135: Can we go together?

[Ding! Congratulations to the host, proficiency points +10.]

As the System's voice rang out,

inside the Quiet Chamber, the heart-palpitating "teaching" storm finally subsided.

Xia Yuxuan felt as if she had just been tossed ashore from a long, strength-draining storm.

Her entire body lay limp on the cold floor, without even the strength to lift a finger.

Her heavy panting caused her chest to heave, every breath carrying a slight tremor.

Her body, which should have been spotless, was stained with quite a bit of dust due to the sweat.

A few strands of wet hair brought a trace of coolness, but they could not alleviate the heat and sense of collapse in her body.

The most obvious sensation came from her legs. They were completely unresponsive, trembling uncontrollably, her muscles as sore and weak as if her bones had been removed.

She tried to prop herself up, but found that her legs could provide no support; with just a bit of effort, that indescribable soreness and weakness made her almost fall back down.

Seeing Lu Yang finally stop his movements and stand aside, that heart-palpitating aura that seemed capable of controlling everything finally retracted.

Xia Yuxuan's heartstrings, which had been stretched to the limit, suddenly relaxed, and an indescribable sense of relief instantly overwhelmed her.

She didn't even have the spare energy to think about anything else, only instinctively letting out a long, barely audible sigh from deep within her throat:

"Whew... finally... it's over..."

However, amidst this extreme fatigue and collapse, Xia Yuxuan keenly noticed an earth-shaking change occurring within her body!

Xia Yuxuan immediately focused her mind to peer into her Dantian.

She saw that her Dantian Qi Sea, which had originally been at the Foundation Establishment Early-stage Perfection, had now undergone a significant transformation!

That invisible barrier that had hindered her from taking a step further had actually been broken through!

She had successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage!

The space in her Dantian had clearly expanded, and the total amount of spiritual power it could hold had increased significantly.

At this moment, the Qi Sea was filled with an even more vigorous and surging flow of spiritual power. This newborn spiritual power was not only greater in quantity, but its quality had also taken a leap!

While her original spiritual power was pure, the current spiritual power displayed a nearly physical, more condensed and translucent luster, flowing slowly within the Dantian like living water containing great power; it circulated more smoothly and freely, as if harboring even stronger explosive power and control.

What made Xia Yuxuan's heart tremble even more was that she clearly perceived, within this newborn, pure, and vigorous spiritual power, there was actually a faint yet incomparably unique masculine and fiery aura!

Although this wisp of aura was thin, it was exceptionally resilient, blending with her spiritual power like a brand, carrying that domineering, scorching quality of Lu Yang's that seemed capable of incinerating everything!

It was like a seed, rooted deep within her Qi Sea, faintly emitting a heart-palpitating sense of power.

Xia Yuxuan immediately understood the root cause of this Breakthrough.

This Breakthrough was by no means as simple as things falling into place!

She could clearly feel that the Spirit Gathering Array Lu Yang had set up in the Quiet Chamber, which had been silently operating all along, deserved much of the credit.

It continuously gathered and compressed the pure Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within the Immortal Cave, providing a cultivation environment that far exceeded the outside world and could be called luxurious, laying a solid foundation for the massive Spiritual Qi demand required for her Breakthrough.

But the most crucial and direct driving force came from Lu Yang's boundless and vigorous Primal Yang Power!

During that indescribably intense "teaching" process just now,

the Primordial Yang spiritual power, containing his Origin essence and guided by Lu Yang with special techniques, was like a surging torrent, washing over her limbs, bones, and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians over and over again!

This power far exceeded the limits of her own endurance; while bringing an extreme sensory storm, it also acted like the most violent forging, repeatedly tempering, compressing, and purifying the spiritual power within her body!

Furthermore, during the impact, with an almost brutal force, it forcibly widened her Meridians and expanded her Dantian!

It was under this dual effect—the Spirit Gathering Array providing a massive amount of Spiritual Qi and Lu Yang's Primal Yang Power performing a violent baptism and tempering—that she was able to complete this seemingly natural but actually perilous Breakthrough in Realm in such a short time!

This Breakthrough was the result of the combined action of resources and power, and even more so, the outcome of Lu Yang's unique "guidance" method, bearing a strong personal mark.

That wisp of unique aura merged into her spiritual power was the most direct proof... Lu Yang was the first to straighten his clothes, his expression as calm as usual.

His gaze fell upon the pale and bare Xia Yuxuan, his voice flat but carrying an unquestionable tone: "Put your clothes on."

At the same time, with a barely perceptible flick of his finger, a wave of warm spiritual power brushed over Xia Yuxuan's entire body, instantly evaporating the residual sweat on her skin and bringing a touch of freshness.

Xia Yuxuan came to her senses, feeling her body still sore and weak; she gave a low response and somewhat slowly took out a brand-new Shuiyue Peak Disciple uniform from her Storage Pouch.

With her back to the stone door, her fingers trembling slightly, she somewhat clumsily changed into clean and tidy clothes.

Although exhausted and weak, the basic tidying of her appearance was quickly completed.

Having finished tidying up, Xia Yuxuan took a deep breath, trying to steady her still somewhat unsteady steps, and then followed behind Lu Yang as they walked out of the Quiet Chamber together.

As soon as the two appeared in the front hall, they immediately felt three gazes focused on them like something tangible, filled with scrutiny and an indescribable sense of strangeness.

Spring Breeze, Transforming Rain, and Mu Wanqing—the gazes of all three were almost glued to Xia Yuxuan.

Spring Breeze's gaze was the most complex and sharp.

Her beautiful eyes were tightly locked on Xia Yuxuan; from her cheeks, which remained tired and flushed despite the change of clothes, to her posture that was clearly unsteady as if her legs were still bearing a burden while walking, every detail pricked her nerves like a needle.

Because of Xia Yuxuan's mention of "Calling name," Spring Breeze's heart was still in a state of tumultuous waves.

She opened her mouth, all her questions almost bursting forth, but in the end, she held back.

She just stared fixedly at Xia Yuxuan, her face pale, her eyes a mix of shock, fear, and a deep unease—one she hadn't even noticed herself—regarding the strange atmosphere between Xia Yuxuan and Lu Yang.

"Junior Sister Spring Breeze," Lu Yang's voice rang out calmly, his gaze falling on Spring Breeze, who was clearly out of sorts. "Next, it's your turn."

Spring Breeze seemed immersed in another world, turning a deaf ear to Lu Yang's call, her gaze still unable to move away from Xia Yuxuan.

"Senior Sister Spring Breeze!" Seeing this, Transforming Rain, who was standing beside her, hurriedly nudged her hard with her elbow and reminded her in a low voice.

Spring Breeze shuddered violently and finally pulled herself out of her fearful thoughts, looking at Lu Yang in a bit of a panic. "Ah? Sen... Senior Brother?"

Lu Yang looked at her pale, panicked face and didn't press further, only repeating, "Prepare yourself and follow me inside to Cultivate."

"Um... okay!" Upon hearing this, color quickly returned to Spring Breeze's face.

"Wa... wait a moment, Senior Brother!" Transforming Rain suddenly spoke up, her voice tinged with nervousness.

She glanced at Spring Breeze beside her, who was clearly frightened and in a worrying state,

and then thought of Xia Yuxuan's appearance when she came out earlier and that startling way she had addressed him; in her heart, she felt both a curious longing for the intensity of Lu Yang's current teaching and a strong sense of dread.

She summoned her courage and said, "Senior Brother... can... can you let me go in with Senior Sister Spring Breeze? We... we want to receive Senior Brother's guidance together!"

Hearing this, Lu Yang's deep gaze swept over the faces of Transforming Rain and Spring Breeze with a hint of amusement. "Oh? Why together?"

Transforming Rain took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady:

"We... we want to look out for each other; perhaps we can... can better share the pressure, and it would also be convenient for us to verify Senior Brother's teaching methods with each other."

She quickly glanced at Xia Yuxuan again, her meaning self-evident—Senior Sister Xia ended up like this alone, we're afraid we won't be able to handle it individually.

Lu Yang's gaze lingered on the two for a moment, pausing especially on Spring Breeze's face, which was filled with resistance and fear yet hid a trace of hard-to-detect complexity deep down; the corners of his mouth curled into a barely perceptible arc:

"Heh, very well. Since you want to go together, then together it is." His tone was flat as he turned and walked toward the Quiet Chamber.

Transforming Rain hurriedly pulled on the still-dazed Spring Breeze:

"Senior Sister, let's go." Spring Breeze's body was stiff, and she was almost leaning on Transforming Rain for support as she followed Lu Yang with unsteady steps, re-entering that Quiet Chamber that filled her with fearful associations.

The heavy stone door closed silently behind the three of them.