Chapter: 785 (1/2)

AST 785 – Breakthrough, Sixth Wave, Eager To Go Back Home

In a blink of an eye, ten days had passed!

Qing Shui had been investing his time on the cultivation of the Sword of Fifth Wave everyday. He would only stop to rest when he had exhausted himself completely. And during his rest, he would think about the problems with his method and the possible solutions to break through the 64th wave.

In the span of ten days, he had turned from someone with no resistance to the waves to someone with the immense strength to crash through the waves. Despite his newfound strength, he couldn’t quite understand why he still wasn’t able to break through the 64th wave…..

Suddenly, the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint came to mind – the technique that was closely related to the Nine Waves Great Buddha Palm. Qing Shui jolted when he suddenly had a thought, what if the Sword of Fifth Wave he had been using was actually the Nine Waves Great Buddha Palm all along?

He had sufficient power to break through the wave but he still couldn’t do it. Qing Shui decided to take a good rest first before he would start to use the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint.

Good thing Qing Shui had never given up on the cultivation of the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint entirely. Right now, he had reached about 390 palms. His guts were telling him that if he were to break through to the 400th palm, then he might be able to break through to the Sixth Wave as well.

When Qing Shui had decided on one thing, he would do it immediately. And so, he prepared himself and ran a test with the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint. His powers had met with extraordinary improvements during his days cultivating in the sea waters, as well as cultivating inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

With that, he had already reached the power that was required to break through the 64th wave. He had strengthened everything he could but because the Fifth Wave was still stuck in a bottleneck – the unfortunate limit of the Fifth Wave Essence, he wasn’t able to breakthrough the last wave.

Nevertheless, Qing Shui had already expected this outcome. When he had cultivated his Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint last time, it was at the mark of 350th palm. But in a span of one month, he had broken through to the mark of 390th palm. Because of that, Qing Shui speculated that the swift increase of the technique was due to his cultivation with the waves. Because the Wave Essence had improved, the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint was able to improve at godly speed as well.

Qing Shui was pleasantly surprised by the improvement. He felt that he would be able to allow the Wave Essence to break through to the Sixth Wave as long as he could reach the mark of the 400th palm.

Since the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal was in his possession, he would be able to cultivate the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint sufficiently, which would save a lot of time. He still had a bit more time, nonetheless. However, Qing Shui wasn’t willing to part with such a great location just yet, so he decided that he would leave after he had successfully broken through to the Sixth Wave. They had been here for a month already, so it wouldn’t matter much if they stayed a bit longer than that. Besides, it wouldn’t take too long as long as he had the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal to train in.

After two days had passed, Qing Shui had finally reach the 399th palm. However, he still couldn’t link to the 400th palm no matter how much he tried. This had Qing Shui flustered and anxious.

Another day, another morning. Qing Shui had made the decision that today would be the last day they would stay on in the Southern Sea. There was essentially no more time allowance to stay any longer. If he still couldn’t achieve a breakthrough, then he would go back home and wait for the breakthrough to happen slowly.

After numerous demonstrations of the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint, none of them worked. Qing Shui had never been one to be dejected but he could still be a little bit disappointed when he was met with numerous failures. When he looked up to the sky, it was already past afternoon, so he decided he would attempt one more time before departing for home.

Qing Shui took out the Big Dipper Sword and submerged half of his body into the cold waters, which surprisingly, felt quite comfortable. Then, he increased his aura and let out a long, blaring shout. With the Sword of Fifth Wave, he had broken a series of waves like a flash of lightning.

The mighty aura permeated to the surroundings from Qing Shui’s body as he continued to burst through the waves. He moved in a flexible motion, yet with extraordinary vigor. Each time he had advanced to the next set of waves, he would circulate his force to the maximum, yet he did not waste a bit of his power as he sliced through the devastating waters.

Break break break…….

In a flash, he had reached the 64th wave. Qing Shui roared loudly as he welcomed the giant wave with the sword. However, the wave did not break and clashed its mighty waters toward Qing Shui. Despite the unsuccessful attempt, Qing Shui was still impressed that the wave was able to push him back to the starting point despite clashing with the power of immense force.

“Why? Is it because the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint hasn’t had a breakthrough yet?”

After he had adjusted his emotions and regained his composure, Qing Shui faced the waves once again. He rushed toward a series of waves at a faster speed and as he reached the 64th wave, he could feel the Wave Essence diminishing a great amount. However, he could still feel the power inside him but in the end, he was not able to release it. The giant wave rose up like a towering mountain and poured down onto him with the force of a waterfall.

No, he wasn’t convinced at all! He wasn’t willing to give up, yet he knew that this was the limit of the Fifth Wave.

“I will reach a breakthrough for the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint now.”

Qing Shui shouted abruptly and quickly used the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint on his exhausted arms. Then he rushed toward the wave with the Big Dipper Sword on one hand. He could feel his power increasing tremendously at a swift rate, which had also shocked Qing Shui for a bit.

Qing Shui didn’t think that the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint this time would be articulated this fast. He tried to attempt the technique one more time in one breath, subsequently releasing an overwhelming power and aura from his body.

Break!

A tremendous sword Qi that was greater than the previous ones suddenly appeared and flashed through the wave, bursting the towering waters as the wave dispersed. Qing Shui could feel that he had lost a great amount of power in an instant but surprisingly, he felt quite relaxed and at ease. It was as if he felt satisfied from drinking a cup of refreshing water after not having one in ten years.

The sense of contentment was indescribable. With the split-second combination of exhausted Fifth Wave and the Thousand Buddha Palm Imprint that had reached a bottleneck, he had finally achieved a breakthrough, just like that. The raging waves of the sea may have contributed to the breakthrough as well.

For a breakthrough to occur, the power must be prioritized, which would then be followed by opportunity and experience. The stronger the barrier and the bottleneck of the technique, the greater opportunity one would require to achieve a breakthrough. Everything has a connection – sometimes one small step or action could lead to a higher possibility of breakthrough. Sometimes, one would never be able to achieve a breakthrough in their lifetime regardless of their effort or experience.

Qing Shui was shuttled back to the starting point by the wave, making it seem like everything was a dream. However, he knew the breakthrough did happen but to prove his point, he decided he would use the Sword of Fifth Wave once again.

Qing Shui was able to release his sword with ease, demonstrating a power that was obviously stronger than the Fifth Wave. One difference in level between the Wave Essence could bring about a radical change to the situation. If his power were to increase, the Wave Essence would follow as well.

Break break break!

As expected, he had obtained the Sword of Sixth Wave. With the devastating power of the Wave Essence, he felt as if he could destroy a mountain effortlessly. Moreover, whenever he needed to use the Sword of Fifth Wave, it would take some time before it could be released. Qing Shui was pleased to know that the preparation time had been shortened for the Sixth Wave. This was more or less the same time needed for the Fourth Wave or perhaps even shorter than the Fourth Wave itself.