Dragon Regrets.

Under his divine guidance, the Azure Dragon naturally contracted inward at his heart. The acupoints that were about to solidify opened silently under the stimulation of the Azure Dragon's spiritual light, and merged with the Azure Dragon into one.

Sensing that the second acupoint had been opened, Gao Wu activated the Eightfold Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra deep between his eyebrows. One after another, the graceful azure dragons fell into the acupoint in his heart, and merged with the acupoint through the inward contraction of the dragon's repentance.

The acupoints, blessed by the Nine Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantras, shone brightly like stars, emitting a stable azure eight-pointed starlight.

Gao Wu observed with his Yin spirit that the acupoints in his heart were more stable and stronger than those in his dantian, and they also contained the spirit of a dragon with regret. The acupoints were strong but not arrogant, but rather had a gentle and calm feeling of inward convergence.

The concentration of energy in the dantian acupoints is like a dragon leaping over an abyss, capturing the dynamic and vigorous energy of that leap. Therefore, the dantian acupoints are full of active and abundant energy.

An Ziru's teaching of "Hidden Dragon, Do Not Use" only prevents the source energy from being released recklessly; it does not change the state of the dantian acupoints.

An ordinary warrior might not be able to see through his source energy state, but at the martial master level, almost everyone can see his dantian acupoints at a glance.

The "Regretful Dragon" technique is quite different; its inward-converging source energy circulation is more secretive and profound, completely concealed by the dantian acupoints.

The Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra itself is secretive and mysterious enough. Combined with the true meaning of the martial arts of the Dragon's Regret, an ordinary martial artist should not be able to see his heart acupoints.

Once the acupoint in his chest stabilized, Gao Wu could feel that the source of energy circulating in this acupoint was twice that of the acupoint in his dantian.

In other words, the source energy value circulating through his chest acupoints can reach two thousand. Adding the value through his dantian acupoints, he can now circulate three thousand source energy values. This already reaches the peak source energy state of an advanced martial artist.

The two acupoints are also closely connected to the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, and can be empowered by the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra to unleash their power instantly, greatly increasing his combat strength ceiling.

Just like the giant tiger in this level, with the blessing and burst of Azure Dragon Divine Qi, he has the opportunity to kill the opponent without having to activate his Yin Spirit.

His Yin Spirit was his last resort, and he couldn't use it lightly. Only by improving his own cultivation could he deal with various battles with greater ease.

Having taken this step, he was now a true intermediate-level warrior.

He was promoted to samurai in early May, advancing one rank every four months, which is quite fast!

Gao Wu opened the Book of Boundless Merit and found that his innate talent had actually increased by 0.5, reaching a total value of 9.5.

His "root potential" likely corresponds to his martial arts talent, which is also his lowest attribute. With such a low base, an increase of 0.5 seems to have little effect.

This improvement in his fundamental abilities may be due to his understanding of the true meaning of "the dragon soars high and regrets," or it may be due to the formation of a second acupoint.

He didn't pay much attention to it; even if he confirmed the path to improving his innate talent, he couldn't control it. Looking at the Nine Forms of the Dragon, the light representing the minor completion stage was extremely strong, and it seemed to be only a little short of the major completion stage.

The Dragon Palm, Dragon Sword, and Dragon Secret Sword shone even brighter, appearing ready to break through to the Great Perfection realm at any moment.

Nothing else has changed.

Gao Wu was fairly satisfied with this; although he hadn't been able to activate the divine spell, at least his efforts hadn't been in vain.

It must be said that intense battles can indeed inspire people.

After resting for more than two hours, Gao Wu quickly adapted to the changes brought about by the second acupoint. Under the blessing of the Eightfold Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, the source power of the two acupoints could be tripled, which could be maintained for about ten seconds.

He also benefited from his strong physique, which allowed him to withstand the instantaneous burst of source power.

It seems that injections are still needed to improve agility and strength, so as to truly bring out the advantages of physical fitness.

Having adapted to the new growth forces, Gao Wu was able to enter the eighth level.

It's still that dark gold giant tiger, but its strength, speed, and source energy have all increased by 30%. Its armor strength has also increased accordingly.

Such comprehensive growth, even if it's only a 30% increase, results in an overall combat capability that more than doubles.

In just two exchanges, Gao Wu was sent flying by a single swipe of the giant tiger's claw, and five deep bloody gashes were torn into his chest.

Gao Wu rested for an hour before he recovered.

The giant tiger in the eighth level is too strong. He can only fight it by unleashing the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Curse at full power, which does not serve as much of a training exercise.

Seeing that it was almost time, Gao Wu changed his clothes and left Tianji Jiuxian.

The main reason for changing his clothes was to cover up his injuries. His combat suit was torn and covered in blood, but he had no injuries at all, which was very strange.

Yang Tielin seems reliable, but he doesn't need to reveal his secrets.

"You came out early today..." Yang Tielin looked at the time and saw that it was only a little past four in the afternoon. Gao Wu had already run out, which surprised him a bit.

Logically speaking, after yesterday's familiarization, Gao Wu should be able to stay longer today.

"I was almost beaten to death, my body can't take it anymore, I need to go back and rest..."

Gao Wu joked, half-jokingly, "Uncle Yang, I'll come again tomorrow."

Yang Tielin laughed and said, "Don't worry, I can't drink your wine for free. If you want to come, no one else can."

"Uncle Yang, you're like a real uncle to me!" Gao Wu was deeply moved. Old Yang was still very reliable. He would invite Old Yang for drinks again in a few days.

I already treated him yesterday, and I can't treat him every day. Yang Tielin is a martial arts master, it's not like I'm short of a meal. Having a meal with him is giving him face.

Gao Wu was very clear about the priorities among these matters.

Back in the dormitory, Song Mingyue was already back. Although Gao Wu had been through a lot all day, he had advanced to the intermediate warrior level and was very excited.

He dragged Song Mingyue to the underground martial arts training hall to spar. Even without Song Mingyue using her mental power, he was already much stronger than her in terms of source power.

However, there is still a considerable gap between the two sides in terms of martial arts skills. In his opinion, Song Mingyue's Nine Transformations of the White Snake is not far from being mastered.

The two realms of minor and major success are actually a way of dividing martial arts cultivation. However, this division is rather vague because each martial artist's cultivation state and martial arts skills are different, making it difficult to create a standard quantification.

The terms "minor achievement" and "major achievement" are more about a martial artist's personal feeling about their martial arts realm. Once they reach a certain level, they will naturally feel a tangible improvement.

In reality, there is a very large gap between the Lesser Mastery and the Greater Mastery. Generally speaking, the Lesser Mastery level is considered to correspond to a Warrior, and the Greater Mastery level to a Martial Master.

Therefore, martial artists rarely talk about realms; they use terms like "martial artist" or "martial master" to distinguish themselves, and they are familiar with the two types of power: source power and spiritual power.

The Book of Immeasurable Merit merely borrowed this model. Because of the Book of Immeasurable Merit's miraculous power, it can accurately distinguish between various realms.

After studying under Lu Yuan for two days, Song Mingyue's White Snake Nine Transformations became more refined and subtle, showing tremendous progress. Gao Wu was very happy for Song Mingyue.

"You've condensed your second acupoint?" Song Mingyue's eyes revealed a hint of surprise. Gao Wu hadn't been able to become an apprentice, yet he had progressed so rapidly. This was wonderful.

"Smart." Gao Wu gave Song Mingyue a thumbs up in appreciation of her keen insight.

The two can resonate with each other spiritually; this change in the level of their source energy might be able to deceive a martial arts master, but it cannot deceive Song Mingyue.

"You're a genius!" Song Mingyue sighed softly with a hint of regret. "It's a pity that Master can't see that."

"It's alright, I can train on my own..." Gao Wu said. "The Hunter Guild still has 50,000 points. I'll exchange them for ten high-grade flying squirrel potions first."

"Well, you can handle it yourself." Song Mingyue knew that Gao Wu's mental strength was exceptionally strong, even surpassing hers by a few points. Although these drugs had strong side effects, they would not have a substantial impact on Gao Wu as long as he did not continue to inject them.

She made up her mind to cultivate even more diligently and keep up with Gao Wu's pace!

(End of this chapter)