Chapter 17: The Vein Connection Realm

After Wu Qian left, Gu Chen sat in the inner hall, his gaze lowered slightly. With a thought, the panel appeared before his eyes.

Name: Gu Chen

Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Skill (perfection), Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Skill (perfection), Red Flame Palm (perfection), Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bone Fist (great accomplishment)

Inner Skill: Pure Yang Skill

Cultivation: Seventy-two years

Realm: Meridian Cultivation Realm (great perfection)

Power Points: 32

After slaying the demon ghost lurking in the body of the courtesan Yin Yin from Yi Xiang Building and absorbing the soul crystal, Gu Chen gained fourteen points of power. Slaying the demon ghost in the county magistrate Fang Yong's body and absorbing its soul crystal gave Gu Chen eighteen points of power.

Thus, Gu Chen's power points reached thirty-two.

"Enhance!"

With a thought from Gu Chen, eight points of power vanished from the panel, transforming into eight years of inner breath cultivation within his body.

At this moment, although Gu Chen's realm still remained in the Meridian Cultivation Realm, his inner breath cultivation reached a terrifying eighty years.

No one could possess such profound inner breath cultivation in the Meridian Cultivation Realm. It should be known that even some warriors in the Pulse Opening Realm might not have such deep inner breath cultivation as Gu Chen.

Searching across the Nine Provinces in history, it would be difficult to find anyone with such a profound background in the Meridian Cultivation Realm as Gu Chen.

As Gu Chen's inner breath cultivation increased to eighty years, some changes appeared on the panel.

Name: Gu Chen

Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Skill (perfection), Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Skill (perfection), Red Flame Palm (perfection), Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bone Fist (great accomplishment)

Inner Skill: Pure Yang Skill

Cultivation: Eighty years (cannot enhance further)

Realm: Meridian Cultivation Realm (great perfection)

Power Points: 24

"It seems that eighty years of inner breath cultivation is the limit one can reach in the Meridian Cultivation Realm," Gu Chen thought as he looked at the information displayed on the panel.

At this moment, Gu Chen truly felt a sense of fullness. His body was already filled with inner breath, permeating every inch of his flesh, with no space left to accommodate more.

Any realm had its limits. Even with the help of the panel, Gu Chen never thought it realistic to indefinitely enhance within the Meridian Cultivation Realm.

"In that case, let's break through!"

In the next moment, with a thought from Gu Chen, the eighty years of immense inner breath surged within his body, like a long river, rushing towards a certain meridian within him.

Boom!

It was as if a spring thunder echoed in Gu Chen's ears. The first meridian was cleared in an instant, filled with surging inner breath.

But this was only the beginning.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the roars continuously echoed in his ears, one meridian after another was being cleared within Gu Chen's body. With the profound accumulation from the Meridian Cultivation Realm and the immense inner breath of eighty years, Gu Chen continuously broke through eleven meridians in a short time.

When clearing the twelfth meridian, Gu Chen finally felt some resistance and a lack of strength.

Without hesitation, Gu Chen used another ten points of power from the panel, which converted into ten years of inner breath cultivation. His already immense inner breath grew even more.

When Gu Chen's inner breath cultivation reached ninety years, he instantly cleared two more meridians, but then the breakthrough pace slowed again.

"More!"

With a low shout in his heart, Gu Chen used the remaining fourteen points of power from the panel, which converted into fourteen years of inner breath cultivation.

Thus, Gu Chen's inner breath exceeded the crucial threshold, reaching an astonishing one hundred and four years.

Boom!

With the last few loud roars, Gu Chen broke through several more meridians. The immense, surging inner breath flowed freely in sixteen meridians. Gu Chen felt an unprecedented power.

Then, Gu Chen tried to open the seventeenth meridian, but his current sixteen meridians seemed to be his limit. After several futile attempts, Gu Chen gave up.

He focused his attention back on the panel.

Name: Gu Chen

Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Skill (perfection), Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Skill (perfection), Red Flame Palm (perfection), Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bone Fist (great accomplishment)

Inner Skill: Pure Yang Skill

Cultivation: One hundred and four years

Realm: Pulse Opening Realm (initial stage)

Power Points: 0

"Sixteen meridians... the initial stage of the Pulse Opening Realm?" Gu Chen looked thoughtfully at the information displayed on the panel.

The Pulse Opening Realm, the fourth realm of martial arts, required warriors in the Meridian Cultivation Realm to reach the limit of their body's inner breath, then open their meridians to further enhance their physique and accommodate more inner breath.

Depending on the number of meridians opened, the Pulse Opening Realm had different levels.

This realm was a watershed in the martial arts of the Nine Provinces. The more meridians cleared in the Pulse Opening Realm, the stronger the foundation and the deeper the accumulation, leading to greater potential in the future.

Generally, opening eighteen meridians allowed the inner breath to be released externally, reaching the fifth realm of martial arts, the External Breath Realm.

Thus, opening eighteen meridians was the minimum threshold for breaking through the Pulse Opening Realm.

The ultimate limit of the Pulse Opening Realm was fifty-six meridians. However, this was an unattainable number, rarely reached even once in a century.

It should be known that opening more than twenty meridians in the Pulse Opening Realm was considered a small talent. Clearing more than thirty meridians made one a genius in the Nine Provinces. Opening more than forty meridians was even more terrifying, marking one as extraordinary, destined to be famous and among the top figures in the Nine Provinces.

Clearing fifty meridians was so rare that it might not happen in an entire era.

Presently, Gu Chen had cleared sixteen meridians, which was only a beginning.

Having been reborn and with the panel's help, Gu Chen was not content with ordinary achievements. His primary goal in the Pulse Opening Realm was to reach the ultimate number of fifty-six meridians.

For others, this might seem nearly impossible, but not for Gu Chen.

Besides, his current body's innate talent was not poor.

Then, Gu Chen stepped out of the inner hall to find it was already bright outside. He called a constable to buy some food for him from the street. After washing up and eating breakfast, Wu Qian arrived at the yamen as scheduled.

Following their previous arrangement, the two set off and left the county yamen, heading to the Fang family.

At this moment, the Fang family's estate was draped in mourning white, sorrowful cries could be heard faintly.

Originally, after much deliberation last night, Gu Chen still had Fang Yong's body sent back to the Fang family by Wu Qian's men, along with a brief explanation.

Fang Yong had served as the county magistrate in Ning City for twelve years. The Fang family was a major family here with many members, and Fang Yong was their core, so his death was a tremendous blow, akin to the sky falling.

At the entrance, two servants in mourning clothes stood guard. Seeing Gu Chen and Wu Qian, they stepped forward and blocked their way with hostile expressions.

"Wherever you came from, go back," one of them said. "The Fang family is closed to visitors today."