Qi Cultivation Realm Tenth Layer

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Standing at the center of the fighting platform, Ye Chen was like a sharp sword, a sword drawn from its sheath.

"This man is truly terrifying. If defeating Huang Bingwen proved his overwhelming combat strength, then defeating the genius Zhang Haoran can only mean that he's a freak."

"That's right. It isn't scary when a genius challenges someone above his level. What's scary is when the one defeated is also a genius, like someone challenging Senior Sister above their level."

"That's impossible. Among the younger generation of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, no one can challenge Senior Sister above their level."

"I was only making an analogy!"

Kneeling on one knee, Zhang Haoran supported his broken right arm with his left hand and raised his head. Blood filled his lips and slid down to his chin as he said viciously, "No one can defeat me, Zhang Haoran. Not even you, Ye Chen. Wait for me. Within five months, you must become an Inner Sect Disciple. Then I'll challenge you again."

Everyone shook their heads. Ye Chen had already defeated him while only at the Qi Cultivation Realm Ninth Layer. Once he became an Inner Sect Disciple, would Zhang Haoran still stand a chance?

Ye Chen rather admired Zhang Haoran. Though the man was arrogant and overbearing, believing himself unmatched, his fighting spirit was startling. He never knew what retreat was. Huang Bingwen, on the other hand, fell far short. The moment he failed, he hid among the crowd. Who knew what bad ideas he was plotting behind their backs? A temperament like that could never accomplish anything great.

"Fine. I'll give you the chance to challenge me. And within five months, I will definitely become an Inner Sect Disciple." Ye Chen did not mock someone with fighting spirit.

Staggering to his feet, Zhang Haoran gave Ye Chen a deep look. "You're very strong. It wasn't unjust for me, Zhang Haoran, to lose to you. But making me submit is impossible."

With that, he stubbornly walked off the platform.

"Tut, tut, born with a proud backbone. Not bad!" Around the fighting platform were spectator stands that rose tier by tier to a height of six zhang. High up along the outer edge, a youth in green robes leisurely waved a fan in his hand.

Beside him, a young man with an iron sword in his arms said indifferently, "Becoming a True Condensation Realm martial artist at thirteen... he should rank among the top five of the Flowing Cloud Sect in the past ten years."

The youth in green nodded. "Once he grows up, he'll be our opponent. As for the other one, I'm curious. How does he possess such immense strength? Even Core Disciple Xu Jing cannot compare to him."

"Him? He isn't worth worrying about. Once one reaches the True Condensation Realm, physical strength can no longer determine victory or defeat. His defense is somewhat troublesome, though, and I've never seen anything like it."

"Everyone has their own secrets. Didn't you also obtain a sword art in Ghost Cry Forest?" The youth in green smiled, then added, "Let's go. We've been too idle."

The sword-bearing youth nodded and left the Martial Arts Plaza with the youth in green.

If anyone had seen these two, they would certainly have recognized them. The sword-bearing youth was one of the Flowing Cloud Sect's ten greatest Inner Sect Disciples, named Li Kuang. His swordsmanship could make ghosts weep in despair, earning him the title Ghost Sword in the northern part of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom. The youth in green was named Pei Shaoqing, and his ranking stood even above Li Kuang's. Though he was young and mild-mannered, he was exceedingly vicious when fighting others—if they were not wounded, they died.

The two had just returned from completing a sect mission outside. Seeing so many people in the Martial Arts Plaza, they had come over for a look; they had not specifically come to watch the match.

On the way back to their residences, Wu Zongming looked at Ye Chen strangely. "Ye Chen, your improvement is just too great! You've already left even me far behind."

Ye Chen had no way to explain everything that had happened to him, so he said, "Is my improvement that great? Why haven't I noticed?"

"Think about it. When you passed through Wooden Man Alley, you were still at the Qi Cultivation Realm Sixth Layer. Now you're already at the Qi Cultivation Realm Ninth Layer, and not an ordinary Ninth Layer at that. Once you advance to the True Condensation Realm, who knows what kind of monster you'll become."

"Uh, maybe I suddenly got the hang of it!"

To his surprise, Wu Zongming nodded. "That's not without reason. Some people achieve nothing in their early stages, then suddenly rise in the middle. Maybe you're one of them."

Ye Chen felt embarrassed.

Day after day passed. Ye Chen did not keep a high profile as everyone had imagined. Instead, he stayed indoors all day, and even when he went out, it was only to his training ground—the cliff.

During this time, Zhang Haoran and Wu Zongming officially became Inner Sect Disciples.

Inner Sect Disciples had exclusive identity plaques, with their respective names engraved on the back. With them, they could freely enter and leave the Martial Arts Pavilion, read Human-tier top-grade secret manuals, accept sect missions, roam the martial world, and carve out their own achievements and prestige.

Of course, roaming the martial world carried certain dangers. Over the past ten years, countless Inner Sect Disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect had died. Some had been plotted against by petty figures of the martial world, some had died at the hands of underworld experts, some had been ambushed and killed by disciples from other sects, while others had vanished completely, neither living nor dead bodies to be found.

Even so, the higher-ups of the Flowing Cloud Sect had not taken measures to reduce the casualties among Inner Sect Disciples. To them, no matter how beautiful flowers in a greenhouse were, they could not withstand wind and rain, nor could they achieve greatness. Only by letting them venture out could they grow strong and tenacious, laying a solid foundation for the future.

For the time being, however, Zhang Haoran and Wu Zongming did not need to undertake missions. For the first half-year after becoming Inner Sect Disciples, the higher-ups permitted them to focus on cultivating Martial Arts and increasing their strength. After half a year, they could use the great grindstone of the martial world to temper their will and Martial Arts talent.

While everyone worked hard, Ye Chen worked even harder.

Every day, aside from diligently practicing the Third Art of the Jade Tempering Body Strengthening Art, he cultivated with Spirit Stones.

After Ye Chen had absorbed all the spiritual energy within the Innate Blue Jade, he no longer needed to absorb jade energy. What remained was mastery over the cultivation art, forming a connection between every inch of flesh and blood in his body. Once that connection was established, his defense would leave no trace to follow and possess no weakness whatsoever.

It had to be said that the Strange Fish's flesh had helped Ye Chen greatly. Otherwise, he could not have cultivated the Third Art of the Jade Tempering Body Strengthening Art to his current level so quickly. Even a True Condensation Realm Early Stage martial artist could not harm him in the slightest.

Seeing that the Strange Fish's flesh was nearly gone, Ye Chen's strength had stalled at twelve thousand jin. At that point, every additional ten jin of strength was ten or a hundred times harder than before. He had nearly reached the limits of the physical body. If he wanted to continue increasing his strength, he had to make a breakthrough.

At night, a bright moon hung high in the sky.

Pure moonlight filtered through the gauze window, casting a hazy glow throughout the room. Outside the window, the shadows of trees pressed against it, adding another layer of secluded depth to the scene.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged on his bed, holding a Spirit Stone in each hand and gathering his essence, guarding the one.

Originally, Ye Chen had not dared cultivate with two Spirit Stones. Although doing so would double the speed at which his Internal Energy increased, the vast Origin Energy from the Spirit Stones would burst his Meridians and turn him into a cripple. But ever since his physical constitution had greatly improved and the Third Art of the Jade Tempering Body Strengthening Art had neared major completion, cultivating with one Spirit Stone had become child's play, a mere drizzle. Cultivating with two at once was just right.

As vast amounts of Spirit Stone Origin Energy transformed into Internal Energy, the vortex within Ye Chen's Dantian continually expanded until it filled the Dantian to the brim. Fortunately, the Jade Tempering Body Strengthening Art could strengthen the Dantian, and the Strange Fish's flesh had also enhanced its resilience. Otherwise, trouble could easily have arisen.

Buzz!

The vortex suddenly compressed by a third, returning to its original size.

Ye Chen opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. "I've finally reached the peak Qi Cultivation Realm Tenth Layer. Breaking through to the True Condensation Realm is even harder than I imagined."

To advance to the True Condensation Realm, one had to liquefy Internal Energy into True Qi. This process was extremely difficult. The further one went, the harder it became to compress Internal Energy, and there could even be a rebound. Compared to others, Ye Chen's breakthrough was already much simpler. The Internal Energy of the Pure Origin Skill was renowned for its purity, making it easy to control. There would be no situation where his heart was willing but his strength fell short.

However, once he formally began the breakthrough, he could no longer continue refining Spirit Stone Origin Energy. After all, no matter how pure external Origin Energy was, it still needed time to meld with the Internal Energy in his body, and it would have significant adverse effects on advancing to the True Condensation Realm.

Rising to his feet and walking to the window, Ye Chen looked out at the night and muttered to himself, "The Ye Family Gathering begins in half a month. It's time to go home."