In the cave...
Su Yang picked a piece of cooked deer leg and bit into it. ’So tasty.’ It had a bit of mild sweetness; its texture was tender and soft. He licked his lips as some juice leaked out. He then swiftly started the Phoenix Stance.
The flames surrounded him. They were virtual as he cultivated. "Just a bit more." He muttered.
Time ticked by as he completed a few rounds. He paused and glared at the panel in his vision, tilting his head slightly in doubt.
[ Su Yang
First Realm: Blood Qi
Entry: 99/100
99 Undying Phoenix Blood Qi Wisps! ]
[ Undying Phoenix Blood Qi Forging Art
Introduction 99/100
Characteristics: Nirvana Flames ]
"How come it’s still at 99?" he hissed. He checked himself with full focus.
’I’ve got 99 Wisps in my body, and the hundredth one is less than a quarter formed.’ He sensed warm yet cool energies within him. They were none other than Blood Qi Wisps.
"This deer was at Minor Perfection of the First Realm." Su Yang scratched his forehead. He couldn’t understand.
He recalled how tiger meat had pushed him close to a breakthrough from just 11, but now he had eaten more than half of the deer, yet he couldn’t enter Minor Perfection.
"Did I hit a bottleneck?" he yelled suddenly, as he remembered how his elder sister had answered him when he inquired about cultivation.
"How come some people get stuck at a realm while their kids surpass them in record time, and a few of those kids don’t have as much talent as their parents?" He had asked his elder sister, as he was puzzled by it.
This was very common in many cultivation novels. Many supporting characters surpassed elders who had trained for years with less talent, and many times, those elders seemed to have purposefully stopped training.
His elder sister did answer this with many reasons, like resources, mental state, and others. But one had still remained in his mind, as it could be the same as not cultivating, and even if one trained hard, it would be useless.
"Bottleneck!" he roared. He ran a hand down his hair. "I’ve hit a bottleneck."
His elder sister had clearly clarified what it was, unlike many cultivation novels, where authors would leave readers with just one word: bottleneck.
He recalled her words.
’A bottleneck is where a cultivator is hit by a limit. It could be the body, Qi, mental power, soul power, or understanding.’
He sat cross-legged, gritting his teeth. ’Bottlenecks appear at realm breakthroughs mostly, and those with weak talent definitely face bottlenecks.’
The stronger the talent, the less likely one is to face bottlenecks. Even if they face one, they wouldn’t be stuck for long.
He took a deep breath. "It seems I hit a limit in my body strength." He groaned in annoyance. "The First Realm is about strengthening the body to gain Blood Qi, which will improve the body’s power once more. However, my body hit the limit, no longer improving, meaning no new Qi Wisp."
He closed his eyes to calm himself.
’According to Sis, the most efficient method is facing a death crisis. It would shatter the bottleneck easily, but many would die instead of breaking through.’
He shook his head, not ready to risk his life.
"I should try another one." He stood up as his eyes shone with determination. ’Not as risky as a death crisis, but it still has some problems.’
Su Yang picked up the stone and sliced off meat from the deer’s carcass. He then began to devour it rapidly, not caring about the heat building in his body. Soon, he threw the last piece into his mouth. Unlike before, when he ate only a few pieces of meat during training, he now ate an entire deer.
His entire body had turned crimson as if he were burning. Even white smoke started to erupt from his ears, nose, and mouth.
Su Yang’s mind was filled with murderous intent, but it wasn’t as powerful as when he had absorbed Qi from a Monster Core directly.
He swiftly entered Phoenix Stance and flapped his hands like a bird as virtual flames surrounded him.
There was too much Demonic Energy within him. Phoenix Stance was refining it at an exceptional speed, but there was too much of it. The heat within him didn’t vanish; instead, it kept increasing, and his body was like a steady rock. Its strength wasn’t improving, even a bit. However, he didn’t care and kept going as blood leaked out from his nose and ears.
’Bottleneck pills would’ve come in handy here.’ His lips twitched as he finally understood why bottleneck-breaking pills were rare in stock and so costly.
Exactly. If he’d had a bottleneck-breaking pill here, he would have entered the next realm like drinking water.
Blood kept pouring out of him, but he kept moving in Phoenix Stance as his Nirvana Flames were healing him.
Time passed by as it took more than twenty hours to fully refine the deer’s Demonic Energy.
He lowered his head in disappointment as he sensed the last bit of Demonic Qi within him. "It seems this is not enough."
Just when he decided to try again tomorrow, his body sounded Crack! Crack! as if someone was popping their fingers.
He laughed out. "Ahahaha."
He stopped cultivating as he ran out of energy. He quickly focused on the window in the corner of his vision, which expanded.
[ Su Yang
First Realm: Blood Qi
Minor Perfection: 100/300
100 Undying Phoenix Blood Qi Wisps! ]
[ Undying Phoenix Blood Qi Forging Art
Beginner 100/300
Characteristics: Nirvana Flames, Phoenix Flames ]
"Yup! It worked out." His lips were still curved up in joy. "Forcing a breakthrough through the bottleneck."
Unlike the most efficient method of a life-and-death crisis, he had used energy to smash through the bottleneck. It wasn’t recommended, as it could lead to meridian rupture, organ damage, and more... even instant death if he failed to break through. However, Su Yang picked this method because of his Nirvana Flames.
"I didn’t take much damage as well." He rubbed his chin. "Except for bleeding from too much energy, there was none." His Nirvana Flames didn’t get much work.
He folded his hands behind his back.
’As expected of the Master’s technique.’ He couldn’t help but smile lightly. "Phoenix Technique had increased my talent."
It was, in fact, due to Su Yang’s increased talent. People with high talent could break through without much effort. The same was the case for Su Yang. He didn’t even force his body to burst or break through to the extreme, yet he entered the next realm.
"I’m so unlucky." He held his forehead bitterly.
Indeed, he was! Someone with such talent shouldn’t get stuck in the first place, yet here he was. Talented people could get stuck sometimes, either due to bad luck, Dao Heart, or some special situation.
But it didn’t stay with him for long as he glanced at the new characteristic he had acquired.
"So, for every realm, I’ll get new characteristics..." He rubbed his palms. "Phoenix Flames. How strong are they?"
He decided to test it out. He dashed out of his cave and searched for a monster.
Soon, he stood in front of a kangaroo, which locked its green eyes on him. They were emitting killing intent.
The kangaroo was two metres tall, with a brown hide. Its muscular legs were well-defined. It bounced up and down, ready to kick Su Yang the moment it got a chance.
"Let’s test out Phoenix Flames." Su Yang cracked his knuckles.