Qingyi's fingers moved up to the status screen, pausing just inches from the breakthrough option.
When he first reached the Astral Body Realm, he could feel a faint connection to the stars. Now, in the Astral Blood Realm, that connection had grown considerably stronger.
In the Mortal Heaven, all previous realms were preparation for the Realm of Transcendence. In the Immortal Heaven, all served as preparation for the Astral Body Realm. The Celestial Heaven was no different.
Every realm before the Stellar Sovereign could be considered a minor realm, a re stepping stone to reach that level.
Even the Celestial Emperor's Realm followed this pattern, with many saying it was, in truth, nothing more than preparation for sothing greater. A realm of true divinity.
In the end, even though the Celestial Emperor's Realm stood as the most powerful cultivation realm in the Celestial Heaven, the Stellar Sovereign remained the most important advancent in a cultivator's life.
Those who obtained a powerful star would possess unparalleled strength. Those who obtained a weak one might end their cultivation journeys right there.
The Realm of Celestial Ascension also held importance because, even without major changes to a cultivator's foundation, it was still the first true step toward the Stellar Sovereign, a realm where strength would explode beyond asure.
After another mont of ditation, Qingyi pressed to advance. [Initiating breakthrough...]
The surrounding temperature skyrocketed instantly, pushing the cultivation chamber to the very edge of what its formations could endure.
Qingyi clenched his teeth, circulating his Qi with as much calm as he could muster through the searing agony.
The Realm of Celestial Ascension demanded a complete physical reconstruction. A full rebirth of the body.
A painful breakthrough even for ordinary cultivators who, unlike him, did not have the system multiplying every sensation several tis
over.
Slowly, his skin cracked open.
His muscles tore, fiber by fiber, the wet sound of tissue splitting barely audible beneath his strangled groans. They reford stronger, denser, each new strand knitting itself into place before the next one ripped apart.
His bones splintered with grinding pops, fractures spreading through them like roots through dry earth, only to seal themselves back together harder and more resilient than before.
A thick black sli oozed from every pore without end, the terrible stench of expelled toxins flooding the chamber.
Finally, after an hour of pure suffering, Qingyi's eyes snapped open.
Powerful shockwaves erupted from his body, cracking the stone floor in jagged lines around him.
He gasped heavily, sweat streaming down his face and dripping from his jaw.
His beautiful purple eyes lowered, focusing on his own body.
Filthy. Covered in black residue and sweat.
But he was smiling.
[Congratulations, you have broken through in your cultivation! Ninth
stage of the Astral Blood Realm -> first stage of the Celestial Ascension Realm.]
With a gentle smile still on his lips, Qingyi settled back into a ditative posture, using a mana spell he had learned from Margareth to cleanse his body and restore his destroyed clothes.
His power had increased considerably. Now he needed to stabilize his foundation and get used to the new power of his Qi, which had nearly doubled.
And so, the days passed slowly.
***
In the main palace, residence of the sect leader, preparations began in
earnest.
A powerful guard was assembled to accompany the sect's most formidable battleship, tasked with escorting Rou'er, the leader's daughter and beloved princess of the sect, to the Cosmic Void Sect.
Five years ago, the leader of the Cosmic Void Sect had visited the leader of the Cosmic Dawn Sect. During that eting, they discovered that Rou'er possessed an unawakened bloodline.
For now, it was harmless. But if it were to awaken only after she had reached a high cultivation level, the consequences could be severe. Because of this, the Cosmic Void Sect's leader offered his sect's secret realm, that opened only once every few decades, as a solution.
Of course, Rou'er would still need to go through the selection process among the disciples. However, since she wasn't a fighter, a young talent should represent her.
Originally, this role was supposed to fall to Tianhao, but because of Rou'er, they chose soone else; Long Qingyi, A young talent known as a new master at conquering secret realms.
Of course, this would only happen if he managed to reach the Celestial Ascension Realm within the ti limit.
With the day of the journey finally arriving, several people gathered in
the courtyard of the sect leader's palace.
Rou'er sat beside her adoptive father and the elder at the peak of the
first step of the Path of Extinction, who would be responsible for her
protection.
He was an elder of the Celestial War Pavilion, one of the sect's most
powerful fist users.
"Ugh... why hasn't Big Brother Qingyi shown up yet?" Rou'er
whispered to herself, her eyes shining with anxiety.
She didn't want to go with Tianhao. Especially not since the secret
realm would operate in two parts.
The first would begin as soon as they arrived, where they would be selected and could enter the initial phase.
The second could take anywhere from months to years, since the secret realm would seal itself to prepare the formations ant to
strengthen the cultivators' souls.
Through this process, it could awaken her bloodline.
What infuriated her the most was that, if Qingyi didn't show up, she would have to endure both phases with Tianhao by her side.
Wasn't that just terrible?
Of course, while so were anxious, others were thrilled. Tianhao was by far the most excited, and Tianfa, who supported him
and didn't exactly have a good relationship with Qingyi, wasn't far
behind.
"Young Miss Rou'er! I think we've waited long enough! Qingyi is a coward, incapable of advancing to the Realm of Celestial Ascension, and that's why he ran away!" Tianhao took an eager step forward, his
chest puffed out with confidence.
"Let's go, I'll-"
"If you say one more word about Big Brother Qingyi, I'll ask Daddy to
cut off your balls and make you eat them through your bottom mouth." Rou'er cut him off with an irritated growl.
Her voice was so sweet that even her threats sounded cute.
Tianhao's mouth clamped shut.
Before he could even think of a response, Rou'er spotted a figure approaching on the horizon and her heterochromatic eyes lit up.
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