Chapter Fourteen: Breaking Through on the Spot

“Yes, Senior Brother Luo!”
Li Yang was a person of utmost simplicity, his mind rarely clouded by distracting thoughts. Once he made a decision, he would carry it out with unwavering resolve.

A faint red glow emanated from within his body—clearly, Li Yang had already begun circulating his vital energy.

Though Luo Tian’s expression remained composed, a trace of unease lingered in his heart. Since reaching the Qi Condensation Realm and becoming an outer disciple, the experiences accumulated during the Body Tempering stage, while not entirely useless, could at best be considered marginally helpful. Luo Tian was not entirely certain if the advice he’d just offered would yield decisive results.

If it failed, he would simply have Li Yang try several more times.

A subtle golden sheen flickered in Luo Tian’s eyes as he observed the changes in Li Yang’s vital energy, taking in every detail.

He saw the red energy pouring incessantly from Li Yang’s dantian, surging toward the two meridians Luo Tian had indicated, moving forward with unstoppable momentum, determined to smash through every obstacle in its path.

If one were to compare the meridians to waterways or riverbeds, then the newly accumulated postnatal impurities resembled silt and rubble gradually building up over time—usually inconspicuous, but liable to disrupt the flow at critical moments.

Such was Li Yang’s predicament. In his daily cultivation, his energy circulated throughout his body as his techniques prescribed, without issue. But now, standing at the peak of the Red Qi stage, striving to further condense his energy and break through to the second cycle, the sluggishness of his meridians had become the very obstacle preventing his progress.

Yet, once the root of the problem was identified and addressed directly, the solution was not all that difficult.

Under Li Yang’s control, waves of vital energy crashed again and again against the impurities within his meridians. At the Qi Condensation stage, cultivators had not yet mastered the inner vision technique needed to examine their own bodies; that would only come naturally in the Meridian Flow Realm. For now, Li Yang could only rely on his own sensations to guide him.

“A bit higher, and further back!”
Luo Tian narrowed his eyes, giving Li Yang the most precise guidance. “And here—move a little to the left. Yes, right there!”

Whenever Li Yang’s energy burst through a segment of his meridians, he would guide it back to the dantian to prepare for another assault, repeating the process over and over.

Li Yang had previously spent contribution points seeking guidance from others, but to no avail. To enlist the help of an inner disciple required an astronomical amount of points, especially for someone at the first cycle of Qi Condensation, so Li Yang had to resort to the most straightforward method: repeatedly challenging others in combat. All his recent gains had been poured into this endeavor.

But it had all proven futile, and his contribution points were now exhausted.

This time, with the Shen family willing to provide points for him to challenge others, Li Yang didn’t care whom he fought—after all, no one died in these duels. Who could have foreseen that his opponent would actually offer to help him break through?

Li Yang, straightforward as ever, had been plagued by setbacks and stagnation in his cultivation. Now, like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline, he seized this chance without hesitation—whether or not it was real hardly mattered. If he let it go, he was doomed; if he grasped it, there was a sliver of hope.

Even if it turned out to be a deception, what did he have left to lose?

Luo Tian… Luo Tian…

Uncle Wang, standing nearby, pondered silently. The name seemed familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before, but no matter how he wracked his brain, nothing surfaced. In the end, he could only let it go. All he could do was hope that Li Yang’s wishes would come true.

Luo Tian watched the changes within Li Yang intently, a faint smile appearing on his face.

So it was!

As time crept by, the vital energy within Li Yang’s body flowed ever more smoothly, especially in the two locations Luo Tian had pointed out. Compared to before, the energy moved with far greater ease—almost no sluggishness remained.

Li Yang seemed to sense this transformation as well; his expression grew more determined, a hint of excitement flickering across his face.

Of the dozen or so spectators who had been scattered around the dueling arena, half had already left during this interval. The few who remained were chatting idly in small groups, paying little attention to what was happening above.

But at that moment, a subtle fluctuation rippled through the red glow surrounding Li Yang, and a faint trace of orange appeared.

Almost imperceptible, but undeniably real.

Luo Tian exhaled softly. To be honest, he would need to study the lore of Qi Condensation more carefully upon returning. Otherwise, lacking basic understanding, his guidance would be at best ineffective, and at worst, could lead others astray—harming both himself and those he advised.

Li Yang was now completely absorbed in his cultivation. As soon as the postnatal impurities in his meridians were expelled, his vital energy surged without obstruction—like waves upon waves, constantly colliding, melding, and compressing.

As the impurities were forced from his body, they emitted an unpleasant, acrid stench. Though the quantity was small, it was enough to draw attention.

“What’s that smell? It’s awful! How could there be such a body refining—wait, did Li Yang break through?”
A young man below the stage, pinching his nose in disgust, glanced around for the source, only to notice the change occurring in Li Yang.

His words immediately drew the attention of the remaining outer disciples, who fell silent and turned their eyes to the arena.

By now, the orange glow occupied nearly half of Li Yang’s body, dazzling as the moon in the night sky—impossible to ignore.

Though it was not yet fully dark, the orange radiance was impossible to look away from.

It was utterly astonishing.

Everyone on Ziyang Mountain, the gathering place for the outer disciples of the Divine Sun Sect, knew Li Yang as a fool—a menial who had spent ages failing to complete body refinement, only succeeding through his family’s intervention, which had secured him a servant’s position on Ziyang Mountain. There, bathed in abundant spiritual energy, he managed to succeed at last.

Otherwise, the number one good-for-nothing among the servants could never have become Luo Tian’s opponent.

But even after becoming an outer disciple, Li Yang had remained stalled at the first cycle of Qi Condensation for two or three years—a feat of incompetence, considering others took half a year or a year to pass this stage.

And yet, this universally acknowledged failure, under Luo Tian’s guidance, had just succeeded in breaking through to the second cycle and the Orange Qi stage.

Could this really be Luo Tian’s doing?

No, it had to be the result of long accumulation!

No matter how hopeless Li Yang was, he had been soaking in the spiritual energy of Ziyang Mountain all this time. Lacking talent, perhaps, but not resources—surely it was a case of quantity producing quality.

The handful of remaining outer disciples exchanged glances, their eyes flickering—they all reached the same conclusion.

Uncle Wang gazed at Luo Tian’s unruffled face, and for the first time, the placid waters of his heart stirred.

Could Luo Tian be that youth?

Li Yang's vital energy returned to his dantian, and the radiance around him faded. Slowly, he opened his eyes, which now shone with light. “Senior Brother Luo!”

“All done?”
Luo Tian smiled faintly, as if everything had been in his grasp all along.

“I finally broke through! I finally did it!”
Li Yang clenched his fists, still scarcely able to believe it, waving his arms in excitement. Once more, a pale orange glow rose from his body, as though to confirm it for everyone—“I really reached the second cycle of Qi Condensation!”

“What a fool—he actually believes it was all Luo Tian’s doing, when it was his own effort?”
“Who wouldn’t say so? Ridiculous, a complete simpleton!”

This boy…

Uncle Wang’s eyes flashed with astonishment as he looked at Luo Tian. As a senior inner disciple, he could not simply fill in the blanks with wild guesses as the outer disciples did.

When Li Yang first showed signs of going astray, Uncle Wang had tried to offer some advice, but to no avail—he hadn’t even been able to pinpoint the problem. Who would have thought Luo Tian could see through the mystery at a glance? Clearly, he was no ordinary youth.

No wonder he had made a name for himself even as a servant, and now, as an outer disciple, he was showing his true abilities.

Uncle Wang nodded slightly and turned to enter a nearby room.

As a yellow point of light slowly drifted into his mind, Luo Tian could not help but feel satisfied; a faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Senior Brother Luo, so you really can help others at the same stage with their cultivation!”
Li Yang, evidently aware of some of Luo Tian’s deeds among the servants, felt his eyes grow moist. “Thank you so much, I—”

“Cultivate well. Don’t slack off, and don’t waste your talent!”
Luo Tian patted Li Yang on the shoulder, his voice full of encouragement, then strode away.

There were secret body-refining arts to study, and the intricacies of Qi Condensation required careful attention. Luo Tian wanted nothing more than to clarify all of it, so he could continue to guide others and further upgrade his Divine Sight.

Li Yang stared blankly at Luo Tian’s departing figure, murmuring, “Senior Brother Luo, I wanted to ask if you could guide me in my next stage of cultivation… Why did you leave so soon…”