Power Soars!

Both martial arts and cultivation had broken through!

In just one month, Chen Yan had gone from an ordinary youth with no cultivation whatsoever to a young prodigy at the early True Force Realm and mid Essence Cultivation stage!

Such speed could hardly be called anything but astonishing. Even disciples from the Immortal and Buddhist Orthodox Schools would cultivate no faster than this.

Of course, All-Encompassing Great Tonic Soup had played a crucial role in allowing him to advance so quickly.

All-Encompassing Great Tonic Soup was originally a marvelous prescription designed by the Heavenly Supervision Department specifically for Consolidating the Foundation and Cultivating the Origin of cultivators. Its powerful effects needed no elaboration.

For an ordinary person with no foundation at all, reaching this point would take at least ten or even twenty years.

Crack!

Chen Yan tried throwing a punch. His fist tore through the air, producing an explosive crack like firecrackers!

His ears twitched. Even without the Benefit Calendar Spirit Transformation Talisman, Chen Yan could clearly hear the faint rustling of trees outside as the wind brushed through them.

"After breaking through to True Force, my strength and speed have at least doubled. Even my five senses have improved considerably."

His eyes lit up as Chen Yan looked at his hands in delighted surprise. He moved about where he stood, feeling as though his entire body was brimming with inexhaustible power.

"Next, I'll try using true qi..."

Chen Yan's expression turned solemn. He drew a deep breath and began attempting to mobilize the true qi within him.

The true qi circulated once through the bones and meridians throughout his body. Crisp crack-crack sounds rang from Chen Yan's body as his sinews and bones resonated together!

Then, the true qi flowed into his arms. The muscles in both arms visibly swelled by a full circle. His gaze sharpened, and Chen Yan threw a punch!

Whoosh!

A shrill sonic boom erupted through the air!

The fierce fist wind howled past, whipping up a gale that made the old tree in the small courtyard sway wildly, its branches shaking violently. Facai, who had been dozing on one of those branches, was caught off guard and blown right off. Furious, it cried endlessly at the youth:

"Meow, meow, meow!"

Chen Yan paid no attention at all to Facai's indignant protest. He looked down at his hands, his eyes filled with delight.

"So strong?!"

The effects of true qi were even stronger than Chen Yan had imagined. That punch just now had doubled both his speed and strength on top of their original foundation!

No wonder A Jia had crushed him in strength the instant he mobilized True Force back then, despite Chen Yan having reached the Third Blood Qi Realm.

Only after breaking through to the True Force Realm did Chen Yan understand just how vast the gap was between a True Energy Martial Master and a Qi and Blood Martial Artist.

It was no exaggeration to say that even ten Third Blood Qi Realm Martial Masters might not be a match for one True Energy Martial Master.

A True Energy Martial Master's physique alone far surpassed that of a Third Blood Qi Realm Martial Master, not to mention their even more explosively powerful true qi.

"Unfortunately, my total amount of true qi is still too little. If I unleash it at full force, I'll probably exhaust it all in fewer than ten strikes."

Feeling the mist-like true qi swirling within his dantian, Chen Yan could not help but sigh.

When True Energy Martial Masters clashed, barring outside interference, the one with abundant true qi would live, while the one lacking true qi would die.

And the generation of true qi could not be separated from the power of blood qi.

Blood qi was the foundation of martial arts.

After True Force, one used qi to propel the blood, used blood to nourish the body, cultivated within while training without—only then could one progress in martial arts.

What Chen Yan needed to do next was continuously cultivate to increase the blood qi within his body, then use that blood qi to steadily strengthen his true qi. He would repeat this cycle until True Force reached perfection.

"I wonder whether, if I use First-Rank Divine Striking now, I can contend against a Martial Grandmaster?"

Chen Yan pondered inwardly.

Before True Force, Chen Yan had relied on the immense strength and physique granted by Spirit Striking's Incense and Fire Prayer Power to blast apart A Jia, the White Lotus Dao Soldier at the True Force Realm.

Now that he had entered True Force and his strength had soared, Chen Yan could not even imagine how powerful his physical body would become if he used Spirit Striking again.

Perhaps not an instant kill, but he should at least be able to sweep through the True Force Realm and stand against a Martial Grandmaster, right?

After reaching the mid Essence Cultivation stage, the Magic Power within his dantian had grown considerably as well. If he used First-Rank Divine Striking again, Chen Yan would no longer be a "one-saber real man"; at the very least, he could support several more saber strikes.

But without actually fighting, Chen Yan did not dare be absolutely certain.

After all, everything Chen Yan knew about Martial Grandmasters came from books. As for just how powerful Martial Grandmasters truly were, he had no idea.

Although he had never seen a Martial Grandmaster, Chen Yan had seen Dao Foundation Realm cultivators. Whether Old Daoist Liu or Wu Yan of the Rebirth Cult, both possessed terrifying strength.

Even now, Chen Yan knew he would not be their match.

The only change was that he had gone from having no power to resist whatsoever to barely possessing the strength to fight back.

Do not underestimate that small change. If it were any other True Energy Martial Master, they would probably be killed in an instant.

Essence Cultivation cultivators were an even less worthy comparison. The two were separated by an entire major realm; an Essence Cultivation cultivator would likely die before even seeing the shadow of a Dao Foundation cultivator.

For Chen Yan to possess the power to resist was already proof of how extraordinary his martial arts and divine abilities were.

By now, the eastern sky had begun to pale like a fish's belly. The rising sun cast warm light across the earth, dispersing the slight chill of early spring.

In his excellent mood, Chen Yan unusually did not feel like cooking for himself. He planned to visit a nearby restaurant for a hearty feast and properly offer sacrifice to his five viscera temple.

"Alright, stop being angry. I'll make it up to you. Come on, to apologize, I'll treat Lord Facai to something good today!"

Seeing that Facai still looked furious, Chen Yan smiled and comforted it.

Facai let out an indignant huff, but obediently leaped onto Chen Yan's shoulder.

Rubbing Facai's head, Chen Yan burst into laughter. Dressed in a brand-new Daoist robe and with the Fish-Dragon Saber hanging at his waist, he stepped out of the courtyard for the first time in ten days.

Perhaps because he had not gone out for so long, Chen Yan felt for no reason that Shanxi Town had become much more crowded when he first set foot on the streets.

Pedestrians flowed like a tide, laughter and chatter filled the air, and all kinds of vendors lined the streets. People and carriages came and went in an endless stream, making the place exceptionally lively.

Perhaps it was just an illusion...

As he walked down the street, Chen Yan felt that there were many more people of the martial world around him.

Qi and Blood Martial Artists, once rarely seen, had appeared in no fewer than three or five within this short time. Every one of them wore a weapon at their waist as they moved through the crowd.

After pondering it for a long time without figuring it out, Chen Yan shook his head and could not be bothered to dwell on it.

So long as they did not cause trouble, he could not be bothered to care why these people of the martial world had come to Shanxi Town.

Before long, Chen Yan arrived at Shanxi Town's largest restaurant—Drunken Fragrance Tower.

Drunken Fragrance Tower stood three stories tall, lavishly decorated without losing its elegance. It was the preferred gathering place for scholars and merchants alike, and its business was booming.

The moment he entered the main hall, he found the first floor abuzz with voices.

Tables and chairs filled the hall, and around them sat brawny men one after another. Each had his chest bared, speaking loudly and boisterously as they drank, ate meat, and talked of everything under heaven, their tones and expressions like fighting cocks.

"Welcome in, honored guest!"

A waiter hurried over warmly. Seeing Chen Yan glance around the hall, he smiled apologetically and said:

"My sincerest apologies. Some Greenwood Heroes have come to town in recent days. If you prefer somewhere quiet, you may follow this humble one to a private room on the second floor. There are still seats upstairs."