Spirituality

"Spirituality, what is spirituality?"

"Legend has it that in martial cultivation, the Innate Realm is the limit for mortals. Only those who possess spirituality can condense True Qi from their internal energy and step into the Transcendent Realm."

"True Qi is the root of all transcendent power."

"Before ascending to the Grandmaster Realm, whether one is a Houtian martial artist or an Innate Expert, they remain trapped within their mortal shell by nature."

"Only when spirituality is awakened and the mind resonates with heaven and earth can one refine internal energy and transform it into True Qi."

"Once True Qi emerges, it creates a divide between man and mortal. Only then can one be considered to have transcended the masses and gained the qualification to touch the domain of a Grandmaster."

Su Qingyang turned the page of the ancient book in his hand, his brows knitting slightly as he stared at the lines of descriptions, lost in thought.

His original path of cultivation followed the Internal Forging school: "Internally refine a breath of energy."

His original body's talent and aptitude were indeed ordinary, and it suffered from underlying illnesses, leaving it weak and sickly; thus, it had passed away from a bout of typhoid at the age of five.

However, since Su Qingyang had transmigrated, the situation had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation.

He was unsure whether it was because his soul had mutated or if he had picked up some trait during his journey across worlds.

But he had indeed discovered that he possessed a terrifying level of comprehension regarding the martial path.

Martial arts that took ordinary people years to learn, he could memorize at a glance, mastering them completely with ease.

At the time, Su Qingyang had done everything in his power to join a martial arts hall, and in less than a few days, he had mastered every technique they offered.

Yet those techniques were ultimately shallow, and with his terrifying comprehension, he was naturally unsatisfied.

However, Su Qingyang lacked the channels to obtain more powerful martial manuals.

Thus, on a whim, he decided to deduce from the most basic martial arts and create more formidable techniques himself.

And in the end, he had succeeded.

The Azure Wood Art, which originally had an upper limit of only a First-Rate Expert, was perfected and supplemented through his layers of deduction.

Ultimately, the Azure Wood Art was reborn, renamed the Azure-Heaven Wood Transformation Art, and it forcibly expanded the technique's limit to the Martial Dao Grandmaster realm.

Facts proved that the technique he deduced was viable.

At that time, relying on the Azure-Heaven Wood Transformation Art he had deduced, his cultivation progressed without obstruction, and he naturally ascended to the Innate Peak.

But when he wanted to go further, to break through the Innate shackles and truly become a Martial Dao Grandmaster...

An accident occurred.

No matter how he sat in meditation to gain insight or circulated his internal energy, he could not condense True Qi...

Even by relying on his heaven-defying comprehension to forcibly achieve the unity of heaven and man, he could barely squeeze out a wisp of meager True Qi.

This wisp of True Qi was like duckweed without roots, lacking any foundation.

Moreover, this forcibly cultivated Grandmaster realm could not be sustained; once the True Qi was exhausted, his cultivation would plummet.

At that time, Su Qingyang had vaguely sensed that he was missing some crucial trait.

In the years that followed, he visited various places in search of ancient books and secret anecdotes, scouring the world for hidden records, until he finally found the answer—

What he lacked was the [Spirituality] indispensable for stepping into the transcendent Internal Forging path.

But new confusion followed...

What exactly was spirituality?

And without spirituality, how was he supposed to break through to a Martial Dao Grandmaster?

Su Qingyang did not know, so he turned his gaze toward another martial path—Blood Refining Grandmaster, the Blood and Qi Martial Path.

The Blood and Qi Martial Path emphasizes external refining of the skin!

It does not cultivate internal energy, but focuses solely on a body of surging blood and qi, tempering the skin, flesh, tendons, bones, blood, and marrow to the extreme. The physical body forms its own cycle, and the blood and qi flow endlessly.

A First Qi-Blood Breakthrough is comparable to a First-Rate Expert.

A Second Qi-Blood Breakthrough is a cut above a Houtian expert.

A Third Qi-Blood Breakthrough already surpasses an Innate Expert, though it remains far weaker than a Martial Dao Grandmaster.

As for a Fourth Qi-Blood Breakthrough...

Su Qingyang put away the book, his gaze falling upon a blade of hundred-forged refined iron on the desk.

Immediately, a large hand burning with Blood Flame reached toward the weapon, and in an instant, the hundred-forged blade melted into boiling molten iron.

The extremely scorching blood-colored flames surged over it, and even the molten iron was burned and evaporated away, leaving not a speck of dust behind.

How strong he was now, he himself did not know.

After all...

Within the territory of the Great Jin, Martial Dao Grandmasters were already few and far between. Each one was a pillar of stability for major sects and noble families, and ordinary people would never see one in their entire lives.

"As of now, I am indeed a Blood Refining Grandmaster." Su Qingyang whispered to himself.

When he first realized that the Internal Forging path was completely blocked due to the lack of spirituality,

He had decisively abandoned his Innate cultivation and switched to the path of external Blood and Qi tempering.

The Blood and Qi Martial Path required no spirituality; one could ascend to the transcendent realm relying solely on the physical body's blood and qi.

However, this path was also extremely perilous.

Every Qi-Blood Breakthrough was a step forward on the edge of life and death; one wrong step meant the collapse of blood and qi, leading to an explosive death.

The technique Su Qingyang currently practiced was called the Ten Lords Ten Emperors Blood-Tempering Art.

The basic technique originally circulating in the world was the Blood-Tempering Art, which could at most support a martial artist in completing two Qi-Blood Breakthroughs.

But after his deduction and perfection, the current Ten Lords Ten Emperors Blood-Tempering Art could perform thirteen Qi-Blood Breakthroughs.

A month ago, he successfully completed his fourth Qi-Blood transformation, reaching a state of fullness and officially forging the body of a Blood Refining Grandmaster.

But after only a few days of stable cultivation, a new bottleneck appeared.

It was not that the martial art had gone wrong, but that his own physical foundation had reached a short-term limit.

Every Qi-Blood Breakthrough in the Blood and Qi Martial Path consumed a massive amount of blood energy, requiring a large supply of precious medicinal herbs to nourish the body and fill the deficit.

Previously, he could rely on his abundant physical foundation to force a breakthrough, but after breaking through to a Blood Refining Grandmaster, the accumulated foundation had been completely exhausted.

Without the replenishment of resources, his physical body could not withstand a fifth Qi-Blood Breakthrough.

"The Imperial Capital... the Sixth Prince..."

Su Qingyang smiled slightly.

Having lived in a small county for a long time, quietly cultivating, he had begun to feel a desire for change.

After settling the matter at hand, perhaps it would be a good time to go out and travel.

"Brother Qingyang, Brother Qingyang..."

The crisp call of a young girl came from afar, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps crashing through the courtyard gate.

A pure and beautiful girl carrying a bamboo basket rushed into the small courtyard.

She was a girl of about thirteen or fourteen, wearing only a simple light-colored dress, yet it could not hide the liveliness on her small face.

Although the girl was still young, her face was already quite delicate, and her large eyes flickered, making her look extremely cute.

At this moment, in the bamboo basket she carried, there were delicious dishes, and wisps of hot steam drifted out from the gaps, filling the entire courtyard with the scent of meat.

"Braised pork, Brother Qingyang, Mother made your favorite braised pork, I brought it for you..."

The girl smiled sweetly, hopping and skipping as she placed the bamboo basket on the wooden table, then poked her little head toward Su Qingyang's desk, wanting to see if there were any fun little gadgets.

Before she could clearly see the ancient books and weapons on the table, a warm, large hand gently covered her head, rubbing it slowly before patting it twice.

The girl immediately furrowed her brows, pouting her little mouth, and complained in a low voice: "Wuu... you always rub my hair, I won't grow up."

Su Qingyang looked at her puffed-up appearance, his eyes softening as he chuckled: "Have you eaten at home? Do you want to have some with me?"

This girl was named Lin You'er, the daughter of the patrol officer Lin Shan next door.

Her father, Lin Shan, was a patrol officer in Spirit Peak County, and the two families lived side by side.

The Lin Family lived right next to his residence, and ever since he settled in Spirit Peak County, the Lin couple had often looked after him, who lived alone, and he had watched You'er grow up bit by bit.

"I've already had half a bowl at home." Lin You'er blinked her watery eyes and nodded honestly, but upon smelling the rich, sweet fragrance of the braised pork, she looked longingly at the bamboo basket.

"Mother said I shouldn't eat too much... but I feel like I can still eat one little bite."

Su Qingyang couldn't help but laugh, touching her little head: "Alright, then have one more little bite."

"Yay, yay!" Lin You'er cheered immediately, taking the opportunity to rub gently against his chest.

This was what she was waiting for; every time she delivered food, she could always have another meal at Brother Qingyang's place.

Lin You'er moved nimbly, taking a bowl in each hand and excitedly placing them on the table.

The girl ate very happily, occasionally picking up a piece of fatty but not greasy braised pork and putting it into Su Qingyang's rice bowl.

"Mmm... Brother, eat quickly!" Lin You'er said with her mouth full of meat, her speech slurred.

"Alright." Su Qingyang replied, watching the girl wolf down her food, his eyes full of doting affection.