Li Yang put away Zheng Qian’s Spirit Fruits, overjoyed.

’Not a bad haul.’

He had obtained five Spirit Fruits in one go! ’Surely one of them can increase my power?’

Struggling to endure the intense pain wracking his body, Zheng Qian stared at Li Yang and said grimly, "Li Yang, my dad is right here in this Relic Space. After you stole my Spirit Fruits today, there’s no way he’ll let you off the hook."

He was no match for Li Yang, but his father, Zheng Hu, was a King Level cultivator. Before a King Level cultivator, even someone at the Peak of Heaven-level was nothing more than an ant, completely defenseless.

Li Yang couldn’t help but laugh at his words. "Zheng Qian, let’s get one thing straight. You tried to rob me of my Spirit Fruits first. It’s only because you were weaker than me that I ended up robbing you instead."

"Besides, that threat sounds a little familiar... Oh, right. Your son tried to threaten me with the exact same thing."

Li Yang was completely unfazed by Zheng Qian’s threat.

’Of course I’m wary of a King Level cultivator, but so what?’

’My relationship with Zheng Qian is already rock bottom. Did I really expect Zheng Hu to show me any mercy?’

’The most important thing is that Zheng Qian tried to rob me first. I was just stronger and turned the tables on him, that’s all.’

With the Spirit Fruits secured, Li Yang had no intention of lingering. "Haha, this has been a great encounter, Zheng Qian. I look forward to our next meeting."

WHOOSH!

His figure flickered and shot into the distance, quickly vanishing from sight.

As he watched Li Yang leave, Sun Yunqiang’s expression was conflicted. He seemed to want to give chase.

’Li Yang took a Spirit Fruit that grants a temporary surge in power. Once the effects wear off, he’ll be weakened. He’d be no match for me then.’

’But I don’t know how long the effect lasts. It could be tens of seconds, or it could be several minutes.’

’If I rush in recklessly, I’ll probably just get crushed by Li Yang again.’

Abandoning the idea of pursuing Li Yang, Sun Yunqiang walked over to Zheng Qian and asked, "Zheng Qian, can your father deal with Li Yang?"

"Hmph! Li Yang stole the Spirit Fruits right from my hands. He’s completely shameless. Of course my dad can take action against him!" Zheng Qian sneered.

King Level cultivators weren’t supposed to casually attack those beneath their level, but that rule wasn’t absolute. If someone below King Level dared to provoke a King Level cultivator’s dignity, then they were well within their rights to strike!

And this time, if Zheng Qian insisted that Li Yang was shameless and had stolen their Spirit Fruits, Zheng Hu would have his justification.

As he watched Li Yang’s figure disappear completely, Zheng Qian roared in his mind, ’Li Yang, I’m no match for you, but you’re nothing but an ant before my father! If I can’t deal with you, my father will. Let’s see you try to resist him!’

He had been humiliated by Li Yang time and time again!

’I’ve already made up my mind. From now on, I won’t try to deal with Li Yang myself. If I see him, I’ll just walk away. No provocations.’

’If he needs to be dealt with, I’ll just have my father do it directly!’

’With a King Level cultivator taking action, what hope does Li Yang have of resisting?’

...

Somewhere in the vast Relic Space, Li Yang scanned his surroundings. Once he confirmed he was alone, he stopped.

The ground here was parched, with cracks and even deep fissures.

’This place will do.’ Li Yang immediately chose a fissure and slipped inside.

’The Relic Space is crawling with cultivators right now. It’s too easy to be discovered if I just find an open area to cultivate. Hiding in an underground fissure like this drastically reduces the chances of being found.’

A wide smile spread across Li Yang’s face as he opened his backpack.

’Let’s see if any of these five new Spirit Fruits can boost my power.’

Li Yang circulated his Cultivation Technique, absorbing a bit of Spiritual Power from each Spirit Fruit to identify it. He would refine the Spiritual Power from each fruit for just three seconds before stopping.

Based on the effects of the Spiritual Power, he could determine the type of each Spirit Fruit.

’A healing-type Spirit Fruit... hmm, another healing-type... this one boosts power...’

After quickly sorting the five Spirit Fruits, a joyous expression appeared on Li Yang’s face.

’Five of them! And two can increase my power!’

He was thrilled. By his previous estimations, he only needed one more Spirit Fruit to reach the Peak of Heaven-level! And now he had two!

The Peak of Heaven-level was within his grasp!

’Time to start refining!’

Wasting no time, Li Yang gripped the shriveled, purple fruit and began to absorb its energy with all his might!

The Spiritual Power within the Spirit Fruit surged into his body, seeping into his bloodstream. As his blood circulated, it carried the Spiritual Power to every part of his being...

Under this torrent of energy, Li Yang’s physical constitution grew noticeably stronger, and he rapidly approached the final point of the fourth stage of the Body Refining Chapter.

As he finished refining the last of the Spirit Fruit’s Spiritual Power, an expression of utter elation spread across Li Yang’s face.

’The fourth stage... it’s about to be successfully refined!’

BOOM!

A final surge of energy flooded his body, completing the fourth refinement!

The mysterious Cultivation Technique, the Body Refining Chapter’s four great stages—at this moment, Li Yang had finally completed them all.

This realm corresponded to the Peak of Heaven-level!

The strongest state below King Level—Li Yang had finally achieved it!

’Hmm? I can still absorb Spiritual Power?’

A flicker of surprise suddenly appeared in Li Yang’s eyes.

From what he understood, after reaching the Peak of Heaven-level, a cultivator would hit a bottleneck.

Hua Country had several cultivators at the Peak of Heaven-level, but they were all stuck at this bottleneck, unable to break through.

Once at this bottleneck, it was impossible to absorb any more Spiritual Power—unless one took that final step!

And yet, here he was, still able to absorb it!

What’s more, he wasn’t absorbing the Spiritual Power from the Spirit Fruit, but directly from the world around him!

It was as if his body had no limit. Having completed all four stages of refinement, Li Yang’s body seemed to have become a black hole!

’If I can keep absorbing, then I will!’

After a brief moment of surprise, Li Yang immediately began circulating his Cultivation Technique!

’The more Spiritual Power I can absorb from the world, the greater the benefits will surely be!’

’I have no idea what this mysterious Cultivation Technique is, but it’s countless times more powerful than what other cultivators practice. It’s only natural for it to have some special properties.’

BOOM!

As he pushed the Cultivation Technique to its limits, dense streams of Spiritual Power from the surrounding space poured into Li Yang’s body. Under its influence, he could feel his physical constitution strengthening continuously!

Gradually, he began to sense a subtle change in the space around him. He could feel a strange fluctuation in the void, a turbulent, violent ripple, like some kind of wondrous ambient energy.

His physical body was transforming, his senses were sharpening, and his perception of the world was constantly shifting. It felt like a leap in his level of existence, like an upgrade to his very genes.

However, Li Yang felt no pain. There was only pleasure.

Indeed. The sensation of his body communing with the surrounding void, feeling that wondrous, violent energy... it was truly blissful...

Time flowed on. Li Yang lost all track of it, completely immersed in his cultivation.