Chapter 74: Enlightenment, the Roar of the Dragon

Looking around at the calm surroundings and withdrawing his mental energy, Rod realized that the area was safe for now. He signaled Burn Heaven to stay alert while he stood still, focusing intensely. In the next moment, the Dark Dragon emerged from its sheath with a resonant sound. Accompanied by a gentle breeze, Rod began practicing with graceful steps.

Without deliberately focusing on any specific move, Rod no longer strived for such things since his sword intent had reached the second level. Instead, he let his connection flow naturally, seeking to comprehend the mysteries of the universe and explore the laws of nature, using those laws to guide his practice.

As his mind guided his actions, the moves emerged smoothly like flowing clouds. The Dark Dragon emitted a low, powerful hum, its long sword shadow twisting gracefully, creating a breathtaking scene akin to a dark curtain. His steps were light and agile—swift as the wind, fierce as a tiger. At this moment, Rod was fully immersed in his cultivation, savoring the joy and clarity of the moment.

He had no intention of leaving this area immediately. He planned to practice here for some time, at least until he could fully handle eight hundred times gravity, and gradually explore nine hundred times gravity as well. Since time was not pressing, Rod intended to use this period to progress step by step through increasing gravitational pressures.

The sword moved as his mind commanded, with endless moves emerging. Even the simplest moves were executed flawlessly by Rod, his imaginative powers running wild. Gradually, moves such as Shadowless, Autumn Wind, Heaven-Shattering, Dragon-Sweeping, and Sky-Expanding were integrated into his routine, blending seamlessly with the simpler techniques.

These moves, once devoid of their original essence, showed no sign of being ineffective. On the contrary, their power remained intact, even increasing. Gradually, fundamental changes occurred—these altered moves could now blend cohesively, showcasing Speed like Shadowless, Completeness like Autumn Wind, Domination like Heaven-Shattering, Ferocity like Dragon-Sweeping, and Vastness like Sky-Expanding.

At this moment, Rod’s mind was clear, free from any distractions. He merged with the universe—“I am the sky, and the sky is me.” His sword intent at the second level reached new heights, with his sword movements becoming unrestricted. In this instant, he touched the edge of the third level of sword intent! The fallen leaves on the ground seemed to break free from gravity’s grasp, floating along with Rod’s sword moves. The leaves falling from the sky were also influenced by his aura, swirling around him. Amidst the fluttering leaves and gusts of wind, Rod experienced boundless joy.

It could be said that at this moment, Rhode had already set one foot into the realm of the third level of Sword Intent. All that was needed was the right moment, and then he could naturally join this ranks. By then, when his Sword Intent would reach perfection, another path to the heavens would appear before him.

“Dragon Roar!” After what seemed like a long while, a loud shout came from the arena. Immediately afterward, Rhode, who had previously kept his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A sharp flash appeared as his long sword was raised into the air, accompanied by the howl of a dark dragon, resembling a dragon’s roar. Then, Rhode suddenly dashed forward, his figure flickering repeatedly. As he moved, several afterimages were left behind before he appeared in front of a large tree, sweeping through the falling leaves like the wind sweeping leaves in autumn. By the time he reached the tree, his figure had already transformed into sixteen!

“Break!” Another loud dragon roar was heard, and the sixteen figures simultaneously launched their attacks at the tree, revealing the power of the “Heaven-Shattering Sword”!

Boom… The dark dragon’s fierce strike against the tree produced a loud explosion, and it seemed as though the entire earth trembled at that moment! After the noise, the tree collapsed violently, crashing onto the ground and raising clouds of dust, even causing cracks in the soil. The vibrations continued for a while before gradually subsiding.

“Dragon Roar… There’s a dragon’s roar, like waves and tides. Unfortunately, it can only combine some aspects of Shadowless, Autumn Wind, and Heaven-Shattering—still not perfect!” Watching the scene he had created, Rhode stood still, deep in thought, murmuring to himself. Clearly, he wasn’t entirely satisfied with the result.

Just moments ago, as he merged with heaven and earth and experienced that wonderful state, he suddenly had an epiphany. With a flash of clarity, he managed to combine Shadowless, Autumn Wind, and Heaven-Shattering, drawing on their strengths and merging their characteristics to create this “Dragon Roar” move!

Perhaps due to his insufficient understanding of Sword Intent or his still-unrefined realm, he failed to achieve the result he had imagined. Although the Dragon Roar was powerful and swift as thunder, it still had significant flaws. Moreover, it seemed to consume more combat energy than using any single move alone.

Putting away his sword, he walked up to the tree. The strange tree, grown under gravity, had a smooth cut at its break. Looking at the cross-section he had created, confusion flashed in Rhode’s eyes before gradually giving way to understanding.

He stood up, closed his eyes, and remained upright, allowing the cold wind to stir his hair and the dark dragon to emit low growls. Yet Rod stood firm as a rock, unmoved.
“Dragon Roar!” After a long while, he opened his eyes again, let out a fierce shout, and moved with his will, his heart guiding his sword! Swift as the wind, fast as lightning, fierce as a tiger, agile as a monkey, and light as a cat.
This time, the three moves—Autumn Wind, Shadowless, and Heaven-Shattering—were executed smoothly in one continuous flow, without any pauses or stiffness, executed with grace.
Reaching a large tree, he swung his sword in one cut. Sixteen figures moved lightly, making not a sound! A strange black light flashed, then he retracted his move and stood still. A faint smile finally appeared on Rod’s lips: “This is how it should be!” he murmured to himself.
With that, he turned and walked ahead without looking back. That was a cellar he had recently dug out for practice. The tree behind him remained intact, as if unharmed.
Boom… Dozens of steps later, a thunderous noise came from behind as the tree collapsed with a loud crash.
Rod seemed to have anticipated this all along. He simply smiled faintly and continued on, undisturbed.
Dragon Roar—this move, he had finally mastered. It replaced his previous brutality and extreme fluctuations with gentleness and calmness, like a breeze leaving no trace! This was the ideal state and level this move should achieve.
This move surpassed the power of any of Rod’s existing techniques, by far. Although it required a great deal of combat energy, he felt no pain. Power could determine everything.
After all, the hardness of these trees under eight hundred times gravity was beyond imagination, even surpassing the so-called indestructible precision steel and cold iron. Though the dark dragon’s blade was sharp, it had been impossible for him to achieve this without leaving a trace before. But now, he had done it, cleanly and efficiently.
At this moment, Rod was filled with pride. A major challenge in his life was resolved. Facing these terrifying magical beasts in the forest, he was no longer helpless and obstructive. Those sturdy defenses now vanished before his eyes, posing no trouble at all. One move of Dragon Roar was enough to take any creature’s life.
…
Roar… An angry growl came from the dark forest.

“Heh, beast! Today, I must take your essence core!” Rod sneered as he stared at the mutated Fire Devouring Beast before him. “Fen Tian, step aside and watch how I deal with this beast!” he shouted at Fen Tian in the air.

Indeed, this man and beast were Rod, who had spent fifty days in rigorous cultivation in this area of the forest. It had been another fifteen days since his last epiphany. During these fifteen days, Rod had killed two tigers and one Bloodthirsty Beast, obtaining three dark essence cores. All three beasts were at the early stage of the Saint level, but for Rod, who had fully adapted to the environment, they posed no real challenge. With Fen Tian’s assistance, the three battles were intense yet safe, especially Rod’s “Dragon Roar” technique—powerful and precise, always proving fatal to his opponents. Naturally, due to the immense internal energy required and the critical timing, Rod would only use this ultimate move at the last moment. Its effectiveness was astonishing, always splitting his enemies in two, which thrilled Rod greatly.

Today, on the fifteenth day, Rod, who had adapted to 800 times gravity and was preparing to face 1,000 times gravity, encountered the long-awaited mutated Fire Devouring Beast once again. How could he miss such an opportunity? With Fen Tian’s help, he gained the upper hand after a brief fight and decided to deliver the final blow.

Shooing Fen Tian away, Rod saw a cold glint in the mutated Fire Devouring Beast’s eyes. With a loud shout, seizing the moment, he hesitated not for a second and swiftly unleashed “Dragon Roar”!

In an instant, it seemed even heaven and earth admired this move. The already dark environment grew even darker. Rod’s figure flashed by, leaving behind dozens of afterimages, before finally appearing behind the mutated Fire Devouring Beast.

Space seemed to freeze as the intense chaos gave way to sudden silence after that single move.

A low growl could be heard from the beast’s throat, and moments later, it slowly lay on the ground, its eyes dimming as it lost its life force. On its neck appeared a wound about ten centimeters long, deep enough to penetrate the bone, with blood spraying everywhere.

In that very instant, taking advantage of the beast’s daze, Rod succeeded once again with “Dragon Roar.” Growing more skilled with each use, Rod naturally didn’t disappoint himself—killing the enemy in one move.

Turning around, he rushed to the beast’s side, fearing something might go wrong. He quickly drew his sword and severed its head, revealing an dark red essence core the size of an egg before his eyes.