Transcendent!

The next day, in Qie Qiong's bedroom.

Qie Qiong fixed his gaze on the heavenly treasure in his palm, which radiated metal-element energy.

It was a grasslike plant with nine leaves, each naturally marked with pale golden veins.

Qie Qiong sensed the mysteries of metal within it, but he could understand little beyond the portion concerning sharpness.

"This is no ordinary thing," Qie Qiong murmured, his fingertip brushing across a leaf. "There should be a record of it in the library."

With that thought, Qie Qiong immediately headed for the library.

He had a feeling this heavenly treasure was sure to be his most important gain.

As a thousand-year-old clan, the Qie Clan had a library with a rich collection, including many illustrated records of the Azure Cloud Realm's rare treasures.

The most comprehensive of them was the "Illustrated Guide to Myriad Existences," left behind by their Saint Rank Transcendent ancestor.

In the library, Qie Qiong found the "Illustrated Guide to Myriad Existences" with practiced ease and compared its illustrations to the heavenly treasure, page by page.

At last, he turned to a page bearing an extremely similar illustration, and his gaze froze.

"Nine-Leaf Gold-Veined Grass," the page described in detail.

"This grass grows in places rich in metal-element energy. It grows one leaf every hundred years and only matures when it has nine leaves, at which point it may be harvested."

"When mature, its entire body resembles golden jade. It is a supreme treasure for nourishing the True Meaning of Metal. Its greatest effect is to increase one's ability to comprehend the Gold Law for a period of time..."

"Those who consume it must have comprehended the Myriad Existences Realm of Metal, or it will have no effect whatsoever."

Qie Qiong saw this and suddenly understood. As he read the earlier passage, he had been wondering why the two Xiong Clan brothers had not taken it.

It was not that they did not want to use it, but that they could not. In the end, he was the one who benefited.

"...Remember, one leaf lasts for one month. Only after nearly two months, when the body has completely expelled it, may the next leaf be eaten."

"I see." Qie Qiong was wild with joy. To think it's such a treasure! Luckily, those two Xiong Clan brothers were useless and couldn't bear to sell it. In the end, I'm the one who benefited.

In truth, Qie Qiong understood that the two Xiong Clan brothers probably had not refused to sell it because they did not want to, but because they could not.

Even in the hands of a Sky Realm Transcendent expert, this was a case of an innocent man condemned for possessing a treasure.

But as it happened, he could use it.

The book's description perfectly explained why he had sensed a reaction whenever he approached it. Combined with Golden Light, this "Nine-Leaf Gold-Veined Grass" was enough to let him comprehend the complete True Meaning of Metal as quickly as possible.

He immediately brought the "Nine-Leaf Gold-Veined Grass" to the meditation chamber.

In the days that followed, the Cangyun Empire sent people to investigate the truth behind the Xiong Clan's destruction. But every prominent faction in Cangshan County City had taken part in carving up the Xiong Clan, so the investigators found nothing, and the matter was dropped.

Qie Qiong and the others had not expected that none of the danger they anticipated would materialize, having been taken care of by their "good teammates."

Sure enough, nothing needed to be said to real "teammates."

With no Title Rank faction holding the fort, Cangshan County City descended into complete chaos.

Although the city guards had the most Silver Moon Rank experts, the other factions were no pushovers. Their combined strength even surpassed that of the guards.

In Cangshan County City, unless a Silver Moon Rank expert in one of the factions broke through, or a Title Rank expert took an interest in the city and settled there-

Otherwise, it would remain in chaos.

At the Qie Clan, both of them began cultivating methodically, absorbing the resources they had gained.

In the blink of an eye, two and a half years passed.

At the Qie Clan's training ground.

A tall, slender figure stood straight in the center.

It was Qie Qiong!

In the two and a half years that had passed, Qie Qiong had shed his youthful greenness. He stood tall and straight as a sword, and his brows bore a profundity far beyond his years.

His whole being resembled a sharp divine sword.

He had long since completely refined the Thunder Lizard's inner core, absorbing its pure lightning energy into his dantian's qi sea.

He had honed that black Solid Core until it far surpassed the ordinary peak of Title Rank, just one step away from the transformation of his Dou Qi.

And the precious "Nine-Leaf Gold-Veined Grass" had been used up the previous month.

He had consumed its nine leaves one by one over two years, each raising the speed at which he comprehended the "mysteries of metal" to an unimaginable level.

With its help, he had spent the past two years honing his Dou Qi and studying the "Golden Light" secret manual.

His comprehension of the Myriad Existences Realm of Metal advanced a thousand miles in a day.

Hardness, sharpness, immortality and so on—he had comprehended the many branches of the True Meaning of Metal one by one.

A month ago, when he had completely exhausted the power of the last leaf of "Gold-Veined Grass," his own comprehension of the True Meaning had already reached the peak of the Myriad Existences Realm's Third Layer!

That was a level of law comprehension even some Saint Rank Transcendents possessed.

Moreover, she was only one step away from combining all her insights into the complete True Meaning of Metal.

By then, his level of law comprehension would make him a genuine expert even among Saint Rank Transcendents.

And for now, he was only a Title Rank expert, though he would not be one for much longer.

At times, he wanted to marvel at how exceptional his talent was. Just how far along the path of cultivation had Dongbo Xueying been at his age?

He took out the batch of "Thunder Adamantine" he had obtained from the Xiong Clan from his Space Ring.

His guess back then had been correct. For some unknown reason, no "Thunder Adamantine" had appeared in that vein over the past two years.

He slowly absorbed the special energy in the Thunder Adamantine. It was a perfect match for the "Thunder's Five Transformation Technique," constantly tempering his Dou Qi like the finest catalyst.

It pushed his technique and Dou Qi, bit by bit, toward breaking through their current realms.

Now was the final opportunity.

When Dongbo Xueying broke through in the original story, he had not even known when his breakthrough would come.

But Qie Qiong was different. His realm was so high that he could sense when he would break through.

"Hum-"

Strands of golden lightning gradually appeared within the formerly black Solid Core.

The once perfectly round Solid Core also sprouted fine rays of light across its surface, as though it were shedding its mortal body and transforming its bones.

Above the Solid Core appeared a glimmer of radiance, a fusion of lightning and light. It grew more and more abundant, gradually forming a golden mist-Transcendent Dou Qi had been born.

"Transcendent Dou Qi." Qie Qiong felt neither sorrow nor joy. After all, he had known about it long ago, so there was nothing to get excited about.

At the instant of the breakthrough, Qie Qiong circulated the "Thunder's Five Transformation Technique" to its limit. Within a few breaths, the black Solid Core turned gold.

With the birth of the golden Solid Core, Qie Qiong stirred his mind, and the radiance above it quickly spread throughout his dantian's qi sea.

Crack, crack, crack~~~

Cracks gradually appeared in the newly born golden Solid Core until it shattered completely. This Title Rank Dou Qi was the finest nourishment for Transcendent Dou Qi, and all of it was transformed into golden Transcendent Dou Qi.

With the birth of the golden Dou Qi, Qie Qiong naturally comprehended the First Layer of the Thunder of the Myriad Existences Realm!

Moreover, this golden Dou Qi had greater explosive power than the Dou Qi produced upon becoming a Transcendent without breaking through in the "Thunder's Five Transformation Method."

This was one of the truly formidable aspects of the Fifth Layer of the "Thunder's Five Transformation Technique."

Furthermore, if the Transcendent Dou Qi were born at the Fourth Layer, one could not switch to its superior technique, but could only start cultivating another Dou Qi technique from scratch.

With his Dou Qi transformed into Transcendent Dou Qi, the next step was the transformation of his body.

This was also the main reason mortals could not harm Transcendents.

The transformation of his Dou Qi took him only the time needed to drink a cup of tea, but the transformation of his body took more than two whole hours.

As the golden Transcendent Dou Qi remade his body, Qie Qiong's physical strength gradually reached the early Transcendent stage.

Ordinarily, most Transcendents would have reached the limit of their transformation at this point, and would need Origin Stones to further evolve their bodies.

But as the golden Dou Qi continued remaking him, he reached the early Flying Sky Rank, then its peak, before advancing like a hot knife through bamboo into the middle Flying Sky Rank.

Only some possessed a middle Flying Sky Rank body. Many Transcendents who had advanced long ago were still only at the early Flying Sky Rank, since Origin Stones were needed for many things.

Those at the Fifth Layer of the "Thunder's Five Transformation Technique" and those who had awakened a Primordial Bloodline possessed a Flying Sky Rank body the moment they became Transcendents!

This was what made the "Thunder's Five Transformation Technique" truly formidable.

Qie Qiong slowly opened his eyes.

He had broken through to Unity of Heaven and Man at eleven, stepped into the Myriad Existences Realm three months later, and after another two and a half years, broken through to become a Sky Realm Transcendent!

In the Azure Cloud Realm, he could only say that aside from the Primordial Deities of ancient times, no one had advanced faster than him!

"Sky Realm Transcendent." Qie Qiong looked down at his right hand and stirred his mind.

His entire right hand and arm rapidly broke apart, transforming in an instant into a bolt of golden lightning.

It then spread swiftly across his whole body, turning him into a bolt of golden lightning.

He flew fiercely around the training ground at great speed, then reassembled into Qie Qiong where he had started.

Afterward, he transformed into countless specks of golden elemental particles, again flew a circuit around the training ground, and stopped.

"Flying through the heavens and burrowing through the earth!" A smile appeared on Qie Qiong's otherwise calm face.

Back at Title Rank, he had been able to fly, but when he used Unity of Heaven and Man to lift his body, he had flown more slowly than some Silver Moon Rank experts, so it had not been very useful.

But a Transcendent expert could break a Transcendent body into particles and use the Power of Heaven and Earth to fly at high speed.

Using my Myriad Existences Realm of Metal to attach myself to the metal power of heaven and earth, I can only match my speed when I attach myself to their lightning power. It seems I'll have to spend more time comprehending the Thunder of the Myriad Existences Realm, Qie Qiong thought, considering his experiment.

After all, Qie Qiong's Myriad Existences Realm of Metal was already at the peak of the Third Layer, while he had only just comprehended the Thunder of the Myriad Existences Realm, yet their speeds were already equal.

But it did not matter much. Both were Myriad Existences Realms of sixth-grade True Meanings, equal in grade, differing only in their areas of emphasis.

Flying into the sky, Qie Qiong used the eyesight of his Transcendent body to see things a hundred li away with the naked eye.

Qie Qiong keenly spotted Qie Yunzhou and Lin Wantang walking toward the main hall.

A mischievous grin appeared on Qie Qiong's face.

With a thought, his body instantly broke apart and reassembled!

"Crackle-"

A bolt of golden lightning struck without warning from the clear sky.

It landed with perfect precision on the bluestone paving only a step in front of Qie Yunzhou and Lin Wantang.

Qie Qiong had controlled his strength so precisely that he did not damage the stone in the slightest.

The sudden golden lightning made Qie Yunzhou and Lin Wantang, who were walking side by side, jolt violently.

"What?!" The lightning had come so quickly that even Qie Yunzhou, a Title Rank expert, was startled.

That was right: over the past two years, Qie Yunzhou had still not become a Transcendent expert.

He instinctively took the Thunder Star Sword from his Space Ring.

Lin Wantang reacted a little more slowly, but as soon as she came to her senses, she instantly raised a spell shield.

"Enemy attack!" The two exchanged a glance as the thought surfaced in both their minds.

But who among mortals could do this without being detected by two Title Rank experts of the Myriad Existences Realm, and even launch an attack in the heart of the Qie residence?

Yet the attack they imagined did not come.

The golden lightning did not disperse after it landed. Instead, under their gazes, it rapidly gathered and transformed into Qie Qiong.

They sensed an oppressive aura from Qie Qiong unlike anything at Title Rank. It was naturally emitted by the evolution of his level of life.

The wariness on Qie Yunzhou and Lin Wantang's faces gradually gave way to incredulous delight.

"Qiong'er..." Lin Wantang exclaimed, her beautiful eyes wide, not even maintaining the spell shield in her hand.

Qie Yunzhou said nothing, but put away the Thunder Star Sword.

They stared intently at Qie Qiong. The aura of a Transcendent could be imitated, but only a Transcendent body could break into particles.

And aside from becoming a true Transcendent, one could also gain a Transcendent body by becoming a False Transcendent, but Qie Yunzhou knew that Qie Qiong would never do that.

So there was only one explanation-Qie Qiong had become a Transcendent!

Qie Yunzhou's voice trembled slightly with extreme shock and immense joy. "Breaking into particles? You've already... become a Transcendent."

Though he had known Qie Qiong's realm throughout the past two and a half years, and knew that he would soon become a Transcendent after reaching the Second Layer of the Myriad Existences Realm, he had never imagined it would happen so quickly.

Qie Qiong put aside his playful thoughts, smiled brilliantly, and nodded emphatically. "Yes, Father. I only just became a Transcendent."

As he spoke, he held out his hand and stirred his mind. His entire arm instantly turned into golden elemental particles, then golden lightning, before reassembling in an instant.

"When I broke through, I also broke through to the 'Golden Thunder' realm of the 'Thunder's Five Transformation Technique,' and happened to comprehend the Thunder of the Myriad Existences Realm as well."

Qie Yunzhou strode forward and patted Qie Qiong hard. "Good, good, good! My son Qie Qiong has the talent of a Deity!"

"Still, we should follow the original plan and announce that you've become a Transcendent in ten years, Qiong'er."

Qie Yunzhou urged, "But don't worry, Qiong'er. I'll be able to become a Transcendent soon. Once I inherit our ancestor's legacy, I'll send back the later cultivation techniques. It's just that you'll have to endure a shortage of resources for the next few years."

After listening, Qie Qiong looked at his parents and said steadily, "Father, there's no need to worry. Although my Dou Qi realm will advance slowly over these ten years because of the lack of resources, it doesn't matter. As long as I advance quickly in the laws, that's enough. Besides, my body has already reached the middle Sky Realm."

There were no detailed records of the "Thunder's Five Transformation Technique," so Qie Yunzhou did not know its precise effects either.