As Ye Xian stood in his room, still basking in the afterglow of his breakthrough, he suddenly heard Aureliana's voice echo gently in his mind.
"You should test your power now," she suggested. "It's time to see how far you've come."
Ye Xian blinked. Her voice sounded clearer than before—so vivid, almost as if she were whispering directly into his ear.
"Wait… how come I can hear you more clearly now?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Because your cultivation has increased," Aureliana explained with a soft laugh. "Our soul link is growing stronger and more stable. With every breakthrough, your spiritual sense sharpens. That makes it easier for me to communicate with you."
Ye Xian grinned. Things were just getting better and better. Didn't this mean his spiritual perception had also greatly improved?
Without wasting time, he left his room and made his way to the Ye Clan's main training hall. It was a spacious chamber often used for sparring, cultivation practice, and strength testing.
Several clan members were already inside, busy training with wooden dummies, sparring partners, or meditating silently.
A few looked up curiously as Ye Xian walked past them, but none paid him much attention—yet.
At the far end of the hall stood a special room: the Power Testing Chamber.
Ye Xian stepped inside.
It was a small space, only about 10 square meters, with a single tall stone pillar standing in the middle. The pillar had nine vertical lines carved into it, each showing a level of cultivation. Five main colors were used to show the different stages.
There were other versions of this pillar that used six, seven, or even more colors. Those could show higher cultivation realms above the normal levels. But they were much more expensive. The Ye Clan could only afford the five-color one, which was still good enough for testing most people.
Five main colors were used to indicate the stages:
1. Violet – Mortal Realm
2. Indigo – Ki Refining Realm
3. Blue – Ki Warrior Realm
4. Green – Element Disciple Realm
5. Yellow – Element Master Realm
The more columns lit up under a punch, the stronger your cultivation and combat ability were considered.
Aureliana's voice chimed in again.
"Alright. Punch it. No holding back—use your full strength."
Ye Xian took a deep breath and stepped forward. His feet spread apart, knees slightly bent. He focused his ki into his right arm. The air around his body shimmered as pressure built up, and his dantian pulsed like a loaded spring.
Then—boom—he punched.
There was no sound. No explosion, no impact. It felt like hitting a cloud, soft and silent.
A second later, the pillar came to life.
First, all nine Violet runes lit up—this showed a full sweep of the Mortal Realm. After that, the color changed to Indigo, marking the Ki Refining Realm. One by one, all nine Indigo runes began to glow in quick succession.
But it didn't stop there.
The color shifted again, turning Blue—this meant the Ki Warrior Realm had been reached. One, two, three, four... six Blue runes lit up before the light finally stopped, as if the pillar had reached its limit for now.
Ye Xian's eyes widened. "Six columns? But I just broke through to the first stage of the Ki Warrior Realm!"
Aureliana answered calmly, her tone both amused and impressed.
"Your aura is that of a first-stage Ki Warrior, yes—but your raw power is equivalent to someone at the sixth stage."
"What? How's that possible?"
"Simple," she said. "When you cultivated using the Reverse Taiji treasure, your ki was refined to liquid form—incredibly pure and dense. Your body, strengthened at every stage by the treasure, was forcibly enhanced to contain and circulate that ki. So although your realm is low, the quality and compression of your ki give you far more power than others at the same stage."
Ye Xian blinked again, digesting the explanation.
"So I'm punching above my weight class…"
"Exactly. While others crawl, you're sprinting."
Just as Ye Xian was admiring the results of his punch, Aureliana's voice echoed again in his mind.
"Now try punching again—but this time, use Ki Armor."
"Ki Armor" Ye Xian repeated.
That's the real difference between the Ki Refining Realm and the Ki Warrior Realm. Ki Refiners can only circulate energy inside their bodies. But once you become a Ki Warrior, your ki can be released outside your body—up to a two-meter radius. You can coat your weapons, enhance your attacks, and even protect yourself.
Ki Armor is a thin layer of ki that covers your body like a second skin. It acts as both a shield and a weapon—depending on how you use it.
Ye Xian raised his right arm and focused. Slowly, a shimmering layer of energy formed around it. It looked like a faint glow at first, then condensed into a thin, visible coating—his first Ki Armor.
With his fist coated, he pulled his arm back and slammed it into the stone pillar again.
Boom!
The response was instant.
All nine Violet runes lit up. Then all nine Indigo ones. Then the Blue runes started glowing—one, two, three, four... six…
But it didn't stop there.
Seven!
Eight!
Nine!
Ye Xian's eyes lit up with excitement. "I reached the ninth stage?!"
"Incredible, isn't it?" Aureliana said .
"Most cultivators might see a slight increase when using Ki Armor—just enough to push their strength a bit beyond their current level. Maybe half a stage, or close to one full stage at best. But you… you jumped all the way to the ninth stage from sixth stage."
"That's because your ki is far more dense and pure than normal. The Reverse Taiji treasure didn't just help you break through—it reshaped your foundation. Your ki is tightly compressed, incredibly potent, and your body has been tempered to withstand and channel it."
Ye Xian clenched his fist, stunned at the results. This wasn't just a small advantage—this was overwhelming power.
But Aureliana's tone turned serious.
"You can't use this kind of power recklessly."
"Why?" he asked, blinking.
"First, you need control. If you can't manage your strength, you might hurt people you don't mean to. Second, you must learn to hide your true power. Right now, you stand out far too much."
Ye Xian paused. He understood. In a world full of schemers and power-hungry rivals, revealing too much strength was like painting a target on your back.
Suddenly, a memory stirred—an echo of knowledge passed down from Adler.
"There is a technique…" Ye Xian murmured, "…that lets you conceal your aura. If mastered, it can even create up to three clones. Two of them would be copies, and one the real body."
Aureliana responded thoughtfully.
"Yes. That technique will be crucial. But first, focus on controlling your power."
Ye Xian nodded and returned to the pillar. This time, he had a new goal—not to overwhelm it, but to precisely control how much strength he showed.
He began practicing.
His first punch was meant to display the second stage of the Ki Warrior Realm—but the pillar showed the third.
"Too much…" he muttered.
He tried again. This time, it showed first stage.
After several more attempts, sweat lining his brow, he finally managed to hit exactly the second stage. Aureliana observed silently, impressed.
Then he practiced striking with the strength of third, sixth, and seventh stages of the Ki Refining Realm.
It wasn't easy—but after many tries, he succeeded. Again and again, he replicated different strengths with near-perfect control.
Aureliana's voice finally returned, filled with quiet admiration.
"Your progress is fast—faster than expected. It seems your talent has evolved. The Reverse Taiji treasure didn't just improve your power—it enhanced your learning speed as well."
Ye Xian grinned, wiping his brow.