mtlumby2d Chapter 677: The Cry of the Crane
Chapter 677: The Cry of the Crane
Deep inside the private inner courtyard, the violent, environmental vortex abruptly reached its absolute peak.
Heidy’s eyelids snapped completely open, her brilliant silver eyes flashing with an unadulterated, cosmic power. The terrifying, massive volume of pure celestial mist that had been forcefully accumulating within her freshly liquefied Dantian completely exploded outward. The sheer kinetic and spiritual shockwave was so immense that the structural foundations of the medical pavilion violently groaned, the reinforced stone walls beginning to fracture as the entire facility stood on the absolute verge of being completely demolished from the inside out.
Instinctively, Heidy’s body floated off the stone floor, her physical vessel effortlessly elevating straight up into the open sky through the ruptured roof.
The heavens instantly responded to her supreme ascension. The darkened atmosphere violently churned as the dense, spiritual clouds formed a massive, perfect hurricane directly over her head, and jagged forks of pure silver lightning began to furiously descend from the heavens, brilliantly illuminating her rapid ascent into the sky.
"I am the blade that breaks the world!" Heidy cried out, her melodious voice carrying a terrifying, absolute authority that echoed across the entire geographical territory.
An ascension into the legendary Spiritual Sea Realm was the absolute, direct precursor to the supreme Dao Manifestation Realm—the mythical state where the very laws of reality would begin to be forcefully bent and rewritten by the sheer, unyielding will of the cultivator. From the absolute depths of Heidy’s soul, a massive, semi-transparent silver longsword slowly manifested behind her back, cutting through the spatial fabric. The descending lightning arcs instantly fused with her aura, morphing into the colossal shape of a celestial white crane that unleashed a deafening, sonic scream as it charted its path straight into the high heavens.
Up at the summit terrace, the Vice Sect Leader slowly caressed his long grey beard, his ancient eyes widening slightly as he witnessed the magnificent display.
"Well, well..." murmured the Vice Sect Leader, a rare, deeply impressed look crossing his weathered features. "It appears the stubborn brat has successfully executed her rebirth. Her elemental manifestation is incredibly, flawlessly pure—her path toward a true Dao Manifestation is already completely cleared. Magnificent."
The Vice Sect Leader had been entrenched at this exact, frustrating bottleneck for nearly a century, sitting right at the absolute limit of the Spiritual Sea Realm but completely unable to manifest his own Dao. Witnessing a junior like Heidy effortlessly breach the threshold with such high-tier purity inevitably filled his ancient heart with a brief, bitter flash of personal jealousy.
However, he aggressively forced those negative emotions down, refusing to let envy cloud his strategic judgment. Within their entire regional alliance, only the supreme Sect Leader himself and the ancient, hidden Ancestor had successfully conquered that mythical tier. That severe lack of high-tier combatants had legally kept their organization operating as a minor, heavily defensive force when compared to the monstrous, expanding domains of the hostile Crimson Sect and the terrifying Black Mountain. Therefore, even though this new power was not his own, having another supreme vanguard added to their ranks would perfectly re-balance the geopolitical board and safeguard their survival.
The blinding silver radiance slowly began to recede, dissolving the colossal celestial crane and the lingering static from the air. The unnatural hurricane dissipated into a calm breeze, leaving only Elder Heidy floating gracefully in the high sky, her silver robes fluttering around her and her magnificent aura perfectly anchored in her newly stabilized Spiritual Sea.
With a sudden, explosive crack of sonic air, the Vice Sect Leader shot across the valley from the summit palace, his towering figure accompanied by the rapid streak of the local Branch Leader.
They brought themselves to a smooth halt twenty meters away, floating level with her in the sky. To the absolute shock of the watching crowd below, the Vice Sect Leader slowly brought his hands together, executing a perfectly formal, deeply respectful martial salute.
Logistically speaking, the Vice Sect Leader was still considerably more powerful than her in terms of raw, accumulated qi volume. However, the spectacular manifestation she had just displayed proved that she possessed a completely formed, flawless embryo of the Dao. Barring a catastrophic, world-shattering injury, her future path straight to the absolute summit of the continent was completely guaranteed.
Beside him, the Branch Leader was sweating profusely under his formal robes. He could sense Heidy’s new energy sitting precisely on the same horizontal tier as his own, but the sheer, razor-sharp pressure radiating from her Sword Heart made his inner instincts scream in panic. He realized with absolute, chilling certainty that if the two of them were to enter a life-or-death duel right now, he didn’t possess a single realistic calculation that would allow him to defeat her.
"My formal greetings to you, Grand Elder Heidy," said the Vice Sect Leader, his deep, ancient baritone echoing across the sky.
Heidy smoothly raised her hands to return the gesture, but before her waist could bend a single millimeter, the Vice Sect Leader immediately extended his arm to gently stop her.
"Please, there is absolutely no need to incline your posture before me, Grand Elder," said the Vice Sect Leader, a warm, highly approving smile replacing his usual strict countenance. "Executing an ascension of this magnitude is a profoundly loathsome and glorious achievement for our entire institutional foundation. I will personally transmit the official telemetry of your breakthrough directly to the Supreme High Council before the sun sets today."
He adjusted his white sash, his voice dropping into a formal, binding register that echoed across the entire peak so every single disciple could hear the new law.
"Effective immediately, your status within the registry is officially elevated. You are no longer a standard elder; you are now a Grand Elder of the Central Sect Headquarters," said the Vice Sect Leader. "Furthermore, the administration formally grants you the supreme title and authority of Sect Protector. From this exact millisecond forward, you are legally liberated from all standard reporting structures. You no longer need to render operational accounts to any supervisor on this mountain. My absolute congratulations to you."
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From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.
Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.
Body Refinement Realm
Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement
Spiritual Gathering Realm
Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation
Spiritual Core Realm
Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)
Spiritual Soul Realm
Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion
Golden Core Realm
Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction
Spiritual Sea Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Dao Manifestation Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Spiritual Transcendence
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
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Sword mastery levels
Sword Intent.
Sword Aura.