Chapter 138: Golden Hue

Amidst intense fluctuations, Yang Ze’s aura surged to its peak. At this moment, he formed hand seals, his breath abruptly trembling, and an inaudible rumbling echoed from his dantian.

With eyes closed, Yang Ze suddenly opened them, a flash of sharp light gleaming within. His hands completed the final seal, and the true energy in his dantian dissipated entirely, converging into pure true essence.

The instant the first thread of true essence appeared in his dantian, a fresh power radiated outward, flowing into every limb and bone of his body.

Nourished by this new force, Yang Ze felt an indescribable comfort wash over him, and he emitted a satisfied groan.

Following the initial thread, more and more true essence manifested until no trace of the old true energy remained in his dantian—it had all transformed into true essence.

Silently sensing the true essence in his dantian, Yang Ze activated the Qi Nourishing Technique. Extending his right hand, pale white vapor arose from his palm, hovering in the air.

Though this true essence was not as robust as the previous true energy, even a single thread of it carried immense power—far surpassing what he had before.

True essence was a force attainable only by grade-level martial artists, and at last, Yang Ze had achieved it.

With a pinch of his right hand, he halted the cultivation method, and the true essence dissipated. In mere days, he had completed a leap forward, stepping from ninth-stage true energy into the threshold of first-grade cultivation.

Yet, the threshold was still only a threshold; he had not truly entered the first-grade Bone Tempering Realm. Without becoming a grade-level martial artist, he would forever remain at the bottom.

Moreover, this breakthrough was far from easy. He had swallowed two Grade-Boosting Pills to infuse his body with tremendous power, nearly bursting himself in the process.

Taking several deep breaths, Yang Ze refrained from hastily rising and instead began quiet cultivation.

Having just condensed true essence, which had yet to stabilize, it was unwise to rush the next step of bone tempering now.

With a thought, he began circulating the newly imprinted Qi Nourishing Technique carved into his mind during the breakthrough. The true essence in his dantian transformed into wisps that roamed through his meridians, repairing his body.

Outside the stone chamber, Xie Yuan had long since returned. Standing in the hall of the cave dwelling, his brows furrowed as he fixed his gaze on the stone chamber where Yang Ze was.

Just moments ago, he sensed an aura of true essence emanating from within the chamber, which greatly surprised him.

Before Yang Ze entered, he had secretly observed his cultivation level. Yang Ze was still far from the peak of ninth-stage true energy. Even in the cave dwelling, it was impossible to condense true essence so quickly—unless he was a prodigious genius.

Driven by curiosity, Xie Yuan wanted to open the chamber door to see what was happening inside.

But he suppressed the impulse. As the Elder in charge of Qingyang Peak, interfering with a disciple’s cultivation would damage his reputation.

“Forget it,” he muttered. “I don’t know if your talent is truly exceptional or if it’s sheer luck. Since you have reached this critical point, I will lend you a hand. I hope you can contribute to the future of the Martial Academy.”

With that, Xie Yuan quickly formed hand seals. As his gestures accelerated, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the cave dwelling began to flow rapidly.

Suddenly, as Xie Yuan pointed with his left hand, a vast influx of spiritual energy surged into the stone chamber where Yang Ze resided.

“I can only help you this far. How much you absorb depends on your own fate,” he said. Afterward, the door to another stone chamber opened, and Xie Yuan entered, vanishing from sight.

Inside the chamber, Yang Ze, immersed in cultivation, trembled as his pores opened wide, greedily sucking in the dense spiritual energy around him.

Feeling puzzled, he wondered where this surge of spiritual energy came from and why it became so concentrated all of a sudden.

Despite his confusion, Yang Ze quickly realized this was a rare opportunity he must not miss.

The chamber could not hold such abundant spiritual energy forever. Sooner or later, it would dissipate. His only choice was to absorb as much as possible before that happened.

For seven full days, Yang Ze remained motionless, sitting cross-legged like a meditative monk on his mat. White substances appeared on his body surface, covering him.

By then, the spiritual energy in the chamber had returned to normal levels. True essence shimmered on Yang Ze’s skin, causing the white substance to crumble and reveal his skin beneath.

“In just seven days, my true essence has grown significantly. Yet, of the incoming spiritual energy, I absorbed only about forty percent; the rest dissipated. Still, this transformation means the spiritual energy in this chamber is now denser than before,” he murmured.

After ten days of cultivation, such progress was already commendable.

He ceased cultivation, rose to bathe and change clothes, then ate heartily. He lay down and slept for nearly a full day before awakening.

Upon waking, Yang Ze felt rejuvenated. He stretched and moved his limbs before sitting back on his mat.

Being a low-grade martial artist who hadn’t even stepped into first-grade cultivation, he had no ability to fast or go without food. Such prolonged cultivation would have broken him down without the support of his increased strength.

Thus, he dared not continue immediately. He needed to eat well and rest properly first.

Having rested enough, Yang Ze prepared for the second step of cultivation—bone tempering.

The essence of first-grade Bone Tempering Realm lay in tempering the bones. The human body contains many bones: limb bones, torso bones, ribs, sternum, spine, and vertebrae. Raising these to a higher level signified mastery of the first-grade Bone Tempering Realm.

To break through from ninth-stage true energy to first-grade martial artist, one had to temper a single bone first. This first bone was in the lower limbs.

There are sixty-two bones in the lower limbs, and tempering the first was the initial step into first-grade cultivation.

Yang Ze had long memorized Ning Teng’s cultivation insights on this matter.

He was not worried about the bone tempering process. He possessed ten Bone Tempering Pills. With his constitution, swallowing one would pose no problem. If he could fully absorb the pill’s medicinal power, he might temper multiple lower limb bones at once.

Pinching between his fingers, Yang Ze produced a Bone Tempering Pill.

Looking at it, he swallowed it in one gulp and immediately began circulating the new Qi Nourishing Technique. True essence surged from his dantian.

At the same time, the black stone pattern on his chest emitted a faint glow, converting the pill into pure energy and channeling it into his body.

At the initial moment, Yang Ze felt a distending ache in his meridians, but as the true essence circulated, the pain gradually faded.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused entirely on using the Qi Nourishing Technique to dissipate the pill’s energy.

Unlike the Grade-Boosting Pills, the Bone Tempering Pill’s power lasted much longer. Yang Ze cultivated continuously for a full day and night before fully digesting the pill’s effects.

After succeeding, his face showed no joy—only puzzlement.

Because after taking the pill, he felt only one bone had been tempered; the rest of the lower limb bones showed no reaction.

This immediately alerted Yang Ze. According to the cultivation insights, tempering a bone before reaching first-grade required less energy, so a Bone Condensing Pill sufficed to temper one bone.

But now, having used a more potent Bone Tempering Pill, why was only one bone tempered?

Anxiously, Yang Ze surged his cultivation power. In the next breath, his lower limb bones reacted, emanating a tempering force, and he sensed blood rushing through them.

It was not over yet. He noticed faint golden light radiating from his lower limbs, shining through his skin.

Startled, Yang Ze was utterly baffled. According to Ning Teng’s insights, tempered bones should appear milky white throughout. Why were his lower limb bones now glowing with golden light?

Amidst his confusion, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed in his mind, causing his body to tremble. He hurried to maintain his cultivation technique.

In the next breath, an even more astonishing revelation came—he had developed internal consciousness.

By guiding this internal consciousness, he could clearly observe his internal organs and the true essence circulating within.

He knew this was internal consciousness, which only first-grade martial artists could develop. Yet, he had not yet reached first-grade cultivation. How could he have developed it now?

Feeling increasingly strange, Yang Ze activated his internal consciousness to scrutinize his lower limb bones.

What he saw left him at a loss. The single tempered lower limb bone was completely different from the others.

That bone was milky white, but beyond the surface, a faint golden glow emanated, making it stand out starkly from the rest.

Seeing this, Yang Ze was utterly bewildered. Ning Teng’s notes made no mention of bones glowing with golden light after tempering.

Before he could unravel this mystery, new changes stirred within his body.