SWNOVELXO Chapter 34: Stepping Into The Cultivation Path
Feng Fan, for the first time since arriving here, lunged into an offensive.
His body surged forward, closing the distance between himself and Zhang Qi with unyielding determination.
Zhang Qi's lips curled into a mocking smirk as he watched the attack. 'Only a trash at the 1st Body Forging realm? I don't even need to dodge this!'
'Underestimating me is your mistake,' Feng Fan thought, his eyes narrowing. 'If he lets his guard down, I can turn this to my advantage. I can't waste this chance.'
Feng Fan reached Zhang Qi in a flash, channeling every ounce of strength into a sharp, upward kick.
Family Jewel Destroyer Kick!
But as Feng Fan's foot moved, Zhang Qi countered with a sinister gleam in his eyes.
"Ghostly Fist!"
Zhang Qi's qi-infused punch streaked toward Feng Fan's lower chest.
Yet, before his attack connected, an ominous sensation crept up his spine—a primal warning that screamed danger.
'Impossible! How can a mere technique from someone three small realms below me make me feel such fear?!' he thought, his smirk replaced by a grimace of disbelief.
Realizing the foolish decision of exchanging wounds with Feng Fan, Zhang Qi's instincts kicked in.
He quickly redirected his punch, abandoning its trajectory toward Feng Fan's chest. Instead, his fist pivoted downward, aiming to intercept Feng Fan's leg as it arced toward his groin.
'Whatever this kick is, I can't let it connect!'
Feng Fan's kick and Zhang Qi's connected.
The impact sent pain across Feng Fan's right leg, his right leg slightly burned from the ghostly fire imbued in the punch.
Because of his damaged leg, Feng Fan almost fell to the ground, but he quickly circulated his breathing technique to heal the damage. It wasn't easy, because Zhang Qi's qi was much stronger than those he had fought before.
Zhang Qi's qi continued to wreak havoc inside his leg.
Fortunately, Zhang Qi wasn't much better, Feng Fan's kick was embodied with Dao laws. How could a mere Qi Gathering realm cultivator hope to intercept it unharmed?
'How is this possible?! A mere 1st Body Forging cultivator broke my hand with a single kick?!' Zhang Qi's mind reeled as he cradled his shattered right hand, pain radiating from the crushed bones.
The Family Jewel Destroyer Kick was no ordinary move—it delivered real damage, ignoring the opponent's defense, regardless of its target.
Zhang Qi knew he should no longer underestimate his opponent. 'Even if this guy was once trash, whatever he found inside the immortal's legacy made him a threat!' he thought, his face darkening with both anger and unease.
As Feng Fan staggered back, stabilizing himself despite his injured leg, Zhang Qi gritted his teeth and suppressed the pain in his broken hand.
Without hesitation, he channeled his qi into his left fist and surged forward.
'Ghostly Fist!' he snarled, aiming directly at Feng Fan's lower abdomen.
Feng Fan's eyes widened as Zhang Qi's intentions echoed in his mind. He instinctively tried to retreat, but his injured leg betrayed him, slowing his movements.
Crack!
Zhang Qi's punch struck, a surge of ghostly qi erupting on impact. The force shattered Feng Fan's dantian, the core of his cultivation, with a resounding crack.
Blood spilled from Feng Fan's mouth as his body was flung backward like a broken doll, tumbling across the ground before coming to rest with a heavy thud.
"Let's see how you crawl your way out of this, trash," Zhang Qi muttered, his voice dripping with malice as he approached Feng Fan.
Feng Fan gritted his teeth, forcing himself to focus through the haze of pain.
He knew he had to act quickly. Zhang Qi would no longer underestimate him, and the killing blow was coming after his life.
He considered trying to mend his shattered dantian using his breathing technique, but then, a realization struck like a bolt of lightning.
'The core must be cast aside, broken down, and recreated anew…'
The words from the manual echoed in his mind, now illuminated by the clarity of desperation.
'What is a cultivator's core? Of course—the dantian!'
Feng Fan's eyes widened as understanding dawned. The final step in completing his body remodeling was to destroy it and rebuild it anew.
A part of him questioned why this essential aspect of his cultivation, included in his earlier body remodeling, needed to be discarded now. But he shoved those doubts aside.
He didn't have the luxury to dwell on the reason.
Without hesitation, Feng Fan activated his breathing technique. However, instead of directing his qi to mend his cracked dantian, he focused it inward, commanding it to obliterate the core completely.
A sharp, internal explosion reverberated through his body as the dantian shattered into countless fragments, causing blood to spill from Feng Fan's mouth.
The tiny shards, infused with qi, surged into his 144 meridians, strengthening and expanding them in ways he had never imagined.
A new dantian, twice larger than the last, started gaining form inside him.
Body Remodeling: 99% → 100% Complete!
The transformation sent a wave of newfound vitality coursing through Feng Fan's veins and meridians. But before he could savor the surge of strength, a chilling sensation pierced his consciousness.
Zhang Qi, far from deterred by the sight of Feng Fan's bloodied state, felt an overwhelming sense of dread creeping over him. It was as though Feng Fan had become something entirely different—something more dangerous.
Determined to snuff out this threat before it grew any further, Zhang Qi moved with deadly speed, closing the gap between them.
"Ghostly Fist!" he roared, his qi-infused punch hurtling toward Feng Fan's head.
Feng Fan's body trembled, still paralyzed by the intensity of the remodeling process. He could only watch as Zhang Qi's attack approached, the specter of death casting its shadow over him.
'Is this… it?' Feng Fan thought, his mind racing as his body refused to respond. Time seemed to slow, the moment stretching into eternity as the punch neared its mark.
"Feng Fan!"
A desperate shout cut through the air—it was Huang Xue.
She threw herself between him and Zhang Qi, her body moving faster than her injuries should have allowed.
"Huang Xue, no!" Feng Fan shouted, his voice hoarse with panic.
Zhang Qi's qi-infused punch collided with her chest, sending her flying backward like a broken kite. She crashed into a tree with a thud, blood spraying from her mouth as she crumpled to the ground.
"HUANG XUE!"
Feng Fan's roar was filled with rage and anguish, echoing through the moonlit clearing. His eyes burned with fury as he turned to her motionless figure, lying in a pool of her own blood.
Pain forgotten, Feng Fan forced himself to his feet, his body trembling but resolute.
The qi that had surged from his new dantian, now roared to life, a storm of power he had never felt before. His cultivation had broken through.
1st Qi Gathering Realm!