Realm Barrier

"My cultivation had been at the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm. Now it's fallen back to the third."

With the talent boost from the Heavenly Origin Earth Realm, his progress was truly heaven-defying. Even without any resources, he had crossed three levels at once.

One had to know that Fang Yuan had previously relied on vast amounts of resources and still taken two years just to reach the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm.

"With talent like this, I don't need to spend time improving my cultivation. I can focus on training in martial techniques and divine abilities to raise my strength."

Most cultivators focused on their cultivation, after all, it was the source of their strength and the foundation of everything.

But Fang Yuan could clearly skip this tedious process.

He didn't need to risk his life fighting for scraps of resources or train day after day like an ascetic monk.

"As long as I keep a low profile and cultivate, my strength will undergo a tremendous transformation in less than a year."

A year had three hundred and sixty-five days.

But for Fang Yuan, that was three hundred and sixty-five years!

"What should I do with this pile of resources?"

Fang Yuan suppressed his excitement, took out the medicinal ingredients for repairing his Dantian from the Cosmic Pouch, and fell into thought.

He had more than a dozen kinds of spirit herbs, along with five types of pills with different effects. Every one of them was precious.

Any one of them, if it found its way into the outside world, would be enough to spark a bloody battle between factions.

"Yellow Origin Flower has a tonic effect, strengthening the body's foundation. I can take it."

"Snake Tendon Grass can temper the skin. Used in a medicinal bath, it can strengthen the body."

Fang Yuan sorted the spirit herbs and pills he could use into separate categories, then picked up the Cosmic Pouch and examined it closely.

An ordinary Cosmic Pouch had an inner space of just one cubic meter, but the one in his hands held a full ten cubic meters!

"It'll make things much easier when I go out to train in the future."

With a wave of his hand, Fang Yuan stowed away the medicinal ingredients for repairing his Dantian and considered the direction of his future cultivation.

Many factors affected a cultivator's strength. Cultivation was the most crucial, followed by the degree of mastery in martial arts, whether one had a Spiritual Treasure at one's side, and so on.

As for cultivation, with the talent boost from the Heavenly Origin Earth Realm, he didn't need to give it much thought for now.

But when it came to mastering martial arts, Fang Yuan would have to work through it step by step.

Training in martial techniques took a great deal of time, but the improvement to one's strength was obvious.

A cultivator who fully mastered a powerful martial technique could even kill someone across a realm.

The last time Fang Yuan had defeated Fang Yuan'er with a single sword strike, the perfected Gale Nine Swords had played a major role.

"I've already perfected both the Gale Nine Swords and Phantom Step."

Fang Yuan mused, "But the clan's signature martial art, Myriad Star Fist, is still only at the great-completion stage."

With that in mind,

Fang Yuan paced around the courtyard, occasionally throwing a punch. Flecks of starlight fell upon him, adding a few traces of Dao Rhythm.

The force of Myriad Star Fist imitated stars hurtling down from the heavens: swift and powerful, flowing without end, striking with pinpoint precision.

It required exceedingly fine control over the true qi within his body.

Time slipped by in a flash.

Immersed in his training, Fang Yuan clenched his fist. Faint starlight shimmered across his knuckles as he suddenly slammed it into a tree that would have taken two people to hug, the blow carrying a gust of wind.

For a moment, the branches and treetop swayed without stopping, leaves rustling down in a shower, while the trunk caved in by a full half-inch.

"Myriad Star Fist really is overbearing. I only drew on a wisp of true qi just now."

After a brief rest, Fang Yuan soon returned to bed and went to sleep.

For seven days straight,

Fang Yuan never left the house. He stayed home training in martial techniques, quietly improving his cultivation, and enjoying the pain and pleasure of tempering his body in medicinal baths.

[You cultivated painstakingly for one year. The true qi coiled around your Dantian Pillar accumulated five layers, growing ever more refined. Your cultivation reached the fifth level of the Xiantian Realm!]

[You cultivated painstakingly for one year. You encountered a bottleneck along the way and lacked insight, but seized a wisp of opportunity. Your cultivation reached the sixth level of the Xiantian Realm!]

...

[You cultivated painstakingly for one year. You continued to lack insight and had insufficient experience with the realm to support you. Your cultivation could not advance, but your true qi grew denser.]

[You cultivated painstakingly for one year. You failed to find an opportunity to break through. Your cultivation made no substantial progress for now and remained at the sixth level of the Xiantian Realm!]

Seven days passed.

Fang Yuan improved his cultivation whenever the time came, spending most of his time painstakingly practicing Myriad Star Fist.

With the combined help of medicinal baths and pills, his injuries had healed completely, and his physical body had even improved slightly.

But over the final three days, his cultivation remained stuck at the sixth level of the Xiantian Realm, unable to advance.

The information displayed on the panel said either that he lacked sufficient insight into the realm or that he had yet to find an opportunity.

In short, it seemed he had run into a realm barrier.

Fang Yuan was surprised by the situation, but accepted it with equanimity.

At his peak, his cultivation had only been at the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm.

Now he had not only returned to his peak but had also leaped three levels. What more could he ask for?

Realm barriers were always there, especially when breaking through to a major realm. Many cultivators could spend their entire lives unable to take that one step.

Going from the sixth to the seventh level of the Xiantian Realm was already a minor threshold, after all. It marked the difference between the middle and later stages.

"My cultivation is increasing more slowly now, but compared to everyone else, I'm still progressing at lightning speed."

There were many ways to break through a realm.

One could seek guidance from an expert, gain experience through real combat, observe a battle between powerful cultivators, and so on...

As the Young Master of an Aristocratic Clan, Fang Yuan had no shortage of access to powerful cultivators. His advantage was plain to see.

"I'll find some time tomorrow and ask Father to guide me."

"You really want to train in Seven Wound Fist?"

On the eastern side of the Fang Family stood a cluster of orderly buildings. Inside a brightly lit study,

the Fang Family's Grand Elder, Fang Zhongde, looked at Fang Yuan'er in disbelief and asked in a low voice,

"I've made up my mind. I hope you'll grant my request, Father!"

Fang Yuan'er's gaze was resolute. With his back bent, he clasped his fists and bowed deeply to his father.

Seven Wound Fist was also one of the Fang Family's signature martial arts.

But it was different from Myriad Star Fist.

This martial art could draw out the practitioner's potential, unleash several times their strength, and help them improve rapidly in the midst of battle.

But the drawback was that the fist that wounded others also wounded its wielder!

Only someone with an exceptionally strong physique who had also trained in body-forging arts could somewhat lessen the aftereffects of this martial art.

For a long while, Fang Zhongde said nothing.

"You've always been competitive, ever since you were a child. But some people are impossible to catch up to."

Fang Zhongde's eyes softened. His expression was complicated, as though he were looking at his former self. He let out a long sigh and said,

"In their last battle, Fang Yuan was injured, and his cultivation was only at the Houtian Realm."

After much thought, Fang Zhongde still revealed the truth.

He truly didn't want Fang Yuan'er to train in Seven Wound Fist. That path was too difficult, and the price was too great.

At those words, Fang Yuan'er's body trembled. A nameless chill seemed to surge through his heart.

But he still held firm to his decision and asked stubbornly,

"Father, then why did you go to the Royal City Branch back then?"