Innate

The night was deep, the bright moon hanging high.

Prince Qing's Estate lay shrouded in darkness, sunk in sleep.

Suddenly, a long howl shot into the heavens. Everyone in the estate jolted awake, hurriedly threw on clothes, and looked around in astonishment.

The howl continued to rise, growing louder and louder.

Some pushed open their windows, while others ran out into their courtyards. For a moment, the estate was abuzz with activity.

"He's Breaking Through to Innate!"

"The Young Master must have entered the Xiantian Realm!"

The estate guards immediately understood and were overjoyed.

The news spread swiftly.

Listening to Waves Courtyard

On the bed, Chu Zhiyuan closed his mouth and stopped howling.

He had merely practiced the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique a little, never intending to break through, yet it had happened as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Before the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique, the three barriers were as good as nonexistent, collapsing at the first touch.

Once the Three Passes were broken, the breath that had originally flowed through the Bridge of Heaven and Earth formed by the Ren and Du Meridians like a babbling spring instantly transformed into a surging flood.

Qi rushed into his throat, and he naturally opened his mouth in a long howl that he could not suppress no matter how hard he tried.

The howl filled the entire bedchamber, then spread throughout Prince Qing's Estate.

He had finally stepped into the Innate Realm.

His face was wreathed in smiles.

He carefully sensed the difference in how the qi circulated through his Meridians: smooth and rounded, as obedient as an arm or finger.

At this point, it was no longer called internal energy, but True Qi—true essence qi.

It had already undergone a fundamental transformation.

Wherever his mind went, qi arrived; it moved exactly as he wished.

From this point onward, True Qi would endlessly circulate through the Ren and Du Meridians on its own, constantly transforming essence qi into True Qi.

From this point onward, his True Qi would flow forth without end like spring water.

More importantly, it could break free from the body's restraints, either flowing out through the pores or striking out through acupoints.

In the Postnatal Realm, internal energy could only circulate within one's own body, stimulating the muscles to increase strength and speed. In the Innate Realm, one could strike True Qi into an opponent's body, attacking their Meridians and internal organs.

Internal energy against True Qi was like snow meeting boiling water. Likewise, True Qi faced a grandmaster's Gang Qi with no power to resist.

This was the crushing force of a higher realm.

His figure flashed and vanished. The next moment, he appeared beneath a plum tree in the courtyard, then flashed away again. In the blink of an eye, shadows filled the entire courtyard, like External Incarnations.

More than a dozen figures abruptly vanished, and he was once again seated on the bed, his smile broadening.

As expected of True Qi. Under its impetus, the power of his martial arts doubled. The Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart Step became faster and covered greater distances.

He placed a hand on his scabbard and drew his sword, then his figure suddenly vanished.

The next instant, he appeared in the center of the courtyard, holding his sword horizontally before his eyes, its blade like a pool of autumn water.

He examined it carefully.

True Qi entered the sword, followed by Super Sensation, and he finally saw clearly inside it.

There were unexpectedly two strange patterns within the longsword. At first glance, they resembled two roses.

The patterns spread outward into pearl-net-like veins that covered the sword's interior, giving him the sudden illusion that he was looking at a person's Meridians.

Two small characters were hidden inside the guard, but he did not recognize them.

He raised his head to gaze at the luminous bright moon and pondered silently. If I find out what those characters are, I may be able to uncover this sword's true origin.

A dark cloud drifted over and swiftly passed across the bright moon.

He closed his eyes and continued sensing carefully.

True Qi entered the longsword and underwent a strange transformation after passing through the patterns, becoming a new kind of True Qi.

This True Qi could make the sword as light as if it were nothing.

Once the sword became lighter, its speed naturally increased.

The heart of the Great Avalanche Sword Art was speed. True Qi had already made it faster, and with this sword's strange properties, it would become faster still.

Aside from internal energy turning into True Qi, he also discovered that the range of his Super Sensation had increased by ten zhang, from twenty zhang to thirty.

Yet he did not pay much attention to it.

To him, twenty zhang and thirty zhang made little difference. Super Sensation was merely an aid, not the foundation of strength.

The true foundation was still cultivation and realm.

The Innate Twelve Heavenly Towers were far harder to cultivate than the nine levels of the Postnatal Realm.

In the area of the Ren Meridian at his throat, there was a faint tower formed from white qi. Its interior was hollow like a courtyard shaft, and True Qi passed straight through it.

There were twelve Heavenly Towers in all.

These twelve Heavenly Towers were the key apertures of True Qi. Each layer broken would make True Qi a portion more abundant and a portion more refined.

By drawing True Qi from the dantian and sending it in reverse through the Ren Meridian, continuously soaking and battering it, one could eventually shatter the twelve Heavenly Towers and reach Innate Perfection.

It required the painstaking effort of raindrops wearing through stone.

This was actually similar to the method of breaking the Three Passes. The Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique could truly show its prowess here.

He simply began practicing the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique, testing whether he could break open the First Layer. To his surprise, it was even easier than he had imagined.

A quarter-hour later, the First Layer had already shattered. His True Qi immediately became one-third thicker and one-third more condensed.

He frowned in thought.

Was the gap of one Heavenly Tower truly so great?

He searched through the martial arts notes in his mind and quickly learned that the size of the gap between each Heavenly Tower depended on one's aptitude.

The higher one's aptitude, the greater the difference one Heavenly Tower made.

While he was contemplating his cultivation, Zou Fang stood outside Listening to Waves Courtyard, stopping those who had come to visit, including Bai Ningshuang and Chu Yi.

At dawn, he noticed something unusual after getting up.

Mo Yi and the other three maids all wore faces blooming like flowers.

Even Zou Fang, who remained unruffled all year round, revealed delight.

After leaving the estate gates, he turned to look at the bright, freshly painted gates and the brand-new lanterns, feeling that the entire estate had taken on a completely different air.

Though the Imperial Household Department was slippery, they truly worked swiftly and beautifully. In just one day, they had transformed the entire estate.

It was not merely its appearance. The estate guards were also high-spirited, with none of their former laziness remaining.

His victory in the minor competition, coupled with his stunning performance in the Winter Hunt, had completely reversed the estate's decline after he entered the Innate Realm.

The entire estate's bearing changed abruptly, and morale soared.

Although nearly all Heir Apparents and Princes could enter the Xiantian Realm, entering it early or late led to vastly different outcomes.

The earlier one entered the Xiantian Realm, the greater one's talent and the broader one's future.

Among the Heir Apparents younger than Chu Zhiyuan, the Fifth Heir had died at Little Scarlet Cloud Mountain. The Sixth Heir was a prodigy and was already in the military. The Seventh Heir and Eighth Heir were both insignificant figures in Bright Martial Hall, even inferior to the Ninth Heir and Tenth Heir. The Eleventh Heir through Sixteenth Heir were all in Bright Martial Hall, still quite far from the Innate Realm.

Among those older than Chu Zhiyuan, the Eldest Heir had died alongside the First Prince in childhood. The Second Heir was crippled, while the Third Heir was also in the military.

Counting them all, Chu Zhiyuan was the third Xiantian Master of his generation among the Heir Apparents.

The Great Jing imperial clan valued martial cultivation above all else. The higher one's realm and the stronger one's cultivation, the greater one's prospects and the more favor and importance one received from the Emperor.

In the Great Jing Dynasty, where power was concentrated in the imperial throne, being valued by the Emperor meant possessing power and influence.

After reaching the Xiantian Realm, one could earn merit by taking assignments, acquire cultivation resources to accelerate cultivation, and thereby swiftly strengthen the estate.

From then on, Prince Qing's Estate would only grow stronger, sweeping away its former gloom and becoming full of hope.

Bright Martial Hall's training ground.

In the morning light, three men were standing in the Violet Sun Stance.

Chu Mingxuan cast a smug glance at Chu Zhiting and Chu Zhichuan. "Ninth Son, Tenth Son, how are your advances? Last night, while the iron was hot, I broke through the First Pass."

Last night, his blood had been set boiling by the wine. He tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, so he simply got up to practice. To his surprise, he broke through the First Pass, the Tailbone Pass, in one smooth effort.

He felt it was both the wonder of the medicinal wine and the fact that his own accumulation had been sufficient, allowing everything to fall into place naturally. He felt utterly pleased with himself.

Among the Three Passes, the Tailbone Pass was difficult, the Spine Pass even harder, and the Jade Pillow Pass the most difficult. One had to proceed with the utmost caution, for Qi Deviation could occur at any moment.

The first two passes were manageable, but the third, the Jade Pillow Pass, was the one most prone to Qi Deviation.

Chu Qingfeng's most important role in Bright Martial Hall was still to stand guard for them.

With him, a grandmaster, standing guard beside them while they broke through, they could do so boldly and without fear of Qi Deviation.

"Eighteenth Uncle, I also broke through the First Pass. That medicinal wine truly is excellent." Chu Zhiting beamed at Chu Zhichuan.

Chu Zhichuan said calmly, "I also broke through the First Pass."

Chu Zhiting's smile froze. "You broke through too?"

"If you can break through, why can't I?" Chu Zhichuan sneered.

Chu Zhiting curled his lips and looked at Chu Mingxuan. "Eighteenth Uncle, that medicinal wine really is good. It would be even better if we could have another jar."

Chu Mingxuan scratched his head, thought for a moment, then ultimately shook his head helplessly. "I'm afraid I can't get any more. I only managed this because Fifth Brother was in a good mood."

Chu Zhiting repeatedly lamented the pity of it.

Chu Zhichuan said, "I wonder whether Fourth Brother has broken through yet."

"...He has probably broken through one pass as well." Chu Mingxuan considered it. Chu Zhiyuan's cultivation was no weaker than the three of theirs, and his aptitude was even better.

So he had likely broken through one pass too.

"I reckon I'll enter the Xiantian Realm in another month." Chu Mingxuan's mouth split into a wide grin, unable to contain his excitement.

At the thought of being granted a princely title, he could not help growing excited.

"Yes, one month should be about right." Chu Zhichuan nodded.

Chu Zhiting said with feeling, "Then everything will be different..."

He too was filled with longing. Then he suddenly waved his hand. "Fourth Brother! Fourth Brother!"