Chapter 491: Chapter 244: Fusing a True Skill Characteristic, Talent Upgrade, the Final Assessment Begins

’When I broke through to the Tenth Layer Great Perfection, I noticed this strange aura. At the time, I thought it was just an impurity from my True Qi mutating, or maybe some special form of True Qi. I didn’t pay it much mind and didn’t feel it affecting my body.’

’It seems... this is the Myriad Phenomena Source Qi they were talking about—the kind that money can’t buy.’

Realization dawned on Jiang Che.

However, as for what Lin Xiao and Su Xiaoxiao had said about helping others refine their qi...

Jiang Che’s gaze swept over the two figures ahead of him, and he shook his head.

’Finding joy in helping others?’

’Sorry, but that wasn’t one of his hobbies.’

’The path of cultivation was a cruel one. Survival of the fittest was the natural Law.’

’When those two women saw that his "potential was exhausted," they decisively cut ties with him, even watching coldly from the sidelines.’

’The fact that they had fallen to such a state was a fate of their own making.’

’He wasn’t a saint, much less their father or mother. Why should he waste his precious Source Qi to help two irrelevant people?’

’To each their own destiny.’

Jiang Che averted his gaze and paid them no more attention.

Just then, Bao Da, who was walking beside him, suddenly let out a long sigh, breaking the silence.

"Sigh..."

Bao Da looked up at the sky, his usually cheerful, chubby face now wearing a bitter, self-deprecating smile:

"Brother Jiang, it looks like... the two of us are destined to be brothers in misery in the Outer Sect this time."

It turned out his current Realm was stuck right at the Peak of the Fifth Layer.

He was just a hair’s breadth away from the Sixth Layer, the standard for the assessment!

But that seemingly insignificant gap was like a heavenly chasm, impossible to cross. No matter what he did, he couldn’t break through!

For someone who had always considered himself a chosen prodigy, this was undoubtedly a heavy blow.

After speaking, as if afraid Jiang Che would also feel down, he forced a smile, slung an arm around Jiang Che’s shoulders, and boomed in a deliberately heroic voice:

"But it’s fine! Don’t lose heart, Brother Jiang!"

"With our skills, even if we go to the Outer Sect, we’ll still be able to do whatever we want!"

"When the time comes, we can still feast on meat and drink bowls of wine in the Outer Sect! We just have to tough it out for a year or two—maybe not even that long—and we’ll fight our way back into the Inner Sect! Haha... ha..."

He laughed loudly, as if trying to use this exaggerated display to hide his inner disappointment and frustration.

Jiang Che watched him quietly, then suddenly stopped walking.

"What’s wrong, Brother Jiang?" Bao Da stopped too, looking at him in confusion.

Jiang Che raised an eyebrow slightly, looked at Bao Da, and asked in a peculiar tone:

"You haven’t broken through yet?"

"Sigh... Peak of the Fifth Layer." Bao Da sighed with a wry smile. "I’m just one step away! I even took all my remaining Elixir Pills last night and almost coughed up blood from training, but that final step... it’s like a heavenly chasm I just can’t cross!"

He clenched his fist, then powerlessly let it go.

"I really gave it my all... But sometimes, you just have to admit your Talent isn’t enough."

"Wait a minute..."

The next second, he suddenly realized something.

’Something’s not right!’

’The emphasis of that sentence wasn’t on "haven’t broken through," but on...’

’The word "yet"!’

’You... *yet*?’

’And what was with that hint of disdain and confusion in his eyes?’

Suddenly, an extremely absurd possibility occurred to Bao Da.

His eyes flew wide open. He stared at Jiang Che as if he’d seen a ghost and stammered:

"Brother Jiang, what do you mean by that? Could it be... could it be you..."

"Could it be you’ve already broken through to the Sixth Layer?!"

Jiang Che didn’t answer.

He just smiled faintly, reached out, and gently patted Bao Da’s shoulder.

"Don’t move."

"What?" Bao Da instinctively started to ask.

However, before he could speak, a terrifying stream of True Qi—gentle, yet as vast as the ocean—surged from Jiang Che’s palm and into his body in an instant!

BOOM!!!

Bao Da’s entire body shuddered, and he froze on the spot!

His eyes widened, his pupils contracted violently, and a monstrous wave of shock crashed through his mind!

’This True Qi...’

’It’s too pure!’

’It’s too vast!’

’Compared to this, the Fifth Layer True Qi he was so proud of was like a tiny stream facing a boundless ocean—they weren’t even in the same league!’

’Moreover, within this True Qi, he could feel an indescribable sense of Perfection, as if it encompassed the Myriad Phenomena and was endlessly evolving!’

Having been in the Sect for a year, he knew a thing or two.

’This feeling... this aura...’

’It could only be the legendary...’

"Tenth... Tenth Layer Great Perfection?!!!"

Bao Da almost screamed it out loud!

He stared intently at his calm-faced friend, his eyes looking like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

’Jiang Che...’

’This Jiang Che, who was always so unassuming, who everyone had written off as "finished"...’

’had he actually, without a single word, reached the Tenth Layer Great Perfection that only the most elite Demon Fiends could even hope to touch?!’

’Is this a fucking dream?!’

"Shhh..."

Jiang Che raised a finger to his lips in a hushing gesture.

"Don’t talk. Focus your mind, calm your breath, and guide the True Qi."

Jiang Che’s voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable authority.

A jolt went through Bao Da, and he immediately snapped back to his senses.

He forcefully suppressed his shock, quickly shut his mouth, and began to circulate his Cultivation Technique with all his might, just as Jiang Che instructed.

With a flicker of his will, Jiang Che controlled that precious strand of "Myriad Phenomena Source Qi," guiding it through Bao Da’s meridians.

Its momentum was unstoppable!

The blockages and impurities that had been clogging Bao Da’s meridians and preventing his breakthrough dissolved rapidly under the scouring of this Source Qi, like snow melting in the sun!

Even his originally stubborn and unyielding Exotic True Qi was swiftly guided by this power, becoming obedient and assimilated!

A few dozen breaths later.

CRACK!

A crisp cracking sound seemed to echo from within Bao Da’s body.

The Sixth Layer bottleneck that had troubled him for so long and driven him to despair...

...was broken!

BOOM!

A new, more powerful aura surged up from within Bao Da!

The Sixth Layer!

He’d made it!

Jiang Che slowly withdrew his palm, his aura instantly retracting, and he once again returned to his ordinary, unremarkable appearance.

"HUFF... HUFF..."

Bao Da gasped for breath, feeling the power surging through his body. He was trembling slightly.

He raised his head and looked at Jiang Che, his expression incredibly complex.

There was shock, gratitude, awe, and even deep shame.

’He had been thinking of comforting Jiang Che, of helping him get by in the Outer Sect...’

’It turned out the real powerhouse had been by his side all along!’

’And not just any powerhouse, but a massive, heaven-piercing pillar of support!’

"Brother Jiang... no, Brother Jiang! I..."

Bao Da’s lips trembled. He wanted to say something, but found that a thousand words were stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t get any of them out.

’That was Myriad Phenomena Source Qi!’

He had heard rumors about it before.

There were people out there offering half of their future earnings, even willing to sign themselves into servitude, just for a chance at it!

And yet Jiang Che had given it to him without a second thought!

’This favor... it was too great!’

"Alright, stop being so sentimental."

Jiang Che looked at his friend, who looked like he was about to cry, and punched him lightly on the shoulder with a smile. "We’re brothers. I haven’t forgotten the favor you did me with those notes."

"Come on, the assessment is about to start."

With that, Jiang Che clasped his hands behind his back and continued walking forward at a leisurely pace.

Bao Da watched Jiang Che’s back, took a deep breath, and rubbed his stinging eyes.

He didn’t say any more sentimental words, just nodded firmly and swore a silent oath in his heart:

’From now on, this life is Brother Jiang’s!’

Then, he hurried to catch up, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Jiang Che.

But this time, his back was ramrod straight. The earlier dejection and anxiety on his face were gone, replaced by an unprecedented confidence and composure!

...

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