Second Limit Break!

Guiyuan Sect, Scripture Pavilion.

Zhang Su had been to the Scripture Pavilion before; he was already very familiar with the place.

At the entrance, the same elder remained.

He was squinting his eyes, lying on a recliner, seemingly humming something to himself.

When Zhang Su arrived at the Scripture Pavilion, the elder did not even open his eyes.

However, Zhang Su still bowed respectfully to the elder before walking into the Scripture Pavilion.

There were many people inside the Scripture Pavilion.

In the past, whenever Zhang Su entered the Scripture Pavilion, he was obscure and no one paid him any attention.

However, this time was different.

As soon as Zhang Su walked into the Scripture Pavilion, gazes fell upon him one after another.

Some people even began to whisper.

"Is this the current number one of the Outer Sect, Senior Brother Zhang Su?"

"It is said he has only been in the sect for a little over a year... what a pity, he is already over the age limit."

"For an over-age disciple, entering the Inner Sect is even more difficult. Besides cultivating Internal Force, one must also pass the 'Combat Assessment,' which is said to be extremely difficult..."

"Senior Brother Zhang Su has already reached the top of the Outer Sect; what martial art is he preparing to choose now that he has come to the Scripture Pavilion?"

These disciples looked at him with a hint of curiosity in their eyes.

Zhang Su walked straight toward the row of bookshelves labeled "Peerless Divine Arts."

Many people widened their eyes.

Clearly, they had already guessed Zhang Su's intention.

"Is Senior Brother Zhang Su preparing to choose a second Peerless Divine Art? Is he going to attempt a second limit-break and cultivate one thousand strands of blood energy?"

"To cultivate one thousand strands of blood energy, the second Peerless Divine Art must also be perfected. Even someone as strong as Senior Brother Lu Tianqing did not succeed..."

Everyone fell silent.

A second limit-break!

The vast majority of disciples did not even dare to think about it.

But they were all aware that it was too difficult.

The Guiyuan Sect had a very long history.

Yet, the number of martial artists in history who could achieve a second limit-break was few and far between.

Zhang Su turned a deaf ear to the discussions of the other disciples.

His gaze rested on the various Peerless Divine Arts on the bookshelf.

He needed to select a Peerless Divine Art with the highest compatibility.

In fact, when Zhang Su came to select a martial art last time, he had already screened them.

At that time, only one Peerless Divine Art had a compatibility rate exceeding 25%, which was the Heaven-Swallowing Blood-Nurturing Technique.

As for the other Peerless Divine Arts, very few reached a compatibility of 20%.

Fortunately, Zhang Su now had sufficient compatibility points.

Even if the compatibility was a bit lower, it did not matter much.

In the end, Zhang Su selected a Peerless Divine Art.

"Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique, compatibility 20%."

This technique was extremely rigid and yang-aligned, and its compatibility barely reached 20%. For Zhang Su, since he would be increasing the compatibility anyway, it made no difference whether it was 20% or 29%.

Zhang Su was mainly interested in the "extremely rigid and yang-aligned" characteristic of this technique.

Once this technique was mastered, his blood energy would transform into an extremely rigid and yang-aligned attribute.

Later, after generating Internal Force, it would also "carry" the extremely rigid and yang-aligned characteristic, which was equivalent to his Internal Force having an inherent attack bonus.

This Peerless Divine Art had many benefits, yet not many people practiced it.

The reason was simple: it was difficult!

It was hard enough to even get started, let alone reach great success or perfection.

Moreover, this technique was extremely rigid and yang-aligned.

There could not be the slightest mistake during the cultivation process.

This technique carried extremely high risks; if a practitioner made even the slightest error, they could die from their blood energy boiling over.

But all these flaws were not a problem for Zhang Su at all.

Thus, Zhang Su arrived at the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion and said respectfully to the elder, "Elder, this disciple wishes to exchange for this martial art."

"Hand it over."

Zhang Su respectfully handed the cultivation technique to the elder.

The elder opened his eyes and took a close look.

"Hmm? Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique?"

The elder glanced at Zhang Su and immediately said, "I recall that you have already cultivated the Heaven-Swallowing Blood-Nurturing Technique. Now you intend to exchange for the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique; both are peerless techniques. Are you attempting a second breakthrough to cultivate one thousand strands of blood energy?"

"Yes."

Zhang Su knew he could not hide it from the Scripture Pavilion elder, so he admitted it candidly.

"A second breakthrough... Back then, that lad Lu Tianqing was just as high-spirited and full of ambition as you, yet what was the result? He wasted several years and ultimately failed to achieve a second breakthrough."

"High talent does not guarantee a second breakthrough. Throughout the history of our Guiyuan Sect, how many brilliant geniuses have attempted a second breakthrough, yet how many have actually succeeded?"

"You are already past the ideal age. If you delay for a few more years, no amount of talent will be of any use."

The elder's words were, in truth, overstepping the bounds of their acquaintance.

After all, he and Zhang Su were not close, and they usually had no interaction.

But Zhang Su understood that the elder was offering a well-intentioned warning.

"Thank you for the reminder, Elder, but I have already made my decision."

Zhang Su remained completely unmoved.

The elder sighed, "So, you are still determined to exchange for this Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique?"

"Yes."

"Very well, here you go. A peerless technique, one thousand contribution points."

Zhang Su's contribution points decreased by one thousand, but he now held a peerless divine technique in his hands.

"Thank you, Elder."

With that, Zhang Su took the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique and turned to walk into the Cultivation Room of the Scripture Pavilion.

The elder watched Zhang Su's retreating figure and shook his head.

He had seen too many arrogant genius disciples who all wanted to achieve a second breakthrough and condense one thousand strands of blood energy.

But in the end, they all ended up battered and broken.

Lu Tianqing was like that.

Zhang Su, in all likelihood, would be the same.

Wasting several years for nothing—it was not worth the cost.

The conversation between Zhang Su and the Scripture Pavilion elder was no secret.

Many disciples in the Scripture Pavilion had heard it.

They watched Zhang Su's retreating figure, yet they were not particularly surprised.

Because they had already guessed as much.

"As expected, Zhang Su is just like Lu Tianqing, and like all other top geniuses—none can escape the temptation of a second breakthrough."

"Among those brilliant and talented individuals, who wouldn't want to achieve a second breakthrough?"

"Throughout history, every genius who achieved a second breakthrough, provided they grew smoothly, possessed infinite potential and could suppress countless other prodigies!"

Many people shook their heads in secret.

Even someone as strong as Lu Tianqing had failed to achieve a second breakthrough.

For Zhang Su to want a second breakthrough? It would be difficult!

Inside the Cultivation Room of the Scripture Pavilion.

Zhang Su opened the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique and began to examine this peerless divine technique.

Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique: Compatibility 20% (Not yet initiated)

Zhang Su did not hesitate; he immediately consumed eight points of compatibility to raise it to 100%.

"Hum."

Once the compatibility of the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique reached 100%, it began to circulate within his body on its own.

After just one cycle, the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique was "initiated."

However, initiation was merely the beginning.

Zhang Su did not feel any discomfort or "barriers."

Instead, he felt incredibly comfortable as he circulated the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique.

Once, twice, three times...

Zhang Su circulated the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique over and over again, and the blood energy within his body began to slowly boil, starting to transform into blood energy that possessed "supreme rigidity and supreme yang" characteristics.

Ten percent, twenty percent, thirty percent, forty percent, fifty percent...

Once seventy percent of his blood-qi had been converted into the "extremely rigid and extremely yang" characteristic, Zhang Su's Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique reached the Great Completion stage.

It took... two hours!

But this was not the end.

Zhang Su had no intention of stopping whatsoever.

This was different from when he practiced the Heaven-Swallowing Blood-Nurturing Technique.

Operating the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique now was essentially converting all of his blood-qi.

Of course, this process would consume a great deal of blood-qi.

But it didn't matter; Zhang Su simply swallowed Blood Replenishing Pills.

He was not short on Blood Replenishing Pills right now.

Three hours, four hours, five hours...

The blood-qi within Zhang Su's body gradually began to boil.

The speed of the blood-qi conversion accelerated even further.

And Zhang Su faintly felt that there seemed to be a "barrier" firmly blocking his path.

That was the limit of the human body!

Zhang Su had experienced this feeling before when he first cultivated a hundred strands of blood-qi.

But now, this feeling was even more intense.

Time slipped by, and a night passed.

The sky grew slightly bright.

In the early morning, the air still held a hint of chill.

Yet inside Zhang Su's Cultivation Room, it was incredibly scorching.

The blood-qi within his body was like a furnace at this moment, already boiling over completely.

No, it wasn't as simple as just boiling.

It felt as if it were burning.

He circulated the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique over and over again.

The more he circulated it, the more vigorously the blood-qi seemed to burn.

Yet Zhang Su had no intention of stopping at all.

He faintly sensed it.

The Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique was about to reach perfection.

It was just a tiny bit away.

He didn't know how many times he had circulated the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique.

The blood-qi in his body seemed to have reached a critical point.

It felt as if it could "explode" at any moment.

Suddenly, Zhang Su's entire body shuddered.

He realized it.

"Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique, Perfection!"

One day!

It only took one day!

The Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique had reached perfection!

This was Zhang Su's second peerless divine art!

The moment the Yangji Blood Nourishing Technique reached perfection, Zhang Su had a flash of insight.

"Boom."

Zhang Su felt the blood-qi in his body instantly "explode."

However, he felt no fear.

His body was not "blown" to pieces by the blood-qi either.

Instead, after the blood-qi "exploded," a new strand of blood-qi faintly emerged.

It was this single strand of blood-qi that was crucial!

Because this was the one-thousandth strand of blood-qi.

"Swish."

Zhang Su opened his eyes instantly.

His gaze was radiant and full of spirit!

"One thousand strands of blood-qi, it is done!"

Zhang Su smiled.

One thousand strands of blood-qi had blocked Lu Tianqing and countless top-tier geniuses.

But they could not block him!