Xiang Yu clutched his head as an overwhelming torrent of enlightenment flooded his mind. Though only 200 points separated him from the next stage, these final points felt more significant than all his previous gains combined. Thousands of insights flowed into his consciousness, creating the sensation that his brain was expanding, contracting, and contorting in impossible ways.
The intensity threatened to completely overwhelm him. Usually by this point, the stabilizing effect of his sutra would have tempered the experience, but this time was different. Though his sutra momentarily cleared his mind, the sheer volume of insights instantly submerged his consciousness once again.
The sensation persisted far longer than ever before. Hours seemed to pass, then days, then weeks—time had lost all meaning as the storm of revelations continued unabated. When the tempest finally subsided, he exhaled deeply, surprised to find it was still night. Despite feeling as though countless ages had passed, not much time seemed to have passed in the physical world.
As the intense pressure receded, it left behind a crystalline clarity unlike anything he'd experienced before. His mind felt completely transformed, as though his old consciousness had been replaced with something new and vastly superior. Was this what improving a natural talent felt like? His comprehension had finally ascended to the mid level.
Though the advancement had been agonizing, the results were unquestionably worth the suffering. With merely low-level comprehension, he had achieved a perfect technique in less than a month—an extraordinary feat by any standard. The possibilities with mid-level comprehension seemed limitless, filling him with genuine excitement.
Following this transformation came another wave of insights, less overwhelming but still profound. His cooking skill had advanced from eighth grade to seventh grade, flooding his mind with new knowledge: qi manipulation techniques, methods for controlling spirit flames with greater precision, novel recipes, and refinements to existing approaches. Everything he knew about cooking had been elevated to a higher tier.
He sensed that his culinary creations would now provide even greater benefits when consumed, though he would need to test this tomorrow to know by how much exactly. Curiously, his spirit fire no longer seemed to improve from his cooking practice. Still, with the substantial points still available for doubling, he wasn't concerned. Besides, now that his cooking had broken through to a new grade, this might change.
A final insight materialized in his mind—clearer, more focused than the others. He saw himself standing, knife in hand, executing a single downward slash. No unnecessary movements, no elaborate flourishes, just a pure, perfect strike. This... this was true perfection.
Opening his eyes, Xiang Yu marveled at this newfound mastery. Even without holding a knife, he could sense the flawless quality of his technique. No testing was necessary—he simply knew.
His other techniques had advanced significantly as well. His sword mastery stood at the threshold of perfection, requiring just one more push to cross that boundary. His iron body technique had begun its journey toward perfection, and he could already feel the dramatic increase in his body's durability. Not just his skin but his internal organs were being reinforced, growing stronger by the moment. He wondered with genuine curiosity how powerful his physical form would become once this technique reached perfection.
The phantom footwork had progressed through nearly half of the minor success stage. At this pace, it would surpass the halfway mark before the next settlement.
His scriptures showed remarkable development as well. The sutra had gained almost two hundred points and wasn't that far off from the halfway point, putting mind level two within reach. Most significantly, the Mountain Heart Scripture had advanced to the sixth layer, triggering a corresponding breakthrough in his body refining realm. The speed of his progress was truly astonishing—he hadn't even had time to fully appreciate his fifth layer strength before advancing further.
He could feel his body actively growing stronger with each passing moment. Deeply satisfied with the day's achievements, he summoned his complete status display:
...
[Name: Xiang Yu]
[Realm: Body: 6th Layer; Mind: Level 1]
[Species: Human]
[Spiritual Root: null]
[Enlightenment: Mid (0/2000)]
[Battle Instinct: (784/100,000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 7th Grade (182/30,000)]
[Professions: Cook: 7th Grade (0/300)]
[Techniques: Mid-grade Phantom Footwork: Minor Success (80/200); Low-grade Iron Body Technique: Great Completion (0/1000); Basic Knife Technique: Perfect; Basic Sword Technique: Great Completion (720/1000)]
[Scriptures: Mountain Heart Scripture: 6th Layer (0/600); Mountain Heart Sutra: Level 1 (380/1000)]
[System Function: Double Exp (Cooldown: 24hrs)]
A surge of pride welled up within Xiang Yu as he admired the "Perfect" status of his knife technique. After admiring his stats for several minutes, savoring each advancement, he decided it was time to practice the Mountain Heart Sutra.
Though he had no clock, Xiang Yu could estimate the time by checking the countdown until his next settlement. From what he could tell, two hours had already elapsed—his enlightenment breakthrough to mid-level had consumed far more time than anticipated. The memory of that overwhelming torrent of insights sent a chill down his spine. If advancing from low to mid enlightenment had been this dangerous, what might happen when he eventually progressed to high level? The thought reinforced his determination to prioritize his mind cultivation, creating the mental fortitude necessary to withstand future breakthroughs.
Without further deliberation, he assumed his meditation posture, back straight, hands resting lightly on his knees. The moment he closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, his consciousness flowed smoothly into his spiritual sea—the transition now happening in an instant.
Upon arrival, he immediately noticed the illuminated area within his spiritual sea had expanded once again, this time considerably pushing the darkness further toward the periphery. The gentle ambient light that emanated from the void itself now encompassed a much larger radius around him. Though this phenomenon intrigued him, he remained focused on his cultivation rather than investigating the change.
With the Abyssal Void Flame burning steadily on his spiritual forehead, protecting him from mental demons, he immersed himself completely in the sutra's practice. The flame's black radiance, punctuated by tiny white sparks like distant stars, cast a protective aura that allowed him to explore the depths of meditation without fear of being consumed by the void.
Time lost all meaning as he remained in this profound state of cultivation, only returning to physical awareness when the first light of dawn filtered through his window. After stretching his body to dispel any lingering stiffness, he eagerly summoned his system interface to review the night's progress.
[Enlightenment: Mid (1/2000)]
[Battle Instinct: (785/100,000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 7th Grade (184/30,000)]
[Mountain Heart Sutra: Level 1 (400/1000)]
The stats had increased modestly. Though not the most substantial growth, Xiang Yu felt satisfied, particularly with his Enlightenment gaining a single point. This meant he would have something to double after the system reset. Without anything to double, the system's primary advantage would be wasted. Now he could breathe easier knowing progress had been made. As for the Mountain Heart Sutra itself, it had only increased by twenty points, likely because he'd devoted less time to it after spending two hours on his enlightenment breakthrough.
Xiang Yu stepped outside his dwelling and inhaled deeply, savoring the crisp morning air that filled his lungs. Truly refreshing. He made his way to the nearby river, eager to wash away the sweat and fatigue from yesterday's training and begin the day anew. After he was done, he headed to the training grounds where Li Yao awaited.
They exchanged customary greetings before assuming their sparring positions. This time, however, Xiang Yu didn't reach for his knife as usual—instead, he drew his sword. This deliberate change came because his knife technique had already reached perfection, and practicing it further would be pointless, he noted that it didn't even show a progress bar anymore. It made more sense to focus on advancing his sword skills.
"Not using the knife anymore?" Li Yao asked, visibly surprised by the deviation from his established routine. She had grown accustomed to Xiang Yu's training regimen: knife practice in the morning followed by sword work in the evening.
"My knife technique reached the perfect level yesterday, so I'll focus on the sword instead," he explained matter-of-factly.
Upon hearing this, Li Yao's eyes widened momentarily before she composed herself. "As expected of Senior Brother," she murmured with acceptance.
Without further ceremony, the two began their sparring session. As their weapons clashed, Xiang Yu contemplated his next move in cultivation. Now that he had mastered one technique to perfection, he could finally approach Martial Aunt Huang for more teachings. What technique should he request next?
Lost in these thoughts, he narrowly parried another of Li Yao's strikes, stepping backward to create distance between them. Li Yao, ever persistent, pressed her advantage and surged forward. But Xiang Yu had anticipated this response. When she expected him to dodge as usual, he instead charged forward to meet her, employing the enhanced speed granted by his Phantom Footwork technique.
The unexpected counter startled Li Yao, disrupting her rhythm. Uncertain how to respond, she instinctively closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact of his strike. Instead, she felt a gentle flick against her forehead.
"Aw!" she exclaimed, eyes flying open to find Xiang Yu smiling down at her.
"Don't close your eyes in battle," he admonished, echoing the very advice she had once given him.
Li Yao's lips formed a small pout as she realized her senior brother had grown stronger and was now confident enough to tease her during training. As they reset their stances to continue, Li Yao's expression grew serious. She would not let him bully her again. She channeled her power, escalating to the Body Refining 9th layer.
...
After releasing her 9th layer of Body Refining, Li Yao felt a remarkable lightness throughout her body. The channeled power transformed her movements, making her feel weightless yet powerful. She was finally fighting Xiang Yu with genuine pressure, though not completely overwhelming him as she once could. For that level of dominance, she would need to unleash even more of her strength.
Xiang Yu swung his sword with precision, the blade meeting Li Yao's with a metallic clash that sent sparks dancing through the air. Recognizing his disadvantage in raw strength, he activated his newly improved Phantom Footwork, executing a smooth sidestep intended to let Li Yao's momentum carry her forward unbalanced.
But Li Yao was no ordinary opponent. Instead of tumbling as he anticipated, she gracefully redirected her sword's tip downward, using the blade as a pivot point. In one fluid motion, she performed an acrobatic flip over the sword, landing with perfect balance on the opposite side before immediately creating distance with a controlled backstep.
Li Yao caught her breath as she observed her senior brother preparing his next sword form. A mixture of admiration and competitive spirit flickered in her eyes. Senior Brother is truly remarkable, she thought. Sparring with him now created genuine pressure that forced her to maintain peak vigilance and performance. The sensation he gave her was the same as the one she got when in front of the old man. And her senior brother had achieved it in such a short time, it was really impressive.
He had evolved from someone she could effortlessly overwhelm to an opponent who generated this formidable battle pressure. More surprisingly, their roles had somehow reversed. Where once she had been his teacher, she now found herself learning from him, particularly in battle awareness. His exponential growth had turned their sparring sessions into mutual cultivation opportunities.
As Xiang Yu exchanged blows with his junior sister, he marveled at how the Iron Body technique had transformed his durability. Strikes that would have previously sent him sprawling he could now withstand with minimal effort. Though absorbing too many consecutive hits might still prove problematic, he thought, nimbly dodging another powerful strike from Li Yao.
His progress was undeniable. Before, even when Li Yao deliberately held back, he had struggled to keep pace, constantly finding himself knocked to the ground. Now he maintained his footing against her at what appeared to be comparable cultivation levels. The realization brought an internal chuckle. Could it be that I'm also a genius? The thought emerged unbidden, but he quickly dismissed it as foolishness.
A darker possibility suddenly occurred to him: what if Li Yao was still operating at a lower level of Body Refining than his current sixth layer? Since he couldn't sense cultivation levels within the Body Refining realm, and she likely couldn't either, there was no way to know for certain. He suspected she avoided inquiring about his level out of respect for his privacy, just as she concealed her true capabilities.
This train of thought led him to a practical concern about his system. Why don't I have some sort of appraisal ability? he wondered. What if I encounter some invincible expert playing pig to eat the tiger? I'd be finished before I realized the danger.
Just as these worries clouded his mind, his consciousness abruptly shifted. The training ground vanished, replaced by a strange, ethereal space. Within this void, he saw a reflection of himself, sword in hand. With deliberate calm, his reflection lifted the blade and executed a single, perfect downward slash—a movement of absolute purity, devoid of hesitation or unnecessary motion.
When awareness returned to his physical body, he found himself effortlessly parrying an incoming attack from Li Yao, the movement identical to the vision he had just witnessed. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
"Senior brother, you..." Li Yao began, her voice trailing off in astonishment.
A rare, genuine smile spread across Xiang Yu's face. "I've reached perfect stage in my sword technique," he announced, unable to contain his joy. He hadn't expected to achieve perfection through his own comprehension rather than the system's doubling.
As if responding to his achievement, something unprecedented occurred. Without being summoned, a system notification materialized before him—the first time the system had appeared unsummoned outside the reset period.
[Ding! New system function unlocked]