Extreme Realm

The gazes on the martial arts arena were like dense needles, pricking Qin Yuan's body.

His expression remained calm, as though the doubts, scorn, and scrutiny were nothing more than wind sweeping past a mountain cliff.

Level 10 Qi Condensation? It truly was not high.

But the surging power within him told him that his true combat strength was far beyond what his surface realm could measure.

"Since Senior Brother Chen has approved, count him in." The tall, skinny Senior Brother Wang snorted and turned his face away. "Let us only hope certain people do not drag us down and make the Seventh Peak a laughingstock for nothing."

Lin Qing'er wanted to argue, but Qin Yuan gently caught her wrist.

"The competition is tomorrow." Qin Yuan spoke softly, yet the arena fell silent. "It is too early to draw conclusions today."

Senior Brother Chen gave him a long look, then waved his hand. "Everyone, disperse. Rest and conserve your strength. Gather here tomorrow at dawn."

The crowd dispersed. Lin Qing'er arranged for Qin Yuan to stay in a secluded guesthouse at the foot of the Third Peak, gave him a few reminders, and left as well.

The room was far better than the one in the outer sect. Blue bricks paved the floor, the windows were bright and spotless, and even a faint thread of Spiritual Energy seeped up from the earth veins. Qin Yuan shut the door and sat cross-legged on the bed.

The system panel appeared:

[Host: Qin Yuan]

[Cultivation: Level 10 Qi Condensation]

[Extractable Cultivation: 10 years (not extracted today)]

[Next Refresh: 4 hours later]

There were still four hours until midnight. But the team match would begin at dawn tomorrow, and once midnight passed, he could extract another ten years of cultivation—enough to make another breakthrough before the competition.

He closed his eyes and focused, first guiding today's extractable ten years of cultivation into his body.

Boom—

The familiar torrent surged forth once more. The barrier of Level 10 Qi Condensation was several times sturdier than before, yet beneath the impact of ten years of cultivation, it still began to loosen.

Two hours later, the barrier shattered, and Spiritual Energy poured into broader meridians.

Eleventh Layer of Qi Cultivation.

Qin Yuan opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. He could feel that with every layer he rose, the efficiency with which the system's injected cultivation was converted increased by another degree—like a bucket growing larger, able to hold more water.

The sky outside gradually darkened.

He sat quietly and regulated his breath, waiting for midnight.

At the same time, on the Seventh Peak, in Liu Feng's private courtyard.

"Senior Brother, we found out." A disciple in blue bowed as he reported. "The temporary replacement from the Third Peak is called Qin Yuan. He is the outer sect disciple who crippled Zhao Hu yesterday."

Liu Feng was wiping a longsword. Candlelight reflected off the blade, cold radiance flowing across its surface. His hands did not stop. "What is his cultivation?"

"Rumor says Level 10 Qi Condensation."

The wiping motion paused.

"Level 10?" Liu Feng raised a brow. "Yesterday, he was only at the Seventh Layer."

"Yes. Some people on the Third Peak also suspect that he used an evil art that burns away one's lifespan to forcibly raise his cultivation." The blue-clad disciple lowered his voice. "Quite a few people have been talking about it. They say this boy would stop at nothing for rapid progress, and that his heart is twisted."

Liu Feng gave a derisive laugh and continued wiping the sword.

An evil art that burned lifespan? That did make sense. How else could trash with a Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root rapidly increase his strength to take revenge, if not by walking an evil path?

What a pity for that meager lifespan. He probably would not live past thirty.

"A struggling ant, nothing more." He spoke indifferently. "In tomorrow's team match, have our peak's people 'take good care' of him. Since he dared cripple Zhao Hu, he must pay the price."

"Yes!" The blue-clad disciple accepted the order, then hesitated. "But Senior Brother, Chen Mo of the Third Peak has reached Great Perfection of the Twelfth Layer. If Qin Yuan faces him..."

"Someone else will deal with Chen Mo." Liu Feng sheathed his sword, candlelight flickering in his eyes. "As for Qin Yuan—I want him crawling on the ground like a dog before everyone."

Midnight.

Qin Yuan extracted another ten years of cultivation right on time.

This impact was especially fierce. The barrier of the Eleventh Layer of Qi Cultivation lasted only half an hour before the torrent smashed through it, and Spiritual Energy surged like a breached riverbank into the Twelfth Layer.

Yet the instant he entered the Twelfth Layer, Qin Yuan suddenly felt a strange sense of "emptiness" rise in his heart.

It was not that he lacked Spiritual Energy—on the contrary, it was so abundant that it nearly burst his meridians.

It was a sense of incompleteness.

Like a towering building with an unstable foundation: magnificent on the outside, yet lacking a crucial support within.

He stopped his advance and examined himself inwardly.

The Twelfth Layer of Qi Cultivation was already considered the peak of Qi Cultivation in conventional understanding.

One step further lay Foundation Establishment—Spiritual Energy liquefied, a sea of qi opened in the dantian, and one's lifespan increased by two hundred years.

Yet he kept feeling that he could go one step further.

Not Foundation Establishment. Rather... between Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment, there seemed to be another exceedingly thin yet truly existing crack.

"Extreme Realm."

The words leaped into his mind without warning.

There was an ancient legend in the cultivation world that certain peerless geniuses, after reaching the Twelfth Layer of Qi Cultivation, could use unparalleled willpower to carve out another layer, known as the "Extreme."

This realm was vague and elusive, one in ten thousand. Ancient texts contained only scattered records of it, and most regarded it as an illusory rumor.

But the Spiritual Energy within Qin Yuan was boiling, calling out. The twenty years of cultivation injected by the system surged and crashed through his meridians, unwilling to stop here.

"Then I'll try."

Qin Yuan closed his eyes. Rather than attempting to break through to Foundation Establishment, he forcibly pressed the roaring Spiritual Energy back into his meridians, washing, refining, and compressing it again and again.

Time slipped away bit by bit.

Outside the window, the sky shifted from pitch-black to ink-blue, then revealed the pale white of a fish's belly.

Qin Yuan was drenched in sweat. Spiritual Energy coursed beneath his skin like dragons, veins bulging across his body.

He was undertaking a nearly self-torturing refinement—forcing the vast Spiritual Energy meant to break through to Foundation Establishment back into the scope of Qi Cultivation, striking at that legendary "realm that did not exist."

At a certain moment.

It was as though some barrier inside him shattered without a sound.

It was not the thunderous boom of a realm breakthrough, but an extremely faint, crisp sound, like glazed glass cracking.

Immediately afterward, all the surging Spiritual Energy abruptly stilled, then began collapsing inward and condensing.

His meridians, bones, flesh, every inch of him trembled and underwent some essential transformation.

Qin Yuan opened his eyes.

There was no light in them, yet they were as profound as a starry sky. He slowly raised a hand and loosely curled his five fingers. The air in his palm actually let out a strained crack—a sign that space was being compressed by pure force.

Thirteenth Layer of Qi Cultivation.

No, the "Extreme Realm."

He felt the new power within him—it was not an increase in quantity, but a leap in quality.

If the Spiritual Energy of the Twelfth Layer of Qi Cultivation had been a surging river, then the power within him now was a silent deep sea, tranquil on the surface but concealing terrifying might beneath it that could topple mountains and split great peaks.

It was stronger than all his previous layers combined.

Dawn broke outside the window.

Qin Yuan rose, washed up simply, and changed into a clean gray robe. The instant he opened the door, the rising sunlight fell upon him and seemed to distort slightly under some invisible force.

At dawn, the martial arts arena.

All ten members of the Third Peak had arrived. Chen Mo stood at the front, the aura of Great Perfection of the Twelfth Layer steady as a mountain.

The other eight also wore solemn expressions. Only when they looked at Qin Yuan did their gazes become complicated.

The sound of air being torn apart came from afar.

Ten streaks of light descended, transforming into the ten people of the Seventh Peak. At their head stood a blue-robed young man with a stern face, his aura on par with Chen Mo's—clearly also at Great Perfection of the Twelfth Layer.

His gaze swept across the Third Peak's group and paused briefly on Qin Yuan. The corner of his lips hooked into an undisguised sneer. "The Third Peak truly is brimming with talent. You even dragged in an outer sect disciple to make up the numbers."

The faces of the Third Peak disciples darkened.

A sharp-faced disciple beside the blue-robed youth immediately added, "Senior Brother Li, you may not know this, but this one is a 'genius.' He went from the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation to Level 10 Qi Condensation in three days—oh, and I heard he broke through to the Eleventh Layer yesterday? At that speed, could he have used some evil art that burns away his life?"

Laughter erupted from the Seventh Peak's group.

On the Third Peak's side, Senior Brother Wang and the others looked livid. They had already been dissatisfied with Qin Yuan, and being mocked openly now made them feel even more humiliated.

Chen Mo frowned and was about to speak, but Qin Yuan stepped forward first.

"Whether it is an evil art or not," he said calmly, looking at the sharp-faced disciple, "we will know after we fight."

The sharp-faced disciple sneered. "You? Eleventh Layer of Qi Cultivation—oh, no, perhaps you have 'broken through' to the Twelfth Layer again today? What a pity. A realm gained by burning your lifespan is as flimsy as paper. One poke, and it tears."

The Seventh Peak's laughter grew even louder.

Chen Mo drew a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart. "Draw lots."

The results came out quickly. Qin Yuan drew the seventh match, and his opponent was precisely the sharp-faced disciple—at the Eleventh Layer of Qi Cultivation, though he ranked near the bottom among the Seventh Peak's team.

"Lucky you, trash." The sharp-faced disciple waved the lot token in his hand and grinned. "Perfect. I can expose you as the paper tiger you are myself."

Qin Yuan ignored him and turned toward the resting area.

Behind him came Senior Brother Wang's lowered voice. "Senior Brother Chen, how about... letting Qin Yuan go last? So that his loss does not affect morale."

Chen Mo fell silent for a moment and looked at Qin Yuan. "What do you say?"

Qin Yuan did not stop walking. "Arrange it however you wish."

He walked to a corner, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to rest. It was as though all the noise, scorn, and hostility in the arena had nothing to do with him.

The morning light grew brighter, and the formation patterns on the martial arts arena lit up.

The team match had begun.