Seclusion swallowed time.
Li Chen no longer measured hours or days—only circulation cycles.
Inside the sealed chamber, spiritual qi gathered so densely it began to resemble liquid mist, yet not a single fluctuation leaked outside. The formations held. Xu Ming obeyed his orders. The world, for once, remained ignorant.
Li Chen's breathing was steady.
Slow.
Circular.
Perfectly restrained.
The fourth stage of Qi Condensation stabilized completely.
Then—
He continued.
"Careful," Li Chen muttered to himself. "Too fast and you'll invite trouble."
The qi did not rush.
It did not surge.
It listened.
Layer by layer, strand by strand, spiritual qi compressed within his dantian. Each thread aligned naturally, as if pre-carved by fate itself. No impurities. No turbulence.
The fifth stage of Qi Condensation formed.
Li Chen's eyelid twitched.
"That was… supposed to be the limit."
His instincts screamed danger—not from backlash, but from ease.
This was the problem with monsters.
Progress came so naturally that stopping became the real difficulty.
Li Chen reinforced his mental seals, tightening the higher-realm restrictions around his Supreme Sword Physique. The sword intent within him obeyed, folding inward like a sheathed blade.
But cultivation did not stop.
It refined.
The fifth stage compressed further.
Qi density doubled.
Then tripled.
Li Chen felt it clearly.
He was approaching the peak of Qi Condensation.
"No phenomena," he whispered firmly. "No intent leakage. Behave."
Outside, the formations hummed softly—straining, but intact. The sect's spiritual veins diverted imperceptibly, compensating for a drain they could not trace.
Inside Li Chen's dantian, the condensed qi no longer behaved like mist.
It behaved like steel wrapped in silence.
Then—
Click.
Not a sound.
A completion.
Li Chen opened his eyes slowly.
Peak Qi Condensation.
Not unstable.
Not forced.
Not borrowed.
Perfect.
He exhaled.
The gathered qi instantly dispersed back into the environment, leaving no trace—no pressure, no fluctuation, no omen.
Li Chen sat there for a long time.
"…This is bad," he concluded calmly.
Peak Qi Condensation meant one thing.
Foundation Building was now inevitable.
And that was exactly the realm where attention became unavoidable.
He stood and walked to the sealed door, resting his palm against it. Through layers of stone and formation, he sensed Xu Ming cultivating steadily—his pulse rhythmic, powerful, alive.
Li Chen closed his eyes briefly.
I can't stay behind him anymore.
Weakness had almost killed Xu Ming once.
Li Chen would not allow it again.
He turned back to the room and reinforced every seal within his body—locking the peak state so tightly that even he could barely sense it.
Only then did he deactivate the inner formation and open the door.
Xu Ming looked up instantly.
"You're done?" he asked.
Li Chen nodded.
"…Yes."
Xu Ming hesitated, then smiled. "You feel… the same."
Li Chen returned the smile faintly.
"Good," he said. "That means it's working."
He looked toward the sky beyond the residence, expression thoughtful.
Peak Qi Condensation.
In the lower realm, that alone made him a terrifying existence.
Yet Li Chen felt no pride—only urgency.
"Xu Ming," he said quietly.
"Yes, master?"
"From today onward," Li Chen said, "things will move faster. And they'll become more dangerous."
Xu Ming straightened.
"Then I'll move faster too."
Li Chen nodded.
Good, he thought. Because the moment I step into Foundation Building…
The lower realm would no longer be able to pretend he didn't exist.
And Li Chen—
—would have to be strong enough to survive the attention.