Chapter 3 : Emergency Situation

While in the pharmacy, the reaction of the pharmacy staff made Zhou Tong feel that the grade of the elixir in the box was not low. However, what Zhou Tong didn't expect was that it was actually a fifth-grade spiritual medicine.

The Sun Yang Fruit is a fifth-grade spiritual medicine, usually growing near Sun Yang Stone veins, containing a large amount of Sun Gang Qi. After refinement, it provides tremendous benefits to martial artists in the Heavenly Yuan Realm. It is most suitable for someone like Zhou Tong, who is in the Heavenly Yuan Realm. Among the martial artists who have previously taken this spiritual medicine, there are even those who have broken through again after taking it.

However, the fifth-grade spiritual medicine is extremely precious, and ordinary warriors simply cannot afford it. Only large families like the Zhou family have access to it. Surprisingly, even as a fifth-grade spiritual medicine, it only ranks third in the Zhou family, indicating the formidable strength of the Zhou family.

Zhou Tong calmed down his excited emotions, trying to regain his composure. He then took the spiritual medicine out of the box.

A fiery red fruit floated quietly in Zhou Tong's hand, crystal clear, emitting a soft light like a gem, making people involuntarily feel serene.

"Hiss—"

As Zhou Tong's fingers touched the spiritual medicine, white smoke rose from its surface. Pure energy flowed into his body through his fingertips, making Zhou Tong feel clear-headed and refreshed, as if immersed in hot spring water.

"Such a strong medicinal effect!" Zhou Tong couldn't help but exclaim.

He quickly activated his cultivation technique, absorbing the medicinal power of the spiritual medicine. Pure and majestic energy entered his body bit by bit, and a rich medicinal fragrance spread to every part of his body. Suddenly, Zhou Tong's physical body underwent intense fluctuations, like boiling water.

"Boom~"

The elemental pellet in his dantian trembled slightly, releasing a brilliant light and then avidly absorbing the medicinal power.

"Hoo~"

While Zhou Tong circulated his elemental power, a silver light suddenly emanated from the bracelet on his left wrist, enveloping him. Subsequently, Zhou Tong's pores opened, emitting milky-white mist that covered an area of several yards around him. The entire room seemed like a fairyland.

Streams of milky-white energy entered Zhou Tong's body, merging with his elemental power.

"Humming~" Elemental power vibrated, and the impurities in the original elemental power gradually transformed and reshaped under the impact of the milky-white energy.

The elemental fluid in the dantian rotated slowly, emitting a gentle white light. Zhou Tong's body also underwent a slow transformation with the flow of the elemental fluid, becoming more perfect. Elemental power also increased gradually, advancing from the early stage of the Heavenly Yuan Realm to the peak of the early stage. Only one step away from the middle stage.

The elemental fluid continued to release a soft glow, nourishing Zhou Tong's skin. His body, under the influence of this energetic fluid, gradually became more resilient.

"Bang~" A soft sound echoed in Zhou Tong's ears. He suddenly opened his eyes, and a dazzling brilliance burst forth, as if sharp swords were thrusting out, causing the entire room to tremble faintly.

"Hoo!" Zhou Tong opened his eyes, a gleam of excitement and thrill on his face.

"I didn't expect to reach this level."

Zhou Tong was very satisfied with his current cultivation progress. At his current rate, breaking through to the middle stage of the Heavenly Yuan Realm would take at least a month. However, in just a few hours, he had elevated one small level. This speed was absolutely astonishing.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Zhou Tong moved his body and felt the surging power within him.

"The peak of the early stage of the Heavenly Yuan Realm is stable now. With this, the family competition will be more certain." Zhou Tong smiled slightly, excitement evident on his face.

As Zhou Tong entered the early stage of the Heavenly Yuan Realm, the originally ominous Yin energy and vibrant Yang energy in his dantian blended, forming a mixture of red and blue colors, intertwined without distinction.

Zhou Tong gazed at this scene in his dantian. When his strength was in the Earth Yuan Realm, the Yin energy in his dantian, tempered continuously, had reached the seventh level. However, the Yang energy absorbed after breaking through to the Heavenly Yuan Realm only reached the fifth level. This obviously couldn't completely counterbalance the seventh-level Yin energy.

"To reach the later stage of the Heavenly Yuan Realm, I must balance the Yin and Yang energies in my body. Only then can I further fuse them and truly achieve Yin-Yang harmony, condensing them into a pellet. If I can reach the ninth level of Yin and Yang energy before breaking through to the Small Elemental Pellet Realm, I might even be able to contend with ordinary Small Elemental Pellet Realm warriors when I break through."

As Zhou Tong scanned the Yang energy, he was surprised to find that compared to when he just broke through, the color of the Yang energy was richer. "Wait a minute, it's the sixth level now, how did it increase?" Zhou Tong wondered inwardly.

"Could it be because of the spiritual medicine? No, there is no precedent in the records for the Sun Yang Fruit to increase Yang energy. Could it be something else?"

Zhou Tong swept his gaze across the entire room, finally landing on the silver bracelet on his wrist.

"Or perhaps, this?" Zhou Tong raised his arm, looking at the silver bracelet that had changed from black for some unknown reason.

This was a gift from his grandfather when he broke through to the Earth Yuan Realm, with the instruction to wear it during cultivation.

The bracelet was entirely silver, shimmering with a chill. It appeared ordinary, but Zhou Tong vaguely sensed its extraordinariness. When he received it from his grandfather, Zhou Tong had tried a few times, but at that time, his strength was only in the Earth Yuan Realm, and the bracelet showed no reaction. However, now that he had entered the Heavenly Yuan Realm, maybe it was worth trying again.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Tong sent his elemental power into the bracelet. In an instant, the bracelet emitted a silver light, illuminating the entire room. Endless silver light dazzled, causing a piercing sensation in Zhou Tong's eyes. He instinctively closed his eyes.

When the silver light faded, Zhou Tong opened his eyes, but nothing had happened. So, he looked at the bracelet in confusion.

The bracelet remained plain, but upon closer inspection, one could see that it was covered with intricate patterns, forming a complex symbol.

"What is this bracelet exactly?"

Zhou Tong recalled his grandfather's instructions not to take it off before breaking through to the Elemental Pellet Realm.

Although he didn't know why his grandfather specifically instructed him, Zhou Tong respected his grandfather very much. He had been wearing the bracelet since then. Today's experiment made him decide to temporarily abandon the study of the bracelet. The only thing confirmed now was that the bracelet could elevate the level of the wearer's Yang energy.

"I'll ask my grandfather about it another day; maybe he knows something."

With that thought, Zhou Tong placed the bracelet in his bosom.

"Boom, boom!" Suddenly, there was a knocking sound.

"Who?" Zhou Tong walked over to open the door.

He saw a maid standing respectfully. "Young Master Zhou Tong, the Elder has

 issued a command. Tonight, all disciples are summoned to the conference hall for a meeting."

"Understood." Zhou Tong responded and continued to cultivate for some time. As dusk approached, he prepared to go to the conference hall.

The Zhou family competition was about to begin. The summoning of disciples to the meeting tonight, especially with the Elder's command, indicated the announcement of the competition. After two years, the annual family competition was finally here.

Just as Zhou Tong stepped out of the courtyard, a voice suddenly came from behind.