Courtyard House: Starting with handing over the keys, the state helps me abuse birds.

It was late at night.

In the main room of the backyard, Xie Weihong sat cross-legged on the bed, his aura surging.

He had been sitting like this for three hours.

After returning from the base, he sensed something unusual about the true energy within his body. The bottleneck that had been holding him back at the mid-stage of the fifth rank had become increasingly loose over the past few days, like a floodgate that could be breached at any moment.

Tonight, the time has finally come.

Xie Weihong closed her eyes and focused her mind on her dantian.

Within the dantian, the silvery-white liquid true energy was slowly rotating, like a miniature galaxy. With each rotation, the true energy became more solidified, and its light grew brighter. From the surrounding meridians, countless tiny streams of energy were continuously flowing in, merging into that rotating vortex.

The vortex spun faster and faster, becoming increasingly erratic.

Suddenly, a soft sound came from deep within the dantian.

It looked like something had broken.

The vortex paused abruptly, then exploded with a deafening roar. A silvery-white light instantly filled the entire dantian, flowing through the meridians to every part of the body. Wherever it passed, bones cracked, muscles trembled violently, and faint black impurities seeped from the skin.

pain.

But Xie Weihong remained motionless.

The light circulated through the body for three major cycles before finally returning to the dantian.

This time, it's no longer liquid.

It was a bead the size of a fingernail, entirely silver-white, suspended in the center of the dantian, slowly rotating.

Golden Elixir.

Sixth order.

Xie Weihong opened her eyes.

The room was silent, moonlight streaming through the paper windows and casting a soft glow on the floor. He looked down at his hands—a faint light seemed to flow beneath his skin, like a silver river hidden within his flesh.

He stood up and stretched his body slightly.

His joints cracked, each sound accompanied by a surge of powerful energy. He clenched his fists, feeling that the internal energy within him was more than twice as strong as before.

He walked to the window and opened it.

The moonlight streamed in and shone on him.

He suddenly remembered that the system had said that after reaching the sixth rank, one could fly.

With a thought, he circulated his internal energy and lightly tapped his foot—

He floated up into the air.

It wasn't a jump, it was a real float. Like a feather, it silently left the ground and hovered in mid-air.

Xie Weihong looked down and realized he was already three feet off the ground. He tried to take a step forward, and his whole body walked out into the air, through the window, and into the courtyard.

Under the moonlight, he stood with his hands behind his back, suspended a foot above the ground.

A night breeze blew by, causing her clothes to flutter.

He looked up at the sky. The moon was round, and the stars were bright. He tried to rise a little higher, and his body obediently rose higher and higher.

Two zhang. Three zhang. Five zhang.

He hovered in the air, looking down over the entire courtyard.

The front yard, middle yard, and back yard were all in sight. The light in the east wing was still on, the light in the west wing was off, and the window of the main house in the back yard was open—the very room he had just come from.

He saw a figure sitting cross-legged under the old locust tree in the courtyard.

Silly Pillar.

That guy was still cultivating. He sat cross-legged on the bluestone, eyes closed, chanting incantations. Moonlight shone on his face, making him look very serious.

Xie Weihong's lips curled up slightly.

With a thought, his body slowly descended, finally landing silently on the ground in the backyard.

The next morning, sunlight streamed into the courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, six people were already standing in a row.

Yi Zhonghai stood in the line, his face ashen and his eyes dark. He hadn't slept a wink last night, his body aching so badly he couldn't sleep. When he woke up this morning, he felt like his legs weren't even his own.

Sha Zhu stood beside him, looking energetic and his eyes shining.

"Master, how are you feeling today?" Sha Zhu asked, leaning closer.

Yi Zhonghai nodded weakly: "It's...it's alright."

"That's good," Sha Zhu said. "Let's continue practicing today. I figured out a few more problems last night, and I'll ask you about them later."

Yi Zhonghai almost fainted.

Just then, footsteps came from the Moon Gate.

Everyone looked up at the same time.

Xie Weihong walked out from the backyard.

As usual, he wore his faded old military uniform, his face expressionless. But today, something seemed different.

Yi Zhonghai stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly realized something was wrong.

Xie Weihong's walking posture is different from before.

He used to walk with steady steps, each step firmly planted. But now, he walks as if floating, his feet seemingly suspended a tiny distance from the ground, as light as a feather.

Yi Zhonghai rubbed his eyes and looked again.

It's still the same.

No, it's not about how he walks, it's about the feeling he gives off. Before, when Xie Weihong stood there, he was like a mountain, making people feel oppressed. Now, when he stands there, he's like a cloud, right in front of you, yet you feel like he might drift away at any moment.

Sha Zhu also stared at Xie Weihong, his eyes narrowing.

He sensed it.

That aura was more than twice as strong as yesterday's.

Xie Weihong walked to the front of the line and stood still.

His gaze swept over everyone.

"Let's begin," he said.

The six people started doing push-ups.

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, lay down, and did it. The pain made his vision go black.

Sha Zhu was next to him, glancing at Xie Weihong as he worked.

Not right.

Something's really not right.

That aura was too strong, so strong that even the true energy within his body trembled involuntarily. In his previous life, he had cultivated to the Tribulation Transcending stage and seen countless powerful figures, but none of their auras felt as eerie as Xie Weihong's current presence.

It's not strong, it's... elusive.

It's as if it doesn't exist in this world.

As Sha Zhu was thinking, he suddenly saw Xie Weihong move.

He took a step forward.

No, it's not "walking," it's "floating."

He was lifted off the ground and floated into the air, about three feet above the ground, where he was suspended.

Sha Zhu's eyes widened in disbelief.

Yi Zhonghai lay on the ground, looked up and saw this scene, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg.

The cane in Liu Haizhong's hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

Xu Damao completely forgot to do push-ups, and just lay there with his head tilted back, looking like he'd seen a ghost.

Jia Zhangshi's mouth was agape, and she didn't even realize that the melon seeds had slipped from her hand.

Banggeng's eyes widened, and he took a step back.

The courtyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Xie Weihong hovered in mid-air, looking down at them.

His gaze was calm, devoid of any expression.

Then he took a step forward, walked a few steps in the air, floated over the procession, and landed under the moon gate.

I glanced back.

"continue."

After saying that, he turned and walked into the backyard, disappearing behind the moon gate.

The courtyard remained deathly silent.

It took Sha Zhu a while to come to his senses.

He looked down at his hands, then looked up at the direction Xie Weihong had disappeared in, his eyes blazing with fury.

Flying through the air.

That's an ability only available to those at the Tribulation Transcending stage!

In his previous life, he could barely fly even after reaching the peak of the Tribulation Transcending stage. But now, how old is Xie Weihong? Just over twenty! And he can already fly!

What does this tell us?

This means that Xie Weihong's cultivation level is even higher than his peak level in his previous life!

Sha Zhu's breathing became rapid.

He recalled his past life, where he cultivated for 180 years but ultimately failed to transcend the tribulation. Xie Weihong, on the other hand, had already reached the level that he had taken over a hundred years to achieve, in his early twenties.

What kind of talent is this? What kind of opportunity is this?

No, that's not right.

It wasn't talent, it was the mentor!

He suddenly looked at Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai was still lying on the ground, his face blank, not yet recovered from the shock he had just experienced.

Sha Zhu leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Master, did you see that?"

Yi Zhonghai nodded.

"How can he fly?" Sha Zhu asked. "What level of skill is this?"

Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't say anything.

How did he know what level this was?

He has never even practiced cultivation!

Sha Zhu stared at him, the light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"Master," his voice trembled, "can you fly too?"

Yi Zhonghai was stunned.

"I...I..."

"You've sealed ninety percent of your cultivation, so you can definitely fly, right?" Sha Zhu became more and more excited as he spoke. "If you unseal your cultivation, you'll definitely fly higher and more steadily than him!"

Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Sha Zhu grabbed his arm.

"Master, teach me! Teach me how to fly!"

Yi Zhonghai's mind went blank.

"Master?"

Sha Zhu stared at him, and the light in his eyes slowly changed.

What started as anticipation turned into doubt.

"Can you...fly?"

Yi Zhonghai's heart skipped a beat.

He sensed a hint of doubt in Sha Zhu's tone.

"I..." he said, forcing a smile, "Of course I can fly. But my cultivation is sealed right now, so I can't fly."

Sha Zhu stared at him for several seconds.

Then he nodded.

"I see."

He released his grip and stood up.

"I will practice hard. One day, I will be able to fly too."

He turned around and continued doing push-ups.

One, two, three...

The movements were faster and more forceful than before.

Yi Zhonghai lay on the ground, looking at his crazed state, feeling a mix of emotions.

He looked up at the moon gate, but Xie Weihong was gone.

Only the sunlight shone there, bright and dazzling.

---

backyard.

Xie Weihong sat cross-legged on the bed, listening to the notification sounds that kept ringing in her mind.

[Ding! A ninth-tier demon, "Raging Mighty Demon," has been detected witnessing its host soaring through the air. Its fighting spirit has surged, and its desire to cultivate has broken through its limits. Reward bonus: 300%!]

[Ding! Detected that the ninth-tier demon "Hypocritical Soul Demon" has suffered a severe mental blow, its fear level has soared, reward bonus 200%!]

[Ding! Detected that the ninth-tier demon "Lustful Insatiable Body" has suffered a mental shock. Reward bonus 150%!]

[Ding! Ninth-tier demon detected...]

A slight smile played at the corners of his lips.

The results were even better than he had imagined.

Sha Zhu is now even more insane. Yi Zhonghai is in even more pain. The others are even more terrified.

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked towards the central courtyard.

Sha Zhu was frantically doing push-ups, his movements as fast as a machine.

Yi Zhonghai lay on the ground, looking at him with an extremely complex expression.