Breaking the Barrier

The third day.

In the graveyard, Ke Fei stood straight under a withered tree. He was no longer unkempt; the dust that had once accumulated on his body to the point of being impossible to wash away had been brushed off by some miraculous means.

He looked full of spirit, his complexion rosy, appearing just like a kind and amiable old man.

Mu Qing had once asked him why he had suddenly started paying attention to his appearance.

He laughed and replied, "I'm going out soon. If I run into some old friends, I can't look like this!"

At this moment, his expression was extremely solemn. As a powerhouse of the ninth rank of Blood Qi, there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

Before him, Mu Qing's expression was as calm as an ancient well. He knew that today was the most critical day; he needed to maintain his best state to ensure no mistakes were made.

Mu Qing circulated the Giant Elephant Transport Technique. The blood within his body seemed to emit the roar of an elephant as it surged wildly, extracting strands of thick and pure Origin Force.

These strands of Origin Force began to converge and slowly condense in Mu Qing's palm, eventually forming two water droplets, each containing a mysterious symbol.

Although the entire process took less than ten seconds, Mu Qing was already panting heavily, his Origin Force completely exhausted.

Without resting, he stepped toward an anonymous tombstone and extended his index finger, letting one water droplet fall.

There was no explosion of energy. Once the droplet touched the tombstone, it unleashed a terrifying, extreme corrosive power. The symbol within the droplet flashed rapidly, and plumes of thick smoke rose up.

With a crisp crack, the tombstone shattered. The seals upon it failed, and it finally crumbled into a small pile of rubble.

He arrived at the second tombstone.

Mu Qing extended his ring finger, and the second droplet fell. A crisp sound rang out, clearly audible in the lonely graveyard.

Sizzle.

This tombstone was also corroded at an incredible speed. The seals on it were eroded by a terrifying power, leaving behind large holes. Once the symbol inside the droplet completely vanished, this tombstone also lost its power.

With a clattering sound, the tombstone collapsed into stones on the ground.

"Old Man Ke!" Mu Qing turned around and smiled. "Only fifty left!"

A look of wild joy appeared on Ke Fei's face, and he nodded fiercely.

He pulled Mu Qing behind him, grinned broadly, and said, "Kid Mu, it's time for me to put on a show!"

Seeming slightly worried, Ke Fei waved his hand, condensing a silver-colored energy shield that enveloped Mu Qing.

Mu Qing knew that Ke Fei was about to forcibly tear through the entire barrier. He did this out of fear that Mu Qing might be harmed by the residual power; after all, Mu Qing was merely a student who hadn't even reached the level of a low-level martial artist.

"Hahaha!" Visible gusts of wild wind gathered around Ke Fei. He laughed, and there was even a trace of tears in the corners of his eyes.

Trapped here for over a decade, he had thought he would be stuck for life, yet he never expected to be saved by a student at the Blood Qi realm.

The ups and downs of life made him feel that it was somewhat dramatic.

Ke Fei's laughter grew louder, like the rumbling of thunder. The place where he stood transformed into a tornado, with him at the eye of the storm, where countless violent energies were gathering.

He was building up his strength, determined to tear the entire barrier apart in one strike!

Mu Qing's heart rate accelerated, his breathing shallow. This was the most critical moment, and today was also the first stage of the College Entrance Exam. If he hurried, he might still make it in time.

"Kid Mu! Today, I'll show you just how terrifying a barrier martial art at the minor success stage can be!" Ke Fei roared from within the tornado.

Mu Qing's body trembled, his gaze fixed on Ke Fei.

The Myriad Water Barrier was a barrier martial art that Ke Fei spoke of as if it were divine. However, Mu Qing's strength was too weak; he could only condense two droplets and was unable to unleash the true power of the technique.

According to Ke Fei, a barrier martial art only truly takes shape once it reaches the minor success stage.

"The simplest way to deal with a barrier martial art is with another barrier martial art!"

Ke Fei looked up and roared, stomping his foot hard as he shot into the sky.

The tornado transformed into a wind dragon, coiling around Ke Fei. At this moment, he looked like a god descending, with terrifying and brilliant energy exploding outward.

Blinding rays of light bloomed, and the entire graveyard began to tremble. The wind and clouds shifted, and storms formed, howling through the air.

Mu Qing's expression was one of shock; he was stunned, watching as everything around him was destroyed by the storms.

One must know that every inch of this graveyard was filled with seals, yet under the ravages of these storms, it was like the apocalypse. Withered trees turned to sawdust, crows bled, and weeds exploded.

The fifty anonymous tombstones trembled wildly, and cracks appeared on the dense seals covering them.

The energy of the graveyard barrier erupted. Ke Fei, who had once possessed two personalities, was truly a monster; this graveyard barrier was actually a fusion of two barrier martial arts, ice and fire intertwined to form a grey-black energy.

It was precisely because of this that Ke Fei had been trapped for so many years.

However, no matter how powerful the graveyard barrier was, it had existed for many years without anyone to maintain its energy. After Mu Qing destroyed more than half of the tombstones, the barrier's energy was greatly reduced, and many of its functions could no longer be activated.

In this state, Ke Fei could easily tear the barrier apart by force.

He roared, wanting to vent all the resentment he had accumulated over the years. Around him, dozens of storms gathered, each one tens of meters wide, terrifying and ghastly.

Over a hundred storms finally took shape, spinning wildly like a bloody meat grinder, tearing everything apart.

This was what Ke Fei called the minor success stage. The power unleashed by a barrier martial art could resonate with heaven and earth, altering the environment itself.

The reason it could surpass ordinary martial arts was that it could draw upon a sliver of the power of heaven and earth, allowing one to command the power of natural disasters.

Rumble!

Ke Fei hung in mid-air, at the center of the hundred storms. He controlled the tempests, and the entire graveyard was left unrecognizable, everything shattered into pieces.

Finally, the fifty nameless tombstones on the ground shattered, and the dense seals upon them exploded, transforming into a rain of energy petals that filled the sky.

Mu Qing had broken through the nameless tombstones due to the unique nature of the Origin Force converted by the small black fish in his dantian, while Ke Fei had forcibly shattered them using his own raw power.

The barrier, now possessing only half its energy, was completely unable to withstand Ke Fei's onslaught; under those surging storms, every inch of land within the graveyard was devastated.

Only the small patch of ground where Mu Qing stood remained completely unscathed, as he was protected by an energy shield Ke Fei had condensed to ward off the terrifying storm.

The storm continued to ravage the area, and once the fifty nameless tombstones were thoroughly pulverized, the energy supply to the barrier vanished entirely.

A sharp glint erupted in Ke Fei's eyes as he extended his two withered hands, causing the swirling storms to converge and form two massive palms.

These giant hands gripped the barrier fiercely and pulled with a violent force; amidst the howling wind, the gray-black barrier was torn asunder, allowing the bright sunlight from the outside world to enter for the first time.

Both Ke Fei and Mu Qing wore expressions of wild joy.

Eventually, the storm subsided, and Ke Fei landed on the chaotic, debris-strewn ground, waving his hand to dissipate the energy shield around Mu Qing.

Before their eyes, the gray-black barrier gradually dissolved to reveal a forest; deep within the woods, several beasts with Blood Qi at the fourth or fifth stage looked toward them.

Upon seeing Ke Fei, they let out whimpers and fled with their tails tucked between their legs.

It was not just these few beasts; in reality, every beast on Lake Heart Island was trembling at that moment, and the more powerful the beast, the more terrified it was, causing them to prostrate themselves on the ground.

Ke Fei's expression was one of immense excitement and joy as he stared blankly at everything before him.

Although he was a newly born personality, he possessed all the memories of the previous two personalities, looking out at the familiar yet somewhat strange Lake Heart Island.

Suddenly, he remembered that although they had broken the barrier, there was still one important matter: Mu Qing's College Entrance Exam!

The College Entrance Exam consisted of three stages, with generous rewards for those who excelled in each, and missing any single stage would be considered an automatic withdrawal.

It was already noon, and the first stage of the College Entrance Exam had already begun!

"There's no time to lose; you must head to the school for the first stage of the College Entrance Exam immediately. If you miss it, it will be very difficult to catch up!" Ke Fei said with a grave expression.

Having spent a month with Mu Qing, his relationship with the boy had become quite close, acting as both teacher and friend.

"Wait for me." Ke Fei seemed to recall something, his figure flashing and vanishing instantly.

Mu Qing looked around in all directions but could not find a trace of Ke Fei; the man's speed had reached its limit, appearing almost like teleportation.

With no other choice, Mu Qing could only wait where he stood.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before Ke Fei reappeared. This time, Mu Qing noticed a golden communication device on his wrist, its exquisite patterns and style looking strangely familiar.

Mu Qing suddenly realized that the golden communication device Ke Fei was wearing was identical to the one his mysterious father had sent him via courier!

He had not expected Ke Fei's communication device to be exactly the same as his mysterious father's.

Could it be that my father's true status is the same as Old Man Ke's? Mu Qing speculated inwardly. He had felt for a long time that his father was very mysterious and never mentioned any other relatives or family members.

Mu Qing had never seen his mother since he was born, and his father never mentioned her or revealed any information about her.

Seeing the golden communication device in Ke Fei's hand, Mu Qing guessed that perhaps his mysterious father was also a powerhouse.

"Haha, what do you think? This communication device is pretty cool, right!" Ke Fei raised his hand, speaking in a boastful manner.

He added, "It's a pity that this device was obtained with great effort by the previous gentle personality; only those with extremely high status know the true significance of this communication device."

Without waiting for a response to the contemplative look on Mu Qing's face, he tapped the device, and with a flash of golden light, a flying warship actually appeared!