Today is New Year's Eve. Just as Jiang Feng finished his routine cultivation, he felt the meridians throughout his body swell and grow slightly warm. Hurriedly turning his inward gaze upon himself, he discovered that his dantian and meridians were filled with a pale golden Chaos Qi.
Jiang Feng was overjoyed. According to Manager Liu's previous explanations, once the True Qi within one's body reached capacity, one had to break through to the next realm; otherwise, no amount of cultivation would raise one's prowess.
Anxious to begin, Jiang Feng hurried back to his room, bathed and changed his clothes, then sat cross-legged on the bed with his five centers facing the sky. Taking a deep breath, Jiang Feng closed his eyes and swept his awareness inward. Instantly, a transparent, luminous silhouette of himself appeared in his mind, revealing his meridians and dantian in clear detail.
Using his intent to guide the Qi, Jiang Feng directed all the Chaos Qi within his meridians to converge upon his dantian, where he subjected it to intense compression. Gradually, the volume of the Chaos Qi shrank. When it was down to roughly half its original size, Jiang Feng suddenly felt a strong wave of repulsion radiating from the Chaos Qi. It seemed he had touched the barrier of the breakthrough; only by swiftly overcoming this barrier could the breakthrough succeed.
Just as Jiang Feng wanted to push through in one go, a sudden wave of fatigue washed over him. Daring not to be careless, Jiang Feng had no choice but to abandon the breakthrough. *Alas! I was too impatient and failed to adjust my condition properly.*
With night fast approaching, Jiang Feng picked up some food, intending to go check on the little beggar, planning to attempt his breakthrough into the Mortal Entry Stage as soon as he returned.
At that moment, a middle-aged woman rushed in frantically. "Sir, please, save my husband!"
"What happened?" Jiang Feng asked hurriedly.
"On his way back from gathering firewood, my husband slipped down a hillside and broke his leg."
"Where do you live?"
"On the west side of the town."
"Very well, I will go with you to take a look." Picking up the food, Jiang Feng followed the woman out alone.
The woman did not walk fast. After about half an hour, Jiang Feng arrived at a courtyard outside the town. Firewood was piled in the yard, and the surroundings were dead silent.
Suddenly feeling a sense of unease in his heart, Jiang Feng released his Divine Sense to probe the house.
There were five people inside: one was lying on a cot with his leg wrapped in gauze; one sat in a chair, exuding an extraordinarily powerful aura; and the remaining three stood on either side.
Sensing trouble, Jiang Feng knew for certain he had fallen into a trap. Just as he thought to retreat from the courtyard, the door was kicked flying with a loud *bang*! *Swish! Swish! Swish!* Four figures burst out, cutting off Jiang Feng's escape route.
"Ha, you must be that Jiang Feng. Just a lowly apothecary's hand, yet you dared to beat my son, Ge Bing! Today, you won't be leaving this place," the middle-aged man at the head said with a sinister grin.
"Your son?" Jiang Feng was stunned, then understanding dawned on him—so it was him! "Your son acts lawlessly and bullies the weak. Someone should have taught him a lesson long ago."
"Bah! Insolent wretch running your mouth! Daring to beat the young master of the Ge family—you've truly grown a gall bladder the size of heaven. My lord, let me go butcher this brat and vent the young master's hatred and avenge him!" A henchman rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward to volunteer.
"Good. If you accomplish this task, there will be heavy rewards when we return to the estate," Ge Bing nodded in approval.
The henchman's face lit up with joy, feeling that his time to shine had finally arrived. Without another word, he fiercely leaped forward, closing the distance in an instant, and brought his blade down in a ferocious arc straight at Jiang Feng's face.
Seeing that this man struck with vicious intent and sought to take his life right from the start, Jiang Feng felt no fear; instead, he grew somewhat excited.
Previously, he had always cultivated step by step with his head down. Now, facing a battle of life and death, he finally had the opportunity for real combat.
Seeing that the enemy had superior numbers and formidable momentum, Jiang Feng refused to get bogged down in a protracted scuffle. He slammed his right foot fiercely against the ground, lunging forward with a stepping punch that went straight for the opponent's center.
Before the enemy's steel blade could even fall, Jiang Feng's fist struck like a shooting star, arriving first despite having started second. *Bang!* A sonic boom exploded against the man's chest, and a single punch sent him flying over a dozen feet away. He spat a mouthful of fresh blood and never got back up.
Having disabled an opponent with a single punch, the other two henchmen wore grave expressions as they exchanged a quick glance. "Together! You take the left, I'll take the right." Both leaped into the air simultaneously, pouncing on Jiang Feng from both flanks in an attempt to pin him in a crossfire where he couldn't defend both sides.
As steady as a mountain, Jiang Feng strode forward, slipping behind one of them. Mid-turn, he swung a fist at the man's back. The entire sequence of movements was completed in an instant. *Hum!* Another sonic boom rang out.
Terror gripped the opponent. Never had he expected Jiang Feng to be this fast. Panicking, he spun around and hastily raised his arms to protect his chest. With a dull *thud*, Jiang Feng's right arm lashed viciously across the man's arms, sending him flying rigidly over twenty feet away. Blood gushed from his mouth in torrents, and he lost consciousness before even hitting the ground.
At that exact moment, the remaining henchman seized the opportunity to land a punch on Jiang Feng's left ribs, a surge of wild elation filling his heart. His realm was also the Meridian Unblocking Stage; under normal circumstances, a punch to the floating ribs like this would completely cripple an opponent, or at the very least strip them of their combat capability.
Yet the reality utterly shattered expectations: Jiang Feng merely staggered back five or six paces while the Qi and blood surged in his chest, returning to normal in less than three breaths.
The man gasped in shock, "Impossible! How can your physique be this strong? It's absolutely impossible!" He had no way of knowing that Jiang Feng's body had been tempered by spiritual energy irrigation, elevating his physical strength far beyond the level of his peers. Compared to him, this man simply could not be spoken of in the same breath.
Without a word, Jiang Feng pounced like a phantom, striking the man's chest with a Mountain Crushing Fist from his left hand.
Daring not take the blow head-on, the man dodged to the side. But Jiang Feng's speed did not slacken; clinging to him like a shadow clinging to its bone, he threw another punch.
With nowhere left to dodge, the man was forced to raise his fists in a hasty block. To his shock, Jiang Feng's punch carried such terrifying weight and momentum that his guard was shattered instantly, and the blow landed squarely on his chest.
The man desperately rallied the Dantian Qi to protect his heart vessels. Jiang Feng sneered, suddenly exerting a second wave of force that pierced straight through the man's chest and instantly pulverized his heart vessels.
"You... so ruthless..." The man's eyes bulged wide, filled with deep regret.
Jiang Feng laughed aloud, "Ha! If you want to kill me, you better be prepared to be killed in return."
*Clap! Clap! Clap!* A round of applause rang out. "Good fist technique, good nerve. It seems I, Ge Bing, have witnessed a genius today. But, hehe, I fucking love torturing geniuses to death..."
Before his voice even faded, Jiang Feng dragged a trail of afterimages as he charged at extreme speed toward Ge Bing—he had seized the initiative.
He guessed that Ge Bing's might was formidable and that he might not be a match for him, but lacking even the courage to test a single move was entirely against his style. Therefore, the moment he struck, he prepared to unleash his most powerful blow.
Jiang Feng mobilized a wisp of Chaos Qi from his dantian, channeling the Qi through his right arm all the way to his fist. His entire right arm was densely covered in scales, and his fist radiated a pale golden light. Instantly, howling winds rose around Jiang Feng, sending grass and vegetation flying.
"Mountain Crushing Fist, Triple Ripple!" Even though he had never executed Triple Ripple before, that didn't mean he couldn't put everything on the line, especially at a life-or-death juncture like this.
Seeing the terrifying momentum of Jiang Feng's punch, Ge Bing furrowed his brow. "This brat must die. To possess such strength even in the Mortal Body Stage... the power of this punch definitely exceeds two thousand catties. If he is allowed to mature, I will never have a moment of peace."
With that thought, Ge Bing's gaze turned ferocious. An oppressive, icy aura surged from his body as he slowly raised his right hand and struck out with an empty-handed palm toward Jiang Feng. In an instant, a hazy shroud of freezing ice Qi descended over Jiang Feng's head.
True Qi Projection! He was actually an Origin Returning Stage expert!
Jiang Feng had no time to dodge at all. His hair and clothes instantly frosted over, and even his consciousness began to slow down.
With eyes splitting and veins bulging, Jiang Feng let out a roar and decisively bit the tip of his tongue. A sharp, searing pain shot straight to the top of his head.
Jiang Feng's spirits instantly jolted awake. The Chaos Qi rapidly dispersed through the meridians of his whole body, resisting the invasion of the ice Qi. Like a gale-force wind, he rushed right up to Ge Bing and unleashed this long-accumulated punch with all his might.
Ge Bing sneered, "Mayflies trying to shake a tree," and flicked a finger outward.
Jiang Feng did not dodge. Enduring the hit from that finger, the three layers of fist force from his right fist slammed like rolling waves against Ge Bing's chest.
Ge Bing didn't budge an inch, but Jiang Feng was sent flying over twenty feet by that single finger, his flesh cracking all over, his internal organs shattered, and his breath hanging by a thread.
"Kid, you are truly impressive. This punch... or rather, these three punches, actually erupted with five thousand catties of force. Calling you a freak is no exaggeration. To take my finger and still remain alive—tsk tsk! Extraordinary. But, this is the end of the line for you!" With that, a murderous glint flashed in Ge Bing's eyes as he slowly walked toward Jiang Feng, raising a demonic claw high above his head...