The battlefield of the Second Inheritance Trial was lit with arcs of silver lightning and the crashing force of spiritual energy.
Bai Zhenyu stood in the center, his chest rising and falling in measured breaths. Three Foundation Establishment puppets surrounded him in a triangular formation, each radiating a cold, merciless aura. Their joint pressure would have crushed him a week ago… but now, his own aura rose to meet theirs.
The air trembled as the Beast Fusion Talent activated. The moment his soul merged with the Little Thunder Serpent, their bodies overlapped in spirit, forming a single, seamless existence. Silver lightning rippled across his limbs, arcs dancing between his fingers, and his golden eyes glowed with the serpent's draconic ferocity.
A second wave of power erupted as his Lightning Strengthening Talent flared. Every strand of lightning around him grew sharper, heavier, and more violent. His merged aura now pressed against the combined presence of the three Foundation Establishment puppets without buckling.
' This is the strength of an Imperial Beast Tamer.'...Bai Zhenyu thought, his lips curling into a grim smile.
The puppets moved first. Their steps were silent, but their strikes cracked the air. Bai Zhenyu's sword blurred in response, silver arcs trailing behind every swing. He was not just fighting — he was weaving a deadly rhythm of movement, his speed pushed to the limit by the serpent's lightning.
The first exchange rattled his bones. A spear-wielding puppet aimed for his chest, while another swept low with a blade. The third struck from behind, palm glowing with concentrated spiritual force.
"Too slow!" he hissed, vanishing into a streak of silver light.
Lightning Speed — his figure blurred and reappeared behind the spear wielder. His sword fell in a downward slash, reinforced with second-order Foundation Establishment thunder spells. Silver arcs exploded, piercing through the puppet's chest before it could react.
Sparks rained as the first puppet collapsed.
The remaining two converged, their strikes tighter and more precise now. Bai Zhenyu's breathing grew heavier — even with his cultivation at the twelfth level of Qi Condensation and his fused spiritual energy nearing Foundation Establishment strength, each clash sent tremors through his body. His muscles screamed, but the serpent's fierce will pulsed in his mind:
' Don't stop. We break them here.'
They moved as one. His sword clashed with the halberd of the second puppet, sparks exploding between them. Bai Zhenyu's off-hand formed a seal, lightning gathering at his fingertips before detonating point-blank into the puppet's chest.
The puppet staggered — a single heartbeat was all he needed. His blade flashed, cleaving it down.
Only one remained.
This one fought differently, its swordplay almost alive. Every strike targeted his joints, every thrust calculated to break his defense. Bai Zhenyu felt his arms numbing, but his eyes only grew sharper.
"One more…"
He stepped in, lightning flooding every meridian. The world slowed as he bent low, sword sheathed for the briefest moment — then, in a burst of silver light, he unleashed the Bai Clan Sword Drawing Technique.
A single arc split the air. The puppet froze. A crack ran from its shoulder to its hip, and with a sharp metallic shriek, it fell apart.
Silence returned to the trial ground, broken only by the faint crackle of fading lightning.
Bai Zhenyu stood in the center, shoulders heaving, sweat dripping down his face. His spiritual energy was nearly spent, his body screaming from the strain. But his eyes… they were brighter than ever.
He had done it. Alone.
The trial ground began to tremble. Bai Zhenyu's battered body suddenly surged with violent spiritual energy. The combined pressure of the week-long battle, the limit-breaking fusion, and the victory over three Foundation Establishment puppets became the final catalyst.
His meridians roared like raging rivers. Lightning ran rampant within his dantian, crashing again and again against an invisible barrier — until it shattered.
A deafening thunderclap echoed through the trial space.
Bai Zhenyu's aura expanded violently, pushing past the 12th stage… and surging into the 13th stage of Qi Condensation — the forbidden realm few dared to even dream of.
His golden eyes glowed like twin suns as silver lightning arced from his body.
"In my previous life, I never touched this stage. This life… I'll step beyond everything I once was."
He stood tall, the air around him crackling with unrestrained power. The Second Inheritance Trial had just witnessed the rebirth of a monster.
Even as his power stabilized, the Second Inheritance Trial reacted. Three glowing treasures materialized in the air before him — rewards for clearing the stage. Their radiance illuminated the space in brilliant colors.
But Bai Zhenyu didn't even spare them a glance.
His body trembled. He could feel it — the threshold had been reached. His cultivation base was surging again, trying to step across the boundary into Foundation Establishment.
The 100 days of Foundation Establishment were not a simple "breakthrough." It was a complete transformation — converting essence into purer mana, tempering the body into a cultivator's vessel, and evolving the soul to step beyond mortality.
This was the moment when one truly shed the mortal shell and became a cultivator.
Without hesitation, he sat down cross-legged, suppressing the urge to rush. He began compressing everything — spiritual essence, body strength, and soul force — merging them into a single, refined core.
He silently recited the Bai Clan's Foundation Establishment Scripture of the Five Element Sword Technique, his breathing falling into the rhythm of the clan's most ancient inheritance.
At the same time, his other cultivation — the Five Elements Body Refinement Technique — was activated. This special Bai Clan body cultivation method could only be practiced in the Qi Condensation stage, but when pushed to its peak before breaking through, it gave a small yet precious chance of awakening a special physique.
If a cultivator already possessed an innate physique, this refinement would awaken it further. If not, it could grant an acquired physique — one that might or might not suit its owner.
' If fortune is on my side… this life, I'll gain a physique worthy of my ambitions.'
He stopped using his talent and sent the serpent back to the beast taming space
The thunder-light in his eyes dimmed as he sank into deep cultivation, ignoring the treasures before him. For Bai Zhenyu, this was the true inheritance he had been waiting for.