CHAPTER 149: BREAKTHROUGH, CORE FORMATION! - END

Li Ling watched as around a third of his newly formed Dharma Power was taken away by the ethereal hand, used as some kind of "ink" to draw the first glyph from before. Just when he thought it was done and that he could deal with the aftermath of all this trouble, he saw the hand move again!

This time, it surged with power and began inscribing the next symbol with slightly less gusto, as if it had lost some power after the first one rather than being reluctant to continue. The new image was one that Li Ling could partially understand until his mind was pulled into a daze once more.

The second glyph was done rather quickly, revealing a symbol that Li Ling could not make heads or tails of, just like the first one. Since he was the one it was being done to, Li Ling gritted his teeth and felt that he couldn’t be the type who let things happen without understanding.

This made him recklessly surge inwardly with his spirit sense, the two symbols glowing when his mind touched them as they revealed all of their secrets to Li Ling.

Unlike those outside, the backlash of power for Li Ling was non-existent.

As he wasn’t creating new laws or rules, his core, Dharma Power, and overall sensibilities were completely unharmed, but he was lost in a slight daze at the sheer majesty of the two rules and the scope of each.

SHIING!

He only snapped out of this kind of daze when the third rune was done, with the hand taking a pause as it found that Li Ling only had a faint thread of Dharma Power left. A sigh echoed within Li Ling’s spirit that came from an indescribable place that existed beyond the mere heavens, causing the young man to tremble.

With the third glyph completed, the hand faded away into obscurity, only carving three glyphs of vastly different types and meanings, as if it had never existed in the first place.

The moment this happened, the Infinite Slaughter System, which had seemed to be asleep or nonexistent through this whole process, suddenly took over things forcefully and continued the remainder of the breakthrough process as if nothing had happened.

The fifth and final stage of the Core Formation breakthrough was the Energy Grand Cycle, which was a fancy way to say that it was time to restructure one’s meridians once more for the more powerful Dharma Power to flow smoothly.

Li Ling felt his meridians stretch and then become taut like a piece of tensile fiber—his body having already been extremely refined thanks to his dual practice of both cultivation paths—but a little more oomph was needed to make it perfect for the qi cultivation third realm’s standards.

That achievement was already done, and the flow of Dharma Power rushed throughout his body, the previously flimsy quantity supplemented by the Infinite Slaughter System. The hand never came back, nor did the three glyphs disappear or fade into obscurity.

They remained boldly imprinted on the surface of his core, as if to say that they were now a fundamental part of Li Ling and were here to stay!

Li Ling spat out a three-colored mist in the form of an exhale that contained remnant dao power, which caused the entire room to shake like there was an ongoing earthquake. Though it dissipated quickly, Li Ling watched it solemnly for a few seconds, not knowing how to feel about everything that had just happened.

There was just too much within this simple breakthrough to the third realm on the path of qi cultivation for him to know where to begin in terms of benefits and detriments.

Firstly, there was the obvious acquisition of a Five Element Heavenly Spirit Root as a consequence of breaking through using the One Line Chaos Art. From a mere trash-tier earth element spirit root user, he now had heavenly roots in all basic elements, meaning that he was a certified genius who could become the sect son of a low-level sect just by flexing his fingers a bit!

However, having this was just an auxiliary thing for Li Ling, because he was not stupid enough to spit in the face of the system that brought him here and made his climb easy by saying something along the lines of "now I can break free of the system’s influence using my own effort."

Secondly, there was the One Line Chaos Art itself, which had given birth to Grandmist Dharma Power in Li Ling’s core, which was a surprising silvery-gray essence that hovered within, sometimes flashing a deep black color that made one shudder.

This was the promised special energy that could dissolve all element-based attacks if they were within a certain threshold. Basically, if you didn’t have overwhelming power within the same realm, or had the special bonus of being in a higher realm, you were fodder before him.

So those at Nascent Soul and above who gained special power relating to the Spirit Path were able to break through this defense, but those at the third realm and below had to have something more than just the normal flow to have a chance.

It was excellent combat power, which definitely validated the high cost of learning.

Thirdly, there was the super core he now possessed. His core—whether as a result of the Infinite Slaughter System’s methodology, the art he used to break through, or the influence of the three glyphs—was far more durable, expansive, and especially supercharged compared to others of the same realm.

It was spinning so fast that Li Ling actually had to use his newly born Dharma Sense to grip the core tightly and painfully to slow it down a little, otherwise he would form a vortex of spiritual energy whenever he went!

If his core wasn’t already full of Dharma Power, he was sure another phenomenon would have occurred. As it were, it simply meant that his combat capability had shot up by another notch, something for which he was naturally grateful.

Fourthly, and more prudently, there was something he had been looking forward to ever since he had begun the breakthrough process: the upgrade of the Infinite Slaughter System!

｢The Infinite Slaughter System has detected that the host has advanced to a new realm of cultivation and has attained a new level of life. As such, the Growth Protocol of the Infinite Slaughter System has been activated, which guarantees that the system will undergo fundamental, positive changes each time the host raises their level of life based on the experience of the host during that period of time.｣

｢Congratulations, Li Ling (Andrew Han), you have activated version 3 of the Infinite Slaughter System and the changelog is provided below:

1. The innate system scan feature will now work on all creatures within one major Path of you.

2. Slaughter Points can now be bestowed upon others, warping them into Slaughter Demons who lose their sense of self, with all their kills belonging to you.

3. Certain cultivation techniques can now be limit-broken and upgraded to a new level based on your cultivation realm.

4. Rule Power can now be accumulated and measured. For your own safety, and as a precaution, all Rule Power you naturally possess can only be used through the system to prevent yourself from imploding.

5. You can now sacrifice learned daoist arts and cultivation techniques, turning them into either Slaughter Points or, if they are compatible, merging them into a new technique. Explore this at your own leisure, host.｣

｢Remember, Host, between the heavens and the earth lie the bane of existence, the truth of thought, and the bleakness of morality. Your blade is the righteous flame that cleanses the filth, purges the rot, and edifies the unclean, bringing about wisdom, enlightenment, and ascendance to all living things. Slaughter a pathway to the top, then gaze downward at the streams of blood that carve your name into the bones of reality!｣

Li Ling’s lips trembled, feeling that the words of the Infinite Slaughter System were like listening to the speeches of the Autobot Leader, able to make your blood boil and fill you with energy to fight one last battle for the fate of the universe that hung in the balance.

He had to take a deep breath to calm himself and focus on the actual changes, feeling delighted by some while feeling puzzled by others. While he could understand some and why they came about, others baffled him in both their meaning and the purpose of their addition.

However, before he could ponder this any further, he felt a wealth of auras rushing over to his place, many of them far higher than what he possessed, even able to crush him into paste if he were not careful.

Surprisingly, though, the first to arrive was Shen Ziyan, who barged into the cultivation room brazenly and fixed her eyes on the frowning Li Ling, who was beginning to rise in a threatening manner.