High School Student with Immortal Race System

On January 4th, the Jiangti break ended, and with it came another round of Ranking Challenges.

For Yang Shen, this was basically another five-day vacation...

His breakthrough to the True Gang Realm was no longer a secret at Jiangti. No one, not even the seemingly unhinged Jiang Xin, wanted to challenge him.

Though Yang Shen’s name was still technically on that long ranking list, he was, for all intents and purposes, no longer part of it.

Interestingly, however, Xu Bamboo didn’t challenge Jiang Xin. She planned to crush him during the final exams as a Late-stage Innate.

Jiang Xin didn’t challenge Xu Bamboo either. He was also undergoing targeted training and wasn’t completely confident yet, especially since Yang Shen’s breakthrough to the True Gang Realm had left him feeling somewhat agitated.

Instead, they both, by unspoken agreement, challenged the student who had been promoted to second place in the year for free last month because of their draw.

According to the Ranking Challenge rules, this second-place student had to accept challenges from both Jiang Xin and Xu Bamboo—and it would be a gauntlet match...

First he’d fight Jiang Xin, then Xu Bamboo.

Or rather, he’d get beaten by Jiang Xin, and then get beaten by Xu Bamboo.

The scene was absolutely brutal... especially Jiang Xin, whose relentless barrage knocked the guy’s biceps out of alignment.

Running on fumes, he faced Xu Bamboo, only to get several new cuts on his body. In the end, even the supervising teacher couldn’t watch anymore.

He was told to give up; if he kept going, not even the school doctor would be able to save him.

He became the most severely injured first-year student since the semester began.

Over the next two days, Cao Wei, Yuan Rui, and Tian Zihan each made bold progress, climbing 150 spots in the rankings. Yuan Rui, who had started from the highest position, had already reached Class One with a year ranking of 49, earning him the right to show his filial piety up close.

Meanwhile, Cao Wei and Tian Zihan entered Class Two and Class Three, respectively, and were now just waiting for the final exams.

And so, the semester gradually drew to a close.

...

Jianghuai had entered the depths of winter. While it didn’t see the heavy, blanketing snows of the north, the damp, bone-chilling cold had its own unique flavor.

Those with Martial Cultivation could handle it with relative ease, but it was a much tougher ordeal for ordinary people. They had no choice but to bundle up in thick clothes, then change into even thicker pajamas at home, looking like bears.

And in this Martial Arts Socialism, those without Martial Cultivation probably felt the sting of turning on the air conditioning, too.

「That night.」

The bluestone paths of Cangwu Garden were damp, reflecting the moon’s fluorescent glow. In the corners, many new stacks of lumber had appeared, covered by tarps.

This was all wood that Yang Shen had recently purchased to build his secret underground chamber.

Today, however, Yang Shen had temporarily set aside his miscellaneous tasks and was peacefully cultivating, cross-legged, on the fourth floor of the ancestral hall.

He could feel that a breakthrough was imminent.

Behind Yang Shen, Xu Bamboo and Long Jiu sat cross-legged in meditation a short distance away. Both were attempting to break through to the "Secret Technique Third Layer," which was equivalent to the third layer of Qi Refining.

Moonlight spilled in through the window, illuminating Yang Shen’s resolute and handsome face.

He had always been good-looking, but after starting his Cultivation, he gained a sense of having a "flourishing Divine Soul." Combined with the near-perfect skin he’d gained from his advancing Martial Arts Realm, he had reached a level of handsomeness that could make one’s mind go blank just by looking at him.

Within Yang Shen’s body, the Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique circulated continuously. The Spiritual Qi in his Qi Sea was as active as a babbling spring, cleansing his entire body.

His physique was far stronger than that of an ordinary Qi Refining Realm Cultivator, making him a hybrid of a Body Cultivator and a Magic Cultivator. His Qi Sea’s capacity was several times that of his peers.

And compared to an ordinary True Gang Realm Martial Artist, he was far more mystical and profound. He had mastered numerous Magic spells, and when he used Martial Arts or True Gang, they were also amplified several times over.

The dual track of Immortal Martial cultivation he had always adhered to—in other words, the Dual Cultivation of Life and Spirit—was proving to be more and more miraculous the further he advanced.

His Martial Arts Side had already reached True Gang. Now, it was time for his Cultivation Side to make a move.

’After all... the new main quest is a bit troublesome.’

"One person reaches the Foundation Establishment Stage, three people reach Late-stage Qi Refining (7th-9th layers)."

While the latter could be achieved naturally over time, the former was tantamount to pioneering new territory. No one but him, the foremost member of the Yang Family, could hope to accomplish it.

’The system might have said, "Vassals, allies, and servants do not count," but there are still plenty of loopholes to exploit.’

’But... I don’t want to do that.’

He was truly tired of being a "Qi Refining Ancestor."

Unlike the Martial Arts Side, which had many quantifiable thresholds, breakthroughs in Cultivation relied entirely on "sensation"—an indescribable, inexplicable stirring of the heart.

Yang Shen wasn’t sure if his breakthrough would happen tonight, tomorrow night, or sometime in the coming week, but he was always prepared.

Just then, Yang Shen suddenly felt a change within his Qi Sea...

In his "mind’s eye," his Qi Sea was like a pool of water, and above it hovered a golden wheel.

It was his "Rising Sun Fist Intent."

Normally, when he used the abilities of his Fist Intent, like the Rising Sun Golden Flame, it was mobilized by the spinning golden wheel. If he was using a pure Cultivation Technique, his Qi Sea would provide the power.

Only during periods of extreme activity, such as a life-and-death battle, would the two operate in tandem.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

But today, even though he was sitting cross-legged with his mind as calm as a deep abyss, both the Rising Sun Golden Wheel and his Qi Sea had become active at the same time...

In the center of the previously calm Qi Sea, directly below the golden wheel, a strange movement suddenly occurred.

At first, it was a slowly gushing spring, then a surging Spirit Pillar... it rose higher and higher until it passed through the golden wheel, where it was churned and dispersed by a Harmonious power, transforming into a mist that continued to ascend...

Yang Shen immediately realized what was happening, but he knew it was more important to steady his mind and react to the changes by remaining unchanged.

After the Spiritual Qi within his body atomized, it traveled up along his Spinal Dragon toward his brain—to a place the Cultivation Side calls...

"The Sea of Consciousness."

This was another major mechanical change on the Cultivation Side, following the acquisition of the "Qi Sea" at the third layer of Qi Refining.

What Yang Shen didn’t know was that when an ordinary Cultivator tried to break through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and open their Sea of Consciousness, this surge of energy would likely be completely depleted while passing through the "Spinal Dragon." Their Qi Sea would have no power left to sustain the effort, making a single-attempt success impossible.

That was why many Cultivators could only grind away at the breakthrough threshold over and over, sometimes for months or even years.

But as a dual-track Cultivator on Cyan Blue, his Spinal Dragon had long been as clear and unobstructed as jade. The energy reached its destination without any hindrance.

The breakthrough was so smooth it was almost imperceptible.

After the atomized Spiritual Qi reached his brain, it gradually found its home and began to settle.

In traditional medicine, that place was known as the "Mud Ball Palace" or the "Yellow Court," located slightly above the midpoint between the eyebrows, near the forehead.

Here, the "Sea of Consciousness" was about to be opened.

The vast Qi Sea surged endlessly, the Rising Sun Golden Wheel spun ever faster, and the translucent spine continuously bore the load...

A ceaseless torrent of energy surged upward, aiming for success in a single attempt.

Yang Shen felt more and more Spiritual Qi gathering in his brain, bringing with it a faint, dizzying, stabbing pain. Someone with an unsteady Dao Heart would likely find it impossible to endure such a state.

But Martial Artists were inherently more resilient to pain; it was an unavoidable part of daily Martial Arts training.

Moreover, he, Yang Shen, had grown up enduring hardship.

He didn’t waver in the slightest.

This transformation... continued for a long, long time...

It lasted until the bright moon had crossed the sky and set, just as Dongjun, the rising sun, was about to climb once more...

A ray of sunlight slowly rose from the distant horizon... its gentle warmth felt so tangible it was like a golden thread, bestowing a warm hue upon all things as it swept down from the crown of Yang Shen’s head...

When this golden line swept past the space between his eyebrows, he thought he heard the shattering sound of a qualitative transformation.

’The Sea of Consciousness... is formed!’

With this newfound understanding, Yang Shen opened his eyes and looked directly at the sun he knew so well.

And at that same moment, a power called Divine Sense had already begun to quietly spread out.

With a single sweep of his Divine Thought... without needing the aid of an Array, the entire ancestral hall was laid bare in his mind!

The postures of Xu Bamboo and Long Jiu behind him, how many inches of incense remained burning before the memorial tablets downstairs, the location of the Ancestral Lineage Spiritual Record in the hidden compartment...

But it didn’t end there. His Divine Sense continued to spread outward until it reached a range of 150 meters—surpassing the current range of his True Gang—before it hit its limit.

’150 meters... That’s very impressive.’

According to the Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique, when first opening the Sea of Consciousness, the maximum range of one’s Divine Sense was typically around 60 meters, or 20 zhang.

Yang Shen’s was nearly 50 zhang.

However, this was the "single-strand maximum distance," which involved condensing his Divine Sense into a single line, causing him to lose awareness of the areas to his sides.

If he used it as a "circular field," Yang Shen could sense an area roughly 80 meters around him.

He marveled at this new ability in his heart.

Compared to the "Alarm Array" used in formations, the perception of Divine Sense was far more detailed and accurate.

The Alarm Array only provided feedback on changes in form, like little silhouette figures, whereas Divine Sense was like a third eye, capable of capturing a great many details.

’Also... Divine Sense can be used not only externally, but internally as well...’

’It’s not that "metaphysical" internal awareness from before, but true introspection.’

On the Cultivation Side, introspection was one of the prerequisites for Foundation Establishment.

On the Martial Arts Side, the Jade Viscera Realm also required a "Biological Force Field" to precisely temper the internal organs...

’Although I’m not sure of the difference between "Divine Sense" and a "Biological Force Field," I feel they must have something in common.’

’And now, I’ve obtained it ahead of schedule.’

’Qi Refining Seventh Layer. After this, the eighth and ninth layers have no further mechanical changes. After the ninth layer, it’s Foundation Establishment.’

’And on the Martial Arts Side, I’m equivalent to a Late-stage True Gang with a Severe Qi and Blood Deficiency. I’ll need some time for Source Supplement.’

’If I calculate the time, it won’t be too far off...’

What was even more gratifying than knowing he was on the right path... was that he was traveling down it faster and faster.