The Limit Breaking Awakening!

Summer Country, Qin Prefecture, northern border.

High above the vast sea of clouds, a palace stood suspended in midair, with flying warships, as numerous as a swarm of bees, constantly coming and going.

Within its walls, pavilions and towers were arranged in elegant disorder, their flying eaves and interlocking brackets surrounded by layers of clouds.

In a courtyard, a girl of about ten in a blue training outfit kept throwing punches.

Sweat streamed down her face, and exhaustion showed in her eyes.

"Sis, I want to rest..." the girl said meekly, looking up at a woman dressed in black who stood on the eaves. The woman was about seventeen, with beautiful features and a bold, spirited air.

"Keep going. You can already feel someone competing with you for awakening, and you still aren't working hard enough!" Gong Fanling scolded.

"But, Sis, I'm so tired. That person only showed up for a moment yesterday, and he didn't seem strong." The girl gasped for breath.

"Keep going!" Gong Fanling furrowed her brows.

"If you want to take the Limit Breaking Awakening path, you can't slack off even a little. Once that person awakens, you'll only be able to awaken your bloodline. What's the difference between that and being withered wood and rotten grass?"

"Okay." The girl continued punching and muttered, "You awakened your bloodline, Sis, but you still lecture me."

"What did you say?" Gong Fanling's brows shot up. "I'd love to awaken through limit breaking. Who wouldn't? But did I ever have the chance?!"

"I was wrong..." the girl said in a panic.

"That person feels really weak to me. I'll definitely awaken before he does!"

Six in the evening.

Wang Yang left the office, his spirits low, and stood on the Sports Field, smoking to brood over his troubles.

Class Three's results had been far too poor today.

Night had fallen. A cool breeze stirred the summer night as a slender figure ran laps around the Sports Field, catching Wang Yang's attention.

That was... Chen Yan.

A flicker of surprise crossed Wang Yang's eyes, but he quickly composed himself and headed downstairs toward the Sports Field.

"Didn't you go home ages ago?"

Wang Yang's voice made Chen Yan stop. Chen Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead.

[Saint Breaking Realm: Level 1 (2/3)]

[Saint Breaking Fruit:

Strength: (78/100)

Blood (9/100)]

Chen Yan shifted his attention away from the Data Panel. After paying Hu Zeyuan back, he had still chosen to return to school to train.

As a place to work out, home simply couldn't compare to school.

"I want to compete for the Town Martial Bonus, so I can't slack off," Chen Yan said with a smile. He had no reason to hide it from Wang Yang.

Wang Yang froze.

Chen Yan actually had a plan. If he wanted the Town Martial Bonus, he had to beat Zhang Qingsi.

Wang Yang looked at Chen Yan and could tell he was serious.

Impressive.

Wang Yang opened his mouth, then said, "Actually, that punch you threw today should've had more power behind it. Your form and the way you put your strength into it were both completely wrong."

As he spoke, Wang Yang bent his body slightly, holding his left fist in front of his cheek and his right fist close beside it. His gaze suddenly turned fierce.

He threw a punch into the air. Chen Yan jolted. Teacher Wang was going to teach him, so he straightened up and paid close attention.

"Wrong. Close your fingers before you make a fist!"

"Put your strength into it! You're only using your arms. Don't you think you're losing out?"

"Use your waist, your hips. Use your hips!"

Time passed slowly as Wang Yang kept instructing him.

What pleased him was that Chen Yan wasn't the fastest at picking up techniques, but he wasn't bad, either.

More valuable still, hard work was a kind of talent in its own way, wasn't it?

It was already eleven at night.

On the other side of the school, three students came out of the training room.

There were two boys and one girl. The short-haired girl's uniform was soaked with sweat, and her oval face was flushed and glistening.

She was Yu Zhiwen, the best martial arts student in all of Qingshan High School.

Behind Yu Zhiwen, one of the boys was tall. He walked with his head bowed and his spirits low, gasping for breath.

He was Wang Yu from Class Two.

The other boy was a little shorter. He was Zhang Qingsi from Class Three.

"Hello, Teacher Wang."

Yu Zhiwen smiled sweetly at Wang Yang. Her gaze passed him and settled thoughtfully on Chen Yan out on the Sports Field before she left.

Wang Yu and Zhang Qingsi simply lowered their heads and walked away.

A moment later, Director Xia, the head of academics, also came out of the training room. He sighed and walked over to Wang Yang.

"What's wrong, Director Xia?" Wang Yang asked with a smile.

"They won't listen. That Zhang Qingsi in your class... he's a bit too lazy." Director Xia shook his head, but said no more.

Zhang Qingsi's father, Zhang Ge, was a prominent figure even in Luoshan County. Director Xia had his own reasons for personally training those three students.

Once a teacher personally trained a student, their relationship was no longer just that of teacher and student. It was more like master and apprentice.

He spent time training them for free because he was investing in them. Once they grew stronger, his own path would open up, too.

"Don't just talk about me. Why haven't you gone home yet?" Director Xia asked. Following Wang Yang's gaze to Chen Yan on the Sports Field, he raised his brows. "Is he the one in your class, besides Zhang Qingsi, who passed the Punching Strength Test?"

"Yeah. Chen Yan," Wang Yang said with a nod.

"His technique is far too poor." Director Xia could see what was wrong with Chen Yan's punches at a glance.

"He's got strength to spare, but he's already in his third year of high school and his technique is still this bad. Whether he takes the Qi and Blood Path or the Body Tempering Path, he'll have a hard time."

Director Xia shook his head and left.

"Chen Yan missed his second year of high school for personal reasons, so his technique really is a little rough," Wang Yang added.

Director Xia just waved a hand. A whole day of teaching and personal training had already worn him out, and he had no energy to worry about anything else. He looked at Wang Yang. "You haven't gone home yet, either. Come have a drink with me."

"I'll pass," Wang Yang said with a smile. After Director Xia left, Wang Yang looked back at Chen Yan on the Sports Field.

It was as if there were an invisible timer. It was no longer class time, and Chen Yan could leave whenever he wanted, yet the two of them on the Sports Field seemed to have started an invisible battle.

Until eleven at night.

"Chen Yan, go home and sleep!"

Wang Yang called with a smile, "Are you trying to skip class tomorrow?"

Wang Yang interrupted Chen Yan's training. His body went limp on the grass, and he gasped for breath.

He didn't get home until midnight.

But when Chen Yan arrived, he saw his father sitting in the courtyard, reading by the dim light. Surprised, he asked, "Dad, what are you reading?"

Chen Yuxu's expression shifted. He put the book away. "I just like reading novels."

Chen Yan raised his brows. His dad liked reading novels?

"Dad, aren't you making noodles?"

At around this time, Chen Yuxu usually got everything ready to make fried noodles the next day.

"Tomorrow, I have something to take care of."

Seeing Chen Yan home and noticing the look in his eyes, Chen Yuxu explained, "I'm just going to the county to buy some supplies.

"I haven't even praised you yet. A fifteen-hundred-yuan scholarship. My son's better than me."

Chen Yan scratched his head and just laughed.

"By the way, Xiaoyan, have your classmates all started Medicinal Baths?" Chen Yuxu asked casually.

"Medicinal Baths?" Chen Yan raised his brows.

A few students in his class did have families preparing Medicinal Baths for them. A Medicinal Bath could greatly improve their chances of awakening their blood qi.

But Medicinal Baths were expensive, and their family couldn't afford one.

"I don't think many have. I feel like I can awaken my blood qi without a Medicinal Bath."

Chen Yan spoke earnestly. He truly didn't want his father to be like the other old men in the village and go into the Inner Qingshan.

When villagers were short on money, many would secretly enter the Inner Qingshan to forage. Some found Treasure Medicine, but plenty also died in there.

Now that he had the Saint Breaking Realm, Chen Yan never believed his future would be bleak.

The next day.

Wang Yang arrived at the school gates with dark circles under his eyes. He was nodding off as he prepared to go in when a figure suddenly rushed out of the gates, startling him.

"Director Xia, what happened to you?"

Director Xia came out of the school holding a ruler.

"I'm furious! I've told them so many times to meet in the training room at six every morning. Zhang Qingsi is late every day, and he's also the biggest slacker during training."

Director Xia's face was dark, and he was practically fuming.

"This... Director Xia, calm down," Wang Yang said kindly.

"Zhang Qingsi grew up with a comfortable life. He can't change habits he's had for years overnight."

Director Xia paused, then let out a long sigh and walked back into the school.

Wang Yang shook his head, Chen Yan's face rising in his mind.

The world was this absurd: some people had everything within easy reach, while others could never get what they wanted, no matter how hard they tried.

As he thought this, Wang Yang glanced at the Sports Field and his eyelid twitched.

"Now that's a good kid!"

A figure in white was running across the field, drenched in sweat in the morning light.

Did that kid ever get tired?

Just like me.

"Hello, Teacher Wang."

Nearby, Hu Yuan and several classmates walked past and greeted Wang Yang.

"Hu Yuan, your cousin's really hardworking. No wonder he passed the Punching Strength Test," one of the students said with a sigh as he watched Chen Yan run.

"Heh."

Hu Yuan snorted. He already knew Chen Yan had paid his family back yesterday, and his father, Hu Zeyuan, had even beaten him over it.

Seeing Chen Yan only made Hu Yuan angrier. If it weren't for Chen Yan, his father wouldn't have beaten him.

"So what if he passed the Punching Strength Test? Can he win the Town Martial Bonus?"

Hu Yuan spoke casually, then looked at the people beside him. "I'm treating everyone to dinner tonight. Bring Brother Zhang along. Don't go anywhere after school."

The faces of several students immediately lit up.

Meanwhile, Wang Yang kept his attention on Chen Yan.

"Training like that is actually bad for him. It'll drain his body."

Wang Yang was about to go tell Chen Yan to take a break when he saw him stop and stand there, staring blankly. More precisely, he was looking at the Bronze Statue beside the Sports Field.

Strength!

So this was what strength felt like?

Chen Yan clenched his fist, feeling the muscles throughout his body swell.

The Saint Breaking Realm had leveled up!

[Saint Breaking Realm: Level 2 (0/15)]

[Saint Breaking Fruit:

Strength: (0/100)

Blood (8/100)

Technique: (0/100)]

In the Consciousness World, Chen Yan swallowed the new [Strength] Character Saint Breaking Fruit that had grown, and its substantial, sweet fragrance slid down his throat.

Gurgle, gurgle...

A surging river of power swept through all four of Chen Yan's limbs. His body trembled ever so slightly.

Suddenly, it felt as if his body had become weightless.

Powerful. So powerful. It felt incredible.

Chen Yan clenched and unclenched his fist. He wanted to find someone and test just how strong his punch was, but his attention was still drawn to the changes inside the Saint Breaking Realm.

The trunk of the Saint Breaking Tree, which had previously been only as thick as an adult's arm, had swelled like a sponge. Its dead gray bark cracked and fell away, revealing a fresh, verdant trunk beneath.

The seven or eight crooked branches had also grown much thicker.

When Chen Yan looked at the Bronze Statue standing beside the Sports Field, golden light began to emerge from the boundless darkness and drift toward the Saint Breaking Tree towering in the black void.

This time, the golden light wasn't blocked. The Saint Breaking Tree simply absorbed it.

On a branch that had never shown any sign of new growth, a tiny green shoot appeared.

The changes soon showed up on the Data Panel.

[Saint Breaking Fruit:

Technique: 1/100]