17: Defeat! Breakthrough to the Spiritual Aperture!

"Impossible! How can a Meridian Opening defeat a Spirit Aperture Realm? And one on the war dragon ranking at that!" someone shouted in protest!

Atop the Lingyuan Tower, Jiang Haochuan also broke into a cold sweat for Zhang Yang.

As the dust settled, Zhang Yang looked relaxed, his right hand showing no signs of injury.

In contrast, Li Hai stood frozen on the spot, his pupils constricting violently.

He stared fixedly at his trembling right hand; the hand that had held the sword was now empty.

The web between his thumb and index finger had been split open, blood dripping from his fingertips.

His long sword was thrust diagonally into the stage several meters behind him, the hilt still vibrating.

"Im... Impossible..."

The Sword Intent he took pride in, the strike that had crushed Qi Lu—

It had been shattered by a single punch from a Meridian Opening Realm Martial Artist using nothing but his Physical Body!

Li Hai opened his mouth, but no sound came out. The color drained from his face, leaving only a look of daze.

"I... I lost..."

After a long while, Li Hai finally regained his senses. After uttering those words,

he looked at Zhang Yang with a bitter expression and cupped his hands:

"Thank you, Brother Zhang Yang, for showing me that there is always someone better."

"If I make further progress in the future, I hope to challenge you again."

With that, Li Hai turned and pulled his long sword from the ground.

He sheathed it and quickly left the stage!

The expressions of the surrounding crowd shifted from stunned silence to fiery excitement, and a heaven-shaking cheer erupted!

"He won! A Ninth Level of Meridian Opening Realm defeated Li Hai, who is 40th on the war dragon ranking!"

"The Clear Wind Sect is indeed a great School! To think they have such a Genius among their Disciples!" someone marveled.

Jiang Haochuan and Ji Zhipeng leaped down from the Lingyuan Tower and arrived before Zhang Yang.

"Brother Zhang! Your strength is too fierce! You actually defeated Li Hai, 40th on the war dragon ranking, with just your Physical Body!"

"It seems you will definitely have a place in this Inner Sect Grand Competition!!"

Jiang Haochuan was excited, his face full of joy.

Ji Zhipeng, standing beside him, felt the same, though his gaze toward Zhang Yang also held a hint of fear.

A Ninth Level of Meridian Opening Realm defeating a master ranked 40th on the war dragon ranking!

How could such strength not inspire fear in him?

"Mm, let's head down first," Zhang Yang nodded and stepped off the stage.

The onlookers automatically made a path for Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang, Jiang Haochuan, and the others returned to the top floor of the Lingyuan Tower.

"Another table! To celebrate Brother Zhang Yang's victory over Li Hai, the 40th on the war dragon ranking!"

Jiang Haochuan waved his hand grandly, preparing to order another round of food and wine from the Lingyuan Tower.

Zhang Yang stopped him. Although the food and wine contained rich Origin Qi,

they only satisfied the appetite; one would still have to use a Divided Soul to refine the Impurities within.

It was better to just take a Purple Sun Pill.

After this battle, although Zhang Yang still didn't know exactly where his strength stood,

he had gained some understanding: an ordinary Spirit Aperture Realm Ninth Level should no longer be his match.

As for the Profound Core Realm, Zhang Yang hadn't encountered it yet, so it was hard to evaluate.

However, once Zhang Yang reached Perfection in the Great Sun True Fire Body Tempering Art, he would be able to shake the Profound Core Realm with his Physical Body alone!

If he added his four-layered Saber Intent and the Sovereign Extreme Heaven Severing,

even an ordinary Martial Artist who had just entered the Profound Core Realm would likely meet their end at Zhang Yang's hands.

After Zhang Yang and the others returned to the Jiang Mansion,

Jiang Haochuan and Ji Zhipeng bid him farewell and went off to Cultivate diligently.

Zhang Yang sat in the courtyard, soaking in the sun and contemplating his next steps in Cultivation.

"Now that my cultivation has reached the peak of the Ninth Level of Meridian Opening Realm, the next step is to Breakthrough to the Spirit Aperture Realm."

"Also, I've learned too many Saber Techniques now; it's a bit cluttered."

"If I could combine these many Saber Techniques into one and forge a new Saber Technique Martial Skill!"

"Not only would it solve this problem, but it might even enhance my combat power!"

Zhang Yang fell into deep thought.

After a Martial Artist opens the nine main meridians in their body, they can begin to Breakthrough to the Spirit Aperture Realm.

Corresponding to the nine main meridians, there are also nine apertures in a Martial Artist's body.

For every aperture opened, one can Breakthrough to a new level of the Realm.

After a Meridian Opening Breakthroughs to the Spirit Aperture Realm, all of a Martial Artist's True Qi will be converted into True Yuan and stored within the apertures.

Breaking through to the Spirit Aperture Realm doesn't require any Medicinal Pill; one only needs to circulate True Qi,

find the apertures in the body, and force them open.

Zhang Yang carefully went over the key points of breaking through to the Spirit Aperture Realm in his mind.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Zhang Yang closed his eyes and began to work on his Breakthrough to the Spirit Aperture Realm.

Zhang Yang focused intently on sensing the location of the apertures within his body.

Finally, two hours later, Zhang Yang found the first aperture!

At the same time, he took out ten Purple Sun Pills and swallowed them in a few gulps.

Instantly, the Origin Qi of the ten Purple Sun Pills exploded within Zhang Yang's body.

Zhang Yang then used this Origin Qi as fuel, controlling his True Qi to surge wildly through the nine main meridians, accelerating it!

After accelerating the True Qi to its limit, Zhang Yang controlled it to charge into the first aperture.

"Boom!"

A loud roar seemed to echo in Zhang Yang's mind as the first aperture was opened!

Zhang Yang successfully reached the Spirit Aperture Realm!

In the next instant, all the True Qi in Zhang Yang's body began to pour into this newly opened aperture.

The True Qi pouring into the aperture was continuously compressed and transformed into liquid True Yuan,

which then returned to the main meridians and circulated throughout his body.

As the True Yuan circulated, Zhang Yang's Physical Body also began to strengthen, though only slightly.

Zhang Yang directly took out over a hundred Purple Sun Pills and consumed them continuously.

Thick Origin Qi exploded within Zhang Yang's body and was then swiftly refined by him, forming drops of liquid True Yuan in the aperture.

With Zhang Yang's ample supply of Purple Sun Pills, the True Yuan in the first aperture was completely filled by evening.

Once the first aperture was filled, Zhang Yang opened his eyes.

"Whew! Finally broke through!" Zhang Yang felt the True Yuan belonging to a Spirit Aperture Realm Martial Artist and nodded with satisfaction.

"Having sufficient resources is indeed incredibly important!"

Zhang Yang looked at the remaining two hundred or so Purple Sun Pills beside him, shook his head, and sighed.

Without the help of these Purple Sun Pills, how could his Realm have improved so quickly!

If it weren't for the need to acclimate himself,

Zhang Yang could already start working on breaking through to the Spirit Aperture Realm Second Level.

"The Physical Body seems to have improved a bit as well, but not by much."

Zhang Yang clenched his fist, feeling that his strength had increased, though it was far from the boost provided by the Great Sun True Fire Body Tempering Art.

Looking up at the sky, Zhang Yang closed his eyes,

and began preparing to fuse all the Saber Techniques he had learned into one, creating a Martial Skill that integrated them all.

Now that Zhang Yang had reached the Spirit Aperture Realm, he no longer needed sleep.

He planned to go without sleep for the next few days, at least until he had created the initial form of this Martial Skill.

Attempting to create a new Martial Skill that fused numerous Profound Rank and Human Grade skills while only at the Spirit Aperture Realm

was almost impossible—one could even call it a pipe dream.

But all of Zhang Yang's Saber Techniques had reached Perfection, and he had also comprehended four-layered Saber Intent,

which gave him a certain degree of confidence in fusing them to create a new Martial Skill!