The immense power of the Metal Heaven and Earth gathered like an ocean, making even Teng Qingshan’s heart tremble. The entire inner courtyard training ground was shredded by sharp, metallic energy, causing the grass to pulverize and sending shards of stone flying in all directions, like hidden weapons hurtling outward.

On the outer courtyard training ground, over nine hundred youths were practicing Monkey Fist, leaping and bounding.

Suddenly—

“Roar~~” A roar echoing between heaven and earth erupted from the inner courtyard, startling the youths. Even their Chief Master, ‘Teng Beast,’ was shocked. Turning back, he saw streaks of golden light permeating the inner courtyard, accompanied by the occasional ping of flying stone fragments.

“Be careful.”

Teng Beast lunged in front of a youth, shattering an incoming stone shard with a single punch. These nine hundred youths were still somewhat bewildered, not knowing what had happened.

Thwack! A stone struck one youth squarely in the stomach. The boy immediately cried out in pain, a thread of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

“Get down!” Teng Beast roared suddenly.

Having grown accustomed to Teng Beast’s commands over the past month and a half, the youths hesitated not at all. Every single one dropped flat onto the ground.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Shards of stone and broken gravel burst from the inner courtyard, whistling swiftly over the heads of the boys lying prone. These youths dared not rise, shielding their heads with their hands, their dark, bead-like eyes cautiously tracking every projectile flying past.

A moment later—

Silence returned. The barrage of stones had ceased.

“Huh, what was that just now?”

“It looked like there was golden light in the inner courtyard.”

“No more stones are flying out.”

The youths cautiously raised their heads to peer, but at that moment, Teng Beast was already barking an order: “Stop your practice! Return to your quarters and rest.”

“Yes, Master.”

The nine hundred-plus youths shouted in unison, their voices bright. Then, the multitude of more than nine hundred excitedly scrambled toward their residences in a rush, chattering noisily.

“Are you alright?” Teng Beast dashed toward the youth who had been the only unlucky one struck by the stone.

“I’m fine,” the boy replied, biting his lip, his face pale.

“Someone! Quickly, send for a physician!” Teng Beast immediately signaled the guards and servants waiting nearby. Two guards hurried over and carried the injured youth toward the residence where the physician was staying within the compound.

Teng Beast then turned and sprinted toward the inner courtyard, his mind racing with suspicion: What was that just now? That roar sounded like the cry of the Six-Legged Blade Cicada.

The inner courtyard was a scene of utter devastation. Not only had the training ground been reduced to ruins, but the nearby structures were also riddled with ‘scars.’ Teng Beast rushed in and approached Teng Qingshan, asking with astonishment, “Master, what happened just now? And what is this giant golden egg…”

On the training ground lay a massive golden egg, an ellipsoid shape easily ten zhang long and several zhang high.

“This is the Six-Legged Blade Cicada,” Teng Qingshan stated.

“The Six-Legged Blade Cicada? It turned into this? Could it be?” Teng Beast seemed to guess something.

“Mmm, most likely.”

Teng Qingshan stared intently at the oval egg. He had seen the preceding event clearly: endless golden light frantically gathering and condensing, enveloping the Six-Legged Blade Cicada into a massive oval shell. Upon closer inspection, strands of sharp, refined Metal energy could be seen coiling around the giant egg.

“The Six-Legged Blade Cicada is breaking through to the Void Realm?” Teng Beast’s face lit up with joy.

“We’ll know soon enough,” Teng Qingshan replied calmly, though his eyes betrayed his excitement. He was very agitated right now.

The days since returning to the Great Land of Jiuzhou, while helpful to the Guiyuan Sect, still felt stifling.

After all, his own strength was insufficient. Having the aid of a demonic beast would change everything. However, the Undying Phoenix, ‘Xiao Qing,’ was currently learning some of her mother’s unique Undying Phoenix esoteric skills. According to the Phoenix Mother, this would take half a year at shortest, or a year at longest.

That was a theoretical estimate; in reality, over half a year had already passed, yet Mount Tianyun remained silent.

However—

The anticipated Undying Phoenix ‘Xiao Qing’ had not arrived, but the Six-Legged Blade Cicada was breaking through instead. This was truly an unexpected delight. The Six-Legged Blade Cicada was a creature residing underground. Its aerial speed was slightly slower than the pre-breakthrough Azure Luan, but when it came to burrowing!

That was the Blade Cicada’s specialty. Even the pre-breakthrough Azure Luan couldn't match the Six-Legged Blade Cicada in digging speed.

“Demonic beasts undergo massive transformations when they reach the Void Realm. The Azure Luan became the Undying Phoenix, and the colossal Dragon Turtle shrank into a smaller Golden Dragon Turtle. I wonder what the Six-Legged Blade Cicada will become,” Teng Qingshan gazed at the giant golden egg wrapped in swirling Metal energy, filled with anticipation.

In this state of expectation, time passed unnoticed—

Teng Qingshan noticed the color of the massive golden egg gradually dimming, becoming increasingly transparent.

Suddenly, the enormous egg contracted with astonishing speed, like the beating of a heart!

“Hiss!” After contracting to a certain degree.

“Boom!” Much of the remaining refined Metal energy violently scattered, dissolving into a vast amount of Metal Heaven and Earth power that returned to the world. Silence returned to the inner courtyard training ground, but… a peculiar monster now stood on the ground.

Yes, a monster!

It was a creature standing upright, roughly humanoid in shape, standing about two zhang tall (about five meters). Its two lower limbs resembled powerful, long legs standing erect, but the front edges of these lower limbs were incredibly sharp—they were blades!

Besides the lower limbs, it possessed one pair of middle limbs and one pair of upper limbs, totaling four arms! The upper pair of arms were slightly wider than the middle pair, and these four appendages were essentially four strange, unique blades! Furthermore, along the edges of both the lower limbs and the four arms ran rows of sharp spikes, each about one foot long (twenty-five centimeters). Each limb was neatly adorned with hundreds of these spikes, resembling an armored sleeve.

From its appearance, one could still discern a resemblance to the former Six-Legged Blade Cicada.

However—

The current Six-Legged Blade Cicada’s scales had turned jet black, with faint golden speckles visible. Its two pairs of wings folded against its back like a cloak. Its triangular head’s eyes had now turned blood-red; gazing into them made one feel as if sinking into a turbulent sea of blood.

“Master, this is the Six-Legged Blade Cicada?” Teng Beast swallowed hard.

Teng Qingshan couldn't help but be inwardly startled as he looked at the metallic monstrosity. The scales covering the Blade Cicada’s entire body, including its four arms and lower limbs… Teng Qingshan had a feeling that this pure, dark black armor, tinged with golden spots, was the most terrifying scale armor he had ever seen. The aura subtly contained within these scales… even evoked the same dread he felt when encountering the slumbering demon dragon ‘Zi Xi’ in the Bi Han Pool years ago.

“The defense of these scales probably isn’t inferior to Demon Dragon Zi Xi’s scales. After all, Zi Xi was so massive… whereas the Six-Legged Blade Cicada’s body is so compact—concentrated essence. Moreover, the Blade Cicada already possessed inherently strong physical defense—it was only singed under the Azure Luan’s flames before… Now that it has reached the Void Realm and shrunk, the defensive power of these scales…”

Teng Qingshan even considered…

If he were to peel off the Blade Cicada’s scales and forge a suit of armor, the defense would be absolute. But… the Six-Legged Blade Cicada was his friend, his partner.

“Six-Legged Blade Cicada, such a fierce and immense aura.” Teng Qingshan felt the powerful presence formed by the refined Metal energy within his domain.

They were both at the Great Completion of the Void Realm, yet the aura of the Demon Dragon ‘Zi Xi’ was far stronger than that of the Blind Sword Saint.

It was the same principle: this Six-Legged Blade Cicada, having lived for thousands of years, broke through at once and reached the Void Realm, its aura was consequently immensely powerful!

“Roar~~” The Six-Legged Blade Cicada let out a low growl directed at Teng Qingshan. Its blood-red eyes, however, revealed excitement and fighting intent.

Teng Qingshan sensed the Cicada’s battlelust and couldn't help but laugh: “Haha, what? You want to spar right after breaking through? Come on then!” He immediately leveled his spear, smiling at the Six-Legged Blade Cicada. The Cicada let out an excited low growl, its two pairs of wings vibrated, and it reached Teng Qingshan almost instantaneously, like teleportation.

Hwo! Hwo!

The four steel-armored blades flashed with an icy sheen as they cleaved toward Teng Qingshan.

“So fast.” Teng Qingshan, caught off guard, managed only a horizontal block with his spear, and was immediately thrown back by the Six-Legged Blade Cicada’s ferocious power.

...

After reaching the Void Realm, the Six-Legged Blade Cicada fought Teng Qingshan, forcing him to admit defeat.

Teng Qingshan was using the Reincarnation Spear, not the Sky-Splitting God Axe, yet even so, the Six-Legged Blade Cicada was terrifyingly formidable. According to Teng Qingshan’s assessment: “This Six-Legged Blade Cicada is the most terrifying swordsman! Other experts have two hands; this one has four, occasionally using its lower limbs for sneak attacks, and its scale armor defense is outrageously strong… Damn it, with two pairs of wings, its maneuverability within a small area is even more terrifying. How can anyone possibly withstand such an opponent?”

Envy!

It was impossible not to be envious. To be this powerful upon just entering the Void Realm.

That was the nature of rare demonic beasts, especially those with exceptional talent, like the ‘Azure Luan,’ famed as the foremost among demonic beasts, and the ‘Six-Legged Blade Cicada,’ which was very close to the Azure Luan. Furthermore, their breakthroughs perfectly matched their innate talents—the Fire Dao and the Metal Dao, respectively.

With the Blade Cicada as an ally, Teng Qingshan’s confidence soared. Zhuge Yuanhong also moved into Yicheng to guard against any surprise attack from the Blind Sword Saint.

Half a month after the Cicada’s breakthrough.

In the inner courtyard.

Teng Qingshan and Zhuge Yuanhong sat facing each other.

“Mmm, so far, out of the nine hundred-plus youths, forty-two have managed to cultivate Inner Strength,” Teng Qingshan replied.

“What, so few?” Zhuge Yuanhong sounded slightly doubtful.

“It’s not few at all,” Teng Qingshan smiled. Cultivating Inner Strength through the Three Stance Form and Monkey Fist is far more difficult than relying on Inner Strength cultivation manuals. “Give it another month. If, after one more month, they still haven’t cultivated Inner Strength, Master will send them back to the Guiyuan Sect.”

Just then—

Someone rushed in from outside—it was Teng Beast. After all, others were not qualified to enter the inner courtyard.

“Master, Sect Leader Zhuge, this is a secret missive just delivered by someone from the Guiyuan Sect.” Teng Beast respectfully presented the scroll.

“A secret missive?” Zhuge Yuanhong opened it, and immediately, his expression drastically changed.

“What is it?” Teng Qingshan asked, feeling puzzled.

“Look at this,” Zhuge Yuanhong handed the missive over.