Chapter 36: Chapter 35: Breakthrough
THUMP THUMP THUMP! As Qin Feng pushed his strength to its limit, he took a deep breath and seemed to break through a barrier. Warm, thread-like wisps of energy materialized within his meridians.
With every rise and fall of Qin Feng’s chest, this thread of energy scurried about his meridians like a little mouse, spreading a pleasant warmth.
Martial Arts Fourth Layer! He had broken through!
In an instant, the feeling of being about to burst from the immense pressure swelling within him vanished. It was as if all that expansive power had been condensed into this single, tiny thread of energy.
This tiny wisp of Inner Breath was like a fresh wave of reinforcements! Qin Feng’s spirits soared. He gathered this new strength and unleashed a punch!
When Qin Feng’s fist flew out, a massive force rippled forth, like a raging storm of wind and thunder.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The immense power seemed to punch through the air, creating a tangible, yet invisible, void.
The Yunling Giant Tiger had no time to dodge. It possessed great Spiritual Wisdom; its muscles and bones were as pliable as a snake. When Qin Feng’s fist landed on its fur, the snow-white pelt caved in, deflecting part of the Fist Force. It felt as if Qin Feng had punched a wad of cotton, his strength finding no purchase.
But this time, the Yunling Giant Tiger had clearly miscalculated. Qin Feng’s punch now carried a thread of his newly condensed Inner Breath. A Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer could already form a trace of Bone-Eroding Hidden Force, and this punch was like a needle hidden in cotton! The Hidden Force bypassed the tiger’s defenses, traveling through its pelt and blasting directly into its organs like a dagger from within.
"ROAR!" The Yunling Giant Tiger roared at the sky, unable to bear the excruciating pain. That sliver of Hidden Force was wreaking havoc inside it, leaving its muscles and bones sore and powerless!
For the first time, the Yunling Giant Tiger had suffered a major loss at Qin Feng’s hands. Full of Spiritual Wisdom and far from stupid, it glared at Qin Feng with menacing eyes after taking the hit. Then, it turned tail. The giant white tiger had decisively chosen to flee!
The snow-white tiger bounded away, faster than lightning. Qin Feng, completely caught off guard by its retreat, let the giant beast escape in his moment of surprise.
"It actually ran!" Qin Feng was stunned, a look of regret soon crossing his face. "A pity. That tiger sure is fast. Otherwise, a Yunling Giant Tiger’s penis has extraordinary effects!" Qin Feng clicked his tongue, his eyes fixed on the direction the white tiger had fled, his face a mask of disappointment.
Ever since being... bested... by that woman in bed, Qin Feng had been very dissatisfied with a certain aspect of his own performance. The thought of a snow-white giant tiger, an Ancient Relic Species, getting away—and the tiger penis along with it—made his heart ache with grief.
Hearing Qin Feng’s words, Qin Shou’s dark features contorted, his eyes filled with disbelief and a sense of the absurd.
’A Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Third Heaven not only fought an Ancient Relic Species like the Yunling Giant Tiger in close combat, but he actually won! It’s unbelievable!’
Qin Feng paid no mind to Qin Shou’s dazed expression. Seeing the Yunling Giant Tiger had escaped, he suppressed his regret, closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, and felt another warm thread of energy generate within him.
He had now stepped into the Martial Arts Fourth Layer and condensed his first thread of Inner Breath. Next, as long as he cleared a few blocked meridians and circulated the Inner Breath through his body for one minor Circulation, he could advance to the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Heaven.
After reaching the Martial Arts Fourth Layer, a Martial Artist could choose a Cultivation Technique to condense their Inner Breath, like the Qin Family’s most famous legacy technique, the *Nine Xun Wind Roar Technique*.
The *Nine Xun Wind Roar Technique* was a Wind Attribute, Spirit Martial Level Cultivation Technique. After practicing it, one’s Inner Breath would naturally possess the agility of the wind, which offered a slight advantage in comprehending a Wind Attribute Seed.
’In my opinion, however, blindly cultivating a technique like this is extremely dangerous,’ Qin Feng thought. ’For example, if someone with a Fire Attribute constitution cultivates a Water Attribute Cultivation Method, they’ll never have a chance to comprehend an Attribute Seed in their entire life, much less enter the Condensing Vein Realm.’
’Only after testing your own elemental affinity can you decide which type of technique to practice. If someone with a Water Attribute Constitution cultivates a Water Attribute Cultivation Method, or an Ice Attribute Technique, their progress will soar. But if they go and cultivate a Fire Attribute Technique instead, they’re just sabotaging their own future!’
The Qin Family possessed a Profound Array specifically designed to test a Martial Artist’s constitutional Attributes. Every Martial Artist who broke through to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer could use this Array to discover their own elemental affinity.
But right now, Qin Feng’s hatred for the Qin Family was boundless, so he certainly couldn’t use their Profound Array to test his own Attributes. That didn’t mean he was out of options, however.
He could, for the time being, practice a non-attribute Cultivation Technique. These techniques were suitable for any Martial Artist, regardless of their elemental affinity.
And as it happened, Qin Feng knew of an exceptionally high-grade non-attribute Cultivation Technique. The Inner Breath it produced was perfectly balanced and moderate. While it lacked any special features, its strength lay in its steady, flowing energy, free from the risk of elemental clashes or cultivation deviation.
Most critically, after cultivating this technique, one could easily switch to another technique upon discovering their elemental affinity, without any risk of meridian conflicts.
This Cultivation Technique was called the *Innate Primordial Qi Scripture*!
In the End of Dharma Era, this technique had become widespread, serving as the first choice for many Martial Artists after they broke through to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer.
Qin Feng remained in the bear cave for a day. Once the thread of Inner Breath in his meridians stabilized and fully converted into Primordial Qi, he led Qin Shou down the mountain, heading for the Qin Family’s base in Shanghe Town.
...
The pair crossed the outer edge of the Barbaric Wilderness and made their way toward Shanghe Town, the location of the Qin Family’s main lair.
As evening fell, the sunset clouds burned like fire and the setting sun was the color of blood. The once-bustling forest slowly grew dark and quiet.
They were just one mountain range away from entering Shanghe Town. As they passed through a hollow, both Qin Feng and Qin Shou stopped, their expressions turning strange. Up ahead, a man and a woman were having a clandestine meeting.
The man was tall and slender, dressed in blue robes. With his scholarly air, handsome features, and exceptionally refined demeanor, he cut a truly impressive figure.
The woman was tall and possessed an enchanting figure, her waist so slender it seemed a single hand could encircle it. A pink dress accentuated her extraordinary presence. Her cloud-like, jet-black hair danced in the mountain breeze, making her look like a Celestial Immortal who had descended to the mortal world—stunningly beautiful and poised.
They stood hand-in-hand, seemingly watching the sunset together—a tender scene, like a pair of celestial lovers. The only thing marring the picture was the sudden appearance of Qin Feng and Qin Shou.
The moment they drew near, the couple immediately spotted them approaching.
"You, you piece of trash?" The beautiful girl in pink turned her head. Her gaze landed on Qin Feng, a flash of surprise in her lovely eyes. Her tone made it clear she recognized him. At the sight of him, her pretty brows furrowed, and her eyes filled with undisguised disgust and contempt.
Qin Feng recognized her too. He stared at the couple in surprise. ’To think I’d run into an old ’acquaintance’ in such a remote mountain hollow!’
Hearing the girl’s blunt insult, Qin Feng lifted his chin and replied coolly, "Yu Yao, if I’m trash, then what does that make you two? An adulterer and his whore?"
As the girl’s face turned ashen, Qin Feng curled his lip into a cold sneer and continued before she could even retort, "The rumors all say that you, the great Miss Yu Yao, are as beautiful as a Celestial Immortal, pure as ice and jade. But in my eyes, you’re just a shameless bitch. So drop that self-righteous act. You’re a whore trying to build a monument to your own chastity, having a secret rendezvous with some pretty boy just days before your wedding. And you have the audacity to mock me!"
Braving the girl’s murderous glare, Qin Feng said in a tone dripping with false pity and real schadenfreude, "But the most pitiful one here is our dear Seventh Young Master Qin. He’s been made a cuckold before he’s even married!"
Beside them, Qin Shou shot the gleeful Qin Feng a strange look before leaning in to whisper, "Young Master, I believe Miss Yu Yao was originally your fiancée, promised to you at birth! If that’s the case, then you’re the one who..."
Qin Feng’s laughter died abruptly, his expression instantly twisting...
