Chapter 53: Breaking Through (Seeking Recommendation Votes!!)

Jiang Feng opened his eyes, and in that instant, his senses were filled with a strange wonder. The world’s colors had become unimaginably rich and vivid; every tree, each blade of grass, the sunlight streaming through the branches, the tranquil shadows cast upon the ground—everything appeared layered and brimming with detail. He had never felt anything amiss with his world before, but only now did he truly understand what clarity was.

So this is what it feels like to enter the Dawning Realm?

Jiang Feng closed his eyes, then opened them again.

This time, his vision shifted once more. The midday cultivation session had ended, and the thick, almost tangible power had dissipated; the world had returned to normal. Yet he could still see faint golden light flowing, thin as mist, streaming through the space like water, as if the air itself was breathing.

Suddenly, the flow began to ripple. Following the current, he saw Ping Luan Shan, his body shrouded in a faint golden glow, walking toward him.

Ping Luan Shan asked, “What’s wrong? You seem a little off.”

Jiang Feng raised his hand. His own skin was glowing as well; with each breath, it was as if he was inhaling and exhaling the luminous force. The brightness on his body matched Ping Luan Shan’s exactly.

He looked up again and saw a vortex of light at Ping Luan Shan’s heart, from which two branches extended upward, the second with three bright points upon it.

He asked in surprise, “You’ve already opened the third aperture of the second chain?”

Ping Luan Shan scratched his head and grinned broadly. “Hey, how did you know? Yeah, I just managed it now. With this, I should have no trouble with the county examination!”

Jiang Feng closed his eyes again and reopened them. The world reverted to its original state.

He smiled slightly. “I’ve made a breakthrough too. I’ve entered the realm.”

…

Ping Luan Shan had broken through the first chain’s third aperture, and Jiang Feng had entered the Dawning Realm—both advanced on the same day. Overjoyed, Ping Luan Shan insisted on cooking a celebratory meal himself.

He dashed into the kitchen to knead and roll out dough, his movements practiced and deft, clearly an old hand at the task.

He refused Jiang Feng’s offer to help and shooed him out of the kitchen. Jiang Feng and Hua Su sat at the stone table beneath a tree, sipping tea as they waited for their meal.

Neither was fond of small talk, and without Ping Luan Shan’s lively interjections, the air grew a touch solemn.

Hua Su took an occasional drag from his pipe, then suddenly asked, “How old are you this year?”

Jiang Feng was momentarily taken aback. Life had been so full lately that he’d nearly forgotten—he was not yet sixteen. Ordinary people merged their Heart of Light seeds at sixteen, when their bloodlines matured, but he had reached the realm before his sixteenth birthday. If anyone asked, he would need a reasonable explanation.

Hua Su exhaled a ring of smoke. “Generally, sixteen is when the bloodline reaches maturity, the best time to merge with the Heart of Light seed. Some noble families or hidden sects have special methods and can begin after fourteen. Your clan barely counts, but it’s not quite on that level.”

Jiang Feng fell silent. Hua Su stubbed out his pipe in the ashtray and said offhandedly, “If anyone asks, just say four words.”

He fixed Jiang Feng with a steady gaze, enunciating clearly, “A thousand mountains, ten thousand waters. Remember those words. Those who understand will understand; those who don’t can look it up themselves. Apart from these four words, say nothing else, understand?”

Jiang Feng was touched that Hua Su had even considered this for him. He nodded gratefully and murmured, “Thank you.”

Hua Su grunted, “I only bother because you suit my tastes. What about after the county exam? What are your plans?”

Jiang Feng replied, “After the county exam comes the provincial, then the prefectural... How can a student of Teacher Hua stop here?”

Hua Su watched him for a while, then rapped the table. “Boy, pour me a cup of tea.”

Jiang Feng, puzzled but earnest, heated the water, brewed the tea, and presented the cup to Hua Su with both hands.

Hua Su drained it in one swallow and laughed. “If I can scrounge a cup of your tea, I’ll take it. Maybe before long, I’ll be serving you instead!”

Jiang Feng, ever earnest in word and deed, looked Hua Su in the eye and shook his head. “A teacher for a day is a teacher for life. I will pour tea for Teacher Hua all my days.”

Hua Su paused, then burst out laughing. The shadows of the past lifted, and his laughter rang out, hearty and unrestrained. “Well said! Day by day, you make me look forward to your future even more!”

At that moment, Ping Luan Shan came running from the kitchen with a platter in hand. “Come, come, try my cooking!”

A flash of white darted ahead—Night Snack leapt straight for Ping Luan Shan’s platter.

Ping Luan Shan yelled, “Hey, get away! This isn’t for you! Old Jiang, come help!”

Jiang Feng hurried to help catch Night Snack, but it was too quick, already biting off the largest piece of meat.

Ping Luan Shan glared at the creature, threatening, “One night when your master’s not around, I’ll toss you into the hotpot myself!”

Night Snack wriggled free from Jiang Feng’s grasp, then sank its teeth into Ping Luan Shan’s arm, hanging on and refusing to let go.

Ping Luan Shan howled, and the backyard erupted in chaos and laughter.

Hua Su sat by the table, watching the lively scene, a faint smile softening his face.

…

Night had fallen, tranquil as flowing water. After dinner, Jiang Feng did not return to his room. Cradling the rabbit in his arms, he lay alone atop a great tree by the Pear Blossom Stream, gazing up at the bright moon.

He murmured, “Miss, I’ve finally entered the realm...”

Thin clouds drifted across the face of the moon, and the world’s light shifted with their passing. With his new vision, the world seemed more alive than ever, every corner pulsing with vitality.

Scenes from the past flickered before his eyes.

Since Miss had left, he had forced himself ever onward, rarely stopping to look back or dwell on memories. Now, after finally entering the realm, emotions he had long suppressed surged forth.

A boy of mixed blood, abandoned alone in South Jiang, had now become a cultivator of the realm. As long as he passed the county exam, he would be officially recognized, his status forever changed.

Even without counting the Heart of Heaven seed, he was already stronger than most cultivators of his level—in mastery of power, understanding of martial skills, and comprehension of combat. Only after he truly began to cultivate did he realize how much Miss had given him, how solid a foundation she had laid.

He reached into his robe and drew out the hard metal token.

The Token of Heaven’s Radiance—three days left!

Suddenly, the rabbit slumped heavily onto his shoulder. Jiang Feng started, and saw a white shadow emerge from the rabbit’s body, settling before him.

He exclaimed in delight, “You’re out? I haven’t seen you in so long—I thought you’d vanished!”

For the past month, the gluttonous, lazy rabbit had been his only companion; the white shadow, Ye Xiao, seemed to have disappeared within it. Now, after so long, Ye Xiao had changed again.

She appeared even more real than before; the patterns on her silver armor were almost visible, though her face remained indistinct, her features still blurred.

Ye Xiao stepped back, no longer drifting as she once did—her movements now brimmed with heroic spirit.

Ye Xiao took another step back and swept her spear. In that instant, Jiang Feng felt the world grow silent; every sound vanished without a trace.

Ye Xiao soared into the air, the great moon behind her. She released her spear, casting it aside, then clenched her fist and struck at Jiang Feng.

At first glance, the punch seemed simple, but on closer inspection, it contained countless variations. It was as swift as lightning and as gentle as drifting clouds, carrying a conflicting sensation that was almost unbearable. The air twisted madly around her strike, forming wave after wave of surging force, crashing down upon Jiang Feng in layers.

Jiang Feng’s eyes widened. Within his Heart of Heaven seed, the Cube of Destiny emerged, each small square displaying different numbers. He could not decipher them, but he knew—they all corresponded to the punch, breaking it down and analyzing its every aspect.

The waves surged higher and higher, growing in strength until the raging tide crashed down upon Jiang Feng and engulfed him completely.

He awoke with a start, clutching the rabbit on the tree. Ye Xiao had vanished, as though she had never appeared at all.

The world was silent. From the nearby Twilight Forest came the faint growls of beasts and the rustling of sleeping plants.

Ye Xiao’s punch was etched deep in Jiang Feng’s memory; he remembered each detail perfectly. His mind stirred, and his consciousness dove inward.

Within the Heart of Heaven seed, the Cube of Destiny floated, now with sixteen squares on one face—an increase of seven since before.

The numbers he had seen earlier were gone, but at a thought, they would reappear—each representing that punch, recorded in his memory.

Now, another thought entered his mind.

His advancement to the Dawning Realm had upgraded the Cube of Destiny, granting it greater power than before.

At the same time, it asked him a question:

Would you like to perform a second optimization of the “Guiding Finger Technique: First Modification”?

Jiang Feng hesitated, glanced up at the moon, then gritted his teeth. “Do it!”

…

In the deepest part of the night, where no one could witness, a strange phenomenon appeared by the Pear Blossom Stream.

A beam of white light shot straight down from the moon, enveloping a large tree by the stream.

The light was thick as milk, so dense that the figure within was entirely obscured.

Across the stream, the Twilight Forest fell utterly silent. Whether spirit beasts, spirit plants, or ordinary birds and animals, all were hushed.

They crouched in their lairs, gazing in fear at the light across the water, not daring to move.

Only they could sense the mysterious and vast force emanating from the beam of light, so oppressive it was hard to even breathe.

Most crucially, only the creatures of the Twilight Forest were aware of these happenings. Linxi County was steeped in nocturnal silence, its people none the wiser.