Chapter 9 Bottleneck

Tang San's mood hadn't been good lately. The reason was simple, two years had gone by, and his Mysterious Heaven Method hadn't broken through to the Fourth Rank.

He had thought that by the age of seven, at the latest, he should have been able to break through to the Fourth Rank. However, when he reached the peak of the Third Stage in his cultivation, he found himself hitting a bottleneck. This bottleneck seemed to be not so much due to his own issues, but rather some sort of oppressive force within the Falan World.

It seemed that advancing from the Third Stage to the Fourth Stage was going to be difficult.

Tang San had been cultivating and accumulating energy diligently, yet he was still unable to break through this layer of suppression. Two years had passed, he was eight years old now, yet still at the peak of the Third Rank. Moreover, it seemed that the power he had accumulated couldn't help him to make that breakthrough.

He was now very proficient with Leopard Flash and Wind Blade, but their power hadn't increased with his growing Mysterious Heaven Skill Cultivation. It was as if they were two fixed skills. This also caused all of his abilities to hit a bottleneck.

This situation brought with it a major issue, which was the loss of a pathway to advancement, and without a pathway to rise, he could only continue to grow as he was. What could he do with the strength of the peak of the Third Stage? He was still a weak existence in this world.

Tang San knew that he had to take some risks and make attempts.

Today, his job was to transport trees.

In the village, he helped the adults to carry the trees that the grown men had felled, using a cart to transport them to the town.

There were seven of them, children, helping four adults to transport this cartload of wood.

The adults were in front, pulling the cart with ropes, while they were pushing from behind.

The stony path was relatively smooth, and the cart wasn't too fast. The grown men in front had all put their backs into it, moving forward step by step rhythmically.

Wind Wolf Town, Tang San had been there a few times before. The town was populated with members of the Wolf Monster Race, specifically the Wind Wolf Tribe. The Wind Wolf Lord resided in the largest house at the center of the town.

Over a thousand members of the Wind Wolf Tribe lived in Wind Wolf Town, surrounded by seven human slave villages serving as their slaves, working for them, sustaining them.

The Wind Wolf were carnivorous. Periodically, the human slaves would also become their food. Of course, there were other livestock used for food as well.

Relatively speaking, the Wind Wolf were among those in the Monster Race who had less of an interest in eating humans, so the likelihood of humans being consumed here was somewhat lower.

It wasn't that the Wind Wolf were particularly compassionate; rather, they viewed human labor as being more valuable to them.

As Tang San pushed the cart, he observed the town. In truth, he suspected that his inability to break through and the emergence of the bottleneck were highly likely due to the Mysterious Heaven Method he practiced being at odds with the rules of this world, hence the suppression. With his current power, naturally, it was impossible to break free from the constraints of the world's rules.

Such rules were generally brought about by the plane master in an intangible way. As a once First-Generation God King, his understanding of this was crystal clear.

Having lived here for eight years, though he had never left Wind Wolf Town, there was one thing he was certain of, the spirituality of heaven and earth in this world was extremely dense, which meant the entire plane was powerful. Such a powerful plane's peak existence must also be incredibly strong, definitely beyond deity level in his original world. Therefore, the plane master of this plane, the planet itself, must also be incredibly powerful.

Through previous interactions with Zhu Jiaxin and the absorption of the Wind Clan's wind-type bloodline energy, he had a vague feeling that his Mysterious Heaven Method seemed to have the ability to devour the powers of this world. Perhaps, the very reason he was suppressed by the rules was because of this.

To break through, relying solely on the Mysterious Heaven Method would be very difficult. He needed to find another way. From his perspective as a God King, the most direct method was to be recognized by the plane master of this world, to be accepted by the rules.

Plane masters are often intangible beings, and all rules set for the plane serve to protect the masters themselves, avoiding any disruption of balance. As such, Tang San couldn't think of a better way to continue breaking through than to strengthen his power in this world. He needed to conceal his Mysterious Heaven Method as much as possible to reduce the rules' sensing and suppression of him. By doing so, finding an opportunity for a sudden breakthrough would allow him to continue his cultivation.

His observation of Wind Wolf Town was an attempt to take a risk. Now the best way to enhance his ability in this plane was to strengthen the Wind Wolf Tribe abilities he already possessed or the Leopard Flash ability.

Leopard Flash definitely left no trace to be found, but Wind Wolf Town was filled with members of the Wind Wolf Tribe. His plan was to find a suitable Wind Wolf, preferably a Third Stage one, and try to incapacitate them instead of killing them. Then he would see if he could extract their bloodline power with his Mysterious Heaven Method to enhance his Wind Blade Ability. If successful, he would observe whether the Wind Wolf, stripped of its Power of the Wind Wolf Bloodline, could recover it. If they could, it would be an excellent disguise for him; his Wind Blade power would continue to improve, and his own Wind Wolf Bloodline would become more concentrated, which he could then use to break through the Mysterious Heaven Method's bottleneck.

This was a plan Tang San developed after much deliberation. With his Leopard Flash ability, Wind Blade ability, and the Mysterious Heaven Method at the Third Stage peak, he was confident in ambushing a Wind Wolf.

As they walked on, the wooden cart suddenly halted, causing the children behind it to react instinctively, their bodies jolting. The smallest of the children even fell on their bottom due to the recoil.

Tang San quickly controlled his strength, not pushing forcefully, and mimicked the reactions of the other children.

The grown man leading them stopped walking, looking in a particular direction.

From the side, Tang San could see that their gazes held something akin to envy.

It's important to note that these human slaves, raised from childhood, are generally numb, rarely speaking. Occasions when they showed different emotions were very rare.

Following their gaze, Tang San saw a few people posting an announcement not far away.

Indeed, those posting the announcement were humans. However, compared to these slaves, their clothes were at least clean and tidy.

Tang San's eyes narrowed slightly as he activated his Purple Demon Eyes to see more clearly.

The announcement stated that a bloodline selection would take place in three days. Slaves from the villages who possessed the Wind Wolf Bloodline could come to be tested. Those who passed the test would be allowed to live in Wind Wolf Town and undergo vassal training.

A mixed-blood selection?

Tang San immediately understood.

He would come to Wind Wolf Town for work, but this was the first time he'd seen such an announcement. Without a doubt, those humans posting the announcements were also vassals of the Wind Wolf Tribe, possessing some degree of the Wind Wolf Bloodline, elevating them above the ordinary slaves. At least, they were no longer slaves.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but think about adjusting his plan.

Remaining a slave was good cover but also problematic, as it meant too little contact with the world.

Without ample contact, he wouldn't be able to feel more or access the real resources of the world. The bloodline selection in Wind Wolf Town was undoubtedly an opportunity.

And for humans, if there was any remnant of self-respect among the slaves, they should understand the immense insult this represented.

What kind of humans could possibly have the Wind Wolf Bloodline? It certainly indicated mixed blood. What does a mixed heritage imply? It necessarily means that offspring were born from relations between members of the Wind Wolf Clan, the Wolf Monsters, and humans. In this world, humans have no right to be companions of the Monster Race, which means they are merely objects for venting bestial lusts.