Breakthrough and Leaving Seclusion

Fourteen years. A full fourteen years.

Over those fourteen years, Gu Han had long since lost count of how many times he had tried to break through Blood Tempering and Organ Refining, nor did he know how many times he had failed.

He only knew that after every failure, he could always uncover some deficiency within his body, patch the leaks and fill the gaps, sum up his experience, and learn from his lessons so he would not make the same mistake next time.

Only today, after a full fourteen years of unceasing failures, had he finally completed his accumulation and truly come to understand the two great realms of Blood Tempering and Organ Refining like the back of his hand.

Now, in terms of his understanding of Blood Tempering and Organ Refining, Gu Han was confident that even Inner Qi experts—even the second-rate and First-rate Masters of the Yue Kingdom in the real world—were far inferior to him. Only the Innate Masters, hailed as the pinnacle of martial arts, might be able to surpass him.

Gu Han secretly speculated.

This was his confidence, and also his affirmation of the fruits of his countless studies over the past dozen-odd years.

"Phew! Let's begin!"

Having made up his mind, Gu Han did not delay any longer. He let out a soft breath, closed his eyes once more, and began, with practiced familiarity, to charge at the realms of Blood Tempering and Organ Refining.

"Whoosh!"

With a thought from Gu Han, the formidable blood and qi throughout his body—like that of an ancient tyrannosaur—instantly erupted, surging like vast rivers and great torrents as they washed through every part of his body.

The mystery of martial Blood Tempering lay in using the power of blood and qi to scour the entire body apart from the five viscera. Only when that power spread into every corner of the body could one be considered to have officially broken through into Blood Tempering.

Organ Refining, however, was precisely the opposite. It used the power of blood and qi to scour the five viscera, making them truly clear and translucent, like glazed glass. Only then could one be considered to have officially broken through into Organ Refining.

And this was also why the martial arts of this world and the real world truly complemented one another. Gu Han estimated that only after a martial artist reached both Organ Refining and Blood Tempering could the power of the two worlds' martial arts fusion truly erupt.

"Rumble!"

Sounds like raging floodwaters echoed within Gu Han's body. One bottleneck after another was smashed through, one obstruction after another uprooted.

In Gu Han's view, so-called bottlenecks were actually all kinds of blockages within the human body.

From the moment a person fell from the womb into the world, they were tainted by the world's turbid qi. Once they grew teeth and began eating the world's grains and mixed foods, all manner of impurities and toxins naturally began to accumulate within their bodies.

These were the barriers that prevented a martial artist's blood and qi from reaching every corner of the body, and the chief culprits that barred countless Muscle Tendon Strengthening martial artists—and Gu Han himself—from advancing further!

Those with good talent accumulated very few impurities and toxins, or practically none at all, so naturally breaking through the Blood Tempering bottleneck was easy for them.

Those with poor talent, meanwhile, accumulated a great many impurities and toxins within their bodies. This made it exceedingly difficult for their blood and qi to scour their entire bodies and five viscera, so naturally they found it hard to break through.

Without question, Gu Han belonged to the latter category—and was among the very worst of them. Through his breakthroughs over the years, he had long discovered that the impurities within his body were practically endless.

With such a body, let alone with the help of a Minor Return Pill, even if Treasure Pearl Temple brought out a Great Return Pill capable of helping martial artists break through Inner Qi, it would still be almost impossible for him to achieve a breakthrough.

That was the terror of poor aptitude. It was only because Gu Han's blood and qi were so powerful—though his realm was merely Muscle Tendon Strengthening and Bone Forging Perfection, his actual blood and qi rivaled Blood Tempering Perfection—that he had been given a sliver of hope.

If it had been anyone else, let alone studying for fourteen years, even one hundred and forty years or one thousand four hundred years would never have been enough to break through. Other than starting over, there was no other way!

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Though Gu Han's mind was divided, the power of blood and qi within him still tore through bottleneck after bottleneck with effortless ease, like a sickle cutting grass. In only a few breaths, it had already washed through nearly one-tenth of his entire body.

Moreover, as time passed, its speed did not slow in the slightest. It continued to charge forward in triumphant song, rapidly scouring onward.

This was the result of his fourteen years of research. This was his perfect grasp, down to the finest detail, of the mysteries of those two realms. Let alone dividing his attention now, even if he were eating, drinking, or fighting someone, he could easily use his blood and qi to scour his entire body.

"Boom!"

Several dozen breaths later, a violent gust suddenly rose within the cave, sending countless grains of sand and stones flying.

This was not a phenomenon of the Outside World, but the surge of air stirred up as Gu Han abruptly rose to his feet.

"What tremendous strength. What terrifying speed. I never imagined that breaking through Blood Tempering and Organ Refining would bring such an increase in power—far greater than I had imagined. I'm more than ten times stronger than before the breakthrough!"

Within the cave, Gu Han clenched his fists. Feeling the terrifying body that had already transformed yet was still continuously growing stronger, a trace of excitement flashed in his eyes. Then, with his palms dancing, he performed a set of Seventy-Two Demon Subduing Palms.

Over the past dozen-odd years, aside from studying how to break the bottlenecks preventing his breakthrough into Blood Tempering and Organ Refining, Gu Han had also practiced the martial arts he had learned during his spare time.

For example, the Blood Tempering martial art, Seventy-Two Demon Subduing Palms, and the movement technique, Moon Chasing Steps.

Fortunately, although this body's physical aptitude was poor, his comprehension was exceptionally high. Even though Gu Han had only practiced casually over the years, he had still cultivated both the Seventy-Two Demon Subduing Palms and Moon Chasing Steps to their highest realm.

"Pssh, pssh, pssh!"

The sounds of tearing air rang out. Beneath Gu Han's casually moving fists and legs, countless currents of air were ripped apart with his bare hands, turning into a gale that swept up innumerable tiny stones. Like a swimming dragon, they danced through the cave along with his body.

Only when the palm technique was complete and Gu Han's body came to a stop did the countless stones lose their buoyancy and come clattering down to the ground.

"Good! Not bad. My painstaking efforts and full fourteen years spent breaking through were not in vain. Now that my physical strength has greatly increased, my power and speed have improved by an unknown amount. I'm probably stronger even than an ordinary early Inner Qi martial artist—but I wonder how I compare to a late Inner Qi martial artist?"

After carefully sensing the increase in his strength once more, Gu Han felt satisfied. At last, he took a single step, crossing several meters, and walked out of the cave where he had remained for more than ten years.

After more than ten years of bitter cultivation, as though cut off from the world, the hidden dragon had now risen from the abyss. There were no longer many enemies in the world who could stand against him; naturally, it was time to step into the mortal world and stretch his limbs!