A pillar of white light descended from the heavens, and a vast surge of heavenly power poured directly into Ye Zhong's sea of consciousness.
Boom!
With a deafening roar in his mind, Ye Zhong broke through his current limit, stepping from a four-star warrior to five stars!
The overwhelming power of Heaven had caught him off guard. He hadn't expected to break through so soon. By the normal pace of cultivation, it might have taken him a year or two to reach this level. But now—thanks to this heavenly infusion—those two years of effort were compressed into a single moment of brilliance.
Last time, Ye Wei had perfected Lin Ziyan's Three Tidal Palms, a low-grade spiritual art, and even that minor upgrade triggered enough heavenly energy to elevate Lin Ziyan's cultivation realm. But this time was different.
This was White Tiger Killing—a high-level spiritual art—refined and elevated by Ye Wei to the Mystical grade. The heavenly power it summoned was exponentially greater. Ye Zhong's promotion to five stars wasn't just reasonable—it was inevitable.
He could barely absorb it all. Much of the divine energy overflowed and dissipated into the air. If his body had been able to withstand more, reaching six stars would've been within grasp.
"My cultivation has reached the five-star warrior realm!" Ye Zhong's voice trembled with excitement. "The White Tiger Killing has become a mystical-grade art. Our Ye family… now has another mystical-grade divine power!"
He clenched his fists, feeling the terrifying new strength coursing through his veins.
Mystical-grade divine powers were the lifeblood of a clan.
In Qingyue City, the Ye family was a second-rate force. Of their sixteen divine arts, only three were of the mystical grade. These techniques were rarely seen in the market, and when they did appear, they were auctioned off for staggering prices. But thanks to Ye Wei, the Ye family had just gained a fourth!
Normally, warriors in the foundational realms couldn't wield mystical powers. But this art—White Tiger Killing—had been restructured and perfected by Ye Wei. It was now adaptable, refined… and usable even by someone like Ye Zhong.
"Xiaowei!" Ye Zhong grabbed his cousin's shoulders, his voice filled with emotion. "You're a genius—a true genius!"
Ye Wei gave a tired smile. "I was just lucky."
"Luck?" Ye Zhong laughed, shaking his head. "Because of you, I broke through to five stars. Because of you, our family has a mystical divine power. This isn't luck—this is ability!"
Who could have imagined that the boy once dismissed as talentless—always lurking in the shadows of the clan—would one day reveal such breathtaking spiritual perception?
Ye Wei stifled a yawn. "I'm exhausted, cousin. I'm going to get some sleep."
The tension and focus of the night had left him drained. Now that Ye Zhong had broken through and grasped the perfected White Tiger Killing, all the weight had lifted—and exhaustion surged in.
"Go rest," Ye Zhong said, smiling. "I'll stay and continue refining the heavenly power... and practice the new art."
Ye Wei trudged home in the early morning light. The stars still lingered faintly in the pale blue sky. Mist clung to the ground like silver-gray gauze, and the breeze carried a faint earthy scent. He collapsed into bed and slept deeply.
Meanwhile, Ye Zhengqing, his hair fully white and his expression weary, approached Ye Zhong's courtyard. He had come to train his grandson.
"He's seventeen now. The strongest of our younger generation," he murmured to himself. "Still weaker than the Du family's six-star Du Hanyue… even the other five-star warriors are stronger than him."
He sighed. "But there's no one else. We have to trust in fate."
A moment passed. Then he smiled faintly. "The tiger's roar last night was solid and steady. There must've been a breakthrough."
He knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" came Ye Zhong's voice from within.
"Grandfather!" Ye Zhong opened the door, greeting the older man warmly. Seeing the exhaustion in his grandfather's eyes stirred something in him.
"Any progress with White Tiger Killing?" Ye Zhengqing asked, eager.
"Yes. I made a breakthrough," Ye Zhong replied. He wanted to tell him everything—that he had reached five stars, that the White Tiger art had been perfected into a mystical technique—but he held his tongue. This was Ye Wei's accomplishment. It was not his story to tell.
"You've mastered the art well enough. I can't teach you more about the technique itself. But today, I want to train your combat instincts," Ye Zhengqing said gravely. "You are the backbone of our youth. The others may have promise, but few will ever reach the higher realms. When I pass, they will rely on you."
"Grandfather, don't say that. With your strength and vitality, you'll live another fifty years!" Ye Zhong clenched his fists. But inwardly, he thought of Ye Wei. One day, Ye Wei would reach heights he himself might never touch.
That day, Ye Zhong trained under his grandfather's rigorous guidance. As a Condensed Element Realm master, Ye Zhengqing personally sparred with him, sharpening his instincts and reactions.
Combat wasn't just about strength or techniques. It was about experience, judgment, and timing.
In the evening, Ye Zhong returned to work with Ye Wei, and over the next three days, under Ye Wei's guidance, they perfected three powerful divine arts:
White Tiger Killing – now a mystical-grade divine power.
Step on Waves – a high-level spiritual technique.
Threefold Calamity Sword – another spiritual high-grade power.
The White Tiger was the most potent of the Ye clan's sixteen spiritual techniques. Now, with Ye Wei's guidance, it had ascended to a class of its own. The others weren't far behind.
The Ye family's strength was rising—and it had everything to do with a boy they once overlooked.