The Final Breakthrough Before the Meridian Condensing Realm Expedition!

"Tiejun, I'm really not lying to you. I really did just break through." Lu Feng repeated earnestly, with no reason to hide it.

"No, impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Hong Tiejun shook his head, refusing to believe it no matter what.

It had been less than three months since high school graduation. Breaking through all the way from Copper Skin Realm Perfection to Iron Bone Realm Perfection?

How could that be possible?

The commotion at the entrance of the Cultivation Room quickly drew more people over.

Even the club owner, Hong Kun, was alerted.

"What's going on?"

Hong Kun approached from a distance, and the crowd parted to make way for him.

Seeing him, Lu Feng quickly spoke up: "Uncle Hong, I'm sorry. I accidentally broke the Tester in the Cultivation Room. How much does it cost? I'm willing to pay full compensation."

This machine, made of special materials, was no cheap item—one unit cost over three hundred thousand Star Martial Coins.

But Hong Kun's attention was nowhere near that.

When Yang Qian told him that Lu Feng had broken through to Iron Bone Realm Perfection, he too looked at the young man before him in disbelief.

In everyone's memory, Lu Feng had only been at the Sixth Level of Iron Bone Realm a little over a month ago.

How much time had passed since then, and he'd already reached perfection?

This Monster—how had he managed it?

As dusk fell, the setting sun dyed the Skyfire Club sign a deep orange.

A Black Sedan sat quietly at the entrance.

Hong Tiejun tossed his last piece of luggage into the trunk and slammed the lid shut with a heavy thud, the dull sound like a vent for the resentment in his heart.

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the three people who had come to see him off—his father Hong Kun, Yang Qian, and that figure that made his chest tighten, Lu Feng.

"Dad, I'm leaving." Hong Tiejun's voice was stiff. "Four years at Martial University. If I don't make something of myself, I won't set foot in this house again."

Hong Kun looked at the stubborn fire burning in his son's eyes and patted him on the shoulder. "The martial path is long. There's no need to compete over who's ahead for a moment."

But Hong Tiejun acted as if he hadn't heard. His gaze passed over his father and Stared Fixedly at Lu Feng.

He had spent over two grueling months tempering his body, pushing himself to the limit just to barely step into the threshold of the Iron Bone Realm.

Yet this guy, with one casual punch, had shattered all his pride.

This wasn't just a gap anymore—it was a naked, unreasonable crushing.

"Lu Feng, just you wait," he swore in his heart.

Four years! Just four years! When this Old Man comes back from the Military Academy, I'll definitely surpass you!

The engine roared, and the sedan sped off into the distance, carrying away a Youngster's full load of obsession and vows.

Lu Feng turned to look at Hong Kun. "Uncle Hong, about the Expedition—are you really not going to tell Tiejun?"

Hong Kun shook his head. "No need. Letting him know would only distract him. It's better this way—he can put all his energy into training now."

He smiled and continued, "Speaking of which, I should thank you for giving him that blow. Four years without coming home means I can follow the military on the Expedition with peace of mind."

Yang Qian couldn't help but chime in. "I'm telling you, kid, how are you cultivating so fast? You're almost catching up to our generation. At this rate, I'm really worried I'll be surpassed by you one day."

"If That One, Minister Xie, found out about your talent, he'd probably do everything in his power to drag you into the military."

Just then, another young man ran out of the club.

He rushed up, panting heavily. "Tiejun's gone!"

Shen Yu looked toward the street, already empty.

It was well past closing time now. He had been lying in the Cultivation Room's training pod, tempering his body.

Ever since Lu Feng had spurred him on, Fatty Shen had poured all his Savings into training.

He had just been using the purchased time for body tempering.

Over this period, his realm had also risen from the Sixth Level of Copper Skin Realm to the Eighth Level—at least the money hadn't been wasted.

"Fatty!" Hong Kun reached out and slapped Shen Yu hard on the shoulder. "Starting tomorrow, you can use the club's Cultivation Room anytime you want, no extra charge."

"Huh?"

Fatty Shen didn't react at first. Once he confirmed he hadn't misheard, his eyes lit up. "Really, Uncle Hong?"

"Of course! I'm the boss. What I say goes."

"Awesome! Thanks, Uncle Hong!"

"Fatty!" Lu Feng suddenly stepped forward. "Train hard. If I come back and find out you've been slacking off, I'm going to beat you up."

"What do you mean? Come back? Where are you going?"

Aside from the club's core members, no one knew about the Skyfire Club's Expedition plan yet.

Lu Feng didn't explain. He turned and walked out of the club entrance, ready to leave.

Behind him came Hong Kun's reminder: "The day after tomorrow, you're heading into the military region for training camp. Go home and say a proper goodbye to your family!"

"Got it, Uncle Hong!"

"Wait! What exactly are you two talking about?"

Shen Yu was full of question marks, but no one bothered to explain. They all turned and left in their own directions.

After leaving the club, Lu Feng didn't go straight home. Instead, he went to the Beast Fighting Arena again.

This might be the last time he set foot in this place before his expedition.

He planned to absorb energy once more, attempting to break through the first barrier in his meridians and push his cultivation to the Meridian Condensing Realm.

However, his movements had been under military surveillance all along.

During this period, he came to the arena almost every night, but he no longer manipulated the matches like before, so Xie An hadn't bothered to inquire.

The arena management remained unaware of this.

As usual, he bought the cheapest admission ticket and sat in the outermost seats.

The first match was still a duel between two Tier 2 Exotic Beasts.

Now he understood why he couldn't absorb energy from Tier 2 Exotic Beasts.

Because, like Human Warriors, Tier 1 and Tier 2 beasts only surpassed ordinary animals in physical strength; they didn't harbor true Cosmic Energy within their bodies.

Only Tier 3 Exotic Beasts and above could sense and absorb Cosmic Energy, channeling it into their meridians to gain greater power.

Starting from the second match, whenever a Tier 3 Exotic Beast appeared, Lu Feng immediately began absorbing energy.

But he always controlled his limits, taking only about a third of each beast's energy to avoid rendering them combat-ineffective.

It wasn't until seven or eight matches later that the mark on his chest was finally filled.

He closed his eyes and began guiding that energy into the meridians within his body, continuously assaulting the blocked barrier.

After reaching the peak of the Iron Bone Realm, Lu Feng discovered he no longer needed training equipment to draw on the energy in the mark.

This was likely a change brought about by his body being fully tempered.

When the energy in the mark surged like a tide—once, twice, three times—

relentlessly battering the first barrier in his meridians, Lu Feng could clearly sense that barrier beginning to loosen slightly, with fine cracks appearing.

"There's hope!"

He immediately focused all his energy, condensing it into a more concentrated, more penetrating torrent, and launched a continuous, violent assault on the barrier!

"Boom—!"

An invisible roar seemed to echo in his mind.

That blocked barrier shattered on the spot!

The long-accumulated energy instantly found an outlet, joyfully rushing into a newly opened meridian.

Lu Feng felt as if a river had appeared within his body—a river capable of storing energy.

And the energy in that river was entirely under his control. If he mobilized it to launch an attack, its power would be several times greater than in the Iron Bone Realm.

He slowly opened his eyes, a gleam of sharp light flickering in his gaze.

At this moment, he had finally stepped into the Third Martial Realm—the Meridian Condensing Realm!

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