"How did Gu Chen spit blood?" The crowd froze in confusion.
"He must have pushed his cultivation too hard. His body couldn't handle the surge," an elder martial artist speculated.
"Exactly! Such a rapid breakthrough would overwhelm anyone," others chimed in.
"Gu Chen is truly formidable…" Murmurs of awe rippled through the crowd. What kind of cultivation could shatter a body?
Gu Chuchen rushed to his son's side, probing Gu Chen's aura with his true Qi. His face paled. Impossible! Gu Chen's meridians showed no change—his cultivation remained at Posterior Heaven Realm, sixth stage mid-tier. The boy had simply fainted from rage.
"Is Chen'er in the Posterior Heaven Realm, ninth stage?" someone in the crowd ventured.
Gu Chuchen's jaw clenched. The flattery now stung like poison.
The Aftermath
Back at the Gu Clan estate, Gu Chuchen interrogated his three young clansmen.
"It's all that Xiao Ye's fault!" Gu Yang sobbed. "He has twenty-five Qi vortices! We couldn't absorb a single drop of the pool's energy!"
Twenty-five vortices?! Gu Chuchen's rage exploded. He shattered a chair with a wave of his hand. "Investigate Xiao Ye's connection to the Su Clan!" he ordered. If the boy wasn't tied to the Sus, eliminating him would be straightforward.
Xiao Ye's Rise
Meanwhile, Xiao Ye emerged from the pool, his thin robes clinging to his now-powerful frame. Su Ying rushed to greet him, but he barely acknowledged her. His true Qi roared like a dragon, shaking the room.
Posterior Heaven Realm, eighth stage mid-tier! The Vein-Purifying Pool's energy had flooded into him, skipping three realms. With twenty-five vortices, he'd absorbed 60% of the pool's essence. If not for his twelve-meridian Tianluo Skill, he might have leaped to the ninth stage.
"Time to stabilize," Xiao Ye muttered. He spent three days in the Time Tower, hammering his Qi into solidity. When he finally exited, even the air trembled around him.
The Blade's Whisper
Xiao Ye gripped the Flame Blade, its edge humming with latent power. Once I master this technique, even Blood Wolf won't stand a chance. The memory of the massacre burned hotter than ever.
He activated the blade's martial intent, entering a world of whirling steel. Each strike honed his precision, each parry refined his timing. For a month in the Time Tower, he'd fought ten thousand battles.
"Soon," he vowed, exiting the tower with blazing eyes. The day I return, Blood Wolf's gang will burn.