When Luo Chen broke free from the oppressive might of an Adept’s strike and lunged straight at Zheng Xian, three soft exclamations echoed throughout the sky, carried by the icy gales that swept through the clouds. It seemed none of them had expected that a mere Initiate could shatter the spirit pressure unique to Adepts.2

In the cultivation world, upward challenges and victories were rare but not unheard of. Such feats, however, usually occurred only within minor stages of the same realm. Once the battle crossed into a different realm, the outcome was practically set in stone. Few could ever hope to defeat those a major realm above them.1

Between Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment stretched the gulf of projecting spirit consciousness and liquefying spirit power. A Qi Refinement cultivator had to possess an exceptionally strong divine soul, unusually dense spirit power, and additional hidden techniques, abilities, and items; even then, surpassing that boundary was a titanic task. Yet within the Mountains and Seas Realm, stories did surface from time to time of Qi Refinement cultivators defeating Initiates.0

However, for Foundation Establishment cultivators to defeat those at the Golden Core Realm was almost beyond belief. The stories most often told...2