Chapter 3: One Kick, and He Was Finished!

The peerless beauty did not speak. She merely lifted her pale, slender hand and flicked it lightly. The two ancient bronze doors of the Primeval Deity-Sealing Hall rumbled open, inch by inch. The door on the left shimmered with dazzling radiance, bright as day. The door on the right yawned with bottomless darkness, deep as night. The Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein flew out from within. Cloud Quinny watched it, tension creeping up his spine. The peerless beauty stepped up to the Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein, drew it into her body, and then glided back to stand before him. Her flawless figure swayed with a mesmerizing grace. Cloud Quinny clenched his teeth and shut his eyes. She leaned down. That perfect face, the exquisite features without a single flaw, the seductive allure hidden between her brows, all of it carried a breathtaking, dangerous charm. His heart still stirred despite himself. If only she was not trying to wring him dry. If it was just Dual Cultivation once in a while, he would not have refused. He would have welcomed it. The two rounds of Dual Cultivation ended quickly. "We'll begin the fusion with the Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein," the peerless beauty said. "It'll hurt a little. Endure it." Cloud Quinny felt as if his body was being torn apart. The pain stabbed straight through his heart. A little? Inside him, his meridians shattered one after another. Then the Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein flowed in, slowly replacing what had once been there. The process dragged on. Which meant the agony dragged on with it. About half an hour later, the pain finally ebbed away. Only then did Cloud Quinny's rigid body loosen. Sweat soaked him through, as if he had just been hauled out of water. The peerless beauty studied him weakly, then said, "The Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein has been forged. My losses are severe. I must sleep." "While I sleep, I'll have the Primeval Deity-Sealing Hall release a Spirit Body to assist your growth." "When you've grown strong enough, I'll awaken again…" Her figure faded, little by little, until she vanished completely. A strange emptiness settled in Cloud Quinny's chest. Then another figure appeared, also a woman. She was beautiful as well, with a striking head of silver hair. Her body was peculiar. It did not look like flesh at all, but something hazy, like mist condensed into a human shape. The silver-haired woman said flatly, "My lord has entered slumber. By her command, I will assist your growth." "You have already fused with the Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein. You may use the traces of power remaining within it to temper your body." Following her instructions, Cloud Quinny urged the residual force within the Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein and began tempering himself. His flesh and bones stirred and shifted. What had been loose became compact, then denser still, hardening by the breath. Even his internal organs strengthened. Crack, crack-sounds rang from inside his body. His shoulders broadened. Clean, balanced lines emerged across his frame, and his proportions sharpened toward a near-perfect harmony. When the tempering ended, Cloud Quinny tried circulating the true energy within him, and the result left him stunned. In an instant, his true energy cycled tens of thousands of times… When Luna Lyson awakened Bloodline Power back then, her true energy only rose from a hundred cycles in an instant to around six hundred. With that change alone, plus her cultivation base improving, Luna Lyson had climbed to thirty-eighth on the Lorton Earth Ranking. If his true energy cycled tens of thousands of times in an instant… Did that not mean he could stand at the very top of the Lorton Earth Ranking? "You can devour spiritual medicine to raise your cultivation base," the silver-haired woman said. "The higher your cultivation base, the stronger the Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein's devouring effect becomes." Cloud Quinny hurriedly took out a Grade Seven Spiritual Medicine. It was compensation he had just received from the Venerable Beastmaster. Under normal circumstances, he rarely used spiritual medicine of this grade. As his true energy moved, the spiritual power within the Grade Seven Spiritual Medicine was absorbed at a terrifying speed. Cloud Quinny froze. Perfect absorption! Every cultivator knew that spiritual medicine had an absorption rate. Generally, at most you could absorb thirty percent of its medicinal power. The remaining seventy percent would disperse on its own. Some gifted cultivators could raise that absorption rate, but not by much. Fifty to sixty percent was already considered impressive. If you wanted higher absorption, you had to refine spiritual medicine into an elixir. A normal elixir preserved around fifty percent of the medicinal power. A premium elixir could reach sixty percent. A supreme elixir could reach seventy percent. Even the best ultimate elixir only reached eighty percent. Perfect absorption. That was like swallowing more than ten ultimate elixir at once. After all the medicinal power finished Refining, Cloud Quinny's cultivation base broke through from the Seventh Level of the Energy Refining Realm to the Peak of the Eighth Level. More than that, he discovered something even more unbelievable. There were no impurities left in his body. Not only did he have perfect absorption, he also retained nothing foul afterward. "Then I can keep absorbing without worrying about impurities…" Cloud Quinny's breath quickened as excitement surged through him. He pulled out every last piece of spiritual medicine he had left. Most of it was Grade Seven Spiritual Medicine, with two pieces that were even higher. He devoured and refined without pause. His cultivation base skyrocketed from the Seventh Level of the Energy Refining Realm, breaking through again and again. When the spiritual medicine finally ran out, he had reached the Fifth Level of the Energy Condensation Realm. In a single day… Eight levels of breakthroughs! It was something Cloud Quinny would never have dared to imagine before. No. It had not even taken a day. To be precise, it had taken half an hour. Half an hour earlier, his cultivation base had been at the bottom among the younger generation of the Profound Heaven Sect. But at that moment, he had already pushed into the top ten. "Senior… the Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein is too strong," Cloud Quinny said, unable to keep the tremor out of his voice. "The Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein can devour the power of all things and make it its own," the silver-haired woman replied with a cold snort. "You're this worked up over swallowing a bit of spiritual medicine?" "In the future, it will even devour the Great Way of Heaven and Earth." Cloud Quinny's mind shook. He had thought perfect absorption of spiritual medicine was already monstrous. He had not expected it to be even more heaven-defying than his imagination. To devour the Great Way of Heaven and Earth… what kind of world-shattering scene would that be? He could not help asking, "Senior, when will I be able to reach the level of devouring the Great Way of Heaven and Earth?" "When your cultivation base is high enough. Right now, it's still low. You can't even bring out one ten-thousandth of the Heaven-Swallowing Divine Vein's might." "Senior, is there any limit to how much spiritual medicine I can devour?" Cloud Quinny pressed. "No limit," she answered. "As your cultivation base rises, you'll devour higher and higher grades. Eventually, you'll only be able to devour precious medicine, sacred medicine, or divine medicine." Cloud Quinny's blood ran hot. He did not need to worry about grade for the moment. As long as he could absorb without restriction, everything else could come later. "But I've already used up all the spiritual medicine on me. It wouldn't be right to go take more from the sect. These past years, the sect spent plenty of spiritual medicine trying to raise me. I can't keep reaching for more." "And over the last two years, most of the spiritual medicine I obtained was used by Luna Lyson…" A sudden light flared in Cloud Quinny's eyes. "Right. The Lyson family!" For the past two years, Luna Lyson had used her status as his fiancée to funnel the Profound Heaven Sect's resources to the Lyson family, openly and in secret. The Lyson family had grown rapidly in those two years, nearly becoming a first-rate family in the Lorton West District. If Luna Lyson had not betrayed him, Cloud Quinny would not have bothered counting the cost. Since she had betrayed him, then whatever they had swallowed would have to be spat back out. … Lorton West District. Lyson Manor blazed with decorations. Golden-thread carpets covered the ground, and even the lanterns were crafted from gold leaf and jade. The servants not only wore brand-new red robes, they were draped in gold and silver ornaments as well, extravagance on full display. Passersby could not help but look on with envy. "Back then, the Lyson family was only second-rate. In just two years, they've risen to first-rate." "What else did you expect? Their head, Quincy Lyson, gave birth to a good daughter. First she latched onto the Young Master of the Profound Heaven Sect, Cloud Quinny. Then she used the Profound Heaven Sect's influence and resources to fatten up her family." "Just a slut. That's all she's good at," someone spat. "Luna Lyson really does know how to sell herself," another said, "but you can't deny she's capable. I heard she awakened Bloodline Power, made it onto the Lorton Earth Ranking at thirty-eighth, then turned around and joined the Beast Taming Sect as the Venerable Beastmaster's personal disciple." "I don't get it. Why give up being the Young Master of the Profound Heaven Sect's wife to run off to the Beast Taming Sect?" "You don't know a damn thing. The Profound Heaven Sect may rank third in Lorton, but its foundation can't compare to the top ten sects, let alone the Beast Taming Sect." Just then, a young man moved to enter Lyson Manor. "Who are you? You dare barge into Lyson Manor? Are you tired of living?" A guard blocked his way. When he saw the man's face clearly, he went stiff. "Q… Young Master Quinny…" "Is your family head here?" Cloud Quinny asked. The guard was about to answer when a young man strode out, dressed in a brocade robe sewn from millennium velvet, a jeweled cap perched on his head. He paused when he saw Cloud Quinny, then let out a sneer. "I was wondering who showed up. Turns out it's you, the trash, crawling over here." "So, what are you doing at the Lyson family? Looking for my cousin Luna? Forget it. She already went back to the Beast Taming Sect. Even if she were here, she wouldn't see you." "Trash should go back where it came from. Stop wandering around. With that pathetic cultivation base of yours, if something happens, you won't even have time to cry." Cloud Quinny recognized him. Luna Lyson's cousin. Two years ago, when the Lyson family had not yet risen, this man would bow and scrape the moment he saw Cloud Quinny, his face full of flattery. That day, he stood tall and arrogant, as if he had always belonged above others. "What? I called you trash and you don't like it?" the man scoffed. "You think being the Young Master of the Profound Heaven Sect scares me? I'm not afraid. The Lyson family has the Beast Taming Sect backing us now." He curled his lip. He knew Cloud Quinny was only at the Seventh Level of the Energy Refining Realm. He had no reason to fear a waste like that. "You seem to have forgotten something," Cloud Quinny said, voice calm. "Luna Lyson is a Beast Taming Sect disciple. You're not. Even if you were, you dared speak like that to my face. Did you think I'd let you walk away?" He kicked out. Boom! With a thunderous impact and the sickening snap of breaking bone, the young man flew backward. He slammed onto the ground and passed out cold. Cloud Quinny walked over, seized him by the ankle, and dragged him straight into the Lyson family grounds.