Invincible Beyond Heavens: Cultivating With A Broken EXP System

“Whoosh!”

The Dark Light Sword shot out from Li Yun’s space ring, its silver blade humming as if it were alive.

A surge of majestic internal energy swept forth, and red sword light flared across the blade, dazzling and sharp.

“Buzz!”

The sword vibrated furiously, shaking the very air around it. A low hum rippled out, as though the weapon itself was eager for battle.

“Crimson Sun Flame Sword Art!”

Li Yun didn’t waste time with words. He wanted this fight over quickly. The Mist Spirit Pool awaited him, and beyond it, the sweet rewards of EXP and fist art.

Kun Long might be formidable, but underestimating him would be foolish. So Li Yun struck with his sword art right from the start.

“Hmm?” Kun Long’s eyes narrowed in surprise. He hadn’t expected Li Yun to attack so decisively, nor with such ferocity. The disdain on his face faded, replaced by grim seriousness.

With a flick of his arm, a crimson saber appeared in his grasp. Its edge gleamed blood-red as he thrust forward, releasing a torrent of fiery saber light to meet Li Yun’s sword strike.

“Boom!”

The clash echoed like thunder. Shockwaves rippled outward, forcing the watching cultivators to retreat several steps.

Li Yun’s eyes sharpened. ’Such powerful internal enery!’ His Crimson Sun Flame Sword Art had long since reached the True Meaning stage of mastery. A casual swing from him should have torn apart most opponents at this level. Yet Kun Long had matched it head-on.

Guan Ling’s warning hadn’t been exaggerated, this man was no ordinary opponent. More importantly, Li Yun realized something startling: Kun Long’s internal energy was just as dense as his own.

’So, there really are countless monsters hidden across this continent.’

For the first time in a long while, Li Yun felt a trace of solemnity.

But Kun Long was even more shaken. His saber arm trembled slightly as he steadied himself, his eyes flickering with disbelief. He had fought dozens of prodigies in Purple Moon Academy, the best of the best across Moonriver County. Yet never once had he encountered someone with such terrifying internal energy.

And this boy, this Li Yun, was only at the 2nd level of Body Tempering Realm.

“How is this possible…?”

Hu Fu, the City Lord of Water Cloud City, narrowed his eyes. His entire view of Li Yun shifted in that instant.

He had come here convinced that Kun Long would crush Li Yun with a single move. That was how absolute his confidence had been. Yet after their very first exchange, Li Yun had not only withstood the strike, he hadn’t shown the slightest hint of weakness.

Impossible.

From the moment he first laid eyes on Li Yun, Hu Fu hadn’t spared him much thought. When Bai Xueqin revealed that this boy would represent Azure Wind City, Hu Fu had sneered inwardly, believing she had resigned herself to losing. But now? The truth stared him in the face.

This youth, sixteen, maybe seventeen, possessed strength that rivaled Kun Long’s. And if he was already this strong at such an age… what kind of monster would he become ten years from now, at twenty-six or twenty-seven? Even across all of Moonriver County, such a genius would stand out like a blazing sun.

’When did Azure Wind City produce someone like this?’

Meanwhile, Bai Xueqin’s lips curved into the faintest smile. Relief flickered in her beautiful eyes. The exchange had only been a probe, yet it proved Li Yun was not helpless before Kun Long, he had the strength to truly fight.

“Boom!”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The two figures clashed again and again, moving too fast for ordinary eyes to follow. Each collision of sword and saber erupted with explosive force, tearing gashes into the earth.

The Body Tempering Realm cultivators watching nearby felt their hearts tremble. Their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

’Is this really a battle between Body Tempering cultivators?’

Just one strike from either of those two would kill them instantly, they had no doubt about it.

“Hu Fu, how do you feel now?” Bai Xueqin’s voice was calm, tinged with mockery, as she glanced at him with a smile. She had not forgotten his contempt at the start.

“Hmph. What’s there to be proud of?” Hu Fu snorted coldly. “So the boy’s internal energy is impressive, but he still can’t compare to Kun Long. Watch and see!”

Though he admitted Li Yun’s strength was beyond what he had imagined, Hu Fu’s conviction didn’t waver. Kun Long had years of experience and training behind him, far more than this boy. Both wielded high-grade mortal weapons, but in the end, martial comprehension and mastery would decide the victor.

“Hehe… then let’s wait and see,” Bai Xueqin replied with an easy chuckle.

“Father,” Guan Ling whispered, her eyes locked on the clash, “do you think Li Yun can win?”

“It’s difficult to say.” Guan Long shook his head, his expression grave. “Even I cannot predict this battle.”

If Li Yun had a few more years of cultivation under his belt, Guan Long believed victory would have been within easy reach. But now… he was still too young. Compared to Kun Long, Li Yun was at a clear disadvantage in both age and experience. Worse, he had never trained within the four great academies, while Kun Long had years of their resources and discipline behind him.

“I hope Li Yun wins,” Guan Ling murmured, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. Her heart swayed with every clash. If Li Yun triumphed, she too would gain the chance to cultivate inside the Mist Spirit Pond.

So in that moment, her hope was absolute. She needed him to win.

“Li Yun, you’ve exceeded my expectations!” Kun Long’s eyes burned with fighting spirit, his voice echoing across the battlefield.

“However… you will still lose. Hahaha! This is exhilarating! It’s been far too long since I’ve felt such satisfaction.”

With a ferocious roar, his aura exploded outward. Internal energy surged like a raging tide, his crimson saber blazing as though it could split heaven and earth.

A towering arc of scarlet light erupted from the blade, surrounded by countless razor-sharp saber auras. Each streak of killing intent quivered with power, enough that even a 6th-level Body Tempering Realm cultivator would be hurled away by a single strand. The very ground cracked beneath the weight of the strike as the crimson sea of blades bore down on Li Yun.

For a brief instant, Li Yun’s steps faltered but he calmed down.

He drew in a deep breath, and the Crimson Flame Scripture, cultivated all the way to its 8th layer, roared to life within him. His figure burned with a crimson radiance, waves of heat pouring from his body like molten fire.

“Take this!”

With a sharp swing of the Dark Light Sword, Li Yun unleashed an ordinary cut of the Crimson Sun Flame Sword Art. Yet this simple strike, infused with the power of a perfected scripture, birthed a searing arc of fiery-red light.

“Swish!”

The fiery slash cut across the air like a falling sun.

It met the incoming storm of crimson saber auras head-on, and instantly, the countless blades shattered into nothingness, torn apart as if they were paper before a raging inferno.

Kun Long froze, his pupils shrinking.

“H-how is that possible?!” he gasped, unable to comprehend what he had just witnessed.

As the dust cleared, Li Yun’s figure stood tall, his sword blazing like a crimson star.

Then Kun Long’s expression twisted into true disbelief. His voice trembled despite himself.

“You… you’ve cultivated a high-grade mortal rank cultivation technique to the 8th layer?!”

For a moment, his mind reeled. As a former genius of Purple Moon Academy, Kun Long himself cultivated a high-grade mortal rank technique, yet after years of toil, he had only reached the 4th layer. Compared to Li Yun, he wasn’t even qualified to carry his shoes.

Up on the viewing platform, Bai Xueqin and Guan Long exchanged a glance. Both saw the same raw shock reflected in each other’s eyes.

’A high-grade mortal rank technique, pushed all the way to the 8th layer… at the age of sixteen?’

Even within the entire Moonriver County, no one had ever heard of such a thing. The difficulty of reaching the 8th layer was said to be no different from defying the heavens themselves. Yet here it was, before their eyes, achieved by a youth.

“Damn this kid!” Hu Fu cursed inwardly, his teeth gritted. He hated to admit it, but in all his years, he had never seen such monstrous talent.

Even Guan Ling, who had brought Zheng Tao, felt her heart quiver. ’So this is his true strength…’

Li Yun sneered coldly, his voice sharp as his blade. “What’s wrong? Are you afraid?”

Kun Long stiffened, then slowly exhaled. His eyes hardened, recovering their edge.

“Afraid? No. Shocked? Yes,” he said evenly. “But don’t think for a moment that I’ll back down. I am Kun Long, I don’t collapse just because someone else shines brighter.”

His aura surged again, darker and heavier than before.

“Be prepared. This time, I’ll fight with my full strength!”

His body erupted with killing intent as the third layer of his own high-grade mortal rank cultivation technique ignited. His grip tightened around his crimson saber, and his voice thundered:

“Asura Killing Saber—Ten Kills!”

In an instant, his saber roared to life, vomiting out ten overlapping arcs of blood-red light. Ten blades of destruction howled from ten different angles, sealing every escape route and crashing down on Li Yun like the judgment of an Asura god.