Chapter 674 - 228: Bai Bing’s Expectation

Inside the Lingxi Great Hall.

Silence reigned. Bai Bing stared at Yang Jing in utter astonishment, her cool eyes filled with a trace of disbelief.

She blinked instinctively and focused her senses to probe him again.

But no matter how she perceived it, the steady, condensed, and sharp aura emanating from Yang Jing’s body was unmistakably that of the Qi Absorption Realm.

It far surpassed the scope of the Qi Eating Realm, and there was nothing false about it.

Bai Bing took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling slightly as she slowly calmed the shock surging within her.

She looked up at Si Jiawen, who stood to the side. Her voice still carried a ripple of emotion as she said, "Jia Wen, you may go back for now."

Si Jiawen froze at her words, a hint of confusion appearing on her face.

’Master’s reaction today is so strange. She never used to avoid my presence when she summoned Yang Jing, but today she’s insisted on keeping him here alone. Is there some important matter that I’m not allowed to hear or see?’

Her heart was filled with questions, but she couldn’t defy her master’s command. Despite her confusion, she could only bow with her hands clasped and reply respectfully, "Yes, Master."

With that, Si Jiawen turned and walked out of the Lingxi Great Hall. The doors slowly closed behind her, sealing the inside from the out.

Now, only Bai Bing and Yang Jing remained in the vast Lingxi Great Hall.

’I see,’ Yang Jing thought. ’Master must have seen through my breakthrough to the Qi Absorption Realm at a glance. That’s why she deliberately sent Senior Sister away.’

His mind sharpened. He bowed his head, his expression solemn and respectful, and quietly waited for his master to speak.

Bai Bing’s gaze fell upon Yang Jing once more. It was deep and sharp, as if it could pierce through all appearances and see straight to his Dantian and meridians.

After a moment, she finally spoke, her voice cool yet carrying a hint of barely perceptible gravity. "Jing’Er, come forward a few steps."

Yang Jing didn’t dare to hesitate. He immediately took several steady steps forward, stopping a short distance from Bai Bing, now much closer to his Peak Master, who was in the Pill Realm.

Bai Bing’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze sweeping over him repeatedly before she finally asked, "When did you break through?"

’Just as I thought,’ Yang Jing said to himself. ’With Master’s level of cultivation, she saw through my breakthrough in a single glance, even though I’ve already mastered control over the aura of the Qi Absorption Realm and deliberately tried to conceal it.’

But in the face of the enormous gap between a Pill Realm expert and the Qi Absorption Realm, all attempts at concealment were futile.

He took a light breath to steady himself, then bowed respectfully and replied, "Reporting to Master, this disciple just broke through two days ago."

He paused briefly, then quickly added, "For the past two days, this disciple has been in the Training Room consolidating my realm and refining my Inner Qi. I was afraid my foundation would be unstable, so I didn’t come to see Master immediately. I hope Master will forgive me."

Bai Bing nodded lightly. She could clearly sense that the aura within Yang Jing’s body was steady and profound, his Inner Qi was as condensed as steel, and his meridians were wide and resilient. It was obvious his Qi Absorption Realm was completely stabilized, and he was not someone who had broken through hastily with an unstable foundation.

Her lips pursed slightly. Even though she had now received a direct answer from Yang Jing, she still found it hard to believe.

Even someone like her, whose talent was once considered top-tier in all of Jizhou, had spent a full six months to break through from the Peak of Qi Eating Realm to the Qi Absorption Realm, and she had only barely succeeded on her second attempt.

But Yang Jing?

According to Bai Bing’s previous precise calculations, it had only been a few days at most since Yang Jing had reached the Peak of Qi Eating Realm. He had started his attempt to break through the moment he reached the peak, and then... he had just succeeded. Directly. Without a single sign of hesitation.

Bai Bing’s gaze locked onto Yang Jing.

Her voice, still heavy with unsettled gravity, asked:

"How did you break through the bottleneck?"

The barrier between the Peak of Qi Eating Realm and the Qi Absorption Realm was incredibly difficult and perilous.

Even the publicly acknowledged prodigies of the five great sects were often stuck for years, exhausting all their efforts before successfully breaking through.

Yang Jing thought for a moment before answering truthfully:

"This disciple was just cultivating normally. After reaching the Peak of Qi Eating Realm, I felt that my Inner Qi had been filled to its limit and my foundation was solid enough, so I tried to charge the bottleneck... I didn’t expect to just break right through it and successfully enter the Qi Absorption Realm."

Hearing these few understated words, the corner of Bai Bing’s eye couldn’t help but twitch.

If those disciples outside who were stuck at the Peak of Qi Eating Realm and on the verge of despair heard this, they would probably be so enraged their minds would reel.

Across all five great sects, countless geniuses were stuck at this stage, wasting away half their lives, with some never having any hope of reaching the Qi Absorption Realm at all.

Even Chu Yunhai, the sect’s number one seed who had awakened a War Body and carried immense expectations, had been stuck at the Peak of Qi Eating Realm for nearly two years and still had a long way to go before breaking through.

But in contrast, there was Yang Jing—

He had only just reached the Peak of Qi Eating Realm, and on his very first attempt to break through, he had actually succeeded.

No repeated struggles, no years-long torment at the bottleneck. It was a smooth, single step to the heavens.

At this thought, Bai Bing’s evaluation of Yang Jing’s talent skyrocketed once again.

She was now one hundred percent certain that what Yang Jing concealed was some kind of extremely top-tier, perhaps even unimaginable, talent and constitution.

Even with Chu Yunhai awakening a War Body, his potential soaring and his status elevated to great heights within the sect, he was still far from comparable to the terrifying speed Yang Jing was now displaying.

At that moment, countless thoughts raced through Bai Bing’s mind. She mentally reviewed every special constitution and rare talent she knew of, but none of them perfectly matched Yang Jing’s situation.