#997 - History has only one winner

The principle of breaking through to First Rank is actually not fundamentally different from improving in all previous realms; it's all a process of expanding the dantian.

It involves using internal force to冲击 (chōng jī - assault/impact) the dantian wall, further enlarging the sea of qi, thereby completing the breakthrough.

Of course, along with the improvement of the realm, the dantian will also become more stable, so the difficulty will also increase accordingly.

This is why the path of cultivation becomes more and more difficult as you go higher.

If the "impact force" required from Ninth Rank to Eighth Rank is like moving a stone.

Then going from Third Rank to Second Rank is basically like "moving a mountain."

Thinking like this, one can imagine how terrifying the "power" needed to break through to First Rank would be.

But you must know that this is not the most difficult part, nor is it the most fundamental reason why only two First Rank cultivators have been born in thousands of years.

After all, as the saying goes, 'The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains,' and 'Metal and stone can be carved.' If you keep trying, normally you will succeed one day.

However, breaking through to First Rank is not like that.

Because you only have one chance.

Just as Old Zhang Tou said before, breaking through to First Rank is different from breaking through other realms; if you fail, you can't try again.

In the process of breaking through to First Rank, as long as you fail, the result will be a complete fall to the bottom, directly dropping back to Ninth Rank.

And this undoubtedly means that a cultivator who has worked hard for most of his life and finally reached the peak of humanity will be completely reduced to a useless person.

The chance of success is extremely slim, and the price of failure is extremely high.

Since this is the case, even if they have a pursuit for a higher realm in their hearts, most people dare not try it easily.

Even an organization like Kui Long, which was born to explore ways to break through realms, will wait until the "test subjects" are approaching their life limit before letting them try to break through, in order to minimize the cost of failure.

There are already very few martial artists who can reach the peak of Second Rank, and most of these people dare not try.

Therefore, objectively speaking, the most fundamental reason why humans have never broken through the shackles of First Rank lies here.

It is everyone's instinct to "seek advantages and avoid disadvantages," and the rationality after "weighing the pros and cons."

This is actually the real "shackle" of the First Rank realm.

And it is precisely because of this that Qin Zhengqiu's "success story" is particularly important.

Everyone can't wait to know what this method of breaking through the realm, which has already succeeded once, is.

Then, the "Moon Picking Sword" shouted by Qin Zhengqiu that night naturally became the focus.

In just half a month, almost all the cultivation methods and martial skills with names similar to "Moon Picking Sword" in the world were thoroughly investigated, and any possible clues were all found.

Countless spies poured in from all over the world: Da Shu, Da Ning, Da Han, Xin Feng, and pieces of information converged into a vague outline.

Old Zhang Tou, Wei Changtian, Qin Zhengqiu, Lü Hongji, and Chu Xianping, all the names that had intersected with the Moon Picking Sword, appeared in the ears of the leaders of the major forces.

If we exclude the few who have already died, then the only people left who must know the truth about the Moon Picking Sword are Qin, Wei, and Chu.

Qin Zhengqiu is already a First Rank cultivator and is alone, making it difficult to find his whereabouts, and even if he is found, it is not certain that they can do anything to him.

Chu Xianping has disappeared since he lost the "bet" to Wei Changtian in Yongding City, and no one can find where he is for the time being.

Therefore, if you want to find out the truth about the Moon Picking Sword now, it seems that you can only start with Wei Changtian, who has not yet "disappeared."

The secret of breaking through to First Rank.

Plus the heavenly luck of at least three Sons of Heaven.

If you were to ask who in the world has the most "famous" name today, it would definitely be Wei Changtian.

And when a person is in a state of "being the center of attention," everything he has done in the past will undoubtedly no longer be a secret.

Even though Wei Xianzhe and others have tried their best to hide it, Wei Changtian's past "great achievements" have still been thoroughly investigated.

At this point, people suddenly realized that the mysteries surrounding this "Living Yama" were not just the above two.

Whether it was killing a Second Rank cultivator with one move at Sixth Rank, or the saber sheath with spatial power, or the martial skill that could control ten thousand blades.

Even Xiao Feng's life experience was dug up completely.

If it were in his previous life, Wei Changtian might have shouted that his "privacy" had been greatly violated.

But in this world, he has no choice.

He even seems to be completely unaware of this, no matter how turbulent the outside world is, he can still sit in the carriage safely, traveling, and the only thing he does every day besides eating and sleeping is telling Yang Liushi and Li Zimu the story of the Seven Kingdoms contending for hegemony.

And on the day before the Tiangou Army arrived at Fengyuan City, when he said the last sentence, "Thus, Qin destroyed Qi and unified the world," the story finally came to an end.

"Husband..."

"Standardize the tracks, unify the writing system, unify the ethics, unify the territory, unify the weights and measures, and unify the currency."

Wei Changtian replied extremely simply: "Then it perished."

"Really? How long did the Qin Dynasty exist?"

"Fourteen years."

"So short..."

Yang Liushi opened her mouth: "How long did it take for the Qin Dynasty to unify the Seven Kingdoms?"

"Fifteen years, exactly one year more than the time it existed."

Wei Changtian shook his head with a smile: "How about it, doesn't it feel a bit like the tricks of fate?"

"Yeah."

Yang Liushi nodded lightly, her heart filled with thoughts, and she even forgot that this was just a story "fabricated" by Wei Changtian, and she only felt as if there was really such a magnificent and poignant history.

Outside the carriage, the "rumbling" sound of marching could be heard clearly, and the afternoon breeze had gradually brought some coolness.

Late summer had passed, and early autumn was approaching.

On the horizon, the outline of Fengyuan City seemed to be faintly visible, and the large areas of farmland on both sides of the official road had gradually turned golden.

The story was finished, the questions were asked, and a period of silence fell in the carriage.

Wei Changtian looked out the window, looking at the vast fields outside, and then suddenly said at a certain moment:

"Zimu, go tell them that if they want to know about the Moon Picking Sword, meet me in the Fengyuan Imperial Palace tomorrow night."

"..."

Suddenly raising her head, Li Zimu was stunned for a moment.

She naturally knew who "they" referred to, and that was why she was surprised.

However, in the end, Li Zimu didn't ask anything, but got out of the car after the carriage slowly stopped.

"Husband, you..."

On the other side, Yang Liushi did not react as quickly as Li Zimu, and only realized what Wei Changtian was going to do at this time, and couldn't help but widen her eyes in an instant.

"Have you... have you thought it through?"

"Of course I've thought it through."

Wei Changtian smiled, his tone calm.

"Since we've reached this point, let's just play a big game together."

"I want to see who will laugh last."