Eternal Heavenly Emperor

Chu Hao began to impact the Second Tier.

However, despite having breached one Proper Vein and gaining experience, as well as being inside the Black Jade Pool, he made minimal progress against the barrier of the second Proper Vein.

Whenever he tried to direct Star Force towards the second Proper Vein, some would flow into the first, causing intense pain and distraction.

Distraction during cultivation is taboo, potentially leading to deviation and irrecoverable damage.

With continual starts and stops, progress was impossible.

Chu Hao decided to deplete some Star Force from the first Proper Vein so that any Star Force flowing into it would merely accumulate and not create a sense of pressure.

But as a result, all the Star Force prioritized flowing into the first Proper Vein.

Refilling Star Force clearly took precedence over increasing cultivation.

Thus, one could only attempt higher realms when replete with Star Force. After all, which athlete would try to break a world record on an empty stomach?

Chu Hao was secretly alarmed, this was just his attempt at the Two Meridians. As the number of arterioles he had opened and expanded increased, the resistance he faced when opening new veins naturally increased as well.

No wonder they say the path of martial arts is steep with every single step.

He rallied himself, not allowing this minor setback to daunt him. The solution, he contemplated, was straightforward—if he could control the Star Force to only strike at the second Proper Vein, then it wouldn't pressure the first one.

However, simple as this solution might sound, it was incredibly difficult to execute.

Chu Hao tried to redirect Star Force away from the first Proper Vein as much as he could. Despite occasional losses, he bore the pain with strong will, refusing to interrupt the breakthrough of the second vein.

Even so, it took him an entire day to finally make a "breakthrough" in the second Proper Vein.

Having completed the first step made everything else easier.

Energized, Chu Hao continued his "excavation," gradually opening up the second Proper Vein. After seven days, he had opened up ninety percent of it and was close to a significant achievement.

While energetically cultivating, he suddenly sensed an extremely dangerous aura and abruptly stopped, opening his eyes.

In the distance, a young man and woman approached together, seemingly slow, yet covering the ground quickly; in a few strides, they reached the edge of the pool.

"Pretty boy, you don't belong here," a grey-clothed man near thirty immediately shouted; this was his territory. His eyes lingered on the woman, displaying evident covetousness, and added, "However, your girl is quite the catch; I wouldn't mind cultivating with her."

"Hm?" The young man glanced over, waved his hand casually, swish, and the grey-clothed man was immediately sent flying ten meters away, crashing down and instantly turning into a blood rain.

Hiss!

Everyone showed shocked expressions instantly.

The ones who could claim a spot in the Black Jade Pool at this time either belonged to a powerful team or were formidable individually. The grey-clothed man was the latter, having reached the Eight Meridians, and he was here to quickly reach the Peak of Eight Meridians.

An Eight Meridians martial master, not yet at the peak, but killed in a single blow.

What level of cultivation did this young man have?

"He he he he, he's Jin Yunlin," someone suddenly trembled while speaking.

"What, from Sky Heart Sect's Jin Yunlin?"

"One of the Four Talented of Tianhe, Jin Yunlin?"

"Who else could be so powerful?"

With the young man's identity revealed, whispers proliferated.

Eight Meridians versus Eight Meridians, even with one at the peak and one at the early stage, a single blow defeat... this discrepancy in combat power was too shocking.

Chu Hao also secretly took note. Cao Jingwen of Yunliu Sect, Jin Yunlin of Sky Heart Sect, Yao Di of Silver Frost Valley, and Gao Fei of Suiyu Sect were known as the Four Talented of Tianhe, the most gifted and promising of the young generation in Tianhe County.

However, Sky Heart Sect, Silver Frost Valley, and Suiyu Sect were all Fifth Grade Sects, the most powerful forces in Tianhe County. Yunliu Sect used to stand equal with these three great sects hundreds of years ago, the strongest of the Tianhe Group, but unfortunately, it had declined.

But the fact that Cao Jingwen ranked among these three indicated his enormous talent.

Peak of Eight Meridians.

All Four Talented were Eight Meridians martial masters; they had been so a year ago, and none had yet broken through to Martial Sect, illustrating the difficulty of this step. However, whoever took this step first would stand out among the Four Talented, becoming the top young expert and the top genius of Tianhe County.

Jin Yunlin swept his gaze around and coldly said, "All of you, get out."

What!

Hearing this, the crowd became angry. There were only two of them; how much space could they occupy? Yet, they wanted everybody else to leave? That was too excessive.

"Jin Yunlin, the two of you won't use much space anyway, at most, we'll stay further away from you," a young man spoke. Besides, Jin Yunlin had already reached the Peak of Eight Meridians; the Black Jade Pool was no longer effective for him.

Jin Yunlin looked over and with a proud smile, said, "Fine, anyone who can withstand one of my moves can enter the pool."

So arrogant!

But he indeed had the strength to back it up.

"Jin Yunlin, let me meet you," a young man leaped out, flicking the sword in his hand, "I am — "

"I'm not interested in knowing the name of a dead man." Before the young man had finished speaking, Jin Yuanlin interrupted him.

"Damn it." The young man leaped forward, brandishing his sword with a swift grace like a startled swan. Light glowed from eight Meridian Patterns on his body, clearly indicating that he was an Eight Meridians martial master, but he still needed the Black Jade Pool, which meant he definitely hadn't reached the peak of Eight Meridians.

Jin Yunlin casually struck out with his palm, and with a "puff," though there was nothing remarkable about the move, the young man's figure swayed, and a strange expression crossed his face as he suddenly fell backward.

Someone went over to check on him and immediately cried out, "He's dead!"

It was another move that had killed instantly. Moreover, there were no glowing Meridian Patterns on Jin Yunlin's body, indicating he hadn't even used his full strength.

Too strong.

He truly wasn't considered one of the most talented fighters in Tianhe County for nothing.

Chu Hao's heart sounded the alarm bell. If Cao Jingwen could be ranked alongside him, then his combat power must be immense. In the future, if he faced Cao Jingwen in the Sect, he must be extremely cautious.

"No way, another instant kill?"

"That was Wei Yan of the Ten Brocade Sect, rumored to be among the top ten experts among the Inner Sect Disciples."

"To kill just like that, isn't Jin Yunlin afraid the Ten Brocade Sect will trouble him?"

"Don't forget, the Sky Heart Sect, a Fifth Grade Sect, backs him."

"And, it was a fair fight and the loss was clear. What can the Ten Brocade Sect say? If they complain, it will just seem like they can't accept their loss. Of course, if their backgrounds were swapped, Jin Yunlin definitely wouldn't be so arrogant."

The crowd burst into discussions once again.

"Who else?" Jin Yunlin scanned the crowd, paused when no one answered, then added, "The Water Moon Fairy is about to enter the pool for cultivation; do you people even deserve to be mentioned alongside her?"

He turned to the woman beside him and said, "Water Moon Fairy, please."

The woman smiled demurely, "I've long heard of the Black Jade Pool in Tianhe County being extremely beneficial for the cultivation of martial masters and Marshial Sects. Today, I finally get to see it." She stepped into the pool, and the moment her delicate feet touched the water, boom, a cloud of white mist burst forth from her body, instantly shrouding the entire surface of the pool, hiding it from view.

"Boss—" Bai Jingran and the others looked at Zhao Huan.

"Let's retreat; we can't afford to provoke Jin Yunlin," Zhao Huan said through gritted teeth.

In fact, if so many people here joined forces, they definitely wouldn't lose to Jin Yunlin. But Jin Yunlin could kill without any scruples, but could the others? This area was at the junction of the Yunliu Sect, the Ten Brocade Sect, and the Rain Field Sect, primarily visited by disciples of these three major forces. Who would dare provoke the Sky Heart Sect, a Fifth Grade Sect?

Never underestimate the difference one grade makes in martial arts; a disparity in one major grade means absolute suppression. Any expert at the War General level from the Sky Heart Sect could easily thrash all three Sects.

In this area, the only one who could possibly stand against Jin Yunlin would probably be Cao Jingwen, but Cao Jingwen had already reached the peak of Eight Meridians and didn't need this Black Jade Pool before breaking through to Martial Sect. Why would he come here?

Moreover, distant waters can't put out a nearby fire.

Chu Hao, however, turned his gaze towards the mist, noting from the woman's tone that she probably wasn't from Tianhe County, or else she wouldn't have mentioned "long hearing" about it.

He left along with Zhao Huan and the other seven.

Everyone moved away from the pool area, but they were hesitant to leave altogether, so they waited nearby to enter the pool once Jin Yunlin and the Water Moon Fairy had left.

Chu Hao focused on impacting the Second Proper Vein, momentarily putting aside other concerns.

A day later, the situation suddenly changed, and waves of people began leaving, all seemingly very excited.

"Hurry, let's go," Zhao Huan ran over, his face full of joy.

"What happened?"

"I just heard that a nearby ancient abandoned medicine field has appeared, with someone spotting a Seven Flower Fruit that has already borne fruit."

"Really?"

Everyone immediately became excited.

"What's a Seven Flower Fruit?" Chu Hao asked timidly.

"It can immediately bring a Meridian that hasn't fully expanded yet to a completely expanded state," Bai Jingran immediately exclaimed loudly, "but it only works on Proper Veins, otherwise we wouldn't be able to compete with the Martial Sect."

Chu Hao shook his head, "That should have been picked by now, right?"

"No, no," Zhao Huan laughed, "that old medicine field is a natural maze; seeing it doesn't mean you can reach it. The person who found it nearly starved to death inside, barely escaping in a semi-delirious state, mumbling about the Seven Flower Fruit, which was discovered by a medicine-gathering team. This team also entered the medicine field, they too saw the Seven Flower Fruit but not one could reach it."

"Let's go try our luck too," the group was excited.

A single fruit could bring a Meridian to a fully expanded state, amounting to a direct enhancement of a minor realm—an astonishing effect.

Whoosh!

In the Black Jade Pool, the mist drew back, and the Water Moon Fairy stepped out, her body pulsating with Star Force which instantly dried her clothes. She exchanged a few words in a low voice with Jin Yunlin, and the two swiftly left together.

"Quick, we can't be left behind," Zhao Huan said.