Chapter 506: Chapter 288: Great Progress

"It’s about time."

Xu Yang had learned from his Guardian, Zhu Yuan, that both Jiang Fan and Li Chuyang had broken through. Of the fourteen stalks of Spirit Medicine, only the last one remained to be refined.

He swallowed the final Spirit Medicine, closed his eyes, and began circulating his technique to refine it. A faint golden light emanated from his body.

By now, because he had yet to obtain the successor to the Golden Gang Skill, the golden hue within his Gang Yuan had grown incredibly faint, almost to the point of vanishing.

Apart from its protective function, the Golden Gang Skill could no longer condense or purify his Gang Yuan.

’I wonder if the Celestial Strategy Academy has the follow-up technique for the Golden Gang Skill,’ Xu Yang mused, his mind wandering even as he cultivated.

He had a feeling that the Celestial Strategy Academy ought to have the subsequent Cultivation Technique for the Golden Gang Skill.

The Golden Gang Skill had been indispensable on his journey, allowing him to slay powerful foes time and again. If the Celestial Strategy Academy truly had the next part of the Cultivation Technique, he would get his hands on it no matter the cost.

Although the Li Fire Technique was also a Superior Technique, it wasn’t specifically designed for refining Gang Yuan, so it was lacking in certain aspects.

Several hours later, ninety percent of the Spirit Medicine’s Spiritual Qi had been refined. The remaining medicinal effects settled into his flesh and blood, where they could only be slowly drawn out and refined over time.

This was why it took him five to six days to refine a single stalk of Spirit Medicine. It wasn’t just to keep up appearances; it was mainly to ensure not a single drop of medicinal power was wasted.

[Li Fire Technique First Layer (8922/10000)]

Glancing at the panel, Xu Yang let out a long sigh. Though his strength had soared, he had now used up virtually all the resources he had accumulated over the years. All that remained were a few Spiritual Soldiers that were too hot to handle.

But even so, he was still about a thousand points shy of reaching Perfection for the First Layer of the Li Fire Technique. Relying on slowly absorbing Spiritual Qi from the world to cultivate, it would take him at least three or four months to reach that goal.

[Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture · Great Success (8657/15000)]

[Bright King Unmoving Body · Great Success (9511/12000)]

[Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength · Entry Level (9706/10000)]

[Canglang Sword Technique · Minor Achievement (5632/8000)]

[Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Fist · Entry Level (5783/10000)]

[Remaining Lifespan: 236]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 1223]

After nearly three months in seclusion, besides his Cultivation being on the verge of reaching Celestial Essence First Layer Perfection, his other Cultivation and Martial Techniques had also improved significantly.

The Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength was about to reach the Minor Achievement Realm. Once it did, activating it would double his combat power. This was currently his most important Secret Technique, and the one he had focused on the most.

The next realm for the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture and the Bright King Unmoving Body was the Perfection Realm. Progress had slowed to a crawl, entering a state that required a Water Grinding Technique.

Over the three months, the Canglang Sword Technique and the Black Tortoise Mountain-Suppressing Fist had shown the most improvement, even though he hadn’t focused much effort on these two Martial Techniques.

By cultivating with a large amount of Spirit Medicine, even though most of its essence was used to elevate his Cultivation, his remaining lifespan had still reached two hundred and thirty-six years.

Among Martial Artists at the Celestial Essence First Level Cultivation, there were likely few who possessed a lifespan like his, as it was impossible for others to have so much Spirit Medicine to raise their Cultivation.

He was actually being quite wasteful with the medicinal power. But without the Celestial Essence Pill Formula, he could only consume the Spirit Medicine in a crude, unrefined manner, like a cow chewing on a peony.

His Martial Arts Longevity Points hadn’t changed much either. Of the points he’d gained during his three months of seclusion, he used one each day to keep his body in peak condition and added all the rest to his Root Bone.

Unfortunately, the Spirit Bone he so eagerly awaited had still not appeared.

"It’s time to come out of seclusion!"

With a wave of his hand, he closed the panel. At Xu Yang’s command, a majestic aura erupted from his body, spreading beyond the quiet room and stirring the Power of Heaven and Earth.

...

In the dining hall, Gao Lin was getting a meal for Xu Yang.

His main duty while acting as Xu Yang’s Guardian was to deliver his meals on time.

"Junior Brother Zhu, hasn’t Junior Brother Xu come out of seclusion yet?" Gao Lin asked as he strode over.

Xu Yang had been in seclusion for three months already. To not have broken through after so long was making him a little worried. Generally, when trying to break through a bottleneck, the longer it took, the greater the likelihood of failure.

Zhu Yuan shook his head helplessly. He was also starting to worry about Xu Yang. Sun Tao’s situation was unique, and both Li Chuyang and Jiang Fan had relied on the Celestial Spirit Pill to succeed. Could Xu Yang really break through to the Celestial Essence Realm on his first attempt?

"Xu Yang still hasn’t broken through?"

Lu Ren, his face beaming, walked over. Hearing the conversation between Zhu Yuan and Gao Lin, he asked subconsciously.

He had been in seclusion for several months and had just successfully broken through to Marrow Cleansing Great Success today. His entire being radiated an aura he could barely control.

Zhu Yuan looked shocked. "You’ve reached Marrow Cleansing Great Success?"

When Lu Ren had joined Li Fire Peak, Zhu Yuan was already at Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement. Now, he was still struggling at that level, while Lu Ren had somehow already reached Marrow Cleansing Great Success.

Aside from his talent for forging, Lu Ren’s cultivation talent wasn’t actually bad. He was just unlucky. This generation not only had people with immense backing like Jiang Fan and Li Chuyang, but also geniuses like Xu Yang and Du Chuan. It made his own Martial Arts Talent seem unremarkable, reducing him to a mere foil.

In any other generation, Lu Ren’s Martial Arts Talent might have put him in contention for the top three of the Ten Heroes List. In any case, at this rate, even if he couldn’t achieve a Secondary Dragon Ascension, breaking through to the Celestial Essence Realm would be no problem at all.

"Just a lucky breakthrough!" Lu Ren said with a smile.

His words caused an uproar, and many turned to stare at him in shock.

After all, Han Feng, who was ranked ahead of Lu Ren on the Ten Heroes List, had yet to reach Marrow Cleansing Great Success.

Of course, this was related to Lu Ren’s resources.

Although Han Feng had been recruited by the Ding Family, the resources he obtained couldn’t compare to Lu Ren’s. After Lu Ren displayed his terrifying talent for forging, plenty of people had sought to befriend him.

After successfully forging a Half-Spirit Weapon, he had earned a great deal of Cultivation Resources by continuing to forge them for others.

And after he had successfully forged a Spiritual Soldier, the upper echelon of the Purple Sun Sect had given him more rewards. His current standing in the Purple Sun Sect, while not equal to that of a Peak Elder, wasn’t much lower than a regular Elder’s either.

"Congratulations!"

"The Secondary Dragon Ascension is still a year away. Lu Ren might have a chance to participate."

"Junior Brother Lu’s talent is truly enviable. His forging talent is exceptional, and his Martial Arts Talent is second to none."

...

In an instant, many people came forward to congratulate Lu Ren.

A wide grin spread across Lu Ren’s face. He clearly enjoyed the praise. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he looked at Zhu Yuan again. "Senior Brother Zhu, you still haven’t answered my question. Has Xu Yang broken through?"

Compared to the joy of reaching Marrow Cleansing Great Success, he was more concerned about whether Xu Yang had broken through to the Celestial Essence Realm.

Xu Yang had become his personal demon!

It could be said that half of his current achievements were due to his own hard work, and the other half were the result of being spurred on by Xu Yang.

"Rest assured, Brother Lu, Xu Yang hasn’t broken through yet. He’s been in there for so long, he’s probably failed."

Xiong Kun’s voice rang out, tinged with barely suppressed glee.

He knew Lu Ren well and understood that Lu Ren’s greatest fear was being surpassed by Xu Yang yet again.

Hearing this, Lu Ren let out a long sigh of relief.

His greatest fear was that just as he reached Marrow Cleansing Great Success, Xu Yang would have already broken through to the Celestial Essence Realm. As long as Xu Yang hadn’t succeeded, he still had a chance to catch up, given the resources he now commanded.

"Xu Yang hasn’t even come out of seclusion. How can you be so sure he’s failed?" Gao Lin snorted coldly.

"If he were going to break through, he would’ve done it already. He wouldn’t have dragged it out this long. He’s probably been too afraid to take the final step," Xiong Kun said.

"Xu Yang... Xu Yang has succeeded! He’s drawing the Power of Heaven and Earth into his body!"

Just as Gao Lin was about to retort, Yang Song’s trembling voice cut through the air. He ran in from outside, his face completely flushed.

He lived right next to Xu Yang and had been the first to notice the disturbance from the breakthrough. He immediately ran to the dining hall to spread the news.

There were many in the Purple Sun Sect who hoped Xu Yang would fail, but there were also those who hoped he would succeed.

Yang Song was on good terms with Xu Yang, and he was one of the latter.

What?

Xu Yang succeeded in his breakthrough?

In an instant, you could have heard a pin drop in the massive dining hall.

Lu Ren felt a suffocating sense of despair wash over him, his vision turning dark. ’Why? Why is it that every time my own Cultivation advances and I’m at my happiest, Xu Yang has to break through right after and ruin my mood?’

’Couldn’t that bastard just let me be happy for a few more days?’

"Impossible!" Xiong Kun shouted, losing his composure.

A moment ago, he had been putting on the airs of a calm and rational analyst, but now, jealousy and unwillingness were written all over his face.

"Yang Song, you’re not joking, are you?"

"Did he really break through?"

"His Guardian, Zhu Yuan, is still here getting food. How could he break through without any warning?"

...

Yang Song’s words struck everyone like a bolt of lightning, making their hearts tremble. After three months in seclusion, had Xu Yang truly succeeded?

"Senior Brother Gao, hurry over there! No one is acting as Guardian for Xu Yang! Don’t let anyone disturb him."

Yang Song had no time to deal with these people. His main purpose in coming here was to notify the experts under Elder Huoyun to go and act as Xu Yang’s Guardian.

"Junior Brother Zhu, let’s go!" Gao Lin shouted.

With a single step, he transformed into a streak of blood-red light and shot out of the dining hall.

He was in no mood to argue with a narrow-minded person like Xiong Kun. The most important thing now was to go stand guard for Xu Yang.

If someone with malicious intent were to cause trouble while Xu Yang was drawing the Power of Heaven and Earth into his body, it would be a catastrophe.

"Senior Brother Gao, wait for me!"

Zhu Yuan, the one responsible for being the Guardian, turned pale. Forgetting all about Xu Yang’s meal, he executed a Body Technique and rushed out of the dining hall after him.

"Let’s go, let’s go see!"

In the vast dining hall, no one had any appetite left. Everyone dropped their chopsticks and rushed out, heading for the Inner Sect Disciple residences.

The triumphant look on Lu Ren’s face vanished, and he gritted his teeth as he followed the crowd.

Xiong Kun’s face turned pale. A wave of regret washed over him. He regretted speaking so rashly about Xu Yang’s failure before the outcome was certain. If Xu Yang decided to hold a grudge, he would face dire consequences.

A Xu Yang who had broken through to the Celestial Essence Realm was no longer someone he could casually bad-mouth.

The group ran to Xu Yang’s courtyard, only to find that a large crowd had already gathered. A figure exuding a powerful aura stood before Xu Yang’s courtyard, forcing back anyone who tried to approach.

It was Sun Tao!

He lived directly across from Xu Yang. When he sensed Xu Yang’s breakthrough, he had rushed out. Discovering there was no one acting as a Guardian, he had taken on the responsibility himself.

Everyone stared at Xu Yang’s courtyard in shock. They could already feel the Power of Heaven and Earth surging like a tide, swarming toward the courtyard as a tyrannical aura spread out from within.

Those who had previously suspected Yang Song of lying fell silent.

He had broken through!

Xu Yang had really broken through to the Celestial Essence Realm!

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