Chapter 646: Chapter 417: Reveal

"Bullshit! He was just cornered by Du Ziming. He’s burning his bridges for a desperate breakthrough."

"Suffering just to save face. He’ll be crying when he realizes he wasted twelve days."

"Du Ziming is truly insidious. With just a few lighthearted words, he made Xu Yang waste twelve days in the Spirit Tower for nothing."

As Xu Yang’s figure vanished from the Battle Tower, discussions immediately erupted outside. Everyone felt that Xu Yang had acted impulsively. It was absolutely impossible to break through to the Celestial Essence Third Layer during one’s very first Closed-door Cultivation attempt. The twelve days should have been divided across multiple sessions. The news quickly spread throughout the Celestial Strategy Academy. Many people eagerly waited to see Xu Yang sick with regret.

"Using all twelve days at once... Why does this kid always do such unwise things?"

Under the ancient pine tree, Jin Yu shook his head and poured Chu Nanguai a cup of tea. Clearly, he also didn’t believe Xu Yang could break through to the Celestial Essence Third Layer.

"It was indeed a bit reckless," Chu Nanguai said with a smile.

Jin Yu paused. "You don’t have faith in him either?"

Chu Nanguai shook his head. "I was referring to him falling for Du Ziming’s taunts. As for whether he breaks through or not, who can say for sure? Before, everyone thought he had died in Jade Dragon Mountain, yet he still returned completely fine. He even managed to harvest a stalk of Starlight Grass."

Inside the Spirit Tower, Xu Yang immersed himself in a frenzy of cultivation. He unleashed his Spirit Bone and circulated the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture to its absolute limits, frantically refining Spiritual Qi.

One day!

Two days!

In the outside world, thanks to Du Ziming’s deliberate propaganda, many people learned about Xu Yang’s Closed-door Cultivation and his delusional attempt to break through to the Celestial Essence Third Layer on his first try.

In the blink of an eye, the twelve days were up.

Early that morning, Du Ziming gathered Lu Ren, Fang Xu, and a few others. They arrived at the Spirit Tower bright and early, waiting to watch a joke unfold.

"That’s quite a crowd!" Du Ziming swept his gaze around and realized many people had shown up. Normally, the Spirit Tower only saw twenty or thirty people a day. Today, however, there were nearly a hundred, all here to witness whether Xu Yang would break through.

"If his breakthrough fails, he’s going to lose an enormous amount of face," Fang Xu sneered.

"Just wait for the show. I’m going to mock him to death in a bit," Du Ziming said, practically buzzing with impatience. He had been spreading the news everywhere over the past few days, all for this very moment.

"What if he successfully breaks through?" Lu Ren suddenly asked, remembering the terror Xu Yang had instilled in him.

Du Ziming’s expression shifted slightly. "It’s impossible for him to break through. Absolutely impossible."

Lu Ren didn’t say anything else, but an ominous premonition settled in his heart. It seemed that every time he thought something was impossible, Xu Yang ended up achieving it anyway.

Inside the Spirit Tower, Xu Yang kept track of the time. He opened his eyes from his cultivation, his surging aura gradually settling as the fluctuations from his Spirit Bone also subsided.

[Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture · Third Layer (8027/10000)]

It was exactly as he had expected. The progress of the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture had just barely surpassed the eight thousand mark, still a short distance away from Perfection.

He thought, "Time’s up."

With a thought, he activated the Formless Thousand Illusion Skill. He suppressed his nearly perfected Celestial Essence Third Layer aura down to a level that made it look like he had just barely broken through. Pushing the door open, he strode out of the secret chamber.

"Xu Yang is coming out!" someone suddenly shouted from outside the Spirit Tower.

SWOOSH! Everyone’s gaze whipped toward the entrance. They saw Xu Yang radiating a surging, tyrannical aura that seemed impossible to contain, causing the surrounding Power of Heaven and Earth to churn wildly. As he strode out, his Celestial Essence Third Layer aura spread outward. The pressure was so intense that many of those who only possessed a Celestial Essence First Level Cultivation were forced to stumble backward, expressions of sheer discomfort twisting their faces.

"Celestial Essence Third Layer... He broke through!" Voices filled with disbelief rang out as everyone’s eyes widened in shock.

"He actually did it!"

"Xu Yang wasn’t bragging! He really pulled it off!"

"It’s hilarious how some people were laughing at him. They aren’t laughing now."

"Turns out we were the clowns all along."

All sorts of voices echoed through the crowd. Those who had eagerly gathered to watch a spectacle felt as though their faces had been slapped—SMACK! SMACK! Celestial Essence Third Layer! They had been in the Celestial Strategy Academy for nearly a year and a half. Aside from the second-tier geniuses, only Liu Gao had broken through. Xu Yang was the second. Even outside the Celestial Strategy Academy, across the vast Yun Province, an expert at the Celestial Essence Third Layer could be considered a formidable minor master.

"Congratulations, Brother Xu!"

"Brother Xu, you really slapped some people in the face. You must have deeply disappointed them."

"Many assumed that because they couldn’t do it, you wouldn’t be able to either, Brother Xu."

True friends like Wenshan, Zuo Mu, and Sun Tao laughed heartily as they stepped forward. They congratulated him while simultaneously mocking Du Ziming and his group.

In the crowd, Du Ziming’s face was livid. He never expected Xu Yang to actually break through to the Celestial Essence Third Layer. Instead of laughing at Xu Yang, Du Ziming had become the jumping clown. The pile of sarcastic remarks he had prepared died in his throat; he couldn’t utter a single word.

"How is this possible...?" Lu Ren’s hands and feet went icy cold as that indescribable terror washed over him once more.

"He actually succeeded." Li Chuyang’s face was filled with utter disbelief. His own recent Closed-door Cultivation attempt to reach the Celestial Essence Third Layer had failed again. He thought Xu Yang would face the same fate, but against all odds, Xu Yang had succeeded.

"Celestial Essence Third Layer!" Fang Xu’s expression was the ugliest of all. With Xu Yang at the Celestial Essence Third Layer, the unease in his heart deepened. At this rate, Xu Yang would catch up to the strongest experts in the Fang family in just a few years. When that time came, wiping out the Fang family would be as easy as flipping his hand.

"Thank you, everyone. I never expected so many people to welcome me out of Closed-door Cultivation. I am truly flattered," Xu Yang chuckled, cupping his fists in response to Zuo Mu and the others.

At those words, the expressions on Du Ziming and his crew’s faces grew even more unsightly.

Immediately after, he turned his smiling gaze toward Du Ziming. "Brother Du, twelve days ago, you said you’d wait for me to speak to you with a Celestial Essence Third Level Cultivation after I finished my Closed-door Cultivation. To ensure I didn’t disappoint you, I gave it my all, and I finally succeeded."

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