Lu Xiong had fainted from rage. When he finally came to a day later, he didn't go back to argue with Lin Xiaotian. Instead, Lu Xiong quietly departed from the Lin Family estate. The father-son duo had left a traumatic impression on him.
"How can such a shameless father and son even exist in this world..." Lu Xiong cursed aloud throughout his journey.
Neither Lin Xiaotian nor Lin Yun gave the matter a second thought, and everything returned to normal. Lin Yun continued his nightly cultivation, having already consumed one of the two Sensing Flowers.
Lin Yun trained arduously day and night. By day, he learned Martial Skills from Lin Xiaotian; by night, he cultivated alone on the low hills outside the city. His days were full and fulfilling.
However, Lin Yun was unaware that in the past half a month, wild rumors about him and Lu Bingning had spread like wildfire.
Some said Lin Yun and Lu Bingning were deeply in love; others claimed Lin Yun had used underhanded methods. There were even rumors that the Lu Family had already agreed to a marriage between them. In short, the stories were endless.
Despite the rampant speculation, neither Lin Yun nor Lu Bingning stepped forward to clarify anything. Guan Renjie, however, was infuriated upon hearing these rumors.
"Damn it! How dare that Lin Yun tarnish Bingning's reputation? He's courting death." At the Guan Family estate, Guan Renjie sat in his courtyard, a murderous intent toward Lin Yun solidifying in his heart.
'If I want to kill Lin Yun, I can't do it inside Iron Gate Pass. I have to find a way to lure him out, where I can kill him without any scruples.'
"Young Master, have you forgotten that the Yunlu Mountain Range hunt is in half a month? The young masters from all the great families will be there. This is our golden opportunity," a Guan Family servant suggested, noticing Guan Renjie deep in thought.
Hearing this, Guan Renjie grew ecstatic. 'Yes, the Yunlu Mountain Range hunt! All the young masters will be there. I can kill Lin Yun myself and then claim he was killed by a Demon Beast. Even Lin Xiaotian won't be able to do anything to me.'
"Excellent! An excellent idea!" Guan Renjie exclaimed happily, patting the servant on the shoulder before rewarding him with several dozen gold pieces.
"Lin Yun, enjoy your next half a month. The Yunlu Mountain Range will be your grave," Guan Renjie sneered coldly.
Lin Yun was completely oblivious to Guan Renjie's scheme. After half a month of cultivation, he had reached the Limit of the Ninth Layer of Body Refining, and he still had one Sensing Flower remaining.
"I'll break through tonight." Seated cross-legged atop a mountain peak at night, Lin Yun held the last Sensing Flower and muttered to himself.
The breakthrough from the Body Refining Realm to the Opening Realm was a qualitative leap. An Opening Realm Martial Artist possessed a Dantian and their own Elemental Power, truly separating them from the realm of ordinary people.
For instance, while the current Lin Yun might not be a match for Guan Renjie, once he broke through to the Opening Realm—even just to the First Layer of Opening—Guan Renjie would be utterly crushed before him.
'It all comes down to you.' Without any more hesitation, Lin Yun swallowed the Sensing Flower in a single gulp.
As the Sensing Flower entered his stomach, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Power seemed to answer a summons, surging into Lin Yun's body. Soon, a silver light began to radiate from him.
The Elemental Power entered his body, coursing through his meridians before gradually gathering at the location of his Dantian. This was the most critical step: opening the Dantian.
The Dantian is the hallmark of an Opening Realm Martial Artist. Facing this step, Lin Yun didn't dare to be the least bit careless, meticulously controlling the Elemental Power inside him.
The Elemental Power continued to converge and, under Lin Yun's control, began to spin. Over time, the rotation grew faster and faster, and slowly, the embryonic form of a Dantian began to take shape within him.
At this point, Lin Yun was halfway to successfully breaking into the Opening Realm. All he had to do now was stabilize the Elemental Power and allow the Dantian to fully form.
Two hours passed, and then two more. Beads of sweat dotted Lin Yun's forehead. But just then, his body suddenly trembled, and the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Power swarmed toward him.
His Dantian formed, and Elemental Power poured into his body. Lin Yun had successfully broken through to the Opening Realm.
It took him only four hours to break through. If anyone else knew, they would worship him as a god. A normal person needed at least three to five days to break through to the Opening Realm.
But Lin Yun had done it in a mere four hours. This was the benefit of using Elemental Power for Body Refining. His body was already in perfect harmony with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Power, making the breakthrough to the Opening Realm far easier for him than for others.
Furthermore, now that he had broken through to the Opening Realm, Lin Yun's future cultivation speed would be astonishing. He guessed that few on the entire Celestial Spirit Continent could match the pace of his future progress.
"I've finally broken through to the Opening Realm. More than ten years of bitter training weren't for nothing," Lin Yun said with a faint smile as he opened his eyes, a silver glint flashing within them.
With the successful breakthrough and the presence of Elemental Power within him, Lin Yun's entire demeanor became more composed and ethereal. If he was considered handsome before, he now possessed an extraordinary new charisma.
His eyes, in particular, were now like stars in the night sky, so deep and captivating one could easily get lost in them.
Getting to his feet, Lin Yun stretched his body. Even though he had just broken through to the Opening Realm and hadn't even begun to cultivate the War God Technique or Demon Emperor Technique, he could feel that his strength had multiplied several times over.
"The Opening Realm truly is a different world from the Body Refining Realm," Lin Yun chuckled.
Having successfully broken through, Lin Yun decided not to continue training for the night. The true path of cultivation was to alternate between exertion and rest.
With a single leap, he was already racing toward Iron Gate Pass. After his breakthrough to the Opening Realm, his speed had increased dramatically. In just a quarter of an hour, he was back in Iron Gate Pass and slipped back into his room, unseen and unheard.
Since it was still early, Lin Yun decided to get some sleep.
Lin Yun slept soundly and didn't wake until the next morning. When he arrived at the dining hall, both Lin Xiaotian and Zhang Jingxiang were already there. As soon as Zhang Jingxiang saw him, she felt her son was different today—somehow handsomer, with a more refined air about him.
Lin Xiaotian, on the other hand, frowned for a moment before a smile spread across his face.
Seeing his parents' reactions, Lin Yun realized he had no reason to hide it anyway. 'Breaking through to the Opening Realm is a good thing,' he thought. 'And if it makes them happy, why would I keep it a secret?'
"Father, Mother, I've broken through," Lin Yun said with a small smile.
SLAM! Lin Xiaotian slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet. He crossed the room in a few long strides, a huge grin on his face as he clapped Lin Yun on the shoulder. "Haha! Excellent! Excellent! You truly are my, Lin Xiaotian's, son! Haha! Excellent!"
Lin Xiaotian said the word "excellent" three times in a row. As one of the three Grand Generals of the Yanhuang Country, the only thing anyone could ever hold against him was his son's lacking Cultivation. Now that Lin Yun had broken through, he'd like to see who dared to bring that up again.