Lin Chen understood in his heart.

Leaving a tracking mark on something like a magical treasure is very simple.

And how could the Sect Guardian Puppet of the Puppet Hall not have some kind of restriction?

"Although Wu the Old Monster is dead, the Puppet Hall definitely has ways to sense or summon this puppet..."

"However..."

Lin Chen showed a meaningful smile.

"However, if I take the puppet directly back to the Great Xia Country!"

"Heh, even if a True Monarch of Divinity Transformation comes, they absolutely won’t find it!"

He already had a plan in mind.

This puppet was hard-earned and had great potential; it was not something that could be discarded.

First, take it back to the Great Xia Country for the experts to study.

By combining it with the puppetry technique from the Golden Yuan Sect ruins, perhaps it can provide new insights and improvements...

It might even be reforged into a Nascent Soul stage puppet!

"By then, having the protection of a Nascent Soul level puppet... would be much more reassuring."

Lin Chen prepared all sorts of materials he planned to bring back to the Great Xia Country in advance.

He glanced at the countdown on his arm... less than ten hours left until the return to Blue Star.

So Lin Chen simply stayed in the safe house to recover from his injuries and continue cultivating.

When the countdown on his arm finally reset.

...

Great Xia Country, Martial Arts Palace.

After Lin Chen returned smoothly, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The first thing he did was take the Puppet Luo Ming out of the nanobag.

Upon seeing the suddenly appearing Luo Ming, Wang Lishan was stunned.

"Lin Chen, you... managed to bring someone back from the Cultivation Realm?"

Lin Chen smiled when he heard this, pointing to the puppet and said:

"Uncle Wang, take a closer look! This is a puppet!"

Wang Lishan circled around Luo Ming, muttering,

"Goodness, this puppet... looks even more human than our bionic robots!"

Lin Chen: "..."

"He was once human, but after death, he was refined into a puppet... so, this is a human puppet!"

"Moreover, this senior was at Nascent Soul Peak before he died... his flesh body isn’t inferior to a Martial King Peak!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Lishan suddenly showed interest.

"Goodness, you actually brought back such a thing on this trip... Tell me, what did you encounter in the Cultivation Realm this time?"

Soon, Lin Chen recounted his encounters in the Cultivation Realm over the past week.

Including the Righteous Alliance’s plan this time, the encounter with Wu the Old Monster, and finally escaping from the hands of the Blood Pupil Demon.

Wang Lishan listened quietly for a long time and, unlike before, didn’t worry about or blame Lin Chen for being too reckless.

He just walked over, patted Lin Chen on the shoulder, and said:

"Lin Chen, you’re not the little kid from ten years ago anymore..."

"Nowadays, you might not even be my match, huh?"

Lin Chen shrugged at these words but didn’t deny it.

With the cultivation of Martial Venerable Peak combined with the Seven-Turned Golden Core and the power of the Candle Dragon...

It really wasn’t difficult to fight Wang Lishan, a basic level Martial Monarch.

After all, Wang Lishan was equivalent to a Body Refining Nascent Soul early stage in the Cultivation Realm.

And due to the limited methods of the martial path, he was not even as good as those Nascent Soul cultivators who have lived for thousands of years...

Seeing Lin Chen’s innocent expression, Wang Lishan’s mouth twitched.

Goodness, I was just being polite...

At this moment, weren’t you supposed to say, "How could I? Uncle Wang, you’re still going strong..." or something like that?

After knowing each other for more than ten years, Wang Lishan suddenly felt a sense of crisis, as his fragile heart and self-esteem were hit.

In the distance, Li Nian, the "Imperial Chauffeur," who was playing with his phone, looked up.

Muttering, "Strange, why do I see a reflection of myself in Commander Wang..."

Li Nian was puzzled for just a moment before dismissing the thought.

He continued happily swiping through videos of young girls dancing.

Over the ten years, he had gotten used to this kind of life...

Leisurely work, good treatment; he only needed to drive Lin Chen around.

Once, Li Nian thought of fighting for the Human Race in the Martial Realm and worked hard to slay demons.

But now...

Well, the martial strength of the Great Xia Country has nearly doubled compared to ten years ago.

They really don’t lack a Martial Sect like me...

Of course, although Li Nian lazes around every day.

If danger comes, he is indeed prepared to risk his life for Lin Chen.

Back to the point.

Wang Lishan looked at the Puppet Luo Ming in front of him and asked:

"So, how do you plan to deal with this thing?"

Lin Chen said, "This puppet has immense potential. If we find a suitable way to gain control and improve it... it might have the combat strength of mid Nascent Soul!"

"Of course, this thing is also a bit troublesome in the Cultivation Realm, so I plan to leave it in the research institute for those experts to study first..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Lishan laughed:

"Those researchers will probably be too excited to sleep when they hear this news."

Then, Lin Chen took out two Red Tassel Spears and the Demon-slaying Blade.

"Uncle Wang, there are also these two long spears, made of extremely precious material..."

"And my Demon-slaying Blade is also damaged; I wonder if it can be reforged..."

Wang Lishan noticed the crack on the Demon-slaying Blade and was even more aware of the powerful enemies Lin Chen faced this time.

He weighed the two long spears and his expression changed slightly.

"This weight... could the material of this long spear be above Fifth Tier Exotic Metal?"

Fifth Tier Exotic Metal, currently the most sturdy metal found in the Martial Realm by the Great Xia Country.

Only experts above Martial King are qualified to possess Exotic Treasures crafted from Fifth Tier Exotic Metal.

The reason why Martial Arts Puppets like Long Ba and Feng Jiu are special is that some exotic metals were added during their forging.

"I don’t know, just watch the refining process! It would be best to recast the Demon-slaying Blade and refine another Spiritual Artifact long blade for me..."

"As for the remaining materials, Uncle Wang, you handle the distribution?"

Lin Chen tentatively asked.

The size of the long spear is much larger than the blade, so after casting two long blades, there will definitely be a lot of materials left.

Upon hearing this, Wang Lishan’s eyes lit up immediately.

"Leave this matter to me!"

This is a treasure suspected to be of the sixth-tier exotic metal!

If I could get some materials, wouldn’t those Martial Emperors in the Martial Realm be overjoyed?

Seeing Uncle Wang’s expression, Lin Chen already knew his intentions.

However, Lin Chen didn’t mind, as he had confidence in the craftsmanship of the Great Xia Country.

Although the Great Xia Country has only had Artifact Refiners for over ten years, it doesn’t mean the past refining techniques were poor!

After all, there are quite a few exotic metals in the Martial Realm, and even though the refining craft in Great Xia Country is different from the Cultivation Realm, it is still extremely excellent.

With the quality of materials already so high, combined with the Black Blade Martial Spirit,

refining weapons above the level of Spiritual Artifacts would be a breeze.

Afterward, Lin Chen handed over the Magical Treasures and materials he obtained in the Cultivation Realm to Wang Lishan.

He allocated one million Spirit Stones as the Cultivation Department’s circulating funds.

After all, the Great Xia Country is currently supporting quite a few cultivators, and the consumption of Spirit Stones is terrifying.

Otherwise, Lin Chen wouldn’t be working so hard to earn Spirit Stones...

"By the way, Lin Chen."

"Remember the thing we talked about before? The Human Alliance has urged us several times already..."

"Later, the higher-ups decided to hold a meeting for the entire Human Race in three days. By then... could you show up?"

Wang Lishan inquired about Lin Chen’s opinion.

"In three days?"

Lin Chen slightly frowned and said:

"Uncle Wang, could we delay it by a couple of days..."

"Hmm? Is there something up? This meeting of all humanity is no small matter... The date is already set..."

Wang Lishan advised, though he didn’t personally mind.

The main reason was that this meeting concerned the national stance and the entire situation in the High Martial World...

If it were changed casually because of Lin Chen’s word, wouldn’t it be somewhat...

Lin Chen thought for a moment and then spoke truthfully:

"Well, I’m feeling like I’m about to break through; it should happen in the next few days..."

"Breakthrough? Haven’t you just advanced to the Seven-Turned Golden Core not long ago?"

Wang Lishan was taken aback and said instinctively.

But then he realized and widened his eyes, staring at Lin Chen.

"You mean... you’re about to reach Martial Monarch?"

Under Wang Lishan’s bewildered gaze, Lin Chen nodded.

"Yes, I’ve been at the Martial Venerable Peak for a while, and I feel that the breakthrough is near..."

Upon hearing these Versailles-like words, Wang Lishan couldn’t hold back anymore.

What do you mean you’ve been at the Martial Venerable Peak for a bit too long?

If I remember correctly, didn’t you break through to Martial Venerable just over three years ago?

And you’ve only been at the Martial Venerable Peak for barely over three months?

Back then, old Wang ground through the Martial Venerable Realm for decades before finally having a breakthrough to the Martial Monarch.

Thinking about it, Wang Lishan felt quite disheartened.

The disparity in aptitude between martial artists is indeed vast.

Some people spend their whole lives reaching only Grand Martial Master level.

Most geniuses never even reach the Martial King Realm...

But for Lin Chen, why does it seem like breakthroughs are as simple as eating and drinking?

Although Wang Lishan was deeply envious in his heart.

He still said seriously:

"Alright, breaking through to Martial Monarch is a major event!"

"In that case, I’ll suggest postponing the meeting for a few days, until you’ve successfully broken through..."

Lin Chen nodded at this and headed for the Cultivation Room.

...

In the next few days, Lin Chen peacefully practiced the Breathing Technique in the Cultivation Room.

With the practice of the Ninth Generation Breathing Technique, Lin Chen’s Qi and Blood Value steadily climbed, and his flesh body grew increasingly formidable.

On the fourth day, Lin Chen felt the timing was right.

He retrieved a small piece of flesh from a fourth-tier demon beast.

"Swallow this piece of flesh and break through to Martial Monarch..."

Lin Chen muttered to himself and, without hesitating, swallowed it in one gulp.

The essence of the demon beast’s flesh entered his stomach and swiftly transformed into a warm current that swept through Lin Chen’s entire body.

With the support of this pure energy, Lin Chen felt his flesh body rapidly advancing.

Thus, Lin Chen spent an entire day practicing the Breathing Technique, extracting every bit of power from this piece of demon beast flesh.

By dawn on the fifth day,

Lin Chen, who was cultivating, suddenly felt a release throughout his body, and the invisible Martial Path bottleneck within him seamlessly broke through.

"It... broke through just like that?"

Lin Chen was slightly surprised, thinking it was exceedingly smooth.

He glanced at the Qi and Blood Value on his watch.

—50078 points!

The standard Qi and Blood Value for a Basic Level Martial Monarch is 50,000 points, while Lin Chen’s previous Qi and Blood Value was just over 49,900.

Though the Qi and Blood Value only increased by less than two hundred points, it resulted in a qualitative change!

Because before reaching Martial Monarch, no matter how one cultivated, the Qi and Blood Value would get stuck at 49,999.

But after breaking through to Martial Monarch, a wide-open path awaited, leading to rapid growth in Qi and Blood Value and physical fitness.

"Tsk tsk, it seems Martial Monarch still isn’t my limit..."

"I don’t even feel much of a bottleneck."