With Zhang Ruyi's current physique and abundant true energy, opening the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth meridians seemed effortless.

In just one day, he successfully opened five meridians, running through his entire body and forming five circulation cycles.

However, when he began opening the eleventh meridian, he finally felt some strain.

It took him a full six hours to successfully open the eleventh meridian, leaving him exhausted and drenched in sweat, with nearly ninety percent of his true energy depleted.

As the eleventh meridian opened, Zhang Ruyi's body trembled slightly.

A muffled sound echoed from his brow.

"Boom!"

Reaching the Small Perfection of the Yellow Realm!

The capacity of the qi pool immediately expanded tenfold, becoming nearly the size of a five-meter square, resembling a real pond in size.

Inside the qi pool, the true energy surged, creating a misty scene.

"Indeed! This body is still too weak. In the Small Perfection of the Yellow Realm, I can only open eleven meridians. I must find a way to enhance my physique."

If other martial artists knew Zhang Ruyi's current thoughts, they would be dumbfounded on the martial arts field.

It's worth noting that being able to open six meridians in the Small Perfection of the Yellow Realm already qualifies as a genius. Opening eight meridians belongs to the top-tier geniuses. Opening ten meridians is practically a phenomenon, causing same-level martial artists to look up in awe.

The Seventh Prince, by opening ten meridians in the Small Perfection of the Yellow Realm, became renowned throughout the world, invincible at the same level and hailed as the number one prodigy of Yunwu County, completely overshadowing other geniuses.

For a hundred years, in all of Yunwu County, he was the only one to open ten meridians in the Small Perfection of the Yellow Realm, until now, with the addition of Zhang Ruyi.

"At any rate, I have finally reached the Small Perfection of the Yellow Realm! I wonder how powerful I am now?"

After cleaning himself and donning a blue robe, Zhang Ruyi left the room.

He intended to find a secluded place to test his strength.

The royal palace of Yunwu County was built around three large mountains, namely Jun Mountain, Wang Mountain, and Emperor Mountain. Apart from the palace-style buildings, there were also some secluded gardens and hills.

Zhang Ruyi and Lin Fei resided in the Ziyi Side Palace, akin to the Cold Palace, quite a distance away from the main palace complex.

Exiting the Ziyi Side Palace led to a snow-covered forest. Beyond that lay Jun Mountain, one of the three great mountains of the royal palace.

Arriving below Jun Mountain, there were no bustling palace maids, eunuchs, or even guards in sight.

"Right here should suffice."

Zhang Ruyi halted, preparing to test his current strength.

With a slight bend in his legs, resembling a horse stance or a proud elephant standing in the snow, he continuously imprinted palm prints at an increasing speed.

"The Dragon-Elephant Palm's first move, Barren Elephant Galloping!"

Zhang Ruyi pushed off with his legs, fully tensing his bones and muscles, then violently thrust out a palm against the rock wall.

"Bang!"

The wall cracked, and the five-meter-high stone wall collapsed.

Stepping back swiftly, Zhang Ruyi avoided being hit by the falling debris.

"The explosive force of this strike is almost equivalent to the strength of eight bulls!" Zhang Ruyi nodded lightly.

An ordinary martial artist in the Small Perfection of the Yellow Realm could only unleash the strength of four bulls at most.

Having just broken through to the Small Perfection of the Yellow Realm, being able to exert the strength of eight bulls was already quite remarkable. With further cultivation, the power he could unleash would certainly become even more formidable.

"Let's try swordsmanship next!"

Retrieving the Soul Flash Sword from the temporal crystal space, Zhang Ruyi infused it with true energy.

"Whoosh!"

The first force pattern was activated, and the weight of the Soul Flash Sword immediately reached 153 catties.

Subsequently, the second ice force pattern was also activated, emitting a piercing chill from the sword, causing the surrounding air to become slightly colder.

Given Zhang Ruyi's current cultivation, activating two force patterns simultaneously was already at the limit!

In the past half year, Zhang Ruyi had not only focused on physical training; a significant amount of his time was also spent practicing the "Heavenly Heart Sword Technique" and the "Dragon-Elephant Palm."

Fundamental techniques, physical training, and martial skills were all indispensable.

The Heavenly Heart Sword Technique was a spiritual-grade inferior sword technique, comprising twelve moves in total.

Each move was extremely exquisite, containing various variations far beyond comparison with ordinary sword techniques.

For a martial artist in the Yellow Realm to successfully cultivate the Heavenly Heart Sword Technique would undoubtedly require a substantial amount of time. Even cultivating just one move would take several months of hard work.

Relying on his memories of previously cultivating the Heavenly Heart Sword Technique, Zhang Ruyi had spent half a year before successfully cultivating three moves from the technique.

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The 153-catty Soul Flash Sword felt weightless in Zhang Ruyi's hands, used with exceptional proficiency as if it had become an extension of his body.

With a movement of his arm, the sword moved ahead.

"Heavenly Heart Guiding!"

Zhang Ruyi lifted his right arm and thrust the sword.

Immediately, a sharp whistling sound filled the air as a sword qi flew out.

"Swoosh!"

A seven-meter-long, three-foot-deep icy sword mark appeared on the ground. Grass and leaves were cut, rocks split, and the ground showed a clean cut, as if a path had been made by a sword.

"Heavenly Heart Plum Blossom Break!"

Zhang Ruyi flicked his arm, and the Soul Flash Sword turned into a blue light shuttle, creating seven illusions as if seven swords were simultaneously thrusting out.

Upon striking the stone wall, the tips of the seven sword shadows converged, emitting a "ding-ding" sound.

On the wall, seven tiny sword marks were left, all made by the sword tips. Arranged in the shape of a plum blossom, the seven marks formed a pattern.

Heavenly Heart Plum Blossom Break—breaking not the plum blossom, but the brow's furrow.

By thrusting out a sword, leaving seven tiny marks on the opponent's brow, it appeared as if a blood-red plum blossom had been imprinted on their brow.

Only by refining sword intent to the realm of "Sword Follows the Heart" could one successfully cultivate this move.

The realm of sword intent was divided into three levels: Sword Follows the Heart, Heart Enlightens the Sword, and Unity of Man and Sword.

Zhang Ruyi was currently at the realm of "Sword Follows the Heart," not far from "Heart Enlightens the Sword."

Apart from the "Heavenly Heart Guiding" and "Heavenly Heart Plum Blossom Break," Zhang Ruyi also successfully cultivated a defensive sword technique—"Heavenly Heart Sword Bell"!

"Heavenly Heart Sword Bell!"

Infusing true energy into the Soul Flash Sword, Zhang Ruyi blocked horizontally, causing the sword qi to condense into the shadow of a pale blue bell that enveloped his body.

Once this sword technique was unleashed, it could withstand a full-force blow from a martial artist in the Yellow Realm's Great Perfection. Unless that martial artist had also cultivated a spiritual-grade sword technique, they wouldn't be able to break Zhang Ruyi's defensive sword technique.

Heavenly Heart Guiding!

Heavenly Heart Plum Blossom Break!

Heavenly Heart Sword Bell!

Zhang Ruyi continuously employed these three sword techniques to comprehend the realm of "Heart Enlightens the Sword." However, achieving "Heart Enlightens the Sword" was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

It wasn't until he had depleted all his true energy that Zhang Ruyi returned to the Ziyi Side Palace.

"There are still thirteen days until the year-end assessment. I will strive to further improve my cultivation."

Sitting cross-legged with the Time-Space Scripture, Zhang Ruyi consumed a Qi Gathering Pill and wholeheartedly began cultivation.

As the time for the year-end assessment approached, all the princes and princesses of Yunwu County were fervently cultivating, hoping to shine at the year-end assessment and stand out.

The year-end assessment was only open to royal descendants and relatives under twenty years old, aiming to boost the motivation of young people and enhance their competitiveness.

In previous years, Zhang Ruyi had not even had the opportunity to participate in the year-end assessment and could only watch from the sidelines. At such times, it was the most embarrassing and difficult for him and Lin Fei.

This year, things might be different.

While Zhang Ruyi strived for progress, the other princes and princesses were also making advancements.

Within the Yu Shu Palace where Zhang Ruyi and Lin Fei once lived, the laughter of the Eighth Prince, Zhang Ji, reverberated from a splendid room: "Haha! I've finally broken through to the Small Perfection of the Yellow Realm!"

A hint of relief appeared on Princess Xiao's face as she praised, "Well done, Ji'er. With your current cultivation, although you still cannot compare to the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince, at least His Majesty will see your progress and surely reward you."

The Eighth Prince nodded, acknowledging that he was indeed far behind the Fifth and Sixth Princes in terms of cultivation.

The Sixth Prince had reached the peak of the Small Perfection of the Yellow Realm in the year-end assessment last year and might have already advanced to the Middle Perfection by now.

As for the Fifth Prince, he was even more formidable, reportedly having broken through to the Great Perfection.

The Eighth Prince sneered, "Someone is already at the bottom. With his presence, I will only appear more outstanding."

"Are you referring to the Ninth Prince? He only recently opened his martial arts imprint and probably hasn't even completed Marrow Cleansing. He probably won't participate in the year-end assessment," Princess Xiao replied.

"Heh heh! Whether he participates or not is not for him to decide." A contemptuous smile tugged at the corner of the Eighth Prince's lips.

(The end of this chapter)