65: Chapter 65 Breakthrough to Nascent Soul

As time passed, the violent shockwave from the nuclear explosion above the Dragon King Hall headquarters finally dissipated, the raging flames slowly died out, and the billowing smoke and dust that filled the sky finally settled.

The headquarters of the Dragon King Hall was located on an island in the southern Pacific Ocean. The once imposing and majestic palaces, orderly training grounds, and secret fortifications were all razed to the ground by the nuclear bomb. Only charred, shattered stones and solidified metal residue remained. Black and gray smoke, like a heavy curtain, shrouded the island, refusing to disperse for a long time.

At the epicenter of the nuclear explosion, a massive circular crater over 300 meters in diameter and nearly 80 meters deep was left behind. The crater walls were scorched pitch-black and cracked by the intense heat, while the bottom still retained the lingering warmth of molten rock. The surrounding seawater constantly poured in, creating vast clouds of white steam.

Even more terrifying was the lethal nuclear radiation, which, like an invisible poison, completely blanketed the entire desolate island. All vegetation turned to ash, sea creatures dared not approach, and all signs of life on the island had vanished, turning it into a forbidden zone of death that no one dared to set foot in.

Thousands of miles away in the Qin Family residence in Hai City, inside a quiet and elegant bedroom, sunlight spilled gently through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting warmth across the floor.

Qin Yi stood in the center of the room with his hands behind his back. The system's virtual panel appeared clearly in his mind, displaying the entire process of the Dragon King Hall being destroyed by the nuclear explosion. The imagery was incredibly sharp, with every detail rendered perfectly.

Watching the Child of Destiny Dragon King Xiao Zhan, all the elites of the Dragon King Hall, and even Mike from the United States and his assistant Hans all turn to ashes under the power of the nuclear bomb, Qin Yi slowly curled his lips into a cold and indifferent smile. His tone was full of disdain: "A bunch of desperate stray dogs, actually delusional enough to think they could rely on the United States and turn against China. They truly deserve to die."

Just as he finished speaking, the system notification sounded in Qin Yi's mind:

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully killing the Child of Destiny Dragon King Xiao Zhan (Earth), and annihilating his faction, the Dragon King Hall. Rewarding the Host with a cultivation level increase to the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage!]

The moment the system's voice faded, pure and majestic spiritual energy poured into Qin Yi's body.

Qin Yi felt a crisp cracking sound from deep within his dantian, as if an invisible barrier standing before him had been completely shattered.

In just a moment, the aura around his body surged crazily at an incredible speed. His original cultivation at the peak of the Land Immortal level directly broke through its limits, reaching the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage!

The power of the Nascent Soul Stage transcended this world. The moment his cultivation broke through, it directly triggered a massive celestial phenomenon.

At this moment, rosy clouds condensed in the sky, interwoven with five colors, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a thousand miles crazily converged toward Qin Yi's bedroom.

This massive phenomenon should have shocked Hai City, or even the entire nation of China. However, the system activated its suppression function, imprisoning all the gathered spiritual energy within this bedroom. The moment the phenomenon arose, it was suppressed and dissipated, moving so fast that the outside world remained completely unaware, and not even the trajectory of the spiritual energy flow was detected.

Vast spiritual power washed over his limbs and bones. His meridians were widened to the limit, and his flesh, bones, and internal organs were repeatedly tempered by the spiritual power. A feeling of comfort akin to being reborn swept through his entire body. Qin Yi could clearly perceive that the power within him now was more than a hundred times stronger than when he was at the peak of the Land Immortal level!

Qin Yi closed his eyes and looked inward. He saw an infant, three feet tall, floating quietly within his dantian's sea of qi. The infant's features were identical to those of Qin Yi in his childhood.

Its skin was crystal clear, glowing with a warm, jade-like luster, and a faint golden halo surrounded its body. With its eyes tightly closed, it inhaled and exhaled pure spiritual energy with every breath, sleeping peacefully. This was the core foundation of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator—the Nascent Soul!

"So this is the Nascent Soul..." Qin Yi said softly, a hint of awe flashing in his eyes.

He withdrew his focus from his internal state and once again felt the surging power within his body with his whole heart. A confident arc appeared at the corner of his mouth as he muttered to himself: "Now that I have achieved the Nascent Soul Stage, even if a nuclear bomb were to hit me head-on, it wouldn't be able to harm me in the slightest."

With his mind made up, Qin Yi asked the system: "System, is the classification of cultivation levels for cultivators consistent with the novel settings I knew in my past life?"

[Ding! Replying to the Host, the orthodox cultivation level classifications are completely consistent, as follows: Qi Refining Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, Golden Core Stage, Nascent Soul Stage, Spirit Severing Stage, Void Refinement Stage, Dao Integration Stage, and Mahayana Stage, finally undergoing the Tribulation to become an Immortal.]

Qin Yi nodded slightly and continued to ask, combining this with the existing Ancient Martial Arts system on Blue Star: "According to this, the Land Immortal on Blue Star corresponds to the Golden Core Stage of the cultivation world; the Heaven-Human Realm is equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Stage; and from the Houtian Realm to the Great Grandmaster, they are all just in the Qi Refining stage, right?"

[Ding! The Host's judgment is correct. The Ancient Martial Arts system on Blue Star belongs to a cultivation path in the Age of Dharma Decline that lacks spiritual energy, which corresponds to the cultivation levels of cultivators.]

"Then, in this world's history, have true cultivators ever existed?" Qin Yi asked again, a flash of curiosity in his eyes.

[Ding! Replying to the Host, in the ancient times of Blue Star, spiritual energy was abundant, and countless cultivators were born. Sects were numerous, and the path of immortality flourished. Later, due to a celestial upheaval, Blue Star fell into the Age of Dharma Decline, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gradually withered away. Cultivators could no longer continue their cultivation and all left Blue Star, heading to extraterrestrial star regions rich in spiritual energy, never to return.]

[Ding! The Ancient Martial Arts cultivation methods currently circulating on Blue Star are alternative cultivation methods improved and created by later generations based on the surviving cultivation techniques. Limited by the lack of spiritual energy in the Age of Dharma Decline, the cultivation ceiling is only the Land Immortal, which happens to benchmark against the Golden Core Stage of the cultivation world. Moreover, at the current stage, because the cultivation environment has deteriorated again, even Land Immortals cannot reappear, and the highest one can reach is the Heaven-Human Realm.]

After listening to the system's explanation, all the doubts in Qin Yi's heart were resolved, and he felt enlightened.

He muttered to himself: "So that's how it is. In the Age of Dharma Decline, with spiritual energy withered, Ancient Martial Arts are ultimately unable to compare with the orthodox Great Dao of cultivation... And now, I am the only cultivator on this Blue Star."

From this moment on, no power on Blue Star could threaten him anymore.

At this moment, a flash of spiritual light flickered in Qin Yi's eyes and vanished. The majestic spiritual power around his body instantly retracted and returned to calm, without a shred of sharp aura.

Yet, his body automatically exuded a pressure that towered above all things in the world; this was the absolute suppression of a higher-level life form over lower-level life forms.