373: Chapter 373 Damn it, he's already at the early stage of the Saint Realm?

The three of them walked over.

That stone monument was the monument for the "Chaos Primordial Record"; it was thirty feet tall, dark gold all over, and exuded an ancient and majestic aura.

As expected, there was an open space behind the monument, about thirty or forty feet square, surrounded by a bamboo forest, making it very quiet and secluded.

Xu Ruyu sat down cross-legged in the center of the clearing, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to adjust his state.

Yue Ling and Taihao Clan stood to his left and right, three feet behind him, silently acting as his Protectors.

"Master," Taihao Clan asked in a low voice, "to what extent do you think Xiao Yuer can Breakthrough this time?"

Yue Ling said softly, "I don't know. But no matter what level he reaches, we must protect him well."

Taihao Clan nodded, becoming uncharacteristically serious. "Don't worry, Master. With me here, no one will even think about disturbing him."

Time passed slowly in the silence.

...

The first day.

As Xu Ruyu sat cross-legged, a faint silver light began to emerge around his body.

The light was very weak; if one didn't look closely, it was almost imperceptible.

But as time went on, the light grew brighter and more intense, gradually enveloping his entire person.

Yue Ling watched quietly, her eyes full of tenderness and expectation.

Taihao Clan, meanwhile, squatted to the side, bored out of her mind as she counted ants on the ground.

When she reached the one hundred and twenty-third ant, she finally couldn't help herself and muttered softly, "Master, how much longer do we have to wait?"

Yue Ling said softly, "Breakthroughs vary from person to person. It could take a few hours at the fastest, or several days and nights at the slowest. Be patient."

Taihao Clan sighed and continued counting ants.

The second day.

The silver light around Xu Ruyu's body had become dazzlingly bright.

The light was like a flowing liquid, slowly circulating over the surface of his body, forming a massive light cocoon that wrapped him completely.

From within the cocoon, the low hum of energy fluctuations could be heard, a sound that was deep and powerful, as if something was gestating and growing.

Taihao Clan stopped counting ants and squatted by the light cocoon, staring at it without blinking as she muttered, "This commotion is way bigger than I imagined."

Yue Ling said softly, "The energy inside him is indeed immense. Look at the direction those lights are flowing; he is currently compressing, purifying, and restructuring that energy."

Taihao Clan looked closely and, sure enough, those silver lights weren't flowing randomly but were following a specific trajectory, circulating repeatedly within Xu Ruyu's body.

With every cycle, the light became more solid and the energy fluctuations grew stronger.

"Is... Is this a Cultivation Technique he created himself?" Taihao Clan asked in surprise.

Yue Ling nodded. "It should be."

Taihao Clan was silent for a moment before suddenly saying, "Master, who exactly is he? To have this kind of ability while only at the Qi Refinement Stage... if he's truly allowed to grow, what will happen?"

Yue Ling smiled slightly, a flash of pride in her eyes. "No matter who he is, he is the man I have chosen."

Taihao Clan curled her lip and muttered softly, "Feeding me dog food again..."

The third day.

The morning sunlight spilled down, dyeing the Transmission Monument Forest a golden yellow.

Inside the light cocoon, the energy fluctuations reached their peak.

The humming sound grew louder and more urgent, as if something was about to break out of its shell.

Both Yue Ling and Taihao Clan grew tense, staring fixedly at the light cocoon.

Suddenly—

*Crack!*

A slight cracking sound came from within the cocoon.

Immediately after, countless fine cracks began to spread across the surface of the light cocoon!

Silver light shot out from the cracks, so bright it was almost impossible to keep one's eyes open!

"He's coming out!"

Taihao Clan shouted excitedly.

The next moment—

*Boom!*

The light cocoon exploded, turning into countless silver specks of light that scattered in all directions!

Xu Ruyu's figure slowly rose from within the points of light.

He was still dressed in his green robe, still had that youthful appearance, and still possessed... the aura of the Qi Refinement Stage.

But for some reason, as Yue Ling and Taihao Clan looked at him, they felt an indescribable sensation.

He stood there, and though he only had the fluctuations of the Qi Refinement Stage, he gave off an unfathomable sense of pressure.

It was as if he weren't a low-level Cultivator, but a sleeping giant beast that could wake up at any moment.

Xu Ruyu opened his eyes, a flash of silver light passing through them.

He looked at Yue Ling and Taihao Clan and smiled slightly.

"My thanks to my two Protectors."

Taihao Clan couldn't wait to rush up, looking him up and down. "How is it, how is it? To what level did you Breakthrough? Is it still the Qi Refinement Stage? What layer are you at?"

Xu Ruyu smiled and made a gesture with his hand.

Taihao Clan blinked. "How many is that?"

Xu Ruyu said, "Thirty-seven."

"Thirty-seven?" Taihao Clan froze for a second, then jumped up. "Holy shit! The thirty-seventh layer of Qi Refinement?!"

"You jumped straight from twenty-five to thirty-seven? You broke through twelve layers all at once?!"

Yue Ling also covered her mouth in shock.

Twelve layers!

What kind of concept was that?

For a normal Cultivator, breaking through a single layer required months or even years of bitter cultivation.

Yet he had broken through twelve layers within three days!

Although his Realm was still the Qi Refinement Stage, his strength...

Taihao Clan swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "Um... Xiao Yuer, what Realm is your current strength equivalent to?"

Xu Ruyu thought for a moment and said, "The Hundred Saints said that the twenty-fifth layer of Qi Refinement is equivalent to the Early Body Integration Stage."

"Now that I'm at the thirty-seventh layer, that's twelve more layers... If we calculate it based on four sub-Realms per Realm, I... I'm probably equivalent to the Early Saint Realm."

Early Saint Realm!

Taihao Clan sucked in a breath of cold air.

She was a Saint Realm Artifact Refiner, but that was an achievement in Artifact Refining.

In terms of combat strength, she was only around the Early Saint Realm herself.

She hadn't expected this kid to suddenly reach the same Realm as her!

"You mean, without relying on Spiritual Artifacts and just using your own strength, you... you're as powerful as me now?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Xu Ruyu scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "I guess... so."