Fang Chen's pitch-black eyes stared at the entrance to the second level, and then directly entered the second level.
After entering the second level, Fang Chen discovered that it was still a sealed space, very similar to the first level.
"Is this the second level?" Fang Chen muttered to himself.
Just as Fang Chen was speaking, a figure suddenly appeared in the sealed space of the second level.
When Fang Chen saw the figure, he was completely shocked.
Wasn't this the skinny old man from the first level? He was clearly defeated by Fang Chen on the first level, and then scattered. Why would he appear on the second level?
As if he knew Fang Chen's doubts, the skinny old man chuckled and said, "Kid, the one on the first level was just a clone of mine. Of course, I'm also just a clone now."
Hearing the skinny old man's words, Fang Chen was shocked.
If a clone could have such powerful combat power, then how powerful was his original body?
Fang Chen's gaze towards the skinny old man was filled with a fiery passion.
The skinny old man's strength was completely beyond Fang Chen's expectations, and it shocked Fang Chen.
"Kid, the strength of this clone of mine is comparable to the third level of the Spiritual Vortex Realm. You can only pass the second level's test if you defeat me." The skinny old man chuckled and said.
After interacting with Fang Chen on the first level, the skinny old man realized that although Fang Chen's strength was not strong, his potential was extremely heaven-defying.
One had to know that the weak looked at strength, while the truly strong looked at potential.
This was because in the early stages, one could make up for the lack of potential through hard work. However, in the later stages, especially when advancing to the Real Martial Realm, one could not advance to the Real Martial Realm without heaven-defying potential.
The Ancient Sword Continent was huge, and there were very few strong people who could advance to the Real Martial Realm.
Countless martial artists spent their entire lives and were eventually trapped in the Spiritual Vortex Realm. When their time came, they died unwillingly.
Fang Chen's rapid improvement surprised the skinny old man. The skinny old man believed that with Fang Chen's heaven-defying potential, as long as he did not die halfway, advancing to the Real Martial Realm was just a matter of time.
It was not impossible for him to surpass the Real Martial Realm in the future.
The skinny old man seemed to be a keeper, but he was actually a qualified sparring partner.
Fang Chen was stunned when he heard the skinny old man's words, and felt a little helpless.
After half a month of hard work, he had finally improved his strength and defeated the skinny old man who was at the peak of the second level of the Spiritual Vortex Realm. He did not expect the skinny old man on the second level to be comparable to a martial artist at the third level of the Spiritual Vortex Realm.
One should know that a martial artist at the third level of the Spiritual Vortex Realm could already enter the top 30 of the Hidden Dragon Roll.
However, Fang Chen was not discouraged.
After all, he still had a long time. With the skinny old man as his sparring partner, he could quickly improve his strength.
He could imagine that if he could successfully leave this place, his strength would definitely improve by leaps and bounds. By then, it would not be impossible for him to challenge the top experts on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
This was an opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Fang Chen would not let it go so easily.
"Senior, I am going to make my move."
Fang Chen cupped his hands at the skinny old man and said. Just as he finished speaking, a rich water concept emerged and he took out the Hidden Star Sword.
Fang Chen pushed the Small Success Flowing Water Sword Technique to the extreme. Combined with the water concept of the third minor realm, the power of this sword could easily defeat a martial artist at the peak of the second level of the Spiritual Vortex Realm. Even a martial artist at the beginning of the third level of the Spiritual Vortex Realm would be injured if they faced it head-on.
However, Fang Chen was facing the skinny old man.
Playing with water in front of the skinny old man was a joke in itself.
Sure enough, when he saw that Fang Chen's Star Concealing Sword was about to pierce his body, a trace of a smile appeared on the skinny old man's face. After that, he suddenly pulled back his palm. Instantly, the wild Water Concept directly turned into countless splashes of water that shot towards the Star Concealing Sword.
Bang bang bang!
As expected, Fang Chen was defeated by the skinny old man in one move. His body immediately retreated.
When Fang Chen stabilized his body, his face was filled with helplessness as he looked at the skinny old man.
The skinny old man nodded and said, "You have great potential, but you can't defeat me for now. Go out and cultivate."
Fang Chen cupped his hands at the skinny old man and left the Heaven Pagoda.
In the following time, Fang Chen cultivated in Heaven City. He wanted to raise his cultivation to the second level of the Spiritual Vortex Realm in one go. Then, he would be able to compete with the skinny old man.
However, it was very difficult to raise his cultivation after reaching the Spiritual Vortex Realm.
Fang Chen had been stuck at the peak of the first level of the Spiritual Vortex Realm for a long time. However, he was unable to break through to the second level of the Spiritual Vortex Realm. This made him very frustrated.
Time passed by slowly. In the blink of an eye, another month had passed. During this month, Fang Chen's cultivation did not break through. However, his Flowing Water Swordsmanship had a breakthrough.
The Flowing Water Swordsmanship's power increased once again when it was upgraded from Small Completion to Great Completion.
On the day of the Flowing Water Swordsmanship's breakthrough, Fang Chen excitedly rushed into the Heaven Pagoda to challenge the skinny old man. However, he was still met with a punch. A simple punch negated his one month of hard work.
However, Fang Chen was not discouraged. He continued to cultivate after he came out.
After two months in the Water God Sect, all the warriors in the other three cities had left. Only Fang Chen in Heaven City was left.
In the outside world, many important things were happening as well. Countless ruins were discovered by martialists one after another.
Of course, Fang Chen continued to cultivate in Heaven City as usual.
Including the time before, the Bloody Battle Space had been opened for three months. Half of the time had passed.
During this time, Fang Chen's overall strength had improved a lot.
One day, Fang Chen was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. He was cultivating when his eyes suddenly opened. He quickly stood up and the Hidden Star Sword appeared in his hand.
He stabbed out with the Flowing Water Swordsmanship again and again.
After his Water Concept had reached the third minor realm, Fang Chen's comprehension of the Flowing Water Swordsmanship had deepened.
Swoosh!
The Hidden Star Sword in Fang Chen's hand suddenly stabbed out. Suddenly, countless sword shadows appeared in the void. They carried a majestic sword essence and shot into the distance.
Crash!
These sword shadows stabbed into the walls of Heaven City, causing the already dilapidated Heaven City to become even more dilapidated.
At this moment, the sword essence around Fang Chen's body was extremely dense. His aura was constantly rising. When his aura reached its peak, Fang Chen put away the Hidden Star Sword.
"My cultivation did not break through, but my sword essence has reached the peak of the first minor realm," Fang Chen said with a grin.
Ever since he had taken the second step of the Sword Principle and started cultivating his sword essence again, his sword essence had not improved. During the two months he had been cultivating the Flowing Water Swordsmanship, Fang Chen's sword essence had also been quietly improving.
Finally, his sword essence had reached the peak of the first minor realm today.
Fang Chen's control of the Flowing Water Swordsmanship was as pure as fire. As long as he cultivated for a while, he would definitely be able to reach the great completion realm.
"I wonder if I can defeat the skinny old man now," Fang Chen muttered to himself.
After pondering for a moment, Fang Chen once again entered the second level of the Heaven Pagoda. The skinny old man appeared instantly.
"Why? You want to challenge me again?" the skinny old man asked as he looked at Fang Chen.
"Senior, I have gained a lot in the past two months of cultivation, but I have been unable to break through. I have thought about it carefully. The reason for this is because there is no pressure," Fang Chen said.
Indeed, there was no pressure at all when cultivating here.
There was no pressure even when breaking through the levels. If he failed this time, there would be another time. If he failed the next time, there would be another time.
In short, every time he fought the skinny old man, he did not feel threatened and could not stimulate his own potential.
Therefore, Fang Chen made a decision this time. He wanted to feel the threat of death and seek a breakthrough in a battle on the edge of life and death.
The path of martial arts was in itself a path that defied the heavens. If one cultivated too smoothly, it would not awaken the hidden nature in the depths of a martial artist's heart.
"Oh, what do you want?" the skinny old man asked after hearing this.
If it was within the scope of his duties, the skinny old man was willing to help Fang Chen.
After all, Fang Chen was the first martial artist to come to the Heaven City in such a long time. Moreover, Fang Chen's potential had already been recognized by the skinny old man.
If it was possible, he was still very willing to help.
"Senior, please don't hold back in the battle later. Put pressure on me and let me feel the threat of death. Let me seek a breakthrough in a battle on the edge of life and death," Fang Chen said in a deep voice.
The skinny old man nodded and said, "Okay, I promise you."
As soon as the skinny old man finished speaking, a biting cold murderous intent suddenly filled the entire second level and directly pressed towards Fang Chen.
"What a strong murderous intent."
Seeing this, Fang Chen's eyes revealed a burning look.
This was the kind of battle that he wanted.
The skinny old man released such a strong murderous intent to make Fang Chen feel threatened.
"Kid, watch carefully."
As soon as the skinny old man's voice fell, the murderous intent that filled the second level suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a gentle intent.
The more it was like this, the more Fang Chen felt frightened.
"This …"
Before the battle even started, Fang Chen felt a trace of panic, a horror that came from the depths of his soul.
However, the more it was like this, the more excited Fang Chen became.
For the first time in more than two months, he felt a biting cold murderous intent.
A terrifying light shot out from the skinny old man's eyes as he stared straight at Fang Chen.
In an instant, Fang Chen felt his vision blur as a blurry scene appeared in front of him.
At this moment, a trace of icy aura flowed out from the golden heart, immediately waking Fang Chen up.
At this moment, Fang Chen's heart was filled with shock.
"What a strong illusion technique."
Just by looking at him, he could make him fall into an illusion. The skinny old man's strength was too terrifying.