Chapter 29: The Artistic Conception of Lightning

It was an object no larger than a stone.

The moment Chen Fan grasped the Dao marrow, it instantly fused into his skin and body.

Suddenly, Chen Fan felt as if a divine enlightenment had been poured over him; his mind overflowed with countless mysterious and extraordinary sensations…

He slowly steadied himself, his eyes vacant…

Around his body, the pool water began to swirl gently, forming a wondrous vortex.

This was a state even more marvelous than mere “sudden enlightenment.”

Chen Fan lost all sense of time and space; his mind flickered with all manner of fantastic ideas.

He seemed to perceive the world’s vibrant colors; every martial art he had practiced, every realm he had experienced, flashed through his mind.

Then…

Crack!

He seemed to hear something shatter…

Around him, from nothing, arcs of blue-purple electricity suddenly crackled into existence…

Time itself seemed to lose meaning before Chen Fan.

When he finally came to, he found his body flickering, his head dizzy, and realized he had been directly transported outside the secret realm!

Emerging from that profound and unfathomable sensation, Chen Fan felt a deep sense of loss and melancholy.

Looking around, he saw the others shared the same expression.

Ye Wuji squinted his eyes, gazing at several disciples:

“Don’t be discouraged. No matter how long one nourishes the Hua Qing Pool, it can only support ten people entering once a day. That single day of enlightenment is already a tremendous boon for you. Moreover, the Wanling Dao marrow fused into your bodies will purify your essence and marrow, strengthening your roots and cultivating your power!”

Chen Fan nodded at these words, then glanced at his martial arts status panel.

He froze for a moment, then his face lit up with wild joy!

Within his martial cultivation state, many of his skills had advanced significantly; all his practiced arts except the Star Body Refining Technique had broken through to new levels.

His Three-Foot Sword had directly reached the subtle mastery stage.

The Blazing Fire Sword had broken through to the subtle realm as well, with its progress leaping notably.

Moreover, having fully absorbed the medicinal power of the Blue Jade Pill, his true skill cultivation and bone forging progress—just beginning before—had astonishingly completed half the process, saving him nearly a year of grinding!

He rejoiced inwardly:

“Earth-grade pills are truly formidable. No wonder Dean Mao and the others didn’t react much when I broke through five ranks in just a few months…”

In truth, without the unique state of enlightenment and the rich primordial energy within the Hua Qing Pool, even after taking this earth-grade pill, Chen Fan might not have achieved half such results.

Such a significant surge in cultivation was exhilarating, but what thrilled Chen Fan even more was that his Three Thousand Thunder Movements had finally broken through its final barrier!

He now possessed his first martial skill at the Unity Realm!

At that moment, an incredibly profound sensation washed over him. A special force permeated all around the world. He raised a finger, and a faint, invisible arc of lightning flickered at its tip…

If he wished, he could channel his true energy to transform it into the power of lightning!

Simultaneously, after his body technique breakthrough to Unity, the Three Thousand Thunder Movements no longer showed a new progress bar.

Instead, a new category appeared: “Lightning Realm,” which could be cultivated passively.

“My body technique has reached Unity, and I have directly entered the Lightning Realm. From now on, all my skills can merge with this lightning essence. If my cultivation advances further and I break through to the sixth layer of martial path, I can attempt to leverage the power of heaven and earth through the Lightning Realm. With this, breaking into the Grandmaster realm will no longer be an insurmountable barrier,” Chen Fan’s face glowed with excitement as he silently absorbed the mysterious power.

True skill and martial arts were but entry points to comprehending realms.

With Three Thousand Thunder Movements entering Unity, Chen Fan’s agility was not just enhanced; the Lightning Realm elevated his overall strength to a whole new level.

At the same time, Chen Fan had effectively overcome the most difficult threshold that most face when aspiring to become Grandmasters.

He knew that Li Linliu, his benchmark, had only just comprehended the Unity Realm the previous year.

Though Chen Fan’s cultivation was still lacking, his realm had already caught up!

Just as Chen Fan was reveling in this joy, he suddenly felt the air tighten; an immense pressure swept over his entire body.

He looked up in surprise.

There stood a senior brother from Mingyue Tower of his Qingming Martial Academy, eyes tightly shut, hands open wide, face glowing with delight.

“This is the power of heaven and earth fusing into one’s being…” Chen Fan’s eyes widened.

This was a sign of promotion to Grandmaster!

Around this senior brother, faint flames danced, indicating he was channeling some fire-related realm to leverage the power of heaven and earth.

Ye Wuji laughed heartily:

“Congratulations, Rong Wuchen, on your promotion to Grandmaster! You are now the thirty-second disciple of Haori Tower in our Qingming Martial Academy!”

Rong Wuchen’s face was beaming with joy as he clasped his fists to Ye Wuji and then turned to the other top-ranking disciples.

“I shall take the lead and wait for you all in Haori Tower,” Rong Wuchen said happily.

The other four disciples looked on with envy.

Though they had not yet reached Grandmaster, they were not far off—just a half-step away from harnessing heaven and earth’s power. Unlike Li Linliu’s formidable physical body, they could break through within a few years.

Chen Fan too cast a somewhat envious glance at Rong Wuchen.

Though both had broken through realms, Rong Wuchen’s cultivation was sufficient to leap straight into Grandmaster, while Chen Fan still had a long way to go in accumulating power.

Seeing Chen Fan’s melancholy, Ye Wuji patted his shoulder.

“Go back and cultivate quietly.”

Chen Fan withdrew his gaze, silent and wordless.

Ye Wuji paused, then added, “If you plan to leave the academy again, come find me.”

Chen Fan was momentarily stunned but then nodded once more.

…

Among the group, only Rong Wuchen had directly ascended to Grandmaster.

However, the others were not far behind.

Chen Fan once again mounted the Heavenly Spirit Eagle, thinking:

“If I return to the Yuan Merchant ruins, I should easily pass the five-rank test this time.”

With his body technique at Unity, comprehension of the Lightning Realm, and the effect of the Luminous Feather Garment, he could hold his own even against Grandmaster-level adversaries.

While riding the Spirit Eagle back to the academy, Chen Fan gazed down upon the vast rivers and mountains, feeling as if the world was boundless and he could go anywhere at will.

…

The Western Wilderness.

Though called a wilderness, it was immense beyond measure, many times larger than the Great Qian Dynasty, encompassing not only deserts and plains but also dense forests and swamps.

Just over two thousand miles west of Great Qian lay a canyon amid thick forest.

Countless roars echoed; inside the valley swarmed grotesque monsters with swollen, twisted bodies, razor-sharp fangs—neither fully beast nor human.

If Chen Fan were present, he would recognize them as the alien demons he had encountered during his missions.

The alien demons were dense, numbering in the tens of thousands, mostly humanoid but bizarrely shaped—some with blade-like arms, others with two or three heads…

Surrounding the valley were numerous packs of various beasts, even more numerous than the alien demons.

On a nearby cliff, two pairs of silver and golden eyes watched the valley below.

A cold voice spoke:

“The Emperor of Great Qian is gravely ill, nearing death. Recently, I have sent many of my ‘alien species’ into Great Qian territory, hiding them deep in the mountains and forests. More will come. I want to test the limits of Great Qian…”

After a brief pause, another voice replied:

“Agreed.”