Martial Saint with Passives

After returning to the tranquil, elegant courtyard reserved for the Cangyun Sect’s Chief Disciple,

Jiang Che did not rush to digest the vast, oceanic insights he had inherited from True Master Bai Yi.

Nor did he immediately throw himself into a new round of secluded cultivation.

He had something more important, more urgent, that he needed to confirm.

He dismissed all the Servant Disciples waiting outside the courtyard and walked alone into the secluded chamber paved with Snow Crystal Jade.

As the heavy Stone Door slowly closed, it shut out all light and sound from the outside world.

The chamber was instantly plunged into absolute silence.

Although there was no light from the outside,

the Snow Crystal Jade emitted a faint, gentle glow that illuminated the chamber.

Jiang Che took a deep breath, feeling the cool Spiritual Qi in the air, but his mind couldn’t completely settle.

He slowly closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness deep into his Sea of Consciousness.

’Transformation!’

BOOM—

A familiar, violent, and primal power instantly erupted from the depths of his being!

CRACK! SNAP!

His bones grew frantically amid a series of sharp cracks, his muscles swelling rapidly as if being pumped full of air!

Thick, menacing plates of pitch-black Scale Armor erupted from under his skin like living things, swiftly covering his entire body!

In just a few breaths, he transformed from a slender young man

into a nearly twelve-foot-tall Black-armored Giant, brimming with destructive power!

However, the chamber was over sixteen feet high and spacious enough for him to move freely.

Jiang Che slowly opened his eyes. Through the slits in his Helmet, two clusters of dark red flame burned quietly.

He carefully sensed the changes to his body.

’My power... it’s stronger than before!’

As his Root Bone improved and his Realm stabilized,

his base strength in the Black Armor Form had also seen a significant increase.

But what truly shook him was the feeling...

The insane desire to destroy everything—a savage, bloodthirsty madness that had once surged from the depths of his soul with every Transformation, clinging to him like a maggot to bone.

And it... was gone!

His consciousness was clearer than it had ever been!

Aside from being keenly aware of the world-destroying power within him,

his state of mind was as calm and undisturbed as ever.

’It worked... True Master Bai Yi’s Seal really worked!’

A surge of joy rose in Jiang Che’s heart.

But he knew this wasn’t enough.

The malevolence of the Heart of the Black Abyss went far beyond this.

Previously, he could barely maintain his sanity as long as he wasn’t exposed to blood.

But the moment he smelled it,

the uncontrollable urge to rampage would burst forth like a flood from a broken dam, completely overwhelming his reason.

He walked to a corner of the secluded chamber, where a large cage made of Refined Iron stood, taller than a man.

Crammed inside were over a dozen mutated rats the size of small dogs, their bodies covered in coarse, grayish-black fur.

They bared their sharp, yellowed Tusks, their small, scarlet eyes glinting with savage light in the darkness. They were anxiously tearing at and ramming into one another, letting out high-pitched SQUEAKS.

These were the Black Beasts known as Giant-toothed Rats, captured from the surrounding mountains.

They were ferocious by nature and reproduced at an astonishing rate.

Often, they swarmed in packs to devour crops and ruin fields, sometimes even attacking the draft oxen of local farmers. They were a major scourge to the nearby mountain villages.

A few days ago, the Sect had issued a mission to exterminate them, and Jiang Che had conveniently asked the disciple in charge of the task for a cage of live specimens to use for his experiment today.

Jiang Che opened the cage door and reached inside.

His massive, black-armored hand clamped around the neck of the stoutest Giant-toothed Rat and yanked it out.

The Giant-toothed Rat struggled and bit frantically in his grasp. Its sharp Tusks scraped against his hard Black Armor, creating a series of ear-piercing GRINDING sounds.

But it couldn’t leave even the slightest scratch.

Jiang Che’s gaze was icy as his fingers slowly tightened.

SQUELCH!

With a sickening wet sound, he crushed the Giant-toothed Rat’s skull as easily as if it were a ripe berry.

Foul-smelling, dark-red blood and brain matter instantly splattered everywhere, drenching his arm and the Black Armor on his chest.

The thick stench of blood instantly filled the sealed chamber.

Jiang Che stood perfectly still, sensing his own reaction.

He smelled the blood. He could even feel the warm liquid trickling down his Scale Armor.

But...

His mind was a placid lake.

There wasn’t the slightest agitation, not a hint of madness, and certainly none of the savage desire to tear everything to shreds!

’It really... it worked!’ Jiang Che’s heart thrilled with excitement.

He casually tossed the headless corpse aside and reached back into the cage.

One, then another...

SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH!

...

Accompanied by a series of sickening pops,

he crushed every one of the dozen ferocious Giant-toothed Rats.

When the last Giant-toothed Rat had been obliterated, Jiang Che stood in a pool of blood and carnage, feeling that his mind was still as calm as still water.

He could finally be certain.

The danger of losing control—the threat from the Heart of the Black Abyss that had hung over his head like a sword—

had been completely sealed away by True Master Bai Yi!

The Black Armor Form slowly receded.

He frowned at the slaughterhouse scene before him, the floor littered with mangled flesh and remains.

He canceled the Transformation, walked to the entrance of the secluded chamber, and opened the Stone Door.

Outside the courtyard, several Outer Disciples responsible for cleaning and attending to him were waiting around, bored.

They had all been specially assigned by the Sect to serve the Chief Disciple.

For these Outer Disciples, this was an opportunity to get close to the Chief Disciple.