Chapter 24: Breaking the Limits!
Hall of Limits, second room.
Numerous boulders continuously flew without end. If somebody was to step inside the room, they would become the boulders’ prime target of attack. What’s even more crucial was that each of these boulders carried a force behind them of 500 kilograms, not a weight that most Basic Realm practitioners would be able to withstand.
Whoever was able to last in the room for an hour would definitely be regarded as extraordinary. Since the establishment of Martial Hall Palace, the number of people who had been able to last an hour in the second hall was scarce. Those who had managed to overcome it, however, all eventually became people renowned throughout Cloud Margin City, apart from a small number who prematurely met their demise.
This was also why the Hall of Limits would hand out jade plates to those who managed to successfully pass their limits—it was meant to be a form of encouragement. The logic behind this was that Martial Hall Palace was meant to be a place to nurture martial cultivators. If their disciples were strong, then it meant they had a deep foundation and considerable strength. This would bring more benefits to Martial Hall Palace as a whole.
As for those who had managed to last significantly longer than an hour, up till now, there had been none who had accomplished this task. Xiang Shaoyun had already passed the hour mark and was currently in the process of setting the longest time recorded in the second room.
Pow Pow!
Xiang Shaoyun’s fists were covered in fresh blood, his whole body covered with wounds. Although he seemed to be heavily injured, not only was his breath not feeble and weak, it was even more vigorous than before. Piled up near him were bits and pieces of broken boulders, all destroyed with a single fist.
Rushing Qi Fist!
Cloud Splitting Palm!
Two tier-1 battle techniques were being used to the very epitome of perfection, destroying one boulder after the other. Xiang Shaoyun, however, had to pay a price: with his back left fully exposed, boulders had injured him to the point his flesh split.
“I can’t hold on much longer! I have to use my weapon!” Xiang Shaoyun cried out in anguish, finally drawing his Heavy Cleave Saber.
Heavy Cleave Technique!
As the saber drew a beautiful arc like a rainbow, a boulder was destroyed at once. Xiang Shaoyun shuttled back and forth like a butterfly, dodging two consecutive boulders as he sent out two consecutive slashes. Although the slashes seemed rather slow, the amount of strength behind each of the two was well over 500 kilograms. The two boulders were destroyed on the spot.
The main focus of the Heavy Cleave Technique is in its heaviness, every single slash requiring all my strength. Furthermore, I must hit every single time when I use this skill, or it’ll be a sheer waste of a significant bit of my strength, Xiang Shaoyun silently thought to himself.
Xiang Shaoyun continuously grasped the key points of the Heavy Cleave Saber without fail, wielding the saber more proficiently each passing moment. As the number of broken rocks stacked up, the pressure he faced also decreased. As long as his strength could hold out just a bit longer, he could destroy every single boulder within the second room. Unfortunately, he was almost completely out of energy by this point.
If he continued to forcefully hold on, his losses would most certainly outweigh his gains. Not forcing the situation, Xiang Shaoyun retreated while fending off the final few flying boulders. He had finally cleared the second room.
“He’s out! Boss is finally out!” Xia Liuhui was the first to cry out in sheer joy.
Mo Buhui and Mei Lianhua, as well as Lu Xiaoqing, immediately turned to look in the direction of the second limit room. One could only see Xiang Shaoyun completely covered in wounds, trudging over to them step by step.
Seeing this man thoroughly covered from head to toe with injuries, Lu Xiaoqing’s eyes flashed for a moment as her heart began beating quickly all of a sudden. Mei Lianhua was similarly filled with utter astonishment and amazement. Xiang Shaoyun’s wounds only seemed to add to his demeanour, giving him a boundless charm.
A youth who could stay inside the second room for more than an hour, coupled with immense combat prowess and a limitless future—which young lady wouldn’t be moved? At this moment, the overseer suddenly moved. Appearing before Xiang Shaoyun, he flicked a single pill at him and said, “Take this recovery pill. Once you’re somewhat healed, we’ll talk about the rewards.”
Xiang Shaoyun did not hesitate and swallowed the pill at once. The moment the pill entered his mouth, its medical efficacy began to show, flowing through his meridians as it slowly healed all his wounds, making him feel much better.
“Many thanks to the revered overseer!” Xiang Shaoyun spiritedly said to the overseer.
“Haha, you’re welcome. This was prepared for you in the first place. Being able to stay in the second room for a whole extra hour is the longest recorded time in the history of Martial Hall Palace, and you’re only at seventh-stage Basic Realm!” The overseer enthusiastically laughed.
Xiang Shaoyun gnashed his teeth as he said, “I’m merely lucky. Can I ask overseer to give me my points? I wish to go back and recuperate soon. It hurts so much—that damned boulder formation.”
Seeing the state he was in, Lu Xiaoqing was pained and said, “Yes, quickly go back and recover!”
“Shaoyun, do you want me to accompany you back?” Mei Lianhua boldly said. Her way of addressing him had changed, as was painfully obvious to Xia Liuhui, even to Mo Buhui at the side. Through their eyes flashed very complicated emotions.
“Boss, didn’t you say you were going to treat us to a feast at the restaurant?” Xia Liuhui asked. His comment, however, was rather ill timed.
“Do you not have a heart?! Xiang Shaoyun is already hurt to this point, and you still want him to go to the restaurant?” Lu Xiaoqing flared up and glared at Xia Liuhui.
“Indeed. You really have no tact,” Mei Lianhua couldn’t help but add.
Xia Liuhui immediately felt a deep sense of being wronged. He just spoke a tad bit too fast with no malice behind his words.
Xiang Shaoyun waved his hand and said, “This young master does indeed owe you a meal, but I’m afraid that if we go there now, the other customers will be scared out of their wits. I’ll be sure to treat all of you within two days!” He then turned to the overseer to receive his points.
A pleased expression plastered to his face, and the overseer loudly declared, “Since you have broken the Hall of Limits’ second room’s record, you will be given twice the reward! The 2,000 points are all yours!”
The group of Mo Buhui, Xia Liuhui, Mei Lianhua, and Lu Xiaoqing were all visibly moved upon hearing the number of points rewarded. In the outer court especially, 2,000 points was quite a hefty sum. Even the inner court disciples would rarely see such a large pie given to them all at once!
Clearing the Hall of Limits was undoubtedly the fastest way to accumulate points.
“Two thousand points! This was worth it!” Xiang Shaoyun laughed happily before waving goodbye to the bunch of people, heading straight back for his living premises. Although he had taken the healing pill, he lost too much blood in the room and was in a very bad state. If he neglected to heal himself just a bit longer, there would be hidden scars from the ordeal, which would have lasting repercussions for his cultivation.
Most importantly, after experiencing an all-out battle, more of the hidden energy within his body had been forced out. Not wanting to waste even a single bit of it, he had to consolidate all that strength.
Upon returning to his compound, Xiang Shaoyun immediately began and sat cross-legged, spreading the medicinal properties of the pill through his body, from his limbs and bones to his internal organs and viscera. After he finished refining the pill, his injuries all calmed down and stabilized, a sign that he was on a good path to recovery. It was obvious that this was no ordinary pill. It was at the very least a tier-2 pill, if not a tier-3 one. Tier-1 pills would not have such great efficacy.
Xiang Shaoyun sat in silent meditation for a whole day and night, the Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual constantly gathering astral energy within his body. This caused a wave of pure power to rush into the midst of his nine stars. This pure power was in fact squeezed out from Xiang Shaoyun’s body. Nine years of using various solutions and medicines finally showed their worth in this form.
After this round of forcing out his strength, not only did his strength rise to that of peak seventh-stage Basic Realm, his body also became as sturdy as a peak tier-1 weapon, making it extremely difficult for normal weapons to injure him.