Lin Feng's success was a double-edged sword. He was now an Inner Disciple, but the sudden leap in power from the First to the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation within a single night was an anomaly too profound to hide. The whispers quickly changed from mockery to suspicion.
He walked through the Inner Sect corridors with his head high, but his mind raced. The Phantom Flash Footwork gave him speed, but he still lacked a powerful offensive skill. He had shattered his previous cultivation base through the Void Soul Seal's activation, but that same chaotic power needed structure. He needed a method to stabilize the raw, volatile energy of the Void so he could wield it as true weapon Qi.
His current level, the peak of Qi Condensation, meant he was one step away from the Body Tempering realm. This breakthrough was usually achieved by absorbing a large quantity of Elemental Essence—a concentrated spiritual material—to reshape the physical body and meridians, preparing them for the higher realms.
Lin Feng knew where the Essence was: the Crimson Cloud Treasury.
The Treasury was located deep beneath the Sect Master's central pavilion. As an Inner Disciple, Lin Feng had the right to request a single, low-grade item per month. He approached the grumpy keeper, Elder Huo, a man whose face was as withered as his cultivation.
"Lin Feng? The Sweeper?" Elder Huo grunted, consulting a dusty ledger. "Hmph. Took you long enough. What do you want? A low-grade Spirit Pill to keep you warm?"
"I require the Thousand-Year Earth Core," Lin Feng stated.
Elder Huo nearly dropped his spectacles. The Thousand-Year Earth Core was a concentrated block of Earth Elemental Essence, the highest-grade item available to Outer Sect candidates attempting the Body Tempering breakthrough. It was worth a dozen ordinary pills.
"Boy, that's reserved for only the most promising talents," Elder Huo scoffed. "You just scraped by the assessment. Take a Spirit Grass tablet and be gone."
"The assessment score was an 8. The requirement is a 7," Lin Feng countered smoothly. "My cultivation is at the Ninth Level. I meet all criteria for the Body Tempering breakthrough material. If the Sect Master has rules, they must be followed, Elder."
Lin Feng's unwavering confidence finally swayed the old man. With a resentful sigh, Elder Huo retrieved a dull, heavy rock the size of a fist. It glowed faintly with internal, golden-brown energy. "Take it. If you die of Qi deviation trying to absorb this, don't blame the Crimson Cloud Sect."
Lin Feng clutched the Thousand-Year Earth Core. He didn't thank the Elder; he merely bowed and left. He knew Elder Huo was secretly reporting every unusual request to the real power behind the Inner Sect: Elder Ma, a ruthless man and the primary backer of Zhao Shi. His time to cultivate in peace was running short.
Lin Feng immediately returned to his isolated shack. He had no time to waste.
He sat cross-legged, placing the cold Earth Core in his lap. Normal cultivators would absorb the Elemental Essence slowly, letting the solid, earthly power reorganize their structure. But Lin Feng's power wasn't solid; it was chaotic Void energy.
He closed his eyes and summoned the sensation of the Void Soul Seal in his palm. The chaotic energy swelled. He imagined the vast, silent space of the cosmos—a boundless, empty furnace.
I will not reorganize my body with Earth Qi. I will use the Void to forge my body with Void Chaos. The Essence is just fuel.
He forced his newfound Void Qi to wrap around the Earth Core, not welcoming the Earth Qi, but violently incinerating it.
A rush of golden-brown energy erupted from the Core. It didn't flow into his meridians; it was immediately caught and purified by the Void energy—a terrifying process that felt like internal combustion.
His skin turned bright gold, then a sickening, dark purple as the volatile energies fought within him.
This was the creation of the Void Furnace Technique, an instinctive, self-taught method of refining external energy into a higher-grade, more potent resource suitable for his spatial affinity.
The pain was agonizing. Lin Feng bit down on a piece of leather to avoid screaming. This was far more violent than a normal breakthrough. The Earth Core was being consumed not just for its energy, but for its fundamental structure, which was then broken down and reconstructed by the Void Seal's power.
After an hour of excruciating purification, the Thousand-Year Earth Core was nothing more than a pile of ash.
Lin Feng collapsed, sweat plastering his robes to his body. But when he stood up, he felt an unprecedented change. His skin was harder than steel; his senses were so sharp he could hear the worms crawling in the dirt yards away.
He had successfully broken through.
Body Tempering Realm – First Level!
As the euphoria of the breakthrough subsided, Lin Feng noticed something metallic glinting outside his shack. He opened the door.
Leaning against the wall was a powerful figure—not Zhao Shi, but his master, Ma Zhen, Elder Ma's own son. Ma Zhen was a genuine powerhouse, a master of the Qi Sea realm, three full stages above Lin Feng.
"The Sweeper has a spine now," Ma Zhen drawled, his eyes narrowed with lethal intent. "My little dog, Zhao Shi, said you danced around his punch. You humiliated my subordinate, and you stole the Essence my father reserved for the true Inner Disciples."
Lin Feng knew he couldn't beat him. Not yet.
"I only took what I was permitted to take," Lin Feng replied, standing his ground.
Ma Zhen laughed, a cold, grating sound. "The rules are written for those who can enforce them. I enforce them, boy. And I say your existence here is inconvenient."
Ma Zhen raised his palm. His Qi Sea cultivation flooded the air, manifesting as a heavy, visible pressure that threatened to pin Lin Feng to the ground. This was the difference between realms—absolute suppression.
"I will not kill you today. But I will cripple your meridians and send you back to sweep the toilets. Then you can dream of the Jade Heart Maiden all you like."
Just as Ma Zhen was about to strike, a tremor ran through the ground.
A small, intricately carved jade transmission slip—glowing a pale, icy blue—fell from the sky and landed at Lin Feng's feet. It was a high-grade talisman, the kind only used by the most powerful sects.
Lin Feng recognized the style immediately: it was from the Jade Heart Palace.
Ma Zhen paused, his hand inches from Lin Feng's head, his expression confused.
Lin Feng picked up the slip. His heart hammered. It was a projection of Su Wanying's elegant figure. Her silver eyes were filled with sorrow and steely resolve.
"Feng," her ethereal voice whispered, audible only to Lin Feng. "I know what you are doing. Stop. Do not risk your life for a lost cause."
A tear traced her cheek in the projection.
"Young Master Jian is hosting a Blood Oath Ceremony at the Violet Flame Dynasty's Grand Capital in exactly six months. This ceremony finalizes the engagement, binding my fate.
"They are using me as bait, Feng. If you come, you will face an army of Origin Kings. Do not come. Live."
The projection flickered and died.
Ma Zhen slowly lowered his hand, his face pale with a mix of fury and shock. He had recognized the Jade Heart Palace's symbol.
"You… you dare to communicate with the Dynastic Heir's fiancé?" Ma Zhen hissed. "This is a political assassination waiting to happen! My father will hear of this!"
Lin Feng ignored him. He looked at the shattered jade slip, his eyes burning with absolute determination. Six months. She hadn't told him to stay away because she didn't want him. She told him to stay away because she knew he would try.
He had six months to cross the gap between Body Tempering and the Origin King realm—a chasm that took most geniuses centuries to cross.
Lin Feng finally looked up at Ma Zhen, the Void energy thrumming fiercely beneath his newly strengthened skin.
"You tell Elder Ma and everyone else this: I am leaving the Crimson Cloud Sect tonight," Lin Feng declared. "But I will return. And when I do, I will be strong enough to sweep away everything that stands in my path. Including your father."
Ma Zhen watched in stunned silence as Lin Feng performed the Phantom Flash Footwork one last time. He didn't just move; he seemed to momentarily vanish into a spatial ripple and reappeared fifty meters away, then vanished again into the shadows of the surrounding forest.
Lin Feng had six months to save the woman who had just risked her life to tell him not to. His ascension had to accelerate drastically. His only chance lay in the unknown wilds beyond the Crimson Cloud Sect.