Night had fallen, and in the distance, the Nirvana Tower stood silent against the darkness.

He hadn’t seen Dongfang Zhen or Zhang Daoxuan at all in the last three days. ’They must be training like mad inside the tower, vying for the chief’s position.’

Lin Ye could only suppress his questions and head back to his dorm for now.

「The next day.」

Before dawn, Lin Ye arrived at the empty Martial Arts Hall half an hour early and waited quietly.

Before long, Lin Hanshan appeared, right on time.

"What is it?"

Lin Hanshan asked, looking at the student who had arrived even earlier than he had.

"Mr. Lin, I’ve already formed the vortex."

Lin Ye got straight to the point.

Lin Hanshan’s half-closed eyes suddenly flew wide open!

He took a sudden step forward, giving Lin Ye no time to react, and placed a hand on the boy’s right wrist.

A few seconds later, Lin Hanshan snatched his hand back as if he’d been burned.

An indescribable shock was written all over his face.

He had actually sensed a vortex! It was faint, but it was undeniably spinning slowly and absorbing Innate Qi.

’It... It’s only been three days!’

’Even a typical genius would need at least half a month to go from Meridian Opening Perfection to forming a vortex!’

’What kind of monster is this kid?’

"You..."

Lin Hanshan opened his mouth, only to find that he was at a loss for words.

Finally, he took a deep breath, forcibly calming his turbulent emotions and regaining his usual, impassive demeanor.

"You’re here to ask what to do next, is that right?"

Lin Ye nodded.

Lin Hanshan pondered for a moment before speaking slowly. "Since you have completed the first step, I will now explain the second."

"You’ve already mastered the art of purification—winnowing the chaff from the wheat, simplifying the complex. Your next task is to draw upon the source for refinement, undergo a qualitative transformation, and achieve unity."

Lin Hanshan’s voice echoed through the empty Martial Arts Hall, carrying a profound weight that seemed to point directly to the origin of all power.

"The Innate Qi in your body, while exceptionally pure, has yet to undergo a qualitative transformation and breakthrough."

"Your next step is to continuously absorb the source energy of heaven and earth, using it to further compress and purify your Innate Qi. You must continue until it gives birth to true Primordial Gang Sha, completing the metamorphosis from Qi and Blood into a higher form of energy."

"During this process, most Martial Artists will selectively absorb source energy that matches their natural affinity for a specific attribute."

"Take Dongfang Zhen, for example. He was born with an extremely high affinity for the Thunder Attribute, so he absorbs the world’s Thunder Source Energy. The Primordial Gang Sha he ultimately forms is, therefore, also of the Thunder Attribute."

At this, Lin Hanshan’s tone shifted, and his gaze grew sharp.

"The Tai Xu Two Principles True Understanding you practice emphasizes a balance of yin and yang. However, after entering the Gang Condensation Realm, you must make a choice: select either yin or yang as your primary focus, and the other as secondary."

"This will be the foundation for liquefying your Gang Sha in the future and even for your push into the Divine Realm. One wrong step now means every step after will be wrong."

"But I have never seen a case like yours."

A hint of uncertainty crept into Lin Hanshan’s voice.

"Your affinity for both yin and yang source energies is a perfect one hundred percent. Forcing a choice would be a waste of your talent."

"But if you focus on both equally... I have no idea what form your Primordial Gang Sha will ultimately take."

Lin Hanshan paused here, giving Lin Ye time to process the information.

’Do I have to choose an attribute?’

Lin Ye asked himself, ’Which one should I choose?’

He hadn’t felt any personal inclination or preference toward any particular attribute of source energy.

"Let’s put the matter of attributes aside for now."

"Once you produce the first wisp of Primordial Gang Sha through compression, the final step is to guide it into the center of your vortex. You will use this first, most refined wisp of energy to completely break open your Dantian and form a true Qi Sea."

"Only then will you have truly stepped into the Gang Condensation Realm."

"The Gang Condensation Realm is also divided into three minor stages: early, middle, and late."

"The first stage is called the Foggy Gang Realm. As the name suggests, a Martial Artist in this realm stores their Gang Sha in their Qi Sea as a gaseous fog. While they can release it to attack enemies or form Gangsha Armor, both its quality and quantity are relatively limited."

"The second stage is the Flowing Gang Realm."

"The core principle of the Gang Condensation Realm is the extreme compression of your energy. When you can take the foggy Gang Sha filling your Qi Sea and compress and purify it further, producing the first drop of Liquid Gang Sha, you will have entered this second stage."

"When your Qi Sea and all the meridians in your body are completely filled with Liquid Gang Sha, you will have reached the peak of the late stage of the Gang Condensation Realm."

Lin Ye’s heart pounded with excitement as he listened, the path forward now crystal clear.

Just then, Lin Hanshan turned, walked over to the lectern, and took a yellowed, thread-bound ancient book from a drawer.

Lin Ye saw it clearly. On the cover were the six simple, ancient words: *Tai Xu Two Principles True Understanding*.

"Take this. It’s the complete version of the Cultivation Technique."

Lin Hanshan handed the book to Lin Ye. "Don’t let the other students know about this. Your progress is astonishingly fast. It’s better for you to study this on your own than to waste time keeping pace with the main group."

"From now on, you don’t need to attend my Cultivation Technique classes."

"If you have any questions in the future, just come find me at my residence."

Lin Ye was deeply moved. He solemnly accepted the ancient book and gave Lin Hanshan a deep bow of gratitude.

"Thank you, Mr. Lin!"

After tucking the complete Cultivation Technique securely away, Lin Ye wasted no time. He turned and raced back toward the Bone Marrow Cleansing Hall.

Now that he knew how to achieve his next breakthrough, all his doubts vanished.

He didn’t want to waste a single second.

...

「Inside the Bone Marrow Cleansing Hall.」

As Lin Ye submerged himself in the medicinal fluid once more, the sensation of being plunged into both fire and ice returned, along with the feeling of ten thousand needles piercing his meridians.

But this time, Lin Ye felt that the pain, which had once made him grit his teeth, seemed... not quite so unbearable.

He closed his eyes. His desire to break through to the next realm had already shielded him from all physical torment.

He even began to actively guide the Viper Poison Blood, accelerating the process of stripping away and dissolving his acquired impurities.

He had only one thought.

’Faster!’

’Even faster!’