In order to learn the Heaven Crushing Techniques, one’s aptitude was extremely important.
The aptitude referred to here was not aptitude in cultivation, but instead, one’s aptitude in observing the Heavenly Dao.
Those who had good aptitude would be able to grasp things very easily and progress at a fast rate.
However, those with insufficient aptitude would find it difficult to progress no matter how hard they tried.
Take someone like Xue Zhantian for example. Even though he hadn’t joined the Heaven Crushing Sect, the Ancient Dragon Empress saw his potential and agreed to teach him the Heaven Crushing Techniques under strictly confidential circumstances. He was now the most proficient living being at using the Heaven Crushing Techniques below Dao Integration Stage.
This was a show of his aptitude.
Aptitude was far more important than perseverance in this case.
The Ancient Dragon Empress was only teaching everyone how to fuse the heaven crushing true intent with their own powers. Training would yield some results, but aptitude determined everything!
Just ten days of learning was enough for her to determine who would go far.
“Next, you will unleash your Heaven Crushing Techniques to attack me with all your might, and I will also use my Heaven Crushing Techniques to face you.” The Ancient Dragon Empress was brimming with confidence as she stood at the center of the drill ground.
After attaining the heaven crushing true intent, one could fuse it together with their own power to create Heaven Crushing Techniques.
It was easy to grasp the basics, but further progression would depend almost entirely on one’s aptitude!
“Who wants to go first?” the Ancient Dragon Empress asked.
Everyone looked at each other.
A man in a black robe with a set of cold features strode out first. “I’ll go first!”
This man was none other than Yao Mingxi, the Return to Void Stage sword immortal from the Spirit Sword State who was once An Lin’s retarded superfan!
“Please.” The Ancient Dragon Empress extended a slender hand toward him.
“Alright, I’m coming, Teacher Ancient Dragon Empress.”
Yao Mingxi drew his longsword, and his sword intent erupted into the sky!
His sword projection transformed into an azure dragon that roared as it hurtled toward the Ancient Dragon Empress. It was imbued with the unyielding intent to defy the heavens!
The Ancient Dragon Empress’ colorful imperial robe flapped violently around her, and she closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, her eyes had turned pure golden in color, and it seemed to be emanating light that could see through and break through all things!
“Break.” Her voice sent soundwaves proliferating outward.
Yao Mingxi’s azure dragon was instantly shattered by the soundwaves.
At the same time, his chest received a heavy blow, and his body flew back like a cannonball.
“Pfff…” He threw up a mouthful of blood and tumbled to the ground in an extremely disheveled state.
The Ancient Dragon Empress shook her head. “Your aptitude is average. Even your will to defy the heavens is so feeble…”
What she was saying was that he wasn’t really any different from the average Return to Void Stage cultivator and that there was nothing special about him.
Yao Mingxi was a little disappointed upon hearing this, but he soon regained his composure and extended a respectful bow. “Thank you for your teachings, Teacher Ancient Dragon Empress.”
The Ancient Dragon Empress nodded with a smile, and an indescribable sense of elation welled up in her heart.
These little rascals had made her life hell for the past few days…
She was going to exact her revenge on all of them today!
Raphaella offered a comforting smile. “You don’t need to feel too much pressure. Among all Return to Void Stage mighty figures, there is perhaps only one among ten that has the aptitude to go far in cultivating the Heaven Crushing Techniques. Even if you’re not exceptionally talented, you will still be able to combat the Heavenly Human Tribe with far greater ease after cultivating the Heaven Crushing Techniques, so your efforts will not be wasted!”
The warm smile of the Archangel combined with the thoughtful nature of her words instantly alleviated most of Yao Mingxi’s disappointment. Even the people behind him were not feeling as tense anymore.
An Lin was even more appreciative of this six-winged archangel now. Wouldn’t it be awesome if she could become the foreign ambassador for the Four Nine Immortal Sect?
“Who’s next?” The Ancient Dragon Empress smiled.
“Me, me! I’ll go!” Liu Qianhuan skipped out in her sailor costume while wielding her six-feathered staff with an eager expression.
“Come on then.” The Ancient Dragon Empress extended a hand toward her.
Liu Qianhuan’s pink staff quickly revolved around her body as a terrifying power converged.
This power was imbued with the power to end all things, and when unleashed to the extreme, it felt as if it would even be capable of ending this heaven and earth!
The Ancient Dragon Empress’ eyes lit up. “Oh? That’s a very good heaven crushing true intent, It’s very unique…”
“Take this, Heaven Crushing Final Spark!” the young sorceress yelled as a pillar of light imbued with heaven crushing force soared through the air.
Boom!
White energy tore through the earth, heading straight for the Ancient Dragon Empress’ face.
“Break.” The Ancient Dragon Empress remained standing on the spot, and she unleashed her soundwave attack again.
The soundwaves and pillar of light clashed, and just when it looked like the Ancient Dragon Empress’ power was going to crush the pillar of light, Liu Qianhuan suddenly threw her staff into the sky and stamped her foot onto the ground. “Young sorceress hack mode, activate! Infinite Heaven Crushing Final Spark!”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…
Over a hundred golden holes suddenly appeared in the air before quickly gathering power. The energy in each and every one of those holes was enough to rival the power of the Heaven Crushing Final Spark she had unleashed.
Boom boom boom!
All one hundred Heaven Crushing Final Sparks hurtled toward the Ancient Dragon Empress at the same time!
The Ancient Dragon Empress’ expression finally turned grave upon seeing this.
“Heaven Crushing Armor.” The Ancient Dragon Empress took a deep breath and materialized an indestructible suit of armor around herself.
In order to crush the heavens, one had to protect themselves first. The semi-transparent, golden armor on the Ancient Dragon Empress’ body was intended exactly for that purpose!
A relentless barrage of explosions made the earth tremor and quake.
The Ancient Dragon Empress was blasted over a hundred times, and Liu Qianhuan didn’t even get a chance to survey the aftermath when she heard a familiar voice.
“Heavenly Crushing Palm!”
An overwhelmingly powerful palm tore through the explosive power and crashed into the Liu Qianhuan’s body, sending her flying through the air before tumbling to the ground.
Liu Qianhuan had been defeated.
A hint of surprise appeared on the Ancient Dragon Empress’ face. “Your aptitude is outstanding. You were able to fuse heaven crushing power into your dao of finality, allowing you to end the heavens through your own will. If you continue to work hard and cultivate, you will definitely make new breakthroughs in the future.”
“Thank you, Teacher.” Liu Qianhuan curtseyed with a wide grin, as if she had done something insignificant and not really worthy of note.
The Ancient Dragon Empress’ lips twitched. The fourth heavenly disciple was giving her such glowing praise, couldn’t she at least act a little happier?
In fact, no one really thought the Ancient Dragon Empress’ praise was all that noteworthy.
However, Raphaella was extremely surprised. Even though the Ancient Dragon Empress was not using her power of the divine dao and was only using her Heaven Crushing Techniques, it was still very impressive that Liu Qianhuan managed to force her to this extent.
The Four Nine Immortal Sect really was a scary place…
“Da Bai, your turn!” An Lin instructed.
“Teacher Ancient Dragon Empress, I’m coming! Woof!” Da Bai pounced toward the Ancient Dragon Empress with excitement shimmering in his eyes and his attention firmly focused on her voluptuous breasts and tall, slender body.
A disdainful expression appeared on the Ancient Dragon Empress’ face. “Piss off!”
Da Bai was knocked flying by her soundwave attack…
His aptitude was also rated as average.
Raphaella heaved a sigh of relief. It looked like there were only a few supremely talented freaks here.
However, Sect Leader An Lin was a little displeased.
The Ancient Dragon Empress had taught them diligently for ten days, but all of them were losing one after the other… Not only was this humiliating to the sect, but it was surely also making the Ancient Dragon Empress quite dejected…
The Ancient Dragon Empress turned toward the distressed group of mighty figures before her and offered some encouragement, “If you’re scared, you can team up against me. I can still analyze your skills even on a team basis.”
An Lin thought about it for a moment before coming to a decision. “Merlin, Cassidy, you two go at the same time. You’ve both been Holy Disciples for so long, so you should have developed some good teamwork.”
Merlin and Cassidy gladly accepted this arrangement.
An Lin decided to fan the flames a little. “If you beat Teacher Ancient Dragon Empress, I’ll reward you with three milliliters of holy blood each!”
Boom! Boom!
Unprecedented heaven crushing power surged into the clouds!