Failed Breakthrough

"And why must you humiliate yourself?"

Hearing the news from the maidservant, Fang Yuan couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile. Those two brothers really knew how to stir up trouble.

Fang Yuan's talent within the Fang Family could be said to be second only to Fang Yuan himself, and across the entire county city, he was considered a rare prodigy.

But alas.

He had run into Fang Yuan, this generational figure who led by a sheer cliff.

"Suppressed by me for over ten years, and now you want to turn the tables? Too early!" Fang Yuan said dismissively.

By the time the hour of noon arrived, the Source Points on his panel would refresh again, and his strength would soon return to its peak!

"Young master, I heard that Fang Yuan will be attempting to break through to the Xiantian Realm in the next couple of days." Xiao Qing's beautiful eyes carried a hint of worry as she quietly reminded him.

Before this, among the younger generation of the Fang Family and even the entire county city, only Fang Yuan had broken through to Xiantian.

"No matter."

Fang Yuan was slightly surprised, but still didn't take it to heart.

Enemies who had fallen at his hands were never considered rivals. Even if you gave them time to catch up, they would only ever see his back.

"Xiao Qing, go to the medicine hall and fetch some pills and herbs according to this list."

Fang Yuan handed a token of identity to the maidservant. With attendants to serve him, many trivial matters didn't require his personal effort.

"You all, go prepare some food for me. Xiao Zi and Hong Shu, you two come over and massage my legs and arms."

Fang Yuan ordered the servants around him, then lay back in his chair, summoning his two beautiful personal maids to attend to him and enjoy life.

He had to admit, having money and power felt great!

Fang Yuan had read plenty of novels in his past life, and the protagonists all lived too miserably.

Their starts were either crippled, jilted, blocked meridians with no talent for cultivation, or worse—fishermen or odd-jobbers.

In the middle of it, Fang Zhongwu took time to come check on Fang Yuan, mentioning that the heavenly treasures needed to repair his dantian would soon be gathered.

But he didn't bring up the commotion among the younger generation.

He looked at the leisurely Fang Yuan, his expression somewhat odd, but he said nothing more and left satisfied.

"This defeat might be a good thing. At least this kid won't train day and night like before."

Other parents might be furious seeing their child waste time, but Fang Zhongwu only felt at ease.

It wasn't that he had low expectations for Fang Yuan—on the contrary, he wanted Fang Yuan to have a broader world more than anyone.

But that was only on the condition that he didn't harm himself.

Cultivation required gradual progress. Blindly rushing to improve would only invite backlash.

Many only saw Fang Yuan's astonishing talent, unaware that he trained harder than anyone else.

Otherwise, would Fang Zhongwu have given his own child the reputation of a martial arts fanatic?

"In my current state, there's really no need to train. Restoring my body is the most important thing!"

Fang Yuan wasn't truly trying to slack off.

Having come to this world, who wouldn't want to move mountains, shift seas, pluck stars, or even split the sky with a single sword, glimpsing the endless path of immortality?

But with his current physical condition, training in external martial arts techniques was still quite a stretch.

As for internal cultivation methods to raise his cultivation level, he could do that, but there was no need.

Once noon arrived, he would directly gain the equivalent of a full year of bitter cultivation.

Why bother with dry, grueling training himself?

As the saying goes, good steel must be used on the blade's edge. Limited time had to be fully utilized.

And so.

Fang Yuan appeared to be lounging in his chair, basking in the sun and enjoying a personal massage, but in truth, he held an ancient martial arts manual in his hands, studying it.

"The path of cultivation is indeed extremely difficult. But you only reached the Xiantian Realm at sixty years old..."

Fang Yuan's face darkened. He silently put down the ancient manual and turned to look at the maidservant who had borrowed books from the library, speaking earnestly.

"Xiao Zi, next time, don't bother borrowing this kind of martial arts manual."

If your martial arts talent were truly exceptional, would you only reach Xiantian at sixty? What profound insights could such a self-created technique possibly hold?

The martial path is divided into the Body Refining Realm, Houtian Realm, Xiantian Realm, Foundation Building Realm...

Each realm has nine levels, such as Houtian First Layer, Xiantian Ninth Layer, and so on.

The vast majority of people, through hard training, have a chance to become martial artists. But to become an immortal cultivator is as difficult as reaching the heavens.

Common understanding holds that the Body Refining Realm is merely the level of a martial artist tempering the physical body externally. Only upon reaching the Houtian Realm, with inner true qi and the ability to use various miraculous techniques, does one qualify to be called a cultivator.

Breaking through to Xiantian at sixty, across the entire Flowing Cloud County, would already qualify someone as a regional power—a talent not to be underestimated.

But alas.

Fang Yuan lived in the commandery city as the young master of one of the three great families, the Fang Family. He had seen countless experts and prodigies in his time.

How could such a figure catch his eye?

"Young master, I don't have permission to go upstairs in the library." Xiao Zi sounded a bit aggrieved.

The Fang Family's library was rich in collection, spanning five floors. The first floor held the most texts, but their quality was uneven and relatively low.

Generally, only peripheral disciples and servants or maids who had contributed to the family would go there.

"I almost forgot about that. Next time, come with me," Fang Yuan said.

With his status and position, he could freely enter all five floors of the library, with no limits on borrowing quantity or duration.

"Time's up."

Fang Yuan sensed it and lifted his head slightly. Xiao Zi used her fair, delicate hand to shield him from the direct sunlight.

"You all withdraw. No one is to disturb me."

Over the past few days, Xiao Zi and the others had figured out Fang Yuan's routine. At the appointed time, he would "go into seclusion," and his wording was always the same.

Though they were a bit curious, they wouldn't make wild guesses, let alone dare to ask questions. Tight lips were the bare minimum.

The servants and maids who could attend to Fang Yuan were all carefully selected by Fang Zhongwu. They were absolutely trustworthy and loyal.

"Add points!"

Inside the room, Fang Yuan sat cross-legged and directly used a Source Point on the cultivation column.

But this time, he didn't break through to the Xiantian Realm as he had expected.

[You have cultivated for a year, repeatedly attempting to break through to the Xiantian Realm, but lacking a thread of opportunity, you have always failed to succeed. Your true qi has grown increasingly condensed, and your cultivation has stopped at the ninth level of the Houtian Realm!]

In an instant.

Fang Yuan felt the true qi in his dantian become abundant. What had been wisps of true qi was now as thick as a strand of hair, constantly swirling through his meridians.

"I didn't cross the threshold of the Xiantian Realm."

Fang Yuan rubbed his chin. He wasn't too disappointed, but he still needed to ponder the reason for his failure.

He had destroyed his own dantian, which was essentially a restart. He certainly had the insights for the Xiantian Realm, and since he had thoroughly comprehended the Mysterious Bright Heart Method, that wouldn't be an obstacle either.

So what was that missing thread of opportunity?

Fang Yuan racked his brains, recalling the scene of his original breakthrough to the Xiantian Realm and all his past cultivation experiences.

"That's it!"

"When I first broke through to the Xiantian Realm, I took a Qi Condensation Pill, which greatly increased my breakthrough probability."

The reason the Xiantian Realm could make one a local power was that strength was the best measure.

After reaching Xiantian, both the quality and quantity of true qi would leap significantly.

To give a simple example: a Houtian Realm cultivator, even if they released all their true qi, couldn't manage brief flight.

But a Xiantian Realm cultivator could already use true qi to briefly break free from the ground's pull!

Often, a hundred Houtian ninth-level cultivators might not produce a single Xiantian Realm.

"It probably isn't a talent issue."

Fang Yuan quickly found the root of the problem.

"To break through to the Xiantian Realm, you need to be in a place with dense spiritual energy; otherwise, you can't condense true qi into a pillar in the dantian."

And most of the time, finding a place with spiritual energy dense enough for a breakthrough was very difficult.

The year of bitter cultivation in the Heaven Source Earth Realm was clearly based on Fang Yuan's current environment in the real world.

"Although the Qi Condensation Pill is rare, it's nothing to the Fang Family."

A Qi Condensation Pill could instantly generate a large amount of true qi in the body, stimulating physical potential and allowing for a single breakthrough.

Fang Yuan only needed to call a servant, and someone would naturally go to the medicine hall to fetch the pill.