Chapter 333 - 330: Middle Stage of Fourth Grade
Chapter 333: Chapter 330: Middle Stage of Fourth Grade
Under the guidance of the Cultivation Technique, the Inner Qi constantly grew, filling the Zhubin Acupoint.
The effects of the Earth Spirit Pill continued to work, making the growth and condensation of Inner Qi far faster than usual.
Time flowed by silently. The only sounds in the Quiet Chamber were Fang Han’s long, steady breaths and the faint hum of Inner Qi surging through his body.
Four hours later, the last wisp of the Earth Spirit Pill’s Medicinal Power was completely refined and absorbed.
And at that very moment, the last sliver of space within the Zhubin Acupoint was completely filled with pure Inner Qi!
"HUMMM..."
A faint tremor that only Fang Han could perceive emanated from the Zhubin Acupoint. The entire acupoint reached flawless Perfection, the Inner Qi within so full it was about to overflow.
The overflowing Inner Qi spontaneously began to flow toward the next acupoint—the Taichong Acupoint.
However, the instant the Inner Qi touched the Taichong Acupoint...
An invisible yet incredibly tough barrier suddenly appeared, firmly blocking the rushing Inner Qi.
’The bottleneck to the Middle Stage of Fourth Grade!’
Fang Han’s eyelashes trembled over his closed eyes. He knew he had finally accumulated enough to reach the bottleneck of the Middle Stage of Fourth Grade.
With a calm mind, he unhesitatingly took out another Earth Spirit Pill and placed it in his mouth.
The new pill dissolved, releasing a new wave of immense Medicinal Power.
Free of all distractions, he focused his entire spirit on assaulting that formless barrier.
He manipulated the surging Inner Qi in his body, compressing and condensing it into sharp "drills."
Following the breakthrough method of the Profound Wind Technique, he used his unwavering will to fiercely assault the barrier outside the Taichong Acupoint, time and time again!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Each impact caused the qi and blood throughout his body to churn slightly, and a faint, throbbing pain spread through his meridians.
But in response, the bottleneck’s barrier also showed faint signs of shaking and cracking.
More than two hours passed in this selfless assault.
When nearly half of the Earth Spirit Pill’s Medicinal Power was consumed, Fang Han gathered all the Inner Qi he could currently muster and launched his most ferocious assault yet.
"CRACK!"
A crisp shattering sound, originating from the depths of his very life force, rang clearly in his perception, like spring ice completely breaking apart.
The invisible barrier blocking the Taichong Acupoint shattered in response!
The immense Inner Qi, which had been building up for so long, surged joyfully into the newly opened Taichong Acupoint like a bursting dam.
In an instant, the aura around his body erupted like a volcano, skyrocketing wildly!
Including the Taichong Acupoint, the seventeen now-unobstructed acupoints formed a more complex and efficient system for circulating Inner Qi.
The speed and total volume of his flowing Inner Qi increased sharply. It became deeper in color and as viscous as mercury. The sense of power it generated as it circulated far surpassed that of the Early Stage of Fourth Grade.
A marvelous feeling of being reborn, of his life’s essence having leaped to a new level, welled up within him.
’Wound Recovery.’
As the Taichong Acupoint was opened, a new Divine Treasure was also unlocked—one with the effect of "Wound Recovery."
With the opening of this Divine Treasure, Fang Han felt his Inner Qi become brimming with life. A gentle yet vibrant energy circulated within him.
He could feel that his recovery speed after getting injured would be greatly enhanced from now on.
While this wasn’t a direct offensive or defensive ability, it was extremely beneficial for endurance in actual combat and for self-preservation.
’Middle Stage of Fourth Grade, achieved!’
Fang Han slowly opened his eyes. A gleam of light, deep cyan and almost black, swirled in their depths before slowly receding.
He gently clenched his fist, and his knuckles let out a crisp CRACKLE. Feeling the increasingly vast and powerful Inner Qi within him, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curve upward.
’Now that I’ve broken through to the Middle Stage of Fourth Grade, my strength has soared again. If anyone tries to scheme against me based on my Celestial Pride List ranking from a few days ago, I’ll definitely be able to give them a huge surprise.’
Once his aura had completely stabilized, Fang Han rose to his feet and pushed open the door of the Quiet Chamber.
"Sir, you’ve finished your Cultivation. Should I have your meal served now?"
It was already late morning outside. Seeing Fang Han emerge, Qiu Lan hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and greeted him, while also signaling a nearby maid to bring over the meal that had been kept warm.
"Yes, serve the meal."
Fang Han was in a rather good mood and nodded slightly.
While Fang Han was quietly eating in his courtyard and consolidating his newly broken-through Realm, the atmosphere at the mountain gate of the Qingxuan Sect was somewhat somber.
A dozen or so travel-worn figures were passing through the towering mountain gate, their spirits low.
Leading them was a middle-aged Elder with a solemn expression—it was Xu Jing, the Elder who had led the team to the Seven Sects’ new disciple competition.
Behind him were five young disciples, four male and one female. They were the new disciples who had represented the Qingxuan Sect in the competition: Zhao Lie, Lin Xue, Sun Bufan, Wu Hao, and Wang Pojun.
The high spirits they had when they departed were long gone, replaced by dejection, unwillingness, and an inability to even meet the gazes of those they passed along the way.
The few Stewards accompanying them were also silent.
The reason, naturally, was that they had not achieved satisfactory results in the Seven Sects’ new disciple competition.
In fact, one could say their performance was extremely poor.
They had only placed sixth, just one spot above the perennially last-placed Baihua Valley, ranking second to last.
The news spread like a dark cloud, quickly enveloping the entire Qingxuan Sect.
"Did you hear? In this year’s Seven Sects new disciple competition... we only got sixth place!"
"Sixth? Isn’t that second to last? Only slightly better than Baihua Valley?"
"We were first last year! How could this happen?"
"Doesn’t Zhao Lie have Mid-Stage Eighth Grade Cultivation? How could..."
A mood of disappointment spread among the disciples.
Last year, the Qingxuan Sect had dominated the competition and taken first place among the Seven Sects. What a glorious occasion that was.
Who would have thought that in just one year, they would plummet to second to last, ranked only above the historically last-place Baihua Valley.
This huge drop was a disgrace that many disciples found hard to accept.
In the various halls and pavilions, the Stewards and Elders who heard the news also showed expressions of disappointment and gravity.
They, who knew more than the average disciple, had already anticipated that this year’s new disciples were weaker overall than last year’s, and that their ranking might slip.
But they never imagined the fall would be so drastic, dropping them straight to second to last.
More importantly, the ranking in the Seven Sects competition directly determined the allocation share of precious Cultivation Resources like the Earth Core Stone Milk.
A sixth-place ranking meant that the Qingxuan Sect’s share of Earth Core Stone Milk would be drastically reduced. This would undoubtedly affect the cultivation of future talent in the Sect, so they couldn’t help but be concerned and worried.
Inside the Sect Leader’s Hall, after hearing the report from the Elder below, even the impassive face of Sect Leader Chen Tianyuan showed a slight frown.
His gaze swept past the hall’s entrance, and his fingers tapped unconsciously on the armrest of his chair a few times. Finally, he let out a nearly inaudible sigh.
Deep in his heart, a trace of doubt arose regarding the teaching abilities of the Stewards and Elders of Hai Courtyard, who were responsible for instructing the new disciples.
...
"SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!"
Fang Han was in his courtyard practicing the Wind and Cloud Escape. His figure seemed to merge with the wind, like a fleeting cloud, flickering rapidly across the courtyard and leaving behind a trail of afterimages.
His Nine Swords of Sky Splitting had already broken through to the Great Success Realm. However, compared to that, his progress with the Wind and Cloud Escape seemed much slower.
It was still stuck at the Minor Achievement Level, a full two realms behind his Swordsmanship.
As the foundation for a Martial Artist’s evasion, pursuit, and maneuvering in battle, the importance of a Body Technique was self-evident.
This huge disparity had now become a weak point in his overall strength, and at critical moments, it could even limit his ability to display his full power.
’I wonder if the Hundred Treasures Pavilion can find any news about the Howling Moon Spirit Deer’s antlers for me from outside the county.’
Fang Han couldn’t help but ponder this as he was cultivating.
The fundamental reason for the huge gap between his Wind and Cloud Escape and Nine Swords of Sky Splitting was that his Swordsmanship Talent had been improved by a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure called Sword-Walking Grass, while his Body Technique Talent had not.
Although both had the same 128-fold enhancement, the external manifestation of his Talent was vastly different.
Unfortunately, the Howling Moon Spirit Deer antlers, which could improve his Body Technique Talent, hadn’t been seen in Qingyang County for over a hundred years.
He could only pin his hopes on the Hundred Treasures Pavilion now, hoping that Lan Yuexin could use their channels outside the county to find news of the Howling Moon Spirit Deer antlers for him.
"PATTER, PATTER, PATTER—"
Just as Fang Han was immersed in circulating his Body Technique, the sound of somewhat hurried footsteps approached from a distance.
The maid, Qiu Lan, walked quickly into the courtyard, clearly having something to report.
Fang Han’s figure came to a halt, transitioning from extreme motion to extreme stillness. He stood steadily on the courtyard’s bluestone slabs, breathing lightly, with beads of sweat forming on his temples.
He looked at Qiu Lan and asked calmly, "What is it?"
Qiu Lan bowed, her tone respectful and urgent. "Sir, Elder Chen Xuan has come to visit. He is outside the courtyard right now."
’Elder Chen?’
A trace of surprise flickered in Fang Han’s eyes.
Elder Chen Xuan had shown him kindness, taking great care of him back when he was in the Sub-Branch.
But since he had been promoted to True Inheritor and moved into the True Inheritance Courtyard, the two had met less frequently. He wondered why the elder had made a sudden visit today.
He didn’t dare to be disrespectful and immediately said, "Come with me to greet him."
With that, he walked briskly toward the courtyard gate.
When he reached the gate, he saw Elder Chen Xuan standing there with a smile. The elder was dressed in a green Elder’s robe, his face was lean, and his gaze was gentle.
Beside Elder Chen Xuan stood a middle-aged man, also dressed in the robes of a Qingxuan Sect Elder. He had a refined face, but his eyes held a trace of undisguised exhaustion and worry.
Fang Han’s gaze swept over the middle-aged man, and his heart stirred slightly. He had already recognized the man’s identity—it was Xu Jing, the Dean of Hai Courtyard, who was currently at the center of the storm.
The new disciples of Hai Courtyard had only placed sixth in the Seven Sects competition, ranking second to last. As the Dean of Hai Courtyard, one could only imagine the immense pressure Xu Jing was under.
Although Fang Han was inwardly surprised why Elder Chen Xuan would come with Xu Jing, he showed none of it on his face. He took a few steps forward, bowed, and said sincerely:
"Disciple Fang Han pays his respects to Elder Chen."
Then he cupped his fist toward Xu Jing and said, "Elder Xu."
Elder Chen Xuan had a gentle smile on his face and made a gesture to help him up. "No need for such formalities. It’s been a while, and your Cultivation has become even more profound."
His gaze lingered on Fang Han for a moment, and an imperceptible flash of admiration appeared in his eyes.
Xu Jing also managed to force a smile and returned the salute with a cupped fist. "True Inheritor Fang, my apologies for this presumptuous visit."
However, the exhaustion and worry in his smile could not be completely hidden.
"The two Elders are too kind. Please, come in."
Fang Han stepped aside to make way, leading Chen Xuan and Xu Jing into the courtyard and then to the living room.
He instructed his maid, Qiu Lan, to serve aromatic tea.