True Qi Realm

It had been nearly two months since the incident in the plaza.

Lu Ming was beginning to understand the difficulty of breaking through to the Zhen Qi Realm. Half a month ago, he had already cultivated his Inner Qi to the peak of the ninth layer.

After adjusting his state, he had gone all out to push for the Zhen Qi Realm.

However, half a month had passed, and there were still no signs of a breakthrough.

"Could I also get stuck for half a year like Dugu Mingri?"

After failing to break through again, Lu Ming frowned, even starting to doubt if his talent was truly as good as he thought.

But just as he was questioning himself, a surge suddenly came from his mind, instantly bringing him back to clarity.

"That was close, I almost went mad. It seems I was too eager for success."

It turned out that the surge was from the nascent Saber Intent within him, which had pulled him back just in time.

Saber Intent was the manifestation of one's will. If the will was not firm, the Saber Intent would be unstable.

He had almost had an accident just now, but it seemed there was an unexpected gain.

He had never known how to transform the nascent Saber Intent into true Saber Intent.

After this experience, it suddenly dawned on him that Saber Intent was his will. As long as he continuously strengthened his will, the Saber Intent would eventually undergo a transformation.

Often, haste makes waste. Whether it was Saber Intent or cultivation realms, being too anxious would only be counterproductive.

Therefore, after thinking for a while, Lu Ming stopped cultivating and took out the books given to him by Old Man Zhao to read.

He wanted to achieve enlightenment through reading.

With this balance of action and stillness, of urgency and calm, Lu Ming quickly reached a state of mind as still as water.

Then, after another three days, he suddenly felt a breakthrough opportunity. The feeling was mysterious and indescribable, yet he knew it clearly.

So, he quickly went into seclusion again.

This time, as he circulated his cultivation technique, Lu Ming clearly felt the flow of Inner Qi speed up. After flowing through his meridians to his dantian, it formed a vortex.

"This is breaking through to the seventh layer of the Heavenly Saber Art."

The Heavenly Saber Art had twelve layers in total. The first six layers were for the Inner Qi Realm.

Breaking through to the seventh layer meant entering the Zhen Qi Realm portion.

Now that he had reached this level, breaking through to the Zhen Qi Realm would be a natural progression.

As expected, as Lu Ming's cultivation technique broke through, the vortex in his dantian began to spin faster and faster. The Inner Qi flowing through the dantian, after this rotation, began to be refined into True Qi.

Then it flowed out until all the Inner Qi was refined and circulated through the Great Heavenly Cycle.

This process could not be completed in one go, so it took several more days before Lu Ming's entire body trembled, and amidst the tremors of energy currents, he opened his eyes.

"Zhen Qi Realm, I finally made it."

Lu Ming concluded his cultivation and slowly exhaled a breath of white mist. Even with his mature and steady personality, he couldn't hide his joy at this moment.

"Is this True Qi? It's indeed much purer than Inner Qi."

After finishing his cultivation, a wisp of red light suddenly appeared on Lu Ming's palm, which was the True Qi refined from the Heavenly Saber Inner Qi.

"Go!"

After observing for a moment, Lu Ming suddenly pointed, and the red light shot out from his fingertip, piercing through the wall of his house. It still had residual power and traveled more than ten meters before completely dissipating.

This was a Saber Qi. The Heavenly Saber Art could generate a Saber Qi in the dantian starting from the seventh layer. It could be instantly unleashed when used, and its power was equivalent to a full-power strike of the fourth form of the Heavenly Saber Technique, Soul Chasing Style.

It was equivalent to an instant cast skill.

By the eighth layer, two Saber Qis could be stored.

And so on.

The fifth form of the Heavenly Saber Technique was Soul Slaying Style, and the sixth form was Flying Stars All Over the Sky.

There were three more forms after that, but they required the Gang Qi Realm to be wielded. Therefore, Lu Ming planned to focus on learning these three forms in the middle.

But not now. He planned to first pass the Inner Sect assessment. After becoming an Inner Sect disciple, he would go to the Martial Arts Pavilion to claim two Human-grade, high-stage martial arts.

This was a benefit for every Inner Sect disciple. Like the Outer Sect disciples, they only had this one free opportunity.

Currently, apart from his saber techniques, Lu Ming's Lightness Skill and palm techniques were both Human-tier Mid-grade, which no longer matched his strength.

So, after claiming the two martial arts, he planned to cultivate them along with his saber techniques.

With a plan in mind, Lu Ming stabilized his cultivation and headed towards the Inner Sect Assessment Hall.

Although the Wuji Sect had many Outer Sect disciples, less than half a percent could break through to the Zhen Qi Realm before the age of eighteen.

And when distributed over each day, these numbers became even rarer.

So, when Lu Ming arrived at the Assessment Hall, it was extremely deserted.

"Another one. It seems today will break this year's record. Four Outer Sect disciples participating in the assessment in one day."

An Inner Sect Steward Disciple remarked.

Compared to Outer Sect Steward Disciples, Inner Sect Steward Disciples generally had cultivation bases in the mid to late stages of the Zhen Qi Realm. They were former Inner Sect disciples of the Wuji Sect, but they had not made any breakthroughs by a certain age and did not wish to leave the sect, so they stayed in this capacity.

As soon as Lu Ming entered, the Inner Sect Steward Disciples immediately saw that he had only recently broken through to the Zhen Qi Realm.

One of them called out, "Those here for the assessment, come register your information here."

Lu Ming nodded and quickly walked over, taking out his identity token. The steward disciple took it, cross-referenced it for registration, and then handed it back to him, saying:

"Alright, the Elder hasn't arrived yet, please wait over there for a moment."

Lu Ming looked in the direction indicated and saw three Outer Sect Disciples already waiting there. He walked over and waited quietly.

The three of them were sizing Lu Ming up, finding him somewhat unfamiliar. One of them whispered:

"Senior Brother Qi, we all know each other among those in the Outer Sect who have reached the peak of the ninth level of Inner Qi. How come I don't seem to have seen him before?"

"I haven't seen him either,"

The young man named Senior Brother Qi shook his head. "He probably joined mid-way, just like Zhu Ningyun."

"That must be it. I wonder what his strength is like."

"Stop talking, the Elder is here."

Another person suddenly said.

Lu Ming could naturally hear their whispered conversation. He was wondering whether to pretend he hadn't heard or to greet them proactively.

Then he heard that the Elder had arrived, so he no longer had to dwell on it.

The Elder who arrived was a thin old man with sharp eyes, like a falcon.

Because of this, the hall fell completely silent the moment he looked around.

"Are there four people participating in the assessment today?"

He swept his gaze over Lu Ming and the other three, his voice dry.

An Inner Sect Steward Disciple quickly stepped forward. "Replying to Elder Ming, there are indeed four people. Here is the roster."

"Mm."

Elder Ming showed no particular expression. He nodded, took the roster, and scanned the information on it. When he saw Lu Ming's name at the end, he paused.

"Lu Ming?"

The steward disciple beside him didn't understand and thought his work had been flawed. He quickly replied, "Replying to Elder, it is indeed Lu Ming. He is over there."

Elder Ming looked towards Lu Ming, who was being pointed at, and then instantly appeared before him, asking, "Are you Lu Ming?"

Lu Ming was startled by his speed but quickly regained his composure and bowed.

"Replying to Elder, this disciple is indeed Lu Ming."

"The one who just joined?" Elder Ming asked again.

Lu Ming nodded.

He then said, "Show me your True Qi."

Lu Ming began to understand and, without hesitation, unleashed his True Qi from his body.

"Good, good! It's genuine True Qi indeed!"

Elder Ming laughed heartily and then turned to point at a steward disciple, saying, "You, go to Elder Gongsun He's place and ask him to come over."

"Yes."

The disciple didn't dare to delay and quickly left.

Then, Elder Ming pulled Lu Ming aside for a private inquiry.

This scene left everyone in the hall utterly bewildered.

They had no idea who this Lu Ming was, to make the usually stern Elder Ming act this way.

A moment later, Gongsun He arrived in a hurry. Without preamble, he went to Lu Ming's side. After confirming it was the Lu Ming in question, he couldn't help but let out a loud laugh.

However, he quickly composed himself and said quietly to Elder Ming, "This is not a place to talk."

Elder Ming nodded. "Follow me."

He then led Lu Ming away.

This further deepened the confusion of those in the hall.

Especially the three Outer Sect Disciples waiting for the assessment. They wondered if the assessment would still take place today.