Breaking Through Realm

It was noon in spring, the sun was warm, and birds occasionally flew by.

The food and wine at the Training Field were mediocre. Nie Yannian saw that besides the Gelder, everyone else felt uncomfortable with him being there, so he didn't want to stay long.

"Let's rest today. Practice well tomorrow, and if you don't understand anything, ask Scholar Meng!" Nie Yannian got up and left.

Meng Yuan immediately followed him out, catching up and saying, "Master Nie is leaving already?"

"Ah, I can't help it!" Nie Yannian quickly sighed, "I'm so poor I can't afford food. The Martial Arts School is making a fuss about disbanding, so I have to go support them, right?"

I haven't even borrowed money yet, and you're already crying poor? Who was it just now who said money was nothing?

Meng Yuan immediately followed the conversation, saying, "That's what I thought too. Since Master Nie has a lot of outside matters, I'll put more effort into the Training Field. But I know too little, just one Gale Wind Saber Technique. Master Nie, why don't you teach me something else so I can teach Tie Niu and the others? It'll also save others from saying that Master Nie only cares about business and not the important matters of the Training Field."

"No rush these two days." Nie Yannian patted Meng Yuan's shoulder and said, "Wait until you reach the Eighth Rank and see the Princess Consort."

After finishing the pleasantries, Nie Yannian quickly left, as if afraid Meng Yuan would ask to borrow money.

"It seems only after seeing the Princess Consort will I truly be considered her person! Will she stamp my butt?"

Meng Yuan muttered to himself, then remembered that Master Nie said the Princess Consort was a celestial being, and couldn't help but yearn for her. "Standing alone, detached from the world, captivating cities and kingdoms."

"Brother? Are you thinking of Grandmother again?" Tie Niu saw Meng Yuan standing like the Young Lord, one hand behind his back, the other on his chest, as if about to recite a poem, so he grabbed Meng Yuan's arm and shook it hard. "Everyone is waiting to toast you!"

"Toast?" Meng Yuan frowned, adopting Master Nie's tone, "You haven't learned the good things, but you've learned a whole bunch of dross!"

Returning to the dining hall, everyone indeed hadn't touched their chopsticks and were all looking at Meng Yuan.

Their gazes were already somewhat different.

Previously, Meng Yuan was in charge of the Training Field by being the first to reach a rank. Everyone was actually convinced, after all, Meng Yuan practiced the hardest, put in the most effort, hit the hardest, and acted fairly.

But people are afraid of comparison. After Ren Debiao, who was in the Eighth Rank, came and stirred things up, many people received guidance from Ren Debiao and felt their horizons had changed.

Moreover, Meng Yuan had never told them how many Acupoints he had opened, and he often went out, frequently returning smelling of alcohol. Many people truly believed that Meng Yuan's reaching a rank was just luck, and privately talked about how he was only good when he was young.

But only today did they realize that Meng Yuan had not only captured Demons outside but also killed them.

Furthermore, with his Ninth Rank body, he defeated the Eighth Rank Ren Debiao, and it wasn't a narrow victory, not a victory by wit, but a great victory fought out with True Skill, one saber strike at a time.

Not only that, but after injuring someone, he was specifically sent back by Master Nie, seemingly without any punishment.

"Senior Brother Meng!" Wu Changsheng raised his wine bowl, and Hu Qian also raised her wine bowl.

Everyone else immediately followed suit.

Meng Yuan picked up his wine bowl, drank it in one gulp, and smiled, "I hope everyone practices diligently, gathers their will, and protects the Princess Consort!"

Hu Qian watched silently. She saw that after Meng Yuan finished his drink in one gulp, he seemed to want to smash the wine bowl and shout something about loyalty, but then he cautiously touched Jiang Tang's purse, as if afraid of having to pay for the broken bowl, so he ultimately held back.

"Even loyal people are constrained by money!" Hu Qian sighed in her heart, and then remembered her realization about castration; she felt that the saying "no money, no power" was truly reasonable.

Meng Yuan drank several bowls in a row, and was then pestered by Wu Changsheng and others to talk about his fight with the Black and White Goat Demon. Only then did the gathering disperse.

Returning home, no one was there.

However, Jiang Tang had left a note in the kitchen, questioning why Meng Yuan hadn't eaten breakfast.

"Getting more and more controlling." Although Meng Yuan said this, he still ate all the leftover food.

He silently meditated, and the Essence Flame was still as small as a soybean, only slightly larger.

"At this growth rate for the Essence Flame, even with two or three pounds of meat every day, it will probably take half a year, or even longer!"

"The Essence Flame has already undergone Body Tempering twice, and its effectiveness is stronger each time. Now my muscles, bones, and body are far superior to those of the same rank, even stronger than those of the Eighth Rank."

"However, nourishing the Essence Flame is also becoming more difficult."

"It seems eating meat is ultimately a minor path. To quickly nourish the Essence Flame, I still need to find Green Fruit."

"I need to talk to Master Nie and inquire about Spiritual Herbs and Precious Medicines. But before that, Breaking Through Realm to the Eighth Rank is the top priority."

After sitting quietly for a while and slightly sobering up, Meng Yuan practiced the Embracing Stake Nourishing Essence Art several times.

Thirty-three Acupoints throughout his body pulsed, and True Qi filled his Dantian.

Meng Yuan drew his saber and began practicing the Gale Wind Saber Technique.

According to Master Nie, when performing the Gale Wind Saber Technique and circulating True Qi through the Lower Thirty-Three Heavens, one could feel the response from the Middle Thirty-Three Heavens.

Of course, other methods like fist techniques and sword techniques also worked. The main thing was to combine them with the corresponding True Qi circulation methods. This way, there were external changes in moves and internal circulation of True Qi. The two combined could be used to discover the location of the Middle Thirty-Three.

This was not something that could be achieved overnight; it required diligent and hard practice, and one's state of mind could not be disturbed.

But Meng Yuan had already undergone Second Body Tempering, and the Essence Flame had deeply explored the Lower Thirty-Three Heavens, already stirring the Middle Thirty-Three Heavens.

This time, the thirty-three Acupoints showed signs of loosening.

Meng Yuan calmly performed the Gale Wind Saber Technique once and felt a response throughout his body.

After practicing two more times, Meng Yuan returned to his room, sat down on the bed, closed his eyes, emptied his mind, cast aside distracting thoughts, and breathed evenly.

The True Qi filling his Dantian slowly circulated, not seeking a place to reflect or engrave, but flowing like water through a wide river channel, reaching the Crown of the Head. This was the first Acupoint Meng Yuan had opened in the Lower Thirty-Three Heavens.

Passing through this Acupoint, the True Qi slowly surged down about an inch and felt an obstruction.

This was the Niwan, named after the Daoism's Nine Palaces Niwan Palace. The location was similar, but it was not the same place.

The first step to entering the Eighth Rank was to break open the Niwan.

Meng Yuan always kept Master Nie's words in mind. The Middle Thirty-Three Heavens resided within the body, and it was easiest to injure oneself when opening acupoints. Therefore, he no longer dared to forcefully charge, only slowly approaching with True Qi.

After lingering outside for a long time, the True Qi slowly retracted, not forcing its way in.

After resting for a while and recovering his energy, he slowly mobilized his True Qi to approach again.

After repeating this several times, Meng Yuan finally mobilized his True Qi to gently wear away the blocked area.

He didn't know how long it took, but the blocked area became increasingly loose. Suddenly, Meng Yuan felt a roar in his mind, as if there was the sound of a great bell.

Then, the skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and internal organs of his entire body trembled incessantly, as if there was a giant object hidden within, wanting to break out of his body.

At this point, the Niwan had opened, and Meng Yuan stepped into the Eighth Rank of martial artists.

This feeling was incredibly strange. Meng Yuan even felt as if he could contain everything in the world within his body, but there was no corresponding method to manifest it externally.

"Master Nie said that opening the secret treasures within the body and obtaining the method of heavenly secrets can turn decay into wonder. Is this feeling the secret treasure? How to open it? Can I glimpse the method of heavenly secrets upon entering the Eighth Rank?"

As Meng Yuan pondered, he suddenly felt a faint breath beside him, so he opened his eyes to look.

He saw Jiang Tang sitting by the bed, holding a handkerchief, looking at him with wide eyes, only about a foot away.

With the faint candlelight in the room and the moon hidden outside the window, it was clearly the latter half of the night.

"Are you hungry? Dinner has been kept warm." Jiang Tang used the handkerchief to wipe the sweat from Meng Yuan's face.

On a spring night, her voice was soft, like a gentle breeze brushing against the railing.