Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

The sky was as dark as ink, and the stars hung low.

Thirty miles outside Pingyang County, deep in an unnamed valley, a faint aura was slowly rising, like a giant beast sleeping underground gradually awakening. Each rise and fall made the vegetation within a radius of several miles tremble.

Inside the stone chamber in the valley, Dongfang Weiwo sat cross-legged, his spiritual energy rising and falling like the tides, each three breaths constituting a complete cycle of breathing.

After the spiritual energy tide fully erupted, the spiritual energy in the world became so dense that it was almost tangible. However, within a radius of three zhang around him, the spiritual energy presented a strange "vacuum" state—not because there was a lack of spiritual energy, but because it was completely devoured by some deeper power within his body, leaving no time to replenish it.

The moss that once covered the rock face has long since withered and fallen off, revealing the dry, cracked rock surface below, with the cracks spreading outwards at a visible rate.

The Celestial Treasure Scripture. This complete inheritance, obtained from the top of the thousand-layered ladder to heaven in the Great Tomb of the East Sea, is now circulating through his meridians in an indescribable way. Body refinement, mind cultivation, and enlightenment are advancing simultaneously, intertwined yet independent, like three different rivers flowing in the same channel, sometimes clashing and sometimes merging into one.

"The bottleneck for Grandmasters... is indeed not just a matter of strength."

Dongfang Weiwo opened his eyes, and a flash of golden light disappeared deep in his pupils.

The golden light was extremely faint, yet it carried a chilling sense of oppression, as if some ancient being had glanced at the mortal world from within him.

From Grandmaster to Great Grandmaster, ordinary people only think it's a qualitative change in spiritual power and a sublimation of martial intent, but among the 100,000 people who are truly stuck at this step, 99,000 die at the hurdle of "heart".

At the first level of the Grandmaster realm, what one cultivates is not Qi, but "intention".

A fist has its intent, a sword has its intent, a knife has its intent—but where does this "intent" come from?

The Heavenly Man Treasure Book provides the answer: It comes from "me".

What you believe is what you believe.

Therefore, Li Chenzhou's boxing intention is "to rule the world", because he believes that he was born to stand above all living beings.

Guan Qi's sword intent is "lawless", because there are no rules in the world that can bind him.

Song Que's sword intent is "Heavenly Sword" because he believes in the natural way of Heaven and that the sword is the will of Heaven.

What do I believe in?

Dongfang Weiwo closed his eyes, and the words his father, Dongfang Wudi, had spoken when he was sixteen years old flashed through his mind: "The descendants of the Dongfang family need not believe in heaven, need not believe in fate, but only in the sword in their own hands."

But he was not a swordsman. He was a strategist, a hunter lurking in the shadows, a pawn weaving a web of traps in the darkness.

He believed that one day, all that was hidden would be revealed, all that was dormant would rise, and all that had been calculated would become reality.

There is no game of chess in this world that cannot be finished. There are only those who are unwilling to make a move.

"boom--"

An invisible wave of energy exploded from his body, causing the walls of the stone chamber to crack inch by inch, and the cracks spread like a spider web to every inch of the rock wall in the entire valley.

The spiritual energy within a radius of dozens of miles surged back, forming a visible vortex that distorted and deformed the stars in the sky, as if even heaven and earth were making way for his breakthrough.

Dongfang Weiwo's aura instantly surged from the late stage of Grandmaster to the peak of Grandmaster, and then... he smashed open the barrier that countless geniuses could never enter in their entire lives without any hindrance.

Grandmaster. First Heaven.

The vortex of spiritual energy suddenly subsided, and the world returned to silence, as if nothing had happened. Only the shattered rocks throughout the valley testified to the earth-shattering impact that had just occurred.

Inside the stone chamber, Dongfang Weiwo slowly rose and looked down at his hands.

A faint golden pattern flashed and disappeared at his fingertips, a sign that he had mastered the "Body Refinement Chapter" of the Celestial Treasure Manual—his physical strength had transcended the realm of the mortal and was progressing towards the physical level of a Celestial Giant.

He tried clenching his fist, and a slight popping sound came from his palm, as if the air was being squeezed and groaning.

"It arrived two days faster than expected."

He stretched his shoulders and neck, his bones making a faint cracking sound, and then pushed open the door and went out.

The moonlight shone down overhead, and the night breeze carried the fresh scent of grass and trees.

At the valley entrance, two figures in white stood like two drawn swords under the moonlight, one on the left and one on the right. Within a radius of a hundred feet, even the chirping of insects ceased.

Ximen Chuixue leaned against a tree, sword in hand, his gaze fixed indifferently on a distant point, as if sensing something. Moonlight fell on his white robes, casting a cold, clear glow, making him resemble an ancient sword yet to be drawn, one that already sent chills down one's spine.

His sword—the sword named "Peerless"—sat quietly across his arm, its scabbard plain and unadorned, yet any swordsmith who saw it would instinctively take three steps back.

Ye Gucheng stood with his hands behind his back on a rock three zhang high, his robes fluttering in the night wind. He was more like a sword than Ximen Chuixue—a peerless sword that had been drawn from its sheath and whose sharpness was fully revealed.

At this moment, he slightly raised his head to look at the bright moon in the sky, his expression almost lonely and indifferent, as if there was nothing in this world other than the way of the sword that was worth his glance.

"Young master."

The two spoke almost simultaneously, one voice cold and the other clear, yet both carrying the same chilling sword intent.

"Thank you for your hard work, Dharma Protectors."

Dongfang Weiwo nodded slightly. The process of breaking through to the Grandmaster level cannot tolerate any interference. He had Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng guard the valley entrance. The aura of these two peak sword masters was enough to deter any intruders.

In fact, three days ago, there were indeed several unidentified auras lingering nearby, but they were cut off from a distance by Ximen Chuixue's sword intent and never appeared again.

"Who were they working for three days ago?"

"The Heavenly Demon Sect," Ye Gucheng said calmly, a hint of disdain in his voice. "An old man in a red robe, his cultivation level around the third level of a Grandmaster, was probably a scout. Brother Ximen's sword intent severed one of his arms from a distance, and he escaped. He didn't even dare to pick up the severed arm; he certainly ran fast."

Upon hearing this, Ximen Chuixue tilted his head slightly, and a flicker of emotion finally appeared in his indifferent eyes—as if he found Ye Gucheng too talkative.

He gently ran two fingers across the scabbard before speaking, "His sword intent is too mixed. A Grandmaster at the third level, yet he can't even condense a single pure sword aura; living is a waste of his spiritual energy."

"The Blood Shadow Elder's men."

Dongfang Weiwo was not surprised. The Blood Shadow Elder on the East Sea Tomb was forced back by his father's palm, but the Heavenly Demon Sect was always vengeful, so it was expected that they would send people to Pingyang County to keep watch.

He didn't plan to deal with it for the time being—letting the Heavenly Demon Sect know that "Dongfang Wudi's son has two Grandmaster level six guards by his side" was more useful than killing the spy.

The message will be relayed back, and Elder Blood Shadow will reassess the situation. This reassessment will take time, and time is exactly what Dongfang Wei wants.

"Back to the city."

"Young Master, you don't intend to pursue him?" Ximen Chuixue suddenly asked. This was the second time he had spoken tonight, which was already quite rare for him.

"It's better to have him go back and relay our message than to chase after a spy," Dongfang Weiwo smiled. "It saves us the trouble of delivering a formal letter of invitation to the Heavenly Demon Sect ourselves."

Ye Gucheng gracefully descended from the rock, his white robes fluttering like a crane under the moon, landing silently. He glanced at Dongfang Weiwo, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes: "Since your breakthrough, Young Master, your mind has become more profound than before."

"It's even more ruthless now," Ximen Chuixue added, turning and walking out of the valley with his sword in hand. "But I like it."