Breakthrough

Outside.

Fang Rui tilted up her little face, her bright black eyes fixed on the tightly shut wooden door. Tugging at her mother Chen Cui's sleeve, she asked:

"Mom, Second Brother has locked himself in his room for two days. Isn't he hungry?"

The little girl was still young and did not understand what it meant to enter seclusion for martial training.

She only knew that her second brother, who usually doted on her most, had not come out of his room for two days.

Whenever she carried a bowl of food over and tried to push the door open, her mother stopped her.

She kept thinking about her second brother, afraid he would go hungry.

Chen Cui held Fang Rui's small hand as they stood outside the room.

Her gaze rested on the completely motionless wooden door, her eyes filled with worry.

But she recalled Fang Han's earlier instructions not to worry while he was breaking through in his martial training.

Though Chen Cui was anxious, she still suppressed those worries in her heart. Squatting down, she softly reminded her daughter:

"Be good, Rui'er. Your second brother is practicing. Don't disturb him. Go play in the courtyard, and don't make any noise."

Fang Rui nodded as if she understood, obediently released her mother's hand, and walked toward the courtyard.

Chen Cui rose to her feet and stood outside the door for a while longer before sighing softly and turning toward the kitchen.

Inside the room.

Fang Han sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes shut, his breathing long and steady.

For the past three days and nights, he had neither slept nor rested, relying entirely on the Nourishing Essence Pills' medicinal effects to sustain his mind.

He had already taken three pills. Each one left him as energetic as ever, without the slightest hint of exhaustion.

At this moment.

He was fully driving the Martial Soul Avatar in his mind, having it practice the Nine Flood Dragon Palms without pause.

Within his consciousness space.

The Martial Soul Avatar tirelessly swung both palms.

Every stance and move flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water. Palm shadows whirled like flood dragons emerging from the sea, carrying an imposing momentum.

The palm technique was seamless and perfectly integrated, as if formed by nature itself.

Every palm strike carried a faint force of wind and thunder.

Fang Han's gaze remained locked on the Panel.

He watched as the proficiency value of the Nine Flood Dragon Palms continuously flickered upward.

Each jump made his heart tremble slightly.

Nine Flood Dragon Palms Proficiency +1

...

Nine Flood Dragon Palms Proficiency +1

...

Nine Flood Dragon Palms Proficiency +1

...

The number seemed to have come alive, slowly yet resolutely climbing higher without stopping.

[Martial Art: Nine Flood Dragon Palms (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 4880/5000]

"Almost there!"

Fang Han thought, an indescribable excitement surging through his chest.

"Your Daoist master is almost there! Ah, no, wrong line... It's Fang here who's about to break through!"

He took a deep breath, suppressed the restlessness in his heart, and continued to immerse himself in the practice.

For three full days without sleep or rest.

The Martial Soul Avatar had frantically ground through the Nine Flood Dragon Palms, practicing it over a thousand times each day.

Such intense training was simply impossible in reality!

But with the combined support of the Martial Soul Avatar and Nourishing Essence Pills, he had forced himself to achieve it.

Fang Han focused completely, free of all distractions. Within his consciousness space, only the Martial Soul Avatar's figure remained, endlessly practicing the palm technique.

One palm after another, one repetition after another.

The cycle repeated endlessly, without end.

At a certain moment.

The number finally crossed its final threshold.

Fang Han's mind thundered as if some shackle had suddenly been shattered.

The Martial Soul Avatar thrust out both palms at once, unleashing Flood Dragon Turns Over with earthshaking force. Amid the howling palm wind,

a faint dragon's roar seemed to echo through his consciousness space!

Immediately afterward.

The Martial Soul Avatar's figure suddenly became somewhat more solid, its outline clearer and its movements smoother.

It performed the entire Nine Flood Dragon Palms from beginning to end, smooth as flowing clouds and running water, completed in one seamless motion.

Beyond Major Accomplishment came Perfection.

Fang Han hurriedly looked at the Panel and saw that the numbers had changed:

[Martial Art: Nine Flood Dragon Palms (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 1/10000, Perfection]

"Hm?"

Fang Han froze. His brows knit tightly, his heart full of confusion.

"Why is there still proficiency after Perfection?"

According to the martial arts knowledge he understood.

A martial art had only four levels in total:

Entry, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfection.

Perfection was the highest realm of a martial art. It meant one had trained the art to its utmost limit, with no room left for improvement.

Yet he had never heard that proficiency could continue increasing after Perfection.

The words on the Panel plainly told him that there was still a path beyond Perfection.

Before he could think further about it.

All of a sudden.

A warm current emerged from the dantian in his abdomen.

Like a living thing, the current circled and moved within his dantian, faintly splitting into five strands.

These were the five strands of Blood Qi condensed after the Nine Flood Dragon Palms reached the Perfection level.

Added to the five strands he had condensed before, ten strands of Blood Qi had finally gathered in his dantian!

An indescribable excitement rose within Fang Han.

After training for so long, this moment had finally come.

He drew a deep breath and suppressed his turbulent emotions.

The ten strands of Blood Qi had been condensed. Next came the most important step: charging into the Body Tempering First Layer.

The Body Tempering Third Layer was also known as the Sinew-Bone-Skin Third Layer.

Without any hesitation, Fang Han closed his eyes, sank his mind into his dantian, and began guiding the ten strands of Blood Qi.

Driven by his will, the ten strands of Blood Qi slowly flowed out from his dantian.

They spread through the meridians in his body toward the skin membranes across his entire body.

Wherever they passed, a faint tingling sensation came from his skin membranes.

It felt as though countless tiny needles were gently piercing him, and as though warm spring water were slowly soaking into him.

Fang Han carefully experienced the changes, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

With the Panel, he did not need to worry about failing his first attempt to break into the Body Tempering First Layer.

Time passed second by second.

The skin across Fang Han's body began to take on a faint red hue, as though it had been baked by charcoal fire.

At a certain moment.

That deep red suddenly contracted and receded like a tide.

Fang Han's skin returned to its normal color.

Yet compared to before, it carried an additional faint sheen, like finely polished leather—smooth and tough.

Body Tempering First Layer, achieved!

Fang Han suddenly opened his eyes. A sharp glint flashed through them and vanished, while his entire aura changed.

He flipped off the bed and felt the earthshaking changes within his body.

An unprecedented sense of strength filled his entire body.

Every movement carried a steady, powerful force.

He bent his arm. The skin membrane around his elbow tightened, incomparably tough, as though wrapped in a layer of fine leather.

What delighted Fang Han even more was this.

He discovered that after his Blood Qi had become abundant, even his five senses had grown much sharper.

Overjoyed, Fang Han summoned the Panel to inspect his current state:

[Forged to Excel]

[Name: Fang Han]

[Age: Twenty-three]

[Bone Structure: Inferior (Can Cultivate)]

[Comprehension: 118]

[Realm: Body Tempering First Layer (Skin Tempering)]

[Martial Art: Gale-Breaking Fist (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 736/5000, Major Accomplishment]

[Martial Art: Nine Flood Dragon Palms (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 1/10000, Perfection]

[Talents: Unyielding Practice (Never Regresses), Rising Talent (Comprehension Increased)]

He looked once more at the line for the Nine Flood Dragon Palms.

The ten thousand points of proficiency beyond Perfection still left him puzzled.

But now was not the time to investigate it. His most urgent task was to consolidate the realm he had just broken through to.