Breakthrough

That light orb... had it really improved my comprehension?

Su Yu was secretly delighted, but soon he calmed down again.

The existence of this light orb was far too mysterious. If outsiders found out about it, it would likely bring unnecessary trouble.

He carefully thought back to yesterday, when he had explored the Soul World. Back then, only that strange Ancient Sword had floated here all alone. He had not found this Soul Light Orb.

Could this Soul Light Orb be the light that appeared inside my body yesterday?

Su Yu guessed.

The next moment, he looked at the floating Ancient Sword again and fell into deep thought.

Ever since yesterday, the Ancient Sword had indeed stopped actively absorbing his spiritual energy, as though it had fallen asleep.

A bold idea suddenly came to him: If I actively send spiritual energy into the sword, could it cause some kind of change?

But then he shook his head at himself.

If it absorbed his spiritual energy again and knocked him back down to Qi Refining Level 3, he really would be at a loss for tears.

It seemed he had to improve his strength as soon as possible.

Su Yu planned things out in secret.

Only by becoming stronger could he fully control this sword, instead of being controlled by it.

With that thought, he shifted his attention to the pale-yellow orb.

Since the orb could improve his comprehension, he might as well make good use of that advantage first.

Once he was strong enough, he could investigate the sword's secrets. There was no rush.

For now, the most important thing was to break through to Qi Refining Level 5 as soon as possible. Su Yu made up his mind.

He took one last look at the Ancient Sword, then slowly withdrew his consciousness from the Soul World.

In the faint light of dawn, Su Yu was already standing in the middle of the courtyard.

He held an ordinary iron sword, its tip angled toward the ground, and stood with his eyes closed, mind focused.

The pale-yellow orb in the Soul World rotated slowly, making his thoughts clearer than ever before.

The first form of the Gale Sword Style—Wind Sweeps Clouds.

The iron sword shot out, its blade slicing through the air with a sharp whistle.

Whenever he had practiced this move before, Su Yu had always felt that his wrist didn't turn smoothly enough and that his spiritual energy ran sluggishly.

But now, with the orb's help, he could clearly sense the path of every wisp of spiritual energy.

His sword form changed, and the second move, Sudden Storm, followed right after.

The iron sword became dozens of afterimages, pouring down like a torrential rain.

Wherever the blade passed, the fallen leaves on the ground were neatly sliced into pieces.

No, I should rein in my spiritual energy a little more... Su Yu suddenly stopped and frowned in thought.

With the orb's enhancement, he could keenly sense every flaw in his sword moves.

This kind of insight had been utterly beyond his reach before.

Just like that, from sunrise to sunset, Su Yu immersed himself completely in practicing the sword style.

Whenever his spiritual energy ran out, he sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing, while also observing the subtle changes in the orb and the Ancient Sword in the Soul World.

Three days passed.

The iron sword left its sheath, its cold light flashing.

Su Yu moved like a ghost, and when he executed Wind Sweeps Clouds, the blade stirred up visible whirlwinds.

Sudden Storm followed right after. Sword shadows cascaded like a waterfall, enveloping the Sword Testing Stone ten feet away.

Still not enough...

Su Yu suddenly changed his move to Swift as Wind, Fast as Lightning, the form he had never managed to master.

This time, his body and sword became one, his entire figure turning into an afterimage.

The instant his sword tip thrust forward, a sharp sonic boom rang through the air!

The Sword Testing Stone exploded, sending fragments flying.

More astonishingly, the fragments abruptly changed course in midair, drawn by an invisible force into a spinning vortex a little over ten feet across.

The Gale Sword Style has reached Great Accomplishment! Su Yu stood with his sword lowered, his eyes shining.

By all rights, going from Lesser Accomplishment to Great Accomplishment should have taken years of hard practice. Yet with the orb's help, he had done it in just three days.

Even more exciting, as his sword style broke through, the spiritual energy in his body had reached the peak of Qi Refining Level 4.

It's time to try breaking through.

Back in his room, Su Yu took out the Qi Augmentation Pill his uncle had given him and set it nearby, ready for use.

First, he circulated the Qi Nurturing Technique for three cycles to regulate his breathing and bring himself into peak condition. Then he sank his consciousness into the Soul World.

The pale-yellow orb seemed to sense his intention, and its rotation suddenly sped up.

Su Yu guided the spiritual energy in his body, circulating it at full force along the Qi Nurturing Technique's path.

With the orb's help, his spiritual energy flowed with extraordinary ease, almost without any loss.

A muffled, thunder-like rumble suddenly sounded within him. The barrier to Qi Refining Level 5 shattered with a crash!

In an instant, the spiritual energy that had been building up for so long surged like a flood bursting through a dam, roaring through his meridians.

His previously blocked channels were forcibly opened. Wherever the spiritual energy passed, his flesh and bones gave off a faint humming sound.

Su Yu's whole body trembled violently, the veins on his forehead bulging. Gritting his teeth, he guided this savage force through a full cycle within his body.

At the same time, the Qi Nurturing Technique also naturally broke through to its second layer.

This Human-grade Low-tier technique had only three layers and was nothing special, but now it flowed with exceptional ease.

His newly formed spiritual energy was clearly purer and more condensed. As it coursed through his meridians, it even shimmered with a faint jade-colored glow.

Hiss—

Black, viscous impurities suddenly seeped from his skin. They were the filth expelled after his body had been tempered by spiritual energy.

Su Yu abruptly opened his eyes. His spiritual energy shook around him, and the grime instantly turned into black mist and dissipated into the air.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. His senses felt clear, and his body light as a swallow. Even the Spiritual Qi he drew in and released with each breath was richer than before.

It went that smoothly...? Su Yu was a little surprised.

By all rights, after a breakthrough, it should have taken at least several days to stabilize his cultivation. But with the orb's help, he had completely mastered his newfound strength in just half a day.

Looking at the Qi Augmentation Pill beside him, Su Yu took a deep breath.

Since I'm in such good shape, I might as well strike while the iron is hot!

The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, turning into a wave of heat that surged through every limb and bone.

Su Yu immediately circulated the Qi Nurturing Technique to guide the medicinal power. At the same time, he relied on the orb's help to draw out every last bit of its effect.

In the Soul World, the Ancient Sword seemed to sense something and trembled slightly.

But the pale-yellow orb immediately sent out a beam of light to suppress it.

An hour later, Su Yu suddenly opened his eyes. Two beams of light shot from his gaze, leaving a pair of shallow dents in the wall.

Qi Refining Level 6!

Feeling the surging spiritual energy within him, Su Yu could barely contain his excitement.

In just a few days, he had risen straight from Qi Refining Level 4 to Level 6. No one would believe such a rate of cultivation if he told them.

He tried throwing a punch. The force of it snuffed out the candle flame ten feet away.

This kind of strength already far surpassed that of an ordinary cultivator at Qi Refining Level 6.

It seems that the purifying effect of the Qi Nurturing Technique, combined with the orb's help, has made my spiritual energy far superior in quality to others at my level. Su Yu analyzed the situation in secret.

I wonder if I can defeat an opponent at Qi Refining Level 7 now.

After spending another half day stabilizing his Qi Refining Level 6 cultivation, Su Yu decided to visit the marketplace in Skywind City.

Su Yu counted his savings. His heavy money pouch held dozens of gold notes, neatly stacked.

They were the monthly allowances he had saved over a full five years.

At two hundred taels of gold a month for sixty months, he should have had a fortune of twelve thousand taels.

But he had spent more than half of it on pills that were supposedly able to strengthen his foundation and help him break through bottlenecks.

"Five thousand taels..." Su Yu looked at the gold he had left and shook his head with a wry smile.

Those pills had been like stones thrown into a bottomless pit—not even an echo had come back.

For five years, the original owner had lived like an ascetic.

While the other Su Family disciples used their allowances to buy new clothes and weapons, or went to the Drunken Immortal Tower for a good time, he had been stuck at home cultivating.

But things were different now. Su Yu tied the money pouch around his waist, feeling the spiritual energy surging within him.

His Qi Refining Level 6 cultivation coursed through his meridians, utterly unlike the sluggishness he had felt before.