Blood River Realm, Achieved!

As the sky began to brighten, the sound of rhythmic, whistling fist strikes already echoed through the Central Courtyard of the River-Breaking Fist Academy.

Chen Jing stepped through the morning dew into the courtyard. Without exchanging pleasantries with anyone, he walked straight to an empty space in the corner. He planted his feet shoulder-width apart, assumed the starting stance of the River-Breaking Fist, and threw a punch. The fist wind, carrying the chill of the early morning, let out a dull, muffled thud.

Chen Jing then repeated the moves of the River-Breaking Fist over and over. Every punch landed precisely on the point of force, and his blood and qi flowed steadily through his meridians in rhythm with his strikes. Sweat soon soaked the clothes on his back, yet he showed no sign of stopping.

The disciples practicing nearby saw this and slowed their movements, whispering among themselves.

"Junior Brother Chen's drive is truly something; he's becoming more and more diligent."

A senior brother wiped the sweat from his forehead, his tone filled with admiration.

Another disciple chimed in, "Isn't that the truth? Ever since Senior Brother Zhou Xiu left, he's been the hardest worker in the entire Central Courtyard. He's the first one here every day and the last one to leave."

"So what if he's diligent?"

A cold snort suddenly rang out, shattering the group's praise.

Xiang Lingfei stood not far away with his arms crossed, a mocking curve to his lips. His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly: "On the path of martial arts, talent is the foundation."

"If your aptitude is poor, no matter how hard you grind, you'll at most be trapped spinning in the Blood Creek Realm. You'll never break through to the Blood River Realm, and in the end, you'll just end up like Zhou Xiu!"

Having said this, Xiang Lingfei paused, his eyes sweeping over the surrounding disciples with growing disdain: "What's the use of brute force? Without that talent, all your effort is just a waste of energy!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Central Courtyard fell silent.

The expressions of many disciples darkened instantly, and they glared at Xiang Lingfei.

His words weren't just aimed at Chen Jing; he had effectively belittled everyone in the academy except himself, implying that they were all talentless mediocrities.

It was well known that Xiang Lingfei's talent was top-tier within the entire River-Breaking Fist Academy. Although he had started late, his strength had quickly caught up to the senior brothers, and he was highly valued by Fei Feng.

Yet, it was precisely this favor that made him increasingly arrogant. He was usually high-handed, and now, he was speaking without any restraint.

The disciples were filled with resentment, but no one dared to stand up and refute him. After all, everyone knew Xiang Lingfei's standing in Fei Feng's heart; offending him would naturally make life in the academy difficult.

Thus, they could only suppress their anger, turn away, and continue practicing, though their strikes now carried a sense of stifled frustration.

"Junior Brother Xiang, leave some room for others in your speech."

At this moment, Zhuang Tao walked over with a furrowed brow and said in a deep voice: "Practicing the fist is about perseverance. Junior Brother Chen is practicing diligently and hasn't provoked anyone, so why must you be so confrontational?"

"I'm just offering well-intentioned advice."

Xiang Lingfei sneered, glancing toward Chen Jing with a look of contempt: "I'm saving him from wasting his effort, only to end up with ruptured blood and qi and a ruined martial path. He'll be crying when that happens."

Feeling the angry but silent gazes of the crowd, Xiang Lingfei felt even more smug.

He glanced at Chen Jing, who remained focused on his practice as if he hadn't heard a word, then let out a cold snort before reluctantly walking to the side to begin his own practice.

In truth, during this period, Xiang Lingfei had been harboring a nameless fire in his heart because of Liu Chuzhou's attempts to recruit Chen Jing, a fire that left him restless.

It was only because he had seen Chen Jing make no move to meet Liu Chuzhou in all these days that his hanging heart had finally settled slightly.

He was terrified that Chen Jing would actually agree to join the Liu Family. If that happened, the attention that usually revolved around him and the resources promised by the Liu Family would all be snatched away by Chen Jing.

Yet, this relief didn't last long before it was replaced by a deeper sense of frustration and unwillingness.

To curry favor with Liu Chuzhou, he had been at his beck and call, acting with extreme caution, not even daring to breathe loudly for fear of displeasing him.

But Chen Jing? Faced with an olive branch from the Liu Family, he didn't care for it at all, rejecting it without a second thought.

This disparity in attitude made him feel, for no reason, that he was a cut below Chen Jing. That jealousy and shame intertwined, transforming into an increasingly intense hatred for Chen Jing.

Especially after the words Liu Chuzhou had spoken publicly at the tavern last time, which felt like a needle piercing his heart, triggering a strong sense of crisis.

Now, seeing Chen Jing's progress speed was shockingly fast, Xiang Lingfei had reined in his laziness to focus on improving his own strength.

Yet, there was no reverence for the martial path in this diligence; it was driven entirely by anxiety and panic. He wasn't afraid of failing to master the fist; he was afraid of being surpassed by Chen Jing, afraid that everything he took pride in would become a joke.

As for Chen Jing in the center of the field, he had ignored the surrounding discussions and Xiang Lingfei's mockery from start to finish.

His mind was completely immersed in his fist technique, as if everything in the outside world had nothing to do with him. He simply punched and retracted, again and again, polishing every detail of the River-Breaking Fist to perfection.

As his momentum continued to build, Chen Jing could clearly feel the blood and qi within his body beginning to stir, like a volcano about to erupt, surging and churning through his meridians.

The opportunity for his breakthrough had arrived!

Chen Jing took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slightly, and then he suddenly accelerated the speed of his strikes.

The previously steady fist shadows instantly became fierce. The fist wind whistled, leaving behind layers of afterimages, and the sound of air being torn echoed through the courtyard.

As his speed increased, a strange, flushed red began to spread across Chen Jing's cheeks, neck, and even his arms. The temperature around his body climbed steadily, and waves of white steam rose from his sweat-soaked clothes, like vapor from boiling water, shrouding him in a white mist.

This scene instantly drew everyone's attention.

The disciples practicing stopped their movements, eyes wide, staring at Chen Jing in disbelief.

One disciple gasped, his tone filled with shock: "This... is he breaking through? Is Junior Brother Chen attempting to reach the Blood River Realm?"

Another disciple was equally horrified, subconsciously rubbing his eyes, thinking he had seen wrong: "My god, his progress is too fast! I remember Junior Brother Chen broke through to the Blood Creek Realm only a little over a month ago. How could he have condensed enough blood and qi to break through to the Blood River Realm so quickly?"

Someone muttered in a low voice, their gaze darting between Chen Jing and Xiang Lingfei: "At this speed, he's even faster than Senior Brother Xiang was when he broke through the Blood Creek Realm, right?"

The discussions swirled around them, but Zhuang Tao just stood to the side with a knowing smile on his face.

A few days ago at the tavern, Liu Chuzhou had mentioned that Chen Jing was about to reach the Second Blood stage. It seemed Liu Chuzhou's judgment had been correct after all.

The commotion from the disciples now reached Fei Feng in the back courtyard.

He pushed the door open and stepped out, his gaze instantly locking onto Chen Jing, who was shrouded in white mist. He narrowed his eyes slightly, a flicker of imperceptible surprise flashing through them.

When he had personally examined Chen Jing's aptitude, it was clearly mediocre at best; how could he possibly possess such rapid cultivation speed?

Could it be that I misjudged him back then?

Fei Feng was filled with doubt, his eyes fixed intently on Chen Jing, unwilling to miss a single detail.

On the other side, Xiang Lingfei heard the murmurs of the crowd and abruptly halted his fist techniques. His expression turned incredibly ugly, and he roared in his heart, "So fast? How is this possible!"

He had joined the academy later than Chen Jing and had broken through to the Blood Creek Realm only days apart from him; he had always considered himself the most talented disciple in the River-Breaking Fist Academy.

Yet now, Chen Jing was actually a step ahead of him in charging toward the Blood River Realm, a reality he found impossible to accept.

"Impossible! His aptitude is clearly inferior to mine; how can his speed of condensing blood energy be faster than mine?"

Xiang Lingfei clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, a trace of jealousy and malice flashing in his eyes. "It must be an illusion. He definitely won't be able to break through!"

Xiang Lingfei forcibly suppressed the panic in his heart, comforting himself: "Who doesn't know how difficult it is to break from the Blood Creek Realm to the Blood River Realm? He just finished condensing his blood energy; his foundation must be unstable. To break through so rashly, he is bound to fail! That's right, he will definitely fail!"

Clinging to this thought, Xiang Lingfei stared fixedly at Chen Jing, his eyes full of anticipation, waiting to see Chen Jing fail and suffer the wretched sight of his blood energy collapsing.

At this moment, Chen Jing was completely unaware of the gazes from the outside world, his entire focus centered on his own blood energy.

Chen Jing could clearly feel the blood energy within his body like a surging torrent, slamming repeatedly against that invisible barrier.

Yet, that barrier was sturdier than he could have imagined; every impact sent his blood energy rebounding violently, causing waves of stinging pain to ripple through his meridians.

With each successive strike, the blood energy within Chen Jing was constantly consumed. His punching speed gradually slowed, the strange flush on his skin began to fade, and the white mist surrounding him grew much thinner.

Seeing this, the surrounding disciples shook their heads one after another, expressions of pity appearing on their faces.

"Sigh, it seems it's still not enough. Junior Brother Chen is going to fail this breakthrough."

"Indeed, his punching speed is getting slower and slower, and his blood energy can't keep up. How could the Blood River Realm be so easy to reach? He was far too impatient."

Zhuang Tao's eyes also flashed with regret as he sighed softly, "Is he still lacking that final spark?"

After all, he himself had only succeeded in breaking through to the Blood River Realm after experiencing one failure.

Xiang Lingfei saw this and felt his suspended heart drop, a faint, imperceptible smile curling the corners of his mouth.

As expected, Chen Jing still wasn't up to the task!

As long as Chen Jing failed his breakthrough, he would remain the most talented disciple of the River-Breaking Fist Academy; no one could shake his position.

Fei Feng also shook his head slowly, a trace of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

He knew clearly that the key to breaking from the Blood Creek Realm to the Blood River Realm was to strike in one go, shattering the shackles while the blood energy was at its peak.

Now that Chen Jing's blood energy had begun to wane, attempting to break through again would be harder than ascending to the heavens.

One drumbeat, then a second, then a third, and the energy is exhausted. Once the blood energy leaked away, it would take a significant amount of time to condense it again.

However, just as everyone assumed Chen Jing was about to fail, there was not a hint of retreat in his eyes; instead, a flash of determination took hold.

Feeling the waning blood energy within his body, Chen Jing took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and roared in his heart: "I will not fail!"

His father's withheld wages were still waiting to be collected, and his eldest and second sisters were waiting for him to provide a better life; he absolutely could not stop here!

The next moment, while continuing to throw punches, Chen Jing moved his mind and instantly activated the Burning Pulse Breakthrough Technique!

Burning Pulse Breakthrough Technique, break for me!

At this moment, Chen Jing pushed the Burning Pulse Breakthrough Technique to its absolute limit.

A piercing, bone-deep pain surged from his meridians. Chen Jing forcibly squeezed out the reserve blood energy hidden deep within his veins. Refined by the Burning Pulse Breakthrough Technique, this blood energy was even more potent and violent than before!

The cost of the Burning Pulse Breakthrough Technique had already been nullified by the Exemption Bead, so Chen Jing felt no psychological burden in activating it.

The violent, pure blood energy squeezed from his meridians instantly surged into his dantian, merging with the remaining blood energy. Like a dry riverbed being flooded once more, it instantly pushed Chen Jing's blood energy back to its peak, even stronger than it had been before.

"Hah!"

With a low shout from Chen Jing, the blood energy in his body acted like a cannonball fully charged with power, carrying terrifying momentum as it slammed once more against that invisible barrier.

Boom!

A muffled sound, as if originating from the depths of his soul, exploded within Chen Jing's body.

This time, that sturdy, invisible barrier could no longer withstand the impact of his blood energy and was instantly shattered into pieces!

In an instant, a strange sensation of total connectivity welled up.

His previously obstructed meridians were instantly cleared, and the flow of blood energy no longer felt the slightest bit sluggish. Like a rushing river, it flowed unimpeded through every meridian in his limbs and bones.

At the same time, at the base of Chen Jing's arm, a red mark, significantly thicker than the original, slowly emerged, spreading along his arm to his palm. Upon the mark, it seemed as if blood energy was slowly circulating, emitting a faint red glow.

Blood River Realm, achieved!