Chapter 118: Chapter 117: Late Stage of Ninth Grade, Seventh

At the end of the month.

In Room C-7, Fang Han sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyes slightly closed, his expression serene.

Within his body, the Xunfeng Technique was slowly circulating. Pale cyan Inner Qi flowed like a stream through his meridians, following a profound path before finally converging into the Guanyuan Acupoint.

As the last wisp of Inner Qi flowed in, the Guanyuan Acupoint filled completely. The Inner Qi then began to surge spontaneously toward the next acupoint—the Mingmen Acupoint.

But outside the Mingmen Acupoint, an invisible yet incredibly tough barrier stood in its way, firmly blocking the surging Inner Qi.

No matter how the Inner Qi battered it, the barrier only trembled slightly, sending out ripples, but remained unbreakable.

His existing acupoints were already full of Inner Qi. With no new acupoints to store it, the growth of his Inner Qi came to a complete halt.

’I’ve hit the bottleneck for the Late Stage of Ninth Grade!’

Without a doubt, Fang Han had accumulated enough in the Middle Stage of Ninth Grade and had now encountered the bottleneck leading to the Late Stage of Ninth Grade.

He just needed to break through this bottleneck to advance further and reach the Late Stage of Ninth Grade.

’I can’t be impatient!’

Fang Han’s mind was focused and calm, without a trace of impatience.

He believed that with his Root Bone Talent amplified by a factor of sixteen, he would definitely be able to break this bottleneck, and it wouldn’t take too long.

He took out a porcelain bottle and tipped out a longan-sized Peiyuan Pill with a rich, medicinal aroma. This was a Peiyuan Pill he had asked someone else to purchase for him.

He had already consumed all the previous flawed Peiyuan Pills. Just as he had predicted, the ten pills with reduced efficacy were not enough for a month’s worth of consumption.

He placed the Peiyuan Pill into his mouth.

The elixir dissolved the moment it entered his mouth. A gentle yet immense wave of pure energy rapidly spread, suffusing his entire body.

Fang Han immediately guided this new power, converting it into Inner Qi. It formed a mighty torrent that crashed against the invisible barrier outside the Mingmen Acupoint again and again.

RUMBLE!

It was as if one muffled thunderclap after another echoed within his body.

Under the repeated assaults, faint, hair-like cracks began to appear on the invisible barrier.

Fang Han held his breath, his concentration absolute. He maintained a clear mind, pouring all his focus into the delicate control of his Inner Qi, constantly adjusting the rhythm and force of the impacts.

Time passed quietly in the silence. Outside, the sun climbed higher, its rays filtering through the paper window and casting mottled patterns of light and shadow in the room.

One hour, two hours...

Fang Han was as still as a meditating old monk. He hadn’t moved an inch from the very beginning, his mind completely immersed in his cultivation.

Finally, at a certain moment, when his Inner Qi had condensed to its absolute limit, seemingly transforming into an indestructible pale cyan blade—

CRACK!

A crisp shattering sound, seeming to originate from the depths of his soul, rang out.

The tough barrier outside the Mingmen Acupoint shattered like a collapsing dam!

BOOM—!

The obstruction was gone! The vast Inner Qi, which had been building up for so long, surged into the Mingmen Acupoint like a torrential flood from a broken dam, with unprecedented ferocity.

In an instant, the aura around Fang Han skyrocketed!

He had now opened three acupoints. An invisible bridge seemed to connect the Qihai Acupoint, Guanyuan Acupoint, and Mingmen Acupoint, allowing his Inner Qi to flow endlessly in a continuous cycle.

With each cycle, the color of his Inner Qi deepened, its quality grew more refined, and the sense of power it generated as it flowed far surpassed anything before.

A feeling of complete rebirth spread through his body. His bones emitted a series of soft pops, and his blood surged like a tide.

And with the opening of the Mingmen Acupoint, a Divine Treasure was also unlocked.

Fang Han felt a slight warmth in his lower back, as if a steady power was quietly merging into the bones and fascia, significantly strengthening his back’s resistance to impact.

This was the Divine Treasure ability unlocked at the Late Stage of Ninth Grade—Copper Waist and Iron Back!

The early-stage "Endurance."

The middle-stage "Settling Down."

And now, "Copper Waist and Iron Back."

At this point, he had mastered all the Divine Treasure abilities for the three stages of the Ninth Grade Internal Qi Realm.

Fang Han slowly opened his eyes. A flash of pale cyan light flickered in their depths before vanishing, appearing exceptionally bright in the dim room.

He gently clenched his fist, feeling his greatly increased strength and the formidable Inner Qi in his body, far more powerful than before. The corners of his mouth lifted into an irrepressible, joyous smile.

"Late Stage of Ninth Grade... I finally made it!"

Fang Han murmured to himself, his voice holding a hint of barely perceptible joy.

Compared to the top disciples of his cohort, his Inner Qi Cultivation had always been his weakness, limiting the rise of his power ranking.

Now, his Inner Qi Cultivation had finally caught up, and that weakness was at last overcome.

’Time to test my ranking!’

Not lingering on the joy of his breakthrough, Fang Han quickly calmed his emotions. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

With his cultivation breakthrough and a great increase in strength, it was time to see just how high he could climb on the Martial Arts Stele!

He rose to his feet, quickly washed up, changed into a clean, cyan Disciple’s Robe, and buckled the Cyan Blade Sword to his waist before pushing open the door and striding out.

The sunlight was a bit dazzling. He squinted slightly to adjust, then headed straight for the spacious White Jade Plaza in the center of the Sub-Branch.

...

The plaza was even more lively than usual at the end of the month.

Many disciples chose to come and test their progress at the end of the month, checking the results of their month-long cultivation to secure a better ranking for the next month.

At this moment, twenty to thirty disciples were scattered across the plaza. Some were practicing their Martial Techniques alone, while others were chatting in small groups of two or three.

When Fang Han’s figure appeared at the edge of the plaza, the somewhat noisy scene instantly grew much quieter.

Gaze after gaze—curious, scrutinizing, or filled with anticipation—all converged on Fang Han.

The story of Fang Han’s meteoric rise on the Martial Arts Stele rankings had long since spread throughout the Sub-Branch.

Now that Fang Han had appeared at the plaza again, his purpose was self-evident—he was here to challenge the Martial Arts Stele once more!

"I thought he’d lay low for a few months like before. I didn’t expect him to test again so soon!"

"I wonder how many ranks he’ll climb this time."

"The higher the rank, the harder it is to climb. Advancing even a single spot requires a significant increase in strength. He just reached 18th place last month. It’s only been a month, so I’d say climbing two or three ranks would be pretty good."

Some disciples discussed in low voices, their tones analytical, believing Fang Han’s improvement this time would be limited.

"I don’t know about that. I think Fang Han is always full of surprises. Last time he jumped sixty ranks in one go. Who’s to say he won’t do something amazing again?"

Other disciples held a different opinion, feeling that Fang Han couldn’t be judged by common sense.

Amid the whispers, Fang Han walked with steady steps, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding gazes, and went straight to the Martial Arts Stele.

’Ninetieth place?’

As his gaze swept over the stele, Fang Han saw an unexpected name.

Wang Meng, who had joined the Qingxuan Sect through connections and started at the bottom of the rankings, had actually climbed to ninetieth place.

Although her progress couldn’t compare to his, her climb was still considerable. She had even surpassed some disciples who had joined through the official assessment.

The surprise flickered through his mind, and Fang Han searched for his own name.

Because he hadn’t tested in a month, his rank had dropped. He finally found it at the twenty-fourth position.

’I’ve already dropped to twenty-fourth place...’

Fang Han’s gaze hardened.

The slightest bit of slacking off or stagnation would get you quickly overtaken by those behind you. The fierce competition in the Sub-Branch was plain to see.

He hesitated no longer. He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and brought himself to his peak state.

A few breaths later, his eyes snapped open, as sharp as a newly drawn sword!

SHING—!

The Cyan Blade Sword flew from its sheath, its blade reflecting the sunlight with a cold gleam like autumn water.

The Inner Qi of the Late Stage of Ninth Grade was poured unreservedly into the blade. The Inner Qi surged through his meridians, letting out a low whistle.

At the same time, the "Wind Momentum" he had comprehended from the Minor Achievement Realm of the Wind-Splitting Swordsmanship was pushed to its absolute limit!

VMMM—!

The blade trembled faintly. The air in the plaza began to rapidly swirl and converge around Fang Han, creating a howling gale.

The air around the blade blurred. A sharp, tearing intent spread out, making the skin of some nearby disciples with lower cultivation crawl and causing them to subconsciously take half a step back.

"This aura... It’s even stronger than last time!"

"This Inner Qi fluctuation... Could he be at the Late Stage of Ninth Grade?"

Under the crowd’s shocked and uncertain gazes, Fang Han slashed out with his sword.

The sword strike was too fast for most disciples to follow. They only saw a pale cyan afterimage splitting the air.

The sword light was like a fleeting shadow in a gale, yet it carried an extremely condensed penetrating force as it fiercely struck the lustrous white surface of the stele.

BOOM!

A boom, deeper and more deafening than the last time, erupted.

The entire Martial Arts Stele burst into brilliant light. The blinding glare made many disciples instinctively narrow their eyes.

On the stele’s surface, ripple-like waves spread violently. Fang Han’s name, ranked twenty-fourth, began to jump upwards at a jaw-dropping speed!

Twenty-four... twenty... fifteen... twelve... ten... nine... eight...

Finally, the number abruptly froze—

Seven!

In a single attempt, he had climbed a full seventeen places!

From twenty-fourth place, he had brazenly soared to seventh!

He had broken directly into the top ten!

Silence!

A deathly silence!

Every disciple in the plaza stared with wide eyes and open mouths, frozen in place as if hit by an Immobilization Technique, looking in disbelief at the dazzling new rank on the Martial Arts Stele.

Climbing seventeen places at once, and rocketing from twenty-fourth directly into the top ten to land at seventh!

The difficulty of this feat was in no way inferior to his previous jump from seventy-eighth to eighteenth place!

The higher the ranking, the more difficult it is to advance; the difficulty increases exponentially with each rank.

And Fang Han hadn’t just entered the top ten; he had surpassed three people in one go to land directly in the seventh spot!

After the brief, deathly silence, the plaza erupted into an uproar far more intense than the last time!

"Sev... Seventh place?!"

"He shot straight into the top ten, and at seventh place no less!"

"My god, it’s only been a month! How does he cultivate?"

"Late Stage of Ninth Grade, he broke through to the Late Stage of Ninth Grade! And that Sword Momentum... it seems even more terrifying!"

"A monster... now that’s a real monster!"

Cries of alarm, sharp intakes of breath, and disbelieving murmurs mingled together. All eyes were fixed on Fang Han, filled with shock, awe, and a hint of jealousy.

The strength and speed of progress Fang Han had displayed this time completely overturned their understanding.

The disciples who had initially believed Fang Han’s improvement would be limited were left speechless. They thought to themselves, ’We shouldn’t have tried to judge a monster by ordinary standards.’