Suspicion took root in his heart, and Fang Han decided to get to the bottom of it.

’Am I just being paranoid after my recent mission, or is this servant really spying on me?’

The next morning, Fang Han showed no sign of anything unusual as he walked unhurriedly toward the Sub-Branch’s exit.

Just as he was about to step out of the Sub-Branch’s main gate, he once again caught sight of the servant from the previous night in his peripheral vision.

The man held a broom, sweeping a corner of the courtyard, but his gaze kept furtively flicking in Fang Han’s direction.

Fang Han sneered inwardly but acted as if he hadn’t noticed. Without letting his gaze linger on the servant for even a moment, he walked straight out of the Sub-Branch gate.

He followed the bluestone path toward the Library Pavilion.

However, after walking for about a hundred paces and confirming he was out of the servant’s line of sight, Fang Han’s figure abruptly swerved.

Like a wisp of smoke, he silently vanished into a dense bamboo grove beside the path.

He used the bamboo shadows for cover, his gaze fixed on the distant servant.

He saw the servant first glance around warily, then immediately hurry off in a particular direction.

A thought sparked in Fang Han’s mind. As silent as a cat, he darted from the bamboo grove and began tailing the man from a great distance.

He dared not get too close, relying entirely on his superhuman vision to barely keep the gray figure in sight.

The servant was clearly up to no good, deliberately taking secluded, winding paths until he arrived at the Disciple Residence area known as the Yin Courtyard.

KNOCK KNOCK—

He finally stopped before a standalone house marked "Room B-13." After another nervous glance back, he raised his hand and knocked lightly on the door.

CREAK— The door opened from the inside, revealing a figure behind it.

He was a young man in his early twenties, clad in the Disciple’s Robe of the Qingxuan Sect. A hint of sinister gloom lurked in his sharp eyes.

’Who is that?’

Fang Han’s pupils contracted. He was certain he had never seen this man before, let alone had any dealings with him.

’Why would this person send someone to spy on me?’

He saw the servant bow and whisper a few words to the young man. Due to the distance, Fang Han couldn’t hear clearly.

The young man stood in the doorway and gazed toward the Sub-Branch for a moment, the corner of his mouth curling into a barely perceptible, cold smirk.

’I can’t stay here long!’

Though his mind was clouded with suspicion, Fang Han knew he couldn’t linger.

This was the Yin Courtyard, a place he had no business being. If the young man were to discover him, it would undoubtedly alert his target.

He took a deep breath to suppress his racing thoughts and silently retreated the way he came. He didn’t reveal himself again until he was far away from the Yin Courtyard area.

After composing his breathing and expression, he proceeded with his original plan and headed for the Library Pavilion.

’Why is this man targeting me?’

Entering the first floor of the Library Pavilion, Fang Han found a secluded spot by a window and sat down.

He casually picked up a miscellaneous book on the geography and strange tales of Qingyang County. Although his eyes were on the page, his mind had already drifted far away.

’Who exactly was that young man? Why target me? Was he acting on someone’s orders, or did he himself have some unknown grudge against me?’

Question after question swirled in his mind, making it impossible for him to calm down.

After spending about an hour in the Library Pavilion and barely memorizing a few trivial local records, he got up, returned the book to its place, and headed back to the Sub-Branch.

For the next few days, Fang Han acted as if everything were normal, but he began to quietly investigate the young man’s identity without arousing suspicion.

After a few days, he finally pieced together the young man’s basic information from a disciple who loved to socialize.

The man’s name was Zhao Qianjun. He had joined the Sect more than two years ago, and his Cultivation was now at the Late Stage of Ninth Grade.

He was said to be of poor character and had conflicts with many disciples from his cohort, earning him a terrible reputation among his peers.

’Late Stage of Ninth Grade...’

Fang Han raised an eyebrow.

’To only be at the Late Stage of Ninth Grade after more than two years in the Sect... Zhao Qianjun’s Talent clearly isn’t that strong compared to his peers.’

’Even so, Zhao Qianjun’s strength is bound to be greater than mine, since I’m only at the Early Stage of Ninth Grade.’

’If we were to fight, my chances of winning would be slim. It would probably be very difficult to even escape.’

’Zhao Qianjun... Why would he set his sights on me?’

Fang Han’s brow furrowed even more tightly.

He racked his brain, confirming that there was absolutely no conceivable grudge between himself and this Zhao Qianjun.

Neither the Fang Family of Liangshui City nor he personally had any connection whatsoever to Zhao Qianjun or his family.

’So why would Zhao Qianjun target someone with whom he has no connection?’

’Report it to the Sect?’

His thoughts were a tangled mess; he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

But one thing was crystal clear to Fang Han: a vicious viper had its eyes on him, and he was in an extremely disadvantageous position.

Zhao Qianjun’s Late Stage of Ninth Grade Cultivation was far beyond what he could currently contend with.

A strong sense of crisis washed over him.

He thought about reporting the matter to the Sect but immediately dismissed the idea.

Zhao Qianjun had only sent someone to watch him; he hadn’t taken any real action. Even if he reported it to the Sect, the other party could easily brush it off, and it would only alert his enemy.

’I can’t accept any Sect missions for now!’

Fang Han had originally planned to take on a few more Sect missions to gather enough Contribution Points to exchange for a Middle Grade Sword Technique.

Now, that plan would have to be put on hold.

A vicious viper was watching him from the shadows, and he simply didn’t dare leave the confines of the Sect again.

He felt a wave of retroactive fear at the thought of having left the Sect for his previous missions.

’Only with enough strength can I stop fearing the threat posed by Zhao Qianjun!’

In the time that followed, Fang Han threw all his time and energy into a frenzy of Cultivation.

Every morning, before dawn, he would rise to practice the Xunfeng Technique, refine the Medicinal Power of his Peiyuan Pills, and tirelessly strengthen the pale green Inner Qi within his Dantian.

Afterwards, he would practice the Xunfeng Swordsmanship and the Startled Swan Step until his Inner Qi was completely depleted.

At night, he would continue practicing the Xunfeng Technique until the dead of night.

His entire day was scheduled to the brim. Aside from necessary meals, rest, and attending lectures at the Inheritance Hall, he rarely set foot outside his residence.

He refused all unnecessary social interactions, completely immersing himself in the world of Martial Dao Cultivation.

His focus and diligence were so intense that when he occasionally ran into Xiao Chen, even he was surprised and asked if something had provoked him.

Time slipped by in a silent torrent of sweat. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

On this day, Fang Han was in his room, sitting cross-legged in the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture as usual, circulating the Xunfeng Technique with all his might.

Under the sixteenfold Root Bone Talent Amplification, the efficiency of his Cultivation Technique was astonishingly high. The Medicinal Power within him was rapidly refined, flowing like a hundred rivers into the sea and converging on the only acupoint he had opened so far—the Qihai Acupoint.

Within the Qihai Acupoint, the mass of pale green Inner Qi had swelled to fill the entire space.

Just as water overflows when its vessel is full, so too did his Inner Qi.

After filling the Qihai Acupoint, the Inner Qi began to spontaneously surge toward the next acupoint—the Guanyuan Acupoint.

However, an invisible, intangible, yet very real barrier blocked the Inner Qi from entering the Guanyuan Acupoint and prevented it from expanding further.

This invisible barrier was precisely the bottleneck between the Early Stage of Ninth Grade and the Middle Stage of Ninth Grade.

After cultivating for over a month in the resource-rich Qingxuan Sect, he had finally accumulated enough Inner Qi to touch this bottleneck.

As long as he broke through this bottleneck, he would become a Mid-Ninth Grade Martial Artist.

’I’ve finally reached this step...’

Fang Han’s mind was calm and focused, showing no sign of impatience.

Clearing his mind of distractions and focusing his intent on the Qihai Acupoint, he continued his Cultivation.

The overflowing Inner Qi in his body crashed against the invisible barrier outside the Guanyuan Acupoint like a tide, wave after relentless wave.

The Inner Qi surged through his meridians, emitting a low hum, while a faint pale green luminescence seemed to seep from his pores.

One hour, two hours...

Under the relentless assault, the barrier began to tremble slightly, sending out ripple-like fluctuations.

If it were a physical wall, faint cracks would have already begun to appear on its surface.

’Keep going!’

Fang Han’s mind was as tranquil as a still well; he did not become ecstatic just because the bottleneck was loosening.

He simply continued to circulate the Xunfeng Technique, focusing every ounce of his power on the most crucial task: assaulting the formless barrier.

Finally, at the very moment his Inner Qi condensed to its absolute peak, like a flood straining against a dam—

CRACK!

An extremely faint, yet perfectly clear, shattering sound echoed from deep within his body.

The formless barrier shattered instantly!

BOOM!

The obstruction vanished. The long-accumulated Inner Qi, instantly freed from its restraints, poured into the Guanyuan Acupoint with unprecedented ferocity.

As the Guanyuan Acupoint was opened, the color of his Inner Qi visibly changed.

The green became deeper, taking on a more condensed, solid quality.

A sense of power far greater than before welled up within him.

Fine cracking sounds echoed from the bones throughout his body, and his blood surged like a tide, as if he had undergone a complete metamorphosis.

And opening this Divine Treasure granted him the ability of "Settling Down."

As long as he stood upon the earth, he could root himself like an old tree, his stance becoming so stable that he would be as immovable as a mountain, able to resist any external push or blow.

’Middle Stage of Ninth Grade!’

Fang Han slowly opened his eyes, a glint of pale green light flashing in their depths before vanishing.

Gently clenching his fist, he felt the transformative, bone-deep changes within his body, and an indescribable joy filled his heart.

When he first entered the Qingxuan Sect, his Inner Qi had been at the bottom of the pack among the new disciples; only his Swordsmanship was decent.

Now that he had reached the Middle Stage of Ninth Grade, his Cultivation was finally no longer at the very bottom.

’I can’t believe breaking through the bottleneck only took a few hours this time!’

Fang Han had originally thought that breaking through this bottleneck would take several days, just like the last one.

He never expected that the entire process, from hitting the bottleneck to shattering it, would take only a few hours.

The time it took was far shorter than he had anticipated.

This was because his Root Bone Talent Amplification had increased from the original eightfold to sixteenfold.

His Root Bone Talent was even stronger now.

’Zhao Qianjun...’

The increase in strength brought Fang Han a sliver of peace.

Now, although he was likely still no match for Zhao Qianjun at the Late Stage of Ninth Grade, he at least had some confidence he could escape with his life.

When facing Zhao Qianjun, he was no longer completely without a chance to flee.

’It’s not enough. Still not enough!’

Fang Han shook his head forcefully.

He didn’t want to just be able to escape with his life; he wanted the strength to fight back, to kill Zhao Qianjun. Only then would he truly feel at ease.