Chapter 202: Shocking, A Breakthrough Just Like That?

In the dim light of the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform, time became a vague and elusive concept.

The only thing in Chen Yue’s perception was the Inner Strength continuously surging into his internal organs. The sensation was both protracted and distinct. It felt as if a full day and night had passed, yet also as if only a few moments had gone by.

When a sliver of Inner Strength finally flooded his internal organs, completely shattering the barrier between the Marrow Refining Realm and the Refining Organ Realm, the boiling Inner Strength finally calmed, flowing smoothly through his wide meridians.

The intense heat that had ignited from deep within his body was like a receding tide, slowly retreating from the surface of his skin and allowing Chen Yue’s breathing to stabilize.

He kept his eyes closed, slowly exhaling a breath of turbid air. Then, he opened them, his gaze appearing exceptionally bright in the dim light of the hall.

[Refining Organ Realm (1/29259)]

Chen Yue glanced at the information on the panel, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

‘I’ve broken through to the Refining Organ Realm!’

For most Martial Artists, the leap from the Marrow Refining Realm to the Refining Organ Realm would take several years, or even longer.

But for Chen Yue, the accumulation from three days in the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform, combined with his previous non-stop daily refinement of Elixirs, had drastically shortened what should have been a long journey.

He looked at the line of information on the panel, not with overwhelming joy, but with the calm of a natural conclusion.

He knew he could reach this stage. He knew this day would come; it had just arrived a little sooner than expected.

Chen Yue sensed the changes within his body. Compared to when he was in the Marrow Refining Realm, his power had increased by a large margin. Abundant and solid Inner Strength flowed through every one of his meridians.

His internal organs were enveloped by that power, and every heartbeat echoed like the beating of a war drum.

He clenched his fist lightly, and his knuckles let out a few crisp cracks. He felt as if he could shatter a mountain with a single punch if one stood before him now.

Of course, this was just an illusion brought on by the sudden surge in power.

Every Martial Artist who had just broken through would experience this stage. The elevation in realm brought feedback of power far beyond the norm, but their Heart Spirit had yet to fully adapt to the body’s new state.

This would give rise to the illusion of ‘I am now invincible’.

Chen Yue slowly rose to his feet, positioning them shoulder-width apart. He raised his hands and began to practice the forms of the Ten Thousand Forms Tiger Roar Golden Bell.

This time, he didn’t circulate the Celestial Demon Burning Technique, nor did he actively draw upon the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. His only purpose in practicing the forms now was to perceive the changes in his body and gradually gain control over his surging power.

At first, Chen Yue’s movements were slightly stiff. He could feel that his power output was a bit more than intended, and the range of his strikes was a fraction wider than he had expected.

These minute deviations were signs that his body had not yet fully adapted to its new realm.

During the second run-through of the forms, the deviations had noticeably shrunk. His movements began to regain their fluidity and precision. The sound of his fists cutting through the air changed from a faint whoosh to a resounding boom like muffled thunder.

By the third time, Chen Yue’s techniques had returned to their former state of fluid grace, like flowing clouds and moving water. The placement of every punch, the speed of every turn, and the coordination of every breath were all back under his precise control.

Chen Yue stopped the forms and exhaled another breath of turbid air, a smile appearing in his eyes.

He had brought the surging power completely under his control. The feeling of arrogance from the recent breakthrough had completely faded, replaced by a steady, solid sense of command.

Only power that is completely controlled can truly be called power. Otherwise, it would be nothing but a pile of openings in a duel against a true expert.

In a true life-or-death battle, he wouldn’t last three moves.

Chen Yue sat cross-legged again, closed his eyes, and began to slowly circulate the Vast Heart Rock Skill.

That Inner Strength of Central Justice and Peace flowed slowly through his meridians. He carefully sensed his internal condition; his Inner Strength had been purified in the process of his breakthrough.

The slight sense of superficiality that came from consuming a large number of Elixirs had completely disappeared, replaced by the pure and solid quality of his Inner Strength.

The Cultivation he had accumulated in the Marrow Refining Realm had been reforged and hammered during the breakthrough process, then poured into his internal organs, becoming the foundation that would nourish them.

From now on, as his Cultivation continued to increase, the tempering of his internal organs would gradually deepen, and his Inner Strength would be continuously purified.

It was like iron being repeatedly forged and hammered, its density increasing and its impurities decreasing, until, when facing the threshold of the Innate Realm, the Inner Strength would reach a certain level of purity.

For all Martial Artists at the peak of the Refining Organ Realm, the greatest hurdle to entering the Innate Realm was, of course, the transformation of their Heart Spirit into Divine Sense, followed by opening their Innate Acupoints.

But in truth, when attempting to break through to the Innate Realm, one also had to pay attention to whether their Inner Strength was pure enough.

The most fundamental difference between the Innate Realm and the Refining Organ Realm lay in the qualitative change in the form of power—the transformation from Inner Strength to Primordial Power. It was a qualitative leap.

The fewer impurities and the higher the density of the Inner Strength, the smoother and more powerful the conversion to Primordial Power would be.

That was why so many Martial Artists remained at the peak of the Refining Organ Realm for years. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to break through, but that they didn’t dare to rush it with an unstable foundation.

Once they failed, the backlash would cause internal injuries sufficient to rob them of any chance for a second attempt.

「A night passed in the blink of an eye.」

Outside the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform, the morning light had just crested the ridge of True Inheritance Peak, painting the stone plaza before the great hall in a warm, golden hue.

The thin mist in the air was slowly dissipating under the sunlight, like a veil being lifted.

Two figures walked slowly from the end of the mountain path, their steps composed and light.

Meng Yu Jin wore an aqua-colored long dress, her hair pinned up with a jade hairpin. Her gaze was fixed on the closed doors of the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform.

Mo Ciqiu walked by her side, dressed in a moon-white long robe. Her steps were more casual than Meng Yu Jin’s, and she would occasionally glance at the flowers and plants by the roadside as if she were on a pleasant outing.

They walked onto the platform before the great hall and saw Qin Hongzhang sitting cross-legged in the shadow of the eaves.

Qin Hongzhang looked up, his gaze sweeping over Meng Yu Jin, then falling upon Mo Ciqiu, before finally returning to Meng Yu Jin’s face.

He studied her for a moment, then spoke. “You were here a few years ago. Now you’ve successfully broken through to the Innate Realm. Not bad!”

His tone was neither cold nor warm, yet it carried the approval of an elder for a junior.

Meng Yu Jin clasped her hands in a salute, her posture proper and respectful. “Greetings, Elder. I was indeed here a few years ago. I was fortunate enough to step into the Innate Realm recently.”

Qin Hongzhang nodded, a slight inclination of his head, and his gaze turned to the tightly shut doors of the hall.

“Is the Chen Yue inside your disciple? His foundation is well-polished, but coming to the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform with a Marrow Refining Realm Cultivation is a bit of a waste.

“The concentration of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi here is too high for him. The amount he can absorb and process is limited. Most of it just flows through his body once and is lost, not truly utilized.”

Mo Ciqiu laughed, her voice light and cheerful. “Elder Qin, that Chen Yue is going to challenge the Liuyun Sword Sect’s Sword Heart Ranking with his blade in about twenty days. Naturally, he has to take this chance to raise his Cultivation. Who cares if it’s wasteful or not?”

Qin Hongzhang was taken aback by her words. He had been guarding the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform for a long time, watching over this great hall, and knew almost nothing about the Sect’s affairs, nor did he have any interest in them.

‘But a disciple in the Marrow Refining Realm is going to challenge the Liuyun Sword Sect’s Sword Heart Ranking?’

Qin Hongzhang was puzzled, but he didn’t ask any more questions.

This was his nature; he asked what needed to be asked and remained silent about the rest.

Just as he was about to look away, his brow twitched, and he looked up at the sky.

Meng Yu Jin and Mo Ciqiu noticed the disturbance in the sky at almost the same time. They also looked up to see a black dot rapidly expanding in the morning light, like a great roc piercing through the clouds, descending with a whistling momentum.

The next moment, Liu Zhengyi’s figure descended from the sky, landing steadily beside Meng Yu Jin and Mo Ciqiu.

He nodded at the two women in greeting, then turned to Qin Hongzhang, clasped his hands, and saluted. “Greetings, Elder Qin!”

A smile appeared on Qin Hongzhang’s face. His gaze lingered on Liu Zhengyi for a moment before turning back to the closed doors of the hall:

“That Chen Yue is quite popular, to have three Innate Realm experts waiting for him to emerge from seclusion. It’s been a while since a disciple in the Panshi Sect has received this kind of treatment.”

“It’s mainly because I like the kid’s style, and his cultivation method is a lot like mine back in the day. He’s been in the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform for three days, so I wanted to see how his training is going,” Liu Zhengyi said with a laugh, his voice filled with undisguised admiration.

Mo Ciqiu covered her mouth and giggled, her voice tinged with a hint of teasing:

“You’re also worried his progress isn’t enough and he’ll get flattened by the people from the Liuyun Sword Sect.” Her tone was lighthearted, but the concern in her words was genuine.

Qin Hongzhang smiled faintly but didn’t reply.

He glanced at the time. The sun had already risen directly above the mountain ridge, and the morning light now fully illuminated the plaza before the hall.

Qin Hongzhang raised his right hand and waved it lightly at the closed doors behind him. With a low RUMBLE, the two heavy wooden doors slowly swung inward.

A tide of pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi gushed out from the opening, like a released flood, washing over them with a warm, dense power.

Inside the great hall, the low rumble echoed through the empty space, shattering the unchanging silence of the past three days.

Chen Yue had been regulating his breath with his eyes closed. The sound made his eyelids twitch slightly, and then his eyes snapped open, his pupils reflecting the bright light pouring in from the entrance.

He stood up, his footsteps silent on the smooth stone slabs. He crossed the threshold and walked out from the dim light of the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform.

The morning light was like a drawn curtain, enveloping his entire being in a warm, golden glow.

Chen Yue immediately saw the three waiting figures in the distance: Meng Yu Jin, Mo Ciqiu, and Liu Zhengyi. Their silhouettes were clear and distinct in the morning light—Meng Yu Jin stood serene as still water, Mo Ciqiu stood casually, and Liu Zhengyi had a burly frame.

But the moment their eyes—whether it was Qin Hongzhang or the other three—fell upon Chen Yue, their expressions all froze in astonishment.

The aura radiating from Chen Yue was no longer the fluctuation of the Marrow Refining Realm from three days ago, but a much deeper, more substantial level of power. It was the distinct aura of the Refining Organ Realm.

‘He just broke through, like that?’