Another Breakthrough, Sixth-Rank Martial Master!

By the time Li Yao returned to the Estate, it was nearly dark.

He did not stop in the hall. He headed straight for the Family Vault.

Li Wenbin followed behind him and suddenly asked, "Young master, did you sign up for this year's Martial Arts Tournament?"

"Yeah." Li Yao did not deny it. He had never intended to hide it, and even if he had, Li Wenbin would have investigated.

"Young master, forgive me for speaking plainly, but you're only a Third-Rank Martial Master. Even at your absolute best, you might make the top thousand. If something goes wrong in the Martial Arts Arena..."

Li Wenbin's voice cut off.

But Li Yao knew what he meant.

"That's why I'm heading to the vault, isn't it?"

Without slowing down, Li Yao passed through several corridors and stopped before a stone door.

Two guards stood on either side. At the sight of Li Yao, they immediately bowed.

"Young master." Li Yao nodded, took a token from his pocket, and handed it to one of the guards.

"I'm going in to get some Spirit Stones."

The guard took the token and examined it carefully. Once he confirmed it was genuine, he returned it, formed a seal with both hands, and pressed several points on the stone door.

The door rumbled open, revealing a deep passageway.

Li Yao walked in. Night-Shining Pearls were set into the walls on either side, casting a dim light.

After walking for about three minutes, he reached an iron door.

Dense runes covered its surface, giving off faint ripples of Spiritual Qi.

Li Yao pressed the token into the recess at the center of the door.

With a click, the iron door opened.

Rich Spiritual Qi washed over him. Li Yao drew a deep breath and felt refreshed from head to toe.

He entered the vault. It was a vast stone chamber lined on all four walls with shelves packed with Spirit Stones, medicinal herbs, Spirit Artifacts, cultivation techniques, and more.

Li Yao barely glanced around. He went to the shelves of Spirit Stones and looked them over.

"Ten thousand Spirit Stones should keep me training for a while."

He took out his Storage Ring and began filling it with Spirit Stones.

One, two, three... He moved quickly. In less than five minutes, all ten thousand Spirit Stones were inside the Storage Ring.

Li Yao hefted the ring, nodded in satisfaction, and left the vault.

Back in his room, Li Yao shut the door and locked it with practiced ease.

Then he sat cross-legged on the bed and poured out every Spirit Stone in the Storage Ring, piling them around himself.

In an instant, the Spiritual Qi in the room grew so dense it nearly condensed into mist.

Li Yao took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and called on the system.

"System, go all in with 5,000 Background Value on the Nine-Turn Profound Art."

"Ding! Host, do you confirm spending 5,000 Background Value to purchase cultivation progress for the Nine-Turn Profound Art?"

"Confirm."

"Ding! Purchase successful. 5,000 Background Value deducted. Current balance: 0. Nine-Turn Profound Art progress increased by 5%. Total progress: 80%."

Li Yao felt a mysterious force pour into his body, and rumbling echoed through his meridians.

He hurriedly circulated the Nine-Turn Profound Art. The Spirit Stones around him began to tremble violently, and Spiritual Qi surged into his body like a rising tide.

"Holy shit, that's intense!"

Alarm shot through Li Yao. He quickly steadied himself and guided the Spiritual Qi through his meridians. It flowed in faster and faster, swelling his meridians until they ached.

He gritted his teeth and kept circulating the technique.

Half an hour later, a third of the Spirit Stones were gone, and fine beads of sweat covered Li Yao's forehead.

Hold on. Just a little more.

Gritting his teeth, he continued driving the Spiritual Qi against the bottleneck.

Another hour passed. Half the Spirit Stones had been consumed, Li Yao's aura was growing stronger, and his Dantian showed signs of a breakthrough.

Almost. Almost.

Joy surged through Li Yao, and he hastened the circulation of Spiritual Qi. Boom!

A muffled sound came from within his body. His Dantian suddenly expanded, and a powerful aura burst outward.

"Ding! Congratulations, host. Breakthrough successful. Current cultivation: Sixth-Rank Martial Master!"

At the system's chime, Li Yao snapped his eyes open and let out a long breath of stale air.

He clenched his fist, felt the surging power within him, and broke into a grin.

"Sixth-Rank Martial Master. Having a cheat really is great." He looked around. Most of the ten thousand Spirit Stones had been consumed; only a little over three thousand remained.

"Holy shit. That many Spirit Stones for just one minor realm?"

Li Yao was at a loss for words. Then again, Heaven-Rank Cultivation Techniques required enormous resources. It was only natural.

"Forget it. I broke through, at least. Worth it."

Li Yao stood and stretched, feeling power fill his entire body.

"System, how strong am I now?"

"Ding! Host's current cultivation: Sixth-Rank Martial Master. The Nine-Turn Profound Art has refined your Spiritual Power to an exceptionally high degree. You can challenge a Ninth-Rank Martial Master."

"Ninth-Rank Martial Master?"

Li Yao raised an eyebrow and considered it.

"Ye Xiao, who's first on Imperial Capital University's Strength Rankings, is a Ninth-Rank Martial Master, right? Could I beat him now?"

"Ding! According to the system's assessment, the host's current combat strength is comparable to an early-stage Ninth-Rank Martial Master. With the martial techniques of the Nine-Turn Profound Art, you can fight a mid-stage Ninth-Rank Martial Master."

"That's not bad. Good enough."

Li Yao grinned, feeling more confident than ever.

He glanced out the window. Night had fallen completely.

"Time sure flies..."

He took out his phone and saw that Li Wenbin was calling.

"Hello, Uncle Bin. What's up?"

"Young master, I just received word. The Yang Family has started gathering Spirit Stones. It looks like they're selling land and houses."

Li Yao laughed. "Selling land and houses? Perfect. Let's see how many they can scrape together."

"Young master, do you really intend to make them pay back 230,000 Spirit Stones?"

"Obviously. Those are my resources."

Li Wenbin fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "Young master, I heard Yang Mingyou is pulling strings, trying to find someone to plead his case."

"Pulling strings?" Li Yao laughed. "Let him try. I'd like to see who can talk me out of it."

"All right, young master. Understood."

"Oh, and Uncle Bin, keep an eye on them for me. Let me know as soon as the Yang Family makes a move."

"Of course, young master. Don't worry."

Li Yao hung up, tossed his phone onto the bed, and sat down cross-legged again.

He looked at the three thousand-odd Spirit Stones that remained and decided to keep training to consolidate his cultivation.

He closed his eyes and circulated the Nine-Turn Profound Art once more. Spiritual Qi poured out of the Spirit Stones and into his body again.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, Li Yao opened his eyes and let out a long breath of stale air.

He looked around. Every Spirit Stone had been used up, leaving only a few crumbs.

"Holy shit, I used them all?"

It pained Li Yao a little, but feeling the power brimming within him, he decided it had been worth it.

"Sixth-Rank Martial Master, with Spiritual Power to spare. I feel more than twice as strong as I did at the Fifth Rank."

He stood, stretched, washed up, and changed into clean clothes.

He left his room and went downstairs. Li Wenbin already had breakfast ready in the hall.

Li Yao sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and popped a crab roe bun into his mouth.

"Oh, right, Uncle Bin. Keep an eye on the Yang Family today and let me know right away if anything happens."

"Of course, young master. Don't worry."

Li Yao finished breakfast, wiped his mouth, and stood up.