Heartforce Breakthrough: The Third Level

"What just happened?" The yellow-furred bear pressed, his voice urgent. "I saw you reach your absolute limit—you couldn't even defeat that fellow in the purple cape—and then, all of a sudden…?"

The black-robed Ji Ning understood what the bear was asking. He saw no reason to hide it from this senior; after all, there were still a few in the Three Realms who could utilize heartforce. "Senior Bear, earlier, when my divine power was nearly exhausted and I saw no path to survival, I threw everything I had into my strongest sword-art. To my surprise, its power exceeded even my own expectations. That was when I realized—my heartforce had also been consumed along with my sword technique."

"Heartforce?" The yellow-furred bear was stunned. "You can channel heartforce through your sword-fingers?"

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

"This… this…" The yellow-furred bear couldn't believe it.

In truth, the bear's understanding of heartforce was far inferior to Ji Ning's. Ji Ning had at least studied the 'Houyi Archery Art' and browsed some basic texts on the Three Realms at Mount Innerheart. The yellow-furred bear only knew of it from the scraps he'd heard while following Daoist Threelives.

"You… you can use heartforce on your sword-fingers, and you haven't even undergone your tribulation yet?" The yellow-furred bear remained deeply shaken. In the Three Realms, those renowned for mastering heartforce were all terrifying existences—typically True Gods and Daofathers, or at the very least, Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

"Whether I've undergone my tribulation is irrelevant," the black-robed Ji Ning said, shaking his head. "It is related to one's heartforce realm. According to Houyi's classification, heartforce is divided into five major levels. My experiences during the descent of the karmic hellfire and my time drifting in the Realm of Annihilation have allowed me to push my heartforce to the third level—Mastery. Combined with the six-plus months I spent wandering the Realm of Annihilation, during which I almost continuously cultivated the Houyi Archery Art, my control over heartforce has become more perfect. Perhaps because my foundation in the Houyi Archery Art was solid and my heartforce has reached the third level, I was able to execute it by a stroke of luck."

"The third level?" The yellow-furred bear was completely lost. He knew nothing of Houyi's five-level classification system for heartforce.

"But what does it matter?" The black-robed Ji Ning shook his head. "Even if I understand how to use heartforce with my fingers, I am still someone who has not undergone my tribulation. Facing the Broken Horn World of these ancient ruins, I am utterly outmatched. And escaping the Realm of Annihilation is even more impossible."

"Don't lose heart," the yellow-furred bear said. "Figuring out how to use heartforce through your sword-fingers is already a great harvest."

"I haven't lost heart," the black-robed Ji Ning replied calmly.

"By the way, the massive army of the Broken Horn World could have easily captured you. Why didn't they act? Why did they let you recover instead?" The yellow-furred bear pressed on with his doubts.

The black-robed Ji Ning shook his head. "I don't know either. It sounds as if they see me as a training dummy. Perhaps there are other reasons. Whatever it is, as long as I can stay alive, I will keep living… The longer I drag this out, the more likely my master will be able to find me. I have to hold onto this sliver of a chance."

"Mm." The yellow-furred bear nodded.

In the ethereal, nebulous space of the aquatic manor.

The yellow-furred bear had returned, and he saw the seven mighty figures once more.

"How is it?" the black-armored, seductive woman pressed immediately.

"Ji Ning said that the army of the Broken Horn World didn't kill or capture him—they just trapped him. It seems they see him as a whetstone, a training partner to temper their elite warriors," the yellow-furred bear said. "But honestly, we don't need to overthink the reason. Regardless, Ji Ning isn't in mortal danger for now. You seven don't need to expose yourselves. We'll wait; the longer we stall, the better. If Patriarch Subhuti can find Ji Ning, everything will be resolved."

The seven Fiendgods all nodded in agreement.

"One more crucial thing. Ji Ning said he has figured out how to apply heartforce through his fingers," the yellow-furred bear added quickly. "His strength has skyrocketed as a result."

"Figured out how to use heartforce?"

The seven Fiendgods all cried out in unison.

The red-haired one found it impossible to believe. "He… this is heartforce! Heartforce! How could he possibly…"

"Ji Ning was already training in the Houyi Archery Art, so he had a heartforce technique. Something must have clicked for him, and his heartforce has already reached the third level," the yellow-furred bear said. "He mentioned something about three levels, and said Houyi divides it into five levels, but I don't understand it myself."

"Third level already?"

"What an absolute monster."

"Absolutely…"

The seven of them were all dumbfounded. The yellow-furred bear didn't need to fight during the Primordial Pangu World era, but these seven had followed Daoist Threelives into countless battles, and so were naturally well-informed about the powerful figures of the Three Realms. To survive, you had to know yourself and your enemy. They were intimately familiar with the five levels of heartforce and knew that the third level was already considered an exceptionally high standard even in the Primordial Pangu World era.

"He truly lives up to his human heritage," a child-like figure among the seven sighed. "Human comprehension is truly the crown of all races. I wonder how Mother Nuwa created such a perceptive race. Compared to humans, our divine Fiendgod comprehension is practically non-existent."

"Humanity rose from humble beginnings to become the masters of the Primordial Pangu World. Even at the Daofather level, humans have produced the most. The strength of the human race alone rivals all other races combined. And our young master… he is a peerless monster among humans. There is no comparison, no comparison at all," the elder also lamented.

They were all genuine Fiendgods. The youngest among them had been born alongside the Primordial Pangu World itself.

They had lived for so long and had witnessed humanity's rise with their own eyes. When humanity was first born, they were incredibly weak—any moderately powerful Fiendgod could have wiped out the entire race. But humanity was created by Mother Nuwa, and after Pangu's death, Nuwa was the strongest power in the ancient world. Naturally, no one would exterminate humanity for no reason. Humanity multiplied quickly, had astonishing comprehension, and grew rapidly. Celestial Immortals, Pure Yang True Immortals, even Daofathers—they kept emerging. Humanity's status rose higher and higher, until finally, a single human race rivaled all other races combined. Even Chaotic Fiendgods were forced to acknowledge humanity's position. Any who dared to oppress humanity would be directly annihilated by a human grandmaster.

"He truly is worthy of being our young master, the successor of the Godking," a Fiendgod with a kind, youthful appearance said with emotion. "To be able to figure out how to use heartforce before his tribulation, and combined with the Starseizing Hand… I suspect our young master will become almost the strongest being among all Void Fiendgods. He might even approach the power of an Empyrean God!"

"Not yet, but our young master indeed has a chance to be supremely close to an Empyrean God," the Snow Scorpion also nodded.

Of course, the difference between an Empyrean God and a Void Fiendgod was enormous.

But how many Empyrean Gods possessed a heaven-defying divine ability like the 'Starseizing Hand'?

How many Empyrean Gods controlled heartforce?

These two factors alone closed a significant gap. Even so, they only dared to say he had a chance to be 'extremely close' to an Empyrean God—they did not dare to claim he could match the combat power of one. Because once a Fiendgod undergoes their tribulation and becomes an Empyrean God, even the physical body alone undergoes a world-shaking transformation. The divine power of an Empyrean God is also a massive leap forward. The gap in both divine body and divine power is simply too vast! The Starseizing Hand alone could never close that gap. Even adding the profound mysteries of heartforce made it uncertain.

Furthermore…

An Empyrean God's realm of Dao comprehension was also supremely high.

Thus, from ancient times to the present, no Void Fiendgod had ever truly reached the level of an Empyrean God. Of course, Ji Ning was also an unprecedented monster. First of all, the Starseizing Hand was a unique technique; Daoist Threelives, its only other master, had already perished. While there were some who could use heartforce, very few could do so at the Void Fiendgod stage. Ji Ning had first obtained the 'Houyi Archery Art,' then experienced the descent of karmic hellfire and other tribulations, pushing his heartforce to the third level, before finally achieving this breakthrough.

To combine the 'Starseizing Hand' with the 'application of heartforce' in a single body… Ji Ning was truly a peerless prodigy.

Even the seven Fiendgods, who had lived since Pangu's creation of the world, acknowledged that Ji Ning would be 'unbelievably close' to an Empyrean God.

"What is this alien doing?"

"He seems to be cultivating."

The general and the eight hundred and one purple-caped warriors all watched the distant human youth. Above Ji Ning's head, two miniature stars were floating—a miniature Sunstar and a miniature Taiyin Star. The Sunstar was wreathed in flames, with Golden Crows flying within it, while the Taiyin Star had an osmanthus tree growing on it. Both stars were crystal clear, as if two real, supreme stars had shrunk down countless times.

Divine power was steadily recovering.

Ji Ning cultivated calmly.

After a long time…

Once his divine power was fully restored, Ji Ning was back at his peak.

"Whoosh." Ji Ning opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the warriors of the Broken Horn World.

"He's stopped. Looks like he's recovered," the general said with a nod and a smile. "Beilong Nie, you're up."

"Yes, sir." One of the purple-caped warriors burned with fighting spirit. His excitement was palpable as he extended a thin, long tongue, producing a faint rustling sound. "Kid from another race, I won't be as useless as Tong Tuo and the others. Hahaha…" His piercing laughter still hung in the air as a streak of black light had already shot across the sky, arriving before Ji Ning.

…

Battle after battle.

Each time, a single purple-caped warrior engaged Ji Ning in one-on-one combat. Some were inferior to Ji Ning in raw attack power, but had the advantage in speed, allowing them to keep up. Among the purple-caped warriors, there were also extremely elite fighters who could suppress Ji Ning in every aspect.

Every time, Ji Ning would fight until his divine power was completely exhausted, then stop and quietly cultivate the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens to recover. The aliens allowed him to restore himself.

Fight! Cultivate!

The aliens alternated, ceaselessly squeezing Ji Ning's potential. The three Mother Queens monitored each exchange through the fluctuations in his heartforce, tirelessly attempting to deduce the methods of heartforce cultivation.

Time flowed, and twelve years passed in the blink of an eye.

In the midst of combat, Ji Ning had lost all track of time. These twelve years were completely immersed in the application of heartforce. Every battle was a grindstone, and he kept experimenting. His use of heartforce through his fingers became increasingly refined. Now, Ji Ning could consume approximately one-thirtieth of his total heartforce in a single sword-finger strike. This was already astonishing, yet it was still far from perfection.

"Humm~~~" "Humm~~~"

Two miniature stars, the Taiyin Star and the Sunstar, floated above Ji Ning's head.

A massive amount of divine power was being transformed within him. Over these twelve years, Ji Ning's divine power had been growing, becoming increasingly dense, increasingly perfect, until today… it had finally reached the absolute peak of the Sixteenth Cycle of the Crimsonbright Diagram.

"Boom!"

His divine power began its final transformation.