(A new week begins! Thanks to everyone who helped us climb to first place among the newcomers at the very end last week!

Keep voting! Let's stay number one!) ＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝ “Originally, I intended to gift you another magical artifact.

However, after careful consideration, while this one lacks special effects, it possesses an unyielding spirit. Your Martial Uncle Lu used this very sword until he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and he always sought a Sword Heart to repair this divine weapon, but alas, later…” Ye Tiansheng shook his head, unwilling to dwell on past events.

“In short, your cultivation is shallow. While having an artifact endowed with supernatural abilities would naturally make your practice easier, if you truly wish to break past your limits and achieve greater heights, then this plain iron sword is far better!” Feng Zikang deeply agreed that relying on powerful magical artifacts during low-level cultivation could actually hinder future growth.

However, he certainly wasn't one to seek unnecessary hardship; being able to skillfully employ various supplementary divine abilities to maximize their power was, in itself, a demonstration of capability. While using this inconspicuous iron sword for cultivation was fine, when it came to fighting or harming others, his Soul Bone Sword possessed immense lethal power against low-tier disciples.

He reached out and grasped the iron sword, slowly lifting it. It felt incredibly heavy, yet offered no other peculiar sensation.

It was less a Grade Two Yellow-tier magical artifact and more like a piece of Grade Two Yellow-tier scrap iron. But… at the very least, the murderous aura in his chest could resonate with the faint spiritual energy within the sword, making flight by external control entirely possible.

Feng Zikang stared at the hunk of iron with a wry smile. Still, simply because General Lu had once wielded it, it held significant collector's value.

If sold, it would fetch quite a few spirit stones. But this item was a gift from his Master, so he supposed he had no choice but to use it for the time being.

Ye Tiansheng meticulously explained every detail before returning to seclusion. He vowed to break through to the late Golden Core stage, a feat that would require significant time and effort.

Feng Zikang bid his Master farewell and returned to the thatched hut to immerse himself in comprehending the Subtle Calculation Mind Technique. He sat upright on the couch, grasping the White Jade Military Tally, but he didn't rush to cultivate.

Instead, he closed his eyes, feeling the realm of the Subtle Calculation Mind Technique. This mind technique had also been derived from military strategy and formations.

In the earliest days, when two armies faced each other, the strategist would calculate factors such as troop strength, provisions, morale, offense and defense, celestial timing, terrain advantages, general competency, and national power to determine the outcome of the war. Practitioners of the Military School gleaned the ultimate truth of calculation from this process.

More calculations lead to victory; fewer calculations lead to defeat. The more thoroughly all factors are considered and the tighter the deduction, the more accurate the judgment of success or failure.

And the path of cultivation is, in essence, the same. What is the will of Heaven?

What is one’s innate aptitude? Which cultivation method is practiced?

Where is one’s sect? Does one possess a Dao companion?

Are one’s financial resources abundant? All these factors determine the ultimate achievement on the cultivation path.

The Subtle Calculation Mind Technique is about fusing Heaven, Earth, and Man into a single furnace, requiring one to calculate all these factors with crystal clarity. In a trance, Feng Zikang felt as if he had transformed into a giant.

Within the cosmos, all things were chess pieces; with the placement of a single piece, the world shook, karma shifted, and myriad threads of causality tangled before him. “Hah!” A searing pain shot through his mind, and a suffocating nausea rose in his chest.

He hastily retreated from the state of profound comprehension achieved through the Subtle Calculation Mind Technique. “Incredible!” When this mind technique reaches its apex, it wields such terrifying power, and yet it is merely a Profound-tier mind technique.

It is classified as a Heaven and Earth Level Two mind technique; just how terrifying must its ultimate stage be? “I wonder what state the Formless Celestial Demon Heart Technique will reach when cultivated to the hundredth layer…” Feng Zikang’s heart was filled with longing.

Over the past year, his Celestial Demon Heart Technique had advanced five levels, which had intensified the malevolence within him, sometimes even spurring sudden urges to kill. He knew that the time for the Demon Heart Trial was approaching, so he did not act rashly, instead focusing on steadily cultivating his divine abilities and repeatedly examining his Demon Heart.

The might of the Demonic Path was indeed extraordinary. The small progress made over the last year had already benefited him greatly.

He might not yet be a match for the peak disciples of the third generation—Luo Lianxin, Liang Sian, and Huo Zhongguang—but apart from those three, he was confident in defeating any other disciple in a direct confrontation. However, uncontrolled power was not what he pursued.

The path of demonic cultivation demands an even higher requirement on one's mental fortitude; failure to maintain self-mastery could lead to eternal damnation at any moment. Unfortunately, on the path of the demonic arts, he had no one to guide him, nor any relevant texts to reference.

He could only grope forward, relying on the innate comprehension granted by the Formless Celestial Demon to slowly advance his cultivation. “The time has come to venture out into the mortal world!” Whether it was to accumulate merit or to experience worldly affairs, the moment to descend the mountain had arrived.

He stretched his limbs, carefully packed away all his belongings, mounted the nameless iron sword, and flew directly toward Sunset Peak. ※※※ The Merit Hall of Sunset Peak.

Located on the opposite side of the Scripture Hall, the Merit Hall stood at the other end of Sunset Peak, also appearing as a somewhat dilapidated wooden structure. Although its exterior was equally unremarkable, the Merit Hall housed one of the sect’s most vital treasures: the Great Reincarnation Disk.

This artifact was not only crucial for a disciple’s cultivation advancement and the accumulation of merit but also served as a significant symbol of the sect. Those who practiced all major disciplines are not considered true orthodox successors unless they inherit the legacy of the Great Reincarnation Disk; otherwise, their rate of advancement would become exceedingly slow.

It was like the Esoteric Sect of Tibet: although they possessed the subtle profundities of the Lesser Vehicle of Buddhism, when the Five Schools of Buddhism were established, only the Esoteric School failed to receive the inheritance of the Great Reincarnation Disk. Its disciples could only advance like rogue cultivators, relying on themselves or external items to break through realms, thereby lagging far behind the flourishing incense and deep heritage of the other schools.

Today, this practice is common across all sects and schools. When a disciple’s cultivation reaches the peak completion of the preceding level, they complete the merit task assigned by the Great Reincarnation Disk, allowing them to borrow this treasure to regulate their vital energy and assault the next realm.

With the aid of this rare celestial treasure, the chance of a breakthrough is substantial. However, Feng Zikang’s purpose for this visit was certainly not to apply for a promotion task.

His current cultivation stood merely at the fourth layer of Qi Induction, far below the required qualification. For Demonic Path cultivation, advancement naturally occurs once sufficient strength is attained, requiring no assistance from the Great Reincarnation Disk.

The Merit Hall served another function: issuing various merit tasks. By completing these tasks, disciples could earn varying amounts of merit points, which could then be used at the Hundred Weapons Workshop to exchange for divine weapons and sharp tools, or at the Scripture Hall to acquire mind techniques and divine abilities.

Feng Zikang had come precisely to claim a merit task, both to accumulate merit points and to witness the fleeting grandeur of the mortal world. However, he discovered that the main door of the Merit Hall was tightly locked, guarded by an iron general.

Elder Yun Yi, who should have been keeping watch here, had vanished somewhere. After circling the area for a good while, he finally located the elder, with flowing white hair and beard, near a spring emerging from the cliff edge.

Elder Yun was sprawled on the ground, his eyes wide open, arms bent, his head pressed against the earth, his left leg raised high with his toes pointing skyward, shaking uncontrollably.