While He Yiming was quietly examining the state of his inner energy, he unexpectedly discovered something he couldn't quite ascertain.

Two days prior, his inner energy had reached the peak of the Sixth Layer, brushing against the barrier. Logically, without breaking through that barrier, his inner energy should have remained fixed at this level, with no further improvement possible no matter how much he cultivated.

Yet, at this moment, he noticed that his inner energy seemed to have increased slightly since he last practiced yesterday. However, he didn't feel that the Hun Yuan Jing technique he practiced had advanced to the Seventh Layer.

With a wry smile, He Yiming wasn't even sure if his perception was mistaken; perhaps it was merely wishful thinking, and his cultivation level hadn't actually risen.

He considered this for a moment, and a flicker of sharp intelligence crossed his eyes. The inner energy within him surged once more, following the pathway of the Hun Yuan Jing—the route most familiar to him.

Streams of scorching inner energy coursed through his body, quickly traversing the familiar routes of the first six layers, the culmination of his efforts over the last six months.

In the past, upon reaching this point, He Yiming would deliberately pause. He knew the path ahead was the unfamiliar route of the Seventh Layer, and even during his attempts two days ago, this Sixth Layer barrier stood as an insurmountable, towering mountain.

But what about this time?

Without hesitation, He Yiming gathered his inner energy and charged towards the Sixth Layer barrier with the resolution of facing certain death.

The inner energy halted at the entrance to that pathway. The Sixth Layer barrier remained as unyielding as bronze walls and iron gates. However, He Yiming did not feel discouraged, for he realized that unlike previous times when his inner energy felt utterly exhausted upon reaching this point, now he possessed a distinct feeling of having reserves left.

All his inner energy immediately surged toward this spot like a desperate flood, accumulating there relentlessly.

When He Yiming’s entire reserve of inner energy condensed into a single point, the towering Sixth Layer barrier finally began to tremble. Especially when he felt that last sliver of power join the effort, it was like the final straw that broke the camel's back, shattering the barrier that had tormented him for so long.

He thought he heard a crisp sound, followed by a powerful surge of inner energy—like a flood breaking through a dam—flowing along the Seventh Layer route of the Hun Yuan Jing with unstoppable momentum.

Slowly, after the Seventh Layer circuit of the Hun Yuan Jing had completed one full circulation within his body, He Yiming restrained his energy and gently guided it back to his Dantian.

He slowly opened his eyes, revealing an inexpressible ecstasy within them.

The Seventh Layer—he had indeed broken through successfully. Moreover, this experience filled him with thrilling surprise. If both the Sixth and Seventh Layers could be breached by cultivating the new internal energy technique, what about future stages?

At this moment, He Yiming seemed to see a clear path ahead, undoubtedly a bright road radiating brilliant golden light on his journey forward.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress the surging ecstasy in his heart.

Half an hour later, he gathered his inner energy again and began assaulting the Seventh Layer of the Ripple Technique. The result this time made him absolutely overjoyed.

When his inner energy reached the Seventh Layer pathway, it broke through the barrier almost effortlessly, naturally entering the Water Element tier of the Seventh Layer Ripple Technique.

When he first attacked the Hun Yuan Jing breakthrough, there was still a slight struggle, demanding the accumulation of all his strength to shatter the barrier. But once one primary internal energy technique succeeded in breaking through, the advancement of the other seemed to become a foregone conclusion.

However, He Yiming knew this was definitely not the norm.

Never mind that Hun Yuan Jing and the Ripple Technique belonged to different internal energy lineages; even between two different primary techniques of the same lineage, such a bizarre occurrence should not happen.

Rubbing his slightly numb scalp, He Yiming finally cast all his doubts aside.

As long as he could continue to advance, why bother worrying about the details? Regarding matters far beyond his comprehension, He Yiming chose to ignore them; after all, this strange development was entirely beneficial and held no harm for him.

He applied slight pressure to his feet, and his body instantly sprang up like a coiled spring. With a thought, he arrived at the testing corner designated for measuring power within the secret chamber.

One wall of this chamber was, in fact, a movable testing slab used by third-generation disciples above the Sixth Layer to gauge the might of their combat skills.

This wall already bore dozens of indentations left by He Yiming practicing the Rolling Stone Fist and the Soft Palm. Although he had mastered both techniques to their peak upon beginning their cultivation, as his inner energy continuously increased, the depth of these indentations also deepened, culminating in the final attempt two days ago, which reached the maximum power attainable with Sixth Layer inner energy for those two skills.

Gazing at the two deepest marks, He Yiming hesitated, then gathered his inner energy and slammed a fist into the wall.

With a deafening crash, a deep indentation appeared on the wall, far deeper than the previous two deepest marks. He Yiming’s face instantly displayed a mix of shock and delight. He hadn't used any combat skill techniques at all; this was merely a standard strike using his Seventh Layer Hun Yuan Jing.

But judging by the effect, the damage inflicted by a standard Seventh Layer inner energy attack already far surpassed the limit of a Sixth Layer combat skill.

Of course, this was partly because the techniques He Yiming used were only common-grade. He had heard rumors that certain powerful combat skills could unleash several times, even dozens of times, the power of same-tiered techniques. But those were legendary matters; at least, no such exaggerated skills existed in the He Family Village library.

He Yiming was ecstatic. If a mere ordinary inner energy strike possessed this might, how formidable would he become once he mastered the Seventh Layer routines for the Rolling Stone Fist and Soft Palm?

The thought made him impatient. He turned and walked toward the courtyard entrance, stopping abruptly.

An inexplicable thought struck him: having just left the library, rushing back immediately might arouse suspicion from his uncle, and leaking his progress would be a loss outweighing the gain.

Seeing that the sky was darkening, he slowly returned to his room and forced himself to lie down on the bed. With every breath, he deliberately suppressed his thoughts, slowly drifting into slumber.

The next morning, He Yiming awoke feeling quite satisfied with his restraint. He still controlled the urge to rush to the library, opting instead to eat breakfast in the main hall before leisurely making his way to the library where his uncle was stationed.

Upon entering the courtyard this time, He Yiming appeared perfectly normal, devoid of yesterday's urgency. Nevertheless, he faintly sensed a pair of sharp eyes briefly assessing him from the side hall where his uncle resided.

However, He Yiming's self-control was good; he continued to walk into the main hall as if completely unaware of the gaze emanating from that direction. This morning’s performance solidified the conviction his uncle, He Quanxin, had formed yesterday, and he failed to notice He Yiming's extraordinarily sharp perception.

Entering the main hall, He Yiming followed the familiar path to locate the secret manuals for the Rolling Stone Fist and the Soft Palm.

He then swiftly transcribed every detail pertaining to the Seventh Layer from both manuals. This process took little time, largely because the surge in his inner energy naturally accelerated his movements considerably.

Completing this task, He Yiming returned the manuals to their place, secured the transcribed notes close to his body, and slowly departed the library courtyard.

His uncle did not appear until He Yiming had completely left the area, leaving He Yiming with a complex mix of surprise and joy.

He had prepared some responses to deal with potential questioning from his uncle. But since his uncle had not shown himself, he naturally wouldn't invite trouble.

Back in his secret chamber, He Yiming took out the notes he had copied and began the familiar routine of scrutinizing every word and phrase.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head, seeming to have grasped something profound.

In truth, understanding these so-called combat skill manuals wasn't overly difficult. But executing them to reach the level described in the books—that was no simple feat.

It was like viewing a painting by an artist: most people could instantly recognize its lifelike quality and exclaim their praise. But asking those same people to reproduce that painting with identical fidelity was a task as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The principle applied equally to all cultivation techniques for practitioners. Achieving the peak state of a Seventh Layer combat skill was far more challenging than that of the Sixth Layer.

Yet, this established rule became entirely void when applied to He Yiming.

In half a day—only half a day—he had completely mastered the Seventh Layer combat skills of the Rolling Stone Fist and the Soft Palm, achieving their peak mastery. Although his inner energy had only just entered the Seventh Layer, preventing him from unleashing their true full power.

However, looking at the two new, deep indentations on the activity wall, He Yiming gained a clear understanding of his own capabilities.

Among the younger generation of He Family Village, his ability was now nearly on par with his elder brother’s.

PS: I was on the rankings during the day, but I've been pushed off now. Looking at the weekly recommendation rankings, I’m only short of a hundred votes to climb back up. Desperate plea to the martial world, brothers, please lend a hand. There will be even more exciting chapters tomorrow. Thank you...