Chapter 5: Breakthrough.

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Breakthrough.

For several breaths, neither of them spoke inside the cave.

The silence permeated the surroundings as Yue’er remained standing before the stone platform, her eyes fixed upon the ancient sword.

Chen Yuan watched her silently, his expression calm.

But suddenly, beneath the deafening silence of the cave—

[Ding!]

The familiar mechanical sound suddenly rang inside Chen Yuan’s mind.

His expression froze.

[A witness has successfully confirmed the existence of an ancestral relic.]

[Story Credibility has increased!]

[Current Story Credibility: 50%]

[The credibility requirement for manifestation has been fulfilled.]

[Manifestation of the fictional ancestor’s relic has begun.]

Chen Yuan’s breathing almost stopped.

It actually worked!

His experiment had succeeded.

The sword before them was no longer the worthless old weapon he had placed there. It had now become the weapon of the fictional Ancestor he had created.

And then, Chen Yuan noticed it.

The air around the sword seemed to ripple faintly, almost imperceptibly to the naked eye, yet he still managed to catch it.

He narrowed his eyes.

There it is again.

A faint distortion seemed to cling to the sharp edges of the blade, and his expression gradually became serious.

He stared at the sword without blinking for several more seconds.

Then, the next moment, he clearly saw it.

Around the sharp edges of the blade, an incredible amount of spiritual energy was silently circulating.

It was so subtle that most ordinary cultivators might not even notice it.

Yet Chen Yuan could.

The spiritual energy around the sword... It’s extremely sharp.

Even though it contained no obvious killing intent, the mere remnants of its aura caused Chen Yuan’s skin to prickle.

This—

He subconsciously took a step back.

A bead of sweat slowly formed on his forehead.

This wasn’t something he could contend with.

Not even remotely.

Shouldn’t this sword be something the Ancestor left behind when he was twenty? Why is the pressure so strong?

Chen Yuan swallowed quietly.

The sword had only just manifested, yet the residual energy surrounding it was already more than enough to make him feel breathless.

He couldn’t imagine what kind of existence Chen Feng would have to be if this was merely the power left behind by his weapon.

Did I exaggerate the stories too much?

But beneath his caution, an uncontrollable excitement slowly rose within him.

Once enough evidence is provided for someone to witness and believe in that story, the system can transform an ordinary object into something that genuinely belonged to the fictional Ancestor!

That discovery alone was worth far more than the ten thousand Family Trust Value.

Chen Yuan coughed, and Yue’er immediately looked at him.

"Third Elder?"

"Can I stay here and look at it for a little longer?"

Chen Yuan glanced at the sword and immediately shook his head.

"No."

"Why?"

"The sword has been here for too long. There may still be hidden remnants of its energy surrounding it."

He deliberately kept his tone calm.

"You should be careful."

Yue’er hesitated before obediently stepping back.

"Remnants of energy?"

"Yes." Chen Yuan nodded. "So next time, don’t carelessly approach the sword."

Yue’er nodded again, but her eyes remained fixed on the sword.

After a few breaths, however, her expression suddenly changed.

"Third Elder..."

"Hmm?"

"I think I saw something."

Chen Yuan’s gaze shifted toward her.

"What did you see?"

Yue’er pointed toward the sword uncertainly.

"There was... something around it."

"It could be the remnant energy I mentioned. Don’t force yourself to look at it."

Yue’er nodded, but her gaze soon moved downward.

She noticed the inscription carved beneath the sword.

The heavens may bury a thousand paths before me, but I shall carve my own path as a swordsman.

Yue’er stared at the inscription.

For some reason, the moment she looked at those words, she felt as though something within them was calling to her.

Her eyes slowly lost focus.

"Yue’er?"

She didn’t answer.

Her small body remained motionless, and Chen Yuan’s eyebrows furrowed.

He looked toward where she was staring.

Nothing.

Just ordinary carved words that he had made.

Then, he seemed to have guessed something.

He circulated his spiritual energy and carefully examined the inscription.

Still nothing.

Strange.

He looked back at her.

The girl’s pupils had become somewhat distant.

Then Chen Yuan finally noticed something else.

The faint spiritual energy surrounding the sword had begun flowing downward into the stone platform, eventually gathering around the inscription.

Chen Yuan’s expression changed abruptly.

It seems the sword is affecting the inscription?

He didn’t interfere.

Perhaps this was another function of the manifested relic.

Or perhaps...

It was an opportunity meant for those with the appropriate talent.

Chen Yuan tried looking at the inscription one more time, but to no avail.

He saw nothing.

I lack the talent of a swordsman?

He couldn’t see anything at all.

Then Yue’er’s eyes suddenly widened.

"I-I saw it, Third Elder!"

Her voice echoed through the cave.

Chen Yuan calmly turned toward her.

"What did you see?"

"A sword!"

Yue’er turned around excitedly.

"A gigantic sword!"

She pointed upward with both hands, seemingly trying to describe its enormous size.

"It was hanging from the sky!"

Chen Yuan’s eyes narrowed.

Yue’er continued.

"There was a person standing on it too!"

"On the sword?"

"Yes!"

Yue’er nodded vigorously.

"He was standing on the hilt!"

Her face flushed with excitement as she narrated what she had seen.

"Then he swung his hand downward, and the sword came crashing down from the sky!"

Chen Yuan’s expression gradually became serious.

But Yue’er continued clenching her fists.

"It was so huge! It covered the entire sky!"

She suddenly jumped in excitement.

"I know what it was!"

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Yue’er looked at him with shining eyes.

"Heaven-Severing Swordfall!"

The name echoed through the cave.

Chen Yuan stared at her.

Yue’er immediately turned back toward the inscription, apparently wanting to see the scene again.

However, after staring at it for several breaths...

Nothing happened.

She blinked.

"Eh?"

"It’s natural if you can’t see it a second time, child," Chen Yuan said from the side. "Opportunities only come once in a while. The rest depends on whether you can comprehend what you’ve seen."

"Opportunities?"

Yue’er blinked, clearly not understanding.

"I need to understand this sword technique inside my mind?"

"So you’ve been given a sword technique."

Chen Yuan’s eyes gleamed, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Good. Once you’re strong enough in the future, make sure to practice that sword technique. It will become your greatest trump card against an unsuspecting enemy."

"Yes, Third Elder."

Chen Yuan’s gaze slowly returned to the sword and the inscription.

A faint smile appeared across his wrinkled face.

"It seems... this place might become the Chen Family’s new annual testing ground."

"That’s enough for today."

Chen Yuan watched her quietly.

"You should leave."

Yue’er turned around.

"But, Third Elder—"

"Didn’t I tell you that opportunities only come once in a while?"

Chen Yuan smiled faintly.

"If you want to truly understand what you saw—the technique—then go back and think about it carefully. Perhaps one day, you’ll be able to use it yourself."

Yue’er hesitated.

She clearly didn’t want to leave.

However, after casting one last glance at the ancient sword, she finally nodded and gave in.

"Yes, Third Elder."

Chen Yuan turned around and walked toward the entrance, while Yue’er hurriedly followed behind him.

The two eventually left the hidden cave.

Once outside, Chen Yuan activated the formation once again.

The stone shifted back into its original position, causing the concealed entrance to disappear completely.

The surroundings returned to their previous appearance, and nothing remained to indicate that a hidden cave was located there.

Chen Yuan then personally escorted Yue’er out of the ancestral grounds.

Along the way, she looked at him expectantly.

"Third Elder, when can I come back?"

"When you’re older."

She gasped.

"That’s so long!"

Chen Yuan chuckled.

"But you’ve already gained an opportunity today. Don’t become greedy. That sword technique alone is the most priceless possession in the clan currently."

"It’s that amazing?" Yue’er blinked.

Chen Yuan nodded and rubbed his white beard.

"It’s a technique from a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It is a genuine second-grade technique."

"Second-grade?"

Yue’er tilted her head, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to understand.

"So... that means it’s incredibly powerful, right, Third Elder?"

"More than incredibly powerful."

Chen Yuan nodded.

"It is currently the strongest technique in our clan, aside from the techniques left behind by the old Ancestor."

Yue’er’s eyes immediately widened.

"The strongest?"

"Yes."

Chen Yuan nodded casually, though inwardly, he couldn’t help but feel amused by her reaction.

A Foundation Establishment-level technique was indeed precious to the current Chen Family.

Even the most powerful techniques possessed by the clan were merely fragments or incomplete inheritances left behind by the previous Ancestor.

Yet now, a little girl without any cultivation had somehow obtained a genuine second-grade sword technique from this cave.

From now on, I will hold an annual competition among the younger generations for a chance to enter this place.

His eyes flashed at the thought.

With that, we can promote the clan’s growth over the long term.

"Remember," Chen Yuan said seriously. "What you saw today must not be told to anyone outside the family."

Yue’er immediately became solemn.

"Not even my friends from the city?"

"Not even your friends."

"What about Father?"

"Your father can know. He is the current head of the family."

Yue’er nodded seriously.

"Yes, Third Elder."

"Good."

Chen Yuan smiled and reached out to pat her head.

The two continued walking until they finally reached the outer section of the ancestral grounds.

Chen Yuan stopped.

"You can return from here."

Yue’er looked at him reluctantly.

"Third Elder, when can I see Ancestor Chen Feng again?"

Chen Yuan looked at the little girl before him.

There was no longer merely curiosity in her eyes.

There was longing.

The kind of longing that appeared when a person had suddenly been shown a world far larger than the one they had previously known.

"Who knows?"

Yue’er’s eyes remained fixed on his face.

"I believe that Ancestor will definitely come back one day."

"And so do I, child."

Chen Yuan smiled.

"Now go."

"Yes, Third Elder."

Yue’er turned around and ran toward the family grounds, leaving behind joyful footsteps as she eventually vanished from Chen Yuan’s sight.

Chen Yuan took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he summoned the system.

A translucent panel appeared before him, and the familiar information had apparently changed.

[Heavenly Ancestor Maker System]

[Current Fictional Template]

[Name: Chen Feng]

[Title: Swordsman of the Leaf]

[Current Story Credibility: 62%]

[Family Trust Value: 5261]

[Requirement for Manifestation: 100% Credibility + 10,000 Family Trust Value]

[Claimable Rewards]

[Revelation of the Ancestor’s Sword]

[Witness: 1]

[Performance and Preparations: D+]

[Reward: Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Realm]

Chen Yuan stared.

For several seconds, he didn’t dare to move.

His pupils slowly contracted.

"Foundation Establishment?"

His breathing became slightly heavier.

He had not expected this outcome.

A reward for creating evidence?

Chen Yuan’s eyes gleamed beneath the tree’s shadow.

He had been stuck at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation for far too long.

Years, to be exact.

No matter how hard he cultivated, no matter how many resources he consumed, that invisible barrier had remained firmly before him.

He had already accepted that his body could no longer improve.

Perhaps this was where his cultivation journey would end.

But now...

There was actually a breakthrough reward from the system.

And judging by the description, it didn’t seem to be a temporary increase.

It was a direct reward of the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Realm.

Chen Yuan’s hands trembled slightly.

Excitement surged through his heart.

It seemed that the value of increasing credibility through evidence was far greater than he had initially anticipated.

Chen Yuan looked around the ancestral grounds.

There was no one here.

Perfect.

He immediately selected the reward.

The moment his thought settled—

Boom!

A terrifying surge erupted from within his body.

Chen Yuan’s expression changed, and he immediately sat down cross-legged on the ground.

His seventh-layer Qi Condensation cultivation, which had remained stagnant for years, suddenly began to tremble violently.

Then—

Crack!

A sound seemingly came from somewhere deep within his body.

The bottleneck shattered like a broken dam.

A tremendous force surged through his meridians.

One layer.

Two layers.

Three layers.

His cultivation rose at an astonishing speed.

Yet the spiritual energy wasn’t coming from his surroundings.

It actually appeared directly within his body.

It was as though an invisible hand had forcibly poured an ocean of energy into his existence.

Chen Yuan’s breathing became heavier.

His entire body trembled.

The spiritual energy within his dantian began expanding violently.

Originally, his dantian was like a small stream.

But at this moment, that stream suddenly swelled like an inflated balloon.

The spiritual energy gathered inside it became denser and denser.

Then—

BOOM!

The small stream erupted, collapsing and expanding at the same time.

The space within his dantian widened dramatically, transforming from a tiny stream into a vast river.

At the same time, an invisible pressure erupted from Chen Yuan’s body.

BOOM!

Dust scattered across the ground.

Leaves rustled.

The surrounding trees trembled.

Even the pebbles beneath him began shaking, while the air itself seemed to grow heavier.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes.

A profound light flashed through them.

"Foundation Establishment... complete."

He remained silent for a moment before slowly raising his hand.

He could feel it.

Every strand of spiritual energy within his body had undergone a qualitative transformation.

It was purer.

Denser.

And, most importantly, stronger.

At the same time, Chen Yuan’s expression changed slightly.

His consciousness suddenly expanded and swept outward from his body.

One kilometer.

Two kilometers.

Five.

Seven.

Ten!

Everything appeared within his mind.

The trees.

The buildings.

The roads.

Even the members of the Chen Family moving throughout the grounds.

Even the tiniest movements of insects hidden beneath the leaves were reflected clearly within his mind.

"So this is the legendary Divine Sense."

Chen Yuan murmured.

Foundation Establishment cultivators could finally possess divine sense.

That was one of the most obvious differences between Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment.

But his divine sense was far too strong.

Chen Yuan’s brows slowly furrowed.

"Ten kilometers?"

That wasn’t normal.

According to the records contained within this body’s memories, an ordinary Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator should possess a divine sense range of roughly one kilometer.

Even those with particularly powerful souls might reach several kilometers.

Ten kilometers?

That was already far beyond what an ordinary Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator should possess.

Chen Yuan remained silent for a moment.

Then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"The original body’s soul..."

His eyes narrowed.

When he had first awakened within this body, he had always assumed that the previous Chen Yuan’s soul had completely disappeared.

But perhaps that wasn’t the case.

Perhaps it hadn’t disappeared at all.

Perhaps it had merged with his own soul.

"So that’s why..."

Chen Yuan slowly exhaled.

"No wonder my feeling of belonging to the clan felt so surreal. The soul of the original body actually merged with mine instead of disappearing."

His divine sense continued spreading.

Everything within a ten-kilometer range was under his perception.

He could even vaguely sense the spiritual fluctuations of several cultivators within the family.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"What an unexpected, but welcome benefit."

Chen Yuan stood and slowly clenched his fist.

A feeling of overwhelming strength immediately filled his body and veins.

The difference between major realms was truly like heaven and earth.

"To think that I would actually reach this realm."

He murmured.

He didn’t waste any more time.

His body moved, and the movement technique he had practiced for countless years was used instinctively.

Previously, when he used it, his figure would turn into a blur.

Now—

He vanished.

There wasn’t even enough time for the surrounding air to react.

The next moment, Chen Yuan appeared several hundred meters away.

He crossed through the family grounds in several steps, and by the time the scenery returned to normal, he was already quietly standing upon the rooftop of the main gate of the Chen Family.

His robes fluttered gently in the mountain breeze.

Chen Yuan looked down, and the entire family grounds spread beneath him.

Yet his gaze soon moved beyond the buildings.

Far in the distance was a vast city on the open land, partially concealed beneath layers of blue mist.

From this height, the city looked almost dreamlike.

Blue cloud mist drifted between countless buildings, occasionally revealing the towering pavilions hidden beneath it.

Chen Yuan quietly stared at it.

He had lived here for decades.

Yet somehow, after reaching the Foundation Establishment realm, the city suddenly seemed different.

Chen Yuan’s eyes gradually narrowed.

The Chen Family wasn’t actually located inside the city.

Instead, it was situated upon an enormous slope of a mountain directly beside it.

From below, the mountain appeared to rise alongside the city, while the Chen Family occupied a considerable portion of its lower and middle slopes.

The medicinal gardens spread across the mountain like enormous terraces.

The spiritual plants grown there were precisely what sustained the family.

For hundreds of years, the Chen Family had remained here.

Chen Yuan’s expression gradually became calm.

He looked toward the distant city once more.

Then he looked back at the family grounds behind him.

"Since I’ve taken over this body..."

His voice was quiet, yet there was an unusual firmness within it.

"Then let me be the one to bring this family beyond the heavens."

His gaze sharpened.

"Let my family name send tremors across the world."

The next instant—

He vanished from the rooftop.

Only the mountain wind remained.

And beneath the blue clouds, the Chen Family continued its peaceful existence, completely unaware that the fate of the clan had already begun to change.