Grandmaster Perfection, Qi and Blood Like Sea

In the Ye Manor of the Imperial Capital, Great Li.

The Perfect Spirit Gathering Array ran ceaselessly, drawing spiritual energy from the Heavenly Ruins. After a month of accumulation, the array was now brimming with dense spiritual qi.

The entire rear courtyard was shrouded in layers of Spirit Mist, like a celestial realm.

The Spirit Mist condensed to its extreme, forming Spirit Rain that fell into the courtyard and pooled into a Spirit Lake. Such abundant spiritual energy was rare even at the peak of the Heaven and Earth Cataclysm.

Even an ordinary person without any cultivation talent, bathed in such spiritual energy year-round, could prolong their life.

Fortunately, the Perfect Spirit Gathering Array concealed everything. Even a Peak of Humanity expert could not detect a trace from outside.

Beyond the extreme spiritual density, the scenery in Ye Manor's rear courtyard was entirely different from the outside world.

It was now early winter. The Imperial Capital was cloaked in silver and withered yellow, but the rear courtyard brimmed with vibrant green life.

The long-dead Withered Tree in the yard had not only sprouted new shoots but had grown vigorously, now standing as a Sky-scraping Tree.

The Peonies, long withered, had fully bloomed—vivid and dazzling, their stems thick as forearms, swaying in the wind as if imbued with a hidden rhythm.

The Peach Tree, once barren, was now covered in blossoms and heavy with fruit—each peach plump and enormous, like an Immortal Peach.

If an outsider stumbled in, they would surely think they had entered a Peach Blossom Spring.

In one of the rear courtyard's rooms, Ye Jing sat in deep meditation, his breath long and rhythmic, each inhale and exhale carrying a celestial cadence.

Within his body, his heartbeat rang like a morning bell and great drum, his pulse thundered like rolling thunder, and his blood energy was vast beyond measure—shocking and extraordinary.

The blood energy of an ordinary Qi Refiner was no more than a clear spring. Even a Grandmaster Realm cultivator's blood energy, thicker than a Qi Refiner's, was but a stream.

Only those in Body Refining might have blood energy like a river. But Ye Jing's blood energy now surged like an ocean—boundless and unfathomable.

This ocean-like blood energy flowed through his body in a profoundly mysterious rhythm, converging at last into a Purgatory Dao Palace.

"BOOM!!!"

The moment the Purgatory Dao Palace coalesced, a terrifying aura erupted from Ye Jing's body. Every object in the room instantly turned to dust.

Fortunately, Ye Jing had prepared in advance and laid down a Great Array within the room. Otherwise, such an upheaval would have alerted others.

Ye Jing slowly opened his eyes, sensing the vast, overwhelming power within him. A hint of joy flickered in his gaze.

The Divine Elephant Purgatory Scripture was truly remarkable—well worth his month of arduous cultivation. Though he had only reached minor mastery, the power stored in his body could already Move Mountains.

If anyone dared approach him in close combat, a single punch would blast them into a Blood Mist.

The Sword Dao's supreme offensive power, the Indestructible Golden Body's ultimate defense, and the Body Refining path's peak physical strength—if he cultivated all three to their depths, he could dominate Great Li.

Ye Jing possessed the Three Ultimate Arts, not only Cultivating Three Paths simultaneously but reaching profound heights in each.

Though he was only at Grandmaster Perfection, his combat strength rivaled a Great Grandmaster. Even famous figures on the Great Grandmaster Ranking might not surpass him by much.

In other words, unless a Peak of Humanity expert intervened, given his current strength, there were few in all of Great Li who could threaten his life.

Only now did Ye Jing feel a measure of security and self-preservation.

But he did not grow complacent. The stronger he became, the more he realized how unfathomably deep the two Peerless Powerhouses from a month ago truly were.

Even with his current strength rivaling a Great Grandmaster, compared to those two, he was merely a slightly larger ant.

A thousand years of Great Li—who knew how many such experts it had nurtured? Ye Jing knew he was far from invincible.

Unfortunately, he still lacked the breakthrough to the Great Grandmaster Realm. If he could reach that level, with his current combat power, even a Peak of Humanity might be worth challenging.

Only by reaching the Great Grandmaster Realm would his situation be truly safe.

The Peak of Humanity was already the pinnacle of Great Li's martial world, and even across the entire Canglan Domain, they were considered top-tier experts.

Ye Jing's unease was not unfounded. Over the past month, Great Li had undergone earth-shattering changes. He felt this was the prelude to a storm.

Thus, he could only prepare in advance. If his strength proved insufficient, he might not escape the coming calamity.

In this month, strange phenomena erupted across Great Li. In the East of Great Li, an Ancient Medicine Garden appeared. In the Extreme West, a Primordial Mine Vein emerged from a bottomless abyss. In the Extreme North, an Unprecedented Spirit Rain fell for seven days and seven nights, transforming that frozen wasteland into a perfect cultivation ground.

Coincidentally, these three regions were the fiefs of Great Li's other three Kings of Different Surname. Like King Zhennan, they had seized these opportunities for themselves—an act tantamount to rebellion.

Not only that, but Great Li's brutal rule had stirred widespread resentment. Uprisings erupted everywhere, none more formidable than Hu Jie's Jiangnan Rebel Army.

When Ye Jing first heard the name, he thought it was a coincidence. But after learning more, he realized this Hu Jie was his former friend.

Hu Jie's Jiangnan Rebel Army grew ever stronger. Most of the Martial Arts Clans in Jiangnan had already pledged allegiance to him.

When the Lord of Great Li heard this, he flew into a rage. Knowing Hu Jie was the mastermind, he ordered anyone with any connection to Hu Jie thrown into prison—without evidence.

Ye Jing had stayed in the Hanlin Academy, constantly under the watch of its officials, with no possible link to Hu Jie. Thus, he barely cleared suspicion.

Even so, he faced minor interrogations every three days and major ones every five. Only because Ye Jing felt no fear could he avoid slipping up under the jailers' scrutiny.

At best, he'd pay to avoid trouble; at worst, he'd be thrown in prison. Unless he revealed his strength, he'd at least lose a layer of skin.

Though cleared of suspicion now, Ye Jing would not let his guard down.

Hu Jie's rebel army grew more powerful by the day. Martial artists flocked to join, eager to overthrow the rotting Great Li.

In Ye Jing's view, if Hu Jie's forces kept expanding and allied with the Kings of Different Surname, they might truly take Great Li.

The current Lord of Great Li was cruel and incompetent. If that day came, he might lash out in desperation, ordering the execution of anyone once connected to Hu Jie—including Ye Jing.

At the Grandmaster Realm, one was a notable figure in Great Li. But only at the Great Grandmaster Realm could Ye Jing be confident of defying the kingdom.

If he reached the Peak of Humanity, he would have no worries. Almost no one in Great Li could threaten him.

Fortunately, he could already feel the bottleneck of the Grandmaster Realm. Perhaps in a few days, he would become a Great Grandmaster.