Chapter 151: Sacred-Level Enlightenment
As soon as the settlement screen appeared, Xiang Yu felt a wave of profound insights flooding through his mind. His enlightenment had broken through to the Sacred grade, putting him into the realm of true geniuses.
Concepts that had once perplexed him now revealed themselves with crystal clarity. The flaws in his earlier cultivation approach became glaringly obvious, while the subtle nuances of his techniques unfolded before him.
His comprehension soared higher and higher, each revelation building upon the last. Complex cultivation principles that had once seemed impenetrable now appeared as simple as breathing. He felt as though he stood at the precipice of understanding the very fabric of the cultivation world itself. Then suddenly—it stopped. Xiang Yu felt the tantalizing proximity of even greater enlightenment just beyond his reach.
Still, he wasn’t disappointed. This breakthrough alone was monumental, and he knew with certainty that someday he would take that final step. He allowed his mind to absorb and organize these revelations, integrating them into his understanding while he examined the other changes from the system reset.
His gaze was immediately drawn to his Qi Gathering realm. He had officially broken through to the tenth layer, even accumulating one hundred experience points within this new stage. This advancement wasn’t because his energy absorption rate had suddenly increased, but rather a one-time benefit from the yin energy he had refined from Xiuying’s ice.
Speaking of the ice, it had provided his Chaos Body with an additional fifty experience points. Though this didn’t make much difference as he was already set to breakthrough after the next reset. More impressively, the ice energy had contributed twenty precious points to his Transcendent Dao Body which was always so hard to improve.
His Mind level had developed less than usual since only his soul infant had practiced independently, but his Soul attribute had surprised him with an extra thirty points beyond the normal increment. The memory of crafting a soul shock talisman brought a calculating smile to his face. Although he had previously decided against making more due to the strain on his infant soul, these unexpected gains changed everything.
"Sorry, little guy," he mentally apologized to his soul infant. "It’s all for your own good anyway. You’ll thank me when you’re grown up." His smile turned slightly maniacal at the thought, before he caught his own unsettling reflection in the spirit spring’s surface and quickly composed his features.
Continuing his assessment, Xiang Yu noted his two bloodlines had progressed beyond the halfway point, poised to advance to the half-blood stage after the next reset. In that stage, his entire blood composition would be transformed—half dragon and half phoenix.
Would this mean he would no longer be technically human? The question held little concern for him, he hadn’t really cared much for his identity as a human. As long as he got stronger, it was all the same to him.
What he really cared about was the potential violence these competing bloodlines might unleash when they constituted half his body. He needed to discover another method for bloodline advancement soon, or he genuinely risked death.
His professions showed impressive growth, with his Appraiser ability breaking through to fourth grade—just one step away from entering the high grades. His Medicine insights, while only ninth grade, were still useful nonetheless. The remaining professions continued their steady progression.
"I have to admit, these professions are pretty much carrying me," he acknowledged. But he didn’t dislike it though, he actively hoped they would continue advancing and supporting his growth even more substantially.
His elemental techniques had improved modestly thanks to the battle simulation, with Fire Palm notably achieving Major Success. Encouraged by this progress, Xiang Yu decided to dedicate a fixed hour daily to battle simulation. Within that timeframe, assuming each simulation lasted approximately thirty minutes, he could accumulate almost two months of combat experience in real world time.
Even though his physical condition reset after each simulation, the mental growth and tactical experience would remain—especially valuable now with his enhanced enlightenment.
...
Xiang Yu materialized within his spiritual sea, the familiar landscape of qi stretching before him. The moment he fully formed, the soul infant leapt into his arms enthusiastically. He caught the small being, surprised by its eagerness, and gently patted its head. Upon closer inspection, he noticed something remarkable—the infant had visibly grown after the system’s doubling effect. Where it had previously resembled a newborn of just a few months, it now displayed the proportions and awareness of a toddler around two years old.
"You’ll have to practice by yourself today as well, okay?" Xiang Yu addressed the tiny being.
The infant nodded in understanding but made no move to leave him. Instead, it clambered up his body with surprising dexterity and perched atop his head. Though it didn’t speak, Xiang Yu understood its intentions perfectly.
"Alright, I’ll keep you company for a while," he conceded, interpreting the infant’s unspoken request.
The soul infant wanted him to conduct his battle simulations here in the spiritual sea rather than returning to his physical form—allowing them to remain together during the exercise. Xiang Yu saw no reason to refuse; functionally, it made little difference whether his consciousness resided in his body or spiritual sea during the simulations.
Settling into a meditative posture, Xiang Yu prepared for the hour of battle practice he’d allocated himself. The infant remained contentedly nested in his hair, beginning its own energy circulation patterns while Xiang Yu initiated the simulation interface.
He decided to start with the new test subjects, selecting his master and martial aunt whom he’d scanned earlier. His martial aunt, at peak Core Formation, presented a significantly greater challenge than his master, who was at early-stage Foundation Establishment.
The simulated battles revealed surprising insights. Both cultivators proved far more resilient than he’d anticipated—particularly his martial aunt, who carried an impressive arsenal of protective treasures and emergency measures. Xiang Yu couldn’t help but smirk with genuine appreciation at her cautious approach.
"Almost one-tenth of one percent as cautious as me," he thought with amusement, which for him constituted high praise indeed.
His master, despite his currently weakened cultivation base, compensated impressively through superior technique mastery and body cultivation. The old man’s combat experience shone through in every movement, though ultimately it wasn’t enough to overcome Xiang Yu’s advantages.
After several iterations, Xiang Yu mastered the patterns of both opponents, developing counter-strategies that allowed him to defeat them almost instantly—though his martial aunt’s numerous life-saving treasures continued to make her a challenging opponent even when he knew exactly what to expect.
Finally, feeling he had advanced sufficiently through these warm-up matches, Xiang Yu turned his attention to Meiling. Confident after his recent successes, he confidently selected her Golden Core peak form as his opponent.
Within seconds, his simulated form lay shattered beneath her overwhelming power, the disparity between them painfully obvious. Humbled by this swift reminder of the cultivation world’s harsh hierarchies, Xiang Yu quietly adjusted the settings.
"Let’s start low for now," he thought, selecting Core Formation peak instead. Even the journey of ten thousand miles began with manageable steps, and apparently, his journey to matching a peak Golden Core cultivator required many more steps than he’d initially estimated.
...
Author’s Corner
3600 seconds in an hour. Minus 600 because he won’t be instantly returning to simulation every time. Sometimes he’ll analyze his gains and refine his strategy. The remaining 3000 is then multiplied by 30 as each session will be approximately this long. You get 90k, divide this by 60 minutes to get hours. You get 1500 hours, divide this by 24 to get days, it’s 62.5. That’s where the two months are coming from.