I Am Immortal in Great Yu

Chapter 195: Chapter 81: Third Grade (Part 2)

"Why couldn’t it be? I heard the Rebel Army dispatched eight hundred Middle Grade masters to carve through the mountains..." the person said with conviction.

"What’s the point of arguing? Whether it was divine punishment or the Rebel Army, it’s a great thing! With the Iron Butcher’s army gone, our Yunshan City is finally safe!"

"Exactly! I can finally get a good night’s sleep."

...

「Within the city.」

When Jiang Yan and Steward Chen heard the news, clues like "Eagle’s Beak Gorge," "Mountain Collapse," and "map" subconsciously clicked into place. Their first thought was of Fang Rui.

The thought was outlandish and utterly absurd, yet they couldn’t shake it.

Until—

Later, when rumors spread through the city that the Rebel Army had claimed responsibility, they finally dismissed the "absurd" notion completely.

...

"Mother, when is brother coming home? It’s been two days!" Fang Ling asked listlessly.

"Yeah, I miss Brother Ah Rui so much!" Nannan said, nestled in the Third Lady’s arms, looking just as downcast.

"Soon! He’ll be back soon!"

Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family said this, sharing a look with the Third Lady. The worry in their eyes was plain to see.

...

「Eagle’s Beak Gorge. A hidden cave.」

"Go. All of you, hide near the entrance. Guard this place and don’t let anything else inside."

"HISS HISS!"

The fifty-odd Earth Armor Centipedes trilled with a hiss and filed out of the cave.

That’s right. Only just over fifty Earth Armor Centipedes remained.

After the Mountain Collapse, more than ten of the Earth Armor Centipedes couldn’t be recalled in time, and Fang Rui hadn’t waited for them. By the time he found this place, these were the only ones left that had managed to keep up.

—It wasn’t that they had deserted him. It was just that these damn creatures, despite being perfectly capable of walking on the surface, couldn’t resist the urge to burrow. The moment Fang Rui picked up the pace, they would start to wander off and get lost in droves.

’Forget it. I’m not going to think about those damn creatures!’

Fang Rui shook his head in resignation, closed his eyes, and checked his status panel.

[Tribulation Points: 9199]

’It’s a little less than I expected. Maybe some of the feedback hasn’t registered yet? Oh well, it’s more than enough for a breakthrough... Time to begin!’

With a thought, Fang Rui focused his consciousness on the panel and pressed the [+] next to the Nourishing Body Skill.

BOOM!

A cool stream of energy, larger than any he had ever experienced, appeared and poured into his body like a torrent.

Inwardly.

Countless revelations flickered in and out of existence in his mind, bursting like fireworks.

Outwardly.

The immense, cool energy became fuel, refining his internal organs. The powerful THUMP-THUMP-THUMP of Fang Rui’s heart grew louder and louder, until it echoed clearly throughout the cave.

The Third Grade Realm was Refining the Organs!

In this process, his Transforming Force dissipated like an avalanche... No, to be more precise, it sublimated into another, higher form of Extraordinary Energy.

This Extraordinary Energy was something even his physical body couldn’t contain; it required a special method of circulation.

’Using the illusory to cultivate the real, forming an Energy Network inside the body that exists between the tangible and the intangible... what a marvelous concept! It’s surprisingly similar to the cultivation philosophies I heard about in my past life!’

Guided by that strange, immense, cool energy, a foundation had been laid. His body had been tempered, from outside to in, through Ninth Grade Skin Grinding, Eighth Grade Muscle Strengthening, Seventh Grade Bone Forging, Sixth Grade Enlightenment, Fifth Grade Marrow Cleansing, Fourth Grade Blood Exchange, and now, Third Grade Refining the Organs. Upon this foundation, an Energy Network, one that existed between ’the tangible and the intangible,’ ’being and non-being,’ ’the real and the illusory,’ began to form.

If the essence of the Fourth Grade was the fusion of Extraordinary Factors into the blood, then with the creation of this Energy Network, the Third Grade of Refining the Organs was, in fact, the process of becoming ’no longer human’!

...

Unlike previous breakthroughs, which took around a hundred breaths, this time the sublimation of his body, from the inside out, took the entire time needed to drink a cup of tea before it was finally complete.

"I did it!"

Fang Rui’s eyes snapped open as he looked at his status panel.

[Name: Fang Rui]

[Tribulation: 4199]

[Cultivation Technique: Nourishing Body Skill (Mastery)]

[Realm: Third Grade (Refining the Organs)]

[Skills: Fang’s Medical Skill (Great Success) (+), Beast Taming Technique (Minor Achievement) (+), Feng Shui Skill (Minor Achievement) (+), Life-taking Saber Technique (Perfection), Rapid Trace Step (Perfection), Disguise Technique (Minor Achievement), Thirteen Throws of the Flying Swallow (Great Success) (+), Xue Family Spear (Uninitiated) (+), Mountain-Splitting Saber Technique (Uninitiated) (+)]

[Divine Techniques: Immortality (Gray)]

...

"It cost five thousand Tribulation Points. So Third Grade Refining the Organs comes from the Mastery level of the Nourishing Body Skill?"

Fang Rui murmured as a realization dawned on him. ’Divine Skill, despite its name, is more about the sublime perfection of technique. Mastery, on the other hand, represents a giant leap forward in the fundamental philosophy of the Nourishing Body Skill!’

"The Upper Three Grades... I’ve finally made it!"

He sighed, his emotions a complex mix, and closed the panel.

’So, what’s the biggest change after this breakthrough?’

Fang Rui took a deep breath, then suddenly exhaled. A white light shot from his mouth.

CRACK!

With a loud bang, countless small stones tumbled from the cave wall seven or eight feet away.

’This isn’t the Power of the Middle Grades anymore. If I had to describe it, this Extraordinary Energy, sublimated from the "illusory Force," can be called True Qi!’

’True Qi can be considered the ultimate, sublimated version of Power. It can be projected out of my body up to ten feet.’

Fang Rui began to experiment with the various wonders of his True Qi.

When he activated his Energy Network, the boost to his body’s overall attributes as True Qi circulated was terrifying—an increase of more than fifty percent over the Fourth Grade!

’I used to wonder how, given the body’s physical limits, one could achieve another massive leap in power upon reaching the Upper Three Grades. I never thought the answer would be to become something other than human.’

Fang Rui shook his head, pushing the thought aside and continuing his experiments.

He discovered that besides its other uses, True Qi was also remarkably effective at healing injuries and suppressing toxins. It was practically an all-purpose Spirit Medicine.

’Also, my Innate Body Weakness is now completely gone. Thanks to the perfect enhancement from the Tribulation Points, my physique is even stronger than other Third Grade practitioners, and the intensity of my True Qi is among the best in my Realm!’

’Combined with my Life-taking Saber Technique and Rapid Trace Step at the Perfection level, and my Thirteen Throws of the Flying Swallow at Great Success, I’m fully equipped with offense, Body Technique, and Hidden Weapons. Among those at the Third Grade, my combat strength must be in the absolute top tier.’

It could be said that by reaching the Third Grade Refining Organ Realm, all of Fang Rui’s past efforts had finally culminated in an explosive release of power.

’Still, I can’t get careless. I might have a "cheat" when it comes to Martial Arts, but Third Grade enemies likely have Spirit Talismans. The gap between us might not be as large as I think.’

Of course, that was only when facing others in the Upper Three Grades. To Fang Rui, any opponent below the Third Grade was a complete amateur, regardless of their tricks.

’Besides me, I haven’t heard of any other Third Grade practitioners. Even Li Xuantong and Iron Butcher are supposedly only at the Fourth Grade.’

—This was because he had always stayed in small towns and had never been to a Prefecture City or State City.

’With great power comes the freedom to repay my debts and settle my scores!’

’It’s time to settle things with the Iron Butcher. Then, I can return to Yunshan City. Mother, Third Sister, Ling’er, and Nannan must be worried sick!’

A glint flashed in Fang Rui’s eyes. Saber in hand, he strode out of the cave.

"HISS HISS!"

Outside the cave, the fifty-odd Earth Armor Centipedes burrowed up from the ground. They lowered their heads and swarmed forward, surrounding Fang Rui as if paying homage to their king.

"Good. Remember, we’re not in a hurry this time. All of you, keep up. We’re going... to kill!"

...

「A mountain ravine outside Eagle’s Beak Gorge, where the remnants of the Iron Butcher’s army had made camp.」

The night wind howled, whipping the tattered banners. The air hung heavy with the groans and wails of the wounded, and the entire camp was shrouded in an atmosphere of grief.

Flickering campfires cast their light on a gallery of faces: some pale and weak, others twisted in pain, and still others vacant and lifeless.

There weren’t even any guards on patrol outside the camp.

—Although the evening’s Mountain Collapse had buried the bulk of their forces, it had also blocked the gorge. No large army could cross from the other side, so they had no fear of an attack from the Taiping Army.

「In a tent at the rear of the camp.」

"General, here’s some boiled horse broth. Please, have some," a personal guard pleaded, kneeling outside the tent with a bowl in his hands.

"Get it away from me!"

"General—"

"Get out!"

The guard sighed in resignation. He got to his feet, about to leave.

But at that very moment—

SWISH!

The tent flap was thrown open and the Iron Butcher charged out. His eyes, wide and furious as a tiger’s, locked onto a single point. His face was a mask of savagery as he roared, "Night raid! It’s a night raid! To arms!"

The personal guard spun around.

And saw:

In the flickering firelight, a masked figure was riding on the back of a colossal, thirty-foot-long Earth Armor Centipede. Behind him followed fifty-some murderous centipedes, cutting a bloody path through the camp, unstoppable.

...

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