Volume One: The Youth Steps Into the World Chapter Seventy-Eight: Breaking Through the Realm

Continuing forward, Fang Tian noticed a faint glimmer of light ahead. After a while, he squeezed through a narrow crevice in the rocks, emerging into an unfamiliar place. He frowned, hesitating to go further. If he didn’t retrace his steps, he would easily get lost, and that would spell trouble if he couldn’t find his way out of the snowy mountain.

After much deliberation, he decided to first find a concealed spot to spend the night. Wandering aimlessly in this area would be far too dangerous. He walked for a long time as dusk gradually deepened, but still failed to find a suitable place. He searched for a cave in vain, and as darkness threatened to fall completely, Fang Tian grew anxious. If nothing else, he would have to use his sword to dig a hole in a large block of ice beside a mountain wall and crawl inside.

Unable to find any better option after a long search, Fang Tian finally settled on a massive ice boulder leaning against the mountain wall. He hacked at it with his sword, carving out a hollow. Digging such a shelter required some skill, and after shattering a few blocks of ice, he finally managed to create a space just large enough for himself.

He crawled inside and used several smaller ice stones to block the entrance. He had no desire to be discovered by any ferocious beasts. Once secure, he placed the Heaven-Slaughter Sword on the ground, then closed his eyes and entered the sword’s inner space with a thought. Now, he needed to find a way to deal with the giant Frost Demon Bear and any other potential beasts that might appear.

Within the sword’s inner realm, Fang Tian asked Elder Tian to bring him the Blood Ice Grass. He retrieved a stalk from the jade box and swallowed it whole, sitting cross-legged as he began to absorb its spiritual energy. Just as before, the energy from the Blood Ice Grass slowly coursed through his body, finally converging upon the meridian on the verge of breakthrough.

That current of energy surged like a spear against his third meridian, relentlessly assaulting the barrier to the fourth. The obstacle began to show signs of crumbling under the sustained impact, but a single stalk of Blood Ice Grass was not quite enough. As the energy diminished, its momentum weakened. Seeing this, Fang Tian immediately swallowed a second stalk. The dwindling energy of the first was instantly replenished, and the combined force resumed battering the barrier to his fourth meridian.

After some time, the barrier finally yielded, completely shattered by the onslaught. The remaining energy from the Blood Ice Grass poured into Fang Tian’s fourth meridian. As the spiritual energy flooded in, a mist of white vapor rose from his body. He let out a long breath, opened his eyes, and examined his internal state. Finding nothing amiss, he stood up and stretched his limbs.

“At last, the fourth layer! I can’t believe it took this long,” Fang Tian murmured in delight.

He gauged his strength and, with his current abilities, felt he need no longer fear the giant Frost Demon Bear. With his advantage in speed, he was confident he could subdue the beast with little difficulty.

But then he thought: even if he dealt with the Frost Demon Bear, who could guarantee he wouldn't encounter something even more formidable? If such a beast appeared here, near the mountain’s edge, what of those in the deeper regions? He might not even know how he died if one of those came wandering out.

Turning these thoughts over in his mind, Fang Tian resolved to continue pushing his cultivation. He still had a fair amount of Blood Ice Grass left. Though it was a pity to use it up, he could always find more, and it seemed wiser to use it all now and see just how far he could advance.

Determined, Fang Tian sat down again, took another stalk of Blood Ice Grass, and swallowed it. He closed his eyes and resumed his cultivation, guiding the spiritual energy from the herb into his body. Like a gentle stream, the energy gradually filled his previously empty meridians.

A long time passed. Fang Tian spent half a month within the sword’s inner space. After consuming seven or eight stalks of Blood Ice Grass, his progress stalled at the threshold of the fifth layer of Spirit Gathering. He had only a few stalks left. Though he’d prepared himself for this, he hadn’t expected the breakthrough to the fifth layer to be so challenging—it was as if the difficulty had increased exponentially.

Despite his uncertainty, Fang Tian decided to make a final attempt. Staring at the four or five stalks left in the jade box, his gaze hardened. He swallowed all the remaining Blood Ice Grass at once.

Elder Tian happened to see this and shouted in alarm, “Xiao Tian, are you trying to kill yourself? Taking so much at once will make you explode!”

Fang Tian replied calmly, “Elder Tian, if I continue one stalk at a time, I fear I’ll never break through. I want to take the risk.”

“Xiao Tian, you’re being reckless. There are many ways to break through—there’s no need to gamble your life!”

“Don’t worry, Elder Tian. I can feel I’m capable of it.” Fang Tian’s voice was steady.

Elder Tian fell silent, his gaze fixed on Fang Tian, quietly observing.

Focusing his mind, Fang Tian endured the simultaneous surge of energy from the several stalks. His face contorted in pain, veins bulged, and his hands clenched tightly as he ground his teeth, refusing to make a sound. He guided the surging spiritual energy to crash against one of the four major meridians.

The four major meridians were different from the lesser ones—the barriers were even stronger. Fang Tian reasoned that to break through, he needed an overwhelming force: the slow approach of absorbing one stalk at a time would never suffice. It was better to unleash the combined force of several stalks at once and direct it to shatter the barrier. Indeed, Fang Tian’s methods were often unorthodox, even reckless.

The sudden explosion of spiritual energy nearly made him lose his focus. The pain was excruciating—worse than the torment of body refining. Yet, this was his own decision, and all he could do was grit his teeth and endure.

He forced himself to stay clear-headed, repeatedly directing the immense energy against the barrier. With each assault, the pain on his face deepened. Elder Tian looked on, unable to bear it, wanting to intervene, but at the sight of Fang Tian’s determined expression, he held back.

At this point, Elder Tian was also curious to see whether Fang Tian could succeed. If he did, it would be a tremendous gain.

Time ticked by. Fang Tian struck the barrier more than ten times. Sweat streamed down his face, his brow furrowed in concentration as he dared not relax for a moment. By now, he’d used up most of the spiritual energy from the Blood Ice Grass.

The barrier, battered repeatedly, began to loosen. Delighted, Fang Tian intensified his effort. At the twentieth attempt, the barrier collapsed like a breached dam, the remaining energy flooding in and settling like a tranquil stream in his fifth meridian. At last, he had broken through—he had reached the fifth layer of Spirit Gathering.

After the breakthrough, Fang Tian was utterly spent. Gasping for breath, he collapsed to the ground and wiped the sweat from his brow, a smile spreading across his face. “I thought I was done for, but I made it after all.”

Elder Tian approached, his expression grave. “Xiao Tian, you must never do this again. It’s far too dangerous.”

Fang Tian knew Elder Tian was concerned for him, so he smiled and replied, “Understood, Elder Tian.”

Elder Tian shook his head helplessly. Fang Tian didn’t seem to have truly taken his words to heart. Still, since Fang Tian was safe, Elder Tian said no more, and with a sweep of his long robe, he vanished from sight.

After Elder Tian left, Fang Tian sat up, closed his eyes, and continued to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy, restoring his body from the exhaustion of forcibly breaking through.

Watching the spiritual energy flow steadily into his fifth meridian, Fang Tian felt deeply satisfied. Remembering the agony of the breakthrough, he shuddered a little in retrospect. He still didn’t know where his sudden surge of confidence had come from; he truly had been bold.

He stood and threw a few punches into the air. The sound of his fists slicing through the wind was sharp and clean. He looked at his hands, marveling at how much stronger he had become. With his current cultivation, he was certain he could defeat the demon bear.

He glanced at the world outside. It was broad daylight. With a thought, he returned to the outer world, retrieved the Heaven-Slaughter Sword, and pushed aside the ice stones blocking the entrance. Sunlight poured in as he stepped out and looked around—the area was quiet and undisturbed.

Fang Tian made his way to the narrow path and retraced his steps. If he encountered the demon bear again, he had no qualms about teaching it a lesson.

After a long walk, Fang Tian spotted the beast in the distance once more. It seemed the demon bear had not left the area. However, the beast was not looking at him; instead, it glared menacingly at another creature—a massive wolf. The two faced off, baring their teeth and growling. Fang Tian quickly hid behind a rock wall to watch.

With a thunderous roar from both sides, the demon bear and the giant wolf lunged at each other. The bear seized the wolf by the neck and flung it to the ground. The bear then leapt, intending to smash the wolf with its paw, but the wolf rolled aside at the last moment, sprang back, and put some distance between them. It then charged, jaws wide, at the bear. The bear, undaunted, hammered the ground and collided with the wolf in a furious clash that sent snow flying into the air, forming a swirling mist that obscured Fang Tian’s view. All he could hear was the sound of blows exchanged—the two beasts were locked in a savage struggle.

After a while, the snow mist cleared, revealing the two beasts. The wolf had pinned the demon bear to the ground, its jaws clamped on the bear’s neck, rendering it immobile. With every squeeze, the bear let out a pained howl as blood poured from its neck. If not for its thick hide, the wolf would have bitten through its throat already. Fang Tian could hardly bear to watch.

The bear’s agonized cries continued, echoing through the pass. Eventually, Fang Tian could stand it no longer. Activating his Windstride, he vanished from sight and reappeared before the wolf, channeling his spiritual power into his palm and striking the wolf, forcing it back.

“Get lost!” Fang Tian shouted, unleashing his full aura to bear down on the wolf.

Cunning by nature, the wolf sensed that Fang Tian was not to be trifled with. It hesitated, then turned and fled.

With the wolf gone, Fang Tian turned his gaze to the demon bear. He wasn’t sure why he had intervened—he had felt something stir inside him hearing the bear’s desperate cries. His body had moved of its own accord, despite the fact that the bear had recently been hunting him.

“Perhaps it’s a trace of pity now that I know my strength far exceeds theirs,” Fang Tian mused.

Watching the blood pour from the bear’s wound, he saw its breath growing weaker and weaker—it was clear the bear would not survive.