Chapter 32: Breakthrough to Qi Condensation Realm and System... can be upgraded?

Then, through the fog of agony, a single thought cut through.

The system.

His eyes snapped open, unfocused yet resolute. His voice was rough and ordering inside his head.

’Transfer spiritual stones right now and here!’

A burst of light flashed beside him. Almost immediately, spiritual stones began to appear all around on the floor of the cave, rolling together into a mountain of spiritual stones.

Yu Liang didn’t waste a second. He reached out with both hands, pressed his palms against the nearest stones, and began refining them.

The energy surged through him instantly and it was wild and powerful. This wasn’t the purified energy of a pill, but spiritual energy in its rawest form and he greedily absorbed it all. The stones disintegrated to dust in his hands as he depleted their energy and picked up more to refine.

The heat in his body stabilized slightly. The trembling in his muscles also eased. His meridians, which had been on the verge of rupture, held steadyly as fresh energy poured through them.

But the demand didn’t stop.

Barely ten minutes passed, an incense stick’s worth of time and the entire pile was gone. Every single stone had been reduced to gray powder scattered across the floor.

Yu Liang still had difficulty breathing, and his skin remained red. The source of energy had already been exhausted, yet the process was not complete. Soon, his body began showing the same signs again, craving for more energy to continue.

He didn’t hesitate. ’More. Double the amount.’

Another flash, and the pile returned, larger this time. The glow of spiritual stones filled the cave, casting sharp shadows on the walls.

Yu Liang dove back in, refining stone after stone. His hands moved mechanically. Crushing them, absorbing them, discarding the husks. The energy surged through him in waves, each one pushing the tempering process forward.

His bones cracked audibly as they realigned. His muscles swelled briefly before compressing, becoming denser and harder. His blood circulated faster, carrying the refined energy to every corner of his body. Even his skin began to change, taking on a faint luster as impurities were forced out through his pores.

Time blurred. He lost track of how long he had been sitting there, surrounded by crumbling stones and drifting dust. His mind was focused entirely on the process.

Refine. Absorb. Circulate.

Then repeat.

And so, another hour passed.

Finally the last stone crumbled in his hand, and the pile was gone. But this time something was different.

The demand for more energy stopped.

Yu Liang’s body, which had been consuming energy like a bottomless pit, suddenly grew still. The heat in his meridians cooled to a gentle warmth. The pressure in his dantian eased, no longer threatening to explode.

He drew in a long, shuddering breath and felt something click into place.

The ’second tempering’ was complete.

His body had been refined again, pushed beyond the peak of Body Tempering into something stronger and more resilient. It wasn’t a named realm, it was simply a foundation that went deeper than most cultivators would ever build.

But the process wasn’t over.

The energy he absorbed hadn’t just fed his body. It had accumulated in his dantian, condensing and compressing, forming something new.

Yu Liang closed his eyes again as he felt the chnages. The wild, chaotic Qi in his dantian began to settle, spiraling inward, coalescing into a single point. The pressure built steadily and this time it was not painful, but intense, like a dam about to break.

Then it did.

The barrier shattered.

Qi Condensation — First Layer.

The sensation was immediate and overwhelming. His dantian, which had been a turbulent sea of raw energy, suddenly became a calm reservoir. The Qi inside was no longer scattered. It moved in smooth and controlled currents, responding to his will with a precision he had never felt before.

His meridians, reinforced by the double tempering, carried the energy effortlessly. There was no strain, no resistance. Everything flowed as it should.

Yu Liang opened his eyes.

The cave was a mess. Piles of gray dust covered the floor, all that remained of the thousands of spiritual stones he had consumed. His robe was soaked through with sweat, while faint traces of black impurities stained his skin. But none of it mattered.

He stood slowly, testing his body. His legs felt stable and powerful. His arms moved with a fluidity he hadn’t possessed before. Even his senses felt sharper, allowing him to notice every subtle movement around him.

He clenched his fist. The air around it rippled faintly.

Qi Condensation wasn’t just a step forward. It was a transformation. His body, his energy, his very foundation, all of it had changed.

This was just the beginning, but from this point on, he had truly set foot on the path of immortality.

Yu Liang walked to the center of the cave and took a stance. He then threw a punch, not using his full strength but only enough to test his newly enhanced body. The motion was faster and sharper than before. As his fist cut through the air, it produced a faint crack, like a whip snapping.

He paused, pondering the change that had taken place.

If he fought Wang Shen again, the same guy who had nearly killed him. It would be different. That opponent had been at Qi Condensation realm, experienced, skilled, and ruthless. Back then Yu Liang had barely survived, relying on desperation and a technique he could hardly control.

Now?

He ran through the fight in his mind, replaying each exchange. Wang Shen’s speed, strikes, the pressure of his Qi as all of it was still vivid.

Yu Liang’s lips curved slightly.

Twenty moves or maybe less.

Even if Wang Shen used everything he had—his full cultivation, his techniques, and all his experience—it wouldn’t matter. The gap between them had closed. No... it had reversed.

Yu Liang lowered his hand and exhaled slowly.

The breakthrough was complete.

Then he suddenly remembered hearing the system notifications going off one after another during after the breakthrough, but he had been too focused on changes that he forgot to check it. Now that everything was settled, his curiosity finally got the better of him.

Yu Liang opened the system interface.

The moment he did, a barrage of notifications appeared before his eyes.

[ Ding! Host has successfully broken through to the Qi Condensation Realm ]

[ Major Realm Breakthrough detected ]

[ System Upgrade conditions met ]

[ Host Status Updated: Qi Condensation Realm - 1st Layer ]

[ Upgrade Progress: 10%... ]

[ New System Function will unlock upon reaching 100% ]

Yu Liang stared at the notifications for a moment.

"System... can be upgraded?"

His eyes widened slightly before a grin slowly spread across his face.

Then, he suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! A breakthrough and an upgraded system at the same time?"

This was truly a double blessing.