Vol 2 Ch 2 : Pinnacle of the Early Jade Bone Realm
Elder He Qin, the Third Elder, couldn’t help but speak up.
She was responsible for managing all the formations in the academy and oversaw the annual foundational assessments of students. Therefore, she could usually gauge a practitioner’s strength without them needing to demonstrate it.
She had observed Mo Yanxue in previous matches, and she had at least 2 horsepower of exceptional strength. Now, you’re telling me she lost to a Ninth Grade Source Pool brat...
Knowing that the other party wouldn’t lie, Lu Mingrong asked after a moment of shock, “How many exchanges did they have? What martial skill did Hong Yi use to defeat her?”
Teacher Zhou replied, “He didn’t use any martial skills; he simply punched Miss Mo away.”
Elder He Qin was left speechless, and Lu Mingrong fell silent.
Defeating someone with 2 horsepower in a single move meant that Hong Yi\'s strength was likely not only equal to hers but far beyond it!
His own cultivation had surged to the peak of the Organs Easing Realm in just a few days, and even a random student he picked up had gone from 0.2 horsepower to over 2 horsepower...
Previously, he thought Yu Longqing was the epitome of genius, an insurmountable barrier. Now, he realized that compared to this new individual, the so-called barrier seemed to dim significantly...
Oh, right, I have a hunch about something, but it’s just a feeling...
Seeing the surrounding silence, everyone was still shocked by the news they had just learned. Chen Jinlin recalled something and couldn’t help but speak up: “When we were assessing Teacher Zhang\'s strength earlier, he casually demonstrated 60 horsepower. I think... he may not have used his full strength!”
Lu Mingrong frowned: “Are you saying he might have already... surpassed the Organs Easing Realm and reached a higher level?”
“I’m just sensing it; I have no evidence,” Chen Jinlin said.
“Teacher Zhang has always been low-key, so it’s not impossible for him to do this!” After a moment of silence, Lu Mingrong speculated.
The only issue with Zhang Xuan was that he was too low-key, leaving them feeling somewhat passive every time.
Elder He Qin said, “Actually, it’s very simple to prove whether he used his full strength or not!”
Everyone looked at her in confusion.
Elder He Qin continued, “Every classroom has a strength assessment formation. If Teacher Zhang has made a breakthrough in the past few days, he will definitely go test it. We just need to find the formation and check the records to see his true cultivation level!”
“Exactly…”
Everyone nodded.
After finishing their training, the assessment formation was right in front of them; no one could resist the temptation to investigate, just like putting a scale in front of someone on a diet.
As long as they checked, there would be a record.
“He just happens to be out of the classroom. Let’s go take a look…”
Lu Mingrong nodded.
The group hurriedly made their way to Zhang Xuan’s classroom. Before long, they arrived, opened the door, and saw the shattered formation immediately.
Elder He Qin’s face turned pale: “This is... a result of being unable to withstand the force and being forcibly shattered!”
Shattered? Over 99 horsepower?
Lu Mingrong’s pupils contracted: “Is he at the Eighth Level of the Source Pool or even higher?”
In Source Pool cultivation, there was a set limit; the Jade Bone Realm could reach a maximum of only 99 horsepower and could not exceed that.
Not only did he exceed it, but he also shattered the formation with that kind of power... indicating that his cultivation was very likely on par with his own, having reached the Divine Soul Realm or even higher.
No wonder he could guide Lu Mingrong’s breakthrough. It turned out... he already had that level of cultivation!
It was ridiculous to think he considered taking Zhang Xuan as a teacher a favor. As it turns out, if the other party wanted to showcase his strength, he might even have to respectfully become a disciple.
“Let’s return to the martial arts field and see how Yu Xiaoyu and the others are progressing!”
Knowing these matters were merely speculations without confirmation, Lu Mingrong decided not to dwell further on this issue and waved his hand.
Everyone nodded and hurried toward the martial arts field.
...
Unaware that his explosive punch had been seen by Lu Mingrong and others, Zhang Xuan was quietly sitting in a room on the third floor of the library.
He had gathered nearly all the books on the Seventh Level Source Pool and the Jade Bone Realm. With enough Heaven\'s Fate Energy in the library, he could first form the Heaven’s Path cultivation method.
With a thought, thousands of books floated in the air. As the Heaven’s Fate Energy burned, a book with no title on the cover emitted a faint glow and appeared before him.
“The Jade Bone Realm is about tempering all the bones to be as tough as jade…”
The content from the book flowed into his mind.
Bones were the hardest part of the human body to cultivate and also the slowest to refine. To polish them into jade, one must not use source energy to hammer the bones directly, but rather to temper the bone marrow.
Bone marrow has the function of producing blood and forming bones. As long as one controls the source energy to enter it and nourishes it slowly, it can improve bone density, allowing one\'s strength to gradually increase.
Knowing that everyone had gone to the martial arts field and no one would disturb him, Zhang Xuan focused his mind and sent the refined source energy from the Xuan World surging toward his bone marrow, continuously nourishing it.
After being refined by the Primordial Yellow Energy furnace, the source energy in the Xuan World was incredibly pure and easily absorbable.
Tempering the bone marrow requires refined source energy to wash over it continuously, allowing for a qualitative transformation through the method of “dripping water wears through stone.” The greatest challenge for other practitioners was finding enough source energy.
Taking the supreme-grade furnace as an example, which could absorb 200 units of source energy in a day, if he could wash the bone marrow with 180 units a day, that would already be considered quite diligent, as nourishing the muscles and practicing martial skills also required strength... Even with such calculations, one could only use a little over 60,000 units of source energy for refining in a year.
It may seem like a lot, but when distributed throughout the entire bone marrow and used on every part, it amounts to very little.
Therefore, cultivating in the Jade Bone Realm is extremely difficult, with many experts trapped at this level for ten or even twenty years without breaking through.
In contrast to those individuals, Zhang Xuan had an inexhaustible supply of pure source energy in the Xuan World. In just under two hours, he had used over 30,000 units!
After being tempered by so much source energy, his bones had already begun to change. Though he was still some distance from being as warm as jade, their sturdiness had greatly improved.
“Seventh Level Source Pool, Pinnacle of the Early Jade Bone Realm!”
Feeling his cultivation level, Zhang Xuan exhaled slowly, rose, and threw a punch, only to frown once again.
His cultivation had improved, but he confirmed that his strength remained at 99 horsepower, with no increase whatsoever.
It was as if his power had been sealed at this level, unable to break through any further.
Is this the pressure of destiny?
According to Elder Su Shao, the strength before the Eighth Level of the Source Pool was capped at 99 horsepower. This was a regulation set by the Destiny Hall, similar to the rules of the Firmament. As long as one’s fate remained in the Source World, it was impossible to break through.
It’s like how in the past, the speed of light couldn’t exceed 30 kilometers per second as long as one lived in the universe where the Earth is located; no matter how advanced technology became, it could never surpass that limit.
If this analogy is still hard to understand, one could view this world as a game where every NPC\'s power level has a certain value. Even if they develop consciousness, it’s impossible to break the program or rewrite the code.
Because they are merely a series of codes within the program, they cannot escape from it, and even if they could, they would surely perish.
It seems that I won’t be able to break through my power level until I step into the Divine Soul Realm.
Understanding this, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.
He thought that cultivating the Heaven’s Path method might allow for some special circumstances, enabling him to fight above his level like on the Master Teacher Continent. Now it seems that without a breakthrough in power, it would be extremely difficult to fight above his level.
With normal fist techniques, he couldn\'t break through destiny\'s limitation and surpass 99 horsepower. What about the Pathos of Heaven sword technique?
A thought flashed in his mind.
The Pathos of Heaven sword technique is a martial skill that transcends Heaven’s Path. Back in the Firmament, it was precisely with this sword technique that he sealed the Emperor for nine heavens, unbeatable.
The techniques and martial skills formed from the books of the Source World couldn’t help him surpass his limits, but perhaps the Pathos of Heaven sword technique could.
Very likely!
With this in mind, Zhang Xuan wasted no time and stepped in front of a strength assessment formation in the library.
Taking a deep breath, he threw a punch
.
The formation emitted a light chime, and a line of text appeared on a nearby stone tablet.
99 horsepower!
As expected, his cultivation had broken through, yet his strength hadn’t increased a bit, remaining fixed on those two numbers.
Understanding that this was the power of destiny, Zhang Xuan didn’t hesitate any longer. He pointed, forming a sword, and directed the Pathos of Heaven sword technique forward, fiercely striking out.
Sizzle!
The sword energy, like a startled swan, instantly tore through space, leaving a clear mark behind. The brilliant and powerful force met the strength assessment formation, which immediately shook violently.
Just like the punch he had unleashed earlier, the assessment formation could no longer withstand it and collapsed with a loud bang.
“Exceeding 99 horsepower!”
Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Before stepping into the Divine Soul Realm, his strength couldn’t break through the limits set by the Destiny Hall, but with the Pathos of Heaven sword technique, he could easily do so.
The Pathos of Heaven sword technique was created by him, and it could be expressed through a sword, of course, but it could also be used through fists, arms, and even every part of his body. This way, if he ever encountered a powerful Divine Soul Realm opponent and caught them off guard, he could also eliminate them.
Of course, ordinarily, he would keep this sword technique as a trump card and not use it easily.
“I wonder how Yu Xiaoyu and the others are doing in their competition!”
Knowing it would take at least another two or three days of cultivation to progress from the early to mid-Jade Bone Realm, Zhang Xuan didn’t feel like lingering there any longer and stepped out.
The Divine Soul Realm techniques were available here, but they were no longer enough to form the Heaven’s Path method, so staying in the library was meaningless.
At this moment, in the martial arts field, all the students were gathered around a contest platform in the center, creating a lively atmosphere, while the other nine contests had all stopped.
“What’s going on? Why is it so lively?”
Because there were too many people, it was somewhat crowded. Zhang Xuan curiously asked a nearby student.
Logically speaking, with thousands of students in the academy, it would take three or four hours to complete the preliminary matches. How could it be so lively, resembling the finals?
“It’s because this year’s new students are exceptionally strong. They directly challenged the academy\'s senior students, so with such a thrilling show, the other matches naturally lost significance. No one wants to watch them anymore; some even don’t want to compete...”
This student, not recognizing Zhang Xuan, casually explained.
“New students challenging seniors? Who has the guts to do that?” Zhang Xuan was shocked.
Every senior student had trained for at least a year, and some upperclassmen had even broken through to the Body Tempering Realm. How could a new student who had just entered for less than three days challenge them? Was this crazy?
“It’s the City Lord’s daughter, Yu Xiaoyu! Along with the daughter of the Liu family, Liu Mingyue, and a guy named Hong Yi.”
The student thought for a moment and added, “It’s said they were all taught by a teacher named Zhang Xuan… You say, isn’t this teacher a bit crazy? He’s only been teaching for three days, and his students are challenging the seniors. Isn’t that just asking for trouble? By the way, brother, you look a bit unfamiliar. Which class are you in?”
Zhang Xuan nodded, feeling somewhat helpless: “I am that so-called crazy teacher, Zhang Xuan!”
Author\'s Note