Breakthrough

The Acting County Magistrate pronounced the sentence, but it was Captain Wang Long of the Martial Arts Department who wielded the staff.

The Martial Arts Department represented the authorities as well. The consequences of fighting in the street with weapons were extremely dire, and it could very well damage the prestige the County Magistrate had painstakingly built over the past two years. Thus, Captain Wang Long showed no mercy when carrying out the staff punishment.

"Bang!"

The hard wooden staff, as thick as an arm, tore through the air and slammed down just above Shen Zhui's buttocks, immediately producing a dull thud.

With that single strike, Shen Zhui felt as though his entire body had come apart. Cold sweat poured out in an instant, and his face flushed red.

Wang Long had always seemed mild and honest, but at this moment his face was cold as he swung down the second staff without hesitation.

"Bang!"

A faint groan involuntarily escaped Shen Zhui's throat, but he clenched his teeth and pressed his tongue against them, refusing to let the sound jump out.

"Bang!"

The third strike came. His blood and qi boiled and raced in all directions. Though the blow landed on his buttocks, he felt pain throughout his entire body.

"Bang!"

With the fourth strike, the Essence of Vital Energy he had used to resist and repair his wounds was shaken apart.

The fifth strike tore his flesh open, and thin trails of blood seeped out.

By the sixth strike, Shen Zhui was already rolling his eyes from the pain.

The seventh strike, the eighth strike...

By the time all ten strikes were over, Shen Zhui was already on the verge of death. It felt as though his soul had left his body. He was utterly weak, and even breathing caused pain.

This staff punishment would never knock a person unconscious. Whenever someone reached their limit, a gentle stream of spiritual energy would flow from the staff, stimulating their soul and instead making their consciousness even clearer.

Shen Zhui had not let out a single scream from beginning to end, but the members of the Martial Arts Department watching the execution felt even more awe in their hearts.

Rather than saying Shen Zhui could endure it, it would be more accurate to say that after the final few blows, he no longer had the strength to scream.

Shen Zhui was already in such a miserable state after ten strikes. Just how much pain would the people after him suffer?

All the yamen runners could not help but feel their hearts turn cold. They thought that from now on, they absolutely could not violate the law, lest they suffer this staff punishment.

"Shen Zhui, th-thank you, Captain..." When someone helped him up, Shen Zhui's lips moved slightly.

Wang Long's ten strikes had looked fierce and utterly merciless.

But in reality, every strike had been accompanied by a stream of spiritual energy entering his body and circulating throughout it, helping him clear his meridians and completely eliminate the aftereffects of receiving the Essence of Spiritual Energy.

Of course, he had genuinely suffered the flesh-and-blood torment that pierced straight to the heart.

As for the deeper meaning behind Wang Long's punishment that carried a reward within it... Shen Zhui had no mind to speculate about it at this moment.

"Take him away! Next!" Wang Long coldly called to the men beside him.

"Yes."

The two men on either side supported Shen Zhui and sent him to the cells.

In his dazed state, Shen Zhui seemed to hear Yang Wu's successive screams coming from behind him.

The county yamen's prison, inside a cell.

"Scritch, scritch~"

Shen Zhui turned over and listened to the sound of the lock being opened outside the cell door.

The heavy iron door opened, revealing Zhao Hu's dark face.

"Brother Hu, did you bring the things?" Shen Zhui asked.

"I brought them. I also brought your meals while I was at it." Zhao Hu handed Shen Zhui one large box and one small box.

"Thank you, Brother Hu."

"Mm. You've recovered pretty quickly. It's only the seventh day, and you can already get out of bed." Zhao Hu looked Shen Zhui up and down, clicking his tongue in amazement.

Shen Zhui smiled faintly. "Thanks to Brother Hu's care, and with the fine ointment you sent me, it was only natural that I recovered quickly."

Speaking of which, on his first day in the cell, Shen Zhui had not even been able to move. He could only lie prone, and he had needed someone to help him apply medicine, eat, and drink.

If Zhao Hu had not come to visit him for several days in a row, he probably would not have recovered so quickly.

"It was nothing but a small favor. In the end, it was because the County Magistrate and Captain Wang tacitly allowed it. If it had been Yang Wu and the others, they wouldn't have received this treatment. They can still only lie prone even now. With no one to look after them, they have to handle their own food, drink, and bodily functions. They're in a miserable state. But in his case, he had it coming!"

Shen Zhui said solemnly, "I will never forget the kindness of the County Magistrate and Captain Wang. And I will never forget your kindness either, Brother Hu, for changing my medicine and bringing me water!"

"Haha, Brother Shen, there's no need to be so polite with Brother Hu!" Zhao Hu laughed cheerfully, clearly very pleased with Shen Zhui's declaration.

"All right, rest well. I won't disturb you any longer. Although you're imprisoned and being punished, I've already spoken to everyone in this prison. They're all our brothers, and no one dares mistreat you."

"Take care, Brother Hu."

After quickly eating the food in the large box, Shen Zhui carefully opened the small one.

"The Great Return Pill." Shen Zhui narrowed his eyes as he stroked the porcelain bottle.

There had originally been ten Great Return Pills. He had used one to heal his injuries after fighting Liu Bin.

Over the past month, he had consumed another four bit by bit to assist his cultivation.

There were now five Great Return Pills left. These were his guarantee for breaking through to the Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm.

Without the Great Return Pills, relying solely on painstaking cultivation, Shen Zhui estimated that this final bottleneck alone would take two or three years to overcome.

"I wonder whether these Great Return Pills can help me open the ninth acupoint and achieve a cycle through my meridians."

Shen Zhui was not certain. Judging by common sense, the Great Return Pill... was effective even for Xiantian Martial Artists.

Five Great Return Pills should be more than enough to break through the Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm.

However, he cultivated the "Bloodburn" technique. Every time he broke through a minor realm, it added two strands of Essence of Vital Energy, meaning that the accumulation required grew greater and greater. Moreover, the closer he got to the Xiantian Realm, the harder it became to break through.

He had already consumed five Great Return Pills over the past month, yet he still had no absolute confidence that he could shake the bottleneck.

It was only because misfortune had turned into fortune this time, and Elder Cang had helped him with four strands of Essence of Xiantian Spiritual Energy, that he had managed to break through the bottleneck of the ninth stage slightly and gained a sliver of confidence in breaking through.

"Eighth Stage of Acquired Realm. Even with my movement technique and Ruler Technique at grand mastery, I'm still no match for a Xiantian Martial Artist."

Shen Zhui recalled his earlier encounter with Elder Cang. With only one move, the other man had broken his Ruler Technique.

His opponent had displayed no exquisite techniques from beginning to end. He had merely charged over with his own speed and punched his Iron Ruler aside.

Strength, defense, speed, and everything else—the gap was simply too great. Shen Zhui had no room to display anything. This was absolute strength.

"Let's begin."

After moving around a little, Shen Zhui sat down cross-legged, poured out a Great Return Pill, and swallowed it.

The Vital Energy in his limbs and bones gradually gathered and surged mightily toward the ninth acupoint.

This ninth acupoint was the Lingtai Acupoint! It was also the most difficult hurdle among all Houtian Martial Artists!

"If Vital Energy is the battering ram, and the meridians are the passageways, then the acupoints are the stubborn rocks blocking them—the crucial nodes."

"In the Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm, each stage corresponds to one acupoint. Advancing by one stage means breaking through a stubborn rock and opening up the passageway."

"But even the most perfect technique cannot completely expel all the stubborn rocks and silt from the passageways. A small portion will always slowly pile up farther back, making every subsequent hurdle more difficult."

"Until the final acupoint, when the accumulated 'silt' in the meridians turns into a boulder. Breaking through it will be several times more difficult than before! This is also why the older someone is, the harder it becomes to break through. As time passes, the body gradually absorbs more external impurities, forming silt in the meridians."

Shen Zhui recalled the explanation of the "Bloodburn" technique and began his first assault.

"Rumble~"

A rumbling sound faintly appeared in his mind, as though waves were crashing against a huge boulder. He felt the organs and bones in his body tremble along with it.

The assault failed, and the Vital Energy flowed back.

But Shen Zhui was not discouraged. This was within his expectations.

The "Bloodburn" technique was more difficult to break through than ordinary techniques. He had been mentally prepared for it.

Regrouping, he gathered his Vital Energy once more and sent it crashing toward the boulder lodged in the meridian passageway.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble~"

Again and again, he did not know how much time passed. When Shen Zhui discovered that the Vital Energy in his body was gradually weakening, he paused for a moment.

"The second Great Return Pill!"

He swallowed another Great Return Pill. His Vital Energy gradually filled out, and Shen Zhui began his assault once more.

"The third!"

Failure!

"Again!"

Failure!

After consuming four Great Return Pills in succession, the ninth acupoint in his body still showed no sign of loosening. Shen Zhui began to feel somewhat dispirited.

"Is it really this difficult? Over the past month, I've already taken five Great Return Pills. Adding these four, and the fact that someone used the Essence of Xiantian Spiritual Energy to pour energy through my body and I've already attempted one assault, the stubborn rock should have been greatly reduced. How can I still be unable to break through?"

"I refuse to believe it! The fifth pill!"

Shen Zhui swallowed the final Great Return Pill. At the same time, he sent sixteen strands of Essence of Vital Energy ahead as his vanguard, and the mighty flood of Vital Energy surged toward the stubborn rock!

A faint swelling pain spread through his body. Shen Zhui felt that this was the attempt he had the greatest confidence in yet. If it still failed, he would truly have to find another way!

"Rumble, rumble, rumble—crack!"

Finally—

The stubborn-rock barrier, which had already been whittled down to its limit, was opened with a gap!

The ninth acupoint had finally been broken through! The flood of Vital Energy slowly flowed through, continuously expanding the meridians and nourishing his body.

"It finally worked!" A smile appeared on Shen Zhui's face.

It was like a riverbank: once a gap was breached, everything afterward would proceed as naturally as water finding its course.

Of course, if that gap could not be opened, then the earlier feeling had been one of a barrier so solid it inspired despair.

Now that he had broken through, the experience was completely different.

"Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm. One step closer to the Xiantian Realm." Feeling his strength slowly increase and his body grow stronger, Shen Zhui could not help sighing with emotion.

"Now that I've broken through, it's time to study my movement technique and Ruler Technique. First, let's see how many Merit Points I've saved."

With a thought, data appeared before Shen Zhui's eyes:

Shen Zhui: Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm

Technique: Bloodburn (Third Layer)

Ruler Technique: Nine Layers of Iron Ruler (Grand Mastery)

Movement Technique: Flowing Cloud Steps (Grand Mastery)

Merit Points: 38,500

"Hm? It's actually close to forty thousand? Doesn't that mean I can exchange them for nearly forty seconds of Awakening Time?"

New book—please recommend it and add it to your collections!