C4 Fifth Level of the Genuine Force

My dear Chu Yan,

By the time you read these words, I fear I may no longer be by your side. This echo loop and the Return to the Ruins Tower it contains are the last gifts I can leave for you. I hope they will serve in my stead to protect you in the days to come.

I have placed a seal on the echo loop that can only be broken with our blood, yours and mine, ensuring that no one else can activate it. As for the Return to the Ruins Tower, you must explore its depths on your own.

But I can reveal to you that the first floor of the tower is now open, and within its blood pool lies the essence of the Canghai Cloud Cracking Beast. Should you suffer grave injuries, even to the point of shattered veins and lost powers, immersing yourself in its waters will hasten your recovery.

The road ahead is long, and it pains me that I cannot accompany you further on your journey. You will undoubtedly face many perils, but always remember my words: No matter the hardships or the dire straits you find yourself in, never lose hope.

Do you recall what I often said to you? "If it's never forgotten, an echo will surely follow."

As his eyes reached the signature at the bottom, Chu Yan could no longer hold back his tears. He had resigned himself to the belief that his mother had passed away early, and that he would only have memories to cherish. But now, her image crystallized once more in his mind—her laughter scattered like falling petals, her tender beckoning hand.

"This is the treasure my mother left for me," he whispered, taking a deep breath to steady his heart as he clenched his fists.

He now understood that the earring his mother had bequeathed to him was known as the echo loop, and the ancient tower before him was the Return to the Ruins Tower. Clearly, both the loop and the tower were treasures of the immortals.

Even the mention of the Canghai Cloud Cracking Beast was new to him, a name he had never heard before. These revelations shrouded the memory of his mother in a veil of mystery.

"How strange," he mused, "that Mother never spoke of such methods or treasures, and even the Emperor seems utterly unaware. If Mother possessed the powers of an immortal, why would she have bound herself to that Emperor and remained in the Southern Yuan Kingdom?"

After calming himself, Chu Yan found his mind teeming with questions.

He meticulously read through his mother's message again and took another walk around the Echo Loop Tower, ensuring there were no additional messages left behind.

This meant that, for now, the questions swirling in his thoughts would remain unanswered.

"Let it be, I won't dwell on it for the moment. Mother must have had her reasons for leaving so much information," he mused. "First, I'll check out the essence of the Canghai Cloud Cracking Beast and discover what it truly is."

With that thought, a surge of warmth filled Chu Yan's heart.

Before his imprisonment, he had been poisoned, causing his fourth stage of Genuine Force to plummet to that of a mere mortal, with his muscles and bones sustaining various degrees of damage.

But, thanks to his exceptional talent, his life had been spared.

Reflecting on it now, Chu Yan considered that his extraordinary physique might well be connected to his mother.

With the prospect of regaining his strength, he was not about to pass up the opportunity.

The door to the Echo Loop Tower groaned open, unleashing a dense red mist that billowed out, revealing a colossal figure within that was soul-shaking.

Knowing the Echo Loop Tower was a gift from his mother, Chu Yan felt no fear as he boldly stepped inside.

Only upon entering the first level did he realize that the tower, which appeared dilapidated from the outside like an ancient temple, held unusual phenomena within.

Carvings of various mythical beasts adorned the walls, each one strikingly realistic.

Chu Yan had never encountered any of these creatures before.

At the center of the floor lay a vast pool filled with a dark red liquid that bubbled as though boiling, yet emitted no heat.

"So this is the essence of the Canghai Cloud Cracking Beast," Chu Yan observed intently before leaping into the pool without a second thought.

Instantly, the blood within the pool came alive, moving towards him and swirling into ribbons of light that spun rapidly around him. More of the liquid converged upon him, and though it was just a pool of blood, it now roared like tumultuous waves.

Chu Yan sat cross-legged at the center of the pool, as unyielding as a mountain, his gaze intense: "The Genuine Force Stage focuses on body refinement, encompassing five levels: the first is the initial insight, the second is the entrance to mastery, the third is minor accomplishment, the fourth is martial arts expert, and the fifth is martial arts grandmaster.

At fourteen, I had already reached the fourth level, becoming a martial arts expert at a pace four to five times faster than most. Yet, at the victory banquet for the returning army when I was fifteen, I was caught in a scandalous act against my sister and found with a weapon, plotting to assassinate the Emperor during the festivities, overthrow the court, and usurp the throne.

With irrefutable evidence against me, I was stripped of my title as Crown Prince, demoted to a commoner, and thrown into the deepest cell of the Abyss Demon Prison.

The poison in the wine I drank at that banquet not only obliterated my powers but also reduced me to a state below the threshold of the Genuine Force Stage. For the next six months, it constantly ravaged my body, making my existence a living hell."

Memories flared within Chu Yan, his eyes burning with the intensity of a torch.

"The Emperor, the Prince, and the Princess conspired to bring me down. Now, under the pretense of a marriage alliance, they plan to send me—greatly weakened—to the Persian Prefecture, the very place I once conquered, hoping to use others to eliminate me.

Well, let them wait. Once I regain my strength, I will reclaim everything they've taken from me, piece by piece."

With determination set in his heart, the blood around Chu Yan seemed to resonate with his resolve, suddenly bursting forth with dazzling light.

A blood-red starlight ascended from the sea of blood, transforming into a streak of light that, with a swift whoosh, pierced into Chu Yan's forehead.

Instantly, he felt a thunderous roar within him, as if he were dragging sheets of steel.

Simultaneously, he could vividly sense his poisoned-damaged muscles, bones, and organs not only healing rapidly but also being tempered and purified, reaching a state of perfection he had never before attained.

During his past training sessions, Chu Yan inevitably sustained some hidden injuries.

To the untrained eye, these injuries were imperceptible, yet Chu Yan was acutely aware of them.

However, with the infusion of that faint glimmer of blood light, Li Hian realized that the old injuries from his martial arts practice were steadily healing.