Breakthrough 2

The newly constructed underground chamber was still warm with latent formation energy. The scent of dried lotus root, crushed spirit jade, and powdered Widow's Blanket clung to the damp walls.

Tang Yun stepped inside barefoot.

A thin mist of shimmering green toxins swirled at ankle level harmless to him, deadly to most.

He closed the door behind him and activated the Silent Core Lock Formation.

The chamber dimmed instantly. Sound vanished. Heat began to rise as the air turned heavy.

This was no longer a training room.

It was a crucible.

Testing the Breakthrough Chamber

Tang Yun sat cross-legged in the center, five talismans pressed against his spine, chest, and shoulders. A basin of black liquid poison boiled quietly beside him Soul-Eroding Miasma diluted with inked spirit fluid.

He inhaled deeply and began to circulate his poison qi through the newly calculated route.

First loop successful.

Second slight tremor.

Third

His body convulsed.

Blood surged from his nose. His veins glowed faintly green, then black.

"Too early! The Widow's Dew isn't neutralizing fast enough!"

He forced his meridians to constrict mimicking "venom valve control", a forbidden inner technique from the Tang Clan's lost archives.

Pain tore through his chest like a burning blade, but the poison stopped expanding.

He gasped for breath.

A Near-Deadly Backlash

The Whitebone Venom, being the most violent of the three poisons, had clashed with a delayed pulse of Widow's Blanket extract. The effect was corrosion on his inner meridians.

The only reason he didn't lose all cultivation was because of the thin threads of Dustless Thorn Qi lining his dantian thread-like filaments that acted as insulation.

That had been his gamble.

He fell to his knees and vomited dark sludge.

Ten minutes passed before he could move again.

But despite the backlash, he smiled faintly.

"It works. The poisons don't reject each other completely."

He'd still need several refinement cycles… and a final cleansing tonic to survive the real breakthrough.

The Fox Among the Wolves

Meanwhile, in the northern inner court training arena, dozens of elite clan disciples were already preparing for the clan tournament.

But one boy stood alone, quietly polishing a long, thin dagger beneath a cherry tree.

His name was Tang Ling the Fifth Young Master, age 16, Late Qi Awakening Realm.

Unlike Tang Yao, whose strength was in raw power, or Tang Liansu, whose reach extended through influence, Tang Ling was an enigma.

He rarely spoke.

Rarely fought.

And yet no one challenged him.

Because all who did either left crippled… or didn't leave at all.

He sliced the dagger across the bark of the tree. Sap bled like a wound. He muttered:

"I heard the Twelfth is crawling like a snake in the dirt again… Thinks no one sees him coiling."

He smiled faintly and tasted the blade.

"Let him coil. I'll be waiting when he bares his fangs."

Recovery and Preparation

Back in the chamber, Tang Yun consumed a handmade elixir mixed from:

Frost Orchid Root – for qi stabilization.

Hollow Centipede Blood – for poison resilience.

Bone Lichen Extract – to mend corroded pathways.

He drank it slowly and leaned against the wall.

His body hurt.

His dantian throbbed.

But his qi was denser.

The miasma was beginning to flow naturally with the other toxins one of the signs that the upcoming breakthrough could succeed.

Still… he had only three days before the tournament announcement.

And once that happened, the eyes of the clan especially the inner court would begin to turn toward him.

A Message from the Shadows

That night, as he returned to his chambers, Xiaomei approached quietly and handed him a small scroll sealed with red wax.

"It arrived via crow messenger," she whispered. "No clan seal."

He opened it.

"The Black Needle blooms soon. All roots lead to you. Watch the girl with no eyes."

Tang Yun's brows furrowed.

Girl with no eyes...?

Then he remembered.

The new servant Ruo'er. Her gaze had been dull. Emotionless.

Was she blind…?

Or hiding something worse?

He folded the note and burned it in a flicker of poison qi.

Time was short.

Enemies were watching.

And if he didn't ascend to the Late Qi Awakening Realm before the next full moon…

He wouldn't survive the tournament.

End of Chapter 38

[Tags]: Reincarnation, Martial Arts, Poison, Scheming Protagonist, Cultivation, Weak to Strong, Anti-Hero, Cold Protagonist, Clan Wars, Hidden Identity, Revenge