Xing Wuyi carefully tucked away the metal box. He surveyed the room with eyes full of sorrow, unwilling even now to accept that Du Zhanpeng, a man qualified to become a great overlord, was simply gone.

Seated at the head of the bed, Xing Wuyi gently pulled open the desk drawer.

The black diary had no hidden code. He slowly opened it. Inside, there were no pretentious philosophical musings or youthful affections—it was a chronicle of his holistic development.

Here were analyses of weapon performance, notes on utilizing biomorphic beasts, sharp evaluations of the current situation, and insights into martial arts cultivation.

Xing Wuyi softly closed the diary. He lay down on Du Zhanpeng’s **, and without realizing it, drifted into sleep.

The door to the hall where Du Hen resided slowly opened. Du Yu approached him, holding a paper document, and spoke very softly, “Father.”

“Read.”

Du Hen leaned back in his expensive, carved wooden chair, an indescribable fatigue etched across his brow.

“Zhanpeng’s heart was pierced. Before he left, he transfused his blood to that Du Peng,” Du Yu reported, like a secretary briefing his superior. “It is conjectured that he also transferred the Seven Star Immortal Thunder Skill to Du Peng. This gives Du Peng the chance to master the Seven Star Formless Immortal Thunder Skill. Should we, upon his awakening,…”

Du Hen waved the purple rattan staff in his hand, cutting off Du Yu’s report. “Recruit Du Peng? Such a foolish suggestion would never have been proposed by Zhanpeng.”

“Father, you are correct.” Du Yu stood ramrod straight. “But Zhanpeng is gone. We need an heir. The chance to recruit him is small, but…”

“Unnecessary.” Du Hen lightly tapped the ground with his staff. “You are still young; give birth to two more. As for Du Peng, he can simply serve as the second-stage crucible for his younger brother who will eventually master the miraculous technique.”

“Yes, Father.” Du Yu bowed respectfully. “There are two other matters. Regarding the birth of two more children, do we still require Du Peng’s mother?”

“Naturally.” Du Hen interlaced his fingers, propping his chin, the cold glint of a viper king flickering in his eyes. “Though she is older, her blood remains the most suitable. Both sons will be crucibles, along with my dearest grandson. By gathering the entire family’s effort, I refuse to believe we cannot create a successor capable of claiming the Qilin title!”

“Understood, Father,” Du Yu said with utmost deference. “The final matter: my two nephews, Du Chaoqun and Du Chaopeng, have also heard of Zhanpeng’s departure and are currently expressing some… restlessness.”

“Hmph…” A frigid light flashed in Du Hen’s eyes. “Two mere clowns. Ignore them. They cannot stir up any real trouble.”

“Yes.” Du Yu backed out of the room.

The hall returned to a deathly silence. Du Hen slowly rose. He casually placed his hands behind his back, his emotionless eyes fixed on the location of Qin Fen’s room.

He walked up to the second floor as if on a leisurely stroll. He pushed open Qin Fen’s door without ceremony.

The posture—sprawled on the floor, asleep—startled Du Hen somewhat. This man, who seemed as unyielding as iron while awake, had simply collapsed onto the floor and fallen asleep immediately upon entering.

Du Hen crouched down to look at Qin Fen. The momentary surprise on his brow resurfaced. He had never witnessed a four-star martial artist with such ferocious recovery capabilities. The internal flow of qi seemed not to be growing organically but mimicking a high-tech martial art’s energy reservoir, replenishing itself with astonishing speed.

Out of curiosity, Du Hen placed a hand on Qin Fen’s back.

This time, the surprise in his brow shifted to his eyes. The relaxed muscles were soft as water, and the strong heartbeat thumped like a tiny drum.

Du Hen withdrew his hand and observed Qin Fen silently.

Half an hour passed, and Du Hen’s astonishment only deepened. How could it be that after such a short time, there was already a hint of impending breakthrough in his aura?

“Could it be that he isn’t just recovering? He’s cultivating even in his sleep?”

Du Hen found this hard to believe. If he truly cultivated while sleeping, wouldn't that grant him double the training time of others?

Another half hour went by, and Du Hen grew even more perplexed. Based on the swelling of the aura, the innate qi should have been stimulated long ago, allowing him to break through the four-star level into the fifth. Why hadn't the young man ignited that inherent power yet?

Du Hen extended his index finger, and wisps of innate qi danced at the tip. With a single touch, even if he couldn't trigger Qin Fen’s natural breakthrough, he could use that sliver of innate qi to guide him into the fifth star realm.

Unaware of Du Hen’s presence outside, Qin Fen felt the internal qi surging like a mighty river. It was already a miracle that he could sense the unevenness within his meridians. Trying to fully control the qi to flow up and down according to those imperfections was beyond him.

He admitted to himself that he lacked the ability to achieve this in a short time; it required prolonged, dedicated practice. He reset his target to breaking through the four-star level and advancing to the five-star Meteor Grade.

The Master had not specified the location of the innate qi. All Qin Fen could do was keep searching. Guided by his intention, the qi rushed through his meridians like a swarm of locusts—this was already a sign of breakthrough and advancement. Only after achieving this could the qi flow like a great river when practicing a lower-tier technique, yet when running his current star-level technique, it remained sluggish as a snail.

Qin Fen was stuck in an awkward predicament: the four-star technique utilized qi that surged like a torrent, yet it could not break open the sealed five-star meridians, nor could he practice the five-star level technique.

This bizarre situation was almost unprecedented. If someone did encounter it, a senior master would usually lend a strand of innate qi to ignite the practitioner’s own, helping them break through in one swift move.

Five hours passed…

The innate qi on Du Hen’s fingertip still pulsed. He watched Qin Fen with deep curiosity. This young man possessed decent aptitude, so why couldn't he complete the breakthrough? No one he knew had ever experienced such a scenario. What would be the ultimate consequence of this stagnation?

Du Hen was equally curious: if a martial artist met all the conditions for advancement but failed to ascend, while the qi, due to its rapid flow, continued to build uncontrollably, what would be the final outcome?

After five hours, Qin Fen’s bones began cracking like firecrackers. His skin, following the flow of the qi, started to exhibit irregularities; the current of qi beneath the skin became visible to the naked eye.

It looked as if a small animal was darting rapidly beneath his flesh.

“Will he explode?” Du Hen retracted his innate qi and raised a hand to stroke his chin. “If he breaks through now, won't his energy reserve surpass that of an ordinary five-star martial artist?”

“Innate qi! Where is the innate qi?” Qin Fen felt he was going mad. If his control over his qi were not superior to ordinary people, the continually expanding energy inside him would have already turned into an untamed wild horse.

He had, at most, one more hour. Qin Fen was acutely aware of his condition. If he couldn't find the innate qi’s location within another hour, the internal qi would truly run rampant. At that point, he could only watch helplessly as the energy increased until death.

“No! I must find a way. A way!”

Qin Fen struggled to calm himself. He needed to vent some of the internal qi. If he were fully conscious, he could continuously unleash the [Raging Torrent] to dissipate the energy.

A trace of chilling cold suddenly struck his neck, and in the darkness, a faint glimmer of light appeared there. This light carried an indescribable, cool refreshment.

“The throat?” Qin Fen was puzzled why his throat felt such a strange sensation. He couldn't afford to ponder it; in his current state, he lacked even the ability to guide his qi there.

He hastily drove the qi toward the cold glimmer. The energy flowed in, just like the Yellow River entering the sea—once it entered the refreshing light, it did not return.

Du Hen was startled by Qin Fen’s physical reaction and blurted out, “A biomorphic beast egg?”

The biomorphic beast egg nestled on Qin Fen’s neck, at this moment, quietly bloomed with an indescribable, shifting rainbow light—sometimes soft, sometimes dominant.

“What is this…?” Du Hen scrutinized the egg on Qin Fen’s neck. As a high-ranking figure, he had seen countless newly developed biomorphic beast eggs.

But this one before him, he truly had never encountered.

Qin Fen had found the vent for his qi. After relaxing for a few seconds, he could relax no longer. The internal qi had established a circulation loop. The incoming qi was no slower than the released energy; in fact, it seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

Qin Fen felt he was truly going insane. Why was this moment, when the Light Being appeared for his breakthrough training, so critical?

Find! Find! Find!

For survival, there was no alternative. Qin Fen decided to risk everything! If the innate qi was stimulated out, then stimulate it again! Since he didn't know its location, he would launch an indiscriminate bombardment!

After all, bombardment might kill him instantly, but not bombing would certainly lead to death. Why not take the gamble?

The torrent of qi, like the Yangtze River, was instantly torn apart by Qin Fen’s immense willpower into countless small streams of energy. Each stream was assigned responsibility for a different acupoint. In the same instant, they slammed against every pressure point, save for the few absolute death points.

In that single moment, it looked as if countless arrows were trying to burst out from beneath Qin Fen’s skin. His skin seemed to be propped up by thousands of toothpicks from below, making his entire body appear terrifyingly distorted.

Even Du Hen, accustomed to grand spectacles, widened his eyes at the scene.

He knew what Qin Fen was attempting and thought to himself: Is this kid mad? Stimulating nearly every acupoint on his body simultaneously?

In that instant of stimulation, Qin Fen finally felt the location of the Niwan Palace—it was throbbing incessantly. A force felt as if it were being held down by something.

Qin Fen never imagined that the innate qi could be hidden in a spot so close to a vital point. He dared not send his qi to attack the Niwan Palace directly. He also knew the initial impact was insufficient. If he kept increasing the pressure and ramming against it, he could squeeze out the innate qi in the Niwan Palace, much like squeezing toothpaste from a tube.

The force propping up his skin with 'toothpicks' instantly subsided, and Qin Fen’s body was drenched in sweat again. That violent method of impact would have instantly stunned a conscious person senseless.

This was beyond enduring with mere willpower alone.

Qin Fen existed within a dream state; though he howled from the pain, he could not pass out. If anyone else had encountered a similar situation, they would likely have been beyond saving. Yet, because he could cultivate within the dream, it happened to save his life.

The retracted qi suddenly swelled outward again. Du Hen instinctively leaned back. He had the illusion that the qi might actually burst through his body.

Bang!

Qin Fen convulsed twice as if his heart had been electrocuted. The barrier in the Niwan Palace was finally broken. A stream of pure, clear qi, like a small brook, rushed out. The qi dispersed throughout his body acted like iron filings drawn to a magnet; it automatically converged with the new stream without Qin Fen’s control.

At this moment, Qin Fen felt an unprecedented comfort, as if six or seven of the best masseuses were working on him simultaneously.

“Broke through?”

Du Hen reassessed Qin Fen, a faint hint of admiration now in his eyes.

He admired the young man’s courage for daring to attempt such a perilous action. He admired Qin Fen’s judgment even more—making a decisive, clean move at the critical juncture!

“First-rate decisiveness,” Du Hen nodded slowly. “This trait rivals Zhanpeng’s.”

“Congratulations on the breakthrough…”

As the Light Being’s words faded, a schematic diagram of the cultivation method was branded into Qin Fen’s mind—the technique for the next layer of the Dragon-Elephant Prajñā Art.

The diagram was successfully imprinted, his strength advanced, and his body recovered. Qin Fen awoke from his slumber.

Before opening his eyes, Qin Fen felt the potent energy throbbing within his cells. He subtly commanded the five-star Meteor Grade qi, and the excitement of that power brought one phrase to mind.

The Strength of One Elephant!

The Dragon-Elephant Prajñā Art, when mastered, could grant the strength of Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants.

He had only heard legends of this power but had never witnessed it. Now, he began to believe that the Dragon-Elephant Prajñā Art might truly be capable of wielding the strength of Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants.

Qin Fen slowly opened his eyes and was momentarily stunned to see Du Hen beside him.

The two were so close, yet Qin Fen sensed absolutely no presence from Du Hen? Qin Fen secretly tried to gauge the man's true level of power.

Du Hen slowly straightened up. He looked down at Qin Fen and stated plainly, “Good. Very good.”

Good? While Qin Fen was momentarily stunned, the cool source at his neck suddenly turned scorching hot. It felt as if he were wearing a glowing red branding iron on his chest.

He looked down and saw the biomorphic beast egg gifted by Lin Liqiang. It was radiating a dazzling, shifting rainbow light and beginning to writhe.