Qi Boundary Breaker

"Master Tong, your getup is truly impressive."

Qi Fei looked Tong Yuan up and down.

At this moment, Tong Yuan wore a vermilion-winged crown on his head, was clad in heavy black armor, draped in a cyan cloak, and held a halberd over two meters long in his hands.

He looked as if he were about to mount his horse and charge into battle at any moment.

If it weren't for the fact that everyone in the room was on their own side, Tong Yuan's attire would surely have been reported.

"Haha, there are some things I wanted to verify. My apologies; if this exceeds the limit, I can abandon a few items."

Tong Yuan said, looking a bit embarrassed.

He had been so excited that his theories could finally be put to the test that he had forgotten he was actually taking advantage of someone else's generosity.

"That won't be necessary. I am only sharing the realm itself; everything else depends on your own accumulation."

Qi Fei didn't mind at all.

If one's accumulation wasn't enough, they would only end up like Ma Chao, staring blankly at his spear.

"Many thanks for your generosity, Zihong."

Tong Yuan said gratefully.

"It's nothing. Are you ready?"

Qi Fei's expression turned serious.

He couldn't help but feel a spark of interest in something that could make a master of secret technique development like Tong Yuan so expectant.

Let me see what you can do.

"Come."

Tong Yuan slowly exhaled, adjusting his essence, Qi, and spirit to his current limit.

Seeing that he was prepared, Qi Fei activated his ability.

Tong Yuan's aura fluctuated for a split second before immediately returning to normal, as if the sharing had failed.

This left the civil officials like Chen Xi feeling puzzled.

But unlike them, the martial generals who had experienced it once before knew exactly what was going on.

"Impressive."

Guan Yu's eyes couldn't help but emit Divine Light.

"As expected of my master, to be able to completely control that power."

Zhao Yun said with admiration.

Indeed, I still have a long way to go.

"Brother Xiongfu's insights into the martial path far exceed my imagination."

Cai Yang, also of the older generation, couldn't help but sigh in wonder.

"It is too early to be amazed."

Qi Fei stopped the group from showering him with praise.

With his use of his Mental Talent, he could now preliminarily observe the conditions of the person he was sharing with.

Thus, he could see a bit of how Tong Yuan's power was flowing.

Five distinct types of internal Qi were growing stronger within Tong Yuan's body, and they were also connecting to his weapon and armor.

It was clear that something big was brewing.

The interrupted crowd couldn't help but widen their eyes to observe Tong Yuan.

But apart from the Second Master, who noticed a few things, the others couldn't discern any clues.

"I wonder if Zihong could enlighten us?"

Liu Bei asked curiously.

"If I were to say it, there would be no surprise. Lord Xuande might as well wait a moment."

From Qi Fei's perspective, those five distinct powers were intensifying, nearing the limit of Tong Yuan's control.

Clearly, the result was imminent; there was no need for him to explain.

At this moment, Tong Yuan closed his eyes, focusing on regulating the internal Qi within his heart.

"Oh? That is truly something to look forward to."

Before Liu Bei's voice had even faded, changes began to appear on Tong Yuan's body.

The halberd, the winged crown, the breastplate, the war boots, and the cloak—halos of different colors emerged from these five locations.

Beneath those halos, it seemed as if some kind of creature was trapped within, struggling violently.

This caused the halos on these parts to flicker constantly, as restless as a candle flame disturbed by a cold wind.

This made the onlookers feel somewhat nervous.

Of course, Qi Fei did not have this feeling at all.

He could roughly sense the state of Tong Yuan and was certain that everything was still basically within Tong Yuan's control.

Apart from that, the current Tong Yuan reminded Qi Fei of the disco balls in old-fashioned dance halls.

Colorful and sparkling.

Qi Fei really couldn't bring himself to feel nervous.

I don't know how much time passed before a deep, resonant tiger's roar erupted from Tong Yuan's halberd. A White Tiger broke free from its restraints, emerged from the weapon, and glared fiercely at its surroundings.

At the same time, the spirits in other positions each broke through the halo and manifested from their corresponding parts.

The headpiece was the crimson Vermilion Bird, the chest and abdomen were the Black Tortoise accompanied by the sound of surging waves, the Qilin stepped lightly upon the earth with its feet, and a Azure Dragon circled behind his back.

Although each one was significantly weaker than the Azure Dragon of Guan Yu, the combined momentum of all five gathered together faintly showed signs of surpassing it.

It could be described as extremely flashy.

At this moment, Tong Yuan opened his eyes and let out a soft shout.

The five spirits, which had previously been wary of one another, each turned into light and returned to his body.

In the next instant, Tong Yuan, who had appeared chaotic due to the five spirits, saw his energy signature become incredibly harmonious, as if he were a being of heaven and earth.

"Harmonizing the five elements?"

Qi Fei roughly understood what Tong Yuan had done.

Although this method was not very suitable for himself, it might be worth drawing some inspiration from.

"So, what just happened?"

Chen Xi looked at Qi Fei with a confused expression.

"Master Tong used the God Boundary Breaker to nurture the spirits of the five elements, and then used those five spirits to harmonize his internal Qi, successfully achieving the Qi Boundary Breaker."

Qi Fei summarized briefly.

"How is that even possible?"

Ma Chao expressed his lack of understanding.

It wasn't just him; except for Guan Yu and Xu Chu, the expressions of the others were as if they were listening to a fairy tale.

Don't make it sound so simple to nurture five spirits of different attributes in one breath and then force a breakthrough to the Qi Boundary Breaker.

"The old man has been accumulating his strength for a lifetime; isn't it normal for a single eruption to have this effect?"

Qi Fei spread his hands.

Tong Yuan had poured enough internal Qi to reach the level of Internal Qi Separation into all three of his direct disciples, and he was still able to maintain his own strength at the limit of Internal Qi Separation.

If it weren't for the fact that he wasn't accustomed to the environment, he would have broken through long ago.

"No, if not for Zihong's help, I would have been prepared to give up on this plan."

Tong Yuan's current temperament was just like that of an ordinary old grandfather.

There was absolutely no presence of a martial arts master.

"Different spirits interfere with one another. If you nurture one spirit, it is almost impossible to give birth to a second. Therefore, to nurture multiple spirits, one must make them take shape simultaneously."

"And before this, controlling four Secret Art Spirits at the same time was already my limit."

Tong Yuan said with a look of deep emotion.

He couldn't even manage five Secret Art Spirits, let alone these five spirits in the true sense.

Coming here was truly the right choice.

Meanwhile, Qi Fei was lost in thought.

If he remembered correctly, in the original story, the first time Tong Yuan revealed his boundary-breaking form, it was with the four spirits gathered; compared to now, it was missing the Qilin, which represented earth.

Thinking about it, he must have used himself as the earth to carry the other four spirits in order to break through the boundary.

Therefore, in the perception of Second Master and the others at that time, Tong Yuan's form was more like a fierce god than a human, and even his personality had changed to a certain degree.

However, this personality change was closer to arrogance born from power, rather than being permanent.

So, when the super-sized naval gun shell used for testing grazed him and wiped out Tong Yuan's White Tiger spirit, his personality naturally returned to normal.

Thinking of that naval gun test, Qi Fei couldn't help but think of Gan Ning and Lu Xun's father, Lu Jun.

Gan Ning was forced to take the blame during that test, becoming the first martial general to be surrounded and beaten by a team led by Lu Bu.

The noble families of the Han Dynasty generally had a habit of sabotaging their teammates, even if it was unintentional.

When they were building the naval guns, there was always someone who felt that the design here wasn't good enough and would say, "Let me improve it."

Everyone thought this way, so they all added something to the parts they were responsible for.

In the end, quantitative changes led to qualitative changes; while the power went through the roof, the naval gun itself also went through the roof (referring to the steel fragments after the explosion).

Because Gan Ning felt it was a naval gun, he had been very enthusiastic about passing parts to them during the assembly phase.

As a result, he was decisively scapegoated for handing over the wrong part, which triggered an explosion, and he was beaten up on the spot.

Lu Jun was the primary reason for the naval gun test.

This guy had come up with the design blueprints for an all-steel battleship (known as the Seventh Generation Warship) and had even swindled funds from various families by mortgaging the blueprints, managing to build the initial keel.

Then, he was caught and thrown into prison.

In reality, Lu Jun being sent to prison at the time was actually a form of protection for him.

In order to scrape together the funds to build the Seventh Generation Warship, this guy had basically swindled everyone in the Central Plains who could be swindled, and even those who couldn't.

If he hadn't been in prison, those creditors would have hung Lu Jun up and hammered him.

In the end, to prove to Chen Xi, the Great Han's biggest financier, that the plan wasn't just nonsense, that naval gun test took place.

Although the naval gun exploded at the time, it proved its power (at the cost of Tong Yuan's White Tiger spirit) and the feasibility of Lu Jun's plan.

Only then did Chen Xi begin his path of splashing cash for massive construction.

It was just a pity for the child, Lu Xun.

After studying military strategy under Chen Xi and Zhuge Liang for so long, just as he was preparing to go to the naval battlefield to verify everything he had learned.

His father pushed out the Seventh Generation Warship and told his son, "Sorry, son, the times have changed."

Just as Qi Fei was lost in his own thoughts, Chen Xi raised his hand and asked a question:

"May I ask, what is a Secret Art Spirit?"

"It's similar to the Weapon Spirit of Spirit Cultivation, but its strength is far inferior. However, the advantage is that it can be constructed through secret arts, and it can be reconstructed even if destroyed."

Tong Yuan explained simply to Chen Xi.

"Its specific origin should be the sword smiths' practice of blood-sacrificing swords; the current version has been improved, so it no longer requires blood sacrifice."

"In that case, does that mean it can be mass-produced?"

Chen Xi's eyes were shining.

The tempering of any material has an upper limit; once reached, its strength will no longer increase.

But weapons with spirits are different.

Not only is the upper limit further increased, but there is also no need to worry about the decline in strength caused by a lack of long-term tempering.

This secret art was a bit ridiculously strong.

"Uh, that's actually a bit troublesome."

Tong Yuan took the initiative to shatter Chen Xi's unrealistic fantasies about his secret art.

"A Secret Art Spirit is still a spirit, after all, and requires the creator to have a certain level of Spirit Cultivation."

"Isn't that perfect?"

Chen Xi's gaze cycled between Qi Fei, Guan Yu, and Tong Yuan.

"How are you listening to the lecture? The first spirit born will suppress the spirits that follow."

Qi Fei showed the pained expression of a parent whose child wasn't studying hard.

"That's exactly it. Although we can create them, the efficiency is almost non-existent, and it would be very troublesome for others to use them."

Tong Yuan patiently explained.

"Then what if Zihong shares the God Boundary Breaker realm with others?"

Chen Xi continued to press.

"If you want our army to be delivering packages to others when the time comes, then no problem."

Qi Fei spread his hands and said.

If he had the time for that, he might as well share the realm with the army to improve the foundation of the troops.

The speed of increasing strength this way is much better than creating a God Boundary Breaker slave to rub out Secret Art Spirits one by one.

"Oh."

Chen Xi said regretfully.

The plan for mass-producing divine weapons was gone; he was heartbroken.

"How about you, old man? Do you need to continue contemplating for a while?"

Qi Fei turned to look at Tong Yuan.

"You can take it back; I've basically stabilized."

Tong Yuan said confidently.

Qi Fei withdrew the shared realm. Tong Yuan's aura barely changed, remaining just like an ordinary person.

It made one have to marvel at how exquisite his control over power was after harmonizing the five elements.

"Then the last one is Zhongkang."

Qi Fei looked at Xu Chu.

Because Xu Chu had previously mentioned wanting to use this opportunity to experiment with the path of Essence Cultivation, he had voluntarily placed himself at the end of the line.

"I'll pass for today."

However, Xu Chu shook his head and refused.

"Having just observed Master Tong's breakthrough, I gained some insights. I want to accumulate more before I attempt it myself."

"Are you planning to achieve the God Boundary Breaker realm first and then transition to Essence?"

Qi Fei guessed.

"Yes. Originally, I wouldn't have dared to think of it, but after seeing Master Tong's breakthrough, I feel I shouldn't waste this opportunity."

Xu Chu answered honestly.

"That's a good idea. In that case, come see me often to contemplate the power of the God Boundary Breaker realm."

Qi Fei expressed his support for Xu Chu.

A dual-boundary breaker was always stronger than a single one; even if he couldn't surpass Lu Bu, he would still be able to outclass ordinary experts.

"If any of you have similar thoughts, you are welcome to come find me in your spare time."

Qi Fei turned to look at the others.

Since the possibility existed, there was no point in wasting it.

"As long as Zihong doesn't mind us, that would be great."

Yunmei was the first to step forward and speak.

After watching his master's breakthrough, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

A dual-boundary breaker of God and Qi—it was truly an enviable sight.

"Naturally, I wouldn't mind."

Qi Fei answered decisively.

"Since..."

Chen Xi spoke up at this moment.

He also wanted to experience this power, which could be called the greatest in the world.

However, he was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

"Since Zhongkang isn't going, it's the perfect time for me to test what I just learned."

Before the words had even faded, flames and frost appeared simultaneously in Qi Fei's hands.

Then, Qi Fei slammed one hand against his own heart and placed the other near his kidney.

The flames that entered his heart erupted instantly, shattering it into pieces.

But the Divine Will of the God Boundary Breaker locked the heart fragments in place, forcing them to continue functioning normally.

At the same time, the recovery power of Internal Qi Separation began to take effect, and the heart fragments began to heal rapidly.

Then, in the midst of this process, they were shattered by the flames once again.

"Zihong, what are you doing?"

The group gathered around him with concern.

Qi Fei's actions, which looked like self-mutilation, had truly frightened them.

"It's nothing, I'm just attempting a breakthrough."

As he spoke, the flames in Qi Fei's heart traveled along his meridians toward his other organs.

Following the cycle of fire generating earth, earth generating metal, and metal generating water, the energy reached his kidneys.

Simultaneously, the cold energy that had entered his kidneys was set in motion.

Water generated wood, and wood generated fire; after this transformation, the cold energy flowed into his heart.

By the time the two forces reached their respective destinations, the power within Qi Fei's body was on the verge of rioting.

But under the suppression of his Divine Will, these forces were forced to continue running stably through his meridians.

Through this cycle, Qi Fei continuously refined the Heaven and Earth Essence from the outside world.

Finally, relying on the eternal formula of brute-forcing one's way through, Qi Fei successfully ascended to the Qi Boundary Breaker realm.