“The divine door?”
Jiang He could not help breathing a sigh of relief when he heard that, and said with lingering fear, “And here I was startled why a door would suddenly pop up in my head… what a scare.”
Cheng Dongfeng: “…”
He clenched his fist even as he stared at the mobile phone on top of the tea table for a long while, unable to resist an urge to transmit himself through the cell signal to show Jiang He’s what’s what.
After a long silence, he then said, “That said, those who completed their rank-nine cultivation might not find the precise location of the divine door even years after. And you’re not content even with that?”
“Hold on…”
Cheng Dongfeng suddenly remembered something at that and frowned. “It’s said that one would reach divine-tier upon breaking-through the divine door… even if your cultivation ascended from average rank-nine to the limits of rank-nine overnight, you would not find the door if you come up short in the Boundary of Wills or your spirit.”
After all, what exactly was rank-nine completion?
In truth, reaching the limits of rank-nine did not make one a complete rank-nine, and it was only by cultivating True Qi, spirit, and the Boundary of Wills to the very limits of rank-nine that one could be considered a complete rank-nine.
And only complete rank-nine individuals would sense the presence of the divine door.
“How is my spirit lacking?”
Jiang He was upset at that—who do you think you are making light of?
He then added in confusion, “Didn’t Three Blades Lin tell you? That my spirit’s shackles had been broken and reached divine-tier ten days ago?”
“What about the Boundary of Wills?”
Not one to succumb easily, Cheng Dongfeng seethed, “How long had you grasped sword will? If you want to reach the divine door, the three requirements of cultivation, Boundary of Wills, and spirit must all be met.”
“I have perfect grasp over sword will already!”
“???”
Jiang He was left bewildered as ‘beep-beep-beep’ echoed beside his ears at that.
What the heck…
Hanging up on me again?
Hence, Jiang He called Cheng Dongfeng once more and asked, “Don’t hang up, Old Cheng. Why the rush? I still have things to ask you about…”
“Just ask!”
“Old Cheng, how do I get to the divine door? Is there any trick to it? You know I am a martial arts newbie, and wouldn’t know such common knowledge.”
“Hah!”
Cheng Dongfeng was cursing away inwardly, even getting an impulse to stab someone.
You’ve just completed rank-nine and is beginning your search for the divine-door and journey to divine-tier, and you’re telling me you’re a martial arts newbie?
Even so…
How could Cheng Dongfeng understand Jiang He’s pain?
How long had he even started cultivating?
Less than two months!
And in said two months, Jiang He had cultivated less than ten hours… and in that period, he was still in a self-learning mode.
His common knowledge in martial arts was only learned from various data and whatever was posted on Warrior Home.
Even so, would those materials describe the rush to divine-tier?
Squatting at his farm and whipping out his phone, Jiang He humbly consulted Cheng Dongfeng, who was grumbling and cursing something over the phone.
It was only after a long grumble that he said, “Jiang He, I’m only rank-seven pinnacle so all I know about divine-tier and the divine-door is learned from a senior of the Eight Trigrams School.”
“Once a martial artist’s cultivation reaches completion at rank-nine, they could vaguely sense the presence of the divine door…”
“It’s alleged that the door exists in a person’s mind, and once it is opened, various mystics would develop, providing the individual with unthinking divine strength. That level in turn is called the divine-conversion tier.”
“Oh?”
Jiang He glanced at his own divine door and asked, “Does that mean all I have to do is break that door? How, specifically? Get a hammer to knock a hole in my brain?”
Cheng Dongfeng could not help chuckling before answering, “The fusion of spirit, qi, and psyche breaks through the divine door—in other words, spiritual strength, True Qi and the Boundary of Wills.”
“That being said, you would only have a vague sense of the divine door’s presence right after you cultivate rank-nine to completion. Pinpointing it is a long process, just as opening it is not accomplished in a single night.”
“Eh?”
Jiang He was left taken aback and at a loss for words. “Does that mean I can’t ascend right now? Isn’t that a little ridiculous? By the way… Master Cheng, how do I pinpoint the location of the divine door?”
“It seems that the divine door exists vaguely in one’s mind, and after it slowly turns solid—”
“What the hell!”
Jiang He suddenly exclaimed even before Cheng Dongfeng could finish. The latter’s face dropped and he quickly asked, “What’s wrong, Jiang He?”
There was silence over the other end of the phone.
Duan Tianhe had stood up with a swish in the office too.
Nonetheless, Jiang He’s voice returned to the call after Cheng Dongfeng’s urging, and he meekly said, “Master Cheng, I think I accidentally broke through the divine door… It’s not that big of a deal, is it?”
“Hold on…”
“I think I’m ascending!”
Beep!
The call was disconnected.
Cheng Dongfeng promptly looked up at Duan Tianhe, and they locked gazes before abruptly turning together to look outside the window.
Through the arched glassed walls of the office, they could clearly see dark clouds suddenly appearing above Jinyintan village.
And lighting bolts were flashing within.
***
The farmyard in Jiang He’s house back at Jinyintan Village.
Jiang He had really accidentally broken through the divine door.
He was comparing the divine door in his mind’s eye to Cheng Dongfeng description, and realized that his divine door was already pinpointed as well as solid. Therefore, he fused his spirit, qi, and psyche and gently tapped into it…
And then it broke!
There was a boom when it did.
As if a world-shattering thunderclap erupted in his head, Jiang He ‘saw’ lightning sparkling within the mystical door in the next split second, making it seem as if the world was ending.
At the same time, the weather had changed dramatically.
Dark clouds were rolling forth from the horizon, and lightning flashing…
“Divine retribution?”
“Nope, that’s not it—just a phenomenon caused when a martial artist ascends up to divine-tier from rank-nine.”
Jiang He gained epiphany then.
With a wave of his hand…
Boom, crack!
Lightning descended from the skies above, the thick, massive bolts leaving Jiang He’s himself shocked.
“So…”
“This is my divine power?”
“Summoning lightning??”
Even before he could think, another mysterious energy extended within his body in the instant that the divine door was broken through, rapidly strengthening and altering his body.
Be that as it may, a martial artist’s ascension from rank-nine to divine-tier was not merely the gaining of a divine power, but a comprehensive evolution of the body and a leap of a person’s existential threshold.
And this ascension lasted hours!
Night has already arrived when Jiang He finally opened his eyes.
It was almost eleven at night.
Feeling out the changes in his body, Jiang He couldn’t help gasping in surprise. “Huh… my True Qi has multiplied by several folds, improving my physical toughness and strength considerably. Also, my Dragon-Elephant Prajna was cultivated to tier-seven pinnacle on its own…”
“Most importantly…”
Whoosh!
Taking to the skies with a single leap, Jiang He flew around up in the air with utter delight, laughing, “Awesome, this is too awesome… although I am capable of Royal Sword Flight, is that anywhere as delightful as flying on my own?
Whoosh!
Out of the blue, Jiang He’s body flashed with streaks of sparkles as he transformed into a thunderbolt entirely, instantly covering the distant of several dozen miles!
