Rushing through the passageways, after the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Ling Chen finally found a relatively quiet secret chamber and laid Xu Ruoyan down. After Xu Ruoyan settled down cross-legged in the secret chamber, she grabbed Ling Chen’s sleeve. "Just leave me here," she said. "You don’t have to worry about me. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on the Emperor’s Treasure." "What are you talking about?" Ling Chen reached out and gently stroked Xu Ruoyan’s hair. "You’re injured so severely; how could I abandon you? The Emperor’s Treasure is precious, but it’s not worth one ten-thousandth of you." "You..." Hearing this, several dark lines appeared on Xu Ruoyan’s forehead. "You guy, when did you become so cheesy?" "This is the truth. If anything were to happen to you, I’m afraid I would regret it for the rest of my life." A gentle smile appeared on Ling Chen’s face. Previously, he had been unwilling to accept Xu Ruoyan, so his attitude towards her had been very cold. But now that he had decided to accept her, there was no longer any need to hide his feelings. "Alright, I need to heal." Xu Ruoyan waved her hand, a wave of sweetness washing over her heart. She had to recover from her injuries as quickly as possible so as not to hold Ling Chen back. Ling Chen also found a spot, sat down cross-legged, and began to assimilate the gains from the Blood General’s Tomb. Although he had refined the Demi-Saint Heart, the enlightenment it brought had not yet been fully assimilated. The most precious part of this Demi-Saint Heart was not the Slaughter intent, but the Blood General’s Martial Arts. Every martial artist in this world has their own Martial Arts. Some take Boxing as their tenet and saving people as their way; their fists exist only to protect the weak and uphold justice. This Martial Arts allows them to go further and further; it is a Righteous Path. Some use their sword as a lethal weapon, specializing in Slaughter. Killing a person every ten steps, their Martial Arts becomes the Way of Slaughter, seeking the pinnacle of Martial Arts through Slaughter. Some cultivate the Demon Way. Whether in life or in Cultivation, their goal is to strengthen themselves and benefit at others’ expense. Although this sounds somewhat despicable, as long as their hearts are strong enough, this way can also lead to the pinnacle of Martial Arts. Google seaʀᴄh 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁 Thus, a Saint once said: "The Great Dao are myriad, but all roads lead to the same destination." No matter what kind of Martial Arts you cultivate, the final destination is the same. In my view, the most important aspect of practicing Martial Arts is not learning techniques or one-sidedly pursuing power, but cultivating the heart. If the heart is strong enough, one’s martial prowess will naturally become formidable. The Blood General’s Martial Arts was not solely about indiscriminate Slaughter. The Slaughter he brought to the Cloud Outland once caused a million corpses to litter the Five Country Territory and blood to flow for a thousand li, but his Slaughter had a purpose: to unify the entire Continent. Unification was to reduce conflict; Slaughter was to reduce further Slaughter. This was the Blood General’s Martial Arts. Therefore, even though the Blood General’s hands were stained with blood, no one called him a demon; they merely denounced him as the "Human Butcher." After absorbing the Blood General’s Martial Arts, Ling Chen gained new understanding. My Martial Arts is undoubtedly to support the virtuous and aid the weak, to take upon myself the duty of saving the common people, using my sword to quell conflicts in the Martial World and the world at large. However, I am unwilling to kill. Unless absolutely necessary, I will not take a life. This is my guiding principle. Yet, many times, giving an enemy a chance is tantamount to digging one’s own grave. In the way of chivalry, the element of ’killing’ is indispensable. Ling Chen closed his eyes and began to assimilate his new enlightenment. About half a day later, seeing Xu Ruoyan still in the process of healing, Ling Chen took out the Breaking Gold Finger secret manual and began to study its contents. However, to practice this Breaking Gold Finger technique, one must first temper the finger bones. If the finger bones are too fragile, it would be difficult to unleash the full power of this Breaking Gold Finger, and one could easily get injured. Pressing his index and middle fingers together, Ling Chen followed the circulation method of the Breaking Gold Finger, mobilizing his True Qi and concentrating it onto these two fingers. He jabbed out into the void, and a meteor-like streak of finger energy shot forth, striking the stone wall and leaving a shallow finger-hole. This finger strike was not very powerful because Ling Chen had not used his full strength. If he had, his finger bones would certainly not have been able to withstand it and would have been injured. Then, continuing his Cultivation would have been very difficult. Injuries to tendons and bones, especially in such fragile parts as the fingers, require a very long time to recover completely if damaged. "It seems that cultivating Sky-level Peak-grade Martial arts isn’t particularly difficult after all." If other young warriors were to hear Ling Chen say this, they would probably go mad. For most people, cultivating Sky-level Peak-grade Martial arts is extremely difficult. It generally takes several years to achieve proficiency, and perhaps eight to ten years to reach mastery. Yet Ling Chen actually said it wasn’t particularly difficult. But Ling Chen’s finger strike just now had indeed reached the introductory stage of the Breaking Gold Finger. Although there was still a long way to go before he completely mastered it, having reached the introductory stage meant the rest would be much simpler. To unleash the full power of the Breaking Gold Finger, it would be best to achieve a five-finger rapid fire, or even a ten-finger rapid fire. Only then can the advantages of finger techniques be fully utilized. A contemplative look appeared on Ling Chen’s face. Humans have ten fingers, and each finger can emit a Breaking Gold Finger energy. However, within a short period, each finger can only bear the strain of launching one such Breaking Gold Finger gleam. If one can skillfully control the timing of each finger’s energy emission, one can achieve an impenetrable barrage and maximize its lethality. However, even Li Wushuang, who had been immersed in this Breaking Gold Finger technique for many years, could not achieve a ten-finger rapid fire. The most he could do was consecutively shoot out five finger gleams; that was his limit. Moreover, he had not considered things to the depth Ling Chen had, who actually thought of perfectly utilizing all ten fingers. Perhaps only a battle maniac like Ling Chen would conceive of such an idea. "Ling Chen." Just as Ling Chen was deep in thought, Xu Ruoyan, who had stood up at some unknown point, appeared to have recovered considerably from her injuries. "Hmm? Your injuries are healed?" Ling Chen turned his head to look at her and asked. Xu Ruoyan shook her head. "I’ve recovered about fifty percent. To fully recover would require at least seven days. We don’t have that much time to wait." "Alright then. Let’s set off immediately. Otherwise, we’ll truly miss our chance at the Emperor’s Treasure." Ling Chen nodded. They had already delayed for a long time. By now, those Martial World magnates of the Sky Apex Realm had probably already entered this deep region. Although the likelihood of them obtaining the Emperor’s Treasure was small, as long as there was even a sliver of a chance, he had to try. After all, my luck is exceptionally good. What if I get struck by some incredible fortune and obtain one or two Treasures left by the Human Emperor? That would be a huge boost to my personal strength.