Assaulting Perfection

Only three days remained until the Inner Sect Preliminary Assessment.

The door to Room C was tightly shut, sealing out all the noise of the outside world. Shen Hao sat cross-legged atop the crude wooden bed, his eyes half-closed and a faint aura of spiritual energy lingering around him. After this period of grueling cultivation, his cultivation had long since reached the peak of the Late Qi Refining Third Layer. The lake of spiritual energy within his Sea of Qi churned without rest, so dense it nearly overflowed. He was only one step away from Perfected Qi Refining Third Layer.

Furthermore, as he had thoroughly mastered his movement technique and sword art, his actual combat ability had improved enormously as well.

That day, after Shen Hao finished weeding and removing pests in the Medicine Garden, he returned to his quarters early. He knew that it was time to make his push toward Perfected Qi Refining Third Layer.

Shen Hao took a deep breath and pulled out a cloth bundle from his robes, carefully taking out ten Low-grade Spirit Stones. These Spirit Stones were savings he had accumulated over a long time by scrimping and saving. He arranged them neatly beside the Companion Jade Pendant in his palm, then began circulating the cultivation method of the Spirit Devouring Art.

In an instant, the Spirit Devouring Vortex within his dantian began spinning madly, giving off a powerful suction force. The pale spiritual glow on the Spirit Stones rapidly dimmed, while strands of incomparably pure spiritual energy surged forth like floodwaters bursting through a breached dam. After being refined by the Companion Jade Pendant, they flowed endlessly through the already tempered, tough, and broad meridians into his Sea of Qi.

Shen Hao could clearly feel the water level of the spiritual energy lake within his Sea of Qi rising steadily. Ripples of light shimmered across its surface, its spiritual radiance growing ever richer as the concentration of spiritual energy continuously increased.

About half an hour later, Shen Hao felt as though his Sea of Qi had swollen to the point of bursting. Spiritual energy filled every limb and bone, while a vast force surged through his body.

That should be enough. Shen Hao stopped Devouring Spirit Stone.

He took a deep breath and formed hand seals with both hands, guiding all the spiritual energy within his Sea of Qi to gather into a roaring tidal wave that slammed fiercely against the barrier of Perfected Qi Refining Third Layer.

Bang!

A muffled boom exploded within his body, and his meridians trembled slightly. Yet the barrier, like transparent glazed glass, did not budge in the slightest, standing firm and indestructible.

Shen Hao had expected this. The barrier to perfection at Qi Refining Third Layer was far sturdier than any minor realm he had broken through before. He gritted his teeth without the slightest discouragement, mobilizing his spiritual energy once more and launching a second assault.

Once, twice, three times...

Who knew how long had passed? When nearly half of Shen Hao's spiritual energy had been depleted, fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, and even his body had begun to tremble slightly, he finally heard an almost inaudible crack by his ear.

Delighted, he hurriedly focused inward. Sure enough, a tiny fissure had appeared on that sturdy barrier.

"Push harder!" Shen Hao's spirits rose. He drove all his remaining spiritual energy forward, turning it into wave after wave that battered the crack without pause.

The crack grew wider and deeper, spreading like a spiderweb.

Finally, beneath another violent assault, the barrier shattered with a resounding crash.

Dense spiritual energy, like floodwaters bursting through a breached dam, poured into the deeper layers of his meridians. The lake within his Sea of Qi instantly expanded by a full circle, and the concentration of spiritual energy increased severalfold. Spiritual radiance flickered across the lake's surface, while the spiritual energy became so dense it nearly liquefied.

Shen Hao slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them. He clenched his fist, and a solid, powerful force surged from his palm. His control over spiritual energy had also become even more effortless.

"Perfected Qi Refining Third Layer—I finally broke through!"

He let out a long breath of turbid air, an excited smile spreading across his face.

Only three days remained until the Inner Sect Preliminary Assessment. His cultivation had finally reached Perfected Qi Refining Third Layer. This meant that in the upcoming Cultivation Level Test, he now had enough confidence to compete for one of the top hundred Inner Sect Disciple slots.