As Akeno's clones vanished in clouds of smoke, Akeno himself collapsed, unable to remain conscious for even a second longer.All the exhaustion accumulated by the clones crashed back into his original body at once.
While Kaede rushed to check on Akeno's condition, deeper in the forest, Mo Tian and the remaining demonic cultivators stood in silence, staring at the mayor's head lying on the ground, severed from his body.
"We've lost Hope City," Mo Tian said resolutely.
There was no longer any need to fight. They had lost.
Turning around with the others, Mo Tian led the group eastward, away from that place.
On Fang Qin's side, he scattered the mayor's body throughout the forest, letting the beasts erase the evidence, then helped the instructor who had stayed behind and was gravely wounded.
Returning with Kaede, the still-unconscious Akeno, and the injured instructor, they headed back toward Hope City.
As they emerged from the forest, nearly a hundred sect members who had been waiting anxiously rushed toward them, tears in their eyes, joy overflowing.
"Master!"
Surrounded by cries of happiness from his disciples and fellow instructors, Fang Qin felt the weight on his heart lift, along with his fears and worries.
At that moment, he felt a barrier shatter within his mind.
Dark clouds began to gather in the sky, and the rumble of thunder echoed in everyone's ears.
Everyone froze, staring at the sky in shock.
"It's a Heavenly Tribulation!"
"The Master has broken through the barrier of the Rebirth Stage!"
After defeating the mayor, Fang Qin's greatest concern vanished, and his tormented mind was finally freed.
Looking at the shocked faces around him, Fang Qin calmed himself and forcibly restrained the breakthrough of the Rebirth Stage.
Little by little, the clouds settled and dispersed cleanly.
His mind had broken through the barrier, but he held his body back from doing the same. This was not the time to advance.
His body was battered, his Qi nearly depleted. If he were to break through now, he would surely die to the tribulation.
From now on, Fang Qin could advance at any moment, but a few days of rest were absolutely necessary.
"I'm home," he said with a liberated smile.
…
Opening his eyes to a white ceiling, Akeno slowly woke from his long sleep, a pounding headache surging through his head.
"Ow…"
"Awake?"
Hearing a voice to his left, Akeno turned his head and saw the instructor who had stayed behind to fight alongside Fang Qin and himself against the mayor.
Unfortunately, the other instructor had died in battle.
Behind him, Yang Jun and Yang Chengwu were also lying in beds, still unconscious with no signs of waking.
After the demonic cultivators' attack during the children's kidnapping, the Yang brothers had been left on the brink of death. When Xue Jie returned to warn everyone, they had been sent to the infirmary and had remained there ever since.
"Instructor Su? How long was I asleep?" Akeno asked.
"A full day. You surpassed yourself during the fight," the instructor replied.
"A full day…" As his mind gradually cleared, Akeno first checked the seal on his abdomen.
In his subconscious, he saw Reibi behind massive bars.
Within this space representing the seal that imprisoned Reibi, Akeno saw the tailless demon in a semi-awakened state, motionless and completely unresponsive.
The demon's dark chakra reserves were almost empty, barely enough to keep it alive.
If more chakra were extracted from Reibi, it was very possible that the demon would die and disappear.
Reibi was very special, feeding on people's emotions to produce its chakra.
Now, Akeno had to find a way to replenish its reserves without becoming a monster like Shinno in the anime.
And the memory of Reibi's emotions toward the mayor might offer a clue as to how.
Withdrawing his consciousness from the seal, Akeno took a deep breath, relaxing back into his bed.
"You were impressive against the mayor. I don't know what price you paid for that power, but don't worry—no one here will see you as one of them," the instructor continued.
Akeno took a few seconds to understand. It was true that his power strongly resembled that of demonic cultivators, and normally he should have been executed on the spot for revealing such power.
Power obtained through the demonic path was always gained by sacrificing something—one's sanity, body, or humanity.
Anyone who had witnessed the power he displayed during the fight would naturally assume he had sacrificed a part of himself for it.
"Thank you…"
In truth, that wasn't entirely false.
Reibi's chakra was extremely toxic to the mind, and if used continuously, it could completely destroy it.
Thanks to his cultivation level nourishing both body and spirit, the damage had been somewhat mitigated—though not completely nullified.
He would need to meditate and cultivate in the coming days to heal and restore his mind.
…
A few days later, Akeno was able to leave the infirmary peacefully.
During his recovery, he had been visited by Chikara and the others. At that time, Akeno had been overjoyed, finally able to behold Chikara's famous Sharingan.
A vivid, magnificent red, with a finely drawn black tomoe. Akeno wanted one!
What Naruto fan wouldn't want the Sharingan?!
Akeno wasn't an Uchiha—but what kind of world was this? In a world where humans and beasts could walk the path of cultivation and break past the mortal realm, methods of absorbing bloodlines were well known.
The Uchiha clan's bloodline had been diluted many times among humans and shouldn't pose too much difficulty to acquire.
Akeno was fairly confident he could do it—but he first needed to reach the Rebirth Stage to even consider it.
At his current level, he had no access to any bloodline absorption techniques. The only method he knew of occurred during the eighth level, Body Destruction.
That was still far off.
For now, it was time for a Heavenly Tribulation.
After several days of rest, Fang Qin was finally ready to break through into the Harmony of Qi and Body.
Akeno wouldn't miss this for the world.
The branch master had planned to break through in front of all branch members. Perhaps some could gain insight from witnessing it.
Taking a place at the edge of the courtyard, Akeno joined Chikara, Kaede, Izaya, Maiko, Fubuki, and Renji, who waited patiently and silently.
At the center of the courtyard, Fang Qin sat cross-legged. Eyes closed, he calmed his mind before breaking through.
This would be his first time facing a tribulation. No one could help him.
If he failed, the consequences could be permanent stagnation—or death.
As clouds gathered and thunder roared, the entire city fell into oppressive silence.
Everyone stopped what they were doing, staring at the sky with awe and fear.
Suddenly, Fang Qin's eyes opened—sharp and resolute.
The first bolt of lightning fell!
Struck head-on, Fang Qin didn't flinch in the slightest.
Each bolt tested the foundations of his cultivation—one lightning strike for each level.
Then came the second. The third. The fourth. The fifth.
When the sixth and final bolt fell, Fang Qin stood up and felt death closing in.
This final lightning strike would either end him—or elevate him.
Drawing his sword, he activated his domain.
In the courtyard, hundreds of lotus flowers bloomed sporadically. As the lightning descended, Fang Qin vanished, reappearing at a lotus several meters away.
As the lightning adjusted its trajectory to pursue him, he slashed with his Qi-infused sword.
He wasn't trying to defeat the lightning—no one could. He merely sought to disperse as much of its power as possible before impact.
When the lightning struck him, indescribable pain tore through his meridians, but he endured.
If he lost consciousness, it would be over.
After several agonizing seconds of trembling resistance, Fang Qin felt an entirely new power surge within him.
Without realizing it, his feet lifted from the ground, and his once-white hair returned to a deep black.
His lifespan had increased dramatically!
With renewed vitality, Fang Qin felt as though he had rejuvenated by fifty years!
In the courtyard, all disciples and instructors bowed in respect and joy.
"Congratulations to the Master for breaking through to the Rebirth Stage!"
The entire Hope City branch of the Thousand Lotus Sect was overjoyed.
With a master at the Harmony of Qi and Body stage, the branch would gain far greater leverage to protect and defend the city.
Whoever became the new mayor—appointed or chosen by the Empire—would have to take the master's opinions into account.
Sects were forbidden from directly influencing the government, but who wouldn't want good relations with a Rebirth Stage master?
In this world, the strongest known cultivators had reached the eighth level, Body Destruction, and only one such individual existed within the Empire—the Emperor himself.
Thus, seventh-level cultivators like Fang Qin were already considered among the strongest on the land, capable of defeating armies and repelling the most powerful monsters.
Landing gently on the ground, Fang Qin thanked everyone and spoke with a few friends.
After several dozen minutes, he approached Akeno, who waited patiently with the ninja children.
"Akeno, I'm glad to see you in good health," Fang Qin said with a smile. "You collapsed so quickly that I didn't even get the chance to properly thank you."
Cupping his hands, Fang Qin spoke sincerely. "Without you, I don't know how we could have defeated the mayor. I don't know who those men were who came to help us, nor where your power comes from—but I won't pry."
"Thank you," Akeno replied.
He had already thought about how to explain the situation without revealing the existence of another world—and greatly preferred not having to explain anything at all.
Then Fang Qin asked an unexpected question that left him speechless.
"Would you like to become the Vice-Master of the Thousand Lotus Sect branch in Hope City?"