Grandmaster Realm!!!

"System, convert all remaining balance into cultivation time and add points to the Azure Mystery Force-Congealing Art!!!"

As soon as the words fell, the balance on the system panel was completely cleared.

Buzz!!!~~

Within several miles, the originally calm, languid heaven and earth essence instantly erupted into violent unrest, surging and sweeping like a raging gale.

Endless pure spiritual energy transformed into a vast white mist. Like ten thousand rivers flowing into the sea, like a rushing torrent, it smashed through every obstruction and poured wildly yet docilely into Chen An's body through the acupoints, pores, and meridians all over him.

The Azure Mystery Force-Congealing Art began operating autonomously at full speed. The instant the massive influx of heaven and earth essence entered his body, the cultivation art filtered and cleansed it layer by layer, stripping away all impure, turbid energy before repeatedly compressing, tempering, and purifying it through a thousandfold stacking method.

It continuously transformed into the purest Xiantian true qi, filling his dantian qi sea and circulating through his limbs and bones.

One year!

Two years!

Fifty-two years!!~~

Crack!!~~

Suddenly, it was as though a Xiantian shackle within Chen An's body had shattered. His dantian qi sea rose and trembled faintly, and the Xiantian true qi filled to its utmost limit became like a flood stirring in the womb of awakening life. It first curled slightly and contracted inward to the extreme, all of it gathering at the core of his dantian—then it erupted like a supernova.

Rumble!!~~

Starlight blazed. The Xiantian true qi vortex, originally only around one zhang in diameter, abruptly expanded to ten zhang!

Breakthrough—late Xiantian Realm!

Yet even after breaking through to the late Xiantian Realm, the Azure Mystery Force-Congealing Art continued operating at full speed.

Endless heaven and earth essence continued flooding into his body. Refined by the cultivation art, it became endless Xiantian true qi that surged into his dantian, causing the vortex of Xiantian true qi within it to swell at a terrifying rate.

One hundred and eighty-seven years!

Boom!!~~

Chen An's body trembled slightly. The dantian qi sea within him expanded once more, and the Xiantian true qi vortex inside swelled again, becoming one hundred zhang in size.

Xiantian Realm, perfected!!!

Within his body, the system continued exerting its power, and time continued to flow. After reaching Xiantian Realm perfection, the operational method of the Azure Mystery Force-Congealing Art changed once again.

The originally vast and majestic Xiantian true qi was repeatedly compressed, ground down, and condensed, changing from a gaseous state into mist, then condensing into liquid, before all of it gathered deep within his dantian and gradually shrank into an imperceptible true qi singularity, heavy and utterly still.

All its power was drawn completely inward. It appeared utterly ordinary, yet within it lay suppressed all the ultimate might of the Xiantian Realm.

Three hundred and thirty-three years!

Rumble!!!~~

After ultimate restraint came the ultimate eruption!

The true qi singularity compressed to its limit suddenly exploded. Boundless pure true force surged explosively, completing a qualitative transformation and ascension within his dantian.

Amid that terrifying explosive ascension, a strand of silver radiance appeared, seeming to weigh more than ten thousand jin, emanating endless pressure as though it could crush the void.

Xiantian True Astral Force!!!

This strand of radiance was nothing else—it was the Xiantian True Astral Force possessed by Grandmaster Realm experts!

At the sight of that strand of Xiantian True Astral Force, Chen An's mind shook violently, and stormy waves instantly surged through his heart.

He had never imagined that this cash-fueled cultivation session would directly shatter the shackles of a Xiantian Realm martial artist and bring him to the realm countless martial arts experts dreamed of—the Grandmaster Realm!!!

What was a Grandmaster?

In a word: one who could establish a sect and found a school was a Grandmaster!

The qualification to establish a sect and found a school was something no Xiantian martial artist could compare to.

Xiantian experts possessed limited strength. At most, they could carve out a foothold in a single prefectural city and hold sway in one corner.

But Grandmasters possessed the power of True Astral Force, their pressure extending over a thousand miles. Within any of the Great Luo Dynasty's one hundred and eight provinces, they could choose one at will, open a mountain and establish a manor, found a sect and create a school, and possess a voice in the martial world over an entire territory.

With a palm, they could cover mountains and rivers; astral force protected their bodies; they could walk through the air; even plucking leaves or scattering flowers could kill enemies!

This was a Grandmaster!!!

Even the Great Luo Dynasty, with its countless billions of martial artists and command over countless billions of miles of territory, showed Grandmaster experts due deference.

After that strand of Xiantian True Astral Force appeared, the innumerable strands of Xiantian true qi within Chen An's body began transforming one after another.

One strand, two strands, three strands...

Within his dantian, silver astral radiance continuously emerged and bloomed as massive amounts of Xiantian true qi kept melting down and undergoing qualitative transformation.

The originally boundless true qi vortex, dozens of zhang in diameter, underwent ultimate compression and transformation, refined and purified layer upon layer, until it ultimately condensed into only around three thousand strands of incomparably pure Xiantian True Astral Force.

Every strand of silver astral force was solid and heavy, containing the immense strength of ten thousand jin and carrying a vast pressure that seemed capable of crushing the void. It was terrifying beyond measure.

The years flowed on unhurriedly, and cultivation never ceased, until the three hundred and eighty-third year...

The three thousand strands of Xiantian True Astral Force within his body steadily settled, grew, and strengthened, forcefully increasing to three thousand and fifty strands. His astral force foundation became ever deeper and more solid, and his Grandmaster cultivation was completely stabilized.

Just then, a cold system notification suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Ding! The 383-year deduction time limit has been exhausted. Cultivation terminated!]

The surging heaven-and-earth vital energy instantly dispersed, and the self-circulating Azure Mystery Force-Congealing Art slowly settled and withdrew.

The silver true force roiling around his body completely receded, concealing itself within his dantian's sea of qi, his meridians, flesh, and blood.

Chen An slowly came back to himself and opened his eyes. Two flashes of silver gleamed in their depths.

Feeling that terrifying aura dormant within his dantian—an aura he could still clearly sense, as though it could crush the void and his dantian alike, making even his mind tremble slightly—the corners of Chen An's lips rose.

Grandmaster!!!

Across all of Wurong County, the strongest figures known openly were merely three Xiantian Realm martial artists.

In other words, having just advanced to the Grandmaster Realm, he could be called the strongest martial artist in Wurong County.

"Can I say it now? I don't eat beef?!"

Feeling the power within him seeming ready to burst forth, Chen An murmured with a faint smile.

"Forget it. Keep a low profile! Keep a low profile!!"

Yet Chen An quickly strangled that somewhat suicidal notion.

A Grandmaster could indeed run rampant through Wurong County, even throughout Chengtian Prefecture, but as far as he knew, Grandmaster was far from the end of the martial path.

Above Grandmasters stood Great Grandmasters, and above Great Grandmasters were Martial Kings, who stood over an entire territory.

And above Martial Kings were martial sovereigns who overlooked all living beings and stood above heaven and earth—the Martial Emperors!

They were truly terrifying existences who had transcended the boundaries of the mundane world. With a thought, they could summon wind; with a raised hand, shatter mountains and split seas, obliterate cities, wielding supreme power capable of destroying cities and annihilating nations.

The ancient chronicles passed down for thousands of years within the Great Luo Dynasty recorded that during an ancient calamity, ancient demons emerged into the world and ravaged it. Demon tides surged to the heavens, slaughtering hundreds of millions of humans. All life suffered, mountains and rivers shattered, and they sought to utterly erase the entirety of humanity's martial civilization.

Just as humanity stood at the brink of extinction and all living beings despaired, two supreme Martial Emperors standing at the pinnacle of the martial path tore through the void and descended.

The two Martial Emperors suppressed the world, facing the ancient demons that filled the sky alone. With their supreme martial bodies, they slaughtered ten thousand demons, swept away the calamity, and forcibly shattered the demonic scourge. Guarding the mountains and rivers, they preserved humanity's final spark of life, creating the peaceful golden age of the Great Luo Dynasty that had endured for thousands of years.

So, he was still far too early to say he didn't eat beef!

"But this time, I really am out of money!"

Shaking his head to cast off his stray thoughts, he looked at the balance on the panel, now completely reduced to zero. He sighed softly, then shook his head with a helpless smile.

Fortunately, he did not care too much about it.

Not to mention the mid-grade Earth-rank supreme art, the Azure Mystery Force-Congealing Art, that he had now mastered—even any one of the Profound-rank cultivation methods or martial skills in his possession, if taken to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and sold, could fetch a mountain-like heap of primordial crystals. There was no need to worry about lacking resources.

"Hm?!"

"There really are people who aren't afraid of death?!"

Just as Chen An was planning to visit the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion later to sell some cultivation methods, his eyes suddenly narrowed. His gaze seemed to pierce through the tightly shut door and fall upon the outside, a glint of coldness flashing through his eyes...