Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Breakthrough to Rank 7

After dealing with the matters in the front courtyard, Shen Haoran returned to his own residence. Seeing him return safely, both Aunt Xue and Ji Lingxuan breathed a sigh of relief. They were put at ease after a brief update on the situation.

Afterward, just as Shen Haoran had predicted, the men in black did not attack the Shen Family again. It was as if they had never existed. The Shen Family returned to its usual tranquility.

One day, Shen Haoran was sitting cross-legged on his bed, eyes closed in Cultivation, when a dark figure flashed through the window and landed on his shoulder.

"Well? Did you find them?" Shen Haoran asked, opening his eyes as the dark figure landed.

"No. That aura is hidden too well. I can’t sense its presence anymore," the figure said, shaking its head.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran’s brow furrowed. He had sent Changmao out to find a trace of the men in black right after that night, but two days had passed with no news. These men were a thorn in his side. ’I can’t allow any threat to my family’s safety to exist!’

"You still can’t remember anything about those men in black?" Shen Haoran asked, looking at Changmao. He recalled Changmao saying their aura felt very familiar.

"I can’t. I’m just a Spiritual Thought with fragmented memories. Perhaps I’ll recall it when I find my original body," Changmao said helplessly.

Shen Haoran let out a long sigh. He communicated with Elder Yan in his mind. ’Elder Yan, I’ll have to trouble you with this. Please keep a close watch on the Shen Family. Let me know immediately if anything seems out of place.’

"No problem. You can count on me!" Elder Yan replied cheerfully.

It was the best solution Shen Haoran could come up with for now. With the Cyan Mountain City hunting competition drawing near, he had to focus all his attention on it. He needed to continue his Cultivation to improve his strength. He had to defeat Zuo Chuan and reclaim his honor!

For the next half-month, Shen Haoran began a frenzied period of Cultivation. He locked himself in his room, barely even seeing Ji Lingxuan. If she hadn’t been able to clearly sense the steadily strengthening aura from within, she would have thought something terrible had happened to him.

Time flew by during Cultivation, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. One day, Ji Lingxuan went to Shen Haoran’s door as usual to check on him.

As she approached his door, she sensed the aura within the room growing unstable, fluctuating between strong and weak. A look of delight crossed her face. ’He’s about to break through!’

Sure enough, in the next moment, a massive Spiritual Power Vortex formed above the roof of his room. The surrounding Spiritual Power surged like a flood, all of it rushing toward Shen Haoran at the center of the vortex. Seated upon the Red Flame Jade Lotus, Shen Haoran wore a blissful expression.

RUMBLE... Within his body, the Spirit Sea in his Dantian began to expand as Spiritual Power poured in from the outside. It slowly grew to fill seven-tenths of his entire Dantian, black flames churning within it—a truly bizarre sight.

Soon, his Dantian could no longer contain the influx of Spiritual Power. The energy began to surge into Shen Haoran’s meridians and bones. It washed over his internal organs in continuous waves, like a tide, and an indescribable sense of comfort made him groan in pleasure.

When the last drop of external Spiritual Power seeped into his body, Shen Haoran’s tightly shut eyes snapped open. Two tangible beams of brilliant light flashed from them as he exhaled a breath of turbid air. His body instantly felt much lighter.

’Tier Seven Spirit Pupil!’ Shen Haoran smiled in satisfaction as he assessed his new strength. ’Now that I’ve broken through to the seventh tier, with my Chaos Divine Body and the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, I can easily handle a battle against a Tier Nine Spirit Pupil. Even if I run into a Spirit General Tier expert, I can at least escape with my life if I can’t win!’ 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

’Zuo Chuan, just you wait!’ Shen Haoran’s heart surged with battle intent. He would repay the humiliation from two years ago in full!

Composing himself, Shen Haoran opened the door. Outside, Ji Lingxuan was watching him with a wide smile.

"Congratulations on your advancement, Brother Haoran!" Ji Lingxuan said sweetly.

"Haha, but I still can’t catch up to you," Shen Haoran chuckled. He realized that even though he had broken through to Tier Seven Spirit Pupil, he still couldn’t sense Ji Lingxuan’s power level. This proved her strength was far beyond his.

A sense of deflation washed over him at the thought. He had believed his Cultivation speed was already defying the heavens, yet he still couldn’t match Ji Lingxuan’s pace.

’Kid, don’t sell yourself short,’ Elder Yan said in his mind. ’That little lady’s family background is beyond anything you can imagine right now! If you truly like her, then work hard. One day, you will stand above her entire clan! You have to believe you have that kind of power in you.’

’Of course!’ At Elder Yan’s words, Shen Haoran straightened his back, a newfound confidence swelling within him.

Ji Lingxuan was momentarily captivated by the confidence radiating from him, but she quickly snapped out of it. Her face flushed red as she said, "Brother Haoran, while you were in Cultivation, Grandpa came looking for you several times. He said he has something important to discuss with you, but since you were still in seclusion, I didn’t dare disturb you. You should hurry over and see him now!"

Seeing Ji Lingxuan’s pretty face turn inexplicably red, Shen Haoran couldn’t resist. He leaned in and kissed her. Before she could react, he dashed off toward the front courtyard, leaving her standing there, utterly flustered.

Shen Haoran arrived at the front courtyard and headed straight for Old Sir Shen’s study.

When Old Sir Shen saw Shen Haoran, he was stunned for a moment. ’He only just broke through to Tier Six Spirit Pupil half a month ago, and now he’s already advanced another tier in just that short time? What a fearsome Cultivation speed! Back in my day, it took me a full year to make that same breakthrough!’

"Grandfather, you were looking for me?" Shen Haoran asked, seeing his grandfather staring blankly.

"Oh, it’s nothing." Old Sir Shen snapped out of it. "The Cyan Mountain City hunting competition starts in just ten days. Envoys from the Three Great Sects will be there to select disciples. With your Talent, I’m sure you’ll be chosen! But to be safe, you still need to be careful. After all, there’s bad blood between you and that prodigy from the Spirit Crane Sect, Zuo Chuan. I have a list of the participants. Take a look." With that, Old Sir Shen tossed a Scroll to Shen Haoran.

Shen Haoran caught the Scroll and unfurled it. Several hundred names were listed on it. ’Looks like the chance to be recruited by the Three Great Sects is a powerful lure for ordinary Martial Artists.’

Shen Haoran scanned the names one by one. Most participants were below the level of a Tier Five Spirit Pupil, but a few names caught him by surprise.

"Ge Family: Ge Jian, Tier Eight Spirit Pupil, skilled in Swordsmanship. Liu Family: Liu Yu, Tier Nine Spirit Pupil, skilled in Body Technique. City Lord’s Mansion: Qin He, Tier Nine Spirit Pupil..." Shen Haoran had heard of these people, but one entry was particularly strange.

"Nameless: Strength unknown, specialty unknown, origin unknown..." All of their information was listed as unknown.

’This person...?’ Shen Haoran was puzzled.

"I don’t know either. Normally, participants must declare their strength and origin, or they aren’t qualified to compete. Yet this person somehow appeared on the roster. It’s quite puzzling," Old Sir Shen said, shaking his head. He found it very strange as well.

’It seems this hunting competition won’t be so simple,’ Shen Haoran murmured, stroking his chin.

’Still, this time, the championship is mine!’