Aperture Opening, Fifth Layer

I have my own decision to make.

Sigh. Think it over carefully tonight. With that, Yan Shan pushed open the door and left.

Watching Yan Shan's back recede into the distance, Su Ye knew that, on the surface, he was still a Meridian Opening Realm Martial Artist.

Yet the Qian Family could casually promise him a Mystic Grade martial art. It seemed the cultivation techniques and martial skills in the hands of the great clans were even more abundant than he had imagined.

The Qian Family had probably sent Yan Shan to win him over. Perhaps they meant to use the Divine Blade Sect incident to both threaten and entice him, while showing off their own resources.

It was even more likely that it had something to do with Linshan County. He might have let something slip, or Qian Chengzhu might still have suspicions. That was why they kept watching him and wouldn't let go.

Su Ye was more convinced of the latter. After all, a Martial Artist in the early stage of Meridian Opening Realm wasn't worth this much attention.

"They want to use the Divine Blade Sect incident to force my hand. They're going to be disappointed."

The panel held more martial arts than one could count, and he was in dire need of Assistance Points. Besides, he had raised the Mountain Sea Condensing True Scroll to perfection.

Even if he ran into a Core Formation Realm expert, he could directly transform into the Blood Fiend State. He wouldn't be entirely powerless to fight back. For Su Ye, this trip wasn't a guaranteed death sentence.

Clearing his mind of distracting thoughts, he opened the panel again and quickly found the Mountain Sea Condensing True Scroll.

System, max it out.

Boom!

As soon as the words left his mouth, the deep-black True Qi in his body surged into an endless tide, as if it were about to burst him apart.

Assistance Points consumed: 150

260

300

500

600

Total Assistance Points consumed: 4550

[Mountain Sea Condensing True Scroll · Mystic Grade High Rank] Great Accomplishment

Internal Cultivation, Aperture Opening Realm Fifth Layer.

[True Qi breakthrough to the Aperture Opening Realm; lifespan increased by 50 years]

The tide was like floodwaters bursting through a dam, surging through one aperture after another in his body. One, five, ten—eventually, all 108 apertures were completely opened. Thick black qi poured from his entire body, burst through the roof, and shrouded an area hundreds of meters around him.

The captains who had been fast asleep instinctively curled into balls. As if they had encountered a natural enemy, they jolted awake and stared blankly out the windows.

What was going on? This was clearly the aura of someone breaking through to the Aperture Opening Realm. Who had managed to break through their limits without anyone noticing?

For a moment, figures darted about outside the courtyard as everyone searched for the person who had made the breakthrough.

"Ah Yun, have you found that lord?" A middle-aged man saw his companion searching outside just like him and called out.

"No. Fourth Brother, I haven't found that lord either."

The middle-aged man sighed. "Looks like we can only wait for tomorrow's announcement."

Knowing they had no hope of currying favor with that lord, the two men could only leave dejectedly.

Inside the room, Su Ye slowly drew back the surging True Qi and let out a long breath.

After carefully assessing his strength, he estimated that with his internal and external cultivation combined, his true combat power now rivaled the late stage of Aperture Opening Realm.

With the boost from the Blood Fiend Sky-Severing Stele, ordinary Martial Artists at the eighth layer of Aperture Opening Realm should be no match for him. Against someone at the ninth layer, he might be able to fight to a draw.

As for transforming into the Blood Fiend State, his strength would undergo a flying leap. He should be able to take on an early-stage Core Formation Realm expert.

He had never been able to use the Blood Fiend Heaven Intercepting Palm before, but now he could not only unleash it fully, he could take it a step further. Instead of a maximum of twice a day, he could now use it up to ten times.

"Hopefully, the Divine Blade Sect will give me a pleasant surprise."

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He still had far too few Assistance Points. He had originally balked at how many points Marrow Cleansing Meridian Stripping consumed, but as his True Qi circulated, he realized that the expanded meridians had greatly shortened the time it took to unleash martial skills.

Take the Blood Fiend Heaven Intercepting Palm, for example. Before, he needed thirty breaths to gather enough Baleful Intent, but now that his meridians had grown tougher and wider, he could do it in just twenty-five.

If he cultivated it to perfection and found a few similar techniques, wouldn't he be able to use them at will, without worrying about the time needed to circulate his True Qi?

Then, with only the cultivation of the Aperture Opening Realm, he could wield all kinds of martial skills as freely as someone in the True Martial Realm.

"But then again!"

If the Assistance Points he needed were enough to push him all the way to the True Martial Realm, he would still prioritize his realm.

After all, who wouldn't want a longer lifespan? Su Ye had heard that reaching perfection in the Aperture Opening Realm could add a hundred years to one's life, while Core Formation Realm could add a full five hundred. The lifespan of someone in the True Martial Realm could reach a thousand years.

Thinking of this, Su Ye sighed inwardly. He wondered what realm one had to reach to live forever.

After hitting a brick wall with Su Ye, Yan Shan could only leave dejectedly. He passed through the row of residences arranged by the Demon Suppression Division and hurried straight to the Qian Mansion.

In Qian Chengzhu's residence, Yan Shan recounted everything that had happened that evening. After listening, Qian Chengzhu furrowed his brows. "Su Ye really doesn't know what's good for him. It's only a commander's position, yet he's making such a fuss over it."

"Yan Shan, go see him again tomorrow morning. Try your best to win him over. If that doesn't work, we'll make other plans."

"My lord, that kid's only a Martial Artist in the Meridian Opening Realm. Why go to all this trouble?" Yan Shan asked, confused.

"Just do as I say. Why are you asking so many questions?"

Qian Chengzhu impatiently scolded Yan Shan and sent him away, but privately, he mulled things over. There were far too many suspicious points about what had happened in Linshan County.

According to Yan Shan, the Corpse Demon Cult members had never had a chance to leave with the Blood Fiend Sky-Severing Stele fragments. And yet the fragments had disappeared. Who had taken them?

For now, the two most suspicious people were Su Ye and Yan Shan. Both of them had remained in the Qin Mansion, and everyone in the Qin Mansion had already been wiped out.

"The things I set my sights on belong to me alone. I'll deal with Su Ye first, then interrogate Yan Shan."

Qian Chengzhu gave a cold laugh.

"This item can belong to me alone."

Early the next morning, Su Ye had finished washing up and was about to head out when he heard a knock at the door. Ma San's voice immediately followed.

"My lord, are you home?"

Wiping his hands, Su Ye rose and pushed the door open with a creak. Ma San wasn't alone outside. Wang Feng stood beside him, looking sheepish, and spoke hesitantly.

"Brother Su."

Su Ye had never paid Wang Feng any mind, and he hadn't cared about what happened that day either. He turned to Ma San and said, "Come in. We'll talk inside."

"My lord, didn't you agree earlier that Yan Shan would leave with us?" Ma San entered the courtyard, his face full of confusion.

He continued, "Why did you turn down the transfer order?"

"What?"

Su Ye stopped in his tracks and turned around. "You mean I agreed to leave Yunzhou City with you earlier, to avoid the reinforcements?"

Ma San nodded.

"Who made that decision for me? How come I didn't know?" Su Ye's gaze flickered.

"Yan Shan said so himself. He said that since we'd all joined the Demon Suppression Division on Qian Chengzhu's recommendation, we were tied to the Qian Family."

"At the time, my lord, you were already on your way to Chaiqiao Town. The news about the reinforcements had only just arrived. He said that once you came back, you'd leave with us."

Ma San's voice grew quieter and quieter. He could see that Su Ye's expression looked rather grim.

"My lord, what's wrong?"

Su Ye's expression turned cold. Yan Shan and the Qian Family were certainly birds of a feather: one had withheld a commander's position without authorization, and the other had made decisions on his behalf.

So they were used to throwing their weight around. He had never bothered with these trivial matters, and they'd taken that as permission to push their luck. It looked like it was time to stretch his limbs.