Need to Grow Stronger (Thanks to Ten Thousand Year Old Bookworm for the Alliance Leader Reward!)

A man clad in black battle robes, broad-shouldered and rather handsome, with masculine vigor radiating from every inch of him, strode into the main hall—then froze in shock at the sight before him.

An Bulang knew that this man was the Second Prince Ji Changwu whom Ji Hongxue had mentioned.

Although Ji Changwu was not a cultivator, his qi and blood were abundant, and his bones and muscles had undergone tremendous training. Various strands of spiritual energy had even been forcibly absorbed into different parts of his body. In terms of short-term explosive power, he was no weaker than someone at the Profound Body Fifth Layer. He had likely reached the pinnacle of human martial arts.

Cultivators in the Mystic Body Realm possessed a sense for qi. They could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into their bodies, condense their qi and blood, temper their muscles and bones, and broaden their meridians. With every layer they advanced, all their basic physical qualities leaped forward, and their strength naturally increased as well.

People like Ji Changwu, who lacked the aptitude for cultivation, could only use all sorts of other methods to unlock their body's potential, even forcibly drawing spiritual energy into themselves. Not only was becoming stronger exceedingly difficult, but they would also encounter all kinds of unimaginable bottlenecks.

Thus, for Ji Changwu to forge martial strength comparable to the Profound Body Fifth Layer was truly rare. None but those with great ambition and great perseverance could achieve it.

An Bulang's evaluation of Ji Changwu rose considerably.

Faced with Ji Changwu's confusion, Ji Hongxue stepped forward and patiently explained, "This and that, such and such."

Upon hearing this, Ji Changwu's mighty frame trembled. He did not even know what to say.

He needed time to digest this enormous matter. The Jade Sword Sect had been destroyed—an event enough to shake the Azure Kingdom and even the surrounding nations! The appearance of the Tiger Demon Ancestor was also enough to threaten the Azure Kingdom's stability. He wondered whether he should first report this major matter to the Soaring Dragon Empire.

At that moment, Ji Hongxue added, "Second Prince, there is one more important matter I need to discuss with you in private."

"Alright, let's go to the room next door." Ji Changwu nodded.

Ji Hongxue, An Bulang, and Ji Changwu entered the side hall.

When Ji Changwu heard that Ji Wuye intended to rebel, his mighty frame trembled once more. He stood there, stunned beyond belief.

"How could this be? How could Elder Brother do such a thing?" Ji Changwu muttered.

Ji Hongxue handed Ji Changwu a secret letter and a map marked with bloody words.

Ji Changwu panted heavily as he examined the evidence piece by piece, then closed his eyes trembling.

"Alright... I will stop Elder Brother from committing such a mistake..." Ji Changwu drew a deep breath, as though he had made an immensely important decision. Grief filled his face. If not driven to the bitter end, who would ever wish for siblings to turn their blades upon one another?

Seeing Ji Changwu decide to stop Ji Wuye, Ji Hongxue breathed a small sigh of relief. "Oh, right. Elder Brother has dealings with the Other Shore Pavilion as well. He hired assassins to kill me before, so Second Prince, you should be careful too."

"Such a thing happened?" Ji Changwu's brows shot up in fury. "Hmph! He would not even spare his own sister? Don't worry, Hongxue. From now on, I will certainly stop this and make that bastard Ji Wuye receive the punishment he deserves!"

What followed was a discussion on arranging several operations against Ji Wuye.

An Bulang could not be bothered to listen. He stood outside the door, quietly watching the clouds unfurl and gather at the horizon.

He knew that he now had an enemy: the Tiger Demon Ancestor of the Heavenly Origin Realm.

He had destroyed one of the other's avatars. There was no guarantee the other party would not come looking for him again.

"Ah... the Heavenly Origin Realm... monsters who have begun to comprehend the Dao and can resonate with heaven and earth. With me only at the Profound Body Third Layer, if I truly faced him, perhaps I would still be somewhat outmatched..." An Bulang murmured softly.

If anyone else heard those words, they would probably think An Bulang had gone mad. A tiny cultivator at the Profound Body Third Layer was actually considering whether it was possible to fight someone in the Heavenly Origin Realm?

How mad would someone have to be to harbor such thoughts?

For now, An Bulang's cultivation really was only at the Profound Body Third Layer. The reason he could fight above his level was entirely because his techniques crushed others, his combat awareness crushed others, the purity of his spiritual energy crushed others, and so on.

But no matter how formidable he was, cultivation still had to serve as the foundation. Otherwise, many of his advantages could not be brought into play.

"I need to cultivate diligently... spirit stones, I need spirit stones..." An Bulang desperately wanted to raise his realm.

Half an hour later, Ji Hongxue and Ji Changwu opened the door and walked out.

"An Bulang." Ji Hongxue called softly. A rather intimate smile appeared on her face as she said, "Sorry for the wait."

"Is everything settled?" An Bulang asked.

Ji Hongxue nodded. "I have already discussed the specifics with Second Prince. During this period, I still have some things to do and will probably be very busy. I will also need to make some preparations before returning to the royal palace."

An Bulang did not mind that. He asked directly, "Are there any spirit stones here? I urgently need spirit stones right now. Advance them from the reward you are paying me."

"Uh..." Ji Hongxue turned her gaze toward her elder brother.

Spirit stones were crystallizations of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, naturally condensed and exceedingly precious. They were scarce necessities even for cultivators, much less ordinary people. Although Prince De's Estate was wealthy, it was difficult to say how many spirit stones it possessed.

Ji Changwu, standing nearby, immediately said, "The cultivator Attendant of Prince De's Estate has just happened to bring in ten spirit stones. I think that should be enough for Fellow Daoist An Bulang's cultivation, right?"

Before An Bulang could speak, Ji Hongxue planted her hands on her hips. "Ten is far too few. Are you sending away a beggar?"

Ji Changwu's mouth twitched. "What beggar is that rich? Ten spirit stones are enough for a cultivator at the Profound Body Fifth Layer to cultivate for a year. Even if you gave more, he could not absorb them all in a short time..."

Ji Hongxue glared at him with her beautiful eyes, growing even angrier. "You are comparing a cultivator at the Profound Body Fifth Layer to my An Bulang? Who is An Bulang? My lifesaver, a peerless genius, a man with divine methods, a great cultivator with an infinitely bright future..."

An Bulang suddenly felt that this Woman in Red spoke with remarkable honesty.

Ji Hongxue raised one slender jade finger. "Spirit stones. I want one hundred!!"

Ji Changwu nearly fell to his knees, on the verge of tears. "My dear aunt, even if you emptied out all of Prince De's Estate, we would not have that many!"

"Then how many would you have if you emptied out Prince De's Estate?" Ji Hongxue refused to let the matter rest.

Ji Changwu: "..."

"Don't worry, I am not robbing you. I will definitely pay you back once I return," Ji Hongxue said earnestly.

Ji Changwu took a deep breath. He looked at An Bulang, then at the utterly serious Ji Hongxue, and gritted his teeth. "Thirty-six! That is all the stock Prince De's Estate has. The Attendants need the remaining spirit stones too. I cannot possibly snatch the spirit stones out of their hands as well, can I?"

Ji Hongxue nodded in satisfaction. "Hand them over!"

And so, An Bulang obtained thirty-six spirit stones.

The night was deep and still.

An Bulang sat cross-legged on his bed. Beside him lay thirty-six spirit stones glowing with a faint green light.

Spirit stones contained spiritual energy of extremely high density and had a wide range of uses. They could assist cultivation or serve as energy sources for certain formations and magical artifacts.

For ordinary cultivators at the Profound Body Fifth Layer, ten spirit stones truly were enough for a year of cultivation, because their bodies could not withstand too much spiritual energy. As aids to cultivation, absorbing too many spirit stones would only be wasteful.

Absorbing spiritual energy to condense qi and blood, temper muscles and bones, and broaden meridians was a process. It was like a water vat: if one wanted to hold more water, one could not simply pour water in. While pouring, one also had to expand one's own vat...

An Bulang had entered the Tribulation Crossing Realm at fifteen. Although his father had slapped him back down into the Mystic Body Realm, the water in his vat was gone, but the vat itself remained.

"Thankfully, Father did not smash my vat too, like Sima Guang smashing the vat to let the water out..."

An Bulang muttered to himself, the corners of his lips unconsciously curling upward. This was the one thing worth being grateful for.

When a Mystic Body Realm cultivator's vat was full of water, it would overflow. But An Bulang did not need to worry about that at all.

His vat had been enormous to begin with. Once filled with water, it would be an entire sea!

An Bulang turned his gaze toward the thirty-six spirit stones beside him, anticipation on his face.

After absorbing all these spirit stones, how much would his cultivation improve?

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