5: Exchange! Break through to the next meridian level!

Looking at Kong Hanyu's headless corpse before him, Zhang Yang couldn't quite understand what this man had come here for.

Did he think he possessed some kind of overbearing Aura of kingship?

That he could make others submit so easily?

Zhang Yang sent a kick flying, launching Kong Hanyu's head far away.

Then, Zhang Yang upheld tradition and began to loot the body.

This Kong Hanyu had bragged to high heaven,

but after Zhang Yang finished searching, he only found some common gold and silver on him.

"Damn! Turns out he was just a pauper!"

Zhang Yang spat and kicked Kong Hanyu's corpse far away.

After waiting at the spot for a while longer, the true essence fruit finally ripened.

Accompanied by a faint fragrance, Zhang Yang quickly plucked the fruit and tucked it away close to his body.

Then, he slung his full backpack over his shoulder, walked out of the back mountain, and returned to his residence.

After hiding the true essence fruit, Zhang Yang carried his backpack to a pavilion in the Outer Sect.

This was the place where Outer Sect Disciples exchanged Yao Beast Materials for contribution points,

and also where they used contribution points to exchange for various cultivation resources.

Inside the pavilion, many Outer Sect Disciples looked at Zhang Yang's backpack with curiosity.

"He actually gathered so many Materials! Could he have found some Yao Beast gathering ground?"

"The smell of blood is so heavy! Just how many Yao Beasts did he kill?"

The Outer Sect Disciples discussed in hushed tones, glancing at Zhang Yang from time to time, wanting to see what Materials he could produce.

"Please exchange these things of mine for contribution points."

Zhang Yang took off his backpack, placed it on the counter, and spoke to the Disciple in front of him.

"Alright!"

In an instant, a backpack's worth of Yao Beast Materials spilled across the counter.

"Look! Those are Elephant-Toothed Lion teeth! That's a First-Order High Grade Yao Beast!"

"Why are these teeth so big? They don't look like they're from a First-Order Elephant-Toothed Lion!"

Someone who knew their stuff cried out in shock while looking at the massive teeth on the counter.

"How is that possible! Could it be a Second-Order Yao Beast!"

"How could an Outer Sect Disciple possibly kill a Second-Order Yao Beast!"

Seeing that Zhang Yang wore the same Outer Sect Disciple robes as they did, some Disciples couldn't help but argue back.

"Why is there also a snake gall? It looks rather unremarkable."

Zhang Yang ignored the surrounding Disciples and spoke to the staff member behind the counter:

"Please tally them up."

"Alright!"

The Disciple behind the counter was slightly stunned looking at the pile of Materials, then began the tally.

"Moon Wolf pelt, Elephant-Toothed Lion teeth, pelt..."

"This tooth!"

The counter staff looked at a tooth on the counter that was significantly different from the others,

momentarily stunned before becoming even more shocked.

"This is the tooth of a Second-Order Ivory Lion King, isn't it!" The staff member looked at Zhang Yang, his eyes filled with astonishment.

An Outer Sect Disciple could actually slay an Ivory Lion King! Could he have already broken through to the Meridian Opening Realm?

"Yes, please continue the tally." Zhang Yang's expression was calm as he nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hiss!"

Hearing the conversation between the staff member and Zhang Yang, the surrounding Outer Sect Disciples were shocked and couldn't help but gasp.

An Ivory Lion King! A Second-Order Low Grade Yao Beast!

The way the surrounding Disciples looked at Zhang Yang changed instantly.

Being able to slay a Second-Order Yao Beast meant that this person's entry into the Inner Sect was already a certainty.

"This... this is!"

The staff member looked at the snake gall before him, stunned for a moment, then even more shocked.

He recognized what it was: the gall of a Quputi Snake King!

A Second-Order Medium Grade Yao Beast!

"Since when can Outer Sect Disciples slay Second-Order Medium Grade Yao Beasts?"

"Shouldn't this be something Inner Sect Disciples do?"

The staff member looked at the snake gall with a hint of doubt.

"Could it be that the Quputi Snake King and the Ivory Lion King were fighting, and he just happened upon them? Did he pick up a bargain?"

The staff member nodded to himself, feeling that his guess was likely correct.

Elephant-Toothed Lions moved in prides; although their grade was lower than the Quputi Snake King, they might not necessarily lose if they fought many-against-one.

If both sides were wounded, it was possible for someone to pick up an easy gain.

"The tally is complete! A total of 9,740 contribution points!"

"Good, exchange one meridian access pill and one Meridian Protection Pill for me."

Zhang Yang nodded after hearing the specific contribution points and spoke to the staff member.

"Alright! One meridian access pill and one Meridian Protection Pill, that's 5,000 contribution points in total."

The staff member took out two jade bottles and handed them to Zhang Yang, and Zhang Yang handed over his identity token.

The staff member then transferred the remaining 4,740 contribution points over.

Afterward, Zhang Yang turned and left quickly.

"Hey! Did you hear that clearly! He exchanged for a meridian access pill and a Meridian Protection Pill!"

After Zhang Yang left, the Outer Sect Disciples in the pavilion looked at his retreating back with expressions full of envy.

Another person was about to escape the sea of bitterness that was the Outer Sect and become an Inner Sect Disciple!

After Zhang Yang returned to his residence, he didn't hesitate and immediately sat cross-legged.

He swallowed the meridian access pill and the Meridian Protection Pill, setting to work on breaking through to the Meridian Opening Realm.

The moment the two pills entered his mouth, a cool sensation surged forth.

Zhang Yang controlled the blood qi power within his body, and along with the medicinal power of the meridian access pill, he began to open the first main meridian.

With the support of the medicinal power, Zhang Yang's Breakthrough was very easy.

After only twenty minutes, Zhang Yang successfully opened his first main meridian, becoming a First Level Tongmai Realm Martial Artist.

At the moment of Breakthrough, many small light spots around Zhang Yang's body surged into his frame at an even faster speed.

"So this is Origin Qi?"

This was the first time Zhang Yang had clearly seen these various light spots in the air; these were the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi.

Unlike the Body Tempering Realm, where one could only passively accept a small amount of Origin Qi into the body,

the Meridian Opening Realm allowed one to actively absorb Heaven and Earth Origin Qi and transform it into True Qi along with the blood qi power.

As more and more Heaven and Earth Origin Qi entered his body,

within Zhang Yang's first main meridian, True Qi gradually became abundant.

Coming outside his house, Zhang Yang used his hand as a blade, channeling True Qi to execute a stroke of the Hegemon Blade Five Absolutes.

A flash of blade light went by, carving another crack into the courtyard wall not far away.

"Is this a Meridian Opening Realm Martial Artist! With the enhancement of True Qi, the power is indeed extraordinary."

Looking at the power of this single strike, Zhang Yang couldn't help but nod.

With the enhancement of True Qi, the power of his Hegemon Blade Five Absolutes had reached a higher level.

Zhang Yang rested briefly, then finally went to the Inner Sect to certify his cultivation base,

officially becoming an Inner Sect Disciple of the Clear Wind Sect.

Afterward, Zhang Yang moved all of his belongings to his new residence for Inner Sect Disciples.

Once settled, Zhang Yang immediately began closed-door cultivation.

Three true essence fruits, once fully digested, would be enough for Zhang Yang to break through to the Fourth Level of Meridian Opening!

Zhang Yang sat cross-legged on the bed, took out a true essence fruit, and ate it.

As the fruit flesh entered his stomach, dense Origin Qi appeared within Zhang Yang's body.

Subsequently, Zhang Yang began to refine the Origin Qi from the fruit flesh, turning it into True Qi until it filled the entire first main meridian.

After reaching the critical point, Zhang Yang began to control the True Qi to open the second main meridian.

One day later, at dawn!

Zhang Yang opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air; at this moment, his Aura had become quite a bit stronger.

"The true essence fruit is indeed powerful! In just over a day, it allowed me to reach the Fourth Level of Meridian Opening!"

"Now, I'm afraid that even if I face an ordinary Ninth Level of Meridian Opening Realm Martial Artist, I won't have the slightest fear!"

"However, what a pity! true essence fruits are hard to come by! It would be great if there were a few more."

Zhang Yang shook his head, then stood up and walked outside.

"Since the fruits are digested, I'll head to the Scripture Depository to obtain a new Martial Skill!"

After becoming an Inner Sect Disciple, one could go to the Scripture Pavilion to select a new Martial Skill.

Zhang Yang naturally couldn't waste such an opportunity.

Just the Hegemon Blade Five Absolutes alone had raised his combat power to such an extent.

If he obtained another powerful Cultivation Technique or Martial Skill,

Zhang Yang might even be able to achieve invincibility within the Meridian Opening Realm!