82: Chapter 82 First Breakthrough

After the New Year, the peaceful days continued for a few more days.

In Yanzhou City during the first lunar month, the festive atmosphere of the New Year had not yet dissipated, and a sense of lazy celebration permeated everywhere.

Chen Fan enjoyed this kind of life very much.

Practicing boxing every day, teasing his daughter, and chatting with his wife; his days were plain and real.

He knew clearly in his heart that such comfort would not last long.

People in Jianghu are not Masters of their own destiny.

Longxing Sect had given him shelter and a place to settle down, so he could not hide in this small courtyard forever and ignore the affairs of the world.

What is meant to come will always come.

On the afternoon of the third day, the courtyard gate was knocked upon.

A young Disciple with an unfamiliar face arrived, wearing the standard short shirt of the Longxing Sect. Upon seeing Chen Fan, he bowed respectfully.

"Senior Brother Chen, Master is looking for you."

Chen Fan nodded without asking further.

"I understand."

He turned back to the house. Lin Wan had already heard the commotion and was standing at the door holding Nuannuan, a trace of worry on her face.

"I am going out for a bit and will be back soon." Chen Fan smiled at her and reached out to pinch his daughter's chubby cheeks.

"Mm, come back early." Lin Wan did not ask further, only gently urged him.

Chen Fan changed into a long shirt for going out and left the small courtyard.

...

Longxing Sect, Inner Hall.

Master Liu Cang was still his usual stern and serious self, sitting in the main seat drinking tea.

Seeing Chen Fan enter, he put down his teacup.

"Sit."

Chen Fan sat down as instructed.

"Master, you were looking for me?"

Master Liu Cang gave a grunt of acknowledgement and got straight to the point.

"Half a month from now, the School will send a group of people to Jian Prefecture."

Jian Prefecture.

In Chen Fan's mind, the map of the Great Shang Dynasty appeared.

Jian Prefecture is located south of Yanzhou and is famous throughout the world for sword forging. It is filled with Jianghu Schools and has a fierce atmosphere.

"The Jian Prefecture 'Sword Testing Conference' is a grand event that happens once every ten years," Master Liu Cang said slowly. "At that time, all fellow Martial Artists in the Martial Forest in the south will gather together. The Sect Leader's intention is that he hopes you can compete for a spot on the hero ranking list, even if it is at the very end!"

Chen Fan understood.

To put it plainly, it was just to attend a Martial Forest conference, fight in the ring, and determine the top ten.

"The one leading the team this time is Uncle Song." Master Liu Cang looked at him, his tone shifting.

"What is your current Realm?"

"Replying to Master, I am at the Peak of the Eighth Rank." Chen Fan answered truthfully.

Master Liu Cang nodded, seemingly not surprised by this.

"Peak of the Eighth Rank, not bad. It shows that you have been Cultivating very diligently during this time."

He stood up, walked to the cabinet on the side, took out a simple wooden box from inside, and placed it in front of Chen Fan.

"Inside this are three 'Barrier-Breaking Medicinal Pills'."

"As your Master, I require you to achieve a Breakthrough to the Seventh Rank within half a month."

Chen Fan's heart tightened.

Half a month to go from the Peak of the Eighth Rank to the Seventh Rank; this was not an easy task.

But he did not bargain.

He took the wooden box and solemnly accepted.

"This Disciple will certainly not fail Master's expectations."

Only then did a look of satisfaction appear on Master Liu Cang's face.

"Go."

Chen Fan took the wooden box and returned home.

He briefly explained the matter to Lin Wan, only saying that there was an important matter in the School and he needed to go into seclusion for a few days.

Although Lin Wan was worried, she knew this was serious business. She silently prepared the quiet room for him and took Nuannuan far away, afraid of disturbing him.

Inside the quiet room, Chen Fan sat cross-legged and opened the wooden box.

Three Medicinal Pills the size of dragon eyes lay quietly inside, emitting a rich medicinal fragrance.

He did not hesitate, took one out, and swallowed it directly.

This was the first time he relied on his own efforts to charge towards a brand-new Realm.

Every previous increase in strength had been brought by the System; it was cultivation base inherited directly after Possession.

That feeling was like instantly filling an empty bottle with water.

The water was there, but the bottle was still the same bottle.

The power came too quickly and too easily, always leaving a sense of unreality and hollowness.

But this time, it was different.

As the Medicinal Pill entered his abdomen, a scorching warm current instantly melted, like surging magma, rushing into his limbs and bones.

Chen Fan immediately composed his mind, circulated the Longxing Sect's Mind-Cultivation Technique, and guided this massive medicinal power to wander through his Meridians.

His body became a battlefield.

Under his guidance, the pure Internal Energy turned into wave after wave, launching a fierce assault against that invisible barrier that separated the Eighth Rank from the Seventh Rank.

Boom!

The first impact caused a sharp pain in his Meridians, yet the barrier did not budge.

Chen Fan let out a muffled groan, and fine beads of sweat seeped out on his forehead.

He was not discouraged; he gathered all the Internal Energy in his body, converging it into a more powerful torrent.

Again!

Boom!

The second impact!

That barrier seemed to show a slight, imperceptible loosening.

It's working!

Chen Fan's spirit was lifted, and he pushed his Mind-Cultivation Technique to the limit.

His consciousness was completely immersed within his own body, feeling every surge and every collision of his Internal Energy.

The pain had long been cast to the back of his mind.

In his mind, only one thought remained.

Break through it!

Time passed slowly in the sitting meditation.

He did not know how much time had passed.

Outside the quiet room, Lin Wan had paced back and forth countless times, her face filled with anxiety.

It had been ten full days.

After Chen Fan entered the quiet room, there had been no sound at all.

Just when she was almost unable to resist pushing the door open to enter.

Inside the quiet room, a tyrannical aura suddenly erupted!

That aura was not violent, but it carried a sense of heaviness and solidity, instantly filling the entire small courtyard.

Lin Wan's footsteps came to a sudden halt.

The door of the quiet room was pushed open from the inside with a creak.

Chen Fan walked out.

His clothes had long been soaked with sweat, and his face was somewhat pale, but his eyes were startlingly bright.

On his body, an aura belonging to a Seventh Rank Martial Artist flowed unreservedly.

He had succeeded.

At this moment, Chen Fan clearly felt that the Internal Energy in his body was more than twice as vigorous as it had been ten days ago.

His Meridians had been widened and had become tougher.

The texture of his Internal Energy had also undergone a transformation; from its previous gaseous state, it had become more solid, with a faint trend toward liquefaction.

More importantly, this power was something he had polished bit by bit with his own hands.

Every bit and every inch fit perfectly with his body and his spirit.

In the past, he had always inherited his cultivation base through reincarnation and Possession; this time, he had truly experienced the feeling of a Breakthrough in his Realm.

How to describe this feeling? It was very satisfying. To put it crudely, it was like someone who had been constipated for a long time finally taking a big dump and feeling refreshed.

Uh... that was a bit too crude.

Chen Fan shook his head, cast aside the messy thoughts, and hurried to the School to report the good news to Master Liu Cang.

Seeing him, Master Liu Cang was stunned for a moment, and then an uncontrollable ecstasy erupted on his face.

"Good! Good! Good!"

He said the word "good" three times in a row and patted Chen Fan's shoulder forcefully.

"You did not let your Master down!"

Chen Fan smiled.

"We depart in three days for Jian Prefecture." Master Liu Cang's expression returned to solemnity.

"For these three days, you don't need to come to the School."

"Go back properly and spend time with your wife and child."

Chen Fan bowed and accepted.

This departure, he did not know when he would return, or if he would return at all.

Yanzhou and Jian Prefecture were thousands of miles apart, and he was going to attend a Martial Forest conference; the variables involved were unknown.

Walking on the road home, Chen Fan felt that he still needed to make full preparations.

Looking at the small courtyard at the end of the alley, he thought of his wife Lin Wan and daughter Nuannuan inside.

Chen Fan sighed slightly in his heart.

In the future, if reincarnating, he must avoid identifying too much with the original owner.

The time spent together had made him develop a fondness for Lin Wan and her daughter, to the point where a trace of attachment had arisen.

This was a very dangerous signal.

Chen Fan considered himself a very clear-headed person. With Substitution Rebirth, he was just a passerby playing in the world.

But being in the game, it was hard to avoid getting lost.

"I must avoid such incidents in the future."

Chen Fan muttered to himself in his heart. When he looked up again, his eyes had become calm.