The night passed quietly.
For the first time in years, Lin Sheng and Lin Yan spoke without worrying about cultivation, responsibilities or the dangers surrounding them. They talked about Dragon Yuan Mountain, old memories from childhood and the various experiences they had encountered since walking separate paths.
Before either of them realized it, the darkness outside had already begun fading.
A faint golden glow appeared at the horizon while the first rays of morning sunlight prepared to emerge.
Lin Yan glanced outside before shaking her head.
"Looks like we talked the entire night."
Lin Sheng laughed.
"It seems so."
The siblings stood up and walked toward the entrance together.
Outside, the cool morning breeze swept through the Yi Region while faint traces of spiritual qi drifted through the air.
Looking at her younger brother, Lin Yan suddenly reached out and rubbed his hair.
Lin Sheng's face immediately darkened.
"Senior Sister Lin Yan."
"Hmm?"
"I'm not a child anymore."
She smiled.
"To me, you are."
Before Lin Sheng could protest further, she stepped onto her flying sword.
The spiritual sword released a faint humming sound as it rose into the air.
"We'll meet again soon."
Lin Sheng nodded.
"Safe travels."
Whoosh!
A streak of sword light disappeared into the distance.
Only after her aura completely vanished did Lin Sheng return to his immortal abode.
The reunion had been pleasant.
But cultivation remained the foundation of everything.
Without strength—
Even family reunions could become luxuries.
---
Returning to his cultivation room, Lin Sheng sat cross-legged atop his meditation cushion while slowly calming his mind.
The next three hours passed quietly.
His breathing became steady.
His consciousness sank inward.
Spiritual qi continuously entered his body before being refined by the Innate True Scripture and transformed into increasingly pure True Essence.
After stabilizing his condition, he shifted his focus toward cultivation.
More specifically—
The twelfth acupoint.
Within his body, the twelve acupoints continuously pulsed with faint golden radiance.
Nine primary acupoints.
Three hidden acupoints.
Each connected by countless meridians.
At this moment, the twelfth acupoint was already nearly full.
Only the final portion remained.
True Essence flowed endlessly.
Minute after minute.
Hour after hour.
Gradually—
The final gap disappeared.
The twelfth acupoint reached completion.
Silence filled the room.
Then—
A sudden change occurred.
Whoosh!
The twelve acupoints resonated simultaneously.
One after another, streams of True Essence surged outward before connecting into a perfect cycle.
Twelve acupoints.
One circulation.
A complete loop.
The moment the connection formed—
A powerful wave of energy erupted throughout his body.
Boom!
Lin Sheng's muscles trembled slightly.
His bones vibrated.
Even his blood seemed to release a joyful roar.
The circulation expanded.
Strengthened.
Perfected.
A Grand Heavenly Circulation.
Peak Innate.
A realm that countless martial artists spent decades trying to reach.
Lin Sheng slowly opened his eyes.
A faint glow appeared within them.
Immediately, the Chip released a notification.
[Grand Heavenly Circulation Completed.]
[Peak Innate Realm Confirmed.]
[Physical Strength Increased.]
[Meridian Capacity Increased.]
[True Essence Efficiency Improved.]
A smile appeared on Lin Sheng's face.
He could clearly feel the difference.
His physical body had become stronger once again.
Not dramatically.
But noticeably.
This was one of the major differences between Martial Arts and Immortal Cultivation.
Immortal cultivators primarily increased Spiritual Qi and Spiritual Consciousness.
Their physical bodies improved mainly during major breakthroughs or through specialized body-refining techniques.
Martial artists were different.
Every increase in cultivation strengthened the body directly.
Muscles.
Bones.
Blood.
Organs.
Everything improved alongside cultivation.
By the time one reached the Xuan Gang Realm, their physical body alone could rival Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Some powerful Xuan Gang experts could even fight Rank-2 yao beasts with their bare hands.
Of course—
That didn't mean yao beasts were weak.
Far from it.
Most Rank-2 yao beasts possessed natural spells, bloodline abilities and terrifying regenerative capabilities.
Some even possessed Divine Abilities.
A human martial artist needed something equivalent to contend against such creatures.
That was where Momentum and Intent entered the picture.
Thinking about this, Lin Sheng extended his right hand.
A faint current of wind appeared around his fingers.
Soon after—
Tiny arcs of lightning joined the wind.
The two forces intertwined briefly before dissipating.
Lin Sheng frowned slightly.
Over the past few months, he had continuously experimented with Martial Intent.
Wind Intent.
Lightning Intent.
His goal was simple.
To reproduce effects similar to spells.
For example—
The Wind Slash Spell.
The Lightning Arc Spell.
Unfortunately, despite countless attempts, he had failed.
Not because the direction was wrong.
But because his understanding wasn't deep enough.
His Intent was still at the initial stage.
Comprehension.
The Chip immediately displayed relevant information.
According to the records he had gathered, Martial Intent possessed multiple stages.
Martial Qi.
Martial Momentum.
Martial Intent.
Each stage represented a qualitative transformation.
Intent itself was similarly divided.
Comprehending It.
Realizing It.
Willing It.
At present—
Lin Sheng had merely comprehended it.
The first step.
The threshold.
A beginner among beginners.
To truly transform Intent into something resembling supernatural techniques, he needed to advance further.
Realization.
Or perhaps even Willing.
Unfortunately—
The Chip possessed very little information regarding those stages.
Most records simply mentioned their existence.
Almost none explained how to reach them.
After all, such knowledge was considered precious inheritance material.
The thought immediately appeared.
Maybe he should ask one of the mentors.
Perhaps Wang Zhenshan.
Or even one of the mentors.
The idea surfaced.
Then vanished immediately.
"No."
Lin Sheng shook his head.
That would be foolish.
Far too foolish.
The less people knew about his Martial Intent, the better.
Most people already considered comprehending Momentum before Xuan Gang impressive.
Intent was another matter entirely.
Even many Xuan Gang experts failed to comprehend it.
Revealing such talent would attract far too much attention.
And attention—
Was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he remembered several records stored within the Chip.
One in particular stood out.
Years ago, a trainee from the Training Center had comprehended Martial Intent while still in the Innate Realm.
The entire market had been shaken.
His reputation soared overnight.
Resources flooded toward him.
His status rose dramatically.
His future appeared limitless.
The genius eventually reached Xuan Gang smoothly.
Even his Gang Qi projection reached ten zhang during breakthrough.
A monstrous achievement.
Everyone believed he would become one of the province's future pillars.
Then reality arrived.
The moment his talent became known, responsibilities followed.
Dangers followed.
Enemies followed.
He was eventually assigned to guard one of the province's more dangerous markets.
A location filled with high-bloodline yao beasts.
At first, everything proceeded smoothly.
The genius performed exceptionally.
His leadership ability was remarkable.
His combat power was terrifying.
His future remained bright.
Then—
The demonic cultivators noticed him.
The yao beasts noticed him.
Even rival factions noticed him.
Eventually, all of them worked together.
The genius died.
A monster before reaching maturity.
A future powerhouse extinguished before he could truly rise.
The records suggested many contributing factors.
Political struggles.
Jealousy.
Betrayal.
External interference.
The most ironic part?
The genius wasn't a direct bloodline member of the Lin Family.
His protection wasn't absolute.
When internal betrayal combined with external enemies—
His fate had been sealed.
Lin Sheng exhaled slowly.
"A genius who dies isn't a genius."
The words carried considerable weight.
The cultivation world never lacked talented individuals.
What it lacked—
Were survivors.
History was filled with prodigies who never reached their potential.
Many died before reaching Foundation Establishment.
Others died before reaching Golden Core.
Talent only mattered if one lived long enough to use it.
Even now, rumors existed that rival Golden Core powers occasionally targeted promising Lin Family descendants.
The Lin Family likely did the same in return.
Such things were normal.
Brutal.
But normal.
Thinking this far, Lin Sheng looked toward the sky beyond his cultivation room.
The Training Center was currently focused on the race toward Xuan Gang.
Many trainees were desperately trying to break through.
Many wanted recognition.
Status.
Authority.
Power.
Meanwhile—
He deliberately suppressed his pace.
Not because he lacked confidence.
Not because he feared the breakthrough.
The opposite.
He was too confident.
The moment he wished to, he could begin preparing for Xuan Gang.
Yet he refused.
Because he understood something many others didn't.
Strength without freedom wasn't true strength.
If he revealed too much talent, what would happen?
The answer was obvious.
Assignments.
Responsibilities.
Dangerous missions.
Market guardianship.
Border patrols.
Extermination campaigns.
The stronger he appeared, the more responsibilities would be placed upon his shoulders.
Just like that unfortunate genius from the records.
Just like Bai Ling becoming Guardian immediately after breakthrough.
Lin Sheng had already lived one life.
One life spent following orders.
One life spent being deployed where others desired.
One life spent sacrificing personal goals for larger organizations.
He had no intention of repeating that mistake.
Not this time.
This life belonged to him.
His cultivation path belonged to him.
His future belonged to him.
Until he possessed enough strength to ignore the opinions of others—
Remaining low-key wasn't necessarily the safest choice either but at the very least maintaining his almost excellent talent image is enough, there is absolutely no need to show off excessively .
The foundation had already been laid.
Now—
He merely needed patience, after entering the Xuan Gang Realm he could ask Old Liang about the next steps in Intent
And in cultivation—
Patience was often the difference between reaching the summit...
Or becoming another corpse buried beneath it.