Breakthrough

The half-year in Yunfeng Town passed faster than imagined.

When Akes emerged from the cultivation room, the sunlight was falling perfectly into the courtyard.

The sunbeams landed on his face, carrying the gentle warmth characteristic of early autumn. The old locust tree in the yard had begun to shed its leaves, covering the ground in a thin layer of gold. Halu was sprawled in his usual spot—a bluestone slab in the southeast corner of the yard that had been warmed by the sun. Hearing movement, he merely flicked his tail lazily without even opening his eyes.

Bebe darted out from somewhere and landed precisely on Halu's back. Half a year had passed, but the little thing remained the same: palm-sized, with sleek, glossy fur and a pair of black-bean-like eyes that darted around incessantly. He squeaked twice at Akes and pressed his front paws together in a bow as a greeting, then flipped over to lie on Halu's back, exposing his furry belly to the sun.

The corners of Akes's mouth lifted slightly.

A dull, rhythmic thudding sound echoed through the courtyard.

Thud—thud—thud—

It was steady and rhythmic, as if someone were striking a massive leather drum.

He followed the sound and saw Gates, shirtless, slamming his fist repeatedly into a giant boulder. The rock was half a man's height and as thick as two people could embrace; Barker had rolled it down from the back mountain three months ago, claiming it was for his younger brother's training. Back then, when Gates punched it, the stone hadn't budged, while his own fist had turned bright red.

Now, the rock was covered in stone dust, its surface deeply indented. The depression was as smooth as a mirror, polished by countless strikes. Yet, Gates's knuckles weren't even grazed. Every punch he landed carried a muffled resonance that made the ground tremble slightly.

"You've improved again." Akes walked over.

Gates stopped and turned back, grinning to reveal two rows of white teeth. He was drenched in sweat, glistening under the sun. The contours of his chest and abdominal muscles were more defined than they had been half a year ago, yet the lines lacked the ruggedness of a typical warrior, possessing instead a sense of fluid power.

"Brother Akes!" He wiped the sweat from his face. "My big brother said my current physical strength is almost on par with an eighth-rank magical beast."

Halu, hearing his name, finally opened his eyes, glanced toward them, and then turned his head away in disdain. The expression clearly said: I just didn't want to hurt you.

Gates didn't mind, laughing even more happily. "You've finished your seclusion? It was quite long this time, wasn't it? Half a month?"

"Eighteen days," Akes said. "Where is your brother?"

"In the back mountain, sparring with Brother Linley." Gates gestured toward the back mountain with his chin. "They went early this morning and haven't come back yet. I went to deliver lunch at noon and took a peek from afar. The commotion, tsk tsk..."

He made an exaggerated gesture. "The two of them were over ten zhang apart, trading blows. The wind from their punches was enough to bend the trees. I didn't dare get close, so I just dropped the food and ran back."

Akes nodded and turned to head toward the back mountain.

The back mountain of Yunfeng Town was a series of rolling hills with sparse trees and jagged rocks. For the past six months, Linley had spent most of his time training here, occasionally joined by Barker for sparring. Akes had watched from afar a few times, and each time he could feel Linley's progress—not a sudden leap, but a steady, solid growth, stronger with every passing day.

Before he even got close, he felt the vibration of the ground.

Thud—thud—

It wasn't an ordinary tremor, but a rhythmic pulse, like the heartbeat of the earth or the footsteps of some ancient behemoth. With every vibration, the ground beneath his feet trembled slightly, and the surrounding gravel danced, emitting a faint, grinding sound.

Akes quickened his pace, crested a small hill, and saw the two figures in the distance.

It was an open area that had once been scattered with a dozen boulders, now reduced to a field of rubble. Linley stood before a boulder that had yet to shatter, maintaining his punching posture. He wore only a thin cloth shirt, soaked through with sweat and clinging to his body, outlining muscle lines that were not overly bulky but filled with power.

His previous punch had struck the rock, yet the boulder hadn't moved an inch.

However, the ground behind the rock had exploded into a massive crater—three zhang in diameter and half a man's depth. Soil and gravel had sprayed outward in a radial pattern, as if struck by a meteor. The force of the punch had pierced through the entire boulder, condensed into a beam, and slammed into the earth.

Barker stood ten zhang away, his entire body shimmering with a bronze luster.

It was a marvelous sheen, not as cold and hard as metal, but possessing a warm, polished texture, like fine brass buffed a thousand times, gleaming in the sun. Standing there, he looked like a bronze statue, even his hair and eyebrows tinged with a faint copper hue.

He had just taken one of Linley's punches head-on. The shirt over his chest was torn, revealing his bronze skin. Akes, with his sharp eyes, saw only a faint white mark on the skin, like a scratch from a fingernail, which was fading at a visible rate.

"Good!" Barker roared, his voice filled with irrepressible excitement. "Brother Linley, again!"

Linley didn't hold back, throwing another punch.

This strike looked no different from the last, but Akes keenly sensed that the moment Linley threw the punch, the surrounding air stagnated for an instant.

The force of the punch slammed into Barker's chest.

Thud!

The sound wasn't like a fist hitting flesh, but rather like a great temple bell being struck—dull, long, and echoing through the valley. Barker was forced back three steps, each step leaving a deep footprint in the ground—the first sank to his ankle, the second to his calf, and the third all the way to his knee.

But he remained standing.

Barker looked down at his chest. The white mark was deeper than before, the color more pronounced, but that was all. He took a deep breath, and the bronze luster on his body intensified; the white mark rapidly faded, disappearing completely within a few breaths.

He looked up, his face filled with wild joy.

"Ninth rank!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the valley. "After transforming, I can reach the Saint-level!"

Linley withdrew his fist and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. Fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his breathing was slightly more rapid than usual, but a smile appeared on his face. "Congratulations."

Akes walked over, his gaze sweeping over Barker.

"When did you break through?" he asked.

Seeing Akes, Barker's eyes lit up, and he hurried over excitedly. With every step he took, the ground trembled slightly, like a humanoid beast.

"Just yesterday!" He laughed from ear to ear. "Brother Akes, you didn't see it—when I transformed yesterday, my whole body was this color. When that kid Gates punched me, he was in so much pain he kept shaking his hand, while I didn't feel a thing!"

He laughed as he spoke, his eyes crinkling into slits.

Akes nodded. "Congratulations."

Linley walked over and said to Akes, "You've come at the right time. Help me take a look."

He turned to face the boulder and took a deep breath.

Akes noticed that Linley did not throw a punch immediately this time; instead, he stood there with his eyes closed, as if making some sort of adjustment. The surrounding air gradually grew heavy, and a faint, intangible pressure began to radiate from his body.

Then, he opened his eyes and threw a punch.

This time, Akes saw it clearly.

The moment Linley threw the punch, his fist seemed to vibrate slightly. The force of the blow struck the stone, and while the surface showed no change, a dense series of cracking sounds erupted from deep within the rock.

Crack—crack-crack-crack—

The sound was delicate and sharp, like countless beans popping inside a bamboo tube, or the sound of an ice sheet fracturing in a continuous chain. The boulder remained motionless, but fine, dense cracks began to seep across its surface.

Stone dust drifted out from those microscopic fissures, shimmering in the sunlight.

Then, the boulder collapsed with a roar.

It disintegrated completely, shattering into a pile of fist-sized stones. Those stones were uniform in size with neat edges, as if they had been meticulously cut. Even more miraculously, the base of the boulder remained intact, leaving a smooth, flat surface surrounded by piles of rubble.

"This is..."

"An advancement of the Triple Wave," Linley said, his breathing slightly more rapid than before. "I stacked the three layers of force into one hundred. The moment the punch is thrown, the force vibrates one hundred times within the body, stacking into a single surge that strikes the target's interior to destroy it from within."

Akes was silent for a moment, then nodded.

With a single punch, the surface of the boulder remained unscathed while the interior was reduced to powder. This level of control and power far exceeded that of an ordinary early-stage Saint. If this punch were to land on a human body, there might only be a fist mark on the outside, but the internal organs would be pulverized into mush.

"Try it on me," Barker said, stepping forward and patting his chest. "I want to see if I can take it."

Linley glanced at him and did not refuse.

Barker took a deep breath and stepped back to stand firm. The bronze luster on his skin grew richer, the color deepening and the texture thickening, as if a layer of genuine bronze armor covered his entire body. He dropped into a horse stance, clenched his fists, and tensed every muscle in his body, his toes digging deep into the soil.

"Come on!"

Linley did not hold back. He stepped forward and slammed a punch into Barker's chest.

Thud!

A dull, thunderous sound rang out, like a heavy hammer striking a bronze bell. Barker was sent flying backward like a stone projectile launched from a catapult; he snapped a tree as thick as a bowl behind him and rolled seven or eight yards across the ground before coming to a stop. Everywhere he passed, the soil was churned up and gravel sprayed, carving a deep trench into the earth.

He lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

Akes walked over and crouched down to check on him.

Barker lifted his head, spat out a mouthful of dirt, and wore a smile on his face: "I'm fine... I'm fine... just a bit dizzy from the vibration."

He rolled over to sit up and unbuttoned his shirt to look at his chest. There was a faint fist mark there, the color slightly darker than the surrounding skin, like a red bruise left by a firm press. He reached out to touch it and grinned.

"I really took it." He looked up, his eyes shining with excitement. "Even though I was sent flying, my skin didn't break, and my bones didn't snap. Brother Linley, your Hundred-Fold Wave can't kill me!"

Linley walked over and looked at the fist mark, his eyes also revealing a look of surprise. Although he hadn't used his full strength, he had used seventy or eighty percent of his power, enough to shatter a boulder. Yet, on Barker, it had only left a shallow mark.

The defensive power of an Undying Warrior was truly terrifying.

Akes stood to the side, watching this scene, and felt a sudden realization.

Linley's Hundred-Fold Wave was the ultimate stacking of power. The force of a single punch was enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, yet it could not break through Barker's physical defense. Barker's defense was the ultimate tempering of the flesh.

Just then, a familiar notification sound suddenly rang out in his mind.

Sign-in.

Akes was slightly startled, then silently recited his acceptance.

A surge of warm energy poured into his body, condensing into a tiny point of light in his dantian. He closed his eyes and looked inward—the point of light was only the size of a grain of rice, deep purple-black in color, with flames faintly dancing on its surface. It was not an ordinary flame, but one containing a certain vitality, pulsing with a strange rhythm as it flickered.

Three Thousand Burning Flame seed.

At the same time, information flowed into his mind—

Ranked ninth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, originating from the depths of the firmament, condensed over millions of years. Contains powerful life force and restorative capabilities; can nourish the body and repair damage. Requires long-term cultivation to reach maturity. Once mature, it can significantly increase flame power and grant the holder immense self-healing abilities. During the cultivation period, it must be nurtured with one's own battle qi and tempered with flame daily to take root and sprout.

Akes opened his eyes, lost in thought.

"What's wrong?" Linley noticed his unusual behavior.

Akes shook his head: "Nothing, just remembered something."

Linley did not press him, simply nodding.

The three of them headed down the mountain together.

When they reached the halfway point, Barker suddenly stopped and looked back at the mountain forest. The setting sun slanted low, gilding the forest in a golden-red hue, and the boulders they had shattered lay scattered across the ground, casting long shadows in the twilight.

He was silent for a while, then said: "Brother Linley, Brother Akes, I have an idea."

"Speak."

Barker scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed: "I am an Undying Warrior, and I can reach the Saint realm after transforming. But I just broke through, and I don't really know how to use this power yet. Right now, I only know how to take hits and fight head-on; when I meet a true powerhouse, having thick skin isn't enough. Brother Linley, could you teach me that Hundred-Fold Wave of yours? I don't need to learn the whole thing, just the basics will do. I want to train my fists as well."

Linley thought for a moment and nodded: "We can try."

Barker was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

Akes watched this scene and understood.

Barker wanted to push his strength to the limit. The body of an Undying Warrior was already strong enough; if he could also learn the technique of stacking force, it would no longer be mere defense, but a fusion of offense and defense. When the time came, he would be able to withstand Saint-level attacks while standing still, and a single punch would be enough to injure a Saint-level opponent.

These five brothers were indeed growing rapidly.

Returning to the courtyard, Sessler was standing at the entrance of his laboratory. The old man wore a grey robe with his hands tucked into his sleeves, squinting as he sized up the three of them. Behind him was that perpetually sealed stone room, from which strange odors and sounds would occasionally drift; no one knew what he was researching.

Seeing Barker, Sessler's eyes narrowed even further.

"I heard you broke through to the Saint-level?"

Barker chuckled, puffing out his chest: "I'm Saint-level after transforming, but still ninth-rank when I'm not. Old Mister Sessler, your eye is truly sharp—you said yesterday I was just one step away, and today I broke through!"

Sessler nodded, stroking his beard as he said: "Not bad, not bad. Out of you five, there is finally one worth showing off. Those brats like Gates still need more training."

"Gates is close, too," Barker said. "He says in another two or three months, he'll be able to catch up to me. The day before yesterday, he even told me he felt like he'd touched the threshold, just missing that tiny bit."

Sessler gave a grunt of acknowledgment and looked toward Linley: "Any movements from the Radiant Church lately?"

Linley shook his head: "None for the moment. The people we sent out reported that the Church is making moves over in the O'Brien Empire, but on our side, it's actually quite peaceful. It's too quiet."

"It won't last long," Sessler said after a moment of silence. "That is what this old man thinks as well. You killed so many of their people; they cannot possibly let this go. This half-year of peace is them gathering their strength. When the next move comes, either they won't show, or it will be a massive strike."

Everyone fell silent.