Double Breakthrough

"Master, you don't know, after the beating you gave me last time, my War God Physique ached for days! I winced in pain just rolling over in my sleep at night!"

"Your memory improves much faster than your cultivation."

Gu Changge raised an eyebrow helplessly. "I beat you last time to make you remember that 'pride comes before a fall,' not so you'd cling to my thigh the moment you see me."

Xiao Ruobai buried his head even lower, his ears flushing completely red, but he absolutely refused to let go.

Fang Hanyu finally recovered his wits. He coughed lightly to cover up his loss of composure, but didn't notice that the Taichu Sword hadn't been sheathed. The scabbard clanked against his waist, making him wince in pain.

Gu Changge looked at Fang Hanyu's expression of wanting to laugh but not daring to, then looked down and glared at Xiao Ruobai who was still hugging his leg. He finally couldn't hold back a laugh.

"Alright, get up! If I really wanted to beat you, would I wait for you to hug my leg?"

He flicked the back of Xiao Ruobai's head. "Remember, the pain is to teach you a lesson, not to make you cower whenever you face trouble. Next time you blindly assume that 'the master is weaker than the disciple,' it won't be as simple as hurting for a few days."

Xiao Ruobai finally let go, rubbing his knees as he climbed up. He didn't forget to pick up his Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd, chuckling, "Understood, Master! I definitely won't make wild guesses next time, nor will I make you angry!"

Fang Hanyu also hurriedly sheathed his sword and bowed to Gu Changge, though the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch upward. "This disciple has also learned his lesson."

Looking at the two of them—one smiling sheepishly and the other trying hard not to laugh—the amusement in Gu Changge's eyes lingered, but his tone carried a bit more gentle approval.

"Alright, stop messing around. Your coordination just now has actually improved. Ruobai, when you used your War God Physique to press down with the halberd, you actively borrowed the weight of your vitality to lock down my deflection angles. You are much more adaptable than before. Hanyu, your low-angle surprise sword strike managed to strike right in the blind spot of your senior brother's battle aura. Your grasp of timing is much more accurate now."

These words made both their eyes light up. Xiao Ruobai's head-scratching became a bit more brisk, and Fang Hanyu quietly straightened his back, feeling as though his waist, which had just been struck by the scabbard, no longer hurt.

Gu Changge slightly changed the subject, pointing his finger at their respective weapons.

"But you must also remember that alongside your progress, there are still shortcomings. Xiao Ruobai, your vitality circulation is too rushed. When you pressed down with your halberd just now, thirty percent of your strength was wasted on mere momentum. If you could slow down for half a breath to let your vitality stabilize, not only could you last two more moves, but you could also borrow the force for a counter-shock.

Fang Hanyu, your Primal Chaos Sword Qi is condensed but not focused. Even though you seized the right opportunity, your sword qi dissipated too quickly, failing to even pierce my spiritual energy field.

This isn't a problem with your sword techniques; it's your control over spiritual energy and timing that lacks a bit of 'steadiness'."

Hearing this, the two immediately reined in their excitement and nodded seriously.

Seeing that they had taken his advice to heart, Gu Changge flicked his finger, and two jade bottles appeared in his hand.

One bottle contained translucent white Innate Spiritual Marrow that emitted a gentle halo; the moment it was unsealed, the surrounding spiritual energy rushed madly toward the bottleneck.

The other bottle contained two drops of golden Great Emperor's Essence Blood. The Emperor-level origin source wrapped within the liquid trembled slightly, making even the air seem tinged with faint golden ripples.

Gu Changge then brought out two half-human-tall white jade tubs. The tubs were carved with complex spiritual runes, and as soon as they were placed on the stone table, they spontaneously radiated a faint halo of spiritual energy.

He opened the lids and first poured the Innate Spiritual Marrow into the two tubs. The translucent white liquid splashed against the walls, sparkling with tiny motes of spiritual light, and the surrounding spiritual energy instantly grew so dense it almost condensed into mist.

Immediately after, he poured one drop of the Great Emperor's Essence Blood into each tub.

The instant the golden drops merged with the spiritual marrow, a majestic Emperor-level pressure suddenly erupted from within the tubs. Golden patterns spread along the walls of the tubs, and even the bluestone slabs beneath the stone table were dyed with a faint golden luster.

Gu Changge waved his hand to dispel the violent pressure from the tubs, leaving only the pure essence that was beneficial for the physical body.

"Come here."

Gu Changge pointed to the white jade tubs, his tone carrying a touch of seriousness.

"Take off your outer garments and get in. Use your spiritual energy to guide the spiritual marrow and essence blood into your bodies. Remember to endure it. The essence blood is overbearing, and it will hurt tremendously later. Don't cry out and disturb the peace of Purple Bamboo Peak."

Xiao Ruobai had barely taken two steps when he was forced to a halt by the pressure emanating from the tubs.

He could clearly feel the origin source wrapped within the golden liquid; his War God Physique spontaneously manifested dark golden patterns, as if instinctively resisting this oppressive force.

He gulped and couldn't help but ask, "Master, what... what grade is this essence blood exactly?"

Hearing this, Gu Changge replied indifferently, "Don't ask. If you must know, it's Foundation Establishment Realm essence blood."

"Tch, if you don't want to tell me, just say so. Foundation Establishment Realm, yeah right."

Xiao Ruobai curled his lip, grumbling internally.

Does he really think I'm still a clueless beginner?

Before, he even claimed he was at the 'Mid-Core Formation Realm.' Back then, I didn't know anything and foolishly believed him.

I was completely played by Master.

Sigh, in the end, I have to shoulder everything alone.

He wants to trick me again this time? No way.

His gaze fell on the golden-patterned liquid in the white jade tub, and the oppressive feeling radiating from his War God Physique grew stronger and stronger.

That origin power was astonishingly profound, causing even the surrounding air to tremble as it circulated.

For Master to deliberately hide its grade, and for it to emit such a powerful pressure, this essence blood had to be of the legendary Saint level!

Otherwise, his War God Physique wouldn't have instinctively flared with dark golden patterns, nor would his vitality have tensed up like this.

Fang Hanyu stood to the side. Although he didn't openly complain like Xiao Ruobai, his fingertips quietly tightened around his sword hilt.

His Primal Chaos Sword Physique was exceptionally sensitive to origin power. He could clearly detect the sharp edge hidden within the essence blood in the tub, transmitting straight through his scabbard into his palm. Such pure power was far more overbearing than any cultivation resource he had ever encountered.

"Dawdling around, do you still want to break through or not?"

Gu Changge lifted his eyes and swept a glance over the two.

"The fusion of the spiritual marrow and essence blood has a time limit. If you delay any longer, it will hurt even more during the body tempering later. Don't cry out then."

Xiao Ruobai stuck out his tongue, not daring to let his imagination run wild anymore. He quickly followed Fang Hanyu in taking off his outer clothes and stepped into the white jade tub.

The moment he touched the blended liquid of spiritual marrow and essence blood, he gasped.

A searing heat drilled through his skin and into his meridians, feeling like countless tiny, fiery needles piercing him. The dark golden patterns of his War God Physique instantly lit up, but they could only barely stabilize the roiling vitality within his body.

Fang Hanyu also let out a muffled groan. His Primal Chaos Sword Qi darted wildly inside him. He hurriedly focused his mind and circulated his cultivation method, using his sword heart to tightly wrap around that searing power, guiding it toward his Purple Mansion.

Although the gentleness of the spiritual marrow was slowly balancing the overbearing nature of the essence blood, that origin power still frantically scoured his meridians. The pain caused beads of sweat to instantly pop up on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth tightly and didn't make a single sound.

He neither wanted to disturb the peace of Purple Bamboo Peak nor show weakness in front of his senior brother.

As he absorbed the Innate Spiritual Marrow and essence blood, Xiao Ruobai felt an overbearing force pushing the power of the essence blood straight toward his Purple Mansion.

His originally suppressed spiritual energy instantly erupted, intertwining with the power of the spiritual marrow and essence blood to ruthlessly crash against the bottleneck of the Cave Heaven Realm!

With a resounding boom, the bottleneck barrier shattered. A dark-gold battle aura erupted from his body and soared into the sky, condensing above his head into a ten-foot-tall phantom of a War God. Gripping a long spear, the phantom swept out a strike, cleaving the surrounding mist of spiritual energy in two.

The liquid within the white jade barrel churned violently as a dark-gold Martial Cave Heaven slowly unfurled. Within this inner world, phantoms of mountains and rivers shifted and flowed, shimmering with the faint golden radiance of Imperial Blood. Its foundation was vastly more profound and solid than the Cave Heavens formed by ordinary cultivators upon their breakthrough.

Fang Hanyu broke through at the exact same moment.

Primal Chaos Sword Qi surged explosively from within his barrel. Placed outside, the Absolute Beginning Sword spontaneously let out a clear, ringing sword cry as the runic seals along its scabbard lit up one after another.

A sword-shaped cocoon of light materialized around his body. The instant the cocoon shattered, a cyan-gold Cave Heaven abruptly expanded, revealing a miniature Absolute Beginning Sword suspended at its center.

The moment his Sword Heart connected with his Cave Heaven, he could clearly feel his mastery over sword qi advance by leaps and bounds.