The winter in Taicang County was crisp and sweetly moist, and as dawn broke, the familiar roars of the third generation disciples practicing their morning drills echoed across the back courtyard grounds of the He Family Estate.

In a quiet corner of the estate, within the row of courtyards housing the third generation, a large gate slid open silently. A figure flashed past like a phantom, instantly standing motionless in the center of the yard.

He Yiming looked up at the sky, letting out a long breath that condensed into a white mist in the morning air.

Five months had passed since he last killed Hu Bin. During these five months, He Yiming had not stepped outside, remaining in complete seclusion in his room for the entire duration.

Of course, his cultivation was far from reaching the realm where one could forgo worldly sustenance; it merely meant that all his needs—eating, drinking, sleeping, and answering nature’s call—were taken care of within his room, with servants assigned to clean up afterward.

This was the greatest advantage of being a scion of an established family during cultivation; a poor household could never afford such ease.

Five months of diligent practice had propelled He Yiming’s strength forward by leaps and bounds. He had once again reached the peak of the Seventh Layer of Inner Strength and was now brushing against the very barrier of this layer.

To speak of such speed would have been incredible and unbelievable. However, He Yiming had grown numb to the string of so-called miracles that had occurred around him, so when he attained this level, he accepted it with profound calmness, rather than the panic he felt previously.

Naturally, adhering to his lifelong habit, he kept this news a secret from everyone, even his own parents.

During these five months, He Yiming’s greatest harvest wasn't just his Inner Strength cultivation; the Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting had also brought him immense surprise.

This set of techniques was not limited to hand strikes. The secret manual explicitly stated that regardless of whether one wielded a broadsword or a long axe, the thirty-six forms could be adapted to either weapon.

He Yiming tested this in his secret chamber and found he was not disappointed; the technique could indeed be utilized whether barehanded or armed. The text specifically mentioned, however, that if this technique were employed in battle with a heavy axe, the wielder would undoubtedly be unmatched, allowing the power to be displayed to its utmost limit.

Yet, the mere thought of the heavy axe’s weight and the internal energy consumption required to execute the forms with such a weapon caused He Yiming to automatically dismiss that particular passage.

During this period, what he practiced most was integrating the six forms he had already mastered into his palm techniques and sword arts. Logically, reaching this stage required more than mere diligent, isolated study. Without considerable combat experience and repeated practice, flaws would inevitably surface in certain aspects.

But inexplicably, He Yiming succeeded. He flawlessly integrated those six forms into his personal fighting skills and Inner Strength. The process was not complex; like everything else before, it unfolded naturally, as if by water finding its own level.

The smoothness of the entire process left even He Yiming himself deeply puzzled. However, having developed a thicker skin, he accepted the event as a matter of course, unsurprised.

After all, for a youth who could break through an Inner Strength barrier twice in a single year, what sort of cultivation miracle could possibly still warrant shock?

Having learned from his previous breakthrough, as soon as He Yiming reached the peak of the Seventh Layer, he immediately left his seclusion chamber and headed toward the Scripture Pavilion.

Hearing the sounds of morning practice from the back courtyard on the way, he felt a wave of emotion. In less than a year, he had transformed from a Fifth Layer disciple who had to join the morning drills to a cultivator now touching the edge of the Eighth Layer. This journey truly felt like a dream, impossible to fully comprehend.

He composed himself, bypassed the back courtyard, and entered the Scripture Pavilion.

Every time he entered this grand compound, he could sense two pairs of eyes sweeping over him. These gazes naturally belonged to his elder uncle and the old retainer who guarded the estate.

Their duty was to guard the Pavilion, yet they did not restrict third-generation disciples who had reached the Sixth Layer from entering and exiting—a fact He Yiming appreciated most.

Familiar with the layout, he moved into the Scripture Pavilion, closed his eyes again, and casually walked up to a bookshelf, pulling out a manual at random.

Opening his eyes, he first glanced at the shelf and froze momentarily, before letting out a wry smile. He had somehow ended up in front of the Earth Element bookshelf. Shaking his head slightly, he flipped open the manual, his smile growing even more bitter.

Breath Retention Technique: An auxiliary manual for Earth Element Inner Strength.

This manual was very similar to the common Turtle Breathing Art, both being auxiliary methods designed to control bodily functions and mimic animal hibernation.

It was akin to the Tough Hide Art, the Wood Element auxiliary skill he had selected last time. The function of such a skill offered little help in raising Inner Strength levels; it was only useful in certain specialized situations. For the vast majority of cultivators, it was largely a superfluous technique.

But since he had picked this one, He Yiming decided to take fate as it came. His goal was not to cultivate a new primary Inner Strength technique but simply to find something new to practice while attempting to break through the next barrier.

After hastily transcribing the thin Breath Retention Technique, He Yiming hesitated for a long moment, then pulled out the Rolling Stone Fist and Tender Palm manuals once more, extracting the techniques pertaining to the Eighth Layer.

If his calculations were correct, these two sets of forms would soon prove useful.

Finishing his transcription and tidying everything away, He Yiming quickly departed. He did not go to pay respects to his elder uncle, He Quanxin; showing the old man the copied secret manuals he carried would likely only earn him a lecture.

Back in his private chamber, He Yiming finally relaxed.

He took out the Breath Retention Technique and began to slowly dissect its meaning. He Yiming was now a cultivator at the peak of the Seventh Layer of Inner Strength, undoubtedly the leading figure among the younger generation of the He Family Estate.

The Breath Retention Technique was merely an auxiliary Inner Strength skill among the Earth Element arts, one that could be cultivated once Inner Strength reached the Fifth Layer. Naturally, it posed no real challenge to He Yiming.

Half an hour later, he had firmly memorized its contents. He then set the book aside and began circulating the required pathways of the technique.

Although this was his first time practicing this auxiliary skill, He Yiming was filled with confidence, and reality did not disappoint him. In just one hour, he had successfully mastered the auxiliary technique completely.

Executing the technique as required by the Breath Retention Technique, He Yiming’s breathing immediately ceased, and even his body temperature seemed to drop.

If He Wude had witnessed the speed of his progress in mastering this art, he would have been astonished. In a mere hour, He Yiming had brought this technique to its peak standard. When fully deployed, the control over breath, heartbeat, and skin responses reached an exceptionally high level—even He Wude himself could achieve little more.

However, He Yiming’s focus was not truly on this technique. After successfully mastering it, he immediately shifted to cultivating the Primal Chaos Force, building up his Inner Strength until it hit the absolute apex of the Seventh Layer, then abruptly driving it toward the meridians of the Eighth Layer.

As if a drop of water eroding a stone, an infinitesimally small crack appeared in the seemingly unbreakable barrier of the Seventh Layer.

This opening was minuscule, allowing only the finest thread of Inner Strength to force its way through.

But, a dike spanning a thousand miles can collapse due to a single ant hole.

Because of this small breach, the massive reservoir of Inner Strength He Yiming had accumulated at the junction of the Eighth Layer meridians finally found an outlet. An endless stream of Inner Strength poured through this tiny opening into the new meridians, and under the relentless impact of this surge, the small crack began to widen.

Finally, the Inner Strength, which had reached its saturation point, burst forth like a tidal wave, smashing through all the obstructing blockages. The vast Inner Strength churned and flowed within the Eighth Layer meridians, as if crying out with unrestrained joy.

He Yiming’s body began to tremble gently. He silently felt the vibrations within his meridians, his physical form instinctively matching the rhythm of the oscillation.

His heart was flooded with elation—the genuine delight that arises from ascending to a higher plane.

The Eighth Layer. He had crossed the Seventh Layer peak and that final Inner Strength barrier so effortlessly, surpassing He Yitian, the foremost among the third generation of the He Family Estate, to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with his father and third uncle.

Though He Yiming had only just advanced to the Eighth Layer of Inner Strength, he was confident that if he fought his father or third uncle in a fair contest, he would ultimately be the victor.

This confidence stemmed from the possession of a peculiar battle art: the Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting.

The destructive power of this technique was extraordinary, far beyond that of ordinary battle arts. He Yiming had a distinct feeling that simply by employing this technique, he could challenge those of a higher realm. Furthermore, against opponents of the same level, if they possessed no counter-techniques capable of rivaling it, he would be utterly invincible among his peers.

He took up the water-element Ripple Technique again, and this time, it felt even easier. The Eighth Layer of the Ripple Technique was achieved almost as a matter of course, without the slightest sense of obstruction.

He Yiming then stood up and practiced the Eighth Layer forms of the Rolling Stone Fist and Tender Palm, along with the Seventh and Eighth forms of the Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting, several times over.

In the span of a single day, he had fully mastered every secret manual he intended to study. Such speed caused even He Yiming, who was accustomed to rapid progress, to feel a profound sense of awe once more.

P.S.: I’ve been utterly disorganized these past few days; my phone ran out of credit and was suspended—I’m speechless! If any friends sent messages yesterday, they wouldn't have shown up, sigh... My apologies, my apologies. Also, wishing all my friends a Happy New Year again ^_^