Breaking Through

Within a natural cave in Luoxia Mountain.

Dustin sat cross-legged in meditation, floating midair.

Around him hovered five glowing orbs, spinning ceaselessly.

With every rotation, the orbs emitted streams of white energy, continuously pouring into Dustin’s body.

As time passed, a radiant glow began to emanate from him.

Bathed in this light, his skin became almost translucent, revealing the intricate network of meridians beneath.

Within those meridians, powerful currents of energy surged and circulated.

These energy streams, like flowing silver essence, washed through his meridians repeatedly.

With each pass, the meridians grew more resilient and widened in capacity.

Even his flesh, muscles, and bones began to undergo subtle yet significant changes.

It was clear --- Dustin’s body was undergoing a form of transformation.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his expression twisted in increasing pain.

A fine crack appeared on his crystal-clear skin.

At first, it was barely noticeable, as thin as a strand of hair.

But as he absorbed more Dragon Source Energy, the cracks on his body spread and thickened.

Half an hour later, his entire body was covered in cracks.

Dustin, in that moment, looked like a shattered porcelain doll held together by invisible threads --- fragile and terrifying.

One light touch, and it seemed as though he might shatter completely.

Furrowing his brow, he tried to keep his breathing steady.

He knew he was at his limit.

Dragon Source Energy was not something to absorb lightly. With his current physical strength, trying to forcibly refine and absorb it to break through was an extremely risky endeavor.

One misstep, and he would explode --- body destroyed, soul scattered.

But at this point, he had no choice left.

Either he succeeded in breaking through in one go --- or he died. There was no third option.

“Hold on… I must hold on!”

Gritting his teeth, Dustin continued circulating his internal technique, frantically refining the Dragon Source Energy.

But the energy was overwhelming. No matter how much he refined, even more surged into his body.

An endless stream --- boundless, inexhaustible.

Clearing all distracting thoughts, Dustin focused his entire will on one final push.

He was only half a step away from breaking through. Even if he wasn’t quite at the perfect threshold, he could no longer afford to hesitate.

His body was at the brink of collapse. If he didn’t risk everything now, death was certain.

“Hss --- !”

Drawing in a sharp breath, Dustin forced a massive amount of Dragon Source Energy into his body all at once.

The moment he did, the cracks on his body worsened --- blood oozed from everywhere.

In the blink of an eye, he had become a man covered in blood.

But Dustin ignored the pain and injuries.

He poured all his strength into directing the surging Dragon Source Energy through his acupoints and extraordinary meridians.

BOOM!

It sounded as though thunder erupted inside the cave.

Across Dustin’s body, one blood wound after another burst open.

Blood sprayed out in gouts.

Still, he didn’t falter, continuing to forcefully ram energy through his internal pathways.

Another blast of sound echoed --- his limbs, chest, back --- each spot split open with varying degrees of damage.

Dustin was now at death’s door, barely clinging to consciousness.

But he still refused to give up.

With clenched teeth, he launched one final charge.

Do or die!

“BREAK --- !!!”

He roared in his mind. The Dragon Source Energy surged like a tidal wave, ramming through the final acupoints with unstoppable force.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The explosions came one after another.

Having lost too much blood, Dustin could no longer endure. His body collapsed from midair, falling headlong to the ground.

His fate --- unknown.

…

At that moment, inside the ancient temple atop Luoxia Mountain ---

Margaret, who was helping the two God Kings interpret the cultivation technique, suddenly furrowed her brow, as if she had sensed something.

What’s happening?

Did he fail?

Her mind was in turmoil. A sudden wave of unease swept over her.

She had staked all her hopes on Dustin. If he failed to break through and perished, it wouldn’t just mean her own death.

The entire Luoxia Mountain, maybe even half the nation, would be dragged down with her.

A deep fear surged within her.

She had to go check the cave --- if Dustin still had the slightest chance of survival, she had to save him!

“I have an urgent matter to deal with. You two take your time,” Margaret said, turning and walking away.

“Stop!” Zeus shouted sternly.

Margaret ignored him, immediately casting an escape technique to dash out the door.

“Courting death!”

Zeus’s face turned cold. He raised a hand, launching a bolt of lightning straight at her back.

Margaret couldn’t dodge in time. She quickly formed hand seals.

A golden Eight Trigrams formation appeared behind her, blocking the incoming lightning.

BOOM!

The golden formation shattered instantly. The powerful impact sent Margaret flying, slamming her into the temple wall. She coughed up blood.

“I have something urgent to handle. Give me a bit of time and I’ll return to help interpret the technique,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Hmph! You think I’ll believe that?” Zeus glared coldly. “If you weren’t hiding something, why would you suddenly try to run?”

“Young lady, if you don’t want to die, you’d best stay here and obediently continue translating,” Hera said coldly. “Until we’ve fully comprehended the technique, you’re going nowhere.”

“I don’t have time to explain to you!”

Margaret made another series of hand signs, casting an Earth Escape Technique --- her body instantly sank into the ground.

She had mastered all five elemental escape techniques.

“Trying to run again? Then don’t blame me for being merciless!”

Zeus’s anger erupted. He slammed his hand down on the ground.

BOOM!

A thunderous impact. Lightning exploded outward. The entire temple shook violently.

At that moment, Margaret --- who had just vanished underground --- was blasted back to the surface, slamming hard into the ground and once again coughing blood.

“So many tricks. I’ll cripple your dantian first!” Zeus sneered, sending another lightning bolt flying at her abdomen.

If it landed, Margaret’s dantian would be destroyed, and her cultivation ruined forever!

But just then --- a golden light burst from underground, shielding her.

The instant the lightning touched the golden light, it vanished completely.

“Huh?” Zeus narrowed his eyes.

That golden light --- was a person! - Ton