25: Chapter 25 A Technique to Break Through Limits? Breaking Through Three Levels in Succession! Eighth Level of Mortal Transformation! A Cult Powerhouse!

Back at No. 7 High School, inside Principal Mu Mingsheng's private office.

Thud—!

A metal chest, about half a meter long and thirty centimeters wide, landed in front of Lu Qingyun.

The landing sound was heavy and powerful, sounding extremely weighty!

“These are the Aperture-Opening Realm cultivation methods I've collected through various channels over the years.”

“Today, I'll let you broaden your horizons!”

Principal Mu Mingsheng had a face full of smiles, unable to contain the pride on his face.

This instantly dialed Lu Qingyun's anticipation to the maximum. As soon as Principal Mu Mingsheng opened it, he immediately leaned in closer!

His shining eyes instantly fell upon the dark interior of the chest.

Only...

Why was there only a thin layer?

Looking at the empty chest, with only a single layer covering the very bottom—not even ten cultivation manuals in total.

Lu Qingyun looked up with an expression that said, 'Are you kidding me?'

Is this a joke?

With just these few manuals, did they really need such a large chest to hold them?

Seeing Lu Qingyun's gaze, Principal Mu Mingsheng's lips twitched, suddenly losing his desire to show off.

He had forgotten that given the young man's background, he simply didn't understand how terrifyingly difficult it was to obtain so many Aperture-Opening Realm cultivation methods!

His actions were undoubtedly like playing a lute to a cow!

One had to know that every cultivation method was extremely rare and strictly controlled by various sects, factions, and forces.

The reason he had so many methods was, on one hand, because he had a certain interest in collecting them; otherwise, his own cultivation method was already good enough, and these Aperture-Opening Realm methods were of no use to him at all!

On the other hand, most of these cultivation methods actually came from questionable sources, and their nature was even somewhat different from normal ones.

“Blood Fiend Arts, Forty-Eight Caverns of Yin Nether, Great Corpse Rotting Art...”

“Principal Mu, these cultivation methods of yours... why do their names feel so shady?”

Lu Qingyun squatted on the ground. He picked up the manuals one by one but didn't open them.

Seeing this, a flash of panic crossed Principal Mu Mingsheng's eyes, and he hurriedly stepped forward to snatch back those few manuals he had plundered from cultists.

“Don't choose these; they're just for show.”

“The ones that are actually suitable for you are only three. Two have a limit of around sixty apertures, and one has a limit of around eighty apertures.”

Principal Mu Mingsheng rummaged through the chest and finally picked out three yellowed manuals.

Afterward, he explained the cultivation path of the Aperture-Opening Realm to Lu Qingyun in detail.

Starting from breaking through the Ninth Layer of the Mortal Shedding Realm and opening the first aperture, up to thirty-six apertures, this is the Tongqiao Early Stage.

At this level, one is already considered a well-known expert in Jiangcheng, and would receive preferential treatment in any family.

And from thirty-seven to seventy-two apertures, it is the Tongqiao Middle Stage.

Reaching this level is already enough to establish a firm foothold in Jiangcheng, and even sufficient to found a martial artist family to deter petty scoundrels!

The principal of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School is at this level, having opened sixty-seven apertures. Captain Yang Pinru also belongs to this level, though the number of apertures he opened is fewer, barely reaching forty.

And from the seventy-third to the one hundred and eighth aperture, it is the Aperture-Opening Late Stage!

Those in this realm are without exception big figures in Jiangcheng.

For example, the head of the Xing Family, and... Principal Mu Mingsheng!

Hearing that Principal Mu Mingsheng was actually in the top tier of Jiangcheng, Lu Qingyun was somewhat surprised.

He completely couldn't understand why such a grand figure would serve as the principal of a tiny school like No. 7 High School.

After all, the student quality at No. 7 High School was poor to the extreme.

The entire school could barely scrape together just over twenty martial artists.

“Actually... one hundred and eight apertures is not the absolute limit. Although one is already qualified to step into the Innate Realm, some cultivation methods can still continue to open apertures, thereby obtaining higher combat power! Unfortunately, those methods are in the hands of top-tier aristocratic families or forces. Even the former me... heh, did not have that qualification.”

Hearing this, Lu Qingyun suddenly understood.

No wonder!

When he heard just now that one could break through to Xiantian with one hundred and eight apertures, he had been completely bewildered.

Because what was displayed on his panel was...

[Cultivation Method: Blood Fiend Arts (Fused with 7 similar cultivation methods, Not Initiated): The upper limit of opened apertures has been increased to 144, and the maximum level of this cultivation method is LV14!]

A whopping one hundred and forty-four apertures, and this was only at level fourteen!

Clearly, by the time it reached level twenty, the number of apertures opened would definitely be far more than just one hundred and eight!

“Alright.”

“Out of these three cultivation methods, I feel you don't really need to choose. This Changchun Art has the highest limit, allowing you to cultivate up to eighty-seven apertures! Moreover, its nature is gentle. Once you enter a martial arts university, if you encounter a better cultivation method, you can quickly convert it.”

“Of course, if you cultivate the other two, your combat power will be slightly stronger when you break into the Aperture-Opening Realm. It all depends on your own choice.”

Principal Mu Mingsheng had absolutely no idea that, without his knowledge, Lu Qingyun had already packed up and taken all of his cultivation methods!

He had even fused them together, creating a cultivation method that far exceeded his imagination!

Looking at the method that had reached one hundred and forty-four apertures after fusing only seven manuals, Lu Qingyun naturally looked down on things like the Changchun Art.

However, since he was already here, it wouldn't make sense if he didn't take one to keep up appearances.

Lu Qingyun naturally chose the Changchun Art, which brought a look of understanding to Principal Mu Mingsheng's face.

But soon, remembering Jiang Yanqiu's previous words, his expression turned serious as he said to Lu Qingyun, “That Director of the Martial Arts Bureau is a figure who can be said to cover the sky with one hand in Jiangcheng! Her background is immense, and her methods are extremely ruthless!”

“Someone who has stepped into the Innate Realm is, on some level, not even on the same level of life as us anymore.”

“You must keep the words she said to you in mind! Adapt to the new cultivation method as quickly as possible over these next few days, and then put all your effort into cultivating!”

“Perhaps, in the near future, she will bring you a massive surprise!”

Lu Qingyun naturally understood this logic.

But he also knew that without sufficient strength, even if an opportunity presented itself right before his eyes, he wouldn't have the ability to grasp it!

After leaving the principal's office, Lu Qingyun walked quickly toward the martial arts hall.

At the same time, he picked up his phone, which displayed a notification that funds had arrived.

A whopping ten million!

Clearly, Principal Mu Mingsheng had supplemented him with a significant amount again.

“I didn't expect that I would reach eight-figure assets so quickly.”

Looking at that string of zeros, Lu Qingyun felt a bit excited.

After all, he had only ever seen so many zeros in Chengdu in his past life.

No, wait, he seemed to have seen one in this life as well...

“Unfortunately, if I don't use it, it's just a string of numbers. Converting it into strength is what's most important!”

Lu Qingyun opened the martial artist website on his phone. With a light tap of his finger, the ten million that hadn't even warmed up in his pocket was instantly spent!

In its place were over a hundred blood nourishing pills!

This was a pill specifically used to raise the cultivation of Mortal Shedding Realm martial artists, and it was highly valuable!

With the Martial Examination drawing near, this was also the most popular pill on the market.

Each one cost one hundred thousand, but martial artists could get a twenty percent discount!

Of course, the restriction was that it could only be consumed by oneself. If one was caught selling it privately to pocket the price difference...

Lu Qingyun didn't know the consequences, because he didn't even have enough for himself, so why would he think about selling them to others!

“Since I have the BOSS template, pills that increase blood vitality should naturally be effective for me as well.”

Lu Qingyun pondered.

On the other side, he assumed a stance, following the circulation method of the cultivation technique displayed on his panel.

Once, twice...

Soon, with the help of a bug-level mechanism like out-of-combat recovery, Lu Qingyun only had to recover seventeen times in total to initiate this cultivation method.

And the moment it was initiated!

The boundary limit that originally bound Lu Qingyun shattered!

The accumulated experience pool poured out in an instant!

From the peak of the Fifth Layer of the Mortal Shedding Realm, he took three steps straight up, entering the Eighth Layer of the Mortal Shedding Realm!

[Host: Lu Qingyun]

[Race: Ordinary Slime Warrior (Green)]

[Level: LV8 (Eighth Layer of Mortal Shedding Realm) (13/3500)]

[HP: 4121/4121]

[Physical Strength: 20.7]

[Mental Strength: 16.3]

[Cultivation Method: Blood Fiend Arts (Fused with 7 similar cultivation methods, Not Initiated): The upper limit of opened apertures has been increased to 144, and the maximum level of this cultivation method is LV14!]

[Martial Techniques: Mountain-Shaking Fist (Grandmaster, 2154/10000), Nine-fold Collapse Fist (Grandmaster, 512/15000), Bronze Armor Body (Grandmaster, 5217/20000)...]

[BOSS Initial Mechanism: ...]

...

A total of six free attribute points were allocated by Lu Qingyun to his physical and mental strength in a 1-to-5 ratio.

This kept both of them roughly in the range of twenty-one.

This prevented the two from differing too much, which could cause one side to fall behind and lead to a total collapse.

“Powerful, this is simply too powerful!”

Feeling the explosive power surging within his body, Lu Qingyun even developed a desire to exchange a few blows with Principal Mu Mingsheng!

Just then, Lu Qingyun received a call from the Martial Arts Bureau.

His pills had arrived, but because the value was too massive, no delivery courier would take the order.

Therefore, cultivation resources of this quantity were placed in the Martial Arts Bureau for the buyer to collect in person.

After all, in the entire Jiangcheng, there was no place safer than the Martial Arts Bureau.

“Over a hundred blood nourishing pills, I wonder how much experience they can bring me. Hopefully, they can let me go up another level!”

There was a trace of excitement in Lu Qingyun's eyes.

...

“So, this extermination operation failed again?”

Inside the Martial Arts Bureau, Jiang Yanqiu's voice was filled with coldness, making the entire building feel as if it had turned into an ice cave!

All the personnel of the Martial Arts Bureau lowered their heads, not daring to rashly respond while their direct superior was losing her temper.

“Heh— last time, those cult rats were well-prepared. We moved early to stop the blood sacrifice, which allowed some of the cultists to escape. That was already a major blunder! And this time, even after pinning down the gathering location of these cultists, there are still fish that slipped through the net!”

“What are you all even doing?! A heavily injured Aperture-Opening Realm cult expert—do you know how massive of a tragedy it will cause if they escape?!”

“Go! All combat personnel, get out there and search!”

“Form teams of ten. Report immediately upon finding any traces, and wipe them out completely!”

Jiang Yanqiu slammed her hand on the table, even though she was already being extremely restrained.

But just a sliver of leaked power from the Xiantian Realm completely destroyed the desk below that had served diligently in the Martial Arts Bureau for decades.

Seeing this scene, the captains did not dare to delay and hurriedly led their respective subordinates out to pursue.

Watching the teams of martial artists pouring out of the Martial Arts Bureau's main entrance.

At the entrance of an alley less than twenty meters away from the Martial Arts Bureau, a pale, bloodless man in black robes sneered.

“A bunch of fools, they don't even understand the concept of the darkest place being right under the lamp.”

“Damned Martial Arts Bureau, how dare they ruin my cult's great plans! Once I recover my blood vitality with my divine art, I'll show you who the real prey is!”

“But if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to get so much blood vitality from the other fools in the cult, allowing me to break through seven apertures in one go and enter the Tongqiao Middle Stage! Speaking of which, I really have to thank you. I'll definitely give you a grand gift in the future!”

The black-robed man's eyes were dark, and extremely bizarre dark spots appeared on his body. Against his pale face, he looked like a rotting corpse with its eyes wide open.

Gritting his teeth, he re-bandaged the wound on his arm.

Then, just as he was about to follow this alley to find a household with strong blood vitality—preferably one with a martial artist—to enter and replenish himself using the blood-feeding method.

But at this moment, possessing an extremely strong perception of blood vitality due to the characteristics of his cultivation method, he suddenly looked in a certain direction.

There, a possessor of terrifying blood vitality, the likes of which he had never seen before, was leisurely walking toward the Martial Arts Bureau.

It felt as if someone was dangling an exquisitely delicious dish right in front of you after you had been starving for days.

“This blood vitality... is too fragrant...”

...