Breakthrough to Inner Qi, Wind Intent

Inside the room, Chen Qinglin sat on the bed.

The transformation from Blood Qi to Inner Qi reminded him of the shift from quantity to quality. True Qi was a higher-level energy condensed from an immense amount of Blood Qi.

So, was cultivation in this world simply the accumulation of quantity, followed by a qualitative transformation?

He gathered his thoughts, stopped letting his mind wander, and began sensing the changes within his body.

Once he entered the proper state, Chen Qinglin began mobilizing the Blood Qi throughout his body, directing it toward his dantian.

The Blood Qi that had once been wild and difficult to control now behaved like tame little kittens beneath his command.

It surged forth from every part of his body, converging into streams and rushing toward the same destination.

Chen Qinglin did not dare relax for even an instant, continuously compressing the gathered Blood Qi within his dantian.

Time slowly passed. As vast amounts of Blood Qi condensed in his dantian, a faint trace of something different from Blood Qi gradually appeared.

That trace of energy was tough and tiny. If Blood Qi was iron, then it was steel.

It had been forged from Blood Qi through countless hammerings.

The moment it appeared, it began devouring the surrounding Blood Qi, continuously transforming it into True Qi.

The emergence of True Qi marked Chen Qinglin's official entry into the Inner Qi Realm.

He slowly opened his eyes. A glimmer of divine light seemed to flash through them before vanishing in an instant.

He had finally broken through to the Inner Qi Realm! Chen Qinglin felt as though he had undergone a transformation.

As if he had caught a scent, he looked down at himself. It was as though he had been coated in a layer of greasy filth, giving off a foul smell.

Cleansing his sinews and marrow—this thought immediately surfaced in his mind.

He hurried out of the room and went to the bathhouse to wash himself.

After washing up, he felt as light as a swallow, as though some heavy burden had been lifted from him.

Unable to restrain himself, he left the small courtyard and leaped and darted through the mountain forest, venting the joy in his heart.

He raced onward, chasing the scent of the wind, forgetting all his troubles as he ran freely through the woods.

He finally stopped atop a sheer cliff, where Chen Qinglin felt something profound and mysterious.

He drew his sword and began to swing it.

At first, the forms of his swordsmanship could still be discerned, but gradually, it seemed as if he was simply wielding his sword at will.

There were no fixed forms. Freed from the constraints of Sword Skills, his figure moved with agility, growing faster and faster.

The fierce mountain winds constantly swept toward him.

They made his robes flap loudly.

Yet he seemed entirely unaffected, continuously scattering sword light. His swordsmanship proficiency soared without pause until it reached complete mastery.

Iron Sword Art (Perfect Mastery 10000/10000)

Then, as he continued to strike with his sword, those words flickered without stop, as though something wondrous was about to emerge.

Slowly, his sword seemed to merge with the wind itself. Borrowing the fierce gale, his swordsmanship had already transcended the scope of the Iron Sword Art.

Gradually, within that mysterious state, he gained a trace of insight into the wind between heaven and earth.

A gentle breeze was mild, a fierce wind was explosive, a hurricane destroyed all things. Wind was unrestrained, wind was freedom—it had no fixed form, wild and ceaseless...

As his understanding of the wind deepened, he unexpectedly comprehended an entirely new move based on the Iron Sword Art.

The path of the strike could not be seen. Like wind assailing from everywhere at once, it erupted in a dazzling blow.

Sword Qi slashed down upon the cliff rock, cleaving it cleanly in two. Its remaining force did not diminish, severing the great tree behind it at the waist before finally fading away.

Chen Qinglin closed his eyes and recalled that strike, immersing himself in the insight. Only after a long while did he open his eyes.

He opened the panel to check his status and discovered an astonishing change.

[Chen Qinglin]

Lifespan: 14/120

Realm: Early Inner Qi Realm

Martial Arts: Archery (Perfect Mastery 10000/10000), Iron Wire Fist (Perfect Mastery 5064/10000), Iron Sword Art (Perfect Mastery 10000/10000), Unnamed Sword Skill (Perfect Mastery)

Intent: Wind Intent/Ten Percent (1/10000)

He had changed the panel's "Skills" to "Martial Arts" through his own control, naming it according to his wishes.

He could choose what the panel displayed, but he could not create something from nothing.

From that moment onward, he knew this panel was not some kind of system.

It was an innate talent belonging to Chen Qinglin alone.

But when he saw the proficiency displayed after Wind Intent, he still felt that his talent was somewhat heaven-defying.

He could even grind proficiency for Intent? Then what about the future?

Chen Qinglin eagerly anticipated what other surprises the future might hold.

The unnamed sword skill above was one he had created on the foundation of the Iron Sword Sword Art when he had first comprehended Wind Intent.

It had appeared at perfection from the start. If it were to improve further, perhaps his comprehension of Intent would need to rise to another level.

A faint suspicion arose in Chen Qinglin's heart.

This sword skill borrowed the force of the wind, striking along the flow of the wind. It would be called: Ride the Wind Slash!

The moment the thought flashed through his mind, a separate line appeared on the panel.

[Sword Skill: Ride the Wind Slash (Ten Percent Wind Intent)]

Since he had yet to come into contact with a rank-tier secret manual, there was no way to compare the specific power of this move.

Still, this state he was in today—he had once felt something similar when his Archery had reached perfection, but he had failed to grasp it.

Looking back now, it was a pity. If he had seized that opportunity back then, he would have one more Intent now.

It seemed that breaking through to the Inner Qi Realm had also slightly improved my mental aptitude and comprehension.

Chen Qinglin's gaze flickered as he found his answer.

He then performed a set of Iron Wire Fist on the spot and discovered that its proficiency had risen from 5064 to 5066.

The proficiency gained had changed from one to two, confirming his previous guess: the amount of proficiency gained each time was not fixed.

It merely seemed that the changes brought by advancing from Body Tempering to Inner Qi had not improved his mental aptitude and comprehension by much.

At what realm would the later stages of martial cultivation bring a transformation in one's mental aptitude and comprehension?

The moonlight grew ever brighter. In the depths of the night, he could clearly see the surroundings of this cliff—open and secluded.

It was a fine place to train. Memorizing its location, he planned to come here often in the future.

His figure flashed as he left the spot.

Early the next morning, Chen Qinglin had barely opened his door when he saw Xin Shuming and Zhong Qing standing outside. They seemed to have been waiting at the entrance for quite some time.

"Qinglin, I'm sorry. I never thought things would turn out like that. It was my fault," Zhong Qing said when he saw Chen Qinglin open the door.

"I said it's fine. You don't need to dwell on it. Go take care of your own business." Since they had gotten along fairly well during the previous period, Chen Qinglin truly did not care and had no intention of taking his anger out on them.

But for him to return to treating the two of them as he had before—that was impossible.

There was, after all, still a thorn in his heart.

After speaking, he saw that the two remained where they stood and could not help asking:

"Is there anything else?"

"It's like this. Our guild leader, Young Master Ning Jingyuan—the Ning Jingyuan you met before—wishes to host a banquet for you and apologize," Zhong Qing and Xin Shuming said, their expressions somewhat awkward.

"There's no need. There's nothing to say. Just don't come disturb my training in the future." With that, he passed between the two of them and left the small courtyard.

"Qinglin..."

Watching his retreating back, Xin Shuming wanted to say something more, but Zhong Qing stopped him.

With a sigh, he said, "Forget it. Sigh!"

"But... sigh!" Xin Shuming did not know what to say either, and silently watched Chen Qinglin's departing figure.

Naturally, Chen Qinglin did not care what the two of them thought. Today, he planned to visit the Sect Administration Office and advance to become an Inner Disciple.