Chapter 16

With Zhang Ruochen's current physique and the abundant true qi in his body, opening the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth meridians seemed effortless.

It took only a day to successfully open the five meridians, connecting them throughout his body to form five complete cycles.

However, when he began to open the eleventh meridian, he finally felt some strain.

It took him a full six hours to successfully open the eleventh meridian, leaving him completely exhausted, drenched in sweat, and with his true qi nearly depleted by ninety percent.

When the eleventh meridian was successfully opened, Zhang Ruochen's body trembled slightly.

A muffled sound came from his brow.

"Boom!"

He reached the Lesser Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm!

The capacity of his qi pool immediately expanded tenfold, growing to a size of about five meters square, almost as large as a real pond.

The true qi in the qi pool surged, forming a misty expanse.

"Indeed! This body is still too weak. At the Lesser Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm, I can only open eleven meridians. I must find a way to strengthen my physique."

If other martial artists knew Zhang Ruochen's current thoughts, they would faint in the training ground.

To be able to open six meridians at the Lesser Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm is already considered a genius.

To open eight meridians is considered a top genius.

To open ten meridians is simply monstrous, making other martial artists of the same realm look up in awe.

The Seventh Prince opened ten meridians at the Lesser Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm, thus becoming famous throughout the land, invincible among his peers, and was hailed as the first prodigy of Yunwu County, overshadowing the other geniuses.

In the past hundred years, only the Seventh Prince in Yunwu County had opened ten meridians at the Lesser Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm, with no one else achieving this feat.

Of course, now there is one more person—Zhang Ruochen!

"Regardless, I have finally reached the Lesser Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm! I wonder what level my current strength has reached?"

Zhang Ruochen cleaned the dirt off his body, changed into a blue robe, and walked out of the room.

He planned to find a place where no one was around to test his strength.

The palace of Yunwu County was built around three mountains, with the mountains enclosed within the palace walls, known as Jun Mountain, Wang Mountain, and Tianzi Mountain. Besides the densely packed palace buildings, there were also some relatively quiet gardens and mountain valleys.

Zhang Ruochen and Lin Fei lived in the Ziyi Side Hall, which was equivalent to a cold palace, far from the main palace complex.

Exiting the Ziyi Side Hall, he found himself in a dense forest covered in snow. Continuing forward, he reached one of the three mountains in the palace, Jun Mountain.

At the foot of Jun Mountain, he no longer saw the continuous flow of palace maids and eunuchs, and even the guards were almost nowhere to be seen.

"Right here will do!"

Zhang Ruochen stopped, preparing to test his current strength.

His legs bent slightly, forming a horse stance, resembling a proud elephant standing in the snow.

He stepped forward, continuously striking with his palms, his speed increasing.

"The first strike of the Dragon Elephant Bodhi Palm, the Rampaging Elephant!"

Zhang Ruochen's legs pushed off, his bones and muscles tensing, and he shot forward, striking the stone wall with a palm.

"Bang!"

Cracks appeared on the stone wall, expanding rapidly.

The five-meter-high stone wall collapsed with a loud noise.

Zhang Ruochen quickly retreated to avoid being hit by the falling debris.

"The explosive power of this strike is roughly equivalent to the strength of eight oxen!" Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly.

An ordinary martial artist at the Lesser Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm could only exert the strength of four oxen.

He had just broken through to the Lesser Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm and could already exert the strength of eight oxen, which was quite impressive. As his cultivation deepened, the strength he could exert would certainly become even greater.

"Let's try the sword technique!"

Zhang Ruochen took out the Flash Soul Sword from the inner space of the Time Crystal, gripped it, and infused it with true qi.

"Whoosh!"

The first force-type inscription was activated, and the Flash Soul Sword immediately weighed 153 pounds.

Subsequently, the second ice-type inscription was also activated, emitting a bone-chilling cold from the sword, making the surrounding air slightly colder.

With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, activating two inscriptions simultaneously was already his limit!

In the past six months, Zhang Ruochen had not been entirely focused on strengthening his body. Much of his time was spent practicing the "Heavenly Heart Sword Technique" and the "Dragon Elephant Bodhi Palm."

Cultivation techniques, body strengthening, and martial skills—all three were essential.

The Heavenly Heart Sword Technique is a lower-grade spirit-level sword technique, consisting of twelve moves in total.

Each move is incredibly intricate, containing multiple variations, far surpassing human-level sword techniques.

For a martial artist at the Yellow Extreme Realm to master the Heavenly Heart Sword Technique, a significant amount of time is required. Even mastering a single move would take several months of hard work.

Relying on his memory of having practiced the Heavenly Heart Sword Technique before, Zhang Ruochen spent six months mastering three moves.

The 153-pound Flash Soul Sword, in Zhang Ruochen's hands, felt weightless, and he wielded it with great proficiency, as if it were an extension of his body.

With a slight movement of his arm, the sword moved first.

"Heavenly Heart Points the Way!"

Zhang Ruochen raised his right arm and slashed out.

A sharp whistling sound immediately filled the air, and a sword aura shot out.

"Whoosh!"

On the ground, a seven-meter-long, three-foot-deep ice sword mark was left. The grass and leaves were severed, and the stones cracked, leaving a neat cut on the ground.

It was like a sword path!

"Heavenly Heart Breaks the Plum!"

Zhang Ruochen's arm trembled, and he thrust the sword forward!

The Flash Soul Sword transformed into a blue light, creating seven illusions, as if seven swords were thrust out simultaneously.

When it struck the stone wall, the seven sword shadows converged at a single point, making a "ding ding" sound.

Seven small sword holes were left on the stone wall, all created by the sword tip. The seven holes were arranged in the shape of a plum blossom.

Heavenly Heart Breaks the Plum—breaking is not the plum of the plum blossom, but the brow of the forehead.

A single thrust of the sword left seven small sword holes on the opponent's forehead, like a blood-red plum blossom imprinted on it.

Only by cultivating the sword intent to the "sword follows the heart" realm can this move be mastered.

The realm of sword intent is divided into three levels: "sword follows the heart," "clear heart and sword," and "man and sword as one."

Zhang Ruochen was now at the "sword follows the heart" realm, and he was not far from the "clear heart and sword" realm.

In addition to the "Heavenly Heart Points the Way" and "Heavenly Heart Breaks the Plum" moves, Zhang Ruochen had also mastered a defensive sword technique— "Heavenly Heart Sword Bell"!

"Heavenly Heart Sword Bell!"

Zhang Ruochen continuously infused true qi into the Flash Soul Sword, blocking horizontally. The sword aura immediately condensed into a pale blue bell-shaped shadow. The bell shadow rapidly rotated, enveloping Zhang Ruochen's body within the sword bell.

Once this sword technique was used, it could block the full-force attack of a martial artist at the Greater Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm. Only if that martial artist had also cultivated a spirit-level sword technique could they break through Zhang Ruochen's defensive sword technique.

Heavenly Heart Points the Way!

Heavenly Heart Breaks the Plum!

Heavenly Heart Sword Bell!

Zhang Ruochen continuously performed these three sword techniques to comprehend the "clear heart and sword" realm of sword intent. Of course, reaching the "clear heart and sword" realm is not something that can be achieved overnight.

Only after depleting his true qi did Zhang Ruochen return to the Ziyi Side Hall.

"There are thirteen days left until the year-end assessment. I must strive to further enhance my cultivation."

Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, took a Qi Gathering Pill, and began to cultivate with all his might.

The year-end assessment was approaching, and all the princes and princesses of Yunwu County were intensively training, hoping to make a stunning performance during the assessment.

The year-end assessment is only open to royal descendants and relatives under the age of twenty, to motivate the young and enhance their competitiveness.

In previous years, Zhang Ruochen did not even have the opportunity to participate in the year-end assessment and could only watch from the sidelines. This was always the most awkward and embarrassing time for him and Lin Fei.

This year, things might be different.

While Zhang Ruochen was making progress, the other princes and princesses were also improving.

In a luxurious room in the Yushui Palace, where Zhang Ruochen and Lin Fei used to live, the Eighth Prince, Zhang Ji, burst into laughter: "Ha ha! I have finally broken through to the Lesser Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm!"

Xiao Fei's face showed a hint of satisfaction as she praised, "Good! Ji, although you still cannot compare to the Fifth and Sixth Princes, at least your father can see your progress and will certainly reward you."

The Eighth Prince nodded, acknowledging that he was indeed far behind the Fifth and Sixth Princes.

The Sixth Prince was at the peak of the Lesser Apex of the Yellow Extreme Realm during last year's year-end assessment and likely reached the Middle Apex now.

As for the Fifth Prince, it was rumored that he had already broken through to the Greater Apex.

The Eighth Prince sneered, "At least there is someone at the bottom. His existence will only make me look better."

"Are you talking about the Ninth Prince? He has only recently opened his martial mark and probably hasn't even completed the bone washing and meridian opening. He likely won't participate in the year-end assessment," Xiao Fei said.

"Hehe! Whether he participates or not is not up to him," the Eighth Prince's lips curled into a sneer of disdain.