Nebula Stabilized, Void-Piercing Realm Descends

Inside the practice room of Thunder Mountain Residence, a purple nebula slowly swirled. Qin Yu sat cross-legged, the pale purple mist surrounding him growing thinner yet increasingly condensed, each wisp containing pure stellar power and true energy. Over a month of dedicated cultivation had allowed him to thoroughly stabilize the first stage of Stellar Transformations—the Nebula Initial Stage, which corresponded to the Golden Core Initial Stage of ordinary cultivators.

Qin Yu slowly opened his eyes, a flash of lustrous purple light flickering within them before fading away. The nebular mist around him merged into his body, returning to the nebular vortex within his dantian. He raised his hand and clenched his fist; a sense of power far exceeding his state before the tribulation surged into his heart. The nebular vortex in his dantian operated smoothly, and with every cycle, he could clearly feel the fusion of stellar power with his own true energy. His physical body, under the continuous tempering of the stellar power, was also becoming increasingly formidable.

"The Nebula Initial Stage is truly extraordinary." Qin Yu sighed with emotion in his heart. His fingertips twitched, and a wisp of purple true energy coiled around them, agile and condensed. "Master was right; the starting point of the Stellar Transformations technique is incredibly high. Ordinary Golden Core Initial Stage cultivators are definitely no match for me."

He was well aware that his current strength had long since surpassed that of cultivators at the same level. With his Nebula Initial Stage cultivation, combined with a physical body perfected through the Three Heaven-Reaching Charts and the high-grade spirit weapon in his hand, he could put up a fight even against ordinary Golden Core Mid Stage cultivators. If he were to unleash the full power of his high-grade spirit weapon, he could even challenge Golden Core Late Stage experts. This level of strength was already at the top tier among the younger generation of the Hidden Dragon Continent.

Just as Qin Yu was inwardly reflecting on his own strength, a slight movement came from beside him. He turned his head to look and saw Xiao Hei slowly opening his eagle eyes. The ignorance of the past was gone, replaced by a sense of agility and clarity. The thunder-fire power and wind-attribute spiritual energy around his body were intertwined, and his aura had also stabilized at the Golden Core Initial Stage, on par with his own.

Before Qin Yu could speak, a crisp and youthful voice rang directly in his mind: "Master, I feel much better, and the power in my body has become stronger!"

Qin Yu was startled, his eyes filled with pleasant surprise: "Xiao Hei? Is that you speaking? You can... use spiritual sense transmission?"

"Hehe, that's right, that's right," Xiao Hei's voice echoed in Qin Yu's mind again, carrying a hint of excitement. "When I woke up, I discovered I could speak directly into your mind, and I can even sense Master's aura!"

Yun Ce, off to the side, remained sitting cross-legged with his eyes tightly shut. His aura was steady, as if he were immersed in deep cultivation, undisturbed by the spiritual sense transmission between the two. Qin Yu understood; Xiao Hei had survived the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation and awakened his innate thunder-fire abilities. During this period of quiet recuperation, he must have taken the opportunity to awaken his spiritual sense, allowing for this transmission, even though he had not yet reached the stage of transformation.

"That's great, Xiao Hei!" Qin Yu felt joyful in his heart and reached out to gently stroke Xiao Hei's wings. "Since you can use spiritual sense transmission, it will be much more convenient for us to communicate. Don't call me Master; we are brothers, so just call me Big Brother. By the way, now that you have spiritual sense, why don't you give yourself a name?"

Xiao Hei tilted his head, seemingly in deep thought. A moment later, an excited voice echoed in Qin Yu's mind: "A name? Let me think... My whole body is covered in black feathers, so how about I call myself Black Feather! Big Brother, what do you think?"

"Black Feather?" Qin Yu's eyes lit up, and he nodded with a smile. "A great name! It fits your appearance and echoes my own name. From now on, I'll call you Black Feather!"

"Great! I have a name! My name is Black Feather!" Black Feather excitedly flapped his wings, the massive wings stirring up a breeze. He then rubbed his head against Qin Yu's shoulder and transmitted via spiritual sense, "Big Brother, let's spar and see whose power is stronger!"

Qin Yu smiled and replied, "Alright, but no using full strength; I don't want you breaking the practice room."

As he spoke, Qin Yu raised his hand and sent out a wisp of pale purple true energy, holding back most of his strength as he swung toward Xiao Hei. A flash of agility crossed Xiao Hei's eyes as he flapped his wings to dodge, simultaneously spitting out a wisp of faint thunder-fire to collide with Qin Yu's true energy. The two and the beast began to play around in the practice room, laughter echoing through their spiritual sense transmissions, yet they always controlled their power so as not to disturb Yun Ce.

After playing for a while, Qin Yu was the first to stop. He looked toward Yun Ce and whispered to Black Feather via transmission: "Stop playing. Master is still cultivating; let's not disturb him."

Black Feather immediately restrained his aura and obediently lay to the side. His eagle eyes fixed on Yun Ce, and he transmitted, "Master seems to be cultivating very seriously. Let's just stay here and keep him company."

Qin Yu nodded and sat down cross-legged as well, consolidating his own realm while silently guarding Yun Ce's side. The practice room returned to silence, save for the faint sound of the nebular vortex operating in Qin Yu's dantian and Black Feather's steady breathing.

But just then, Yun Ce, who had been sitting with his eyes closed and aura steady, suddenly trembled slightly. A powerful, indescribable pressure quietly surged from his body, like a sleeping giant awakening, instantly enveloping the entire practice room.

Qin Yu and Black Feather's expressions changed drastically. They stood up instinctively, looking at Yun Ce with grave expressions. That pressure was too formidable, far exceeding their current realm. Even the slightest leak of his aura made their minds tremble and their breathing difficult.

"Master... what's wrong with him?" Black Feather's voice carried a hint of nervousness as he transmitted it to Qin Yu.

Qin Yu shook his head, his eyes filled with confusion and awe: "I don't know, but Master's aura is very strange. It seems like... he is breaking through his realm!"

Just as Qin Yu finished speaking, a cold, mechanical voice that only Yun Ce could hear suddenly rang in his mind:

Ding! Detected that the Child of Destiny of this world, Qin Yu, has reached the Golden Core realm (Nebula Initial Stage). Triggering system core rule—Destiny Linkage, cultivation return: the host will always be two major realms higher than the disciple!

Ding! Rule activated. Beginning to raise the host's realm...

Ding! Upgrade successful! Host's current realm: Void-Piercing Initial Stage!

Ding! The Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation of this world has been shielded for the host. The host does not need to undergo tribulation!

Ding! Detected that the Child of Destiny, Qin Yu, has successfully cultivated the Stellar Transformations technique and completed the core inheritance mission. Triggering system reward!

Ding! Reward issued: Supreme technique Hongmeng Stellar Art! The host may view it in the system space!

A series of system notifications echoed in Yun Ce's mind. Yun Ce's tightly shut eyes snapped open, a brilliant golden light flashing within them before fading. The pressure around his body surged violently, then slowly retracted and returned to stability, though the aura of being above all things became increasingly clear.

He felt the surging, torrential power within his body and was filled with excitement—the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul Realm that had troubled him for so long had finally been broken at this moment, propelling him directly to the Void-Piercing Initial Stage!

The Void-Piercing Realm, a supreme realm above the Golden Core and Nascent Soul realms. Looking across the entire Hidden Dragon Continent, and even the outer reaches of the Great Wilderness, he could be considered a top-tier expert, an almost invincible existence!

In the past, he had remained at the Nascent Soul Realm for many years, and relying solely on his own talent, it had become difficult to make any progress. If not for the system's rules, and if not for Qin Yu successfully embarking on the path of Stellar Transformations and breaking through to the Golden Core realm, he might never have reached the Void-Piercing Realm in his entire life.

At the same time, his mind was flooded with the complete content of the supreme technique, the Hongmeng Stellar Art. The profundity of this technique far exceeded any he had practiced before, even deeper than Lei Wei's Stellar Transformations. It could be called heaven-defying. According to the description of this technique, he might even have the chance to become a Controller of Hongmeng like Hongmeng, Lin Lei, or Qin Yu in the future! What a heaven-defying opportunity! Yun Ce was instantly plunged into immense joy.

Time passed.

Yun Ce slowly stood up. His aura was steady, yet he carried an invisible pressure. His gaze fell upon Qin Yu and Black Feather, and a faint smile appeared on his previously calm face—a smile filled with gratification, joy, and certainty about the future.

Seeing this, Qin Yu and Black Feather walked forward. Qin Yu bowed respectfully, his tone filled with reverence and joy: "Master, you... have you broken through?"

Black Feather also transmitted via spiritual sense, full of awe: "Master, the power on you is so strong, much stronger than before!"

Yun Ce nodded with a smile and waved his hand gently. A soft force enveloped Qin Yu and Black Feather, neutralizing the discomfort caused by his pressure. His tone was gentle yet carried the composure of a powerhouse: "Indeed, I have just broken through to the Void-Piercing Initial Stage."

"Void-Piercing Initial Stage?!" Qin Yu was startled, his eyes filled with shock. "Master, you actually broke through directly to the Void-Piercing Realm?!"

Although he did not know the specific strength of the Void-Piercing Realm, he knew it was a realm far beyond the Nascent Soul Realm. Across the Hidden Dragon Continent, such people were top-tier experts. His master had been at the Nascent Soul Realm, and now he had broken through directly to the Void-Piercing Realm; this speed was truly astonishing!

Yun Ce smiled faintly. He did not explain the existence of the system, only saying: "All of this is thanks to you. Seeing you successfully cultivate Stellar Transformations and break through to the Nebula realm gave me some insights, allowing me to take this opportunity to break through the bottleneck and step into the Void-Piercing Realm."

He knew clearly that Qin Yu was the Child of Destiny and the key to his own breakthrough. From now on, as long as Qin Yu improved steadily, he would be able to improve synchronously, always maintaining a strength two major realms higher than Qin Yu. This opportunity was truly unique.

Black Feather also said excitedly: "Master is amazing! With you around, we won't have to fear any demonic beasts or enemies anymore!"

Yun Ce smiled, his gaze sweeping over Qin Yu and Black Feather, his tone becoming solemn: "Yu'er, Xiao Hei, you have both reached the Golden Core Initial Stage and your strength has greatly increased. While Thunder Mountain Residence is good, it is ultimately a greenhouse. Once you have consolidated your realms for a while longer, we will leave Thunder Mountain Residence and head into the depths of the Great Wilderness to continue our training, allowing you to grow rapidly through real combat."

A look of anticipation flashed in Qin Yu's eyes, and he nodded heavily: "This disciple understands! I will certainly consolidate my realm well and not let down Master's expectations!"

Black Feather nodded repeatedly and transmitted: "Yay! We're going to adventure in the depths of the Great Wilderness; I want to become even stronger!"

In the practice room, sunlight spilled through the window, illuminating the two and the beast. Qin Yu had stabilized his Nebula Initial Stage, Black Feather had awakened his spiritual sense, and Yun Ce had broken through to the Void-Piercing Initial Stage, becoming a top-tier expert. After this period of secluded cultivation, both had gained much, and the depths of the Great Wilderness they were about to enter would welcome a brand-new trial and challenge.