...…
Two more days passed, and the day had finally arrived.
The day when Azmodeus would attempt his breakthrough into the 1st Stage of Qi Condensation!
Just twenty-four hours ago, he had successfully fought the old dude Sect Leader to a standstill while still in the Half-Step Qi Condensation Realm. Although he was confident that he could narrowly defeat the Sect Leader, Azmodeus wasn't willing to settle for a marginal win.
He craved an overwhelming victory! One that would leave the old dude utterly defeated and unable to ever recover from!
WAAA!
A faint blue energy swirled around the young boy's figure as he was engrossed in cultivating inside a small shed. He had already reached the point where he could begin sensing Qi.
Right now, he was trying to condense all of the Qi stored inside his Dantian, transforming it into something called a 'Qi Cyclone.'
_____
The Qi Condensation Major Realm was divided into twelve Minor Realms.
To break through into the Qi Condensation Realm, one had to absorb a sufficient amount of Qi into their Dantian until it reached a critical mass where they could begin redirecting all that Qi into forming a Qi Cyclone.
Qi Cyclones.
These were the only indicators that one could use to determine the progress within the Qi Condensation Realm, marking the stages of advancement.
The 12 Minor Realms in the Qi Condensation Realm were as follows:
1st Stage Qi Condensation Realm → [1 Cyclone sitting inside your Dantian Space and around your Dantian.]
2nd Stage Qi Condensation Realm → [2 Cyclones sitting inside your Dantian Space and around your Dantian.]
3rd Stage Qi Condensation Realm → [3 Cyclones sitting inside your Dantian Space and around your Dantian.]
This trend followed until the Twelfth Qi Condensation Realm, which was:
12th Stage Qi Condensation Realm → [12 Cyclones sitting inside your Dantian Space and around your Dantian.]
_____
WAAA!
Powerful blue energies continued swirling around within the interior of a small hut in the depths of the Yang Forest. Inside, a boy stood on the verge of accomplishing something that only a handful in Spirit River City had ever achieved!
"I am close… but still not there just yet," Azmodeus muttered, his brows furrowed in concentration.
He could feel that his breakthrough was just within his reach, yet at the same time, it remained frustratingly distant.
However, there was something that he assumed would help him get through this bottleneck.
Or rather, several things…
BING! BING!
Hundreds of Lowest and Low-Quality Pills poured onto the ground from his storage ring, and with a voracious hunger, Azmodeus began to devour them all like a human vacuum!
_____
After a few minutes, the breakthrough finally made itself known!
WAAA!
Various Qi energies transformed into a chaotic maelstrom of elements, tossing everything inside the small shed all around!
There was no end to the numerous elements that bombarded Azmodeus from all sides, dragging both him and his Dantian Space through an intense storm.
It felt as if, at any moment, both he and the hut would be torn apart by the ferocious Qi, pushing him to the brink of achieving something truly spectacular!
Just as it seemed that the shed might be destroyed, the Qi storm abruptly dispersed, and from within its remnants, the young boy emerged.
His shirt was gone, revealing his flawless skin and slight signs of a muscular physique.
"I knew consuming all my remaining pills would do the job just fine," Azmodeus smiled in satisfaction. His new divine sense swept through his Dantian Space.
Inside, he saw a large bluish-gray sphere, his Dantian, surrounded by a spiraling mass of condensed Qi moving in a circular motion.
"This should be the Dantian and the Qi Cyclone, which means I have successfully broken through into a stage considered a myth in Spirit River City…"
He didn't know how to feel about this information as he was overjoyed. But for some odd reason, something was telling him it still wasn't good enough…
'This is no time to become complacent, for this is just the beginning… If I become all excited over a minor breakthrough like this, then I might as well open myself up for an enemy attack.'
His expression hardened as he stood up from the lotus position and walked out of his house, heading toward the nearby creek.
The breakthrough had resulted in several impurities being expelled from his body, leaving him covered in a bunch of nasty and grimy substances from head to toe.
_____
A few minutes later.
Azmodeus finished washing off all the grime and was now putting on his set of purple and gold robes, specially designed for him.
Though he initially didn't want to wear such ostentatious clothing, after constant nagging from his master telling him about 'upholding face as the Sect Leader's sole disciple,' he was left with no choice but to wear them.
Over time, they had grown on him enough that he wore them even when his master wasn't hounding him.
Step, Step, Step.
He made his way through the Yang Forest, heading to the highest point of the Yang Sect — the residence of the Sect Leader.
"…"
"…"
"…"
Everyone whispered as he passed by them with a confident stride, but he could hardly care about the opinions of those beneath him. He continued on his way to his destination.
He was aware of his growing pride, a side effect of his superior Traits. But in the end, it didn't apply to anyone other than strangers, so it wasn't even worth fretting over in his opinion.
After all, even though Yang Hua was far weaker, she was treated like a spoiled little princess by him. She brought home the bacon, so maybe that had something to do with his easygoing attitude when he was around her...
Even so, this newfound 'pride' seemed to only apply to strangers and those whom he held in low regard — people such as Yang Xiao and his father.
Speaking of those two, occasionally, they would come by and try to apologize for their behavior. But nothing they said was even registered by Azmodeus's ears as his relationship with scum was immaterial to him.
And then there was the Black Tiger Family. In the beginning, even after learning of his identity as the Sect Leader's Disciple, still had the nerve to send out their strongest elders to kill him in broad daylight!
But, of course, all their attempts turned futile. They couldn't even last half a second before their heads slid off their shoulders, becoming a part of Azmodues's strength.
The Black Tiger Lord was infuriated at these actions but was powerless and there was nothing he could do…
After all, he was merely of the Peak 100% Tempering Marrow Stage, while the monstrous boy's backer already stood in the 1st Stage of Qi Condensation.
This was all to say that for the last couple of days, everything had been relatively peaceful — almost too peaceful…
Despite that, today was a good day for Azmodeus. He planned to go back and shove his accolades in that old bastard's face!
Or, at least, that was how he originally envisioned the day would go. But fate often deals its cruelest hand to those who deserve it the least…
.....