Pulse-Opening Realm!

Li Jinshui, with Monkey and Er Gou, ran dozens of zhang south before suddenly stopping.

From far behind, a world-shattering roar erupted!

"BOOM--!!!"

This was followed by the screams of Di soldiers, sharp and piercing, audible even from this distance.

Monkey shivered in fear. "What happened?!"

Li Jinshui turned to look in that direction—it was where Yun Ruoxi had been chased.

The shockwave from the explosion shook leaves from the trees, and dust billowed high into the air.

His eyes lit up.

There was a chance.

"You two go on ahead," he told Monkey and Er Gou. "Run forward, find a place to hide. I'll catch up later."

Monkey froze. "What about you?"

Li Jinshui didn't explain, just pushed him. "Go! Stop wasting time!"

Monkey and Er Gou exchanged a look, not daring to delay, and turned to run.

Li Jinshui took a deep breath, crouched low, and crept towards the direction of the explosion.

The forest was littered with the remnants of battle—broken trees, scorched earth, deep ravines.

The further he walked, the faster his heart beat.

Suddenly, Li Jinshui spotted

a Di soldier lying in the bushes, a gaping hole in his chest, his body charred black. He had clearly been blown here by the explosion.

His breath was so faint it could cease at any moment, yet he still clung to life.

Pulse-Opening Realm, mid-stage.

Li Jinshui's pupils contracted. Without hesitation, he plunged his saber into the soldier's heart.

[Killed Northern Di Pulse-Opening Realm mid-stage, points +150]

[Current points: 213]

He drew his saber, wiped the blood on the corpse, and continued forward.

Rounding a dense patch of woods, he faintly heard the sounds of fighting ahead.

He crouched behind a large rock, peered over, and saw—

in a clearing in the forest, three people were locked in a life-or-death struggle.

Yun Ruoxi, covered in blood, leaned against a broken tree, her sword slashing wildly.

Facing her were two Di soldiers, both Pulse-Opening Realm—one early-stage, one mid-stage. Both were heavily wounded but still pressed her relentlessly.

There were no bodies on the ground.

Where was the third Di soldier? Likely the one who had been blown away earlier.

Three against one, now only two remained, and Yun Ruoxi herself was on the verge of collapse.

Li Jinshui narrowed his eyes, quickly assessing the situation.

The mid-stage Pulse-Opening Realm cultivator was the most heavily injured, with several wounds bleeding profusely, his movements already sluggish.

The early-stage cultivator was slightly better off, but his breath was still weak.

Yun Ruoxi? Her sword was almost slipping from her grasp, sustained only by sheer grit.

The corners of his mouth slowly curved upwards.

An opportunity.

A heaven-sent chance.

He silently circled behind the mid-stage Pulse-Opening Realm cultivator.

The man was fully focused on attacking Yun Ruoxi, completely unaware of anyone behind him.

Li Jinshui plunged his saber into his back!

[Killed Northern Di Pulse-Opening Realm mid-stage, points +150]

[Current points: 363]

The Di soldier's eyes widened, and he collapsed to the ground.

The early-stage Pulse-Opening Realm cultivator spun around abruptly, saw Li Jinshui, and roared, lunging forward.

Li Jinshui immediately flashed to Yun Ruoxi's side.

Yun Ruoxi also saw Li Jinshui, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

"Li Jinshui! Quickly! Kill that Di soldier!"

Yun Ruoxi panted, "Let's attack together, he can't hold on much longer! After we kill him, I can guarantee your safety..."

Suddenly, the tip of a blade pierced through Yun Ruoxi's chest!

Yun Ruoxi froze completely.

She looked down at the blade tip protruding from her chest, blood flowing down the steel and dripping onto the ground, drop by drop.

Her mouth opened, wanting to say something, but only a mouthful of blood gushed out.

"You... you..." Her eyes widened, staring fixedly at Li Jinshui, filled with utter disbelief.

[Killed Yun Ruoxi (Pulse-Opening Realm, late stage), points +200]

Li Jinshui pulled out the blade and stepped back, watching her slowly slide to the ground.

"Why..." Yun Ruoxi's voice squeezed out from her throat, as hoarse as a broken gong, "Without me... how will you... how will you contend with the Pulse-Opening Realm..."

Li Jinshui looked down at her, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

The smile was faint, yet it made her feel a chill throughout her entire body.

"It's simple," he said. "I'll just become a Pulse-Opening Realm cultivator myself."

Yun Ruoxi's eyes widened even further.

She looked at the young man before her, watching the aura that suddenly surged from his body—

It was the aura of a breakthrough!

That chasm between Internal Strengthening and Pulse-Opening was being crossed by him!

"You... you..."

Li Jinshui did not look at her again, merely chanting silently in his heart:

Add points, Green Emperor Indestructible Scripture, initiate.

[Points: 563]

[Consumed 500 points, Green Emperor Indestructible Scripture initiated]

[Green Emperor Indestructible Scripture: Not initiated → Initiated (0/1000)]

[Detected host breaking through to Pulse-Opening Realm, realm promotion in progress...]

Boom—

The internal energy of the Evergreen Art within his body, which had already reached perfection, suddenly began to circulate frantically!

It no longer flowed gently; it was like a river bursting its banks, like a volcanic eruption, rampaging through his body! Every meridian was being forcibly widened, every acupoint violently assaulted!

Pain!

It was more painful than any previous breakthrough!

But Li Jinshui gritted his teeth, not making a sound.

Because he knew this was a qualitative change.

From Internal Strengthening to Pulse-Opening, this was the true watershed for a martial artist.

Internal Strengthening trains the internal organs, while Pulse-Opening trains the meridians of the entire body.

Once the meridians are opened, internal energy can leave the body, allowing one to fly through the air and kill from a hundred paces away!

He did not know how much time had passed before the violent energy within his body finally calmed down.

Li Jinshui opened his eyes.

The world was different.

He could see the wind flowing through the air, hear the chirping of insects a hundred feet away, and feel the movement of earthworms in the soil beneath his feet.

He raised his hand, and with a thought, a surge of internal energy flowed from his palm, condensing without dissipating, dancing at his fingertips.

Pulse-Opening Realm.

He had broken through to the Pulse-Opening Realm.

Yun Ruoxi lay on the ground, not yet dead.

Watching this scene, the disbelief in her eyes slowly turned into despair, then into an indescribable complexity.

"You... you could have... broken through long ago..." she said intermittently. "You were just... waiting..."

Li Jinshui looked down at her without speaking.

The corners of Yun Ruoxi's mouth pulled into a smile uglier than a cry.

"I... I misjudged you..."

After saying this, her eyes slowly lost focus.

She was dead.

Li Jinshui withdrew his gaze and charged toward the Northern Di soldiers.

Soon, [Killed Northern Di, Pulse-Opening Realm, early stage, points +100]

[Current Points: 413]

He sheathed his saber and stood in place, looking at the corpses littering the ground.

Three Pulse-Opening Realm Di soldiers, one late-stage Pulse-Opening Realm guest elder.

All dead.

And he had just stepped into the Pulse-Opening Realm.

He clenched his fist, feeling the unprecedented power surging within him.

Pulse-Opening Realm, he had arrived.

But this was only the beginning.

He raised his head and looked south.

North Plain City was still a thousand miles away.

There were countless Di soldiers and countless dangers on the road ahead.

But he was not afraid.

Because he was Li Jinshui.

He had crawled out of the Death Squad Camp, fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and survived the pursuit of Pulse-Opening Realm experts.

Now, he was also Pulse-Opening Realm.

He turned and walked south.

After a few steps, he stopped again and looked back at Yun Ruoxi's corpse.

"Lady Yun," he said softly, "Rest in peace. I will... live on well for you."

With that, he strode away.

Behind him, in the clearing in the woods, four bodies lay in pools of blood.

The wind blew, rustling the leaves, as if bidding farewell, or perhaps sighing.