Sensation

In a garden within the Inner Court of Heavy Sword Peak...

"Jingjing... Jingjing?" Zhang Rumeng walked up to Chen Jingjing, who was sitting alone in a daze, and called her name twice.

"Rumeng." Chen Jingjing snapped back to reality and gave a faint smile.

"Still angry at your brother?" Zhang Rumeng sat down beside her and asked softly.

"Rumeng, am I asking too much of him? Should we never have placed the hope of restoring the Chen Clan on his shoulders?" Chen Jingjing shook her head.

"Don't think like that. Maybe he's just young and still has a playful heart. One day, when he turns over a new leaf, with his talent, he'll become a powerhouse sooner or later." Zhang Rumeng comforted her.

"Rumeng, don't make excuses for him. Powerhouses aren't so easily forged. Seeing Senior Brother Wang Feng break through the first layer of the Heavenly Court today, earning the title of One-Star Heavenly Soldier with a Grade C evaluation—do you know how envious I was? How I wished that one day, that person would be Chen Fan." Chen Jingjing shook her head gently.

"But now, my hopes are completely shattered. Senior Sister Wang Yunlan said she didn't mind, but there will always be a grudge. If we go to her for advice on Talismans again, maybe she'll..."

"Alright, don't overthink it. Heavy Sword Peak isn't lacking in strong cultivators. If Senior Sister Wang won't teach us, we can ask Senior Brother Wang Feng. He's a good person—optimistic and approachable. And whether he teaches us or she does, there's basically no difference." Zhang Rumeng said.

Chen Jingjing didn't reply, only nodding slightly.

"Give Chen Fan more time. Actually, ever since he came back from Demon King Valley, I feel he's changed quite a bit. At least he listens to what you say now. It's just that today he was a little..." Zhang Rumeng stopped mid-sentence, realizing she shouldn't have brought it up. She quickly changed the subject:

"Jingjing, I noticed today that when Senior Brother Wang Feng used his Talisman techniques, he employed a flowing, cloud-like movement technique to stall and maneuver against that sword cultivator. I feel like that technique resembles the Formless Step the Elder once mentioned."

"How could that be? Senior Brother Wang's technique is just the ordinary Cloud-Walking Step. He's just practiced it to perfection. If you ask me, the reason he got a Grade C evaluation isn't just Senior Sister Wang's experience—it's more the result of his diligent training." Chen Jingjing said.

"Yeah, we need to work hard too." Zhang Rumeng, seeing she had successfully changed the topic, secretly stuck out her tongue in reply.

"Mm, let's head back. The master should be returning soon." Chen Jingjing stood up and said.

The two walked toward the cluster of buildings in the Inner Court, but by now the Inner Court of Heavy Sword Peak was in an uproar. Many disciples had gathered in groups, discussing something excitedly.

"What happened?" Chen Jingjing said in confusion.

Zhang Rumeng also shook her head, looking at the crowd in bewilderment. Then her eyes lit up, and she walked toward a young man who was speaking with great fervor.

The young man was talking a mile a minute, his face full of excitement: "I swear I'm not lying to you. If you don't believe me, go into the Heavenly Court Hall and see for yourselves."

With that, several people listening to him took out their Heavenly Court Tokens, extended their divine sense, and entered the Heavenly Court.

"Huang Cheng, what rumors are you spreading now?" Zhang Rumeng crossed her arms and stared at the young man who had just been speaking so passionately.

"Rumeng, Jingjing." Huang Cheng's eyes lit up at the sight of them, and a delighted smile spread across his face.

"What exactly happened? Why is everyone buzzing? I thought I heard something about the first layer of the Heavenly Court." Zhang Rumeng pressed.

"You don't know yet? Someone just successfully broke through the first layer of the Heavenly Court." Huang Cheng said, eyes wide.

"We know that. Senior Brother Wang Feng..."

Before Zhang Rumeng could finish, Huang Cheng waved his hand to cut her off.

"It's not Wang Feng. It's a mysterious genius. He didn't challenge it publicly, but as you know, the Heavenly Soldier Ranking in the Heavenly Court Hall automatically records the cultivation level and score of any One-Star Heavenly Soldier who clears a layer. Just now, that person got a Grade A evaluation for the first layer—the first Grade A in history." Huang Cheng started talking a mile a minute again.

"Grade A evaluation... How is that possible? As far as I know, even the publicly named prodigy Xiao Munan only got a Grade B back then." Chen Jingjing said in shock.

"Of course, but that alone wouldn't cause such a stir. Do you want to know what really drove us crazy?"

"Stop being cryptic and just say it." Zhang Rumeng made as if to hit Huang Cheng.

Huang Cheng quickly shrank back with a grin and said, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you. Heh heh, the guy who got the Grade A evaluation was only at Qi Refining Layer 2. By tonight, the entire Heavenly Court is going to be in an uproar."

"Qi Refining... Layer 2..." Zhang Rumeng was stunned. How was that possible?

"Could the Heavenly Soldier Ranking be wrong?" Chen Jingjing, still relatively calm, immediately thought of that possibility.

"That's impossible. And maybe the fact that he's only at Qi Refining Layer 2 is exactly why he got the Grade A evaluation." Huang Cheng shook his head sagely.

"Was the Recording Stone of the defeated One-Star Heavenly Soldier released?" Chen Jingjing asked.

"Not yet. I came out to tell everyone as soon as I got the news. You two should go into the Heavenly Court and take a look, but the Heavenly Court Hall is probably packed by now." Huang Cheng shrugged.

"Rumeng, let's go in and see." Chen Jingjing took out her Heavenly Court Token and said to Zhang Rumeng.

While the Heavenly Court and the outside world were in an uproar, the protagonist of the whole incident, Chen Fan, was still sitting in the medicine field of his Immortal Cave, absorbing spiritual energy to his heart's content.

But this level of spiritual energy could already be called Pseudo Immortal Qi, though the absorption speed was ultimately limited.

Chen Fan pushed his Blazing Heaven Sword Art to its limit, yet he still felt a restriction when absorbing this spiritual energy.

After a while, he withdrew from his cultivation state and asked the Green-feathered Bird beside him about his doubts.

The Green-feathered Bird said very calmly, "You're only a One-Star Heavenly Soldier now, so the spiritual energy you can absorb is naturally limited. When you break through to Two-Star or Three-Star in the future, this restriction will gradually weaken. I've heard that reaching the Heavenly General level can double the absorption."

Double the spiritual energy!

A flash of white light passed through Chen Fan's eyes. He knew what this meant!

In this life, he had truly broken free from his shackles. This was the cultivation world he had always dreamed of.

Chen Fan closed his eyes again, rapidly cycling the Blazing Heaven Sword Art, madly absorbing the spiritual energy from the surrounding world. It flowed through countless meridians in his body, finally transforming into Blazing Heaven Sword Qi and surging into the vortex in his dantian.

Qi Refining Layer 3!

Qi Refining Layer 4!

His cultivation level shot up two stages without any bottleneck, because his soul had once been at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Below Foundation Establishment, he would face no barriers.

"No... this is just my clone." Chen Fan suddenly opened his eyes, realization dawning.

His physical body was still stuck at the second layer of Qi Refinement!

With that thought, Chen Fan withdrew from the Heavenly Court and returned to his own body. Opening his eyes again, the sight of an ancient, rustic building greeted him.

He was still at the Outer Court of Heavy Sword Peak!

He carefully savored that mysterious sensation from before, and without realizing it, the Blazing Heaven Sword Art began circulating within him.

But at that very moment, a vast spiritual energy from another world suddenly surged into his body.

"Pseudo Immortal Qi!" Chen Fan was shocked.

He could actually sense the Pseudo Immortal Qi in the Heavenly Court and, crossing an entire world, draw it into this physical body.

"Chen Jingjing didn't seem to mention this. Is it something everyone can do, or is it just me?" Chen Fan frowned, muttering to himself.

After a moment of thought with no answer, he shook his head slightly and decided to ask later. For now, while that familiar feeling was still fresh, he entered a state of cultivation once more.

This time, he was cultivating his physical realm—using the spiritual energy from the Heavenly Court to temper and nourish his meridians, transforming it into Blazing Heaven Sword Qi. The vortex of true qi in his dantian began to form again...

As the sky gradually darkened, the disciples of Heavy Sword Peak started heading down the mountain one by one. Only Chen Fan remained, sitting cross-legged in a secluded corner, quietly cultivating.

A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Fourth layer of Qi Refinement, achieved."