When he returned home, the lights were still on.
It was late, the time of night when Shen Cangsheng always came home to rest.
He pushed the door open gently.
Shen Cangsheng had just brewed a cup of tea and was resting with his eyes narrowed.
“You’re back?” Shen Cangsheng asked calmly.
“Yes, Father, I’m back.” The way they spoke to each other was often stiff and devoid of pleasantries, but Shen Fan could still feel the care in his father’s voice.
Shen Cangsheng opened his eyes.
He wanted to see what level of cultivation his son had reached after a month in the trial.
“Third Rank of Meridian Opening! Good, good, good! You haven’t disappointed me! With over a month left until the Outer Courtyard assessment, you can definitely reach the Peak of Meridian Opening Third Stage. Combined with your Minor Achievement in the Fast Blade technique, breaking into the top ten will be no problem.” Shen Cangsheng’s spirits lifted considerably.
Anyone else would have been shocked by such progress, but Shen Cangsheng himself had already been a Martial Artist at the Sixth Rank of Meridian Opening when he was Shen Fan’s age.
Thus, he was only slightly pleased.
Shen Fan simply smiled without saying a word.
His goal wasn’t the top ten, but the top three of the Outer Courtyard.
He said no more, intending to let his actions speak for themselves.
He took out three Essence Mushrooms, handed them to Shen Cangsheng, and then slipped into the Cultivation Chamber.
…
‘I feel like a racehorse,’ Shen Fan thought, ‘with an invisible whip driving me forward.
If I don’t run faster, I’ll be left behind.’
If he wanted to enter the Taihang Sect through the upcoming Three-School Joint Examination and defeat Guo Yaoshi to avenge his father, he would inevitably have to face the experts from the Three Institutes.
After all, it had always been the rule that only the top three contestants in the examination were qualified to enter the Taihang Sect.
The First through Third Ranks of Meridian Opening were the domain of Martial Disciples.
They focused on refining their physical bodies and strengthening their Blood Qi to give rise to Primordial Veins.
Their physical strength would increase from a thousand to three thousand pounds.
The Fourth through Sixth Ranks of Meridian Opening belonged to Martial Artists, who could condense Yuan Jin, granting them immeasurable power.
The force a Martial Artist could unleash with a Martial Technique powered by Yuan Jin was a world apart from that of a Martial Disciple using Primordial Qi.
With Yuan Jin, a Martial Artist could shatter stone and topple city walls.
They could also use it to form a solid defense, making them impervious to ordinary blades.
Once enough Yuan Jin was accumulated and one’s cultivation reached the Transformation Realm, they could project their Yuan Jin externally.
They could fill the air with it and take an enemy’s head from a hundred paces away.
It could even be condensed outside the body to form a suit of Elemental Armor, like a body made of steel.
This was the realm of a Martial Master, a completely different level of existence who could easily slaughter a hundred Martial Disciples and Martial Artists combined.
However, within the nine ranks of Meridian Opening, once a cultivator entered the Fourth Rank, advancing even a single small realm through cultivation alone could take one to two years, sometimes even three.
The gap in power between each small realm was enormous.
That was why Shen Fan, at the Second Rank of Meridian Opening, could challenge an expert at the Third Rank.
After all, the amount of Yuan Jin a Fifth Rank Martial Artist possessed was vastly greater than that of a Fourth Rank.
His immediate priority was to reach the Peak of Meridian Opening Third Stage.
It would be even better if he could condense Half-Yuan Jin, as only then would he have a chance to place in the top three.
That would get him into the Inner Courtyard, where he could smoothly break through to the Fourth Rank of Meridian Opening.
Furthermore, the top three were rewarded with a Kaiyuan Pill, which would give him a chance to advance to the Fifth Rank.
With that level of strength, he would have a shot at placing in the top twenty during the Inner Courtyard’s hunt and qualifying for the Three-School Joint Examination.
With the help of the Yin-Yang Divine Coin, all of this was possible.
He took a deep breath, calming his mind.
Inside the Yin-Yang Space, the Great Sorrow Palm began its deductions while his physical body circulated Primordial Qi.
He sank into his stance, struck out with his palms, and began to cultivate.
The refining effect of the Great Sorrow Palm, now approaching the Great Success Realm, was much stronger than it had been at the Minor Achievement Realm.
After a single set of movements, his Blood Qi roiled, and his skin flushed red.
Wisps of heat steamed from his body as black impurities seeped from his pores, leaving his body purer.
He took out and consumed a Body Tempering Pill and a Blood Qi Pill, then began practicing the Monument-breaking Palm again.
This time, he exhausted all his Primordial Qi.
Each move whistled through the air, and one after another, phantom images of azure monuments shattered beneath his massive palms…
Three days later, he gathered all his power into his right palm and slammed it against a massive azure wall.
A tidal wave of Blood Qi surged through him.
The Primordial Qi within his third Primordial Vein pulsed, expanding and contracting as countless streams of energy coursed through it, ultimately stretching all three of his Primordial Veins taut.
At the same time, the white Divine Pattern within his Soul Sea was now nearly forty percent illuminated.
He withdrew his hand from the azure wall, revealing a shockingly deep palm print.
It was several inches deep, so clear that even the lines of his palm were perfectly imprinted.
“I’ve finally reached the Peak of Meridian Opening Third Stage,” Shen Fan noted, his expression calm.
He felt neither joy nor sorrow.
‘The Martial Dao is without end.
There’s no reason to get complacent over a little progress.’
Now that he had reached the Peak of Meridian Opening Third Stage, he was not far from being able to condense Yuan Jin.
Shen Fan frowned in thought.
He wanted to ask his father for advice, but his father never guided his cultivation.
His only option was to go to the Library Hall and consult the books there.
Several hours later, he returned to the Cultivation Chamber, his expression blank.
The principles of condensing Yuan Jin, as described in the scriptures he had read, replayed in his mind.
Yuan Jin was born from Primordial Qi.
The process involved continuously condensing and compressing Primordial Qi until it underwent a qualitative change, transforming from something ethereal into a tangible substance.
To achieve this condensation and compression, one had to constantly temper their three Primordial Veins using their physical strength and Blood Qi.
The Primordial Veins were where Primordial Qi was generated and stored.
The stronger one’s physical body and Blood Qi became, the more effective the tempering process was.
This would increase the purity of the Primordial Qi, removing impurities until, after repeated refinement, it underwent that qualitative change and became Yuan Jin.
Advancing to the Fourth Rank of Meridian Opening would then be a natural next step, as easy as eating or drinking.
However, if a cultivator only managed to convert a portion of their Primordial Qi, with the rest remaining unchanged, the result was called Half-Yuan Jin.
Half-Yuan Jin was an incomplete form of Yuan Jin; because the Primordial Veins still contained unconverted Primordial Qi, its power was far inferior to that of true Yuan Jin.
Even so, a Martial Disciple who possessed Half-Yuan Jin was vastly more powerful than an ordinary one.
With these principles in mind, Shen Fan redoubled his efforts.
He focused on refining his physical body and Blood Qi, while simultaneously using that physical power and blood-qi power to temper his Primordial Veins, forcing the Primordial Qi within to condense into Yuan Jin.
Every time he cultivated, he would swallow a Body Tempering Pill and a Blood Qi Pill, letting their medicinal power spread throughout his entire body.
As expected of Cultivation Elixirs, once ingested, they transformed into a surging, hot current that made him feel as if he were soaking in a hot spring.
Aided by the medicinal power, he practiced the Great Sorrow Palm, condensing all his strength into every strike.
When he executed the palm art to its fullest potential, his body would heat up and feel full of limitless power.
「Three days later.」
Even a casual strike of his Great Sorrow Palm now carried its own profound intent.
A light push would rip through the air with a loud WHOOSH.
He had finally cultivated the Great Sorrow Palm to the Great Success Realm.
His physical body and Blood Qi had grown much stronger, and the Great Sorrow Palm felt as if it had merged with his very soul.
He used the momentum of the palm art to drive his physical and blood-qi power, and began to temper his first Primordial Vein.
Each attempt felt as if countless needles were stabbing into his Primordial Vein, causing him to cry out in agony, drenched in sweat.
Fortunately, his will was firm, and he managed to persevere each time.
Seven days later, the tempering of his first Primordial Vein was complete.
A single, glittering filament, like a thread of crystal, now swam within it.
He mixed this crystal-like thread with his other Primordial Qi and struck out with the Great Sorrow Palm.
It created a powerful whirlwind, and an incomparably potent force pulsed from his palm, making him feel indomitable.
With a single palm strike, a stack of seven thick, azure stone slabs shattered into dust!
‘Is this what an attack containing a trace of Yuan Jin can do?’ he thought in amazement.
‘The destructive power is incredible—several times stronger than I was before!’
Sensing the power of Yuan Jin, he felt his fighting spirit surge, eager to continue the tempering process.
Another seven days passed.
His second Primordial Vein was tempered, producing another crystalline filament.
He cultivated tirelessly, only stopping three days before the Outer Courtyard assessment.
‘Ninety percent of my Primordial Qi has been converted into Yuan Jin, so why can’t I convert this last ten percent?
No matter how I temper it, nothing changes.’
Shen Fan wiped his face, trying to clear his head.
He stood up and began to pace back and forth.
He was just one step away from completely condensing his Yuan Jin.
Once he did, he would dare to fight anyone in the Outer Courtyard!
But this final step seemed insurmountable.
‘That’s right!
The Inheritance Jade Disc will be opened before the Outer Courtyard assessment.
I might be able to find a solution there,’ Shen Fan suddenly recalled.
He left the Cultivation Chamber and strode purposefully outside.