Once one has mastered the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Principal Meridians, uniting internal and external martial arts, and achieved the state of Primordial Unity, they will be hailed in the mundane world as a Grandmaster of Martial Arts!

If, at this level, one can advance even further, their true qi will transform, becoming innate, like that of an infant, with fetal breath and primordial energy—this is called the Fetal Origin!

Reaching this stage means one has reached the absolute pinnacle of the mortal realm, known as the Ultimate Martial Limit among mortals.

No matter how hard ordinary martial artists train, they cannot attain the Heavenly Gang realm; only with the true teachings of the Immortals or Demons can this be achieved.

Upon stepping into the Heavenly Gang realm and refining a mass of Gang Qi, one can control a sword from a hundred paces, exhale to send pellets flying, ride the qi through the air, draw talismans and chant incantations, subdue demons and control spirits—such people are known in the mundane world as Swordmasters!

If one advances further, reaching the Great Evolution realm, they can achieve unity of body and sword, fly with the sword, travel in and out of the Azure Void, command thunder and lightning, refine elixirs and treasures—these are the Sword Immortals, recognized by both the mundane and the cultivation worlds.

As for those at the Golden Core level, they are also called Grandmasters. However, Immortal Grandmasters differ from Martial Grandmasters; upon reaching this realm, they can found their own sects and pass down their teachings.

Above the Yang True realm, one is already a giant among the Daoist and Demonic factions, a senior expert among thousand-year-old solitary cultivators. Altogether, the righteous and evil sects in the world have only a handful of such figures. They are either leaders of their own sects or recluses living in famous mountains, great rivers, or overseas islands, rarely appearing in the mundane world.

A Daoist of the Heavenly Gang realm can float in the air with a single breath, gliding for several miles—this is called by the Daoists: Riding the Qi through the Air!

Although the method of riding the qi cannot truly achieve flight, it far surpasses any lightness skill in the mortal world.

Those who have cultivated to this level, if they possess secret techniques—such as Emei’s Supreme Pure Mysterious Feather Technique mastered to perfection—can even glide for over ten miles in a single breath, which is truly marvelous.

Back then, when Dean Patriarch mastered this technique, he once wrote a poem: “With a pair of wings, I soar to the Phoenix Court.”

When Robert Wise, the chief disciple of Dean Patriarch, mastered this technique, he too composed a poem: “With my Pure Mysterious Wings, I envy not the Yellow Crane’s song. One night, riding the east wind, I travel ten thousand miles as if strolling in my own courtyard!”

Two generations of Emei elders have highly praised this technique: it possesses the artistic conception of the Immortals, allowing one to roam freely across the four seas.

Although the Heavenly Gang realm cannot yet truly soar through the nine heavens and fly at will, once a breath of true qi is exhausted, one must still land. Yet, in the eyes of ordinary people, this is already a divine ability.

Among the third generation disciples of the Emei Sect, none have yet entered the Great Evolution realm, nor mastered the means of a Sword Immortal—achieving unity of body and sword, flying with the sword, traveling through the Azure Void, and singing to the heavens.

The four chief disciples and a few other senior peers who have attained the Heavenly Gang realm and can ride the qi through the air are naturally the envy of their fellow disciples.

Irene Key asked David Hill to invite the elders of the sect, but was also quite curious, so she glanced around and said to Grace Lewis and James Young, “I think I just heard the sound of a sword’s cry. Do you know how Jason Turner was injured? Has anyone come to him?”

Grace Lewis shook his head and said, “Although he once apprenticed under Mr. Smoke, no one in Emei looks down on him, let alone bullies him. Even if there were an outside enemy, they wouldn’t target an ordinary person like him. This matter is truly inexplicable. As for the sound of the sword’s cry, I didn’t hear it clearly, so I can’t confirm.”

James Young frowned slightly and lowered his voice, saying, “Could it be that a few days ago, when the three of them went to investigate the Five Spirits Emerald Peak, there was some other hidden matter?”

Grace Lewis gave a wry smile and said, “Even if there is some hidden matter, we have no way of knowing. My magic can only activate the Mirror of Returning Immortals to look back for the time it takes to burn one stick of incense—any longer and I lack the strength.”

It was still Irene Key who remained steady, saying, “It may not be related to that day’s events. Let’s wait for Crane Shishu to arrive and ask Jason Turner what happened, so we don’t wrong him.”

The Emei disciples didn’t have to wait long before a sword light descended from the sky.

An elderly Daoist in black robes, with long flowing beard, landed gracefully with David Hill. This elderly Daoist was none other than Crane.

Crane was the third disciple of Dean Patriarch. Among the second-generation elders of Emei, he was not particularly outstanding, but his seniority was high. He hated evil with a passion and cared deeply for the sect’s disciples, thus earning the trust of the third generation. He walked slowly to the entrance of the stone cave where Richard King resided and called out, “Quickly feed this spirit pill to Jason Turner and wake him up first.”

Irene Key caught the spirit pill tossed over by Crane Daoist and hurried into the stone cave. She saw that Richard King had already fainted. After a moment’s hesitation, she carefully fed the spirit pill into the youth’s mouth.

Richard King was unconscious and didn’t know how to swallow. Irene Key saw that he was only holding it in his mouth and seemed about to spit it out. In her anxiety, she parted her lips and blew a breath of air across the distance.

Having cultivated for many years, Irene Key’s breath of true qi was quite strong. It blew the pill straight into Richard King’s stomach.

After doing this, Irene Key couldn’t help but blush slightly. She glanced outside—though she knew no one could have seen, she still felt a bit embarrassed and annoyed. She pressed her hand to Richard King’s chest and sent a surge of true qi into him.

Richard King had been too ruthless with himself and lost too much blood. Without help, he would almost certainly have died.

With the spirit pill from Crane Daoist and the true qi from Irene Key, Richard King gradually recovered, exhaled, and called out, “Even if you kill me, it hurts…” This was a line Richard King had prepared long ago, and it was used perfectly at this moment.