Chapter 222 - 221: Middle Stage of Sixth Grade
Chapter 222: Chapter 221: Middle Stage of Sixth Grade
"Top Martial Arts are a level between Top Grade Martial Arts and Grandmaster Martial Arts. They are also known as ’Half-Sector Master Martial Arts.’"
"Senior Grandmasters created them because they felt the leap for disciples to transition directly from Top Grade Martial Arts to Grandmaster Martial Arts was too difficult and vast. They are, therefore, a transitional form of martial arts."
Elder Chen Xuan looked at the disciple who had asked the question, nodded slightly, and explained.
"Their cultivation difficulty and power are greater than that of Top Grade Martial Arts, but less than that of Grandmaster Martial Arts."
"They are perfectly suited for disciples who have achieved Perfection in Top Grade Martial Arts, allowing them to glimpse the mysteries of the Grandmaster realm."
He paused for a moment before adding.
"The fifth floor of the Sect’s Library Pavilion holds a collection of dozens of Top Martial Arts, which qualified disciples can exchange their points for to cultivate."
"How many Contribution Points does it take to exchange for a Top Martial Arts technique?"
A disciple asked curiously.
Elder Chen Xuan stroked his beard and said lightly, "To exchange for a Top Martial Arts technique usually costs around ten thousand Contribution Points."
"Ten thousand?!"
A wave of sharp intakes of breath immediately swept through the audience below. The faces of many disciples were etched with shock and disbelief.
Ten thousand Contribution Points!
To ordinary disciples like them, this was an astronomical figure!
’How many dangerous missions would we have to complete? How many years would it take to save that much?’
Elder Chen Xuan took in all the disciples’ reactions. He understood but said no more.
’There are some things better left unsaid.’
’For ordinary disciples with limited aptitude, who might never reach Perfection in Top Grade Martial Arts in their entire lives, there is neither the need nor the ability to exchange for and learn Top Martial Arts.’
’But for the truly talented and promising geniuses, the True Disciples, accumulating ten thousand Contribution Points is far from difficult. They can rely on the Sect’s generous monthly ranking rewards or complete high-difficulty sect missions.’
’Resources, in the end, will always gravitate toward those with top-level Talent. It’s the same in every sect.’
Down in the audience, Fang Han listened quietly. His expression remained placid, but his heart stirred.
’Top Martial Arts... cost ten thousand Contribution Points to exchange...’
’I’ve already cultivated two Top Grade Martial Techniques, the Wind Shadow Annihilation Sword and the Flowing Wind Shadowless Step, to the Mastery Level.’
’With my Swordsmanship and Stepping Talent amplified sixty-four times, it probably won’t take me very long to reach the Realm of Perfection.’
’Once I reach Perfection, it means I’ll have hit a wall with Top Grade Martial Arts.’
’If I want my strength to continue improving rapidly, switching to a more powerful, higher-level Top Martial Arts technique is the only logical choice.’
’Looks like I need to start saving up Contribution Points,’ Fang Han thought.
’Ten thousand Contribution Points is no small sum.’
’Although I have a steady and large income of Contribution Points each month, the cost of buying True Spirit Pills for my daily Cultivation is also a huge expense.’
’If I don’t plan ahead and start saving now, I’ll likely find myself in a situation where I need to switch to Top Martial Arts but lack the Contribution Points to do so.’
’After all, given my Cultivation speed, that day probably isn’t too far away.’
...
The night was deep, and a profound silence had fallen.
Inside Room C-7, Fang Han sat cross-legged on his bed, his aura as deep and still as an abyss.
The Profound Wind Technique circulated rapidly within his body. With his Root Bone Talent Amplification at sixty-four times, his Cultivation efficiency was nothing short of terrifying.
Azure Inner Qi, like a surging river, flowed joyfully through the ten acupoints he had already opened, before streaming ceaselessly into the Jianliao Acupoint.
The Inner Qi within the Jianliao Acupoint was already more than ninety-five percent full, the sensation of pressure and fullness becoming extremely distinct.
As another surge of pure, immense Inner Qi was generated from a complete Circulation and rushed in—
VMM!
The Jianliao Acupoint trembled lightly. It had reached its absolute limit and could not hold any more Inner Qi.
The overflowing Inner Qi spontaneously and violently charged toward the next major acupoint—the Tanzhong Acupoint!
BOOM!
The torrent of Inner Qi slammed into an invisible but incredibly tough barrier, producing a dull roar that only Fang Han could perceive.
’I’ve hit the bottleneck for the Middle Stage of Sixth Grade!’
Fang Han knew with perfect clarity that his accumulation at the Early Stage of Sixth Grade was sufficient and he had now reached the bottleneck to the next stage.
He just needed to break through this barrier, and his Cultivation would advance to the Middle Stage of Sixth Grade.
Calming his mind, Fang Han resumed his Cultivation.
The further one progressed in Cultivation, the more difficult it became to advance one’s Realm.
The Sixth Grade was part of the Middle Three Grades, and the bottleneck between the Early Stage and Middle Stage of Sixth Grade was every bit as stubborn as a major bottleneck between realms in the Lower Three Grades.
However, his Root Bone had been improved by the Earth Core Stone Milk, and with the terrifying sixty-four-fold amplification, Fang Han’s Root Bone Talent had reached a level that could only be described as genius—no, monstrous.
The barrier that would take an ordinary Martial Artist a great deal of time and repeated attempts to overcome seemed quite fragile before him.
As he continued to circulate the Profound Wind Technique, he guided the immense Inner Qi within him to wash over the barrier in steady, relentless waves, like a tireless tide.
The bottleneck trembled violently, sending out ripples as fine cracks began to spread across its surface at a visible rate.
In just one hour—
CRACK!
A sharp, clear cracking sound echoed from deep within his body!
The bottleneck to the Middle Stage of Sixth Grade was broken!
The vast reserves of Inner Qi he had accumulated instantly smashed through all obstacles, pouring into the newly opened Tanzhong Acupoint in an unprecedented, exultant flood.
In that instant, the aura around Fang Han’s body exploded outward!
With the addition of the Tanzhong Acupoint, the eleven opened acupoints now formed a more complex, vast, and efficient system for circulating Inner Qi.
The speed and volume of his Inner Qi surged. Its color grew deeper and more condensed, becoming almost an inky azure, and its texture turned as viscous as mercury. The feeling of power it generated as it flowed was clearly beyond that of the Early Stage of Sixth Grade.
His bones let out a series of soft, popping sounds as they grew tougher.
His blood rushed like a tidal river, and it felt as if all his internal organs were being cleansed and nourished by a newfound vitality.
And with the opening of the Tanzhong Acupoint, a new Divine Treasure ability was unlocked.
’Visceral Guard.’
Fang Han felt a faint warmth spread through his chest and abdomen as a gentle yet profound power quietly fused with his fragile organs—his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—as if cloaking them in an invisible, resilient suit of armor.
Under Introspection, he could sense his Inner Qi spontaneously forming a very faint, flowing protective film over the surface of his organs, significantly enhancing their durability and regenerative power.
Unlocking this Divine Treasure would grant a Martial Artist a significant boost to their Life Ability, providing much stronger resistance against penetrating Inner Strength and concussive damage.
"Middle Stage of Sixth Grade... I’ve made it."
Fang Han gently clenched his fist.
Feeling the powerful, surging, and qualitatively transformed Inner Qi in his body, along with the unprecedented sense of security from his reinforced organs, a powerful wave of confidence washed over him.
With his current strength, he was confident that even if he faced a top-level expert at the Late Stage of Sixth Grade, he could hold his own by relying on his Mastery Level Flowing Wind Shadowless Step and Wind Shadow Annihilation Sword. At worst, he could still escape unscathed.
’Should I... strike again?’
The thought surfaced in Fang Han’s mind.
’Three of his subordinate factions have been robbed in a row. Chu Feng must be furious. If one more gets hit, he’ll probably go insane with rage.’
’It would be the best form of revenge for the way he’s been suppressing me.’
’And more importantly, I could gain a massive amount of wealth, continue increasing my Talent Amplification, and speed up my Cultivation.’
"No, now is not the time!"
Fang Han shook his head slightly, muttering to himself.
’Although I’m confident in my current strength, enough to handle even a top-level expert at the Late Stage of Sixth Grade or at least escape safely... ’
’...the difficulty and risk of silently infiltrating a place guarded by a Sixth Grade Martial Artist, knocking them out, and then looting a secret room are just too high.’
’If I slip up and get into a prolonged fight with a Sixth Grade Martial Artist, I’ll inevitably expose my signature Martial Techniques, which would very likely lead to my identity being discovered.’
’As for slaughtering everyone and then looting the place, that’s a path to certain death I can’t even consider.’
’That would cross a line, and it would undoubtedly bring down the thunderous fury and relentless pursuit of both the Government Office and the jurisdictional Sect. Given their immense power, even with my current Realm in the Breath Concealment Secret Technique, I’d have nowhere to hide.’
With that thought, he pushed the idea from his mind, closed his eyes, and resumed circulating the Profound Wind Technique to consolidate his newly achieved Middle Stage of Sixth Grade Cultivation and familiarize himself with his newfound power.
...
「A few days later, at noon.」
Fang Han finished his Cultivation and left Room C-7, intending to head to the dining hall for a meal.
Sunlight filtered through the sparse clouds, casting a pleasant warmth over the stone paths of the Sub-Branch.
He walked with a steady gait along a familiar path, his mind still mulling over a flicker of insight he’d had while practicing his Swordsmanship that morning.
Just as he passed through a bamboo grove, the voices of several Sub-Branch disciples talking in a nearby pavilion faintly drifted to his ears on the wind.
"Did you hear? Something seems to have happened to one of Senior Brother Chu Feng’s factions!"
"Happened? What happened?"
"I’m not clear on the details. I think... they were robbed. The losses were heavy!"
"What? Someone dared to make a move on Senior Brother Chu Feng’s faction? Who would be so audacious?"
"Shh... keep your voice down! I only heard because my distant cousin is on duty in the Law Enforcement Hall. Apparently, the news was suppressed, so not many people know..."
Fang Han’s steps faltered for a moment, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
After he had robbed the Huang Family, he had paid close attention to any whispers within the Sect, but discovered that the news seemed to have been deliberately contained, failing to cause much of a stir.
He had guessed at the time that Chu Feng must have used his connections to suppress the incident to save face.
’I can’t believe the news still got out anyway.’
He nonchalantly slowed his pace, walking toward an ancient pine tree near the pavilion as if to admire it, all while concentrating on the disciples’ conversation.
"If the news was suppressed, how did you find out?" one disciple pressed with curiosity.
"Heh, you can’t keep a lid on something like this forever!"
Another disciple lowered his voice, a hint of glee in his tone.
"I heard it was True Inheritor Zhang Yuan from the True Inheritance Courtyard who found out!"
"True Inheritor Zhang Yuan? You mean the one who doesn’t get along with Senior Brother Chu Feng?"
"That’s the one! It was all him! True Inheritor Zhang Yuan noticed that three other True Inheritor Senior Brothers—Zhao Wuji, Sun Mo, and Li Qinghong—had been missing for half a month. He found it strange and decided to investigate."
"And what an investigation it was! He discovered that those three True Inheritor Senior Brothers had been roped in by Senior Brother Chu Feng. They’re currently staked out at the family headquarters of Chu Feng’s factions, lying in wait to catch the thief!"
"He got three True Inheritor Senior Brothers to help him? Just how strong is this thief?"
"Who knows? But anyway, True Inheritor Zhang Yuan brought the whole thing to light, and now everyone knows! Senior Brother Chu Feng has lost a lot of face this time!"
The disciples chattered on, their voices filled with the excitement of gossip.