As Chu Xuanyuan spoke, he flipped his palm, and a gemstone resembling jade appeared in his hand.
"Refine it, and you can directly reach Half Ancestor," Chu Xuanyuan said.
"Father, this gemstone..." Chu Feng took the gemstone, his heart surging with excitement.
For so many years, he had refined countless heavenly treasures and cultivation resources, but a gemstone containing such dense heaven and earth energy was something he had truly never seen before.
Honestly speaking, with Chu Feng's current cultivation, it was unlikely that the entire Martial Holy Land still held any cultivation resources capable of advancing his realm.
Yet this gemstone that Chu Xuanyuan had just given him could elevate Chu Feng directly from Seventh-rank Martial Emperor to First-rank Half Ancestor — leaping across three full levels. That was something Chu Feng hadn't even dared to imagine before.
"All these years, I never helped you advance your cultivation because I wanted you to experience things on your own, to temper your character."
"This time, consider it my compensation to you," Chu Xuanyuan said with a faint smile.
"Thank you, Father." Chu Feng rose to his feet and performed a deep bow.
"I already told you — between father and son, there's no need for such formalities. Go ahead and refine it." Chu Xuanyuan tossed the gemstone into the air.
Upon seeing this, Chu Feng opened his mouth and caught the gemstone between his teeth. He then sat cross-legged and began refining it.
In an instant, torrential heaven and earth energy surged through Chu Feng's body, continuously pouring into his dantian, where it was refined by his Divine Thunder.
Under this process, Chu Feng's cultivation soared ever higher — Eighth-rank Martial Emperor, Ninth-rank Martial Emperor...
After eight bolts of lightning had thundered out from within Chu Feng's body and then re-entered, his cultivation had reached First-rank Half Ancestor.
Everything had unfolded just as Chu Xuanyuan described. The heaven and earth energy within that gemstone had truly elevated Chu Feng from Seventh-rank Martial Emperor directly to First-rank Half Ancestor.
Without employing the Thunder Armor, without using the Thunder Wings, without any cultivation-boosting means whatsoever, Chu Feng's aura was already that of a First-rank Half Ancestor. He had become a genuine half-ancestor-level powerhouse.
Moreover, it was not merely that Chu Feng's cultivation had reached First-rank Half Ancestor — he had also gained another level of heaven-defying combat strength, bringing his heaven-defying power to the sixth rank.
Swish—
Suddenly, Chu Feng swept his arm, and the ancestor-level martial power in his surroundings materialized, flowing into his body for him to wield.
"How does it feel?" Chu Xuanyuan asked.
"I can finally control ancestor-level martial power. Half Ancestor truly deserves the title — it's incomparable to Martial Emperor."
"And my current combat strength has reached heaven-defying sixth rank, far stronger than before by a wide margin. This feeling is absolutely wonderful," Chu Feng said excitedly.
"Naturally a Half Ancestor is stronger than a Martial Emperor. However, while calling your heaven-defying strength the sixth rank is technically correct, calling it the third rank would be more accurate," Chu Xuanyuan said.
"Heaven-defying third rank?" Chu Feng was somewhat puzzled.
"Anyone who becomes a Martial Emperor already possesses heaven-defying third-rank combat strength. And regardless of the Upper Realm, even in the Lower Realm, Martial Emperors are as numerous as the hairs on an ox."
"In the Outer Worlds, Martial Emperor is the dividing line. Those who reach it can be considered qualified martial cultivators. Those who fail to step into it are considered to have abysmal talent, and will be scorned by others."
"Since Martial Emperors all possess heaven-defying third-rank strength, your sixth rank, when measured against the most ordinary Martial Emperor, is reduced to only three ranks of advantage."
"Furthermore, the enemies you will face from now on will never be below Martial Emperor — they will all be above. So starting now, you must remember: even when facing the most ordinary opponent, your advantage is only heaven-defying third rank," Chu Xuanyuan said.