After the Dorzon of Breakthrough, the valley had erupted in excitement. The successful young warriors were celebrated for their accomplishments, and the elders were already preparing the next stage of training — to help each of them grow more familiar with their newly awakened powers, refine control, and gain further experience in handling the surging energy of Foundation Establishment. The hidden lands of the valley buzzed with life, each village and hidden outpost sharing in the celebrations, while simultaneously beginning preparations for more rigorous trials.
Meanwhile, two young warriors quietly remained at the top of the training grounds, separated from the exuberance below. YunKai Tao and Luo Tang — the two who had yet to break through — sat cross-legged, meditating in silence. Their presence was calm, yet every breath and pulse carried a weight of determination. They could feel the surge of their blood power circulating through every vein, every artery, every fiber of their being.
Weeks had passed since the Dorzon breakthrough, yet the bottleneck that had restrained them remained. Still, they did not falter. Each day, each night, they pushed further, training harder than ever, refining their control, and challenging their limits with a focus that seemed almost unnatural for their age. Even under the watchful eyes of the elders, they pushed themselves quietly, without need for applause or recognition.
From a distance, the other young warriors watched. The elders — Tong Chen, Xiao Ling, Liang Shan, and Yan Zhi Lan — observed with keen eyes, noting the subtleties of each movement, the circulation of energy, and the steady, unrelenting focus of the two boys. The atmosphere on the plateau was charged, not with the storms of before, but with the quiet electricity of potential, of growth, and of unyielding determination.
On the right side of the plateau, YunKai Tao maintained perfect stillness. The rhythmic flow of his blood energy could be seen as faint luminescent lines beneath his skin — colors of blue, white, red, green, and golden light, flowing in endless patterns, intertwining, circulating with precision and force. But at the very center of his blood circulation, a dark, black shadow lingered — deep, absolute, and seemingly alive. It was surrounded by the brilliant colors of his circulating blood, yet it neither yielded nor diminished. Instead, it pulsed like a wild, unrestrained force, suppressing and being suppressed by the colored attributes around it.
Each part of his blood shell — from head to toe, from heart to limbs — was like a chain, intricate and strong, containing the five-colored attributes of his cultivated energy. The black core remained at the center, wild and dangerous, and every attempt to push beyond his bottleneck sent tremors of tension through his body.
YunKai Tao had felt it before, many times in fleeting glimpses during previous trainings. But now, as he concentrated with full intent, the sensation became overwhelming. The black energy was not merely an obstacle; it was alive, a presence that seemed capable of disrupting his body, mind, and spirit if provoked too aggressively. He could sense that any sudden attempt to break through could trigger catastrophic consequences — from his inner blood to his external form, everything could suffer.
He exhaled slowly, deliberately, controlling the urge to force the energy forward. Every time he approached the stage where ordinary humans could leap to Foundation Establishment, the black force stirred. It was not just a limit — it was a warning. Something deep, ancient, and untamed lay at the core of his blood, and he could feel the potential for disaster if he miscalculated.
On the left side of the plateau, Luo Tang mirrored a similar meditation, though his struggle was different. Unlike YunKai Tao, his bottleneck was physical and mental — the sheer restraint of his body at age eleven, paired with his youthful inexperience, made the flow of blood energy uneven. Yet he, too, had learned patience, focus, and control. Each circulation of his blood power, each deep inhale and exhale, drew him closer to the threshold, even if he had yet to cross it.
Time passed quietly. Mist swirled around the plateau, moving with the subtle drafts created by the circulating energy of the two boys. Their forms remained still, yet the air around them hummed with the strength of their internal energy. From a distance, the other young warriors and elders could sense it — the aura of potential and restraint, of power held in perfect equilibrium.
The elders' eyes betrayed careful attention. Xiao Ling leaned slightly forward. "YunKai Tao is extraordinary," she whispered, voice barely audible. "He has something within him… a hidden force that even he cannot fully control. Yet he manages it better than I could have imagined at his age."
Tong Chen nodded slowly. "It is a dangerous energy," he murmured. "One misstep, and it could consume him. But his restraint… his discipline… is impressive. He is far beyond what the surface shows."
Liang Shan's gaze shifted to Luo Tang, who was quietly circulating his own blood energy. "The boy's progress is remarkable for his age," he said softly. "He may be younger, but his potential is enormous. The bottleneck he faces is temporary — once he aligns body and spirit perfectly, there is no limit to what he could achieve."
Yan Zhi Lan's eyes softened, gazing at the plateau where YunKai Tao and Luo Tang remained seated in meditation. "They are both exceptional in their own ways," she said quietly, her voice calm but carrying a subtle reverence. "YunKai Tao carries the weight of hidden inheritance; Luo Tang the raw brilliance of youth. Their breakthroughs will come — in time. For now, they must endure, refine, and respect the forces within themselves."
As the elders continued their quiet conversation, YunKai Tao's mind was elsewhere. The plateau was silent around him, the distant celebrations of the other warriors drifting up from below. Yet within his body, a storm raged — not chaotic, but ordered, intricate, and deeply mysterious. Slowly, he began to understand the essence of the force that had long restrained him.
It came in pieces, like shards of understanding aligning. The black point at the center of his blood — the dark, almost void-like entity that had haunted his attempts to push beyond his bottleneck — was not meant to exist. It had no reason to be there. It was like carrying a most powerful enemy inside him, an invisible adversary poised to strike at any moment. Its presence alone could cause disaster, corrupting his energy, his spirit, and perhaps even his very body. And yet it had always been there, hidden beneath the brilliance of his colored attributes.
Around this black point, the five-colored fents — golden, red, white, green, and blue — were more than mere energy flows. They were guardians, suppressing the black entity's hunger. The black blood, like a small black hole, constantly tried to absorb YunKai Tao's blood energy, but it could only take in fragments, carefully limited by the intricate balance of the other fents.
The golden light was the most important. It acted as a wall, a barrier that completely blocked the black blood from devouring his energy. It was central to the defense, the linchpin of his internal formation. But even the golden light was not eternal. Over time, its strength waned. If left alone, the black blood could eventually pierce through. That's where the red and white lights came into play: they fused with the golden light, reinforcing it, converting YunKai Tao's normal blood energy into the same frequency and strength as the golden light itself, fortifying the defense against absorption.
The green and blue lights were subtler, supporting the formation. They could not enter the heart directly, yet they stabilized the golden light throughout the rest of his body, ensuring that the black blood could not find a weakness in the network of defenses. The entire system was like an intricate lattice of energy, constantly circulating, absorbing, redirecting, and reinforcing itself in silent harmony.
The most remarkable part, however, lay hidden in the center of YunKai Tao's chest — the heart. To the untrained eye, it appeared as an ordinary organ, a center of life like any human's. Even the closest observers, and the most gifted of warriors, would perceive it as normal. They would see only the faint golden glow of his blood, nothing more.
But deep within, the heart was encased in layers of pure golden light, interwoven with red and white. These three colors formed the primary barrier against the black blood, creating a sanctuary that could not be breached. Blue and green, though they strengthened other areas, were unable to penetrate the heart directly. Should they attempt to, their essence would dissipate, merging harmlessly with the golden, red, and white, leaving the core untouched.
Even more astonishing, if one could look further, they would see a lattice of mysterious formations and tiny, radiant rubies embedded throughout his blood vessels — especially surrounding the heart. These formations acted as micro-wards, preventing the black blood from entering, channeling it away or diffusing its energy in countless minute divisions. It was a complex, almost sacred internal architecture, designed not just to contain the black point but to protect his very life force from it.
Yet here was the paradox: YunKai Tao himself could not sense the full depth of these protections. The black blood, the golden wall, the fused red and white reinforcements, the supporting blue and green, and the ruby wards around the heart — they all operated in harmony, silently shielding him from dangers he could not perceive. Even he, whose energy was already far above normal for his age and stage, could only feel fragments: the pressure, the restraint, the subtle warning of the black blood's hunger. The true scale, the invisible architecture within, remained beyond his awareness.
To the outside world, and even to the elders watching, YunKai Tao seemed like any other determined aspirant, sitting quietly, meditating, circulating his blood energy with care. No one could see the delicate battle unfolding inside him, the unseen war between his will, his five-colored fents, and the black entity that had always lingered at the center of his blood.
And so he sat, silently, unaware of the full magnitude of his own defenses, training with steadfast determination. The plateau around him, mist swirling, distant thunder echoing, bore witness to a quiet miracle — the unseen guardians, the intricate formations, and the young warrior unknowingly protecting his very heart from a force that could annihilate him.
Even YunKai Tao, for all his talent, experience, and discipline, did not realize the extent of what lay within. He had no capacity to sense the depth of the protection at his heart. For him, the battle was abstract, mysterious, almost like a shadow at the edge of his perception. And yet, these unseen forces allowed him to train, to circulate his blood energy, and to edge closer toward the day when the bottleneck would finally shatter.
On the left, Luo Tang mirrored his cousin's quiet determination, unaware of the extraordinary internal defenses shielding YunKai Tao. Together, they sat at the top of the training ground, bathed in mist, surrounded by the watchful eyes of the valley and elders — two warriors, one extraordinary, one brimming with raw potential, each walking a path toward an unseen future.