The Azure Sky Sect, a behemoth of a force spanning mountain ranges, had witnessed many breakthroughs before.
Yet today, something different was happening.
At first, it was subtle—a faint tremor across the inner peaks.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the sect.
The sky cracked with golden light, and a terrifying pillar of flames and sword intent erupted from the depths of a secluded chamber, piercing the heavens.
Disciples across the sect froze in shock.
"What… What is that?!"
"Another heavenly tribulation? No—it's coming from the Core Sect!"
Core Disciples, training in their own peaks, turned toward the golden phenomenon with wide eyes.
One of them, a sharp-eyed youth clad in deep blue robes, clenched his fists.
"That's Qin Chen's residence…"
Inside the Core Elders' Hall, the sect elders were already in motion.
"What is that monstrous fluctuation?!"
"This… This isn't just a normal breakthrough into Core Formation!"
Even the Sect Master sat atop his throne, golden eyes gleaming as he extended his divine sense.
"He's not just breaking through…"
His expression sharpened.
"He's transforming."
In the distance, you could vaguely make out a massive whirlpool of energy flowing above Qin Chen's residence.
Inside his cultivation chamber, Qin Chen sat, cross-legged, completely motionless.
Yet, within his body—chaos.
The pills had already refined into pure energy, flowing into his meridians like a divine flood, compressing toward his dantian.
His entire cultivation base was collapsing inward.
Foundation Establishment cultivators had vast reserves of Qi flowing freely inside their dantians.
But Core Formation?
It required all of that Qi to be condensed, forced into a singularity—the Empty Core.
BOOOOM!
A surge of golden flames surged into his dantian, igniting the process.
His Foundation Establishment realm energy, which had been formless, was violently crushed into a single point—
—A swirling vortex of energy, growing smaller and smaller.
A lesser cultivator would have screamed.
The pain of compressing years of cultivation into a tiny core was beyond what most could endure.
But Qin Chen?
His body remained still.
His Fire Sovereign Dao Body instinctively absorbed the pain, refining it into further strength.
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have reached the Empty Core Stage!]
A deep hum resonated from within his dantian.
Where once there had been a vast ocean of Qi—
Now, there was a seed.
A tiny, golden-purple Core floated in his dantian, unstable, unrefined, incomplete.
It pulsed, drawing in residual energy to stabilize itself.
Most cultivators took weeks, months, or even years to properly refine this core.
Qin Chen?
He wasn't stopping here.
The moment the Empty Core stabilized, Qin Chen's golden eyes snapped open.
A storm of fire and sword intent surged around him.
But he wasn't done.
He clenched his fists.
"I will not stop at the bottom."
Most would take years to temper their Core, feeding it Qi slowly, carefully, like a delicate flame.
Qin Chen?
He ignited it.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
His dantian burst into an inferno, Sovereign Flames wrapping around his Empty Core, compressing, refining, crushing it into something stronger.
It wasn't gentle.
It wasn't slow.
It was war.
Most cultivators had to nurture their Core.
Qin Chen was forging his in the purest flames of existence.
His golden-purple fire ate away the impurities, tempering the Empty Core into something far denser, far heavier, far more refined.
The swirling vortex of the Empty Core slowed—
Then—
CRACK!
The golden sphere hardened.
It no longer swirled—it was solid, stable, absolute.
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have reached Full Core Stage!]
BOOM!
An earth-shaking pressure exploded from his body.
The entire sect felt it.
"W-What is happening?!"
Even Core Elders inside the Azure Sky Sect staggered.
A black-robed elder, a veteran cultivator at the Nascent Soul Realm, gritted his teeth.
"This isn't a normal Core Formation breakthrough… This pressure… it's at the level of an absolute genius!"
Another elder's hands shook.
"There is no doubt… That's Qin Chen."
One of the younger disciples gasped.
"H-He's only been a Core Disciple for a short time… and he's already breaking through?!"
Atop the highest peak, the Sect Master's eyes gleamed with undeniable interest.
"This boy…"
For the first time in a long time—
A true monster was emerging.
Most cultivators would have stopped here.
Breaking through from Empty Core to Full Core was already a major step—one that required painstaking effort and time for others to complete.
But Qin Chen wasn't like others.
His flames still burned.
His Core still pulsed.
He could feel it.
There was another level to reach.
The Golden Core Stage.
With his resources, his bloodline, his Sovereign Flames, and the perfectly refined Scarlet Core Pills still circulating within him…
He could push further.
His golden-purple flames flickered, surging into his dantian once more.
Most Core Formation cultivators would have to stabilize their Full Core for months before attempting the next step.
Qin Chen was about to shatter every expectation.
His golden eyes burned with unwavering resolve.
He wasn't done yet.