Chapter 11 - Consecutive Breakthroughs

“Roar!”

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Seeing Chen Fan rushing toward it, The Violent Ape fiercely pounded its chest twice before advancing with ground-shaking steps.

Chen Fan felt his bones and muscles shaking due to the ape’s powerful steps. He intended to utilize the Violent Ape's attacks to strengthen his physique further and advance to the Myriad Elephants Divine Art’s third layer.

As Chen Fan rushed toward the Violent Ape, he swiftly unleashed the Vajra Seal.

Boom!

However, the Violent Ape easily crushed the Vajra Seal with a smack, shattering it like it was made of tofu.

Simultaneously, the Violent Ape continued to strike Chen Fan with its palms. Taking a deep breath, Chen Fan chose not to resist, allowing the ape's strikes to land on him.

Bang!

With a dull thud, Chen Fan was forcefully propelled seven to eight meters away, crashing onto the ground.

The Violent Ape pounded its chest complacently, grunting as if to mock Chen Fan for being weak and still trying to steal the spiritual herb it was guarding.

Chen Fan hurriedly climbed to his feet, feeling his organs shaking and his blood surging. However, a glimmer of joy flickered in his eyes.

“It’s working!”

If the Violent Ape’s palm had struck him directly, Chen Fan wouldn't have survived. Thus, he had used a Vajra Seal to weaken the Violent Ape’s attack before receiving the blow without resisting, tempering his physique in the process.

Violent Apes were known for their savage nature and boundless strength. A casual smack from it would have more than 5000 jin of power, so a direct hit would break Chen Fan’s bones.

“Again!”

Chen Fan shouted, fueled by the taste of the benefits he had experienced.

Boom, boom, boom...

A peculiar scene unfolded in front of the cave. The Violent Ape repeatedly sent the human flying like a rubber ball, while the human, seemingly driven to madness, kept returning to face the ape despite spewing blood from the forceful blows.

Although Chen Fan had cultivated to the second layer, making his physical defense extremely tough, his skin still cracked under the Violent Ape’s continuous blows, leaving him bloodied.

Nevertheless, through this grueling self-torture training, the cells within his flesh, tendons, and blood became extraordinarily active. He grew stronger as his physique underwent rapid breaking and reconstruction while using primeval qi as nourishment.

Bang!

Chen Fan was sent flying again like a burlap sack and stood up with difficulty.

He was now completely drenched in fresh blood, but his gaze burned with an unusual brightness. He defiantly shouted at the Violent Ape, "Just you wait, big guy!"

Chen Fan ran into the dense forest with staggered steps.

The Violent Ape didn’t give chase. It looked at Chen Fan’s escaping figure, pounding its chest crazily and roaring as if declaring victory.

Chen Fan repeatedly provoked the Violent Ape for the next three days by running to its cave, only to be mercilessly beaten and left battered and bruised.

However, today...

Chen Fan sat next to a valley stream.

Boom!

Suddenly, Chen Fan shook. Light burst out from him and enveloped him.

The light soon dissipated, and Chen Fan slowly opened his eyes.

“I’ve broken through. The third layer of Strength Refining!”

A flash of joy shone in Chen Fan’s eyes.

The three days of beating had helped him grow stronger rapidly. Today, his efforts were finally rewarded, breaking through to the third layer of Strength Refining. His strength increased by close to 800 jin, and his toughness also improved greatly.

“With my current strength, it wouldn’t be easy for experts at the fifth level of the Qigong realm to kill me, even if I’m far from a match for them!”

Chen Fan’s eyes shone with confidence. Breaking through to the third layer of Strength Refining had made him much stronger and greatly improved his defenses.

“But this is still not enough. If I were to fight Liao Fan, I would still die. I need more power.”

Chen Fan’s gaze turned sharp again.

His eyelids had been twitching the past few days, seemingly to tell him that something bad was on the horizon. Therefore, he didn’t dare to let his guard down.

He was well aware this bad premonition was most likely due to Liao Fan searching high and low for him, desperate for revenge.

“My qi cultivation is already at the peak of the Qigong realm's third level. I am one step away from the fourth level. Training with the Violent Ape these few days has consolidated my foundation, and I’m now ready for a breakthrough.”

Chen Fan’s eyes shone, and he immediately closed his eyes. He took out a primeval stone and revolved the Heaven Seizing Art, trying to advance to the fourth level of the Qigong realm.

Chen Fan had been experiencing severe eyelid twitches recently, making him uneasy.

Although he had escaped to Qingyang Mountain Range immediately after killing Liao Feng, this wasn’t a plan without flaws.

Only with great strength could he rest easy.

His apprehensions were soon proven right.

Liao Fan's promise of a reward spread like wildfire, attracting countless outer sect disciples who eagerly ventured into the Qingyang Mountain Range in search of Chen Fan.

The rewards Liao Fan had put up were too great: fifty primeval stones, enough to drive the disciples preparing for the Outer Sect Grand Competition into a frenzy and potentially help them achieve breakthroughs in their cultivation.

For one and a half months, the entire Qingyang Mountain Range was engulfed in a storm of activity as everyone scoured the area.

A teenager carrying a large bow appeared not far away from this valley stream.

“Hm? That is...”

This teenager immediately spotted Chen Fan sitting cross-legged next to the stream. His pupils shrunk, revealing a look of wild joy. “Chen Fan!”

“Great! Something this good actually happened to me! The fifty primeval stones are mine!” The teenager trembled with excitement seeing Chen Fan.

“Is he trying to break through? Doesn’t that mean that he is in his most vulnerable state? But he’s outside my shooting range. I’ll close in carefully and shoot him in the back to heavily injure him. This should stop him from escaping, and then I will bring him back to the outer sect.”

The teenager made up his mind, deciding to sneak attack Chen Fan.

Suddenly!

Boom!

All of a sudden, Chen Fan’s aura erupted. A terrifying gust of wind surged outward, causing his clothing to flutter vigorously despite the absence of any breeze. A powerful aura emanated from him, causing the teenager to stop in his tracks, his pupils shrinking.

“I’ve broken through! Fourth level Qigong!”

A dark streak flashed in the teenager’s eyes.

He was about to sneak attack Chen Fan, but the latter had just broken through. He could no longer continue with his plan, as he was merely a third-level Qigong martial artist, not to mention that Chen Fan was out of his range.

“Forget it. I’d better hurry back to the sect to inform Senior Brother Liao Fan.” The teenager turned around carefully and hid in the dense forest.

Chen Fan suddenly opened his eyes. He turned around to look as if he had sensed something, but there was nothing there, only a sea of trees and darkness.

Shaking his head, Chen Fan retracted his gaze.

“Fourth level!”

As Chen Fan stood up, his joints made popping sounds like someone was frying beans.

Looking inside his dantian, he saw primeval qi surge like sea waves and rush into his meridians like the tide.

Bang!

Chen Fan rushed to a huge stone, about four meters tall, and attacked it with his palm. A golden light radiated from his palm, ruthlessly falling onto the stone.

The huge stone shattered with a bang, and the tiny shards flew in all directions.

“After barely entering the fourth level of Qigong, a palm from me at full power is nearly 5,000 jin heavy. Now, I have the strength to protect myself when facing Liao Fan!”

A look of joy appeared on Chen Fan’s face.