The Shattered Barrier
A month flowed by like a swift river, its currents carrying Yao Xuan through a relentless cycle of cultivation, forging, and the quiet, anchoring moments with Na'er. While the elusive secret of Thousand Refining still danced just beyond his grasp, his progress in other areas was undeniable. Fueled by the relentless efficiency of the Creation Soul Forging Technique, the dense, liquid soul power within his dantian had swelled, pushing him past the threshold into Level 12 Soul Master. It was a solid, satisfying step, another brick laid in the foundation towards the Great Soul Master realm. He calculated silently; even with the escalating soul power requirements, the two-year deadline for his system quest felt not just achievable, but almost conservative. His true bottleneck, the ever-present focus of his strategist's mind, remained the accumulation of Golden Evolution Points to force his Ancestral Dragon bloodline past the critical 10% mark.
But soul power was not the only force growing within him. The Creation Soul Forging Technique's secondary effect—the tempering of mental power—had proven even more dramatic. Ten days ago, his spiritual energy had crystallized at the absolute peak of the Spirit Origin Realm, a solid 99 points. He could feel the barrier then, a seamless, invisible wall encircling his sea of consciousness, sturdy and confining.
Breaking into the Spiritual Connection Realm was a watershed moment for any soul master. It was the difference between having strength and wielding it. While the Spirit Origin Realm offered little more than enhanced senses and focus, the Spiritual Connection Realm granted the first, rudimentary ability to project will into the world—to lift a cup, turn a page, or manipulate a tool without a physical touch. It was the foundational skill for all advanced soul master arts, a prerequisite for entry into the continent's elite academies. Spirit Origin could barely support a single yellow soul spirit; Spirit Connection could bear two, or even a purple one, unlocking the path to Soul Grandmaster and beyond.
For ten days, Yao Xuan had felt the pressure building behind that barrier. Each cultivation session added another droplet to the ocean of spiritual power crashing against the inner walls of his mind. The wall, once seamless, now showed hairline fractures, groaning under the constant, immense pressure.
Tonight, he would break it.
Seated cross-legged on his bed, the door securely closed against the world, he plunged inward. The "Creation Soul Forging Technique" whirred to life, and the air in his room thickened once more with the swirling energy of heaven and earth. He guided it, compressed it, and refined it, but his primary focus was not his dantian. It was the raging sea within his skull.
He marshaled his spiritual energy, shaping it into a concentrated torrent that slammed against the fractured barrier. Boom. Boom. Boom. For nearly an hour, the relentless assault continued. The cracks spread, web-like, but the wall held, stubborn and unyielding. A faint sheen of sweat appeared on his brow. The bottleneck was proving far more resilient than he had anticipated.
'Fine,' he thought, a flicker of impatience swiftly quelled by his calculating nature. 'I'll just have to spend some Golden Evolution Points!'
His consciousness brushed against the Super God System.
'Yes!'
The single, precious point vanished. In its place, a stream of cool, crystalline energy, like a mountain spring, flowed directly into his sea of consciousness. It was pure, unadulterated spiritual force. He immediately fused it with his own, the combined power swelling into a titanic wave.
CRACK! CRACK-CRACK!
The sound was deafening, though it existed only within the confines of his mind. The web of fractures exploded outwards.
BOOM!
The final collapse was not a slow crumbling but a cataclysmic detonation. It was the sound of a thousand-foot dam shattering, of thunder erupting inside his skull. His entire body gave a slight jolt. And then, silence—a vast, expansive, and profound silence.
The wall was gone.
The world… changed. His perception, which he had thought was clear before, was now razor-sharp. The faint grain of the wood on his desk, the subtle currents of air in the room, the dormant soul power within the metals of his forging tools—he could perceive it all with a new, breathtaking clarity. His thoughts, usually swift and orderly, now felt like lightning, making connections and deductions with effortless speed. His sea of consciousness expanded, its borders receding into a new, vast frontier ready to be filled.
It took a full thirty minutes for the tumultuous energy to settle into a new, stable equilibrium. Finally, Yao Xuan slowly opened his eyes. They seemed deeper, their calm gaze now possessing a penetrating, almost physical weight.
"Spiritual Connection Realm! I've finally broken through!" A genuine, triumphant smile graced his lips. It was a hard-won victory.
The system's confirmation was concise. The breakthrough had not merely pushed him to 100 points but had granted him a significant surplus. 'Now, let me test the effects of mental power at the Spiritual Connection Realm!'
His eyes fell upon a simple pen resting on his desk. Focusing his will, he extended a wisp of spiritual power, envisioning it wrapping around the object and lifting it. The pen shuddered violently, rattling against the wood, but refused to leave the surface.
'Is my mental power not concentrated enough? The force is too diffuse.' Thanks to the system's Enhanced Comprehension ability, the problem and its solution became instantly clear. He was trying to lift it with an open hand; he needed to use a focused grip.
He took a breath, calming his mind. This time, he imagined his spiritual power not as a vague field, but as a single, invisible, and precisely controlled finger. He pushed.
The pen wobbled, then, unsteadily but undoubtedly, it rose into the air, hovering about fifty centimeters above the desk.
A profound satisfaction settled over him. For a soul master newly entering this realm, achieving such control often took days of guided practice. He had done it in two attempts. It was a small act, but it represented a monumental leap in his journey. This new power was a tool, a weapon, and a key. And every new key he acquired brought him one step closer to being the unshakable guardian Na'er needed him to be. The thought of her was the quiet catalyst that turned his satisfaction into unwavering resolve.