Chapter 535 - 531: Breakthrough to Second Grade

Chapter 535: Chapter 531: Breakthrough to Second Grade

It was afternoon by the time he returned to Courtyard Thirty-Five.

’There’s no need to be so indecisive.’

Fang Han replayed the day’s events in his mind.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t moved by Yun Qianyue’s words.

It wasn’t just because of Lan Yuexin’s stunning beauty, but even more so because of her outstanding talent for business—

For someone like him, who possessed a system panel that was a "money-devouring beast," a capable wife who could manage his wealth and gather resources was exactly what he needed.

In this world, it was common for a man to have several wives. Yun Qianyue didn’t mind, and Lan Yuexin also had feelings for him, so he had no reason to be coy.

...

The moonlight was bleak. Seven or eight corpses lay scattered about in the dense forest, their blood soaking the leaf-strewn soil.

A sturdy, well-built elder stood among the pile of bodies, holding a blood-stained longsword in his right hand and a piece of Soft Armor just stripped from a corpse in his left.

The Soft Armor was a dark silver color, its surface covered with fine, spiderweb-like natural patterns that glinted with a cold, deep luster under the moonlight.

He ran his fingertips over the armor’s surface. It was cool to the touch, and its toughness far surpassed any piece of defensive equipment he had ever seen—

’This is definitely a High-Grade Magical Soldier-level piece of Soft Armor. Even in the top-level faction I belong to, it would be considered a sect-guarding treasure.’

He shook the Soft Armor open, examining it repeatedly in the moonlight, the corner of his mouth curving into an ever-widening grin.

A Magic Weapon Level piece of Soft Armor, a priceless, life-saving treasure. For it to fall into his hands so easily today was truly a stroke of immense luck.

Just as he was about to put the Soft Armor away, a very faint sound came from behind him—the soft crunch of a boot stepping on loose gravel.

"Who’s there?"

The sturdy elder spun around, his pupils constricting in an instant.

At some unknown time, a figure had silently appeared a few dozen feet behind him.

It was a slender elder dressed in a gray robe. He wore a plain Bronze Mask with no markings, revealing only a pair of eyes.

Those eyes were neither sharp nor sinister; they just stared at him calmly, as if looking at an inanimate object.

"..."

The sturdy elder’s heart lurched.

He was a First Grade Martial Artist, and by no means one of the weakest at that level. Across all of Songquan County, you could count on two hands the number of people below the Grandmaster realm who could approach him undetected.

He instinctively tried to summon his Inner Qi, but in the instant before he could, the masked elder raised his right hand.

SWOOSH!

It was a hand as withered as a dead branch, its skin a sickly, ashen white. Its five fingers were slightly curled as it grasped at the air from a distance.

The sturdy elder felt a terrifying, irresistible suction force surge from that hand. Under its pull, the immense Inner Qi he was so proud of collapsed and dissipated, vanishing completely in an instant like a popped bubble.

His entire body was bound by invisible chains, unable to move. The longsword and the dark silver Soft Armor slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground with a soft clang.

"Who are you?"

The sturdy elder growled, his voice hoarse and laced with a terror he himself was unwilling to admit.

He struggled with all his might to break free from the invisible bonds, but his bones creaked under the pressure. It was like a dragonfly trying to shake a stone pillar—he couldn’t move an inch.

The masked elder didn’t answer. He simply walked slowly toward him, his withered hand still outstretched, fingers slightly curled, as if pinching an ant.

"I am He Xiong, an Elder of the Cangsong Temple!"

Veins bulged on the sturdy elder’s temples, his voice warping with extreme fear.

"If you dare to touch me, the Cangsong Temple will never let you go! The Grandmaster experts of my temple will tear you to pieces!"

The masked elder stopped. His calm eyes stared at the sturdy elder, and an old, flat voice emerged from under the Bronze Mask:

"The Cangsong Temple?"

"That’s right!"

The sturdy elder seemed to have grasped a lifeline. He spoke rapidly, his voice urgent with a bravado that concealed his inner terror.

"My Cangsong Temple is a top-level faction with a Grandmaster presiding over it! If you let me go, I will never pursue this matter! The Magical Soldier Soft Armor is yours, too! I swear—"

"So what if there’s a Grandmaster? Once I devour your Essence Qi, I will be able to break through and become a Grandmaster myself."

"Besides, the Cangsong Temple may not even be able to trace this back to me. And even if they do, I have nothing to fear."

The masked elder interrupted the sturdy elder, speaking flatly.

The sturdy elder’s words caught in his throat, a trace of bewilderment flashing in his eyes.

The masked elder gave him no further chance to speak, slowly placing his palm on the sturdy elder’s head.

The sturdy elder’s body shuddered violently and began to tremble.

His body shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His full muscles were like soil drained of all water, shrinking and collapsing inch by inch.

His bronze skin lost its luster, turning dry and sallow, clinging tightly to his bones.

His face, already twisted in fear, caved in grotesquely. His cheekbones jutted out, his eye sockets sank into deep hollows, and the pupils of his once-sharp eyes gradually dilated as their light quickly faded.

A torrent of blood-red Essence Qi, so dense it was almost tangible, surged up the masked elder’s arm and into his body.

In just a few moments, the sturdy elder had turned into a light, desiccated corpse. The masked elder released his hand, and the corpse slumped to the ground with the dull thud of a falling log.

BOOM—!

The masked elder stood with his hands behind his back. Beneath the Bronze Mask, his once-calm eyes suddenly flared with a brilliant light.

A terrifying and indescribably vast aura erupted from his body like a long-dormant volcano. The aura tore through the night sky, sweeping out for miles.

Wherever it passed, sand and stones flew, and gravel shot through the air. Rubble tumbled from the cliffs on either side of the valley. The surrounding air seemed to have been completely sucked out in that instant, and even the moonlight appeared to dim.

His blood and qi boiled, his Inner Qi transformed, and his spirit ascended.

The threshold to the Grandmaster realm, which had held him back for so many years, was finally and completely shattered at this moment.

He could clearly feel his very level of existence undergoing a qualitative leap—it was the sudden enlightenment that came after breaking through the three gates of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. It was a change in his most fundamental power.

"So this is the power of a Grandmaster."

The masked elder looked down at his own withered, branch-like hands, a low, gratified laugh echoing from beneath his Bronze Mask.

The laughter wasn’t loud, but it reverberated through the deathly silent valley, shaking the loose stones.

This was a Grandmaster, a being powerful enough to establish a sect and command respect throughout an entire county.

’The Cangsong Temple? Some Grandmaster expert? From now on, I am a Grandmaster myself.’

A figure emerged from the shadows at the edge of the valley. It was a woman, also wearing a Bronze Mask.

She walked before the elder and knelt on one knee, her voice filled with irrepressible excitement and awe:

"Congratulations, Great Elder, on achieving the Grandmaster realm!"

The woman looked up, her visible eyes, framed by the Bronze Mask, glowing with an indescribable fervor in the moonlight.

"From now on, our sect will be a top-level faction with its own Grandmaster."

Her voice trembled slightly, a tremor filled with ecstasy, longing, and above all, the pride of having witnessed and participated in a historic moment.

The masked elder slowly raised his head. His brilliant, shining eyes gazed through the Bronze Mask toward the distant mountains swallowed by the night.

After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice calm yet resolute:

"This is only the beginning. With the Holy Skill, a top-level faction will by no means be the pinnacle for our sect."

...

「A few days later, in the morning.」

’Only a few left!’

Fang Han took a Jade Bottle from his robes. The few remaining Celestial Essence Pills inside were all he had left.

He uncorked the bottle, tipped one out, and put it in his mouth.

The Elixir dissolved the moment it entered his mouth, and a gentle Medicinal Power spread through his abdomen. He closed his eyes and began to slowly circulate the Cyan Profound Technique.

Azure-gold Inner Qi coursed through his meridians, capturing, absorbing, and refining the Celestial Essence Pill’s Medicinal Power strand by strand. It was converted into his own Inner Qi, which flowed into his meridians and then poured into the Jingming acupoint.

His Cultivation had been steadily increasing over the past few days. The Inner Qi in his Jingming acupoint was already more than ninety percent full, just one final step away from the bottleneck leading to Second Grade.

Time passed in silence.

After an unknown amount of time, Fang Han sank his consciousness into his body and could clearly "see" that the misty, azure-gold Inner Qi in his Jingming acupoint had completely filled the last remaining space.

BUZZ—

A faint tremor that only he could perceive emanated from within his Jingming acupoint.

The overflowing Inner Qi was like a full pond, spontaneously flowing toward the next acupoint—the Tinggong Acupoint.

An invisible yet tough barrier lay between the Inner Qi and the Tinggong Acupoint.

Fang Han’s expression was calm. With a slight shift of his will, the Inner Qi in his body began to compress and condense, forming sharp "drills." Following the breakthrough method of the Cyan Profound Technique, he slammed them fiercely against the barrier.

BOOM—

The barrier visibly shook after the first impact.

Fang Han remained calm and unhurried, guiding his Inner Qi to strike again and again.

With his current Root Bone Talent amplified 256 times, even a major bottleneck like the one between the Late Stage of Third Grade and Second Grade could hardly pose a significant obstacle.

Each impact added more cracks to the barrier, making it increasingly unstable.

The remaining Medicinal Power of the Celestial Essence Pill was rapidly consumed during the assault, transforming into wave after wave of immense Inner Qi.

Soon—

CRACK!

A crisp shattering sound, originating from the depths of his very life source, echoed in his senses.

The invisible barrier blocking the Tinggong Acupoint shattered in response.

The immense Inner Qi that had been building up for so long surged like a bursting dam, joyfully pouring into the newly opened Tinggong Acupoint.

BOOM—!

The aura around Fang Han’s body exploded outwards like a volcanic eruption.

The aura was countless times stronger than that of the Late Stage of Third Grade, kicking up an invisible wave of air in the Quiet Chamber.

The curling wisps of smoke from the Sandalwood Incense Burner were scattered and thrown into disarray by the wave, and the window lattice creaked faintly.

Outside, Qiu Lan was crossing the courtyard with a pot of freshly brewed tea.

When the terrifying aura suddenly hit her, she felt her breath catch, as if an invisible hand was squeezing her chest.

The teapot in her hands shook violently before tipping over and shattering on the stone pavement.

Her face paled instantly. Her legs gave way, and she became unsteady, barely managing to avoid falling by quickly grabbing onto the stone table in the courtyard.

She tried to call out but found it extremely difficult to even make a sound, as if an invisible hand was choking her.

The two Maids under the corridor were in an even worse state.

One had collapsed to the ground, her broom rolling to the side, while the other was sprawled on the stone steps, her face as white as a sheet.

The aura came as quickly as it went, receding swiftly like an ebbing tide.

Qiu Lan gasped for air, leaning on the stone table, the back of her clothes soaked with cold sweat.