Chapter 60: Breaking Through the Dome (3rd Update—Requesting Recommendation Votes)

After returning to the slums, Chu Yun spent all his remaining money to refine several bottles of mid-grade Body Tempering Elixir, intending to force a breakthrough and reach the third and final stage of the First Realm. With his current strength at the second stage, he was, at best, the equivalent of a third-rank warrior. If he were to face the Cao family as he was, his chances of victory would be slim.

Unless he achieved complete mastery of the third stage—breaking through the entirety of the First Realm—only then could he step into the next major level of power: the Lord class.

A perfected First Realm allowed one to advance to the strength of a first-rank Lord.

In truth, he had originally wanted to let himself progress naturally through cultivation and enlightenment. Doing so would make the rebuilding of his foundation more pure and his realms more stable, sparing his body from excessive torment.

But given the current circumstances, he could no longer afford to take things slow. He had to help the Ye family, and he had to do it quickly—time was running out. He understood all too well how ruthless and swift a great family like the Caos could be in their pursuit of revenge.

Forcibly flooding his body with power was dangerous. His vessel, born of a low-level civilization, was frail, with poor physical functions. Forcing a breakthrough meant the surge of refined spiritual energy might easily overwhelm and destroy his body, resulting in death by explosion.

This was why Chu Yun hadn’t rushed to repeatedly flood himself with Body Tempering Elixir before. He’d needed to let this body slowly strengthen under the nourishment of his Peerless Art.

But now, he couldn’t care about any of that. It was rumored that the head of the Cao family was about eighth-rank among warriors—an elite even on the whole of Hope Continent. For the Caos to be among the top ten families in Sentinel City, their second generation of elites must be formidable as well, likely averaging between third and sixth-rank warriors. If the Caos were truly determined to annihilate him, Chu Yun had to be fully prepared. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to save a single member of the Ye family.

Thus, his current strength as a third-rank warrior was simply not enough.

He had to break through the First Realm completely, no matter the risk. If he succeeded in the third stage, he would possess the strength of a first-rank Lord. In the entirety of Sentinel City, no one would be his match. Even in the Guanshan Domain, he would hold an overwhelming advantage. Combined with his mastery of arcane magic, he could use the Arcane Imprisonment Spell to deal with anyone below the Overlord class (those above Lord), making every battle far more efficient.

Arcane magic, in fact, became less useful at higher levels. For once a combat cultivator comprehended the laws of space and advanced to the Overlord class or higher, the effectiveness of arcane spells—especially the deadly Imprisonment Spell—diminished. Of course, no true Overlord had ever appeared on the Hope Continent, so Chu Yun could easily use the Arcane Imprisonment Spell to toy with these so-called experts. As for whether any of the other exiled civilizations and races in this world had produced an Overlord, that remained unknown.

Time ticked away, second by second.

From the dilapidated shack, Chu Yun’s agonized cries occasionally echoed out—the agony of a body being forcibly filled with overwhelming power threatened to tear him apart, as if his feeble vessel would be consumed by the surging energy. If not for his indomitable soul driving his willpower, no ordinary person could have withstood such torment.

While Chu Yun endured his ordeal in the rundown house, the five members of the Ye family suffered as well.

They were all tied up on the steps outside, right in front of the Ye family’s gate, for all the onlookers to see.

After Ye Wuwei was bound, the newly awakened Cao Zheng, driven by vengeance, lashed and cursed at him with all his might.

Ye Linglong glared at him with fury and spat coldly, “He’s just a child. What could you possibly think a child would do to a woman? Everyone knows this is your scheme, Cao Zheng. Don’t play the victim here. Why didn’t Chu Yun just kick you to death? That way, at least the Ye family would have traded a life for a life with the Caos!”

“Shut your mouth, woman!” Cao Zheng pointed at Ye Linglong. “The more you curse, the more I’ll torment them.”

With that, he struck Ye Zhenhuan with the whip.

“Just finish me off already,” Ye Zhenhuan, battered and bruised, glared at Cao Zheng and spat curses.

“You want a quick death?” Cao Zheng sneered. “Not that easy! The Ye family deserves to die, but Chu Yun even more so. I won’t let you die. I’ll torture you every day until Chu Yun comes. And when you’re at your limit, I’ll inject you with a gene-repair serum to heal you, just so I can continue tormenting you. The scars may fade, but the pain will haunt you even in hell!”

“Then give up.” Ye Zhenhuan laughed coldly. “He won’t come. He has no real connection or obligation to the Ye family. My daughter’s relationship with him is only contractual.”

Ye Linglong’s eyes dropped, dim and despondent, as she remembered the words Chu Yun had sent to her through the servants. She, too, had lost hope.

“No connection, is that it?” Cao Zheng chuckled darkly, his gaze greedy as it swept over the dejected Ye Linglong. “Very well. Then I’ll claim you for myself, and let Chu Yun taste the agony of betrayal! If he doesn’t show up by nightfall tomorrow, I’ll slaughter you all as soon as darkness falls!”

Ye Linglong met his eyes, her gaze bleak as she said, “Cao Zheng, if you let my family go, you can do whatever you want with me.”

“Linglong!” Her parents and younger brothers stared at her in disbelief.

Ye Linglong, as if resigned, forced a bitter smile. “My father speaks the truth. Chu Yun and I are bound only by contract, with no affection between us. He’s never even touched me. I’ll make a deal with you.”

“A deal with me?” Cao Zheng sneered. “Your life is already mine. What right do you have to bargain? I can do with you as I please. If Chu Yun doesn’t show up tomorrow, I’ll make sure everyone in Sentinel City knows I’ve cuckolded him—and I’ll parade his wife through the streets in chains!”

Back in the shabby shack, Chu Yun burst through the broken roof, descending from the sky and smashing his fist into the ground. The blast of dust whipped up a storm. His face was ashen, his clothes tattered, but his eyes shone with a faint light. A subtle luminescence flowed beneath his skin, following the paths of his veins and blood. As the storm faded, that radiance gradually subsided—his body had ascended to a higher state.

“It’s been over a dozen hours since I left the Ye family. I must hurry. I hope they’re still safe!” Chu Yun’s gaze was deep as he looked ahead. “Cao family, you had better not lay a finger on them!”