The air was calm, the sun bright in the clear sky.

In the private courtyard of his residence in the Seventh Outer Mansion, Qi Yun, dressed in a simple gray-white robe, sat before a stone table. A pot of light tea brewed in front of him, the stove fire burning bright, its subtle fragrance drifting on the air.

In this setting, even a pot of the cheapest herbal tea imaginable could make one feel utterly refreshed and relaxed.

He lifted the coarse ceramic cup and took a light sip. The scalding, slightly bitter tea slid down his throat and settled in his stomach, spreading a pleasant warmth. Qi Yun slowly exhaled a long plume of white breath, a look of unprecedented calm and relaxation on his face.

’This... is a feeling of ease I’ve never known before.’

It had been two days since his return from Piaohai Mountain.

The moment he had returned, he had collapsed onto his bed, fully clothed, and slept as if he were dead to the world.

Waking up today, he felt his shoulders relax and his Heart Thought flow freely. All the anxieties he had been obsessing over, the problems he had been racking his brains about, were cast to the back of his mind.

He felt as if he had shed a set of heavy, damp clothes.

Clear and unburdened!

In that moment, Qi Yun felt countless currents of energy swirling around him. The True Qi within his Purple Mansion Dantian stirred restlessly, developing an intense craving to draw this unbound Heaven and Earth Qi into his body for Refinement!

"Huh? Am I about to... break through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer?"

As he carefully savored this profound sensation, a look of joy appeared in Qi Yun’s eyes.

This was, without a doubt, the feeling one gets just before breaking through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

’Could this be what they call... breaking through after a long period of accumulation? Rising anew from destruction?’

In the struggle for the Great Dao, aptitude, comprehension, and fortunate encounters are all indispensable.

He recalled the lethal dangers at every turn on Piaohai Mountain. He’d been dragged into the machinations of two Foundation Establishment Masters and had relied entirely on his wits and the miraculous Magic Technique Panel to wrench a sliver of life from the jaws of certain death!

If it had been anyone else, the grass on their grave would have grown tall by now.

This extreme pressure, this trial of life and death, had unexpectedly become the very catalyst he needed to break through the bottleneck to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer!

Qi Yun took a deep breath, the aroma of the warm tea mingling with his feelings of having survived a great ordeal.

If he could choose, he would much prefer to cultivate peacefully and methodically.

This kind of "opportunity," won by gambling with his life, was simply too agonizing.

’There are still more than four months until the year-end examination. If I can seize this faint opportunity, this glimmer of enlightenment, I might have a chance to break through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

’At that point, I’ll even have a chance to compete for the Triple Champion Scholar title.’

Qi Yun’s eyes narrowed slightly as he silently calculated his options.

An examination, by its very nature, was a competition for rank.

Those at the Bottom Stream of the rankings became Resources. Two years at the bottom, and you were cast into the "talent market" so the Holy Sect could recoup its investment in your training.

Conversely, those at the top were naturally rewarded. If everyone were treated equally, where would the motivation come from?

The Triple Champion Scholar was the title granted to the one who ranked highest in the Outer Mansion examinations.

Winning first place in the Outer Mansion examination in the first year made one a Single Champion Scholar. Winning again the following year made one a Dual Champion Scholar. If one ranked first for three consecutive years...

...one would earn the title of Triple Champion Scholar.

By the Holy Sect’s tradition, a Triple Champion Scholar could enter the Inner Mansion directly.

Furthermore, becoming a Triple Champion Scholar was proof of one’s value and talent. You were guaranteed to be chosen by a Foundation Establishment Master from the Inner Mansion to become their Direct Disciple.

’That old bastard was only put under Forbidden confinement for a cycle of sixty years; he isn’t dead. The moment he’s released, he’ll be 10,000 percent certain to come settle the score with me.

’So, in the meantime, I have two choices. Either I flee to the ends of the earth and hide where he can never find me...

’Or... I march right into the Inner Mansion and become the disciple of a Master!

’Then I’ll have my own backer to protect me. Why would I fear that Flower Moon Hall Master coming for revenge?’

Having personally experienced the cruelty and indifference of the Demon Sect, Qi Yun was keenly aware of the need to be prepared for danger even in times of peace. Not a shred of laziness remained in his heart.

’But becoming the Triple Champion Scholar won’t be easy. Among these Outer Mansion Disciples, there are plenty of second-generation types like Shen Fan, supported by their elders in the Inner Mansion. Leaning on that great tree, they have easy access to Resources and Cultivation Skills.

’They’re surely dead set on claiming the Champion Scholar title for themselves.

’Trying to snatch the title from them would be like snatching food from a tiger’s mouth.’

At this thought, Qi Yun’s gaze wavered for a moment before hardening with resolve.

He raised his chin slightly, and with a wave of his hand, a blast of Sword Qi shot out. Overbearing and fierce, it instantly demolished the newly replaced decorative rockery.

You have your elders and your clans.

I have my Clear Dao Heart!

You may be a peerless talent, but I have my miraculous Magic Technique Panel.

This is the struggle for the Great Dao!

Once the pieces are placed, there are no regrets!

’I, Qi Yun, am second to none!’

Shattering the self-doubt and hesitation in his mind, Qi Yun’s eyes blazed with light. In that very instant—the moment his Heart Thought flowed freely and his Dao Heart became crystal clear—

Deep within him, his True Qi suddenly began to roil and surge, as if some invisible shackles had just been smashed apart.

The True Qi, already stirring, now rushed forth like a raging flood bursting from a broken dam!

The brilliant, blazing sun high overhead, with its boundless golden light that illuminated the world, seemed to be pulled by an invisible force. It began to stream toward his body in countless threads, pouring into him of its own volition.

The next instant!

The Heaven and Earth Qi converged with a roar inside his body.

The pure rose, the turbid sank.

Yin and Yang embraced, purity and turbidity returned to one.

The True Qi, having merged with the two streams of Spiritual Qi from Heaven and Earth, began to react violently. It was like a rough stone cast into a Fierce Fire; the outer impurities were continuously burned away, revealing the dazzling, pure gold within.

The very essence of his True Qi... was soaring!

As his True Qi continued to transform, Qi Yun could clearly feel its quality increasing at a rapid pace.

The most direct sensation of this transformation was the clear feeling that he was getting "heavier"!

That’s right, he was getting heavier.

The transformed, elevated True Qi was worlds apart from what it had been before.

If his previous True Qi was a light, flowing stream, then his current True Qi was like viscous, heavy mercury, containing immense power.

A single wisp of the new True Qi was powerful enough to rival ten wisps of the old.

This intense change came as swiftly as a gale. Though it sounds complex and profound, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

But it was in that blink of an eye that Qi Yun knew with absolute clarity.

His breakthrough to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer!

Was complete!

’In the Qi Refining Realm, every three layers represents a watershed moment. The gap between the Qi Refining Third Layer and the Qi Refining Fourth Layer is even wider than the gap between the first and third layers combined.

’This also means that the higher a Cultivator’s Realm, the more vast the chasm between them becomes.

’Within the Qi Refining Realm, it’s still possible to defeat a stronger opponent by relying on various means like Magic, Magical Artifacts, and Talismans.

’But at the Foundation Establishment Realm, a hundred cultivators at Qi Cultivation Great Perfection, all tied together, couldn’t so much as muss a single hair on a Foundation Establishment Master’s head. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

’It’s no longer a difference of power, but a difference of fundamental level.’

Having personally been targeted by two Foundation Establishment Masters, Qi Yun understood this point better than anyone.

Silently circulating the transformed True Qi within him, Qi Yun had a thought. Billowing True Qi surged from his body, forming a perfectly spherical shield. It was as pure as colored glass, yet as thin as a membrane.

And this was the unique ability of the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

Projecting True Qi!

...