Mengshan City, North District—a courtyard enveloped by a magical formation.
A young man in his early twenties, clad in a gray robe, stood motionless in the backyard, his hands dancing through the air. Streams of gray spirit light erupted from his fingertips, streaking outward with blinding speed.
Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...
The spirit light moved with near-instantaneous speed. The moment it materialized at his fingertips, a tender new leaf on a jujube tree three meters away exploded into nothingness, obliterated by the energy.
The young man was none other than Han Yi.
And the spell he was practicing was, of course, his sole arcane art: the Spirit Void Finger.
The Spirit Void Finger was a simple spell that compressed mana into the fingertip using a special technique before releasing it as a concentrated blast to inflict limited damage.
Due to its straightforward principle and minimal destructive power, disciples who had reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining or higher rarely bothered to practice it. Only newcomers to the Profound Pill Sect, dazzled by its flashy nature, found it appealing enough to learn.
At that moment...
Focused intently on refining his Spirit Void Finger, Han Yi suddenly noticed that his execution had become smoother, and he could now compress a larger, more controlled amount of mana.
More importantly, the compression method itself had undergone a profound shift, distinctly different from how he had initially learned the spell.
In short, Han Yi's Spirit Void Finger had leveled up.
This new method of mana compression felt both foreign and familiar.
Foreign because it was different from how he had initially practiced the technique; familiar because casting it now was effortless, as natural as breathing.
Whoosh!
Boom!
A branch of the jujube tree shattered under the impact of the spirit light. Fragments of splintered wood flew with such force that some embedded deeply into the courtyard wall behind the tree, while others left bowl-sized craters in its surface.
Startled, Han Yi forcibly suppressed the urge to unleash another blast.
Then his face lit up as he checked the Proficiency Panel.
As expected, he had broken through:
[Spirit Void Finger (Initial Glimpse of the Dao 1/100)]
"Unlike the Alchemy Technique, the Spirit Void Finger progresses much faster, and its power increases dramatically with each advancement."
"What's more, the very method of mana compression has transformed. This means the spell has undergone a complete metamorphosis—it's essentially the Spirit Void Finger 2.0 version now."
"This technique holds immense potential."
Han Yi's confidence surged.
During his previous cultivation of the Spirit Void Finger, he had spent only two days to advance his proficiency from 29/100 to 70/100.
This time, Han Yi threw himself wholeheartedly into mastering the Spirit Void Finger. In just one day, he relentlessly practiced until he reached the Initial Glimpse of the Dao stage.
This cultivation speed far surpassed that of his Alchemy Technique.
The breakthrough in his Spirit Void Finger technique gave him a renewed sense of confidence in his personal safety.
But it wasn't enough.
Next, Han Yi continued to grind the Spirit Void Finger.
He repeatedly flicked his finger, unleashing the technique again and again.
Previous experiments had shown that the progress bar advanced based on the number of times he practiced the technique, not on the amount of mana compressed with each strike.
Therefore, he minimized the mana compressed with each flick, allowing his reserves to sustain the greatest number of repetitions.
He dared not aim his strikes at the jujube tree anymore.
Given the Spirit Void Finger's enhanced power after his breakthrough, blasting the tree apart would be a trivial matter.
However, the courtyard wall behind the tree was linked to the formation arts that protected the entire compound. If his Spirit Void Finger inadvertently eroded the formation, he would have no one to blame but himself.
After all, the courtyard's defenses were limited and couldn't withstand prolonged strain.
He could only target the backyard ground, using the stone stool as a barrier to contain the blasts.
9/100
14/100
19/100
After his initial breakthrough, Han Yi's daily progress stagnated or even declined slightly.
Yet he remained deeply satisfied.
This steadily growing sense of accomplishment fueled his belief that he was making tangible progress.
Over a month later,
At a certain moment,
Boom!!
He flicked a finger, channeling only one-fiftieth of his total mana into its tip.
But this time, through some inexplicable intuition, Han Yi had gained a new understanding of mana compression. Guided by this insight, he reshaped the finger-flick technique.
The mana compressed and flowed in a novel way, erupting from his fingertip with unprecedented force.
In that split second, Han Yi felt a slight numbness in his finger and a faint tremor throughout his body from the recoil.
Before he could even process the sensations in his hand, his jaw dropped, his eyes widened into shocked circles as he stared straight ahead. After a violent tremor, his pupils dilated with unbridled joy.
Before him, the wisp of Spirit Light, now twisted into a thin thread, landed at an angle.
In an instant,
Boom!!
The Spirit Light slammed into the ground, causing the earth to tremble. Fragments of rock exploded outward, shattering the encircling stone bench into jagged pieces that flew into the air.
The flying debris crashed against the courtyard wall, creating a cacophony of impacts.
The scale of the destruction far exceeded Han Yi's wildest expectations.
With a casual flick of his sleeve, Han Yi suppressed the cloud of dust he had stirred up.
He focused his gaze on the spot where his Spirit Void Finger had landed.
A crater nearly a meter wide now marred the ground.
Without a doubt, had that finger struck a person, they would have been blasted into two halves.
The power of the Spirit Void Finger had surged exponentially after his breakthrough.
Moreover, he had only used one-fiftieth of his total mana to construct that finger.
If he were to go all out in battle, channeling half his mana into a single Spirit Void Finger, what unimaginable devastation might it unleash?
The mere thought sent shivers down his spine.
[ Spirit Void Finger (Hall Entry 1/100) ]
The Proficiency Panel confirmed the skill's advancement.
After his initial elation, Han Yi attempted to resume training but quickly encountered two problems.
First, grinding progress with the Hall Entry-level Spirit Void Finger had become excruciatingly slow. After two full days of practice, he had only advanced from 1/100 to 2/100.
Second, his courtyard could no longer accommodate the destructive power of his newly enhanced technique.
In short, progress was slow, and he risked demolishing his courtyard.
With his Spirit Stones completely depleted, over four months had passed since Han Yi had last left his courtyard. He had even missed the quarterly gathering at the Profound Fire Pill Shop.
Restless from prolonged seclusion, Han Yi decided it was time to venture out. Without Spirit Stones, cultivating the Spirit Void Finger and replenishing his Mana would be an agonizingly slow and time-consuming process. Moreover, he knew he couldn't realistically advance the technique beyond the Hall Entry stage in the near future.
Before leaving, Han Yi prepared the Evil-Repelling Pills for Guan Sheng and the Qi Nourishing Pills for the Profound Fire Pill Shop, stashing the excess in his Storage Pouch.
This time, he planned to visit Mengshan City's market first before heading to the Profound Fire Pill Shop to trade pills. The market offered two advantages: selling Medicinal Pills and seeking an opportunity to acquire a more potent spell.
The Spirit Void Finger, while useful, felt too limited. It's always wise to have a backup plan, he thought. I should learn a few more spells and keep at least one or two hidden as trump cards. This would provide a greater sense of security.
After over four months of seclusion, Han Yi reactivated his courtyard's protective Formation using his Formation Plate. Instead of taking the direct route to the Profound Fire Pill Shop, he set off toward a cultivation market in Mengshan City.
He had spent those four months lying low, biding his time.
Jiang De, who had been lurking outside the courtyard on and off for the past two months, grew increasingly sullen and impatient as he waited in vain.