Heavenly Sword Saint
The sun had already begun to sink beyond the distant mountains.
The final battle of the day had ended.
The supervising elder stepped onto the platform and raised his voice.
"Today's competition ends here!"
"The remaining disciples will return tomorrow."
"The next stage will begin at first light."
"The competition will continue until the final rankings are decided."
The moment his words fell...
The tense atmosphere finally loosened.
Disciples began leaving the training ground in groups.
Some discussed the battles they had witnessed.
Others were already talking about tomorrow's opponents.
But one name appeared in almost every conversation.
Jian Chen.
The youth who had been regarded as a waste for sixteen years because he could not cultivate...
Had defeated an Eighth Stage cultivator.
And he had done it after only one month of cultivation.
The news spread quickly.
It didn't remain within the Jian Clan.
Several visiting clans and forces had sent their younger disciples to watch the annual competition.
Now...
Their attention had also shifted toward Jian Chen.
"Is that really the Jian Clan's Jian Chen?"
"The one who couldn't cultivate for sixteen years?"
"That's him."
"I heard he defeated Jian Xuan."
"An Eighth Stage cultivator?"
"Impossible."
"Yet it happened."
Some were skeptical.
Others were curious.
A few were already trying to understand how someone who had spent sixteen years unable to cultivate could suddenly display such strength.
But while everyone was discussing Jian Chen...
Jian Chen himself had already left the training ground.
He had no interest in listening to the rumors.
He had something more important to do.
He needed to become stronger.
Jian Chen returned to his residence.
The wooden door closed behind him.
He immediately walked toward the center of the room and sat down.
His legs crossed.
His hands rested naturally upon his knees.
The Heavenly Sword Scripture began circulating.
Spiritual energy entered his body.
It passed through the six opened meridians.
Then...
It reached the seventh.
Jian Chen's consciousness followed the flow.
The blockage was still there.
Huge.
Dense.
And dangerous.
But it was no longer perfect.
Faint cracks covered its surface.
Jian Chen's gaze sharpened.
The battle had done more than exhaust him.
The repeated circulation of spiritual energy had pushed his foundation beyond its previous limit.
And the intense clash with Jian Xuan had shaken the blockage itself.
This was his chance.
Jian Chen took a slow breath.
"Let's see..."
"How far I can push it."
He began gathering spiritual energy.
One cycle.
Two cycles.
Three cycles.
The spiritual energy inside his body gradually became denser.
Pain slowly spread through his body.
Jian Chen remained completely still.
Then he directed the accumulated spiritual energy toward the seventh meridian.
Boom!
The first impact struck the blockage.
Pain exploded through his body.
His fingers tightened.
Sweat immediately appeared across his forehead.
But his expression remained calm.
Again.
Boom!
The second impact was stronger.
The blockage trembled.
A faint crack spread across its surface.
Jian Chen's eyes sharpened.
"Again."
Boom!
The third impact slammed into the blockage.
The crack widened.
Pain surged through his body like countless needles.
Jian Chen gritted his teeth.
The Heavenly Sword Scripture continued circulating.
He had endured worse.
Much worse.
He gathered more spiritual energy.
Then attacked again.
Boom!
The seventh meridian trembled violently.
Crack!
A tiny fragment of the blockage broke away.
Jian Chen's eyes brightened.
"It can be opened."
That single realization strengthened his resolve.
He immediately gathered more spiritual energy.
Again.
Boom!
Again.
Boom!
Each strike weakened the blockage.
But the seventh meridian was far more stubborn than the previous six.
The resistance was enormous.
Blood slowly appeared at the corner of Jian Chen's mouth.
His muscles trembled.
His breathing became heavier.
Still...
He didn't stop.
He had waited sixteen years for the chance to cultivate.
He wasn't going to stop because of pain.
Jian Chen gathered the remaining spiritual energy within his body.
Then compressed it.
Again.
And again.
Until it became extremely dense.
His eyes opened.
"Break."
Boom!
The spiritual energy exploded forward.
The blockage cracked.
Then...
Crack!
The entire obstruction shattered.
A powerful stream of spiritual energy rushed through the newly opened path.
Jian Chen's body violently trembled.
For several breaths...
He couldn't move.
Then the spiritual energy completed its first circulation through the seventh meridian.
A strange sensation spread throughout his body.
Lightness.
Expansion.
Control.
Jian Chen slowly opened his eyes.
A sharp glint flashed through them.
The seventh meridian...
Was open.
He had done it.
Jian Chen immediately began circulating the Heavenly Sword Scripture again.
This time, the spiritual energy flowed through seven meridians instead of six.
The difference was enormous.
The circulation became smoother.
His spiritual energy moved more freely.
His foundation became increasingly stable.
Jian Chen slowly clenched his fist.
"Seven meridians..."
A faint smile appeared.
But then...
His expression changed.
Something was happening inside his dantian.
The spiritual energy within it began moving faster.
Faster.
And faster.
Jian Chen immediately focused inward.
He understood what was happening.
His foundation had already reached the threshold.
Opening the seventh meridian had removed the final restriction.
The spiritual energy accumulated over the past month began converging toward his dantian.
Jian Chen's eyes narrowed.
"So that's it."
The meridian breakthrough wasn't the cultivation breakthrough.
But it had created the conditions for one.
He immediately sat upright.
The Heavenly Sword Scripture circulated at full speed.
Spiritual energy surged through his seven meridians.
His dantian trembled.
The spiritual energy inside it began compressing.
Again.
And again.
The pressure continued increasing.
Jian Chen remained calm.
He had reached the limit of the Sixth Stage.
Now...
He would break through.
Jian Chen took a deep breath.
Then released it.
"Break."
Boom!
The spiritual energy inside his dantian erupted.
A powerful wave swept through his body.
His seven meridians trembled simultaneously.
The spiritual energy became denser.
More refined.
More stable.
The boundary that had confined his cultivation finally shattered.
For a moment...
Jian Chen felt as though his entire body had become lighter.
His spiritual energy surged.
His senses sharpened.
His strength increased.
And his control over the spiritual energy within his body became considerably smoother.
Jian Chen opened his eyes.
A sharp light flashed across them.
"Seventh Stage."
Two breakthroughs.
One night.
First...
He had opened the seventh meridian.
Then...
His cultivation had advanced from the Sixth Stage to the Seventh Stage.
Jian Chen slowly clenched his fist.
A faint smile appeared.
This was the result he had wanted.
But he didn't become arrogant.
The breakthrough hadn't made him invincible.
There were still powerful disciples among the remaining thirty two.
The Ninth Stage remained beyond him.
Peak Eighth Stage cultivators could still pose a serious threat.
He needed to continue improving.
Jian Chen closed his eyes again.
He continued circulating the Heavenly Sword Scripture.
One cycle.
Then another.
Slowly...
His newly strengthened cultivation stabilized.
The night grew deeper.
While the clan outside remained occupied with discussions about his battle...
Jian Chen remained completely unaware of them.
He wasn't interested in fame.
He wasn't interested in praise.
Strength was what mattered.
And tonight...
He had taken another step forward.
The next morning...
The Jian Clan was once again filled with activity.
Disciples poured toward the training ground.
The news from yesterday had spread even farther.
Visitors from other clans were talking about Jian Chen.
"The waste who couldn't cultivate for sixteen years defeated an Eighth-Stage cultivator."
"I heard his swordsmanship is extraordinary."
"Could it be that he possessed some hidden talent?"
"Impossible. If that were true, why would he have remained unable to cultivate for so long?"
Even some elders from the visiting forces were quietly observing him.
They wanted to see whether yesterday's victory had been a coincidence...
Or the beginning of something greater.
But Jian Chen didn't care.
While everyone was busy discussing him...
He was busy making himself stronger.
He stood quietly among the remaining disciples.
His expression was calm.
His aura remained restrained.
No one knew that during the night, his cultivation had already reached the Seventh Stage.
No one knew that his strength had increased again.
And Jian Chen intended to keep it that way.
The supervising elders stepped onto the platform.
"Thirty two disciples remain."
"From today onward, the competition will proceed through direct challenges."
"The winner advances."
"The loser is eliminated."
The crowd immediately became quiet.
The remaining disciples understood the stakes.
There would be no easy battles from this point onward.
The supervising elder raised his hand.
"The first challenge begins now!"
The remaining disciples immediately became alert.
A young disciple stepped forward.
"I challenge Jian Ming!"
The training ground erupted.
Jian Ming calmly stepped out from among the remaining disciples.
Jian Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
His attention immediately focused on him.
Peak Eighth Stage.
One of the strongest disciples of the younger generation.
Jian Chen carefully observed him.
He wanted to know exactly where Jian Ming stood.
The supervising elder raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Jian Ming's opponent immediately moved.
His foot struck the ground.
Boom!
His body shot forward like an arrow.
His right fist carried a powerful surge of spiritual energy.
The attack was extremely fast.
Yet Jian Ming remained motionless.
He waited until the fist was only inches from his chest.
Then...
He raised one hand.
Bang!
The fist stopped.
The entire training ground became silent.
Jian Ming had caught it with one hand.
Jian Chen's eyes narrowed.
Peak eigth stage...
His spiritual energy is extremely dense.
Jian Ming twisted his opponent's wrist.
The younger disciple's body was pulled off balance.
Jian Ming stepped forward.
His shoulder struck the opponent's chest.
Boom!
The disciple was sent flying backward.
The crowd erupted.
"What strength!"
"He stopped that attack with one hand!"
"Jian Ming is too strong!"
Jian Chen watched without blinking.
Every movement.
Every change in spiritual energy.
Every detail.
He memorized everything.
He wasn't watching simply to admire Jian Ming's strength.
He was studying another potential opponent.
If they met later...
He needed to know exactly what he would be facing.
On the platform, Jian Ming's opponent struggled back to his feet.
His aura erupted once more.
He rushed forward.
Jian Ming stepped forward.
One punch.
Boom!
The two fists collided.
The opponent's arm trembled violently.
Jian Ming didn't move.
The difference was absolute.
He followed with a palm strike.
Bang!
The disciple flew from the platform.
The supervising elder immediately raised his hand.
"Jian Ming wins!"
The crowd erupted once more.
Jian Ming calmly withdrew his hand.
He had won without revealing his full strength.
Jian Chen's gaze remained fixed on him.
His expression was calm.
But his eyes were sharp.
So this is the strength of a peak Eighth-Stage cultivator.
He slowly tightened his fist.
He had already reached the Seventh Stage.
Now...
He needed to find out how far that cultivation could take him.
The competition had only just begun.
And while the entire clan was busy talking about Jian Chen...
Jian Chen was already thinking about his next step.
Become stronger.
That was all that mattered.