novelraw Chapter 153: The New Blackwind Stronghold
Chapter 153: The New Blackwind Stronghold
“Axe technique!”
“It emphasizes sinking force, fierce momentum, solid moves, and a stable body!”
Wangchuan carefully studied the essentials of 《Basic Axe Technique》. Although it was not as deeply ingrained as the muscle memory he had trained himself, a few concise lines often struck directly at the key points, allowing him to grasp the core techniques quickly.
Standing before the Iron Dummy Stake, Wangchuan followed the requirements of 《Basic Axe Technique》. He lowered into a firm horse stance, fixed his gaze forward, and drove his strength from his waist and hips, channeling it into his arms…
“The waist drives the shoulders, the shoulders drive the arms, the arms drive the axe!”
He held his breath and exerted force. His waist twisted, and the battle axe cleaved forward with a heavy, muffled roar.
DUANG!
The Iron Dummy Stake shuddered violently.
The iron plating split open, and the axe blade bit three inches into the wood beneath.
If that strike had landed on a person, the outcome was easy to imagine.A gaping wound. Blood pouring without end. Either permanent crippling—or death on the spot.
“The strengths and weaknesses of axe techniques are equally pronounced.”
“The advantage is overwhelming destructive power. The weakness is that it requires charging and explosive force. It is easy to evade, slow in attack speed, and vulnerable to faster arts like swordplay, saber techniques, or fist techniques.”
Wangchuan swiftly summarized the flaws of axe techniques. Placing himself into a real combat scenario, he began deliberately shifting his footwork, changing positions, and launching attacks from different angles around the Iron Dummy Stake.
DUANG!
Another strike.
“Fixed targets are easy to hit.”
“But against a nimble opponent with agile footwork, attacks will often miss. So in actual combat, an axe technique is best used after building momentum and striking second. One must remain calm and steady.”
DUANG!
He continued swinging the axe.
Each strike carried the ruthless feeling of venting his entire body’s strength at once.
It perfectly embodied the qualities of sinking force and fierce momentum.
After roughly three hundred swings, the experience of 《Basic Axe Technique》 had already reached 13 points…
The experience of 《Qilian Mountain-Sundering Axe》, however, had yet to move.
Captain Bai had given him guidance before. 《Qilian Mountain-Sundering Axe》 demanded a higher standard. The axe had to leave deeper marks. On a standard Iron Dummy Stake, it needed to cut at least three inches deep. On an ordinary wooden stake, it had to split it outright.
There was no helping it.
Wangchuan could only give it his all, searching bit by bit for the correct feeling, gradually drawing out stronger bursts of power from within his body.
DUANG!
DUANG!
After more than five hundred swings, he was panting heavily. He tossed the axe aside and sat down cross-legged on the spot, circulating 《Qingcheng Heart Method》.
A current of warmth emerged from within.
The warm sensation traveled along his meridians, flowing into his arms. The soreness and numb fatigue eased slightly…
One complete cycle took about ten minutes.
Wangchuan opened his eyes and glanced at his Status Panel.
Sure enough, the experience of 《Qingcheng Heart Method》 had risen to 1/100.
Captain Bai’s advice had been correct.
After running three full cycles…
He gained 3 experience points.
The fatigue drained from his body entirely.
Ordinarily, it would take him an hour to recover. Under the influence of 《Qingcheng Heart Method》, he returned to peak condition in half that time.
Wangchuan ate a few meat buns to clear his Hunger, then picked up the axe again and returned to the Iron Dummy Stake, steadily continuing his practice.
DUANG!
DUANG!
One hour of swinging the axe, half an hour of cultivating 《Qingcheng Heart Method》…
The sun set and the moon rose.
A full day passed just like that.
The next day, 《Basic Axe Technique》 reached “Minor Mastery” as expected—but no system notification granted any attribute points…
Just as anticipated.
Wangchuan did not mind. He felt his understanding of the axe deepen. Then he swung with all his might—
CRACK!!
The battle axe sank three full inches into the Iron Dummy Stake.
His eyes lit up. He quickly summoned the Status Panel and broke into a grin of wild joy.
As expected!
The experience of 《Qilian Mountain-Sundering Axe》 had increased by 1 point.
Wangchuan was instantly invigorated. Maintaining the same feeling, he wrenched the axe free, built momentum, and smashed down another strike.
The force was clearly more ferocious.
The Iron Dummy Stake was effortlessly carved three inches deep. The axe seemed embedded, as if it would split the stake apart entirely.
CRACK!!
The sound of the axe biting into the Iron Dummy Stake had changed completely.
CRACK!!
Wangchuan calculated…
Approximately every fifty effective strikes increased the experience of 《Qilian Mountain-Sundering Axe》 by 1 point.
Driven by fierce determination, he trained for another full day.
Just before midnight, the system notification sounded:
“Ding!”
“《Qilian Mountain-Sundering Axe》 has advanced to ‘Minor Mastery,’ rewarding 1 point of Strength.”
Wangchuan let out a small breath of relief.
He opened the detailed description:
《Qilian Mountain-Sundering Axe》: Minor Mastery
Current realm: +10 Attack, +1 Armor Penetration. When striking an enemy’s torso, deal double attack damage +20 Attack. If blood is drawn, it can trigger unstoppable bleeding!
Next realm: Practice Makes Perfect
Next realm: +20 Attack, +1 Armor Penetration. When striking an enemy’s torso, deal double damage +40 Attack. If blood is drawn, it can trigger unstoppable bleeding, with a certain chance to inflict Severe Injury!
After reading it, Wangchuan could not help but sigh.
“The destructive power of second-rank martial arts is truly terrifying.”
“《Qilian Mountain-Sundering Axe》 has armor penetration and unstoppable bleeding. 《Crocodile-Mouth Saber Art》 has rending damage and a bleeding effect. 《Swift Sword Art》 has triple piercing damage. 《Heart-Piercing Dart》 grants +1 armor penetration and can trigger a one-hit kill.”
“At second rank, Martial Artists are already far from weak.”
“In the future, I must never underestimate any Ranked Martial Artist.”
“No one knows what trump card they might possess. Once battle begins, I must go all out. I cannot show mercy!”
Wangchuan reminded himself silently.
Then he resumed training.
After two more days of cultivation, the experience of 《Qingcheng Heart Method》 increased slowly. Only after two more sessions of circulating and resting did the long-awaited notification arrive:
“Ding!”
“《Qingcheng Heart Method》 has advanced to ‘Minor Mastery,’ rewarding 1 point of Stamina.”
《Qingcheng Heart Method》: Minor Mastery;
Current realm: Each cycle restores +5 HP and recovers a certain amount of Stamina;
Next realm: Practice Makes Perfect;
Next realm: Each cycle restores +8 HP and recovers part of Stamina;
Wangchuan’s eyes shone with a smile.
Captain Bai had truly given him an excellent inner method.
With 《Qingcheng Heart Method》, he could continue cultivating the second-rank martial art 《Iron Sand Palm》. Even some more dangerous techniques could now be attempted.
…
Over the past few days, Lin Dahai had been helping rebuild Blackwind Stronghold at its ruins.
Under the guidance of Su Wan and Instructor Yu, he had already joined the Five Poison Sect and become an Outer Disciple. At present, he led several men and had effectively become a minor head within Blackwind Stronghold.
In recent days, the stronghold’s numbers had steadily grown.
From the initial sixty or so people, it had expanded to over two hundred…
Nearly half of them were players from various game studios.
Some, like Lin Dahai, had resigned themselves to joining the Five Poison Sect and had become “honorable” Outer Disciples.
The rest, lacking the strength of Quasi-Martial Artists, were assigned to Blackwind Stronghold as lowly minions.
The Five Poison Sect distributed foundational martial art manuals to everyone and appointed the burly man with the scorpion tattoo as the First Leader of Blackwind Stronghold.
Lin Dahai recently received intelligence:
The First Leader, “Lei Zhiyin,” the very same scorpion-tattooed brute, was in fact a second-rank Martial Artist.
Under his command were six captains, all from branch helms of the Five Poison Sect, each a First-Rank Martial Artist.
The newly supported Blackwind Stronghold now far surpassed its former incarnation in both strength and scale.
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