Chapter 3: Crippled Senior Brother

The Skynet Sect territory was vast, with each of the eight halls of the Outer Sect located in different areas, each at least three hundred miles apart. This was the domain of the Heavenly Ultimate Hall. Though Titus had only left a few days ago, it felt like years had passed. “Xenos... Xenos?” A disciple of the Heavenly Ultimate Hall was surprised to see Titus and hurriedly bowed, his expression excited. Titus nodded slightly in response. “He’s already a useless cripple, and you still call him senior?” sneered a young man in a blue robe, followed by several youths. The Outer Sect disciple displayed surprise. The young man in the blue martial robe, named Adam Lewis, had once associated with Titus for a while but had later gone their separate ways due to conflicts. “You’ve already been expelled, and yet you managed to come back? Is the Xenos Family from the Sparrow Kingdom so unwilling to accept defeat that they paid a hefty price for an Outer Sect Disciple Token to bring you back?” Adam stood on the steps, looking down at Titus arrogantly, with a hint of mockery on his lips. “The Xenos Family must have deep pockets, but spending such a large sum on a worthless person like you is simply not worth it.” If this were the old Titus, he would have lashed out in anger. Having experienced two close encounters with death, Titus’s perspective had evolved significantly. He wouldn’t waste his precious time on someone like Adam. Ignoring him, Titus turned and walked away. “Wait, who said you could go?” Adam blocked Titus's path. "What do you intend to do?" Titus frowned and asked. “You’re no longer the Titus you used to be, and the Heavenly Ultimate Hall isn’t what it used to be either. Considering our past acquaintance, I’ll give you a chance to stay in the Heavenly Ultimate Hall. How about this: I need someone to pour urine into the urinal for me. From now on, you can be the one responsible for pouring urine into the urinal,” Adam said with a sly grin, narrowing his eyes. “You want me to wash your urine urinal? You’re not worthy,” Titus said angrily. At this moment, the Outer Sect disciples behind Adam quickly closed in, surrounding Titus, each of them wearing unfriendly expressions as they stared him down. “How about it? You want to fight here? Don’t you remember the Heavenly Ultimate Hall’s rules? No fighting among fellow disciples, or face punishment, from confinement to expulsion. Do you want to try your luck?” Titus said coldly. The encircling disciples hesitated, wary of breaking the rules. “Titus, you might intimidate them, but not me. Even if I don’t kill you today, as long as you’re in Heavenly Ultimate Hall, I have a hundred ways to make your life miserable,” Adam said coldly. “Do you hate me that much?” Titus asked, recalling how he had helped Adam in the past, despite their later disagreements. “I’ve been waiting for this moment to get back at you for humiliating me in public,” Adam replied coldly. Titus had initially confronted Adam because this guy had used his name to engage in some shady activities. Little did he know that Adam would hold a grudge over it. “Tomorrow, at this time, let’s settle this on the Yin Yang Platform. If you don’t dare, take your people and leave. Don’t waste my time,” Titus said firmly. “Fine! I’ll be waiting for you on the Yin Yang Platform tomorrow,” Adam sneered, signaling his followers to let Titus pass. As he watched Titus’s retreating figure, a slight smirk crept onto Adam’s lips. He couldn’t believe a useless person like Titus had dared to be so arrogant. He was determined to teach this worthless individual a lesson tomorrow. When Titus was expelled from the Inner Sect, Adam had personally looked into it. It was true that Titus had been crippled, with seventy percent of his Sea of Qi destroyed. Not only did it affect future cultivation practices, but it also placed him at a disadvantage in confrontations with other Martial Cultivators. After all, the true Qi that could be stored in the remaining thirty percent of the Sea of Qi was limited. Adam estimated that, with Titus’s current remaining thirty percent of Sea of Qi, his cultivation level could at best reach the Fifth Level of the Qi Refining Stage, and at most a little stronger, perhaps the Sixth Level. As for Adam himself, he had already reached the Seventh Level of the Qi Refining Stage. He felt confident enough to crush Titus. The thought of humiliating Titus on the Yin Yang Platform the next day excited and thrilled Adam. After all, Titus had once been a prominent Outer Sect disciple of the Heavenly Ultimate Hall. Defeating him in full view would undoubtedly boost Adam’s reputation and pave the way for his future endeavors. ... Titus returned to his former residence. Located in a remote corner of the northern side of the Heavenly Ultimate Hall, he had chosen this courtyard for its tranquility. Given its secluded location, few people visited this independent courtyard. Moreover, since Titus and his fellow top disciples had already become Inner Sect members, this place would remain vacant for a while until new top disciples emerged. Under a tree, Titus unearthed a box. Inside, he found four neatly arranged low-grade spirit stones. When Titus left the Xenos Family three years ago, they had given him all four low-grade spirit stones they had preserved for over a century. Titus had been reluctant to use them, planning to save them for his attempt to break through to the Element Integration Stage. However, his unfortunate encounters in the Inner Sect had changed everything. Fortunately, he had left these spirit stones here; otherwise, he might have lost them too. Low-grade spirit stones were extremely rare. Few Outer Sect disciples of the Heavenly Ultimate Hall possessed them, and they were scarcely mentioned even among Inner Sect members. Valuable and scarce, spirit stones were rarely used for trade and were mostly kept for personal cultivation. Martial cultivation required not only talent and hard work but also sufficient resources, such as spirit stones rich in spiritual energy. Titus sat cross-legged in his room, took a deep breath, and crushed the four low-grade spirit stones. As dense spiritual energy flooded in, he circulated his true Qi to absorb it and guided the spiritual energy into his Sea of Qi. As the Sea of Qi filled, his body generated a vast amount of true Qi. About a quarter of an hour later, Titus’s body trembled slightly as he broke from the Fourth to the Fifth Level of the Qi Refining Stage, using up about two of the spirit stones. The remaining two continued to pour into his Sea of Qi. When these were exhausted, his body shook again, advancing from the Fifth to the Sixth Level. The impact of only having thirty percent of his Sea of Qi was significant. Had it been intact, the four low-grade spirit stones could have potentially restored him to the Seventh or even Eighth Level of the Qi Refining Stage. Although he had only reached the Sixth Level, it was sufficient for the moment. After all, the general standard for Outer Sect disciples was between the Fifth and Sixth Levels, with the better ones reaching the Seventh, and the outstanding ones the Eighth. Top disciples were at the Ninth Level. Titus ventured into the Ancient Wilderness. Thousand Jins Fist! With a single punch, the fist technique unfolded. Although the Ancient Wilderness could evolve the essence of martial arts, mastering them required personal cultivation and enlightenment. To master a technique meant reaching its strongest state. To transcend was to go beyond the limits of the technique. Even basic techniques like the Thousand Jins Fist were rarely mastered to transcendence in the Skynet Sect, typically only by elder generations. Punch after punch. Titus’s technique grew stronger. In the past three years, he had focused on increasing his cultivation level, neglecting martial technique due to the extensive time and concentration required. Above basic techniques were Yellow-grade, Mysterious-grade, Earth-grade, and Heaven-grade techniques, each divided into lower, middle, and upper tiers. This was the hierarchy of martial techniques Titus knew before. But in the Venerable Clowde’s memories, he had seen techniques far surpassing Heaven-grade. However, such techniques were beyond the current Titus. The memories of the Venerable had already dissipated. They contained numerous incredibly powerful martial arts techniques and skills, but Titus couldn't remember them. Those legacy martial arts and techniques were too profound and obscure, far beyond Titus's current level of comprehension and cultivation. Since he couldn't remember or practice them, Titus naturally didn't want to waste any more time on them. Before the memories of the Venerable vanished completely, Titus selected some of the memories that were important or relevant to him and committed them to memory. Titus continued to throw punches, and the power in his fists continued to gather. Time passed quickly. At the moment when he struck his one hundred thousandth punch, a booming sound echoed, and a shockwave surged. Only after retracting his fist did Titus realize what it meant to reach the peak. He had directly surpassed the foundational martial technique and reached a higher level. The power of the Thousand Jins Fist at its peak was now comparable to a low-grade Yellow level martial technique.