Inside the cultivation chamber, Ren Wei sat unmoving — a statue carved from flesh and will. Yet beneath that stillness, his insides churned like molten iron in a sealed furnace.
The air around him had grown dense. Every breath he took sent invisible ripples through the villa's spiritual field. Golden veins of Qi coiled along his skin, then vanished, then returned — like lightning trapped under flesh.
> Ding!
Progress toward Foundation Establishment: 98%
His eyes remained closed. But behind them, a storm raged.
His bones screamed. His muscles twitched against phantom pressure. His core pulsed violently — as if trying to burst its mortal shell. A crimson trickle ran from the corner of his lips, unnoticed.
> "I can feel it. The gate is shaking…"
Somewhere in the black sea of his soul, he heard the voices again.
Not memories — echoes.
> "You failed once already."
"No one without a Spiritual Root can ascend."
"This realm doesn't belong to you."
His breathing slowed. Deepened. He replied inside himself, wordless but unyielding. The voices did not vanish — they burned, devoured in the rising surge of will that was Ren Wei.
> "This time… I won't fall short."
---
Across Azure Fang City, something stirred.
At the Mo Family estate, a young heir snapped his fan shut, suddenly sweating.
> "This aura again… That Ren Wei hasn't died yet?"
Atop the Azure Fang Sect's Elder Pavilion, a silver-haired woman paused mid-tea, the cup trembling.
> "No… this isn't a normal breakthrough. Someone's marrow is being rewritten."
Far from the city, a traveling girl cultivating in a roadside hut opened her eyes wide, alarmed. Her incense stick snuffed itself out.
> "What kind of monster… is being born in that direction?"
---
Back at the villa, Sheng Lian's fingers twitched as she felt the air distort.
The flowers in the garden bent toward the cultivation chamber.
The lanterns dimmed — not from lack of flame, but from the sheer weight of Qi drawing all light toward him.
She didn't stand. She merely opened her eyes and smiled faintly.
> "So this is your limit, Ren Wei…?"
Her gaze softened briefly, memory flickering through those immortal pupils.
> "You're scarier than my own master."
"And you're only seventeen."
Quietly, she unsheathed her sword and laid it across her lap, eyes fixed on the chamber door.
> "If anyone dares disturb him now, I'll cut through them first."
---
Inside the chamber, Ren Wei's breathing turned shallow.
He reached into the air — and the Heaven's Dust Pill appeared, floating like a frozen star wrapped in pale mist. It pulsed faintly, like a beating heart.
He stared at it.
> "If I take this now… I'll break through."
> "No… not yet."
He closed his fingers around the pill — then placed it aside on the cold stone floor.
> "One more push. I'll break it on my own."
---
> Ding!
Progress toward Foundation Establishment: 99%
And the world waited again.
Within the sealed chamber, Ren Wei's body had become a crucible of energy.
Golden veins pulsed beneath his skin like rivers of molten light. His bones groaned, not from pain, but from the crushing rebirth of marrow and the forging of something entirely new. Qi didn't simply swirl—it roared, engulfing his entire form.
> Ding!
Progress toward Foundation Establishment: 100%
Requirement met. Consume catalyst to initiate Realm Reconstruction.
Ren Wei opened his eyes slowly, golden light bleeding from the edges. He reached into the system's inventory and retrieved the Heavenly Dust Pill, its radiant glow illuminating the dark chamber with holy warmth.
He crushed it between his teeth and swallowed.
The moment the essence entered his system, agony erupted.
His meridians burned. His blood flash-vaporized, only to recondense into something denser, purer. His organs ruptured and reformed. Even his bones cracked and healed in rapid succession, again and again, as if sculpting the perfect vessel for cultivation.
His consciousness was pulled from his body, hurled into a void of light and pressure. There, he stood face-to-face with a mirror version of himself—one woven from pure Qi, featureless and infinite.
> Ding!
Initiating Foundation Establishment Process...
Forging Spiritual Root Core...
Binding Dao Thread...
Awakening Hidden Physique Trait: [Unbound Flesh]
Calculating Internal Synchronization...
No flaws detected.
Cultivator body and soul successfully refined.
Main Quest Completed.
Rewards Available: View in System Panel.
Ren Wei gritted his teeth and whispered hoarsely:
> "Later… I'll check it later."
He focused inward, breathing through the reconstruction as the final stage of the transformation rippled through his core.
A glowing lotus of Qi bloomed in his dantian, its petals slowly unfolding—signifying the flawless formation of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator.
At the same time, a strange brand etched itself across his back, invisible to the naked eye but pulsing with mystical heat. The symbol resembled a shattered cocoon—marking the full awakening of the Unbound Flesh Physique.
---
Outside the chamber, the world responded.
Sheng Lian sat motionless in the courtyard—until she felt it.
A tidal wave of Qi burst outward from the villa, momentarily warping the air. The sky flickered as if dawn had arrived early. Nearby trees bent from the pressure, and birds took flight in chaos.
Both Mei Rou and Su Yao collapsed where they stood, unconscious from the sheer spiritual weight that now blanketed the estate.
And just above the villa's roof, a golden lotus bloomed faintly before vanishing into mist.
Sheng Lian's eyes widened slightly.
> "...He did it. Flawless Foundation Establishment."
"Without flaw… not even a ripple."
Her hand clenched around her sleeve. "What are you?"
---
The answer didn't come. But footsteps did.
A powerful presence approached.
From the path outside the villa, Han Suiren arrived—robes flowing, eyes calm yet storm-laden. He paused at the threshold, his gaze sweeping across the trembling air and unconscious maids.
He didn't say a word at first.
Then, with a voice like low thunder:
> "So it wasn't just a rumor. The heavens trembled because he advanced…"
He stood in silence, staring toward the sealed cultivation chamber.
> "...This may change everything."