Chapter 59: Chapter 56: Breakthrough on the Eve of Return

"It’s been a whole day. Why hasn’t he broken through yet?" Qin Wu muttered, glancing at the tightly shut door.

Xiaoyu propped her face in her hands, her cheeks puffed out as she mumbled, "Miss, it’s not like that brat is going to die. He’s been hurt so many times and is still alive and kicking. You’re so worried about him... could it be you’re starting to fall for him?"

Qin Wu didn’t react much to the first part of the sentence; Xiaoyu was right, Mu Chen’s life force was indeed incredibly tenacious. But after hearing the last part, a blush instantly spread across her face. Furious, she grabbed Xiaoyu and started vigorously kneading her cheeks with both hands. "I’ll teach you to talk nonsense! I’ll teach you!"

"Oww, oww... Miss, I was wrong! I won’t say it again! You’re really hurting me." Xiaoyu was genuinely in a bit of pain. Several red marks appeared on her little face, looking like cherries embedded in her cheeks.

"Hmph. Learned your lesson now? If you spout any more nonsense, it won’t be as simple as just some pinching. I’ll..."

Xiaoyu was waiting to hear the rest of the threat, but she suddenly realized her miss had gone silent. Looking up curiously, she found Qin Wu staring blankly at the room, her mouth agape. There, streams of visible Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi were surging continuously into the house. In just a short while, a massive Primordial Power vortex had formed above the building.

The moment she saw the Primordial Power vortex, Qin Wu shot to her feet and murmured, "How is this possible? Why is it like this? Why would breaking through a single minor Ring Level form such a vortex?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Xiaoyu was also frightened by the scene. She quickly ran behind Qin Wu, grabbed her arm, and asked, "Miss, Miss, what’s happening? Why is the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi so violent?"

Qin Wu had no answer for Xiaoyu’s question. Even a disciple of her noble status had never seen anyone in the Martial Artist Realm trigger such a powerful surge of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi just to break through.

Inside the room, everything was neat and tidy. A young man lay on his side on the bed. His complexion was rosy, and his expression held a hint of enjoyment. Above his head, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi converged into a massive vortex, continuously pouring into his body through his Celestial Spirit Acupoint at high speed.

"This damn brat has to make such a huge fuss every time he breaks through. Doesn’t he know how to be a little more low-key?" the Profound Old Ghost cursed irritably. He then controlled the Extreme Spirit Pearl and began to continuously compress the density of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.

This was the first time the Profound Old Ghost had used this method to help Mu Chen alleviate the pain of the massive influx of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi during a breakthrough. So far, the method had proven exceptionally effective.

Seeing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi slowly fill the Dantian, the Profound Old Ghost’s lips curled into a smile. ’He’s about to break through,’ he thought.

Sure enough, not long after his thought, the crisp sound of shattering glass came from within Mu Chen’s Dantian. Immediately after, all of Mu Chen’s meridians expanded once again. The Primordial Power vortex that had been swirling above his head for so long pounced on him like a starving wolf that could no longer hold back. It poured into his Dantian in a powerful torrent, and with that, Mu Chen’s Martial Artist Realm finally advanced from a Third-Ring Martial Artist to a Four-Ring Martial Artist.

"Whew, I finally broke through."

Exhaling a deep, turbid breath, Mu Chen’s consciousness cleared. He felt the distinctly stronger power within his body and chuckled. As Primordial Power surged, four red Martial Rings appeared from beneath his feet.

"Thunderbolt Fist! Hah!"

CRACKLE!

As Mu Chen threw a sudden punch, streaks of lightning the thickness of a little finger coursed rapidly over his arm. As the speed of his punches increased, the friction between the lightning and the air produced a sharp, explosive crackle, displaying the unbridled ferocity of his fist.

’I’m much stronger, but life here is still too comfortable. I need an opponent.’

Mu Chen muttered to himself, retracting his Primordial Power. He quickly threw on some clothes—the weather outside was getting colder and colder. Pushing open the door, he immediately saw a dumbfounded Qin Wu. After a moment of surprise, he smiled faintly. "Miss Qin Wu, what brings you here? As it happens, I was just about to look for you."

Seeing that Mu Chen had come out, Qin Wu hurriedly straightened her appearance and pretended to be calm. "Oh, no reason. I just heard you were about to break through, so I came to have a look. What did you need to see me about?"

Mu Chen scratched the back of his head. "It’s nothing major, really. I just feel that it’s too comfortable here. It doesn’t suit me. There are still five months until the great treasure on Cang Mountain Peak is unveiled. I want to go out and temper myself during this time."

Hearing this, Qin Wu was taken aback. "Why? Why do you need to go out and train?"

Mu Chen gave a wry smile and rubbed his nose. "Because I have to get stronger. The fastest way to do that is to experience life-and-death situations. Only by tempering myself on the edge of death can my Martial Artist Realm improve quickly."

Qin Wu frowned. "Getting stronger... is it really that important?"

Mu Chen nodded. "To me, it’s very important. But don’t worry. Five months from now, before the great treasure on Cang Mountain Peak is unveiled, I’ll definitely be there. We can meet on Cang Mountain Peak then. If I don’t get stronger quickly, Cang Mountain Peak might just become my burial ground."

"What are you talking about? Don’t you still have your King... I mean, your Little Pangolin?" Qin Wu blurted out subconsciously. She didn’t even notice when the tone of her voice had changed.

"That’s external power, after all. What if one day Iron Armor Steel Fang isn’t by my side...? That’s why I have to become strong myself..."

With that, Mu Chen’s feet moved. Tiny arcs of electricity flickered beneath them, and with a flash of light, he vanished from the spot. By the time Qin Wu reacted, all that was left before her was a shallow footprint. The snow beneath it had turned black... For some reason, a faint sense of loss filled Qin Wu’s heart. Snowflakes were still falling from the sky. A gentle breeze blew past, and the snowflakes, just as they were about to land, swirled and drifted away into the distance, as if they had never fallen at all...

「Time passed slowly.」

The scenery of Frost Cold Town remained the same. Familiar and unfamiliar faces walked the streets. The new year had passed, and the street markets had returned to their usual rhythm, with the cries of vendors rising and falling. However, everyone was on edge. It was for no other reason than the great treasure on Cang Mountain Peak was about to be unearthed—tonight. Martial Artists from all sides had gathered on Cang Mountain Peak, waiting for the treasure to appear so they could try their luck.

"Miss, do you think that brat isn’t coming?" a young girl said, frowning as she scanned the crowd, as if searching for someone’s shadow.

A closer look revealed this person to be Qin Wu’s personal maid, Xiaoyu. Standing beside her, Qin Wu just smiled. "If he said he would come, he will definitely come."

"Hmph. Miss, you trust him too easily. He already has his own Spiritual Treasure Soldiers. Knowing that the great treasure is the Jade Transformation Crystal, there’s nothing for him to gain. In fact, there’s a huge chance he’ll just be putting himself in danger. If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t come," Xiaoyu said, puffing out her cheeks indignantly.

Hearing this, Qin Wu’s brows slowly furrowed. Xiaoyu’s analysis wasn’t entirely without reason. Knowing there was no benefit to be had and only great danger, most people wouldn’t show up. There were many ways to repay a debt of gratitude; it wasn’t necessary to risk one’s life. The more she thought about it, the more sense Xiaoyu’s words made. And yet, for some reason, a sliver of hope remained in her heart—a hope that he would appear.

Meanwhile, in a mountain cave less than a hundred kilometers from Cang Mountain Peak, a young man sat cross-legged on the ground, frowning. ’Of all the times to have a breakthrough, why now?’

The young man was none other than Mu Chen, who had left the Celestial Fragrance Pavilion five months ago. Mu Chen was taller now, around 1.7 meters, and his frame had filled out considerably. Although he still looked lean, his shoulders were very broad, giving off a sense of security and reliability.

His features had also matured. Mu Chen was now fourteen years old. During these past five months, he had teetered on the edge of life and death almost daily, always challenging Magical Beasts of a higher tier than himself. This had forged his temperament, making him even more calm and steady. And his Martial Artist Realm had advanced from the Fourth-Ring Martial Artist he was when he left to a Fifth-Ring Martial Artist.

However, this advancement had nearly cost Mu Chen his life. It happened in the second month after he left. He was in the middle of a battle with a Third-level Magical Beast, a Tibetan Mastiff, and was on the verge of killing it when a Liger suddenly sprang out from beside him. A Liger—a Tier Five King-level Magical Beast with immense power and, more importantly, an extreme bloodlust. Mu Chen had no time to react before a single swipe of its claw sent him flying backward into a thicket of bushes. It all happened so suddenly that Iron Armor Steel Fang, still in Mu Chen’s arms, hadn’t even had time to react before Mu Chen was knocked unconscious.

At that moment, Iron Armor Steel Fang flew into a thunderous rage. It instantly transformed into its true form and, with a single tail strike, smashed the Liger into a bloody pulp. The half-dead Tibetan Mastiff didn’t escape either, instantly annihilated by Iron Armor Steel Fang’s Elemental Power Cannon.

That time, Mu Chen truly walked through the gates of hell. His back was completely mangled, with flesh torn open and his ghastly white spine exposed to the air. Fortunately, Mu Chen had been consuming large quantities of Demon Beast Meat every day during that period, so his physical body was incredibly tough. Furthermore, the Shattered Star Lock Chain had immediately coiled behind his back. Although it couldn’t block the Liger’s strike, it did act as a barrier. Otherwise, that single blow would have erased Mu Chen from this world.

It was because of that incident that Mu Chen, relying on his tenacious willpower, pulled through and successfully broke through in his Martial Artist Realm, advancing from a Fourth-Ring Martial Artist to a Fifth-Ring Martial Artist. In the blink of an eye, another two months passed. Mu Chen’s combat techniques and judgment had improved dramatically. It was worth noting that the training Profound Old Ghost had given him—carrying the bell to reduce unnecessary movements—had been put to perfect use in these battles.

Every time he attacked, the reduction in unnecessary movements allowed him to exert his power to the absolute maximum, with almost no wasted force. This not only reduced his stamina consumption but also amplified his power to a certain extent. He had a feeling that the skill gained from this training would grow stronger along with his Martial Artist Realm, eventually becoming something no less powerful than a Combat Skill.

Clenching his fists, Mu Chen suddenly felt the Primordial Power surging abnormally within him. This phenomenon had appeared abruptly while he was on his way to Cang Mountain Peak. Caught off guard, Mu Chen had no choice but to find a remote stone cave to use as a temporary shelter. This is what led to the scene from a moment ago.

"Kid, why the long face? You’re breaking through," the Profound Old Ghost’s soul body said irritably, flickering into existence.