Breakthrough

He slowly sat down cross-legged, formed hand seals with both hands, and gradually closed his eyes. He regulated his breathing, letting his mind sink into his dantian.

At that moment, heaven and earth seemed to fall silent. All that remained by his ears was the rhythm of his breathing.

As his consciousness sank into his body, he clearly sensed the origin true qi in his dantian. It was like a deep, secluded lake, rippling faintly and radiating gentle waves of spiritual power.

As his thoughts stirred it, the true qi began to flow slowly. Like the mist over a river at dawn being steamed by the rising sun, it gradually spread throughout his limbs and bones.

He circulated his cultivation technique. The acupoints throughout his body lit up one after another, and his qi surged slowly like a great river, coursing through his meridians and scouring the barriers that had never been opened.

However—

How could the ninth-grade realm be so easy to break through?

His meridians were like iron chains long corroded by rust, stubbornly blocking the flow of true qi.

The tip of Chu Ning's tongue tasted blood, while every inch of his meridians felt as though it were being pierced by ice spikes.

In a daze, he "saw" the qi sea in his dantian churning like boiling water. It was not true qi, but a lightning wyrm shackled by iron chains.

The crisp sound of the chains breaking exploded in his sea of consciousness. The wyrm raised its head and let out a long roar, spewing forth frigid thunder wrapped in ice crystals that shot straight up his spine toward his crown.

Outside the window, the snow piled on the eaves collapsed with a thunderous crash, as though resonating with him.

Time passed in the stillness.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window lattice and cast mottled shadows across the side of his face, yet he remained utterly motionless, like a statue, immersed in cultivation.

Outside the door, a servant of the Marquis of Wu's residence knocked lightly.

"Young Master Chu, the meal is ready."

Silence filled the room.

After waiting for a while without receiving a response, the servant gently placed the food box by the door and quietly withdrew.

At that moment, Chu Ning inside the room was completely unaware. His mind was immersed in an even more violent struggle of cultivation.

Noon arrived, the sunlight scorching hot, and the food outside the door had long since gone cold.

Meanwhile, the true qi in his body was surging toward its limit.

Suddenly—

Pain!

A crucial acupoint suddenly erupted with excruciating pain, as though a steel needle had stabbed into his bones!

Chu Ning's expression twisted slightly, and cold sweat slid down his temples. He clenched his teeth, refusing to let his true qi fall into disarray. His will was as solid as a rock as he stubbornly endured the impact.

Night fell, and the stars outside the window glittered brilliantly.

The acupoints throughout his body trembled faintly. His true qi churned like raging waves as it battered the final barrier of the ninth-grade bottleneck!

"Buzz—!"

His meridians shook, his acupoints resonated, and a vast torrent of true qi suddenly set off a monstrous tide in his dantian. Like a surging river crashing against a dam, it attempted to break free of its restraints completely!

Yet that layer of shackles was like a wall of bronze and an iron rampart, refusing to yield even an inch.

The next instant—

Backlash!

A heaven-shaking force of backlash surged forth in an instant, as though hundreds or thousands of steel needles had pierced his organs. The pain made Chu Ning's entire body tremble faintly, and sweat seeped through his collar.

At that moment, he had reached the brink between life and death. If he could not break through, then once his true qi collapsed, the best outcome would be severe injury; at worst, his meridians would reverse and he would suffer cultivation deviation!

Outside the door, the servant brought food again. Seeing that yesterday's food box remained completely untouched, he knitted his brows in confusion.

"What exactly is Young Master Chu doing? Could he... be cultivating in seclusion?"

He did not dare act rashly, so he placed another box of fresh food down before retreating. His footsteps were even lighter than usual, as though afraid of disturbing the person inside.

Dawn broke, and the first ray of sunlight spilled into the room. Dust drifted through the air, while the room remained deathly silent.

The servant came to deliver food for the fifth time. Seeing four untouched meals already arranged outside the door, he could not help muttering under his breath, "It's already been two days and two nights. Has he really not eaten anything?"

Yet just then—

"Boom!!"

A vast, unmatched aura suddenly erupted from within the room. Violent spiritual power surged outward, raising an invisible gale that made even the food boxes before the door tremble faintly!

Inside, Chu Ning suddenly opened his eyes. Deep within his pupils, thunder seemed to flash.

In that instant, his five senses became sharper than ever before. He could even hear the servant outside breathing slightly faster, sense the faint movement of dust in the air, and even detect the subtle grain of the wood high above on the roof beam through his skin.

Ninth grade—he had finally broken through!

He slowly rose to his feet. True qi surged ceaselessly through his body, his meridians filled with energy as vast as the sea, while every inch of his body was cleansed by that formidable spiritual power. His entire aura had already undergone a transformation.

Outside the door, the servant was just about to knock.

"Young Master Chu, you..."

"Creak—"

The door was slowly pushed open. Chu Ning stepped out, his robes billowing faintly and his gaze sharp as a blade. His entire bearing was worlds apart from before.

He brought the food box into the room, but did not begin eating. Instead, he closed his eyes and focused his mind, sinking into his consciousness as he prepared to repay the price of the Riftspace Soaring Shadow Art.

He knew full well that if he could use this opportunity to advance further and step into the upper ninth grade, he would surely stand undefeated in the Qingyun Arena battle!

With that thought, Chu Ning slowly exhaled, his consciousness sinking into the Primordial Spirit Token...

Within the void, a vast galaxy slowly revolved. Endless starlight intertwined, illuminating his figure.

Without hesitation, Chu Ning said in a low voice, "Repay!"

In the darkness, an ancient and cold voice echoed:

Killing one ninth-grade martial artist—repayment successful!

Opening the next advance effect!

In an instant, the starry sky trembled. A terrifying power beyond description suddenly descended, as though the entire world were pressing down upon him.

—Tear!

A horrifying rift appeared in the void, as though it intended to split Chu Ning's soul in two.

His consciousness was wrenched apart, and pain swept over him like monstrous waves. It was as though countless blades were carving into his soul, while the agony of blood and fire instantly filled his entire world.

His body trembled faintly in reality. The veins at his temples bulged, and sweat poured out wildly, yet he remained steady as a boulder, allowing that terrifying power to gnaw away at his spirit and origin.

"That's all?" Chu Ning gritted his teeth, his eyes revealing a trace of crazed resolve.

However, the Primordial Spirit Token seemed to have heard his provocation. The tearing force suddenly surged.

Boom!

Monstrous waves instantly erupted in his sea of consciousness. Countless illusory runes emerged from the depths of the galaxy, each one like a branding iron viciously stamping itself into his soul.

Chu Ning's consciousness shook violently, and the pain nearly drove him out of his mind.

His body jolted violently in reality. His robes moved without wind, and the ground beneath his feet split inch by inch!

The sensation of his soul being forcibly torn apart was far more profound than physical pain. His flesh trembled, his meridians resonated, and it seemed as though his entire body were enduring divine punishment.

Yet he still did not retreat!

His consciousness clung tightly to that tearing force and guided it along its momentum, drawing the terrifying energy into his body bit by bit.

"Argh!!!"

He let out a low roar and forcibly circulated his cultivation technique. The true qi in his dantian surged like a raging tide, gradually devouring and refining the tearing force.

Chu Ning gritted his teeth and endured. His eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his forehead bulged!

He knew that enduring it meant rebirth!

It felt as though millions of years had passed. At last, Chu Ning felt the tearing pain begin to weaken, ultimately transforming into a wisp of extremely pure energy that his physique, meridians, and dantian completely absorbed.

Boom!

In an instant, his aura surged explosively. As his true qi circulated, it produced successive sharp sounds of something tearing through the air.

His entire aura was even stronger than it had been at the moment he broke through to the ninth grade.

However, when he opened his eyes, what he sensed was—

Middle ninth grade.

Chu Ning's brows lifted slightly, and a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes.

"Just one step short?"

He pondered for a moment before revealing a faint smile.