Chapter 0627: Fading Shadow, Ceasing Breath

**Chapter 0627: Vanishing Shadow, Silent Breath**

Qin Yun had always wanted to talk to the White-Masked One—and hoped to access that forbidden zone to use the Immortal Essence.

Now, the chance was finally here.

"Could it be that the White-Masked One is actually doing this for my sake?" Qin Yun frowned. "But that's impossible! She’s got a serious grudge—every time she sees me, she’s filled with resentment!"

"At least inside Immortal Soldier City, the White-Masked One can’t do anything to you!" Ling Yuner chuckled. "You need to grow stronger fast. A breakthrough isn’t an option—even if you take those Yuanling Mystic Pills, you won’t reach the mid-stage of the Spirit Martial Realm. Your only option is to sharpen your martial skills."

"Got it!"

A sudden pang of longing hit Qin Yun for Yang Shiyue.

If Yang Shiyue were here to guide him in martial techniques, he would surely master them much faster.

Of course, his own talent wasn’t bad either—he picked things up faster than most.

Qin Yun realized that for advanced martial arts, only constant life-or-death fights would let him master them faster.

"Guess I’ll just have to die to the White-Masked One a few more times!" When trying to learn on his own, Qin Yun often hit roadblocks.

Now, he decided—it was time to let the White-Masked One kill him, at least temporarily.

Just a temporary point penalty, and he wouldn’t really lose out, since he could gain insight into combat techniques.

Right now, the only way to get stronger was to hone his combat techniques.

"I wonder how strong Jian Nanhu will be during the Martial Arts Grand Tournament?"

Qin Yun suddenly thought about this, because he knew Jian Nanhu was a total madman.

His instincts were razor-sharp, and his hustle relentless. After months of hard work, he’d definitely made huge progress—and would be even stronger by then.

"So you’ve got to improve too!" Ling Yuner said. "At the Martial Arts Grand Tournament, Jian Nanhu won’t be your only opponent—there’ll be other powerful rivals as well!"

"Yeah." Qin Yun stepped out of the safe zone.

Many people knew Qin Yun was in the negative hundreds—all because of the BlackClad Corps’ boss.

Clan faction disciples were downright gleeful, believing Qin Yun had been crushed.

Pretty much everyone in the Immortal Soldier Illusory Realm thought the same.

Since Qin Yun had offended the BlackClad Corps before, payback was inevitable.

Beast bones vanishing overnight clearly bore their mark.

For years, the Illusory Realm had never seen such upheaval—until Qin Yun rocked the boat.

"Qin Yun’s done for. Looks like he’ll spend the rest of his life stuck in negative points!"

"The BlackClad leader’s power is terrifying—Qin Yun doesn’t stand a chance."

"He’s heading out again—probably taking one last shot!"

The crowd sighed as they watched him leave the city.

Qin Yun ran toward the distant mountains. Before long, the White-Masked One appeared.

"Were you serious last time?" Qin Yun asked urgently, stumbling backward as he laid eyes on the white-masked man.

"My word is my bond!" the white-masked man shot back, already lashing out with a palm strike.

Qin Yun dodled swiftly and snorted, "I don’t trust you! You’ve pulled tricks before—like that time when I was about to put you down, and you just vanished!"

"Cut the crap!" The white-masked man growled in irritation, his fists flying faster now, each hit carrying an icy chill.

Qin Yun was here for martial training. His main goal was to crack the secrets of those advanced moves through life-or-death combat.

The white-masked man gave no quarter, never letting Qin Yun drag things out—he always finished him off quickly.

But Qin Yun kept coming back for more. Every time he died, he’d immediately hunt the masked man down again.

Now, he didn't care about points anymore.

For him, mastering martial techniques and growing stronger was everything.

Only then could he finally defeat the white-masked man.

And once he did, points wouldn’t mean squat.

Over a month later, Qin Yun’s score had plummeted to negative seven thousand!

Folks had to hand it to him—racking up that kind of debt was a skill in itself.

After a month of grinding, his martial skills and overall abilities sharpened significantly.

Part of him was low-key grateful to the white-masked man. After all, this was a demi-immortal powerhouse who somehow had the time to spar with him constantly yet kept humoring him with fights.

Back at the safe zone, Qin Yun sat inside a tent, satisfied with his progress.

Before, he couldn’t survive twenty moves against the masked man before getting killed.

Now he could last a hundred moves.

"The three strikes of the Ultimate Dragon Palm are starting to click too," Qin Yun said, nodding in satisfaction.

Plus, he'd learned the second step of the Ninefold Steps—Phantom Step, Still Breath.

The one weak spot was the Heaven-Piercing Finger—he’d only grasped the basics and still couldn’t unleash it in an instant.

"Maybe this time I’ll take him down." After resting, Qin Yun stepped out of the tent and made his way toward the city gates.

He’d been practicing his martial arts within the Immortal Armory Mirage.

With all the limits there, he’d pushed his skills to the max under brutal conditions.

Without those handicaps, his techniques would be even more devastating.

That was part of what made the Immortal Armory Mirage so appealing.

It hit Qin Yun that he used to rely too much on talismans and weapons.

Take Jian Nanhu—same deal.

Qin Yun could hold his own unarmed, but that was only thanks to his Profound Body.

But here in the Mirage, stripped of his Profound Body’s power, he had no choice but to git gud the hard way.

...

Qin Yun walked out of the Safe City and entered the mountain range.

The white-masked figure arrived soon.

Over the past month, Qin Yun and the white-masked figure had fought here many times.

"This time, I will definitely defeat you!" Qin Yun was full of confidence.

"You won’t be able to defeat me in less than ten years!" The white-masked figure hovered midair, her black robe fluttering in the wind, radiating a bone-chilling aura.

Unlike before, she didn’t immediately attack upon meeting.

"You underestimate me too much!" Qin Yun said unhappily.

"It’s not that I underestimate you—that’s just the reality! In the Celestial Weapon Illusory Realm, without relying on your Profound Body or talisman-empowered weapons, your true power level shows!" the white-masked figure replied.

"I’ve made major improvements this month!" Qin Yun shouted. "You can’t deny that!"

"What does your little progress amount to? You still fall to me, while you can’t even harm me. That’s the power gap!" The white-masked figure sneered.

"It’ll take me ten years to defeat you? Then how am I supposed to participate in the Martial Arts Championship?" Qin Yun clenched his fists.

Sensing Qin Yun’s suddenly intensified aura, the white-masked figure grew wary and taunted, "With your current level, you’d only embarrass yourself!"

"What about Jian Ruyan and the others? Why can they go? Is Jian Ruyan stronger than me?" Qin Yun shot back indignantly.

"With your current strength, you truly can’t defeat Jian Ruyan!" the white-masked figure mocked.

"I’ll defeat you today!" Qin Yun snapped angrily.

The white-masked figure let out a mocking laugh. "Keep dreaming!"

"If I defeat you, I can enter that restricted zone, right?" Qin Yun asked.

"Correct, but without ten years, you’ll never defeat me!" The white-masked figure’s voice was laced with sarcasm. "You should focus on improving your strength honestly!"

Qin Yun snapped, "Don’t worry, I’ll defeat you today! I need to enter that restricted zone!"

"If you defeat me today, I’ll let you use the Celestial Artifact of the Celestial Weapon City—the Sun Moon Celestial Bed!" The white-masked figure said with a derisive smirk. "But there’s no way you can defeat me in just a few days!"

"You said it yourself!" Qin Yun grew excited.

"Come on!" The white-masked figure stood still and called out.

Qin Yun used Radiant Mirage and blinked forward.

"Too slow!" The white-masked figure said, then lashed out with a palm strike, expecting to hit Qin Yun. But to her surprise, Qin Yun dodged at the last second.

Qin Yun’s speed had increased compared to before!

The last time the white-masked figure fought Qin Yun was three days ago.

She had battled him frequently, so she was very familiar with his abilities.

But now, Qin Yun’s sudden increase in speed caught her off guard, causing her to misjudge.

After dodging the attack, Qin Yun immediately unleashed his devastating Tremor Thunder Fist, the force transforming into a crackling bolt of lightning aimed straight at the white-masked figure’s mask.

The white-masked woman jerked her head aside to evade, simultaneously unleashing a wave of bone-chilling energy.

Within a radius of ten thousand meters, the area instantly transformed into a frozen hellscape, with a blizzard raging.

As the blizzard emerged, Qin Yun quickly retreated from the zone, as it was highly unfavorable for him.

To his growing frustration, wherever the white-masked woman went, she immediately turned the surroundings into a blizzard-filled environment.

"This woman is at the Semi-Immortal Realm, suppressing her cultivation to the Spirit Martial Realm. This level of energy drain is nothing to her!" Ling Yuner said. "You can't outlast her!"

Qin Yun was well aware of this.

"She's constantly suppressing me—I can't even find an opening to use the Ultimate Dragon Palm on her!" Qin Yun gritted through his teeth, hastily dodging the white-masked woman’s attacks.

The white-masked woman’s rapid punches and palm strikes, accompanied by the blizzard, came crashing down like an avalanche.

"Qin Yun, face reality. You can't defeat me in such a short time!"

The white-masked woman seemed visibly enjoying herself, her attacks growing even more intense.

Qin Yun was struck dozens of times, his body pierced by cold that seeped into his marrow, his internal energy circulation disrupted.

"No! If this continues, my body will freeze solid. This is my only shot—I must use the Sun Moon Celestial Bed now!"

Qin Yun barely twisted away from the white-masked woman’s fatal strike moments ago.

Yet, the white-masked woman pursued him relentlessly, her black-gloved hand stretching toward Qin Yun like a reaper’s grasp.

"With your current strength, don't even think about using the Sun Moon Celestial Bed. Keep dreaming!" the white-masked woman sneered.

Watching the incoming palm strike, Qin Yun seethed with defiance.

"I must win!" he howled in his mind, suddenly thrusting forward with two fingers pressed together, aiming directly at the white-masked woman.

In that instant, he successfully executed the first stance of the Heaven-Piercing Finger—Finger That Splits Mountains and Rends Earth!