Senior Brother, Stop Sucking, or I'll Be Sucked Dry

"Huh???"

Xiao Chen looked at Cao Youqian in confusion and asked, "Isn't that a good thing?"

Cao Youqian told Xiao Chen what the Five Elements Chapter of the Chaos Body-Tempering Art said.

"So that's how it is. Come on, let's go find Master together."

Xiao Chen was a man of action. As soon as he finished speaking, he took Cao Youqian back to the Miscellaneous Dao Institute.

When the two arrived at Chu Feng's courtyard residence, the lights were still on inside.

"I didn't expect Master to work so hard. It's so late, and he still hasn't rested."

Cao Youqian couldn't help remarking on it.

Xiao Chen nodded. "Master really is a diligent man."

Chu Feng, who was lying on his couch reading, heard his two disciples' voices outside. A hint of confusion appeared on his face, but he still called out:

"Why have you two come to see me so late at night instead of cultivating? What important matter brings you here?"

Xiao Chen and Cao Youqian answered in unison, "Master, we've run into a little trouble with our cultivation."

Chu Feng paused, then got dressed, opened the door, and walked outside.

He looked at the two of them. "Tell me about it in detail."

"Master, here's what happened..."

Cao Youqian told his master everything about his recent circumstances, leaving nothing out.

"That's it?"

As Chu Feng spoke, he turned his gaze to Xiao Chen. "You haven't forgotten Sword Rushing Through Disabled Acupoints from Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin, have you?"

The moment Xiao Chen heard those words, his eyes lit up. He smiled and said, "I finally understand why you wanted me to cultivate with Junior Brother Cao, Master."

Cao Youqian was utterly bewildered. He looked at Xiao Chen, then at their master.

Chu Feng said, "Since you already know what to do, go back and continue cultivating."

"Yes, Master. We'll take our leave."

After speaking, Xiao Chen made sure to tug on Cao Youqian's robe.

Only then did Cao Youqian come to his senses. He bowed to Chu Feng and left.

Once they were back at the mountain behind the institute, Cao Youqian finally asked, "Senior Brother, do you really have a way to help me solve the problem I'm facing?"

"Junior Brother, stand right here and don't move. Whatever happens in a moment, don't be surprised. I'll take care of this little cultivation trouble for you right away."

Xiao Chen spoke with a beaming smile.

???

Cao Youqian's head was full of question marks. You call this a little trouble?

But the next second, he saw Senior Brother Xiao leap into the air. Immediately afterward, a stream of Sword Qi emanated from his senior brother and enveloped him entirely.

He couldn't move. Worst of all, Senior Brother Xiao was actually sucking the spiritual power out of his body at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In less than a moment,

Cao Youqian felt the spiritual power in his body being sucked completely dry. Without its support, he naturally couldn't break through to the True Fate Realm.

"Senior Brother, stop sucking! If you keep going, I'll be sucked dry!"

Hearing this, Xiao Chen descended from the sky and said with a smile, "Junior Brother, go on cultivating. If this happens again, just tell me."

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Cao Youqian spoke weakly.

"By the way, Senior Brother, what technique was that? Why did it give me such an evil..."

Xiao Chen smiled. "It's a secret technique from Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin, used to assist cultivation."

???

Cao Youqian was dumbfounded. You call that move cultivation assistance?

An ordinary person couldn't possibly withstand that move.

But remembering that his eldest senior brother had no need to use it against an enemy, he said no more and continued cultivating.

Xiao Chen, meanwhile, began purifying the Spiritual Qi he had just absorbed. He transformed the purified Spiritual Qi into Sword Qi and expelled the remainder through his index and middle fingers.

After expelling the waste Qi from his body, Xiao Chen continued cultivating. In less than a month, he would be able to break through to the True Fate Realm in peak condition.

In a quiet chamber in the inner court of the Sword Dao Institute,

Lin Qingyu was cultivating in seclusion.

After the outer court competition, he had devoted himself to cultivation for half a year, and once he had made every preparation,

he chose a quiet chamber and entered seclusion, intending to break through to the True Fate Realm in one stroke.

For this breakthrough, Lin Qingyu had brought out a full third of his wealth, all for the purpose of awakening a Saint Physique.

That way, he would have a chance to contend with the prodigies of the Heavenly Spirit Institute

and take the helm of the Sword Dao Institute in the future.

As for Xiao Chen, he was no longer a rival in Lin Qingyu's eyes. How could a man with no future be qualified to be his opponent?

As Lin Qingyu's presence climbed to its peak,

he broke through the bottleneck and stepped into the True Fate Realm in one stroke.

The instant he broke through to the True Fate Realm, the bloodline within him awakened as well.

Rumble!

With a tremendous boom,

a powerful presence shot straight into the sky.

Immediately afterward, purple qi came from the east, and ninety-nine auspicious clouds circled above the Sword Dao Institute.

This sight naturally drew countless eyes.

"Look! Someone's breakthrough has caused a phenomenon between heaven and earth!"

"Could such a phenomenon mean that one of our Sword Dao Institute's prodigies has awakened an Imperial Physique?"

"Senior Brother, I'm afraid this phenomenon isn't as simple as an Imperial Physique."

"Then it must be a Saint Physique. No one in our Sword Dao Institute has awakened one in years. The last time was a full sixty-year cycle ago."

On the Profound Heaven Continent, cultivators' physiques were divided into six grades, from highest to lowest: Immortal Physique, Divine Physique, Saint Physique, Imperial Physique, Innate Physique, and Acquired Physique.

Almost everyone could awaken an Acquired Physique upon breaking through to the True Fate Realm. It could be said that Acquired Physiques were a dime a dozen.

After reaching the True Fate Realm, even an Innate Physique no longer offered much of an advantage. Only those with an Imperial Physique could be considered elites and go further.

But Saint Physiques were different. Among all the disciples enrolled at the Dao-Seeking Academy, fewer than a hundred had one.

As long as someone who awakened a Saint Physique didn't die young, becoming a regional powerhouse in the future would be easy.

The elders of the Sword Dao Institute hurried to the quiet chamber at once.

Even the Sword Martial King came in person. He glanced at the deacon stationed there and asked, "Who is cultivating in seclusion?"

"In answer to the institute head, it is Junior Brother Lin Qingyu."

The deacon spoke with the utmost respect.

"So it's that boy. It seems my Sword Dao Institute has a successor."

How could the Sword Martial King fail to remember one of the outer court's twin prodigies?

Though he had painfully lost Xiao Chen, that prodigy, Lin Qingyu had now risen.

Among the Sword Dao Institute's new generation of disciples, he once again had someone who could stand against the Heavenly Spirit Institute's prodigies. He simply couldn't stop smiling.

The Sword Martial King said, "Everyone, let us stand guard over Qingyu. We must not give anyone a chance to take advantage of the situation."

The elders present also understood the Sword Martial King's unspoken meaning: they had to guard against the Heavenly Spirit Institute coming to snatch him away, while also giving Lin Qingyu the best treatment.

As the elders stood guard over the quiet chamber, a puzzled voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"Strange. Why aren't the auspicious clouds on the horizon continuing toward our Sword Dao Institute? Why are they going somewhere else instead?"

At those words, everyone instinctively raised their heads and looked up at the sky...