After finishing his cultivation, Li Yuan let out a long, turbid breath. When he opened his eyes, the sky outside was already bright.

The Spiritual Power in his Dantian was already refined to its absolute limit.

The Spiritual Power had indeed become a little purer, but the increase was minuscule. His Dantian had long since been saturated to its absolute limit.

Li Yuan got up, straightened his clothes, hung his waist token at his side, and pushed the door open to begin his patrol.

The early morning market square was already starting to bustle with activity. Li Yuan walked a lap along East Street before turning into North Alley.

Halfway down North Alley, Zhao Wu’s stall was the same as always.

A dirty piece of coarse cloth was spread on the ground, with a small pile of ore fragments on it. The scrawny man leaned against the base of the wall behind his stall, his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking utterly listless.

As Li Yuan passed, he glanced over as usual. Those few dusty stones were still piled up in the same way.

He hadn’t sold a single thing in days, yet the man didn’t seem anxious at all.

Li Yuan didn’t slow his pace, walking past just as he had the previous few days.

But before his gaze shifted away, he caught another detail.

Zhao Wu wasn’t looking at the stall in front of him. His half-lidded eyes made it seem like he was dozing off, but his gaze was actually fixed on the entrance of North Alley—which faced the main gate of the market square.

After walking past, Li Yuan paused at a corner up ahead, pretending to look at a notice board.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Zhao Wu’s gaze shift from the alley entrance and slowly turn toward the administration office.

The administration office was at the end of West Street. From this angle in North Alley, one could just see the guards standing watch at its entrance.

’A Qi Refining Second Level Loose Cultivator selling ore fragments, not worried that his goods aren’t selling, but instead observing the market’s defenses in his free time.’

Li Yuan filed this thought away and turned to continue his patrol.

Returning to his wooden cabin at dusk, Li Yuan sat cross-legged and began circulating the Spirit-Introducing Skill. Pure Spiritual Qi surged into his meridians, and his circulation cycles spun rapidly. The Spiritual Power in his Dantian was refined to the extreme; the improvement from each cycle was almost negligible.

’There’s no point in grinding any further. It’s time to attempt a breakthrough.’

’The Spiritual Qi filtration is permanent now, and the purity of my Spiritual Power far exceeds what my predecessor had.’

’With the "Organ Enhancement" entry, the resilience of my internal organs is more than a notch stronger than my predecessor’s when he tried to break through the bottleneck.’

’With the "Circulation Acceleration" entry, the speed at which my Spiritual Power circulates far surpasses my predecessor’s.’ 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

’Plus, having been through one breakthrough attempt, I know all the fine details of the process.’

’Even without a Realm-Breaking Pill, my chances of a successful breakthrough are high.’

With this in mind, Li Yuan immediately closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing.

His breathing gradually slowed, flattened, and evened out. Stray thoughts settled one by one, and his consciousness slowly gathered in his Dantian.

The saturated Spiritual Power in his Dantian condensed into a mass—pure, refined, and lying dormant.

But beyond the borders of his Dantian, a formless barrier sealed everything off. No matter how full of Spiritual Power it became, it could not cross that threshold.

His predecessor had been stuck at this barrier for nearly two years. In the end, he took a Realm-Breaking Pill and forced the breakthrough. His organs couldn’t withstand the Spiritual Power backlash, leading to cultivation deviation, and his meridians were damaged.

’My predecessor failed for two reasons. First, his Spiritual Power wasn’t pure enough, and the impurities created an extra burden during the assault. Second, his organs were too weak to handle the backlash.’

After regulating his breathing for about half an hour, his body reached its optimal state.

Li Yuan hesitated no longer and circulated the Spirit-Introducing Skill with all his might.

Spiritual Qi flooded madly into his body, becoming incomparably pure after being filtered.

Driven by the Circulation Acceleration, his Spiritual Power raced through his meridians, its speed ever-increasing. It went from a stream to a river, and from a river to a raging torrent.

The Spiritual Power in his Dantian was swept up by the rapid circulation cycles, expanding outward and pressing against the barrier.

Once, twice, three times—the pressure mounted.

Then, Li Yuan slammed all of his Spiritual Power into the barrier at once.

The barrier shattered. It shattered just like that, with surprising ease.

Compared to his predecessor’s struggle, Li Yuan’s breakthrough, augmented by the three entries, was practically smooth sailing.

His Dantian abruptly expanded, and the external Spiritual Qi followed suit, surging madly into his body and gathering in the enlarged Dantian. The total amount of his Spiritual Power soared.

The entire process lasted for several dozen breaths. The influx of Spiritual Qi gradually slowed, and the Spiritual Power in his Dantian stabilized, reaching a new equilibrium.

Li Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

Even though the breakthrough had been short, Li Yuan’s entire body felt as if it had been soaked in water. His clothes were drenched in sweat.

But the Spiritual Power in his Dantian was full and abundant, circulating with a robust strength that was completely incomparable to before the breakthrough.

[Current Realm: Qi Refining Fourth Level]

Li Yuan opened the panel, which now clearly displayed his realm after the breakthrough.

By morning, Li Yuan’s vitality had mostly recovered.

The Spiritual Power in his Dantian circulated steadily, with no signs of turbulence.

He pushed open the wooden door, and a cool breeze greeted him. His clothes were clean and dry; the sweat he had broken out in during the night had long since been taken care of by his Cleansing Physique.

Compared to the Qi Refining Third Level, the Fourth Level’s total Spiritual Power was nearly double, and its circulation speed was much faster. He could even hear the noisy chatter from the distant East Street more clearly than before.

’Mid-stage Qi Refining. Unless there are special circumstances, I won’t be forcibly conscripted. I’ve finally crossed this threshold.’

「North Alley, Zhao Wu’s stall.」

As Li Yuan passed by, he gave it his usual glance, but his attention lingered for a moment longer.

The pile of ore fragments had changed.

The small pile of ore fragments from before was now just a thin layer. At least two-thirds of it was gone.

But it didn’t look like Zhao Wu had sold it. A stall that hadn’t moved a single item in days couldn’t have suddenly found a market overnight.

Li Yuan’s gaze shifted from the pile of fragments, and he subtly observed Zhao Wu himself.

The past few days, he had been leaning against the base of the wall with his hands in his sleeves, the very picture of bored listlessness.

Today, Zhao Wu was sitting up straighter. His back was slightly tense, his cuffs were tightened, and his shoulders were held a little higher than usual.

It was subtle, but compared to his relaxed posture from the past few days, the change was clear.

Li Yuan walked a few steps further and stopped in front of another stall, pretending to browse.

Just then, the sound of conversation came from Zhao Wu’s direction.

"Fellow cultivator, are you from out of town? Are there still Demon Beasts causing trouble in the mountains?"

In his peripheral vision, he saw Zhao Wu striking up a conversation with a passing Loose Cultivator.

The Loose Cultivator, carrying a dirty cloth bag on his back, was taken aback at being addressed and answered casually.

Zhao Wu asked another question: "There are quite a few people in the market square these days. Are the guards sufficient?"

The Loose Cultivator shook his head, indicating he didn’t know. Zhao Wu smiled and didn’t press further, so the cultivator walked away.

’Zhao Wu never spoke to passersby before, but today he suddenly starts a conversation. And he’s not asking about business, but about the number of guards.’

’Fewer ore fragments, a tense posture, and asking about the guard detail.’

’Zhao Wu is probably about to make his move.’

Realizing this, Li Yuan didn’t act directly. Instead, he decided to find Wang De, the captain of the inspection team.

’What if my analysis is wrong? Acting rashly could lead to trouble.’

’But if Zhao Wu really is a problem and something happens under my watch, as an Inspector General, I’ll definitely be punished.’

’Better to pass the buck to Wang De.’