Outside the courtyard, moonlight shimmered like water, and stars dazzled brightly.

Luo Feng sat cross-legged, undistracted, using the medicinal effects of the Illusion Heart Pill to focus on breaking through his realm.

The Yuan Qi circulated continuously within his meridians. With each Grand Circulation completed, Luo Feng could clearly feel an additional strand of Yuan Qi within his body. The two Meridian Wheels at the Heaven Gate Point in his mind shone brighter and brighter, as if something was about to break out.

Two hours passed.

Another two hours went by.

...

Time passed bit by bit, and after ten hours, the moon had sunk in the west and the eastern sky began to brighten. The academy that had been silent all night began to awaken.

Suddenly, a gust of wind appeared in the quiet small courtyard, causing the plants and trees to sway and creak.

The Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth for miles around was drawn over, forming an invisible air current that circled around Luo Feng.

Students of the academy who had just awoken and were preparing to cultivate, all looked up, their faces showing astonishment. At this moment, they were unable to control the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth around them.

The Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth around them began to converge towards Purple Spirit Peak.

"What's going on?"

"Someone must be breaking through their realm on Purple Spirit Peak."

"Such an exaggerated commotion! It must be one of the academy's Elders of the Ninth Stage of the Heavenly Court Realm."

The crowd was astounded, looking in the direction of Purple Spirit Peak, with discussions aplenty.

Only a few inner court disciples who were near Luo Feng's small courtyard knew that the person causing this commotion was not one of the academy's elders, but Luo Feng.

In the Dean's residence at the center of the academy, Zi Yuan, who was just preparing to cultivate the Swordsmanship she gained from a Secret Realm, suddenly gazed towards Purple Spirit Peak, her beautiful eyes flickering with peculiar hues.

She also felt the flow of the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth, and instinctively thought of Luo Feng.

A footfall sounded as Zi Hongyuan entered the courtyard, his gaze also aimed towards Purple Spirit Peak. Mixed with a trace of shock in his eyes, he uttered contemplatively, "What a prodigious talent."

Hearing his words, Zi Yuan retracted her gaze and asked, "Father, could this unusual movement of Yuan Qi really be due to Luo Feng?"

Zi Hongyuan nodded. "The academy's three Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm Elders are all out on business these days. Only Luo Feng could cause such a commotion. He must have broken through to the latter stage of the Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm."

"So soon!"

Although Zi Yuan had anticipated it, upon hearing Zi Hongyuan's words, she was still shocked, her small face slightly startled.

"It seems we underestimated his potential. Luo Feng, becoming a late-stage Martial Artist of the Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm, is certain to shine in the Twelve Golden Palaces assessment three months later. He might recreate the record that Lu Xiao Yun set three years ago, ranking within the top ten. This is our Purple Sun School's blessing!"

Zi Hongyuan's face glowed with satisfaction, appearing extremely excited. Luo Feng's brilliance had surpassed his expectations.

Zi Yuan pouted her small, rosy lips and, as she looked towards Purple Spirit Peak, muttered to herself: I really wonder how he cultivates.

After an unknown amount of time, in the small courtyard, the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth formed a vortex around Luo Feng as the center, filling the yard with a storm-like uproar.

BUZZ!

An eerie fluctuation expanded from Luo Feng's body. The vortex suddenly contracted and poured into the top of Luo Feng's head. The courtyard immediately calmed down, with only the leaves rustling slightly.

"I've finally broken through!"

Awakening from meditation, Luo Feng opened his eyes, their piercing gaze resembling a bolt of lightning cutting through space.

He quickly sensed his body's condition and immediately felt an unprecedented abundance of Yuan Qi. A powerful force was lurking within his body, ready to burst forth.

The Yuan Qi was more than tenfold what he had previously!

Exhaling slowly, Luo Feng's face showed a delighted smile.

Before taking the Illusion Heart Pill, he wasn't very confident about breaking through to the later stage of the Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm.

After all, he had only recently entered the middle stage of the Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm. Some people take a year and a half and are still unable to break through.

From the time he entered the middle stage of the Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm, it had been, at most, only a month.

"Let's test how much my strength has improved."

Murmuring to himself, Luo Feng activated his fist energy, directed his gaze towards a two-person-high training boulder a hundred steps away, and let out a low grunt.

"Break!"

The next moment, a blaze of fiery fist energy howled out.

With a single punch, Luo Feng retracted his aura and walked towards the giant rock.

In the middle of the giant rock was a bowl-sized hole. This single punch had pierced the entire rock, and there was even a hole on the courtyard wall more than ten meters away.

The strange thing was, even though a large hole was punched in the giant rock, it did not fall or even budge a fraction.

Luo Feng looked at the hole in the giant rock and nodded in approval. "Not bad. The attack power is at least three times stronger than before."

Piercing the giant rock was not challenging; any Martial Artist of the Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm could do it.

But to pierce the giant rock while ensuring it remained motionless was not something everyone could achieve.

This required the fist energy to explode with tremendous power in an instant, something even late-stage Martial Artists in the Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm found difficult.

Now, if Luo Feng were to fight Lin Ao, he would be ninety percent confident of defeating him, without any doubt.

"With my current strength, as long as I am not up against a Martial Artist in the Spiritual Rotation Realm, I should not be in any danger."

After pondering for a moment, Luo Feng felt more confident about going to Green Wood Peak.

Looking at the sky, Luo Feng muttered to himself, It's time to set off.

After freshening up, Luo Feng changed into some commoner clothes and headed towards the academy.

Before leaving, he wanted to inform Dean Zi Hongyuan of his plans.

As he descended Purple Spirit Peak, the area became more crowded with academy disciples, mostly inner sect disciples. Both male and female, they were heading towards Purple Spirit Peak, preparing to seize the abundant Yuan Qi in the early morning to intensify their cultivation.

"Good morning, Senior Brother Luo Feng."

Upon seeing Luo Feng in the distance, they all uniformly greeted him as "Senior Brother Luo Feng," their words conveying respect.

Luo Feng now ranked first on the Dragon and Tiger Pillar, so even the inner court experts had to address him as "Senior Brother Luo Feng."

Luo Feng nodded in response, and soon encountered Xu Mei of the Flower Picking Hand approaching him.

"Luo Feng, where are you going this early in the morning?" Xu Mei asked with a smile.

Luo Feng did not expect to run into Xu Mei here. He smiled and said, "I am planning to leave the academy for a while, and I was just about to inform the Dean. By the way, have you seen Ruolan return to the academy?"

"Bing Ruolan? I just came from her residence; she hasn't come back to the academy yet. Did something happen?"

Luo Feng shook his head, but inwardly he thought: It's been so long, and this lass still isn't back. Where on earth did she go?

Luo Feng wasn't too worried. Bing Ruolan cultivated Star-piercing Swordsmanship, and her Spirit Rhino Finger technique had also reached Small Success. Her strength was such that even he couldn't ignore it. There were very few people in the rtiad who could pose a threat to her.

Xu Mei stood with her hands clasped behind her back, her bright, intelligent eyes looking at Luo Feng. Her beautiful eyes shifted, and she smiled. "Luo Feng, I heard you defeated Lin Ao of Clear Origin City yesterday. Congratulations."

Luo Feng laughed. "What's there to congratulate me about? It was just a fluke. Besides, I didn't win; it was a draw."

Xu Mei pouted her red lips, obviously not believing him. Her beautiful eyes turned, and as if she had thought of something, she asked, "By the way, was that commotion last night caused by you?"

Luo Feng had no intention of hiding, so he touched his nose and nodded. "Yes. I was attempting to break through my realm last night."

"Did you manage to break through?"

Only now did Xu Mei notice that Luo Feng's demeanor was somewhat different from before.

Luo Feng nodded.

Xu Mei's eyes widened, and after a long silence, she finally let out a sigh, looking at Luo Feng with an envious face.

"Your progress is just too fast. You improved to the late stage of the Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm in just a month. I don't know when I'll be able to break through to the Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm. Comparing oneself to others is truly infuriating."

Luo Feng laughed and said, "You will break through."

Xu Mei chuckled and said, "Alright, I'm going to cultivate too, so I won't keep you. If Bing Ruolan comes back, I'll let you know."

"Thank you."

Luo Feng thanked her, watched as Xu Mei left, and then headed towards the academy.

「A moment later,」 Luo Feng arrived at the residence of Dean Zi Hongyuan.

The courtyard gate was open, so Luo Feng walked directly in.

The courtyard was very spacious. From afar, Luo Feng could see Zi Hongyuan and Zi Yuan talking about something in the courtyard's training ground.

"Dean, Zi Yuan."

Luo Feng walked directly over.

Zi Hongyuan turned his head, saw Luo Feng, and smiled. "Luo Feng, congratulations on your breakthrough to the late stage of the Ninth Stage Heavenly Court Realm."

Luo Feng was not surprised. The ruckus caused by his cultivation last night was perceivable even by Xu Mei; it was impossible for Zi Hongyuan not to have noticed.

"Congratulations."

Zi Yuan looked at Luo Feng, a small, forced smile on her face.

She was glad that Luo Feng had made a breakthrough, but thinking about how she was falling further behind, she couldn't truly rejoice.

"You came looking for me this early, is there something you need?" Zi Hongyuan observed that Luo Feng seemed to have something to say, so he asked.

Luo Feng nodded. "Dean, I plan to leave the academy for a while."

Zi Hongyuan's brow furrowed. "How long do you plan to be gone?"

"A month, or perhaps longer…" Luo Feng mused for a moment before saying.

The round trip from the Purple Sun School to Green Wood Peak alone would take a month. Making an enemy of the Duanmu Family, one of the six major families, is no small matter; accidents are bound to happen.

"That long! Don't you know that the Twelve Golden Palaces assessment is set to take place in three months?" Zi Yuan's small face showed surprise, and she looked at Luo Feng with some astonishment.

Zi Hongyuan was also surprised. As the date for the Twelve Golden Palaces assessment approached, everyone was in closed-door cultivation, preparing to achieve good results. Luo Feng's decision to leave the academy at this point, and for what could be several months, was unexpected.

"I know. I will be back before the Twelve Golden Palaces assessment," Luo Feng reassured them with a smile.

"What are you going to do?" Zi Hongyuan questioned.

Zi Yuan, too, was looking at Luo Feng curiously with her bright eyes.

"Well…"

Luo Feng paused, hesitating. It'd be best not to involve the academy in this matter.

Zi Hongyuan, with his keen perception, saw Luo Feng was reluctant to speak and didn't press further. He waved his hand and said, "What you do doesn't matter, but remember, the rtiad is dangerous. Be cautious in everything you do after you leave. You are one of the most outstanding talents among our Purple Sun School's disciples, and I don't want any harm to come to you."

"Luo Feng will certainly heed the Dean's teachings!" Luo Feng said, cupping his fists.

Zi Hongyuan nodded slightly. "Very well, don't miss the assessment date for the Twelve Golden Palaces."

"Yes."

Seeing Luo Feng about to leave, Zi Yuan couldn't help but remind him, "Luo Feng, be careful in everything. At the Twelve Golden Palaces assessment, I still intend to settle the score with you. Don't you dare die out there."

Luo Feng knew this was Zi Yuan's way of talking, and he laughed. "I look forward to it!"

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