Chapter 83 - 82: Second Grade Grandmaster
At this moment, Wude Palace had already descended into chaos.
More than half of the palace walls had collapsed, and the halls were in ruins. Through the swirling dust, dozens of figures could be seen clashing fiercely.
Xia Wuyang had never expected his incitement to be so effective. It had actually pushed Xia Wushang and Xia Wuchen to fight like this. ’It’s clear they’re trying to kill each other.’
The two warring factions were the military elites under the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, and the Jianghu experts recruited at great expense by the Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang. Among them were many powerhouses of the Upper Three Grades.
It was precisely because of this that they were able to demolish the incredibly sturdy Wude Palace, which now looked completely uninhabitable.
Both sides were now fighting with true killing intent, every move a fatal blow. People were dying one after another, their screams rising and falling incessantly.
The incident with the special incense was merely the catalyst. After days of open and secret struggles between the two princes, who were already like fire and water, the conflict had finally erupted completely.
Xia Wuchen and Xia Wushang were currently locked in combat. Xia Wuchen used a secret military art, each move violent and ferocious, shattering everything around them.
Xia Wushang used the Secret Palm Technique from the Celestial Treasure Pavilion. Although his moves weren’t as violent as Xia Wuchen’s, they were no less formidable and were far more agile.
Both princes were experts of the Upper Three Grades, and their every move contained the force of tens of thousands of pounds. One could only imagine the destruction caused by them fighting with their full strength.
Furthermore, they fought without any restraint. The main hall of Wude Palace collapsed with a deafening roar amidst the aftershocks of their battle, which was the source of the earth-shattering boom from moments ago.
Just as the two sides were locked in an inseparable struggle, a squad of Golden Armor Guards suddenly burst in. They forcibly separated the two parties, putting a stop to the great battle, and forcefully escorted the two princes to Yangxin Hall.
Inside Yangxin Hall, Emperor Xia’s face was as dark as still water. He watched the defiant faces of Xia Wuchen and Xia Wushang in silence.
His fingers drummed unconsciously on the armrest of the Throne, each soft tap making the atmosphere in the hall even heavier.
"You two are truly my fine sons!" After a long moment, Emperor Xia spoke, his voice icy. "To fight within the Imperial Palace, destroying halls and injuring people... what great prestige you have!"
Xia Wuchen and Xia Wushang quickly knelt. "Your sons would not dare. We beg Father to quell his anger."
"What wouldn’t you dare? You’re about to tear down my home! Is my own bedchamber next?" Emperor Xia slammed his hand on the armrest.
The eunuchs and Palace Maids standing in attendance were all as silent as cicadas in winter, not even daring to breathe loudly.
After a while, Emperor Xia commanded sternly, "Relay my decree! The Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, and the Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang, have shown no regard for the rules. They are to be confined to their quarters for half a year to reflect on their misdeeds. Without my express command, no one is to visit them."
This decree quickly spread throughout the Imperial Palace, causing an uproar among everyone.
After all, Xia Wuchen and Xia Wushang were the princes most likely to inherit the throne. Now that both were confined at the same time, it immediately sent shockwaves through the imperial court and the country.
Upon receiving the news, Xia Wuyang was also a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Emperor Xia to be so serious this time.
’A full six months. Those two should quiet down for a good while,’ he thought. But then another thought occurred to him. ’A six-month confinement... given my current condition, I should be on my last legs in half a year. It seems this timing was chosen deliberately.’
Still, without those two with their deep backgrounds staring him down, the coming days would be much more relaxed. He would have more time for Cultivation and improvement, which was undoubtedly a good thing for him.
Good things come in pairs. After the Third and Fifth Princes were confined, Xia Wuyang’s Cultivation Foundation also stabilized.
It would have originally taken some more time, but thanks to the Enchanting Heart Technique repeatedly breaking through its shackles and now having reached the Super Grade Level, it had invisibly spurred the consolidation of his Foundation and the advancement of his Cultivation. It also further strengthened the integration between his Spiritual Power and his physical body.
To say his Foundation was as solid as a mountain might be a slight exaggeration, but it wasn’t far off. It was more than enough to attempt a breakthrough to a higher level.
Using the Seven Hundred Year-Old Monkey Wine he had obtained from the Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang, Xia Wuyang’s Cultivation had already reached Third Grade Perfection, and he even had a chance to break through to the Second Grade Realm.
However, to be on the safe side, he hadn’t attempted the breakthrough back then. Now that his Foundation had stabilized, he could attempt to break into the Second Grade Realm even without the aid of a Miracle Treasure.
The Third Grade is the Viscera Refining Realm, and the Second Grade is the Marrow Refining Realm.
When the Martial Dao enters the marrow, it becomes like an instinct. It’s not just an increase in Cultivation, but also a sign that one’s control over Qi and Blood has reached a certain level.
Every Martial Artist in the Marrow Refining Realm can control their Qi and Blood Power with masterful fluency. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to infuse it into their bone marrow. Their mastery over various techniques has also reached an extremely profound level.
Mastering martial arts to the marrow is not just about Qi and Blood Entering the Marrow; it also means one’s practice of the Martial Dao has reached a level so deep it’s in their very bones.
Every move is like an instinct, containing terrifying power. It is for this reason that Second Grade Martial Artists are also known as Grandmasters.
Merely possessing Qi and Blood, Power, speed, and so on... does not qualify one to be called a Grandmaster. One must also have the corresponding overall strength and combat prowess.
And in terms of controlling Qi and Blood and using techniques, Xia Wuyang had actually reached the Grandmaster level long ago—and he wasn’t just an ordinary Grandmaster.
He had mastered one Cultivation Technique, Combat Technique, and Secret Technique after another, even improving upon them. This was something that even other Grandmasters couldn’t do. Ninety-nine percent of Super Grade Celestial Humans would find it difficult to improve a single Cultivation Technique in their entire lifetime.
But Xia Wuyang was a different story. He had already improved multiple Cultivation Techniques, Combat Techniques, and Secret Techniques, making them tailor-made for him. In his hands, they could unleash one hundred and twenty percent of their power.
Therefore, with this advantage alone, breaking through the barrier wouldn’t be that difficult.
"It’s time to begin!"
Xia Wuyang smiled faintly and began to mobilize the Qi and Blood Power within his body. At the same time, his Spiritual Power, which was over one hundred points strong, surged like an inverted Star River, effectively controlling every bit of his Power and Qi and Blood.
The so-called Marrow Refining Realm, as the name implies, requires one to temper the bone marrow, infusing Qi and Blood Power into it to achieve a deeper level of enhancement.
For an ordinary Martial Artist, this might be as difficult as ascending to the heavens. But for Xia Wuyang—with his formidable Spiritual Power that had reached the Super Grade Level, his incredibly solid Foundation, and his astonishing comprehension of Cultivation Techniques—it was a matter of course.
He should have broken through long ago; he was actually a little late.
Aided by his vast, pure Qi and Blood and his immense Spiritual Power, the bottleneck was soon riddled with cracks. With a thunderous roar, it collapsed completely.
It took only about the time to drink a cup of tea. Everything fell into place naturally, with almost no difficulty.
Even Xia Wuyang himself hadn’t expected the breakthrough to be so easy. But considering his current Spiritual Power, his Cultivation Foundation, and his understanding of Cultivation Techniques and the Martial Dao, it made sense that it would be this effortless.
If even he had found the breakthrough extremely difficult, how could anyone else possibly break through to the Second Grade Grandmaster Realm?