The Demon Lord of All Forms

Chapter 52 Grandmaster

For the next three days, the twelve grandmasters came to the training ground every day to unleash their ultimate moves and demonstrate the true essence of their martial arts without reservation.

Yun Weiyang would come every day, stand on the sidelines, watch them fight, and record everything.

By the end of the third day, Yun Weiyang had copied all twelve people's martial arts essences and had a clear understanding of the nature of "martial arts essences".

The true meaning of martial arts is actually the sublimation of the soul.

Martial artists in the Azure Realm, when they reach the Grandmaster level, have already developed a powerful soul that can project perception and empower themselves. However, due to the lack of spiritual nourishment, their souls cannot complete the qualitative transformation from "Yin Spirit" to "Primordial Spirit".

The true essence of martial arts is the intermediate state in which the soul slowly absorbs the meager spiritual energy of heaven and earth over a long period of time, gradually transforming itself.

In other words, as long as these masters don't die along the way, they can all eventually advance to the rank of Grandmaster, but that takes a very long time, perhaps decades or even centuries.

Yun Weiyang didn't want to wait that long, and he didn't have much time to waste in the Canghuang Realm.

On the fourth day, Yun Weiyang summoned the master of the Dark Guard whose arm he had reattached to a private meeting.

The master of the Dark Guard is named Shen Han. He is over forty years old, at the peak of the Grandmaster level, and possesses superb swordsmanship. He is the strongest among the Dark Guards.

As Shen Han entered Chengming Hall, he glanced up and saw Yun Weiyang sitting behind the imperial desk, playing with a crystal-clear stone in her hand.

"Your Majesty." Shen Han knelt on one knee.

Yun Weiyang stood up, walked to Shen Han, and placed her right hand on his head.

Shen Han's body jolted violently as an invisible force invaded his soul, rummaging through his memories and altering his perceptions. Shen Han instinctively tried to resist, but the force was too powerful. His consciousness was like a small boat in a storm, powerless to fight back.

A moment later, Yun Weiyang withdrew her hand.

Shen Han refocused his eyes on Yun Weiyang, his gaze now devoid of the former respect and wariness, replaced only by a pure and unreserved loyalty.

Yun Weiyang erased everything from Shen Han's memory about the royal family, the secret guards, and the past, leaving only one thought: to be loyal to the person in front of him.

"Get up," Yun Weiyang said.

Shen Han stood up and stood with his hands at his sides.

Yun Weiyang handed him the spirit stone in her hand.

This is a top-grade spirit stone, crystal clear, with spiritual light flowing inside and exuding a rich spiritual energy. It is one of Yun Weiyang's gains after being included in the Nine Nether Sect's true disciples.

Shen Han took the spirit stone and instinctively felt the immense power it contained. Stimulated by the spirit stone, his martial arts essence began to operate on its own, greedily absorbing spiritual energy.

Yun Weiyang stood aside, watching quietly.

Shen Han sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. The true meaning of martial arts surged, contracted, and underwent a qualitative change within his body, like a snake shedding its skin. His aura began to rise, becoming stronger and stronger.

An hour later, the spirit stone in Shen Han's hand turned into a pile of powder.

Yun Weiyang handed over three more pieces.

Shen Han took it and continued absorbing the nutrients.

With the three top-grade spirit stones entering his body, Shen Han's energy surged once again. Under the nourishment of the spiritual energy, his martial arts true intent finally underwent a transformation. It was no longer a vague "intention," but a real power that could be projected outward, used for attack, and used to perceive all things.

The primordial spirit condenses.

This is a Grandmaster of the Azure Realm, and also a Refining God Realm expert of the Nine Provinces of Heavenly Origin.

Shen Han opened his eyes, stood up, his eyes bright, and seemed to see through all illusions.

"Your Majesty," Shen Han said, kneeling on one knee, his voice steady.

Yun Weiyang nodded and led him out of Chengming Hall to the martial arts arena.

"Make your move," Yun Weiyang said.

Shen Han stood up and placed his right hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

Clang!

The sword light fell like rain; this was a true rain of swords formed from the condensation of internal energy and primordial spirit.

Hundreds of sword lights descended from the sky like a torrential downpour, densely covering the training ground. With each sword light that fell, a bottomless hole appeared in the bluestone ground, the edges of which were as smooth as a mirror, as if they had been burned through by something.

Smoke and dust filled the training ground, and the rain of swords lasted for a full three breaths.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the training ground was completely unrecognizable. The ground was riddled with holes, like tofu pierced by countless iron needles. In the distance, a target wall was swept by a rain of swords, and the entire wall collapsed with a roar, turning into a pile of rubble.

Yun Weiyang watched this scene with a slight smile on her lips.

"Not bad," Yun Weiyang said. "This is a Grandmaster."

That night, Yun Weiyang summoned the remaining eleven grandmasters to the palace.

In Chengming Hall, eleven people knelt on the ground. Yun Weiyang didn't waste any words and went straight forward, reading their memories one by one, deleting everything about their past, leaving only their thoughts of loyalty to him.

The light in the eyes of the eleven people faded one after another, then shone again, turning into the same unwavering loyalty as Shen Han.

Then, Yun Weiyang scattered dozens of top-grade spirit stones on the ground.

"Pick it up, and you'll get promoted."

Without hesitation, the eleven people sat cross-legged, absorbed the spiritual energy from the spirit stones, and began their advancement.

Overnight, twelve grandmasters were born simultaneously.

Yun Weiyang stood in Chengming Hall, looking at the twelve people with a faint light in her eyes. She stepped forward and read their memories one by one, gaining twelve complete insights into condensing the primordial spirit and advancing to the Refining Spirit stage.

These insights converged and merged in Yun Weiyang's consciousness, transforming into a clear path.

The gate to the Refining Spirit Realm slowly opened before him.

Early the next morning, the Emperor of Great Xia suddenly issued an edict, summoning a large army to launch a counterattack against the Demon Kingdom.

This imperial edict was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up huge waves. In the court, all the officials knelt down, earnestly advising that the Great Xia had been in a standoff with the Demon Kingdom for hundreds of years, losing more than winning. Now the national treasury was empty and the soldiers on the border were exhausted. How could they fight?

Yun Weiyang ignored her.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Yun Weiyang remained expressionless and uttered only one sentence: "My mind is made up. Anyone who offers further advice will be punished for disrupting the morale of the army."

The court fell silent.

Three days later, the army of 100,000 set off from Yun'an City and marched southeast in a mighty force.

The demon kingdom disregarded this.

For years, the Great Xia Dynasty has been recruiting soldiers and demanding money and grain from the court under the guise of counterattacking the Demon Kingdom, but each time it has been all bark and no bite, and in the end it has come to nothing. This time, in the eyes of the Demon Kingdom, it is nothing more than that young emperor trying to glorify himself.

The other two dynasties in the Canghuang Realm, Dayu and Dayan, did not care about this either. They were happy to see the Great Xia and the Demon Kingdom fighting each other and weakening each other.

But what happened next was beyond everyone's expectations.

The Great Xia army marched south with unstoppable momentum.