As Cheon Jeong turned to Leo and Yeon, Cheon Chang's figure appeared once more. Although the chaos hadn't completely settled, his return meant that the most troublesome phase had already been dealt with.
"Do you want to do it here?"
The Blade Spirit's words sounded strange at the start, but after exchanging glances with both her and Yeon… Leo came to an understanding about the illogical state that his Personal book was in.
'So…'
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Personal Abilities:
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- 'Scarlet Sky Breathing' - 1st Rate - 11/10
- 'Internal Energy Channeling' - 7/10
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Reaching the peak of his current stage was something that Leo had achieved with relative ease under Cheon Chang's crash course that lasted over a year or so. As always, however, he was stuck once he reached the peak. To make it worse, the bottleneck he faced was one at multiple venues!
Peak Martial Artists, Masters, True Martial Artists, Sect Founders… Although there were all kinds of names and indications that were attached to the title of the next stage that Leo was hoping to achieve, all of them were extremely grand to pinpoint the significance of reaching that state!
Whether it was standing at the top of the common Martial Artists, having the qualification to teach others and correct their wrongs, or even starting a personal sect, all of that was truly plausible once one reached the Peak Stage, but the road leading to that peak was extremely steep!
Just attaining the level of martial arts achievement required was already a tough hurdle, but in addition, one's Internal Energy had to cross a certain threshold to achieve true advancement! The situation that Leo was currently facing was something related to that!
'I experienced the same thing?'
It wasn't like the level-crossing battle with the gargoyle was an event that was only prepared for the protagonist's benefit. As a secondary main character herself, the battle was also a blessing in disguise for Yeon. It wasn't as exaggerated as a direct breakthrough in battle like that of Geochin, but she managed to achieve an incomplete breakthrough, taking a firm step towards the Peak stage!
The only way Leo could explain the additional point as well as Cheon Jeong's words was that he had similarly obtained the same benefit. At the very last minute in battle, he vaguely remembered an internal phenomenon that was quite similar to the breakthrough one. It was only that it stopped too quickly for him to consider it as anything other than a counter-reaction to the constant drain…
'Why?'
Leo was elated to have taken this unknown step miles ahead of schedule, but he couldn't help questioning the reason behind it. Was he just sharing Yeon's luck or taking over the protagonist's? Or did he miss something else?
So far, other than working hard on Internal Energy Circulation, every step that he took was defined by a certain achievement. This time, however, things were different. Was battle achievement also considered an advancement or…
'Is it pointing towards the path that I chose?'
Were the first two breakthroughs achieved single-handedly through spearmanship elevation considered as setting up the foundation for it? Leo instinctively felt that his sword-spear unity path was the one worthy of the world's recognition as he took more steps forward!
"Hm?"
Amid the endless stream of realization that he was going through, Cheon Jeong's mischievous smile grew closer as she awaited his decision. Rather than accepting the fact that the Righteous Faction's people had taken a step back in humiliation, she wanted to taunt them even more.
All attention was brought to the bottle of Snow Blossom Pills in Yeon's grasp. Exactly knowing what Cheon Jeong had in mind, even Leo who sought preliminary discord wasn't sure about such a direct provocation…
'Is that not too much?'
The Blade Spirit wanted them to complete their breakthrough right under the Righteous Faction's noses using the same resources that they had given them! If her aggressive tone before could be considered rightful, then she was now completely crossing that boundary.
<Do it before it's too late.>
'Right.'
The arriving Absolute Spear sent Leo another sound transmission that erased his hesitation. Regardless of Cheon Jeong's love for mischief, this was a matter that couldn't be put away for later.
Stage advancement wasn't something that could come and go as one wanted it to be. Just because they had achieved this incomplete breakthrough didn't mean they now only lacked the other requirement. If not done in time, one would have to wait for another opportunity… One that might never come!
With how 'pleasant' the situation had been in the novel, Yeon was offered a seclusion room to peacefully complete her breakthrough, something that couldn't be replicated in the current turn of events. The only option was to go ahead with it!
Naturally, there was still the option to retreat down to Unnam before going ahead with it. However, was keeping face important enough to risk the premature failure of such an important step? Although Cheon Jeong only wanted to tease them, it was only natural that the Righteous Factions' people would come to understand the situation once they saw it for themselves. The same couldn't be said about feeling bad, but they could swallow back their words in a situation like this!
"Yes."
Leo nodded his head, proceeding to sit down cross-legged. He had been having a hard time catching up with Yeon due to his latency, but they were now going to take the same step at the same time!
"Good."
Cheon Jeong smiled before going down to sit together with them. With such an important step to take. An 'elder' was finally going to provide assistance to them.
"You are a bit lacking in Internal Energy compared to Yeon, so you take the two pills and I will work out the rest."
Thanks to Yeon's monster-level Internal Energy Affinity, her accumulation had always surpassed everyone else at the Heavenly Furnace despite receiving the same amount of resources. Leo was a step further away from the required threshold, but the Blade Spirit seemed to have the adequate solution for this matter!
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