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Chapter 145 Breaking Through the Dirty Refinement Realm

Panshi Lane, located on the west side of Tianshi Peak, was a trial ground established by the Panshi Sect at its inception.

The entire alleyway is not open to the public, but rather a tunnel carved into the mountainside, winding deep into the mountain's interior. It is filled with traps and mechanisms to test the disciples' cultivation, agility, reaction time, and even combat skills.

It was originally established to screen and assess the qualifications of inner disciples.

After ordinary outer disciples advance to the Marrow Refining Realm, they must pass the Rock Alley assessment before they can be officially registered in the inner sect register and enjoy inner sect resources.

However, for inner disciples like Chen Yue who were directly promoted due to the Nourishing Spirit Pill, the qualification trial in Rock Alley was no longer necessary.

However, the value of Rock Lane is not limited to this.

To encourage disciples to make progress, the sect has set up a ranking list for passing the challenges.

The top ten finishers on their first attempt will receive a substantial amount of sect contribution points. The higher the ranking, the richer the rewards.

This is a considerable temptation for any inner disciple who is eager for resources to cultivate.

Therefore, there are no shortage of disciples who come to challenge him in front of Panshi Lane, and it also attracts a lot of onlookers.

After leaving Meng Yujin's courtyard, Chen Yue did not return to Danfeng's small courtyard. Instead, he turned around and headed straight for Tianshi Peak, his destination being Panshi Lane.

Before long, a magnificent stone gatehouse came into view.

The ancient and weathered gate tower is carved from a single massive gray-white rock, and bears three powerful characters: "Pan Shi Xiang" (磐石巷).

Despite the passage of time, the handwriting still exudes a profound and weighty meaning.

Behind the gate tower lies the entrance to a deep cave, its interior obscured, with only a few luminous pearls embedded at the entrance emitting a cool glow.

At this moment, thirty or forty disciples had gathered in the open space in front of the gate tower of Panshi Lane.

Some chatted in small groups, some stood alone to catch their breath, and others were simply there to watch the excitement, pointing and gesturing at the cave entrance.

Chen Yue's arrival did not initially attract much attention.

He silently walked to the end of the line and waited quietly. There were two people ahead of him who were making their final preparations before the challenge. One of them closed his eyes and concentrated, and his aura was faintly visible around him.

The other person repeatedly examined a pair of short thorns he carried with him.

However, just a moment later, a few hushed gasps and whispers suddenly rose from the crowd.

"Hmm? That person looks familiar?"

"It's Chen Yue! Chen Yue from Danfeng!"

"Which Chen Yue? Wait, you mean the one on the life-or-death stage before?"

"That's him! He actually came to Rock Alley?"

"Hiss—sense yourselves, the aura emanating from him—Marrow Refining Realm? He's broken through to the Marrow Refining Realm?"

"He was only at the Bone Forging Realm when he was on the Life and Death Arena, right? His cultivation speed is incredible!"

More and more eyes are focused on Chen Yue, with curiosity, surprise, scrutiny, and even subtle hostility weaving together into an invisible net.

Chen Yue's ruthless decisiveness on the life-or-death stage, the subsequent rumors of his conflict with the Mutual Aid Association, and the astonishing speed at which he broke through to the next realm, were enough to make him the focus of attention.

Chen Yue seemed oblivious to the various gazes directed at him from all around. He simply stood quietly at the back of the line, his gaze fixed on the deep cave entrance ahead, silently recalling some known information about Rock Alley.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Tian Shi Peak, in a quiet courtyard.

Lin Junshi and Zhao Zongzhen sat facing each other, with a chessboard carved from warm jade between them. Black and white pieces were scattered throughout the board, and the battle was in full swing.

Lin Junshi, playing white, frowned slightly, as if pondering a crucial move.

Zhao Zongzhen, playing black, appeared relaxed, toying with a smooth, black jade chess piece between his fingers.

Suddenly, a series of slightly hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate, and then an inner disciple rushed in.

"Senior Brother Lin, Senior Brother Zhao, I ran into Chen Yue!" The disciple gasped for breath and quickly bowed.

Lin Junshi's gaze remained fixed on the chessboard. Distracted, he spoke with a hint of displeasure, without looking up, "What's so surprising about seeing Chen Yue inside the gate?"

The disciple quickly shook his head and said urgently, "No, Senior Brother Lin, it seems that Chen Yue has already broken through to the Marrow Refining Realm!"

"Snap!"

With a soft crack, Lin Junshi unconsciously pinched a tiny crack into the white jade chess piece he was holding between his fingers.

He suddenly raised his head, his previous relaxed posture while playing chess vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, sharp aura.

Zhao Zongzhen stopped playing with the chess pieces, a clear look of surprise crossing his face as he looked at the disciple who had brought the news: "Marrow Refining Realm? Are you sure?"

"It's absolutely true! The other disciples around him said the same thing, and his blood and qi were calm and his aura was stable, indicating that he had already stabilized his realm."

"There are only two people ahead of us in line at the front of Rock Lane!" the disciple said confidently.

"He actually reached the Marrow Refinement Realm!"

Zhao Zongzhen put down the chess piece and gently tapped the edge of the jade chessboard with his fingers, making a crisp tapping sound.

"His cultivation speed is truly unexpected. He's already an inner disciple, yet he still ventured into Rock Alley—probably for the contribution points reward on the record board. This Junior Brother Chen certainly has quite the appetite!"

Lin Junshi slowly released his grip, letting the cracked chess piece fall onto the chessboard with a soft thud, disrupting the original game.

His face was grim, his eyes flashing with a cold light as he stared at the messenger disciple. His voice was icy: "Who are the disciples on duty in Rock Alley today? Are any of my Mutual Aid Association members among them?"

As a training ground, the daily maintenance of Rock Alley is carried out by inner disciples on a rotating basis, who earn sect contribution points in return.

Especially in the final stage of the record-breaking mode, according to the rules, there will be a disciple on duty as the final guardian, who will engage in a practical sparring match with the challenger to comprehensively evaluate the final score.

This gatekeeping mission, due to its high contribution value, has always been the object of competition among several small groups of inner disciples, ultimately leading to...

It's a system where you take turns on duty for a few days, and then we take turns on duty for a few more days.

When Lin Junshi asked, the disciple perked up and quickly nodded, "Reporting to Senior Brother Lin, there are three disciples on duty in Panshi Lane today, all of them brothers from our Mutual Aid Association! The leader is Senior Brother Cheng Fengjun, he's inside!"

"Cheng Fengjun?"

Lin Junshi's eyes lit up slightly, then a cold smile appeared on his lips. "This Chen Yue, his breakthrough came at just the right time!"

That's a great breakthrough!

Zhao Zongzhen frowned slightly, leaned forward a little, and said in a solemn tone: "Senior Brother Lin, do not be careless or underestimate your enemy. When Chen Yue was in the Bone Forging Realm, he was able to defeat the strong with the weak and kill Jiang Lin Kuo. His true combat strength far exceeds that of his peers, and his methods are ruthless and decisive."

Now that he has broken through to the Marrow Refining Realm, his strength has undoubtedly increased significantly, far surpassing that of ordinary disciples who have just entered the Marrow Refining Realm. Although Junior Brother Cheng is strong, we must still be cautious and lest we be caught off guard and suffer an unexpected setback.

Zhao Zongzhen was always cautious. Although he also wanted to suppress Chen Yue, he did not want to see the Mutual Aid Association lose face again due to underestimating its opponent.

Chen Yue's growth was so rapid that it made him feel vaguely uneasy.

"cautious?"

Lin Junshi's laughter subsided, and he turned his head, a smug smirk playing on his lips, looking at Zhao Zongzhen: "Junior Brother Zhao, your caution is certainly not wrong. But your understanding of Junior Brother Cheng seems to be somewhat outdated."

"Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Zhao Zongzhen's eyes flashed. He had indeed been so engrossed in studying the Nourishing Spirit Pill these past few days that he hadn't paid much attention to the events at the meeting.

Lin Junshi lowered his voice, but the smugness in his tone was undeniable: "Do you know that Junior Brother Cheng Fengjun successfully broke through his cultivation barrier five days ago and officially entered the Refining Realm!"

The duty assignments for Panshi Lane must have been arranged a few days ago, which is why he has been on duty these past few days.

"The Dirty Refinement Realm!"

Zhao Zongzhen's face showed genuine surprise. He did know that Cheng Fengjun had been stuck at the peak of the Marrow Refining Realm for quite some time and had been preparing to break through to the Dirty Refining Realm, but he did not expect it to be so smooth.

Although there is only one realm between marrow refining and visceral refining, it is a significant watershed in martial arts cultivation, involving the tempering of internal organs, and the difference in strength is extremely obvious.

More importantly, Cheng Fengjun was known for her ruthless combat skills. She had a record of defeating opponents in the Refining Realm when she was in the Marrow Refining Realm. Now that she has also entered the Refining Realm, her strength is far beyond what it used to be.

"even so,"

Zhao Zongzhen quickly processed the news, but still remained cautious: "The rules of Panshi Lane are strict, especially the prohibition against deliberately challenging disciples to death. This is an ironclad rule. No matter how strong Junior Brother Cheng is, he cannot openly violate it. Otherwise, if the sect investigates, no one can bear the consequences."

"Ironclad rules? Regulations?"

Lin Junshi's sinister smile reappeared, his eyes flashing with cold light: "Junior Brother Zhao, when did you become so pedantic! Rules are dead, but people are alive."

The record-breaking trials in Rock Alley inherently involve real combat duels, designed to assess the disciples' overall strength. Since they've chosen to challenge the record, they should understand that in any exchange of blows, injuries are inevitable—isn't that perfectly normal?

Lin Junshi paused, lowered his voice even further, and said with a cold cruelty: "As long as you don't kill or maim someone, what kind of serious injury is unavoidable?"

Torn tendons and broken bones, internal organ damage, and meridian injury—requiring a year or two of rest, missing the optimal time for cultivation, and even leaving behind hidden injuries that are difficult to heal—

Hehe, who can say anything?

At most, it was just a momentary lapse by the gatekeeper disciple; he couldn't fully control his strength during the sparring match. As long as no one is dead, everything is fine!

After Lin Junshi finished speaking, he abruptly turned his head, his gaze shooting towards the disciple who was bowing and obeying orders. His voice was stern as he instructed, word by word, "You, find Junior Brother Cheng and tell him that Chen Yue has come to Panshi Lane. He must do his utmost to spar with Chen Yue!"

Upon hearing this, the disciple was initially taken aback, but then his eyes lit up with excitement. He quickly bowed and replied, "Yes! Don't worry, Senior Brother Lin, I will definitely convey the message to Senior Brother Cheng verbatim!"

The inability to kill Chen Yue on the life-or-death stage has been a source of frustration for many members of the mutual aid society.

Now, being able to severely injure this arrogant brat within the rules, crippling him for months or even longer, is undoubtedly a great relief.

If Chen Yue, after recovering from his injuries, becomes enraged and recklessly challenges Senior Brother Cheng to a life-or-death duel again—

That would be exactly what we wanted, a perfect excuse to completely eliminate it!

Thinking of this, the disciple ran as fast as he could towards Rock Alley, afraid of missing the opportunity if he was too late.

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