Sixth limit room.
A huge volume of spiritual energy converged, nearly emptying the spiritual energy from the air in the area. Even the vicinities of Wu Town were affected. A number of Transformation Realm cultivators in town glanced in Martial Hall Palace's direction at nearly the same moment.
"Who in the Martial Hall Palace is breaking through? The breakthrough is actually causing such a big scene."
"Look, the power of stars is congregating in the sky above the Martial Hall Palace! Someone is igniting a fate star!"
"What? Isn't that a sign of someone breaking through into the King Rank?"
"Perhaps the Martial Hall Palace master has gained new insights and is currently breaking through?"
...
The official name for the King Realm was Skysoar Realm, the realm after the Transformation Realm. Those at this realm could start borrowing the power of the stars and would gain the ability of flight, which allowed them to freely roam the sky. A human reaching this realm was akin to a carp turning into a dragon. This was also when a cultivator would understand the true meaning of cultivation.
A King might not appear in a small town like this even once in a hundred years, and today, a new King appeared in the Martial Hall Palace. This caused the experts of Wu Town to be filled with both shock and envy.
Many people also quickly rushed to the Martial Hall Palace wishing to bear witness to such a historic moment and—most certainly—an extremely rare sight. They hoped they would be able to gain insights for their own cultivations through witnessing the birth of a King.
But they had barely approached the Martial Hall Palace when they found the palace in strict lockdown. The many elders were standing guard, and not a single person was allowed to approach. Thus, none of them dared to casually approach the palace. If any of them happened to disturb the birth of a King, it would create a grudge that would only be solved with death.
Within the sixth limit room, the old man was indeed in the midst of breakthrough. The energy he had accumulated over many years erupted, working in tandem with the external spiritual energy to allow his soul to soar into the sky. At the same time, the stars within his body stirred as they pulled in the power of the stars from the nine skies above in hope of igniting his fate star.
The old man had long reached the critical juncture of his cultivation, having reached the point where he could emerge as a King. Alas, he had never been able to take that final step forward due to his own mental issues. His desire for strength had not been firm enough, and that had slowly eroded the fight in him over the years, pushing the prospect of breakthrough further and further from him.
After all, igniting one's fate star was no easy feat. If one did not deal with the follow-up properly, the cultivator might suffer a backlash instead. The backlash could cause something as minor as a drop in strength or something as major as the eruption of one’s stars.
That was why many experts were stuck at this realm. Nobody dared to casually attempt to break through into the King Realm.
Up beyond the nine skies, the old man's consciousness and astral energy were approaching his fate star. He was only a tiny bit away from igniting his fate star, elevating himself into the next realm, and becoming a higher existence.
But during the final push, the old man started lacking power. His body started trembling, and his consciousness and astral energy started slackening. If this failed, the old man stood to lose even his life. Unfortunately, a breakthrough was something nobody could help him with. He was the only one who could help himself.
"Old man, you are indeed useless! If you can't even reach a realm as low as the King Realm, how can you dream of suppressing this young master?" Xiang Shaoyun's voice rang out like a sudden thunderclap.
It was a taboo to disturb anyone in the midst of breakthrough. Yet for some reason, Xiang Shaoyun's mocking had instead helped. His words infuriated the old man, stimulating the final bit of fight left in him.
"Bastard! You are my star, and this is my life! Burn!" The old man pushed out his final bit of willpower, and with a roar, he seemed to invigorate his mental power and astral energy. With a push, he finally reached his star.
Swish! Swish!
Suddenly, four beams of starlight tore apart the sky above them and descended into the sixth limit room, carrying with them a large quantity of astral energy of incomparable purity. The four stars within the old man's natal chart reacted accordingly and absorbed the new astral energy. His entire body started shining with a resplendent radiance like a star, bathing the entire sixth limit room in light.
The light was so bright Xiang Shaoyun couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. He could only vaguely sense that the old man's strength was growing at an explosive pace.
"Looks like the old man has been stuck at this realm for many years. With this breakthrough, he will most likely arrive at second-stage Skysoar Realm directly," Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself.
For some reason, after he comprehended his own power of presence, the presence of a king, he gained the ability to see that the old man had in fact reached the completion phase of the Transformation Realm. In fact, the old man had reached the point where he could already break through to the next realm.
That was why Xiang Shaoyun made a gamble and decided to give this old man some help by provoking him into a breakthrough. Although Xiang Shaoyun was currently still weak, his understanding of the different realms was unparalleled in Wu Town. That was mainly due to the fact that he was of a completely different station compared to the people here.
After a certain amount of time, the astral energy in the sky gradually faded before vanishing. As for the astral energy within the sixth limit room, the old man’s body fully absorbed it. Calm returned once more.
Bang!
The old man flew up through the roof of the room. Hovering in the sky, he roared with laughter, "Haha...I've entered the Skysoar Realm! Haha!"
The emotions the old man suppressed all these years were unleashed like a volcanic eruption. Everyone in the Martial Hall Palace saw the figure high above the sky, and all of them cried out in surprise.
"It's Elder Zhen Peng! He has reached the King Realm! This is worthy of celebration!"
"It is Elder Zhen Peng! He is one of the few living elders from two generations ago. He has actually managed to break through today! The heavens have blessed our Martial Hall Palace!"
"Hahaha! Our Martial Hall Palace finally has our own Skysoar Realm expert! It has been way too long!"
"It's not that long, right? I mean, just 10 years ago a vice palace master had broken through as well."
"But that person was unable to stay at our Martial Hall Palace! Elder Zhen Peng is different. He will be staying to protect our Martial Hall Palace! If I can gain even a bit of guidance from him in the future, it will be even better."
...
"Congratulations, Elder Zhen Peng for breaking through into the King Realm," Yang Gaochuan's voice rang out as he saluted the figure up in the air. Even though he was the palace master and had been as strong as this elder prior to this, right this moment, he had to pay this elder the respect he deserved.
Perhaps in the Nine God Provinces as a whole, a King Realm expert wasn't a particularly powerful existence. But here at a small town, a King Realm expert was strong enough to dominate everyone and everything.
The other elders also saluted Elder Zhen Peng. "Congratulations, Elder Zhen Peng for the breakthrough."
The overseers and disciples did the same. None of them dared to slight the elder. Even outside the Martial Hall Palace, congratulatory messages were ringing out without stop.
"You may all leave," Elder Zhen Peng said after scanning the crowd below him. The current Elder Zhen Peng no longer appeared like the senile old man earlier. In fact, he looked to be nearly 20 years younger now, regaining his looks during his middle age. His entire body rippled with an abundant power.
"Elder Zhen Peng, please—" Yang Gaochuan was about to say something, but his words were interrupted by Elder Zhen Peng shouting in a certain direction.
"Stinky brat! Stand right there!"