Breakthrough: First Level of the Spirit Martial Realm

The physical body was the foundation of the martial path.

Thus, the first martial realm, "Body tempering," aimed to hone the physique and refine essence into qi, making blood and qi surge with vigor and strength flow throughout the body.

To enter the second realm, "Spirit martial," one had to carve out a qi sea within the chaos of the dantian. From then on, a martial artist could cultivate spiritual power and wield unfathomable might.

"Carve out a qi sea..."

Inside the stone chamber, Lin Chen sat quietly with his eyes closed, sinking his consciousness into his dantian.

Within his dantian lay a vast expanse of gray haze, like the chaos before heaven and earth had parted. Boundless as it was, it remained barren, without a trace of life.

"No wonder they call it 'carving out.'"

Lin Chen murmured to himself, then put aside all other thoughts and calmly adjusted his condition.

A long time passed.

When Lin Chen felt his essence, qi, and spirit reach their peak, the blood and qi throughout his body began surging like mighty rivers, converging on his dantian.

At first, they were mere trickles. Then they grew increasingly turbulent, forming a vortex within his chaotic dantian.

"Since I need to carve a qi sea out of a dantian filled with chaos, I'll naturally need a force that can cleave the heavens."

With a slight shift of intent, Lin Chen guided his blood and qi to merge with the true essence of the Thunderlight Sword Technique he cultivated.

The next instant, a streak of Sword Qi as brilliant as lightning gradually coalesced at the center of the vortex.

The Sword Qi solidified, hanging quietly within this expanse. Silent and still, it nevertheless radiated heart-quaking power.

The Thunderlight Sword Technique was a low-tier spirit-grade martial art.

It was also the strongest killing technique Lin Chen currently possessed.

"I have a sword... that can cleave the heavens."

With a thought, Lin Chen brought it slashing down.

Boom—

It was not a real sound, yet it seemed to reverberate in the depths of his soul!

As the sword fell, rolling thunder exploded, and a tiny speck of light suddenly burst forth within the chaos.

Wherever the light reached, the gray mist retreated. A space no larger than a grain of rice, illusory yet truly present, was forcibly carved into existence.

At the same time, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth outside seemed to be drawn toward him, pouring into Lin Chen's body of its own accord. It traveled along his meridians before trickling into that speck of light.

Observing the changes within his dantian, Lin Chen understood that this rice-grain-sized speck of light was the earliest form of his qi sea.

And the dantian's qi sea was vital not just to him, but to every martial artist.

If the qi sea was destroyed, the mildest outcome was losing all cultivation and becoming a cripple. At worst, one would perish on the spot.

"The qi sea has taken shape. The breakthrough should be a sure thing now..."

Lin Chen breathed an inward sigh of relief.

Yet just then, a sudden change occurred!

The speck of light that was his qi sea began trembling, causing the aura around his body to fluctuate as well.

Fuck, I should've kept my mouth shut.

Cursing inwardly, Lin Chen immediately took the Essence Condensation Pill from the Jade Box beside him and swallowed it.

The pill dissolved upon reaching his stomach. Its gentle medicinal power swiftly spread, soothing the restless spiritual energy. The nascent qi sea stabilized once more, continuing to draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as it slowly expanded.

Only when the qi sea had grown to the size of a fist did it finally become fully stable, its surface shimmering with a soft, jade-like luster.

The qi sea was formed!

The instant it stabilized, Lin Chen's body gave a slight shudder.

Within the qi sea, slender yet condensed strands of spiritual power, glowing faintly white, gradually came into being.

Once a qi sea had been opened, a martial artist could refine the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cultivate spiritual power of their own!

As spiritual power circulated through his body, Lin Chen felt comfortable from head to toe. His hearing and vision sharpened, and his perception of his surroundings became exceptionally clear.

He was now a first-level Spirit Martial Realm martial artist!

"Good thing I kept something in reserve and asked Dad for an Essence Condensation Pill. Otherwise, with only a sixty-percent chance, I really might've capsized in a gutter."

Murmuring, Lin Chen opened his eyes. A glimmer of spiritual light seemed to flash through them before vanishing.

He stood and felt the newly formed qi sea within him. Threads of spiritual power flowed docilely through his meridians, utterly unlike the simple force of blood and qi he had relied upon before. This power was more fluid, closer to the essence of heaven and earth.

Lin Chen extended a finger. With a slight stir of intent, a strand of spiritual power emerged at his thought and wound around his fingertip.

"Go!"

Lin Chen turned his gaze toward the stone wall ahead and flicked his finger lightly.

Hiss—

An exceedingly faint sound sliced through the air. The strand of spiritual power flew from his finger, becoming a glimmer almost impossible to follow with the naked eye, and instantly sank into the rock wall.

A hole roughly as wide as a finger and about an inch deep silently appeared in the wall, piercing firmly into the stone.

"So this is spiritual power..."

Lin Chen marveled, carefully savoring its mysteries.

Only after a short while did he turn to the Character Panel to examine its changes following his breakthrough:

[Character]: Lin Chen

[Age]: 18/196

[Life-bound divine artifact]: Iron Sword (Tier 1, supreme grade)

[Realm]: First level of the Spirit Martial Realm (0/500)

[Martial arts]: Thunderlight Sword Technique (Beginner)

[Idle farming]: Fierce Wolf Mountain (In progress)

(Note: New map "Miasma Forest" unlocked. Assign a wisp of divided consciousness to begin idle farming...)

The Character Panel unfolded.

The most obvious change was the tremendous increase in his lifespan. A lifespan approaching two hundred years had already surpassed mortal limits.

"Sure enough, every breakthrough into a new major martial realm greatly increases my lifespan. This way, I'll have more time to farm monsters while idle and pursue the pinnacle of the martial path."

Lin Chen nodded slightly and continued looking down.

"Breaking through from the first level to the second level of the Spirit Martial Realm requires five hundred experience points?"

Seeing the experience required to level up, Lin Chen raised his brows slightly, his gaze drifting toward the idle-farming map.

"Miasma Forest?"

"Looks like a new map has unlocked."

Lin Chen understood and was not surprised.

After all, Fierce Wolf Mountain's recommended levels were 1–10, corresponding to Body Tempering Realm martial artists. Now that he had advanced into the Spirit Martial Realm, staying at Fierce Wolf Mountain to farm low-level monsters would be far too inefficient.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Lin Chen decisively switched his idle-farming map.

In an instant, a dark, deep forest shrouded in black miasma appeared before his eyes.

[Map: Miasma Forest]

[Recommended levels: 11–20]

[Idle-farming rewards: 35–41 experience points per month, with a very small chance of dropping spirit stones, spirit herbs, pills...]

[Remarks: A forest shrouded year-round in black miasma, crawling with venomous insects, sinister and eerie.]

"About forty experience points a month from idle farming..."

"By that calculation, I'll need to farm for over a year to reach the second level of the Spirit Martial Realm."

After a quick calculation, Lin Chen had his answer.

However, he did not rush to begin idle farming. Instead, he planned to wait a few more days and first upgrade his life-bound weapon to Tier 2.

Once he entered the Spirit Martial Realm, he would count as an elite disciple of the Lin Residence. He could begin learning about and managing some lineage affairs, and would also receive rewards from the lineage, such as spirit-grade equipment, some spirit stones, or other cultivation resources.

What Lin Chen intended to choose was a piece of spirit-grade equipment for his life-bound divine artifact to devour.

When the time came, his life-bound divine artifact's quality would rise to Tier 2, and his idle-farming rewards would surely rise like a boat lifted by the tide.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Lin Chen ended his secluded cultivation and pushed open the stone chamber's doors.

Daylight poured in like water.

He stepped outside, his figure merging into that expanse of light.