Rise from a Low-class Family to Martial Artist

Tonight.

As usual, Lin Chen did not abandon his training just because he would break through to the Innate Realm tomorrow. He practiced for two hours in his courtyard and then challenged three hundred disciples on Martial Arts Mountain before going to sleep.

A night of good dreams.

Early the next morning.

Lin Chen headed to his master’s other courtyard.

”You’re here.”

At that moment, Du Xiaofeng was already in the courtyard. With a glance, Lin Chen noticed several jade boxes of various colors had appeared in the courtyard.

”These contain the crystals of five kinds of Innate Five Elements Energy, prepared in advance to ensure you have enough Five Elements Energy during your breakthrough.”

Seeing his disciple curiously eyeing the five jade boxes, Du Xiaofeng explained.

”Thank you for your trouble, Master.”

”You’re my disciple. Who else would I care for if not you?”

Du Xiaofeng smiled, ”If it weren’t for your senior brothers being absent from the sect, they should have witnessed your breakthrough to the Innate Realm together.”

Even in the Flame Dynasty, a martial artist breaking through from grade-level to Innate is a significant event in life.

Grade-level martial artists aren’t highly regarded in the Flame Dynasty, but reaching Innate means truly entering the Martial Path.

Even for a super sect like the Canglan Sect, every disciple who steps into the Innate is taken seriously.

”I’m only breaking through to the Innate Realm; how dare I disturb my senior brothers in their travels.”

Lin Chen shook his head, knowing he had three senior brothers above him. He was the fourth disciple of his master, yet his senior brothers were not in the sect, some were traveling, while others were on sect missions.

The sect oversees the vast Canglan Domain. Although there are dynasties and other sects beneath it, the sect must arrange for disciples to inspect it, a duty that falls upon these Innate Martial Artists.

Du Xiaofeng knew his disciple would say this because right after entering the Flame Dynasty, he encountered the Canglan Sect, thinking Innate Martial Artists were nothing special.

In reality, aside from super sects like the Canglan Sect, other dynasties and second-class sects would have grand celebrations for a martial artist breaking through to the Innate Realm, even inviting friends and relatives as witnesses.

The Innate Realm is a critical milestone on a martial artist’s Martial Path.

Breaking through to Innate is akin to a carp leaping over the dragon’s gate.

Cross over, and there is a vast world in the Martial Path.

Fail to cross, and after fifty, Qi Blood will decline.

As early as yesterday, he had sent messages to the disciples. The eldest might not make it, but the second and third disciples should be able to return in time.

...

...

A quarter of an hour later, under his master’s guidance, Lin Chen stood in a wooden tub in the courtyard, with green liquid flowing slowly inside.

”Lin Chen, of the Five Elements Energy—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—you already have metal, wood, fire, and earth inside you, only lacking the water-attributed Innate Energy, which I will provide you with through Profound Yuan Dew.”

”Profound Yuan Dew is beneficial to the Divine Soul and belongs to the Water Attribute Energy. Shortly, I will pour it into the medicinal liquid for you to absorb and refine.”

”Thank you for your trouble, Master.”

Lin Chen nodded; he had absorbed Lingxiao Energy as metal, Cloud Cauldron Mother Tree’s essence as wood, Li Fire as fire, and the Earth Element Qi from Huang Mountain as earth.

Originally, Lin Chen thought Canglan Energy was just another type of Innate Five Elements Energy. However, on the way to the Canglan Sect, Senior Brother Gao told him that Canglan Energy was a collective of three Five Elements Energies—metal, wood, and earth—making it superior to a single type of Five Elements Energy.

Du Xiaofeng picked up and opened one of the jade boxes, revealing a white liquid flowing inside.

”Profound Yuan Dew is condensed from Profound Yuan Qi. One drop of it equals a hundred strands of Profound Yuan Qi. An ordinary martial artist needs a thousand strands of Profound Yuan Dew to satisfy the water-attribute energy required for the Innate breakthrough.”

Being palm-sized, the jade box was nearly half a foot deep, holding over a hundred drops by volume.

Du Xiaofeng prepared this much to guard against unforeseen circumstances, should the Five Elements Energy prove insufficient.

There is a risk of failure in breaking through to the Innate.

Most martial artists fail because they lack a certain amount of one type of Five Elements Energy or fail to achieve balance, with one kind of energy in excess and another deficient.

With the Canglan Sect’s resources, even if Lin Chen failed once, it wouldn’t matter.

However, as a strong practitioner of the Innate Fifth Realm, Du Xiaofeng knew many secrets of the Innate Realm. Succeeding in a single breakthrough attempt versus multiple tries could impact the martial path ahead.

A single, decisive success was the most perfect outcome.

...

When the Profound Yuan Dew was poured into the medicinal liquid, Lin Chen immediately activated his acupoints to begin absorbing the energy, a gentle energy circulated throughout his meridians.

This energy flowed into Lin Chen’s limbs and bones, into his organs, and finally gathered slowly at the Dantian into a cluster of white energy.

At the same time, the other four strands of Innate Energy within Lin Chen seemed to be activated as well, starting to surge from various acupoints around Lin Chen’s body towards the Dantian.

The golden energy formed a cluster, the green cluster formed from the essence of the Cloud Cauldron Mother Tree, the yellow cluster formed by the Earth Element Qi, and the fiery, flame-like cluster formed by the Li Fire.

Five clusters of energy quietly suspended in the Dantian, repelling each other yet maintaining a certain distance.

Lin Chen viewed these five clusters in his Dantian internally, beginning to control them to approach each other.

Bit by bit, little by little...

The distance between the five clusters kept closing, and when they finally gathered at the center of the Dantian and collided, the previous repulsion vanished, replaced by fusion.

The fusion of the five clusters was very smooth, as if they were naturally one entity, circulating among each other, and within three breaths, they had merged into a large cluster five times the original size.

”It seems that the Life Chart is playing its role.”

Lin Chen whispered to himself, remembering his mentor’s advice that breaking through to the Innate involves two stages, the first being the fusion of Five Elements Energy.

Many Martial Artists fail at this stage.

Even those who eventually pass this stage spend ten or more two-hour periods on it, with the longest taking a day or two.

Since his Life Chart ”Natural Progress” was at work, Lin Chen did not delay and began the second stage of the breakthrough to Innate.

Fusing the Five Elements Energy to condense Innate Power in one fell swoop.

The cluster in the Dantian began to spin rapidly under Lin Chen’s control. The originally multicolored cluster began to gradually fuse its colors with the spinning, becoming paler until it eventually transformed into a colorless, transparent vortex.

At the moment the cluster became a vortex, Lin Chen’s pores suddenly opened wide. The entire cluster surged out from the Dantian like stardust, coursing continuously through the meridians of the body, while a stream of mucus oozed out from the pores.

Standing a few meters away, Du Xiaofeng sensed the energy fluctuations emanating from Lin Chen, raising his old eyes in surprise.

”To think he’s already reached the second step of condensing the Innate Power, and it took less than a quarter of an hour.”

Du Xiaofeng had confidence in Lin Chen breaking through to Innate, but he initially estimated it would take Lin Chen about five two-hour periods to complete the fusion of Five Elements Energy, which is the average time spent by direct disciples of the Canglan Sect.

As for those who are less skilled within the Inner Sect, most take a full day to achieve it.

Normally, a Martial Artist needs two to five days to break through to Innate.

The faster one can fuse the Five Elements Energy, the stronger their control over themselves.

Hope gleamed in Du Xiaofeng’s eyes; the quicker the fusion of the Five Elements Energy, the longer Lin Chen would endure the Body Tempering with Innate Power this time.

To transform the Five Elements Energy into Innate Power, the body must first be capable of withstanding the Innate Power, requiring the Martial Artist’s body to reach a state of purity.

The so-called purity, in the words recognized by the Innate Martial Artists of the Flame Dynasty, is a process akin to cleansing the marrow.

The Five Elements Energy would be transformed into Innate Qi, relentlessly flushing the Martial Artist’s body, purging the body’s impurities, including the pill toxins left from ingesting Pills and the hidden injuries sustained during cultivation or combat, restoring them all.

Each Martial Artist has only this one opportunity for cleansing the marrow; even when breaking through from Innate First Realm to Innate Sixth Realm later, there won’t be another chance like this.

This is why the Martial Arts Realm considers the Innate Realm as a significant milestone in a Martial Artist’s path.

...

...

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

At this moment, all acupoints and meridians within Lin Chen, including every bone marrow, were enduring the flushing of Innate Qi spewing from the Dantian’s cluster with each rotation.

His skin became increasingly pristine, with the entire surface exuding a jade-like luster, and concurrently, his aura was constantly ascending.

”Crack!”

Suddenly, Lin Chen’s entire spine started to crackle; accompanied by the spine’s crackling was a heartbeat resonating like a drum, causing the entire body to pulsate to a distinctive rhythm, as flames danced deep in the bone marrow.

”The five viscera harmonize, tendons and bones like fire, skin like jade...”

Du Xiaofeng’s eyes sparkled with brilliance; the cleansing of marrow was complete, leaving only the final step.

At this moment, Lin Chen felt a supreme comfort throughout his being, a sensation derived from both the Spirit God and body, causing him to involuntarily moan.

It was at this moment, with a single moan, that the cluster within the Dantian exploded, and all the Qi Blood within his body instantly boiled, surging unstoppably through the meridians and acupoints, transforming into a formidable torrent, rushing towards the Dantian with a roar.

Boom!

The torrent fiercely collided at the Dantian, Lin Chen’s body trembled, and at the site of collision, ice-blue energy appeared out of nowhere.

[Host: Lin Chen]

[Realm: Innate.]

The panel emerged actively at this moment.