"My heavens!"
"Am I losing my mind? A martial artist at the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm actually killed a Xiantian Realm expert across realms. This completely defies all common sense!"
"Where did the Xi Family find such a terrifying monster of talent?"
"He has to be from Sword Hall, or perhaps even from a greater sect!"
After witnessing Zhang Yuanfeng fall beneath Li Yun’s blade, the entire square was plunged into stunned silence. A heartbeat later, that silence shattered into a roaring uproar as shock, disbelief, and awe spread through the crowd.
Yet, standing at the center of it all, Li Yun showed no trace of pride or excitement. His expression remained calm and composed.
He understood very clearly why he had been able to kill Zhang Yuanfeng, a cultivator at the first level of the Xiantian Realm, with such apparent ease.
There were two main reasons.
First, Zhang Yuanfeng had only just broken through to the Xiantian Realm. His Qi had not yet fully stabilized, and his control over it was still crude. As a result, he was unable to display the true combat power that a seasoned first-level Xiantian Realm expert should possess.
If Li Yun had faced an opponent who had remained at the first level of the Xiantian Realm for many years, the battle would certainly not have ended so decisively.
Even with his numerous cultivation arts and martial techniques refined to extremely high levels, he was still only at the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm. The gap between him and a fully matured Xiantian Realm expert was far from negligible.
Second, Zhang Yuanfeng had underestimated him from the very beginning. Upon discovering that Li Yun was only at the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm, he never truly regarded him as a serious threat. From start to finish, he failed to use his full strength. That single moment of carelessness was what ultimately led him to die beneath Li Yun’s sword.
"And I did not even go all out myself," Li Yun muttered silently, deep in thought.
Judging from this battle, he felt that with his current strength, he should already be capable of contending head-on with an experienced first-level Xiantian Realm expert who had fully mastered their Qi.
As Li Yun stood there reflecting on the battle and carefully reviewing its gains and flaws, Xi Luo hurried onto the arena. Concern filled her delicate features as she asked anxiously, "Li Yun, are you alright?"
"I’m fine," Li Yun replied with a gentle smile as he shook his head. "I just used up quite a bit of internal energy." As he spoke, he suppressed the turbulent energy within his body, and a faint pallor crept onto his face. Although the battle with Zhang Yuanfeng had ended quickly, it had drained nearly sixty percent of his internal energy.
At that moment, Xi Dong stepped forward, his face radiant with excitement. "Xi Luo, take Young Master Li back to the Xi Family residence to rest at once. After I finish handling the matters here, I will return immediately and personally host a banquet to thank Young Master Li!"
With Zhang Yuanfeng dead, Xi Dong knew that he had now become the strongest expert in Phoenix Flame City.
From this day onward, the Xi Family would naturally stand as the city’s foremost power. What he had once believed to be an unavoidable disaster had instead turned into an enormous stroke of fortune, and the joy in his heart was impossible to contain.
Yet Xi Dong was very clear about one thing. None of this would have been possible without Li Yun. When he looked at the young man, his eyes were filled with undisguised gratitude.
"There’s no need to be so formal, Xi Family Head," Li Yun said with a helpless smile. "Xi Luo is my friend, so helping her resolve her troubles was only my responsibility. There’s really no need for any banquet of thanks."
"Young Master Li, your friendship with Xi Luo is one matter, and saving the Xi Family is another. These two things cannot be mixed together," Xi Dong replied solemnly. Then, noticing Li Yun’s apparent dislike for grand occasions, he continued, "If Young Master Li does not wish for a banquet, then we will not hold one. However, I must still repay this great kindness. Later, I will prepare a generous gift for Young Master Li."
Li Yun did not object.
"Enough talk for now," Xi Dong said decisively. "Xi Luo, quickly take Young Master Li back to rest."
"Alright," Xi Luo answered softly.
With that, Xi Dong turned and left in a hurry, while Xi Luo, gentle and attentive, led Li Yun back toward his courtyard.
Li Yun sat cross-legged in the quiet courtyard that had been assigned to him, his expression serious as he stared at the system notification floating before his eyes.
[Ding! Quest Completed: "Help the Xi Family"]
[Reward: Primordial Chaos Codex]
"Primordial Chaos Codex?" Li Yun murmured softly. The name alone sounded ancient and immeasurably grand.
Curiosity stirred within him, and he accepted the reward without hesitation. In the next instant, an overwhelming stream of information flooded into his mind, all of it connected to the Primordial Chaos Codex.
"Unbelievable..." Li Yun gasped inwardly, his heart trembling with shock. He had never seen, nor even heard of, a cultivation technique like this. It went far beyond ordinary cultivation arts and completely overturned his understanding of what a cultivation scripture could be.
The Primordial Chaos Codex was less like a single technique and more like a boundless ancient compendium that contained countless profound secrets.
For the moment, Li Yun could only access a single technique, the Ninefold Origin Flesh Scripture.
From its name alone, he immediately understood that it was a body refining cultivation art.
According to the information flooding his mind, the Ninefold Origin Flesh Scripture possessed nine stages and stood at the very pinnacle of all body cultivation arts in the world. The more he read, the more disbelief crept into his expression, until he could no longer contain himself.
"This is simply heaven defying!"
Li Yun was utterly stunned. The scripture stated that anyone who managed to cultivate it all the way to the ninth stage would obtain an undying, immortal body. Such a body would be nearly impossible to destroy, capable of recovering from almost any injury regardless of how severe it was.
The idea sounded absurd, almost unreal.
After the initial shock passed, Li Yun forced himself to calm down. His breathing steadied, but the excitement in his chest only grew stronger.
"This is exactly what I need right now," he said softly, clenching his fists. "The Golden Battle Body Art is powerful, but it is still only a top grade mortal rank technique. It simply cannot compare to the Ninefold Origin Flesh Scripture."
As he continued to process the information, he quickly noticed a crucial restriction. The Ninefold Origin Flesh Scripture could only be cultivated after reaching the Xiantian Realm, as it required a fully formed dantian to function properly.
"That’s fine," Li Yun said after a brief pause, his expression calm and resolute. "This gives me time to prepare."
He was already cultivating the Golden Battle Body Art, and his plan was clear. He intended to push this body refining art to its fourth stage before attempting to cultivate the Ninefold Origin Flesh Scripture.
Li Yun was confident that by the time he reached the Xiantian Realm, he would have already achieved the fourth stage of the Golden Battle Body Art, laying down a solid foundation for what was to come next.
A full day had passed since the life and death battle with Zhang Yuanfeng.
During that entire day, Li Yun remained in the Xi Family’s guest residence, quietly cultivating and refining his martial techniques. Time flowed by in steady silence as he immersed himself in training.
While Li Yun enjoyed rare calm, Phoenix Flame City was anything but peaceful. A violent upheaval had swept through the city like a raging storm.
Over the course of a single night, the Zhang Family, once one of the two supreme powers of Phoenix Flame City, had been completely wiped out by the Xi Family. From that moment onward, the balance of power was shattered. Phoenix Flame City no longer had two dominant factions. The Xi Family now stood alone at the peak.
Li Yun, the true catalyst behind this dramatic change, naturally heard about the outcome. However, he felt little concern. Phoenix Flame City was nothing more than a temporary stop along his journey. Who ruled the city was of no importance to him.
There was only one goal that truly occupied his thoughts. He needed to become the most outstanding disciple of the Martial Ascension Gate and secure the qualification to participate in the Grand Martial Assembly.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
A gentle knock sounded at the door of the guest room.
"Come in," Li Yun said calmly.
He withdrew from his cultivation state, slowly opened his eyes, and turned his attention toward the door.
Creak.
The door opened, and a figure stepped inside. It was Xi Dong, the head of the Xi Family.
In recent days, the Xi Family had risen to become the unrivaled force of Phoenix Flame City, and Xi Dong himself had become the city’s strongest expert. His spirit was high, and ambition burned in his eyes. Even so, he knew better than anyone who had made all of this possible. In front of Li Yun, he showed no trace of arrogance and instead behaved with clear respect.
Xi Dong approached and produced a storage pouch, which he presented with both hands while smiling. "Young Master Li, last night I led our people to seize the Zhang Family’s treasury. We recovered a large number of resources and treasures. The Xi Family was able to eliminate the Zhang Family largely because of you, so it would be wrong for us to keep everything. This pouch contains one tenth of what we obtained, prepared specifically for you."
"I see that the Xi Family Head is quite thoughtful," Li Yun said with a faint smile.
His expression shifted slightly as he considered the gift. With his extraordinary foundation, breaking through realms required far more energy than ordinary martial artists needed. Relying solely on absorbing Qi from the surroundings would never be enough.
Because of this, he accepted the storage pouch without hesitation.
When he opened it, a burst of radiant treasure light spilled into the air. Li Yun could not help but show a trace of surprise.
The Zhang Family truly deserved its reputation as one of Phoenix Flame City’s former ruling powers. Their accumulated wealth was astonishing.
Inside the pouch were close to fifty thousand low grade spirit stones, along with various heaven and earth treasures and medicinal pills ranging from fourth to sixth grade. Altogether, their value exceeded one hundred and twenty thousand low grade spirit stones.
It was an immense fortune. Even with Li Yun’s steady temperament, he could not suppress his shock.
For a brief moment, a dangerous idea surfaced in his mind.
Perhaps, instead of endlessly searching deep mountains and ancient forests for cultivation resources, it would be far more efficient to simply plunder martial families.
Naturally, he dismissed the thought just as quickly. He had no intention of becoming a madman driven solely by power.
"Hm, what is this?" Li Yun suddenly murmured, noticing something unusual.
He reached into the storage pouch and took out two items. When he clearly recognized them, his eyes lit up with unmistakable excitement.
"These are Qi Gathering Pills... and even the pill formula for refining Qi Gathering Pills?"

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