Bloodline Power

Open the Dantian, gather the world's spiritual energy!

Zhou Heng sat cross-legged, actively circulating the Moon Shadow Heart Art to draw in the spiritual energy that had already gathered around him, absorbing it without reservation and converting it into his own spiritual power.

His True Essence Power had long been exhausted from bombarding the Dantian, and now the world's spiritual energy was not being converted into True Essence Power at all. Instead, it filled his body as a higher-level spiritual power.

Unlike before, breakthroughs in the past only shattered bottlenecks without increasing one's inherent strength. But upon reaching the Spirit Gathering Realm, once the Dantian opened, the world's spiritual energy washed over his body, and his strength naturally soared.

Under the cleansing of spiritual power a hundred times stronger than True Essence Power, his body became even more formidable. At this point, even someone at the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining wielding the Frost Cold Sword and hacking at him wildly might not necessarily break through his defense.

Sharp weapons only reduced the difficulty of breaking defenses—the sharper the weapon, the less force required, and conversely, the more force needed.

But once one reached the Spirit Gathering Realm, no matter what sharp weapon someone at the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining used, it was useless. The gap between these realms was simply too vast; the force required far exceeded what the Body Refining Realm could muster.

Without entering the Spirit Gathering Realm, one could never imagine how terrifying its power truly was!

Finally... he had broken into the Spirit Gathering Realm!

This was a brand-new world. Zhou Heng felt the changes in his body as his spiritual sense expanded. The sound of ants moving was like thunder, and every grain of dust was as clear as a boulder's veins—his sight and hearing had reached a terrifying level.

Zhou Heng took a deep breath, the joy on his face gradually fading.

The Spirit Gathering Realm was only a beginning, far from a point where he could afford to be complacent.

Still, the changes to his body were undeniably evident.

Brimming with vitality, infinite strength!

Entering the Spirit Gathering Realm granted an additional hundred years of lifespan—a benefit not yet visible or tangible—but Zhou Heng could clearly feel the vitality surging within him, as if squeezing out a single drop of blood could revive a withered tree!

And that wasn't all!

He sensed two mysterious forces within him suddenly awakening, stirring restlessly. Countless insights, indescribable and unclear, exploded in his mind, as if they had always been his memories, merely sealed away until now.

Boom!

He raised his right hand, and a purple flame suddenly rose in his palm.

Could this be... the Bloodline Inheritance that Zhu Zhihe and the others spoke of?

There was more than one!

Zhou Heng extended his left hand. A flash of golden light passed, and his entire hand became as if forged from gold. He walked to the mountain wall, reached out, and grabbed a rock. It instantly crumbled to powder in his hand.

Such terrifying physical strength!

Zhou Heng couldn't help but be astonished. He hadn't used any spiritual power just now—it was purely the strength of his physical body—and yet he had crushed a hard rock into dust! This wasn't just a matter of raw power; it also required an incredibly tough body.

He could sense that his hand was now no different from metal, and even the Frost Cold Sword might not be able to cut through it.

Let's test it.

He drew the Frost Cold Sword and slashed at his own hand. A sharp, piercing screech rang out, but not even a mark was left on his skin. He pressed harder, then harder still, yet his arm remained unscathed. Instead, the Frost Cold Sword's edge actually began to curl!

Indeed, his body's toughness now surpassed that of the Frost Cold Sword!

Zhou Heng's mind stirred. He returned his left hand to normal and slashed at it with the Frost Cold Sword. At only thirty percent of his strength, a bloody gash appeared on his arm, but the blood didn't drip—it quickly healed, forming a scar.

Two Bloodline Powers!

Without a doubt, one came from his father, and the other from his mother.

Zhu Zhihe and the other three had said that in all of Hancang Kingdom, fewer than ten thousand people possessed Bloodline Power, and every one of them had ancestors with great abilities, allowing their power to be passed down through bloodlines.

Purple Fire, Metal Incarnation!

Not only was he a Spirit Body, but he was also a Dual Spirit Body!

What dissatisfied him was that both the Purple Fire and the Metal Incarnation could only cover an area the size of two fists. However, this wasn't limited to a fixed spot—for example, he could turn his head into metal and ignite it with Purple Fire.

In other words, his Bloodline Power wasn't very strong, at least not comparable to Jing Tian's. Otherwise, it would have been triggered by the Spirit Crystal Pillar back then.

Zhou Heng withdrew his Bloodline Power. This could probably be considered a martial skill as well, since both activating the Purple Fire and the Metal Incarnation consumed spiritual power. Especially when he had slashed himself with the Frost Cold Sword, the spiritual power drain was very rapid.

"Can this Bloodline Power be stacked with the Bright Jade Art?" Zhou Heng's mind stirred. If not, then he had truly wasted his time learning this defensive martial skill.

He once again turned his fist into metal, then activated the Bright Jade Art. A jade-like luster immediately appeared on his fist.

It worked!

But... the spiritual power consumption was even greater!

Zhou Heng withdrew his Bloodline Power again, sat cross-legged, and circulated the Moon Shadow Heart Art to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy, replenishing what he had just expended.

Hum. The Black Broken Sword in his Dantian gave a slight tremor, then suddenly vanished!

What!

Zhou Heng was startled. Although this Black Sword had harmed him for ten years, it was also entirely thanks to this divine sword that he had traversed the Ascension Path from the First Layer of Body Refining to the Spirit Gathering Realm in just over half a year!

He quickly opened his eyes and was about to leap up when he saw a pitch-black broken sword floating before him.

...It had actually appeared!

As if in a dream, Zhou Heng reached out and grabbed the hilt of this sword, which he had previously only been able to perceive with his mind.

A strange sensation of blood-bound connection immediately spread from his palm, extending through every part of his body.

First Form of Heaven-Soaring!

Zhou Heng moved, sweeping the broken sword aside as the world's spiritual energy converged around him, continuously gathering on the blade and rapidly elevating the power of his sword technique.

Heaven-Soaring Second Style, Third Style!

After breaking into the Spirit Gathering Realm, Zhou Heng's strength had multiplied by an unknown factor, granting him enough spiritual power to unleash three styles in one breath.

Fourth Form of Heaven-Soaring!

Like water flowing into a channel, once the Third Form of Heaven-Soaring was complete, he smoothly extended his momentum and unleashed the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Forms!

A single, unbroken chain!

Seventh Form of Heaven-Soaring!

Sword Qi shot out in all directions, carving into the mountain wall three or four zhang away. With a heavy boom, it sheared off a layer of rock the size of a house!

So that's it! So that's it!

Zhou Heng laughed heartily. The Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles, strictly speaking, were but a single complete move—each style was a process of gathering power. When all nine merged as one, the accumulated force would be terrifying beyond measure!

And only the Black Sword could bear and perfectly store that power. The sword and the technique were inseparable, neither dispensable.

No wonder he had exhausted himself after just one style before. Driving such a fearsome sword art demanded a consumption of his own energy that was naturally horrifying.

But even now, he could only push the Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles to the Seventh Form. Beyond that, his strength gave out. It was clear that to fully execute all nine styles, his current power was still far from enough!

What a glutton for spiritual power!

Zhou Heng looked at the broken sword in his hand, wondering: now that this sword had appeared, could it go back?

As the thought turned in his mind, the black broken sword vanished with a whoosh.

Eh!

He quickly looked inward at his Dantian. Sure enough, the black broken sword was floating and sinking there, like a sovereign of the Nine Heavens, filled with majestic grandeur.

Come out!

With a thought, the black broken sword reappeared before him, hovering inexplicably in the air.

This must be a divine object!

Zhou Heng gripped the Black Sword, suddenly curious: "Which is sharper, this Black Sword or the Frost Cold Sword?"

Thinking this, he quickly took out the Frost Cold Sword and lightly tapped the two together.

Ding—a spark flashed. The Black Sword was unmoved, but a small notch appeared on the edge of the Frost Cold Sword.

"No way, I barely used any strength!" Zhou Heng was stunned. He had truly only lightly clashed the two swords together.

Shua shua shua, he sliced down several times in succession. The Frost Cold Sword was like mud, cut into seven or eight pieces by the Black Sword!

—Poor Frost Cold Sword. Who knew how furious Lin Fuxiang would be if she found out? This was her treasure!

True divine sharpness—cutting iron like mud!

Zhou Heng was overjoyed. With the Black Sword sweeping the world, who in this realm could stand against him?

"Let me try again. How deep can I dive this time?"

He was still unwilling to give up on the Cold Pool. With a plop, he leaped into the pool again, holding his breath as he dove deeper—thirty zhang, forty zhang, fifty zhang!

When he reached seventy zhang deep, Zhou Heng stopped. He could go no further. The bitter cold was more terrifying than he had imagined; even reaching the Spirit Gathering Realm was useless here.

He surfaced, returned to the shore, and as his spiritual power circulated, the chill vanished instantly.

The Cold Pool was unfathomably deep. Even after diving seventy zhang, there was no sign of reaching the bottom. With his current cultivation, this was as far as he could go.

Time to go back!

Zhou Heng gazed at the sky. Though he had just entered the Spirit Gathering Realm, his Dantian was eight times larger than an ordinary person's. At the same cultivation level, his strength was nearly unmatched! Coupled with the uncanny Flying Cloud Steps, even if he couldn't defeat a Second Heaven or Third Heaven of Spirit Gathering expert, escaping was not difficult.

But the Black Sword had stopped releasing energy a month ago. From now on, improving his cultivation would depend entirely on his own effort!

After stabilizing his realm, Zhou Heng left the valley.

Unfolding the Flying Cloud Steps, he swept past like a gale, his speed at least ten times greater than at the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining. In just five hours, he emerged from the Heaven-Leveling Mountain Range, and the peak where the Nine Spirits Sect stood was right before him.

Let me go back and take a look first!

Zhou Heng returned to the foot of the mountain. He had no deep feelings for the Nine Spirits Sect. Though he had joined over four months ago, he had spent less than ten days within the sect. But Zhou Dinghai had been saved by the Nine Spirits Sect, and he could not forget or dare to forget that debt.

Having reached the Spirit Gathering Realm, he had returned to simplicity. His aura was completely indistinguishable from an ordinary person's. Unless a cultivator of the same realm looked closely, no one could see through his depth. As he walked past, he was like any common man, drawing no one's attention.

Who could have imagined such a freak—leaving the sect for three months and breaking through from the Ninth Layer of Body Refining to the Spirit Gathering Realm!

"Zhou Heng, you're back just in time! Come with me quickly!" Chang Kang stepped out from the side, a flash of joy on his face when he saw him.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Heng asked casually.

"Fang Jianyu of White Jade Valley is challenging the Outer Sect. He's already beaten Ma Yunlong and Guo Gang, and he's shouting that the Nine Spirits Sect has no one!" Chang Kang's face was full of anger. "It's infuriating! You left the sect for over three months and gave up the top spot without a fight, and Senior Brother Jing became an Inner Sect disciple. Otherwise, that bastard wouldn't have a chance to act so arrogant!"

"Let's go see!" Zhou Heng revealed a trace of killing intent. Even if he didn't bear the surname Jin, he had no goodwill toward anyone from White Jade Valley.

"Mm, you have to teach him a harsh lesson! That bastard is insufferably arrogant, running his mouth nonstop. We all wanted to gang up and beat him to death!" Chang Kang said bitterly.