After driving off the men in black, Ye Lingyun had escaped danger, but he had sustained serious injuries. Their strength was not to be underestimated. During the fierce battle, he had taken several blows head-on to fend off their savage attacks, leaving his spiritual power in turmoil and his body covered in bruises and scrapes. Yet the final was only a day away. He knew he had no time to recover from his injuries; he had to restore his condition as quickly as possible, break through his current predicament, and face Ye Long at his best.
Enduring the pain in his body, Ye Lingyun took a healing pill, then sat cross-legged in his room and tried to settle his turbulent spiritual power. He circulated it, carefully guiding it through his meridians, but it refused to obey, like a wild horse that had broken its reins. Every so often, it slammed against his meridians, sending piercing pain through him. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and soaked his clothes, but he bit his lip and persisted through sheer force of will.
As he struggled against his turbulent spiritual power, Ye Lingyun gradually calmed down and began searching for a solution. He realized that ordinary circulation methods could no longer solve the problem; he had to forge another path. Recalling the ancient texts he had read in the library, he remembered an old method of harmonizing spiritual power called "Reverse the Meridians, Return to the Origin." It was extraordinarily dangerous, requiring him to guide his spiritual power backward. The slightest mistake could send it completely out of control and tear his meridians apart, inch by inch. Yet it was his only hope.
Ye Lingyun drew a deep breath, steeled himself, and decided to take the risk. Focusing his mind, he sent a thread of spiritual power flowing in reverse. Agony struck in an instant, as though countless sharp blades were slicing through his meridians, but he did not falter. He continued guiding his spiritual power with utmost care. As more power flowed backward, the pain grew fiercer. His face turned white as paper, and his entire body shook violently.
Just as he felt he could endure no longer, however, a miracle occurred. His turbulent spiritual power began to settle, flowing slowly along the reverse route he had established. Overjoyed, Ye Lingyun intensified his efforts. As time passed, he finally tamed the unruly power and returned it to its normal course.
Even after resolving the turmoil in his spiritual power, Ye Lingyun was not satisfied. He knew that, with his current strength, he stood no chance against Ye Long even in perfect condition. He had to seize this opportunity to make a breakthrough.
Ye Lingyun focused on his martial soul, trying once more to awaken its potential. He kept circulating spiritual power and channeling it into his martial soul, hoping to bring about another change. Yet his martial soul seemed sunk in slumber, barely responding to the power he poured into it.
Ye Lingyun did not lose heart. He carefully recalled every detail of his martial soul's earlier transformation, searching for the key to a breakthrough. Suddenly, he remembered the wondrous sensation of his martial soul resonating with his spiritual power as he absorbed the energy of the spirit illusion grass. Perhaps finding another source of power that could resonate with his martial soul would awaken its potential.
Ye Lingyun searched his room for the various spiritual treasures he had obtained in the Misty Forest, testing them one by one for resonance with his martial soul. None produced the results he hoped for. They either failed to resonate at all or produced an effect so faint it was almost negligible.
Just as despair began to creep in, his gaze fell on a mysterious stone he had stumbled upon in the ruins. The stone felt warm and smooth in his hand, and strange patterns covered its surface. He had never managed to unravel its secrets. Clinging to his last shred of hope, Ye Lingyun poured spiritual power into it.
In an instant, the stone blazed with light. A mysterious, powerful force surged out of it and resonated intensely with Ye Lingyun's martial soul. He felt a tremendous power flood into his martial soul, which began to tremble violently. The strange markings on its surface grew clearer, and its radiance became ever more dazzling.
Yet the force was too powerful for Ye Lingyun's martial soul to bear all at once. He felt as though it was about to burst under the strain, and agony struck again. Gritting his teeth, he circulated his spiritual power desperately, trying to fuse that force with his martial soul.
Time crawled by amid pain and perseverance. Ye Lingyun was drenched in sweat and nearly drained of all strength. Still, he never gave up. Armed with unwavering conviction and indomitable will, he fought a life-and-death struggle against that force.
At last, through Ye Lingyun's relentless efforts, his martial soul gradually absorbed and integrated the mysterious force. It endured the power and underwent a fundamental transformation. Its radiance grew far more brilliant, and its aura became increasingly powerful, showing faint signs of breaking beyond its current realm.
Sensing the change in his martial soul, Ye Lingyun was overjoyed. He struck while the iron was hot, continuing to circulate his spiritual power to consolidate the improvement. As he kept pouring power into it, his martial soul finally broke through, advancing from yellow rank lower grade to yellow tier middle grade.
The breakthrough in his martial soul's realm brought a tremendous increase in Ye Lingyun's strength. He felt power filling his body, and his control over his spiritual power became far more effortless. Yet he knew this was still nowhere near enough. Ye Long was powerful too, and he practiced the Ye Family's Top Martial Technique.
Ye Lingyun decided to refine the Star-Splitting Void Sword Technique once more, fully incorporating the power of his newly advanced martial soul. He picked up his longsword and practiced the technique in his room. Every move carried greater power; sword winds howled, and spiritual power surged in all directions.
He kept adjusting how he applied force and the rhythm of his spiritual power output, striving to bring the fusion of his sword technique and martial soul to its fullest potential. After countless attempts and adjustments, he finally devised a stronger sequence of sword moves, raising the Star-Splitting Void Sword Technique to new heights.
By then, only a few hours remained before the final. Ye Lingyun lowered his longsword and let out a long breath. After a night of arduous breakthroughs, his strength had increased enormously. Though his body remained weary, his eyes shone with confidence. He knew the approaching final would be a hard-fought battle, but he was fully prepared. Whatever the outcome, he would give the match everything he had and prove his strength.
After a brief rest, Ye Lingyun rose, straightened his clothes, and strode toward the tournament grounds with firm steps. He was no longer the failure who had been scorned for his unsuccessful martial soul awakening. He was a challenger armed with formidable strength and unwavering conviction, about to write his own legend on the stage of the Ye Family Small Tournament's final...
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