Yi Xiaoxiang said, “The top disciples of the Sword Sanctuary of the World's current generation are the Nine Sword Heirs. They generally break through to the Zenith realm between the ages of twenty and twenty-five. You'er, your martial arts have already reached the Eighth Rank at the age of twelve. Your talent would rank among the very best even among the Nine Sword Heirs.”
Zhuang Xun nodded in agreement. “Mhm, mhm! No matter where I go, I, the Little Overlord, am always the strongest.”
Suddenly remembering that his master was only twenty-three this year, he asked, “Master, who is stronger between you and the Nine Sword Heirs?”
Yi Xiaoxiang lowered her eyes. “We haven't fought, so I don't know.”
The Jixin Courtyard Head sighed. “Must be nice to be geniuses like you. If I went back to the Jiyi Sect, I'd probably only be a regular inner sect disciple. I think I'll just stay in the academy as a Courtyard Head.”
Yi Xiaoxiang said earnestly, “A deacon.”
“Gee, thanks for the correction, Xiaoxiang,” the Jixin Courtyard Head said, her forehead lined with black lines.
A deacon? That sounds like a position for someone old and without potential. It doesn't sound nearly as youthful as being a disciple.
Zhuang Xun asked again, “Master, why are you going to the Sword Sanctuary of the World?”
Please don't let it be to avenge her father, please don't let it be to avenge her father... Zhuang Xun prayed in his heart.
Yi Xiaoxiang said, “To pursue the realm beyond the Zenith, and to pave the way for you and Ziruo.”
Pausing for a moment, she instructed, “You'er, remember this: the realm above the Zenith is called the Innate Realm. The full name of the Zenith realm is the Mortal Dao Zenith, meaning the absolute limit of what human power can achieve. To take another step forward, one must break their own shackles and return from the Acquired to the Innate.”
“Innate... I saw that name in the study!” Zhuang Xun said. “It wrote that those in the Innate Realm are immortal and indestructible. Master, is that true? Are they really that powerful?”
Yi Xiaoxiang replied, “I am not sure. However, I once heard my father say that those in the Innate Realm can survive even if their heads are severed.”
The Jixin Courtyard Head chimed in, “It's not as exaggerated as being immortal and indestructible, but it's close. When I was a child in the Jiyi Sect, the lecturing elder was over three hundred years old. Isn't that incredible?”
As expected, people from big places have seen so much more. This jump in realms is huge, just like how the realm after Qi Condensation is Golden Core...
Zhuang Xun asked, “Is there more? Is there more?”
“As for more... Auntie doesn't know either. After all, Auntie is only a minor First Rank martial artist, not even a Zenith.”
The Jixin Courtyard Head suddenly sighed. “Sigh, how difficult it is to reach the Innate Realm. The second most talented prodigy of my generation in the Jiyi Sect reached the Mortal Dao Zenith at twenty-two, yet it still took him nearly ten years to take that step from Acquired to Innate. Not to mention those Zenith martial artists who don't have an Innate Law compiled by martial predecessors to study; they can't even catch a glimpse of the Innate Realm's edge in their entire lives.”
“But little You'er, you don't need to worry. The Innate Law of the Sword Sanctuary of the World is universally acknowledged as the easiest method to break through to the Innate Realm. Plus, you'll have your master to guide you. When you reach the Innate Realm in the future, don't forget to tell Auntie how amazing you are.”
Zhuang Xun readily agreed and then asked, “What is an Innate Law? Is it also a martial art?”
Yi Xiaoxiang said, “No, it's more like a trick. It consists of the methods and experiences of breaking through to the Innate Realm compiled by predecessors who cultivated the same sect's martial arts.”
The Jixin Courtyard Head nodded. “Yes, which is why I said it's a pity Chief Disciple Bai ended up in our academy. Although the Principal's Formless Phaseless Sublime Method is highly formidable, it seems to be something the Principal unearthed from some ruins. There is no path laid out by predecessors after the Zenith realm. If Chief Disciple Bai wants to break through to the Innate Realm in the future, he will likely have to grope his way forward from scratch.”
“Sigh, even the world's top prodigies with an Innate Law to study still require over a decade. If they were left to grope in the dark on their own, they might waste decades, or even their entire lives, without necessarily achieving anything...”
That's because they're all mediocre... Zhuang Xun dismissed the Jixin Courtyard Head's words in his mind.
Let's set a small goal: break through to the Innate Realm before turning twenty, and then head out to roam the martial world.
...
“Ninth Rank mid stage, break through for me—!”
Zhuang Xun roared in his heart as he felt Yan Pingsheng's right-arm martial physique on the verge of being shaped.
He focused his mind to the absolute limit, staring intently at the Posuo martial physique that was about to form under the surging wash of his blood qi.
Pop. As the final part of his martial physique took shape, his body seemed to break through some sort of restriction. The blood qi within him surged of its own accord, washing through every part of his body as his strength steadily climbed.
“Phew—that was a truly satisfying level-up. This is what breaking through a realm is supposed to feel like.” Zhuang Xun picked up a strip of precious meat from the plate and stuffed it into his mouth, replenishing his depleted blood qi.
“Well, experiencing it once is enough. In the future, I'll stick to assigning points.”
Having exhausted most of his blood qi during the breakthrough, Zhuang Xun had no desire to continue cultivating. He prepared to go out for a stroll.
As he stepped out of his courtyard, he suddenly saw a figure both familiar and unfamiliar, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Xue Shiyu—the Posuo Courtyard disciple who had snatched Guichen's Qiankun Chicken.
Watching him and another man walk toward the outside of Hu He's courtyard, Zhuang Xun's heart stirred. Could he have targeted Hu He's fortuitous encounter this time?
Rate on N.U.
