This fist technique required a Cultivator to, at the very instant of throwing a punch, divide their Mental Power into fifty strands and simultaneously manipulate fifty minuscule Spiritual Energy Modules into a specific combination!
It required the ability to multitask fifty-fold!
Its complexity was over a hundred times greater than a Fourth-level Killing Technique!
A new challenge began once more.
...
Another five years flashed by in an instant.
Ten years had now passed since Qin Feng returned to Qiming Star.
To a mortal, ten years was a long stretch of time.
But for Qin Feng, immersed in his cultivation, it felt like the blink of an eye.
He was in the same Martial Arts Room as always.
Qin Feng sat quietly cross-legged, eyes closed and mind focused, taking stock of the incredible transformation he had undergone over the past decade.
A data panel, visible only to him, slowly unfolded in his mind.
[Life Force Index: 72001.0 points]
’Ten years of arduous cultivation, and I’ve finally broken through the "Third Great Threshold" of 72,000 points. I’m just one step away from the Fourth Great Threshold—the 108,000-point benchmark for becoming a Planet-level Life Form.’
[Killing Technique Mastery:]
[*Heavy Spear* (Fourth-level): Realm of Control]
[*Triple Spear* (Fourth-level): Realm of Control]
[*Struggle Stream* (Fifth-level): Realm of Control]
’All three of my core Killing Techniques have reached the Realm of Control. My combat methods are no longer a weakness.’
[Mental Power: 60 points]
’Ten years, and I’ve increased my Mental Power by almost fifty points. I’m still forty points short of the one-hundred-point minimum required to ascend to a Planet-level Life Form. It’s still too slow.’
[Imperial Arena Rank: Sixth Rank]
’Over these ten years, I’ve barely performed any missions. Most of my energy has been focused on cultivating my Life Force Index and drilling new Killing Techniques.’
’Without accumulating enough combat data, and relying solely on three Killing Techniques at the Realm of Control, advancing further in the Imperial Arena is next to impossible.’
’This is currently my greatest weakness.’
’However...’
Qin Feng slowly opened his eyes. A focused glint of light, so intense it seemed almost solid, flashed in their depths and was gone.
’These past ten years... my progress has been immense.’
With his terrifying 72,000-point Life Force Index as a foundation, supplemented by three top-tier Killing Techniques at the Realm of Control, his current Combat Power was incredibly formidable!
...
However, when he brought this power back to his home in the Silver Seagull Community, he was confronted by the cruelest aspect of time.
His father, Qin Dahai, was in increasingly poor health.
His hair had turned completely white, and the wrinkles on his face were as deep as if carved by a knife and chisel.
His once-upright frame, forged by years of practicing the Martial Dao, had begun to stoop.
What pained Qin Feng the most was his father’s eyes. Once, they had always sparkled with shrewdness and determination, but now they had grown murky, losing their former light.
"Dad."
Qin Feng’s voice was a little dry.
"You’re back."
Qin Dahai replied without turning his head, his eyes fixed on an old drama playing on his personal terminal from his seat on the sofa.
Over the past decade, Qin Feng had tried everything imaginable.
He passed on everything he had learned from practicing the *Crystal Meditation Technique* to his father, holding nothing back.
He spent a fortune on various Potions designed to nourish the spirit.
But it was all to little avail.
It wasn’t that the Cultivation Technique was ineffective, nor was it due to a lack of resources.
Rather, it was that his father’s heart had grown old.
He no longer possessed the will to continue forging a path through the trials of the Martial Dao.
To him, seeing his son so successful in the Martial Dao and his brother-in-law living in peace and contentment meant his life had been more than wonderful enough, more than complete.
He felt it was his time to go.
On one ordinary afternoon, Qin Feng made a decision.
He simultaneously submitted his resignation to Qiming First High School and the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, relinquishing all his duties.
From that day forward, he was no longer a teacher, no longer a Martial Artist. He was simply Qin Dahai’s son.
He began to spend all his time with his father.
Together, they went to the most bustling commercial district on Qiming Star to watch the latest holographic films.
Qin Feng went with his father back to the corpse processing plant where he used to work, drinking the cheapest liquor and swapping old stories with his long-retired coworkers.
They even boarded a starship for a short interstellar journey to see the magnificent planets they had previously only seen on the news.
Qin Feng continued to cultivate in private.
But he had completely shifted the focus of his training.
Spending time with his father took up the vast majority of his energy.
The time he had left was spent on only two things: practicing the *Crystal Meditation Technique* and basic Life Force Index accumulation.
His Life Force Index began to skyrocket at an astonishing rate of 30 points per day.
Soon, Qin Feng reached the barrier that symbolized the peak for a Ninth-level Extreme Martial Artist—the "Fourth Great Threshold" of a 108,000-point Life Force Index.
In this peaceful and tranquil state of mind, his Mental Power also steadily rose, reaching 85 points.
He was drawing ever closer to the gate that led to the "Planet-level."
...
Another five years passed.
This day, like countless mornings before it, Qin Feng awoke from his meditative trance.
But today, the house was unnervingly quiet.
He couldn’t hear the usual sounds of his father busying himself in the kitchen after waking up.
Qin Feng’s heart plummeted.
He slowly walked out of his room and saw the familiar figure.
His father, Qin Dahai, was sitting serenely on the living room sofa.
He was dressed in clean, neat clothes, his silver hair was meticulously combed, and a faint, satisfied smile graced his lips. It was as if he had simply grown tired while watching a drama and fallen asleep.
Except his once strong and powerful chest was no longer rising and falling.