Spiritual energy surged and roiled, like dark clouds churning across the vast sky or towering waves crashing against the shore; its power was ferocious, seemingly intent on tearing apart every meridian and acupoint within Nie Kong’s body.

“Boom!”

Amidst a violent, resonant shock, the vibration frequency of the three Spiritual God Acupoints grew ever more rapid, sending a tearing, agonizing pain radiating from the core of the orifices. Instantly, this intense sensation spread throughout his entire body, the sharp agony rising in waves that caused Nie Kong’s skin to tremble incessantly.

Drops of sweat, large as beans, streamed out from every pore, quickly gathering on his back and chest to form a small rivulet that thoroughly soaked a large patch of the sheet beneath him.

“Hoo!”

“Hoo!”

Nie Kong’s breathing became heavy and hurried; what exhaled from his nostrils no longer seemed like stale internal air, but two streams of scorching fire.

Gradually, Nie Kong’s skin turned a deep crimson.

A wave of intense heat radiated outward from Nie Kong’s body, causing the temperature in the room to feel as though it had risen several degrees.

The humming sound of the golden needles grew louder.

Nie Kong remained silent, yet the speed at which he manipulated the Heavenly Needles between his right thumb and forefinger only increased, showing no apparent reaction to the changes wracking his frame. However, the bulging veins, the tautness of his body, and the jaw clenched tight enough to crush bone all betrayed the immense suffering he was currently enduring.

Nie Kong had not anticipated this outcome.

After sensing that invisible barrier within the acupoints, Nie Kong had been certain that the spiritual energy contained within the Zushao Yang Gall Bladder Meridian and the Zujue Yin Liver Meridian would be sufficient to support his breakthrough. But as that energy began to dissolve and dissipate, Nie Kong realized, with a chilling certainty, that the spiritual reserves were slightly lacking.

Insufficient spiritual power meant this entire endeavor would culminate in failure. Seeing how infinitesimally close he was to achieving the Ninth Grade of Spirit Gathering, Nie Kong could not possibly yield now.

Furthermore, he had boasted confidently to Nie Qingfeng and Nie Qinghong that very afternoon that he would reach the Ninth Grade tonight. News of this declaration would surely spread; if he remained at the Eighth Grade tomorrow, he would effectively be shooting himself in the foot, tarnishing the image he had painstakingly cultivated.

Thus, Nie Kong made an instantaneous decision: he intensified the stimulation upon the Nine Hidden Acupoints, continually increasing both the amplitude and frequency of the meridians’ expansion and contraction beyond their initial levels. This action ensured that when the spiritual energy flowed through the meridians to the three Spiritual God Acupoints, the resulting impact would be far more formidable.

At this juncture, Nie Kong had surpassed the absolute limit his physical body could withstand. Ultimately, this weakness stemmed from the body’s artificial modification through medicinal means; having never undergone prolonged refinement, his current physical shell was even inferior to the uninitiated body he possessed in his previous life, before it had been washed clean by spiritual power.

Otherwise, the pain would not be this excruciating. Yet, as the saying went, a sharp sword is forged through grinding, and plum blossoms derive their fragrance from the bitter cold; how could one see the rainbow without enduring the storm?

Nie Kong could only grit his teeth and push through.

“Ugh.”

Several minutes later, Nie Kong’s body convulsed violently, and he finally couldn't suppress a muffled groan escaping his nose. Tiny specks of crystalline red began seeping from the pores of his skin.

That was not sweat; it was blood!

Nie Kong distinctly felt minute fissures appearing in his internal meridians; some smaller blood vessels were beginning to rupture outright. Under the effect of the Nine Revolutions Golden Needle Technique, Nie Kong’s sensory perception had been dramatically amplified, allowing him to clearly “witness” the entire process of the meridians cracking and the vessels bursting.

The resulting agony instantly multiplied severalfold.

His forehead, his arms, his thighs… veins bulged and writhed, thick and knotted like monstrous, fat earthworms desperately trying to burrow out from beneath the surface.

Nie Kong’s teeth ground together with a loud, audible clicking. He focused his awareness on the status of the three Spiritual God Acupoints in his Dantian—they were now right on the verge of breaking through. Almost there! Just a little more!

At this critical moment, the spiritual energy began to wane again, unable to keep pace.

So close!

Nie Kong suddenly hardened his resolve. His right thumb and forefinger paused momentarily, as his little, ring, and middle fingers swiftly brushed over the slender golden needles.

“Zing!”

The golden needles in the eight major hidden acupoints—including the Sea of Heart, Jade Brightness, Heavenly Palace, and Black Court—rang out sharply in unison. His internal meridians pulsed as if injected with a powerful stimulant, and the final surge of spiritual power within the Zushao Yang Gall Bladder Meridian and Zujue Yin Liver Meridian was forcibly elevated by another full tier.

Hiss hiss hiss hiss…

Countless thin crimson lines shot out from his pores, speckling the surrounding sheets, furniture, and floor with tiny drops of blood.

“CRASH!”

Like a comet striking the earth, that wave of spiritual energy plunged into the acupoints with an unyielding momentum. Amidst a deafening resonance, the hard-won invisible barrier shattered completely.

“Ninth Grade of Spirit Gathering.”

That feeling of sudden liberation and near-ethereal bliss lasted only a moment before Nie Kong let out a long, exhausted breath, the weariness sweeping over him like a tide, leaving him instantly slumped and weak.

However, this was not the time for rest. The lacerations and pain in his ruptured meridians and fine blood vessels had not vanished with the breakthrough. The most urgent task now was healing; should he delay until morning, the difficulty in repairing those veins and fissures would increase geometrically.

The speed of his finger-rolling on the Heavenly Needles gradually slowed, allowing the internal state of Nie Kong’s body to stabilize. A few minutes later, Nie Kong’s movements slowly began to quicken again.

Second turn, third turn, fourth turn, fifth turn…

After nearly two hours, Nie Kong brought the Nine Revolutions Golden Needle Technique to its fifth rotation before the nine golden needles finally settled down. When using the Nine Revolutions Golden Needles for self-treatment, the higher the number of revolutions performed, the more severe the injury indicated. Five full cycles were a procedure Nie Kong had only employed twice, even in his former life.

The sixth turn represented the absolute limit his past self could execute; as for the seventh, eighth, and final ninth turns, Nie Kong knew the method but had never dared attempt them. After all, the further one progressed, the greater the internal expenditure; with his prior physical constitution, attempting those levels would inevitably result in immediate unconsciousness.

“Heh…”

Only after his right thumb, forefinger, and the nine golden needles had completely ceased motion, and the residual resonance had entirely faded, did Nie Kong open his eyes and exhale deeply.

Removing the needles one by one, Nie Kong glanced at his body, now slick with foul blood, but he paid it no mind. Concentrating his spirit inward, a smile slowly spread across his face.

At this moment, Nie Kong’s meridians were extraordinarily wide—nearly five times the width of a normal person’s. The three Spiritual God Acupoints had also expanded considerably, allowing them to contain far greater quantities of spiritual energy. A significant portion of these improvements stemmed directly from the agony he had endured tonight. Had he achieved the breakthrough smoothly, as in the past, the width of his fully cleared meridians would have been considered excellent if it reached three times the norm; now, it was a full five times!

The Celestial Spirit Continent possessed no concept of meridians, yet spiritual cultivation was intrinsically linked to them at every step. Thus, Spirit Masters typically used one term to describe the condition of one's meridians: "Body Clarity." The wider the meridians, the higher the degree of Clarity, which signified a Spirit Master’s superior innate talent. However, this Clarity was considered innate and immutable by post-natal means.

Moreover, the various spiritual techniques on the Celestial Spirit Continent primarily trained the "Three Spiritual God Acupoints"; one only needed to meet the lowest standard of Body Clarity to begin practicing spiritual energy. Beyond that foundational requirement, the higher the Clarity, the better, as it directly reflected the cultivation speed of each Spirit Master.

By Nie Kong’s estimation, meridians naturally 1.5 times the size of an average person were suitable for cultivation; reaching twice that was considered very good; three times marked a genius; four times indicated a supreme genius like Nie Fenglei. As for five times, that was the level of a “genius among geniuses”—exceedingly rare.

“A genius among geniuses.”

Nie Kong let out a foolish chuckle as a powerful wave of exhaustion washed over him. His body went rigid, and he collapsed straight onto the bed, soon followed by the soft sound of snoring echoing faintly in the room…

…