Chapter Twenty: Breakthrough!

Yang Yan lay sprawled atop the massive boulder, clutching his abdomen as his breath came in ragged gasps.

This was already the eighth attempt he had made to break through. With each successive bombardment of gathered spiritual power, not only did the membrane within his Qi Sea remain utterly unresponsive, but he himself was left exhausted by the persistent itch that assailed him from within.

“This can’t go on like this…”

He finally understood: repeating the same impact as before was clearly futile. At this moment, he wished he could shrink himself down and slip into his Qi Sea, stabbing the stubborn membrane directly.

“Of course! I’ve truly been muddle-headed!” he murmured. Suddenly, Yang Yan slapped his forehead in realization, quickly adjusting his state and closing his eyes in concentration.

He calmed his mind, meticulously separating strands of pale blue spiritual power from the mist-like energy suffusing his Qi Sea, weaving them together and slowly gathering them before the membrane.

Thin threads of pale blue spiritual power entwined like filaments, eventually forming a spear-shaped construct, poised and ready.

Upon careful inspection, he found that, based on his current strength, after the broken sword absorbed his spiritual power and he refined it anew, he could muster twenty strands of pale blue energy—each as thin as a hair—which he now summoned, one by one, as his final hope.

“Go!”

With a low cry, Yang Yan willed the miniature spear of blue energy to launch—like a dragon bursting from the sea, like an eagle soaring through the skies—directly at the membrane within his Qi Sea.

With a muffled thud, at the instant the blue energy struck the membrane, Yang Yan felt a surge of searing pain, as if a blade had sliced his skin open and then peeled it away mercilessly.

Yet in this moment, Yang Yan was not dismayed, but rather elated. The impact of his spiritual power no longer vanished without a trace; this time, he had succeeded!

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Yang Yan gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain, rallying the milky-white mist of spiritual power within his Qi Sea and directing it in forceful waves toward the tiny breach in the membrane.

Thanks to the guidance of the blue energy, the membrane was now like a punctured balloon—no longer impervious. As more and more water-aligned spiritual power poured in, the hole widened, until finally the two ‘chambers’ within his Qi Sea merged into one.

“Hah!”

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth around Yang Yan seemed drawn by an immense force, swirling in a vortex centered on him and flowing ceaselessly into his body.

With eyes tightly shut, his face was radiant with joy. His robes billowed, hair danced in the wind, and he could not help but throw back his head and howl toward the sky. From his nostrils, two streams of milky-white energy burst forth, entwining and spiraling upward, scattering the fallen leaves in a whirling dance.

After a long moment, all returned to calm. Yang Yan slowly opened his eyes, and a faint, piercing gleam flashed from within, making it impossible to look directly at him.

“So this is the second stage of the Spirit Sense Realm… truly powerful!”

He looked down at his clenched fist, unable to contain the surge of excitement and exhilaration in his heart.

The sensation of breaking through was indescribably wonderful! Cultivators who achieve breakthroughs in major realms often trigger phenomena in heaven and earth—thunder punishment descending, crimson flames sweeping through—because the energy drawn at that instant is far too immense.

Of course, the commotion caused by Yang Yan’s modest breakthrough was as trivial as a fart compared to thunder—utterly incomparable.

He gradually suppressed the thrill in his heart, focusing his mind to examine his internal state.

At the moment of his breakthrough, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth poured into him, saturating his Qi Sea; in other words, the quantity and concentration of spiritual power within him had reached the level of the second stage of the Spirit Sense Realm!

Now, the depth of spiritual power in his Qi Sea far surpassed that of the first stage. The expanded space allowed him to absorb and store more energy, and each cluster contained more power than before.

Moreover, the pale blue strands of spiritual power that played a critical role in his breakthrough had increased from twenty to thirty—a full half more!

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This strength was nothing to be underestimated; after his breakthrough, Yang Yan felt more certain of this than ever.

Water-aligned spiritual power was inherently weak in attack, as evidenced by his previous failed attempts. However, the cold and mysterious pale blue energy within him could compensate for this shortcoming. Previously, because these strands were mixed with the water-aligned energy, their special qualities were obscured and difficult to harness.

Once Yang Yan realized this, he carefully separated the pale blue energy and gathered it into a sharp spear, finally breaking through the barrier and advancing successfully!

Gradually recovering from the exhilaration of his newfound strength, Yang Yan took a deep breath and glanced at the ‘broken sword’ beside him.

After nearly a month of spiritual power nourishment, perhaps it was no longer fitting to call it broken; most of the rust had fallen away, revealing broad swathes of silvery white blade. In the moonlight, a gentle halo flowed across its surface, evoking a sense of tranquil, cool elegance.

Of course, much of the inscription on the blade was now visible, though not yet in full, so Yang Yan could not decipher its meaning.

Having broken through tonight, Yang Yan felt a premonition; perhaps after absorbing the spiritual power he gained from this advancement, the sword would finally be restored!

At this thought, anticipation welled within him. He grasped the sword, channeling spiritual power into it without hesitation.

After a month of nourishment, a subtle bond seemed to have formed between Yang Yan and the sword. Now, the sword absorbed his energy no longer with greedy force, but seemed to yield some control and take care of Yang Yan’s well-being.

In other words, Yang Yan could now withdraw at any moment during the energy transfer, no longer drained to exhaustion as before.

With this assurance, all his lingering worries faded. If the sword had continued to disregard his limits, he would never bring it to the ‘Grand Martial Gathering of the Clans’—otherwise, before anyone else could act, his energy would be completely drained by the sword, leaving him powerless…