Feet shoulder-width apart, arms hanging naturally, breathing soft and continuous, the intent deep and profound. Henry Clark, with his gaze lowered, firmly guarded a single point of divine intent within his Purple Palace, relaxing his entire body. As his internal energy circulated, his bones naturally rose and fell in gentle waves.

Like a snake stretching and contracting, like waves surging and receding, the internal energy within his muscles, bones, meridians, and chakras gradually merged into a unified rhythm. Flesh and bone combined as one, resembling a mighty dragon.

Only the crown of his head remained unchanged; no matter how this great dragon twisted and turned, it could not soar into the nine heavens.

Henry Clark was in no hurry. In recent days, he had eaten over a thousand catties of fire bear meat, and the vital energy within his body was so abundant it was about to burst. The undulating movement of his muscles and bones like a dragon consumed tremendous energy, but at this moment, Henry Clark paid no mind to such expenditure.

The secret art of rising and falling like a dragon continuously accumulated power. The crown of his head, solid as stone, gradually loosened as threads of force seeped in.

“Supple but not weak, continuous but unbroken.” The force moved according to the incantation, strand by strand, covering the entire skull. Faintly, Henry Clark sensed the opportunity for a connection.

His internal energy, fine as hair, rose gently upward.

The slightly trembling crown of his head rose and fell with the rhythm of his entire skeleton. Unknowingly, the crown had already been refined. All his bones connected into a single great dragon. With the dragon’s head formed, it now had the momentum to soar into the nine heavens.

The dragon soaring into the nine heavens did not mean Henry Clark would literally fly, but rather that his spirit and bones were united. The undulating dragon was now fully awakened, no longer constrained, able to stretch and contract at will, truly like a divine dragon riding the clouds and mist, roaming the four seas.

The divine dragon, in motion, soars above the nine heavens; in hiding, it swims within the four seas. At its call, clouds form; at its breath, rain falls. It commands wind and thunder, its divine might boundless.

A sudden flash of insight swept through his mind, allowing Henry Clark to grasp the true meaning of the dragon. Body and strength united, strength and mind united, mind and spirit united. Henry Clark seemed to transform into a divine dragon, leaping abruptly above the nine heavens.

In an instant, body, mind, spirit, and the world resonated in a wondrous harmony, and a powerful martial intent began to spiral and take shape within Henry Clark’s heart and soul.

To comprehend the martial intent within martial arts is to truly grasp the essence of the art. Martial intent grows ever stronger, and in the end, can even merge with the world’s vital energy and manifest as a martial avatar. The martial avatar is condensed from the martial artist’s will; though not a living being, it possesses all manner of wondrous abilities.

A martial artist who forms a martial avatar can roam freely, unrestrained by heaven or earth. Henry Clark was still a great distance from that step, but he had already taken the most crucial first step.

“Boom…” As the divine dragon soared within his heart, it was as if a bolt of thunder exploded in Henry Clark’s sea of consciousness.

Behind the center of the brow lies the Hidden Spirit Aperture; behind that, the Divine Path; beyond the Divine Path is the Marrow Sea. The Marrow Sea is a vital point for humans, thus protected by the hardest bone—the crown of the head. Within the Marrow Sea dwells the soul.

This place is called the Purple Palace in Daoism, the Sea of Consciousness in Buddhism, the Jade Capital in the Demonic Path, and the Marrow Sea in Confucianism. Regardless of the name, its essence as the dwelling of the soul does not change. It is also the most crucial source of life for cultivators.

Having been tempered through two lifetimes, Henry Clark’s will was incomparably resilient. When faced with sudden change, his spirit remained calm and steady, firmly holding his mind unmoved. After the thunderclap, a stream of vital energy, cool as wind and gentle as water, flowed in from the crown of his head.

“Opening the aperture!” This thought flashed through Henry Clark’s mind. Taking this step meant that Henry Clark had not only mastered the Coiling Azure Dragon secret art, but also opened the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head, officially stepping into the third stage of the martial path.

Sensing vital energy for the first time, Henry Clark felt both joy and wonder. The vital energy entered through the Baihui acupoint and slowly circulated along the path of his internal energy.

Henry Clark knew that the world’s vital energy was not his own power, and he had to be especially careful when drawing it in. Especially since this was his first time, he had to be cautious not to let the vital energy damage his meridians and chakras.

Slowly guiding the world’s vital energy with his breath, merging it with his own internal energy, he felt a fullness and strength unlike any he had experienced before—distinct from both his own internal and external power, a truly unique sensation.

Although he had unexpectedly advanced to the third stage of the martial path—the “Qi Power” realm—Henry Clark did not become overjoyed. In terms of foundation, none of the hundreds of inner disciples at Honglian Temple could compare to Henry Clark.

He had entered the internal energy stage at the age of ten, and over the past eight years, Henry Clark had refined his body to the utmost. Once the Coiling Azure Dragon secret art was completed, opening the acupoint was only a matter of course.

Now able to draw in the world’s vital energy, he could use it to temper his body, with efficiency and effect more than ten times greater than before. Advancing to the third stage also caused Henry Clark’s cultivation to soar.

If he were to face Susan Baker again, he would no longer need to scheme and plot; in a direct confrontation, Susan Baker would not last even three moves.

Opening the acupoint and drawing in the world’s vital energy was not just an increase in strength, but also the opening of another source of power. This was a fundamental transformation, and its impact on cultivation was hard to express in words.

Henry Clark’s thoughts drifted in and out as he slowly guided the vital energy with his breath. Suddenly, inspiration struck again: Coiling Azure Dragon originally referred to the Eastern Azure Dragon, associated with wood, corresponding to the Azure Dragon constellation in the eastern sky.

Using the Azure Dragon secret art should naturally correspond to the innate Azure Dragon constellation.

Though deep underground, the changes in star power could not be blocked. A flash of inspiration struck Henry Clark, and the tiny Azure Dragon forming in his sea of consciousness suddenly raised its head, resonating with the Azure Dragon constellation in the night sky.