Chapter 89

One year passed, fleeting like the wind.

In the midst of an endless mountain range, by a tranquil lake, stood a small thatched cottage. Beside the lake was an open space where 108 stone pillars stood, each embedded with a spirit stone. The stone pillars were arranged in the pattern of the stars, and each spirit stone emitted a misty glow. A young boy, about 16 or 17 years old, sat cross-legged in the center of the array, his waist-length hair dancing in the wind. A solemn and fierce aura emanated from him, while a white puppy watched him quietly from the side.

A year had passed, and Xiaoyue's form had not changed much, still about the size of an adult cat, but its fur had become even smoother. Zhuge Xiang, on the other hand, had undergone significant changes. This year was a time for growth, and Zhuge Xiang's body had grown taller, and the childishness on his face had almost completely disappeared, leaving a more defined and mature appearance.

In the Illusionary Realm, Zhuge Xiang had already reached the sixth level, where 32 two-star upper-grade demon wolves surrounded him. Zhuge Xiang's cultivation had reached the tenth level of the Body Tempering Realm, and he was ready to break through. Of course, these 32 demon wolves had also grown stronger, their cultivation comparable to the tenth level of the Body Tempering Realm.

Over the past year, while training in the endless mountains, Zhuge Xiang did not forget to use Xiaoyue's sixth level of the Illusionary Realm for cultivation. At first, he could enter the realm every few days, but as his cultivation increased, the amount of spiritual energy required to activate the Illusionary Realm also increased, making the intervals between entries longer. When Zhuge Xiang's cultivation broke through to the tenth level of the Body Tempering Realm, it took a whole month to gather the necessary spiritual energy to activate the Illusionary Realm.

The spiritual energy of the 108 spirit stones was almost depleted. Zhuge Xiang knew this was his last chance to enter the Illusionary Realm for cultivation unless he could find another 108 spirit stones.

Over the past year, Zhuge Xiang had acquired countless pieces of equipment, especially from the high-difficulty battles in the Illusionary Realm, which yielded many good pieces of equipment. Zhuge Xiang was now equipped with all four-star and above magical weapons, including a few five-star and six-star magical weapons. In terms of skills, there were no significant changes, as the basic skill books that occasionally dropped were not very practical.

During this year, Zhuge Xiang's cultivation had risen from the second level to the tenth level of the Body Tempering Realm, earning him 8 skill points. He spent 3 skill points on the "Weapon Intent" skill, bringing it to the highest level of "Mastery." He also spent 4 skill points on the "Knockback" skill book, and 1 skill point on the "Ghostly Flash" skill.

**Weapon Intent (Mastery):** Requires the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm. Increases the attack power of various conventional weapons by 300%. Description: True masters can merge their souls with their weapons. With this skill, even weapons you have never used before can be wielded like a master. Status skill, consumes 100 MP per second.

**Knockback (Mastery):** Requires the eighth level of the Body Tempering Realm. Can knock back opponents whose cultivation is not more than two levels higher than yours by 10 meters. Consumes 300 MP, with a cooldown of 100 seconds.

Reaching the highest level of the "Weapon Intent" skill made it even more formidable. Combined with the "Slashing Attack" sword, which had an attack power of over 150, Zhuge Xiang had been able to navigate the past year with ease.

With a 300% increase in attack power and the "Weapon Intent" status active, Zhuge Xiang's attack power could surge by over 600. This was an incredibly powerful force. Unfortunately, as his level increased, the "Weapon Intent" skill consumed more energy, requiring 100 MP per second. Zhuge Xiang's entire energy reserve could only sustain the "Weapon Intent" for about 10 seconds.

Against 32 demon wolves equivalent to the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm, Zhuge Xiang's "Slashing Attack" sword slashed wildly, and the "Ghostly Flash" skill, at the "Mastery" level, left six afterimages. With the special effects of the "Slashing Attack" sword, after a fierce battle, Zhuge Xiang finally managed to slay all 32 demon wolves, breaking through the sixth level of the Illusionary Realm.

*Ring, slaying a two-star upper-grade demon wolf, gained 2000 experience, obtained the skill "Erasable Skill."*

*Ring, level up, gained 1 skill point, current level is the first level of the Meridian Unblocking Realm.*

*Ring, task panel activated, inventory space increased by 8 slots.*

As the system notifications arrived, Zhuge Xiang's internal energy surged dramatically. Normally, the increased energy should have been stored in his flesh and bones, but this time, his body was already saturated. The excess energy had nowhere to go, causing the energy in his dantian and flesh to surge, flowing into the soft meridians in his body...

A loud explosion seemed to ring in his mind, as if a gate had suddenly been shattered. One of Zhuge Xiang's meridians was penetrated, and the twelve main meridians and eight extraordinary meridians, the twenty main meridians of the human body, now allowed the energy to flow more smoothly and freely.

If the energy in the body were compared to water, then the meridians would be the pipes. Originally, these pipes were blocked, and the water could only seep through slowly. But once they were cleared, the water flowed much faster.

*Ring, one meridian in the body has been penetrated, the charging time for "Blood Thunder Slash" reduced by 20%.*

Disciples at the Qi Cultivation Realm merely possess internal energy, allowing them to move faster, jump higher, and have greater strength than ordinary people. Disciples at the Body Tempering Realm begin to temper their bodies with internal energy, significantly enhancing their resistance to physical attacks, eliminating the awkward situation of being knocked out by an old lady's cudgel.

Once a disciple breaks through to the Meridian Unblocking Realm, the internal energy flows more swiftly, and skills like "Blood Thunder Slash," which originally required charging, have their charging time greatly reduced, or can even be instantly cast...

Breaking through to the Meridian Unblocking Realm, Zhuge Xiang couldn't help but let out a long, triumphant cry. After a year of intense battles, he had finally succeeded. In less than two years since joining the Asura Sect, he had reached the Meridian Unblocking Realm. This rate of growth, while not unprecedented, was certainly rare in the history of the Asura Sect. Once he successfully passed the inner sect examination, his status would change dramatically.

After breaking through, he had also activated the task panel. Focusing his mind, he indeed found that the super game system had activated such a panel, but there was only one task listed.

**Pass the Inner Sect Examination:** Requires successfully passing the Asura Sect's inner sect selection examination, gaining 300,000 experience, and receiving an eight-star magical weapon. Failure results in a one-level decrease.

The reward for this task was substantial. Breaking through to the Meridian Unblocking Realm, Zhuge Xiang needed 500,000 experience to break through again, but this task rewarded 300,000 experience and an eight-star magical weapon. However, failure came with a penalty, which was a significant drawback.

*Crack...*

Just as Zhuge Xiang was assessing his strength after the breakthrough, the 108 stone pillars suddenly developed dense cracks and then completely collapsed. The 108 spirit stones, now depleted of their energy, fell to the ground, emitting a faint glow. When the energy of the spirit stones is depleted, they turn into fluorescent jade, which can be used for lighting.

Right, when he killed the demon wolves, he also obtained something called an "Erasable Skill." Curious, Zhuge Xiang opened his inventory, and indeed, the inventory space had increased, and a piece of eraser lay inside.

**Erasable Skill (Special Consumable):** Can erase any skill from the skill list and return the skill points.

The Erasable Skill was indeed a good item, allowing him to discard outdated skills and return the skill points. Unfortunately, Zhuge Xiang had no use for it at the moment, so he left it in his inventory.

Looking at the shattered stone blocks, Zhuge Xiang took a deep breath. There were only two months left until the inner sect selection examination. He decided to use this time to train further and see if he could reach the second level of the Meridian Unblocking Realm.

Since the inner sect examination was open to all disciples at the Meridian Unblocking Realm, there would certainly be many disciples at the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth levels. With his newly broken-through Meridian Unblocking Realm, he needed to continuously improve his strength to succeed.

"Xiaoyue, let's go..." Zhuge Xiang called out to the half-crouching Swallow Moon Divine Dog beside him.

Xiaoyue was the name the Swallow Moon Divine Dog had given itself. Over the past year, not only had Zhuge Xiang's strength increased, but Xiaoyue's strength had also improved significantly through cultivation in the spirit array. Its divine sense was now sufficient to cast spells, though unfortunately, the attack power of these spells was not as strong as its name suggested, being slightly weaker than Zhuge Xiang's.

Despite its weak attack power, Xiaoyue was still a valuable ally for Zhuge Xiang. Together, they could coordinate their attacks, with Zhuge Xiang handling close combat and Xiaoyue providing ranged support. With Zhuge Xiang's current strength, he believed they could even slay a three-star mid-grade demon beast.

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**End of Chapter**