Chapter 573: Chapter 355: Breakthrough

Zhou Yong was stunned, completely forgetting about his promotion to Shopkeeper as a storm of shock surged in his heart.

The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion punishing Tao Hujin was a show put on for Xu Yang.

He never expected that upon Xu Yang’s successful Dragon Ascension, even past grudges would be dug up and settled.

Tao Hujin had merely stood by and watched. The order to make Xu Yang and Li Chuyang reconcile had come from the Pavilion’s headquarters. Fang Xinghai had only acted according to the situation, and the headquarters hadn’t brought up Xu Yang’s matter afterward.

But now, the headquarters was bringing up old matters and punishing Tao Hujin. Xu Yang must have done something massive in Yunzhou City—something so significant that even the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion couldn’t sit still and felt compelled to put on a show for him.

"What? Do you have a problem with the Pavilion Master’s decision?" Seeing Tao Hujin and Zhou Yong’s dazed expressions, Zhou Wei revealed a look of displeasure.

"We wouldn’t dare. We naturally obey the Tower Master’s orders," Tao Hujin and Zhou Yong hurriedly cupped their hands.

"Third Uncle, what exactly did Xu Yang do in Yunzhou City to warrant settling an old score?" Zhou Yong smiled and leaned closer. This Zhou Wei was none other than Zhou Yong’s third uncle. The Zhou Family, much like the Tao Family, had many members working in the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. Because of this, even though he was merely a clerk at the Pavilion, he usually dared to joke around with Tao Hujin.

Zhou Wei glanced at Tao Hujin and said, "What did he do? During the Secondary Dragon Ascension Selection, he killed Li Yunzhou, the genius ranked fifty-second on the Lingyun List whom our Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion had recruited. Later, he joined forces with Sun Tao and beat to death Lin Jingyu, a disciple of the Yellow Maple Valley ranked eleventh.

"Tell me, with something like this happening, shouldn’t Tao Hujin be punished?"

"How is this kid’s bloodlust so heavy?" Hearing this, Zhou Yong gasped. To think Xu Yang had slain two Lingyun List geniuses in a row! No wonder the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion wanted to punish Tao Hujin.

Tao Hujin felt his scalp tingle. Was Xu Yang retaliating against the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion?

"What about Fang Xinghai?" Zhou Yong asked curiously. Tao Hujin had merely watched from the sidelines and was stripped of his position as Shopkeeper. It was impossible for the instigator, Fang Xinghai, to walk away unscathed.

"He was kicked out of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion." Zhou Wei revealed a solemn expression. "Not long after he was kicked out, he went missing. The headquarters suspects he is already dead."

The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion hadn’t originally planned to punish Tao Hujin, but the moment news of Fang Xinghai’s disappearance came out, their first suspect was Xu Yang. Aside from Xu Yang, they truly couldn’t think of anyone else who would kill Fang Xinghai. After all, for so many years, Fang Xinghai had upheld the rules of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, only doing business and never forming grudges with others. The only person he had a grudge against was Xu Yang.

"Fang Xinghai is dead?" Zhou Yong was dumbfounded. "You suspect Xu Yang killed him?"

A cold sweat broke out all over Tao Hujin’s body. "He wouldn’t go as far as killing someone over such a small matter, right? Xu Yang was always known for having a good temper in the Purple Sun Sect." But on second thought, he realized that wasn’t right. If Xu Yang truly had a good temper, he wouldn’t have killed Li Yunzhou and Lin Jingyu in succession during the Secondary Dragon Ascension.

"It was no small matter. Li Yunzhou was ordered by Fang Xinghai to cripple Xu Yang during the Secondary Dragon Ascension. In short, this kid’s bloodlust is rather heavy. If you get the chance, kowtow and apologize to him. Otherwise, I’m afraid you won’t meet a good end," Zhou Wei reminded Tao Hujin.

"Strictly speaking, you are actually more detestable than Fang Xinghai. If I were Xu Yang and I had the power, I wouldn’t just slaughter Fang Xinghai—I’d kill you too. You were the one who approached him initially, but when he was deliberately given a hard time, you just stood by and watched coldly," Zhou Yong gloated.

Tao Hujin’s expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly cupped his hands toward Zhou Wei. "Thank you for the reminder, Steward Zhou."

Xu Yang followed his daily routine of Cultivation, only spending a bit more time on the Li Fire Technique.

[Li Fire Technique · First Layer (9851/10000)]

He closed the panel with satisfaction. It had been more than twenty days since he entered the Celestial Strategy Academy. Because he was re-cultivating, combined with the even more abundant Spiritual Qi at the Celestial Strategy Academy, the Realm of his Li Fire Technique—which had previously dropped due to the breakthrough of the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture—had now recovered. Condensed Gang Yuan surged through his limbs and bones, nearly filling every corner of his body.

"In half a month at most, I will be able to break through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer," Xu Yang thought. He stood up and hurried to the dining hall.

"Junior Brother Xu, over here!"

As soon as he walked into the dining hall, he saw Sun Tao and Jiang Fan sitting together. Accompanying them were Jiang Yan and the spear-carrying woman. At first, Xu Yang and the others assumed that Jiang Yan and this woman were sent by the Marquis Mansion to take care of Jiang Fan’s daily needs and meals. However, since Jiang Yan ate every single meal in the dining hall, they realized these two were likely guards sent by the Marquis Mansion who completely ignored his daily needs. Of course, many Lingyun List geniuses who brought servants also loved eating in the dining hall. Usually, everyone buried their heads in bitter Cultivation. The dining hall was crowded and served as a great place to gather information.

"Senior Brother Sun, Brother Jiang, Senior Brother Jiang." Xu Yang quickly got his food and sat down at their table, greeting them one by one. As for the spear-carrying woman, he didn’t greet her. In the beginning, he had tried talking to her, but she never responded. After a few attempts, Xu Yang no longer bothered to greet her.

"What’s going on with Lu Ren?" Xu Yang asked curiously after taking a seat. Recently, Lu Ren had brazenly joined them for meals. But today, he was sitting at another table with several people Xu Yang didn’t recognize.

Sun Tao glanced over and said expressionlessly, "Han Yingjie is here, that’s all. He’s worried that sitting with us will upset Han Yingjie. See that? The man in azure clothes sitting next to him is Han Yingjie, the son-in-law of the Song Family."

"Han Yingjie?" Xu Yang hadn’t seen him before, so he immediately looked over with curiosity.

Han Yingjie looked fairly handsome with his fair skin, though he had a very conspicuous black mole at the corner of his mouth. Sensing Xu Yang’s gaze, he looked up, and for a moment, their eyes met. His lips curled into a cold sneer, but immediately after, as if nothing had happened, he went back to talking and laughing with the people beside him.

"He wants to kill me!" Xu Yang thought, his eyes narrowing slightly as he retracted his gaze.

The grudge between the two of them went far beyond Xu Yang rejecting Han Yingjie’s banquet invitation and overtures of friendship. Back when Xu Yang had slaughtered all the Song Family experts, Han Yingjie had actually sent someone to warn him. At that time, Han Yingjie probably hadn’t expected that Xu Yang would be able to enter the Celestial Strategy Academy, let alone with a rank of twenty-sixth on the Lingyun List. Given the circumstances, it was perfectly normal for Han Yingjie to have murderous intent toward him. After all, Xu Yang had also wanted to slaughter Han Yingjie for a long time; he simply lacked the strength to do so.

Han Yingjie had entered the Celestial Strategy Academy as a Lingyun List genius. Even if he hadn’t yet fought his way onto the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List, with his talent, his Cultivation was likely very close to breaking through to the Celestial Essence Third Layer, if he hadn’t already. More likely than not, he had already reached the Celestial Essence Third Layer.

After finishing their meal, just as Xu Yang and the others were about to leave, a piece of news spread through the dining hall: Lu Wei had broken through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer. As soon as the news broke, every Basic-level Student in the dining hall was shocked.

In reality, many people had bottlenecked their Cultivation before entering the Celestial Strategy Academy. Over half of the students had already achieved Celestial Essence First Layer Perfection long ago. However, even for these one-in-a-million geniuses, breaking through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer wasn’t something that could be done anytime and anywhere. Celestial Essence First Layer Perfection merely granted the qualifications to attempt a breakthrough to the Second Layer. To actually succeed, one had to comprehend the true essence of their Cultivation Technique and grasp its Realm. For Lu Wei to comprehend this true essence and smoothly break through in such a short amount of time, his talent was truly terrifying.

"So fast?" Sun Tao was greatly shocked. His own Celestial Essence First Layer wasn’t even at Perfection yet, but Lu Wei was already at the Second Layer!

"In the future, I’m afraid Lu Wei has the potential to contend with Spirit Bone Celestial Prides," Jiang Fan said, equally shocked. The number one person beneath the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides was indeed incredible. If he could successfully cultivate a Spirit Bone Technique, or one of those powerful Cultivation Techniques comparable to it, he truly would have the capital to rival a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride.

Many people no longer had the mood to continue eating. They hurriedly finished and returned to enter secluded cultivation. Xu Yang bade farewell to Sun Tao and Jiang Fan, then headed back to his own courtyard. Outside, he ran into Hu Ping and Cao Guan, who had previously taken the initiative to visit and befriend him. However, the two who had been so enthusiastic back then now acted as if they didn’t know him at all, their faces devoid of any expression. Xu Yang had no interest in forcing his warmth upon their cold shoulders, so he simply returned to his courtyard and resumed his Cultivation.

A few more days passed, and news of Yang Ao, Gu Qingfeng, Huo Xiaochen, and others breaking through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer arrived one after another. Xu Yang remained unmoved. Backing these people were either Thousand-Year-Old Noble Families or major factions that didn’t pale in comparison to them. He didn’t have their resources, so it was perfectly normal for him to lag behind a little.

Soon, it was time for class again, but less than half the students showed up. Knowing that everyone was busy breaking through, Jin Yu only said a few words before dismissing the class. Xu Yang returned to his courtyard and stuck to his routine. In the blink of an eye, another half a month passed. Almost all the geniuses in the top twenty of the Lingyun List had broken through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer. Only Sun Tao, who had risen to prominence a bit later, had just reached Celestial Essence First Layer Perfection, though he had also entered secluded cultivation to attempt a breakthrough.

Xu Yang prepared some food and also planned to enter secluded cultivation, as his Li Fire Technique was on the verge of a breakthrough.

[Li Fire Technique · First Layer (9990/10000)]

"For this final step, even a genius with Perfection of Comprehension would need at least twenty or thirty days of grinding to comprehend the true essence of the Cultivation Technique. But I don’t need that," Xu Yang thought. He closed the door to the Quiet Chamber tightly and took out the Spiritual Essence Pill given by the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. He had no intention of relying on his own comprehension to grasp the true essence of the Li Fire Technique. Since there was a shortcut to take, there was no need to waste time comprehending it himself.

"Add points to the Li Fire Technique!"

As the thought arose, ten points vanished in an instant, and a massive wave of insights regarding the Li Fire Technique flooded his mind.

"Li Fire is a flame born of the union between yin and yang. It possesses both the scorching heat to incinerate the heavens and boil the seas, and the frigidity to freeze all things..."

Enlightenment swelled in Xu Yang’s heart. A transformation from extreme yang to extreme yin took place, and a bizarre aura emanated from his body, alternating between hot and cold, harmonizing yin and yang. In an instant, the Spiritual Qi in the Quiet Chamber surged, rushing into his body like a burst dam.

Inside Xu Yang’s body, the Li Fire Technique began circulating on its own. His Gang Yuan surged like dragons, and his body emitted a brilliant radiance, roaring like a mighty river. His flesh and skin glowed as his Qi-Blood rushed out from his pores, frantically absorbing the Spiritual Qi within the Quiet Chamber.

He should have gone to the Spirit Tower for a breakthrough like this. However, lacking resources, he had to carefully calculate his use of academy credits, so he could only break through in the Quiet Chamber. Fortunately, he had a Spiritual Essence Pill. Without hesitation, he swallowed the pill from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion in one gulp. His consciousness sank into his body as he drove the Li Fire Technique into a frenzied circulation.

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