Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Breakthrough, Late Golden Core!

In the next few months, Shen Sang Ruo jumped from the sky again and again, and the Wind-Moon Spirit Ruins were covered with craters of every size.

But no matter how hard she crashed, she climbed back up, swallowed a few Spirit-Replenishing Pills, and said to Immortal Maiden Azure Luan, “Let’s continue.”

Immortal Maiden Azure Luan clicked her tongue as she watched and thought, [This kid is really tough.]

In time, Shen Sang Ruo swung her arms like real wings, so well that even Immortal Maiden Azure Luan could not find fault. She fully understood the part of the Sunset Glassfire Art that dealt with stirring the wind, and the pits on the ground had shrunk until there were almost none.

She could now stay calm while falling, moving as she wished.

Under this high-intensity training, her meridians and dantian kept pushing past their limits, raised their upper bounds, and grew tougher.

One day, Immortal Maiden Azure Luan brought her to the highest point they could reach, then lifted all the Wind Domains.

Shen Sang Ruo knew this would be her final trial.

Keeping that cold face that looked annoyed at everyone, Immortal Maiden Azure Luan asked, “Do you dare to jump?”

Shen Sang Ruo lifted her chin and smiled with bright confidence, “Why wouldn’t I dare?”

Though their talks had mostly been short, she could tell Immortal Maiden Azure Luan was cold outside but warm inside. [In short, she was prickly on the surface but kind at heart.]

It looked like Azure Luan was punishing her because Immortal Lord Chang Li had angered her, but every “torment” truly improved Shen Sang Ruo’s control of the Sunset Glassfire Art.

Whenever Shen fell, Immortal Maiden Azure Luan watched closely, and every move she made had a clear purpose.

She was even more patient and responsible than some Masters. She just had a sour face.

[So maybe Immortal Maiden Azure Luan doesn’t hate Immortal Lord Chang Li that much.]

Seeing Shen drifting off in thought, Immortal Maiden Azure Luan mocked her, “What are you thinking about now? Getting scared and wanting to back out?”

“Nothing,” Shen Sang Ruo said, smiling even more, “I just want to say thank you to the Immortal Maiden.”

Immortal Maiden Azure Luan rolled her eyes and snorted, “Do I care about your thanks? And when did I ever help you? Stop flattering yourself. Jump already, you’ve wasted enough of my time. When you finish, get lost.”

Shen Sang Ruo ignored the attitude. After she thanked Azure Luan properly, she leaped straight into the sea of clouds.

This time there was no Wind Domain to help her. She could only rely on herself.

At first she did not move. Gravity pulled her faster and faster.

That meant she had to work even harder, guiding her Spiritual Power to mesh with the Sunset Glassfire Art so she could slow her fall.

She waited for the right moment, a moment to burn past her limits and push through to Late Golden Core.

A third of the way down passed, and she still did not move.

High above, Immortal Maiden Azure Luan frowned and muttered, “What is she doing?”

Halfway down, Shen Sang Ruo was moving so fast she was almost a blur.

[Not enough. Still not enough. I need even more speed.]

Her eyes shone with firm resolve. She would not stop until she reached her goal.

After a while, it became several times harder to steady herself. At last, she moved.

Immortal Maiden Azure Luan saw Shen Sang Ruo bring together everything she had practiced and realized, fighting the speed of the fall with perfect order. It looked dangerous, but she handled it step by step and kept it under control.

Not just her arms, her whole body was wrapped in a layer of red Spiritual Power.

Even more shocking, the power turned solid, into blazing flames that danced over her.

She truly bathed in fire.

Her Spiritual Power raced through her, pounding again and again against the Golden Core in her dantian.

She shouted, “Break!” Her voice cut through the clouds.

Golden light burst from within the red fire, and in a heartbeat the gold covered the red. It was so bright it was like a second sun in the sky.

Breakthrough. Late Golden Core.

Seeing this, Immortal Maiden Azure Luan finally let her lips curve into a smile.

[Not bad. Even better than I expected.]

But before she could enjoy it for long, the gold light faded, and Shen Sang Ruo suddenly dropped again, out of control.

“What trick are you playing now?” Immortal Maiden Azure Luan thought she wanted to force a second breakthrough, so she held back to watch.

Yet even as the ground rushed up, Shen Sang Ruo still did not react.

Immortal Maiden Azure Luan could not sit still any longer. Looking closely, she saw Shen’s body go limp, as if she had fainted.

This was not on purpose. Something had gone wrong.

“Did the breakthrough backfire?”

Shen Sang Ruo’s method had been too fierce. It was very likely the backlash hit her after the breakthrough.

Realizing this, Immortal Maiden Azure Luan’s face turned dark. She looked down. Shen Sang Ruo was less than a few dozen meters from the ground.

At that speed and in that state, she would surely die.

“Damn it,” Immortal Maiden Azure Luan cursed as she flashed into a streak of cyan and dove for Shen Sang Ruo.

Luckily, she reached her just before she hit and caught her steady.

If she had been a heartbeat late, Shen would have turned into a smear.

Immortal Maiden Azure Luan felt a chill after the scare and did not even notice the breath of relief she let out.

Then the person in her arms moved and slipped an arm around her neck.

[Immortal Maiden Azure Luan: ???]

Shen Sang Ruo opened her eyes. Her bright gaze curved in a smile as she looked at Azure Luan and said, “Looks like you were worried about me after all. You’re not as cold as you act.”

Immortal Maiden Azure Luan’s eyes flickered as she understood what had happened, and she said with a touch of anger, “So you tricked me on purpose?”

Feeling that this pose hurt her usual image, she tossed Shen Sang Ruo away like a hot potato.

Shen landed lightly and grinned, “But this Junior really did feel dizzy during the breakthrough. How could I trick Immortal Maiden Azure Luan on purpose?”

Immortal Maiden Azure Luan gave a cold laugh and said, “You played with your own life. Weren’t you afraid I would stand by with folded arms and let you fall to your death?”

Unhurried, Shen Sang Ruo answered, “After spending days with Immortal Maiden Azure Luan, this Junior knows you are not that kind of person, and…” She paused, then added, “I also did a precise count of every timing mark in the fall, including how long you would hesitate.”

A hint of awkwardness flashed in Azure Luan’s eyes.

“There was no chance of anything going wrong. See, the timing was perfect,” Shen said with a cheeky smile.

Immortal Maiden Azure Luan forced herself to look calm after being seen through and said, “Don’t think you know me that well.” She then formed a fan made of cyan feathers out of thin air and tossed it to Shen Sang Ruo.

“Take the Luan Feather Fan and get out. You and that dog Chang Li should never appear in front of me again.”

With that, she shot up into the sky as a cyan streak, almost like she was fleeing.