Breaking Through the Realm

"Breaking through?"
"Yes, breaking through," Yufu replied with a calm expression.
"So this is what it looks like when your child breaks through the Qi Training Realm?"
Yumu stared in disbelief, raising her hand and delivering a slap. Yufu didn't dare to dodge and took the blow, looking wronged. "But isn't he our child after all..."
Truly, there is always someone who can keep another in check...
Seeing her husband rebutting her at such a time, her anger flared even more, her eyes blazing, teeth clenched, teetering on the edge of fury.
"Stop, stop! If this goes on, your poor husband will be beaten out of the bedroom again, exiled to the cold guest room..."
"You dare say another word!"
"My lady, truly, there's no need to panic. The child hasn't even solidified his foundation in the third stage of Qi Training. This isn’t a breakthrough in cultivation."
Seeing her husband's composed face, Yumu realized she was letting her concern get the best of her. After all, she knew their eldest son's talent was more than a little lacking—there was nothing to be done, some things are just the way they are.
"Then why is it like this? If it goes on, I'm afraid the child won't endure."
"It's a breakthrough in body refinement. Truly, this Body Tempering Technique is unusually suited to him..."
Yufu was at a loss for words. The incomplete Body Tempering Technique in his hands was something he had stumbled upon by chance in a secret realm. He had pored over it countless times, understanding its extraordinary properties, but also knowing how exceptionally difficult it was to master.
To endure the harshest beatings and train the strongest body—these weren't idle words.
He had researched this technique for years, even sought out talented disciples to practice it, but always felt something was missing. No matter how severe their daily training, none could even step through its threshold.
Though he appeared calm outside the room, inside he was anything but; he was tense, though he would never show it in front of his wife. As the true master of the house, he couldn't afford to be banished to the guest room again—especially not in front of their children.
In truth, those two children knew exactly what kind of man their father was...
"This is that Body Tempering Technique you got from who-knows-where?"
"Exactly. I actually wanted to give him the same Body Tempering Technique as Yun’er, but he simply couldn't..." At this, Yufu paused, then continued slowly, "He can’t practice Yun’er’s Ink Cloud True Body, but I didn’t want to show him any less care. So I gave him this incomplete, yet equally powerful, Body Tempering Technique. I thought I’d observe for a few years, and if he couldn’t master it, I’d give him something less demanding. Who would have thought he’d break through at this moment."
"I suspected his temperament was well suited to this technique, and with my personal help infusing spiritual energy, perhaps there would be an unexpected outcome. Still, I never imagined he’d break through in just three years," Yufu sighed.
"Then, do you think Dao’er will succeed?"
"I don’t know. No one has succeeded before. I can’t say for certain."
"You don’t know? No one has succeeded??"

...He had let it slip.
"You gave our child an incomplete cultivation technique, of unknown origin, and one that no one has ever succeeded in practicing???"
Each word was an accusation.
"My lady, please, don't panic. Am I not here?" Yufu hurriedly tried to reassure her.
"If anything happens to Dao’er, you’d better be ready to be cast out of this house! I’ll sever everything between us!" Yumu glared, her eyes sharp as knives.
The low growls inside the room continued. Before long, Yunfan hurried over from afar. His younger brother's room was nowhere near here—he had insisted on the distance to avoid his troublesome elder brother. As soon as he heard the commotion, he rushed over, only to find his parents bickering.
"Father, Mother, what’s happened here? Has brother gotten into trouble?"
"It’s nothing much. Thanks to your father’s help, you’ll soon be an only child," Yumu snapped, still fuming.
...Nothing much? Even he had never wished for his brother’s demise.
Though, being an only child... Considering what his brother was like, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad—such an embarrassment. Yes, he was definitely considering it...
It was certain now—his brother was rotten to the core!
"Don’t listen to your mother’s nonsense. Your brother is breaking through. If he endures, he’ll be fine. All we can do is wait. If I intervene now, all his effort will be wasted. Until the very end, it’s up to him."
"Right, right, just endure. If he doesn’t, better prepare two coffins!"
"My dear, don’t frighten me. Without you, I..." Yufu suddenly grew anxious.
"It’s not that you’ll lose me—I'll personally see to it that you’re gone!" Yumu spat out, each word cold and biting.
...Now he was truly terrified.
Yunfan watched his parents. At a time like this, were they not worried about his brother’s fate? If not, they should just get it over with—he still wanted to sleep, and late nights were bad for his skin...
No, that wasn’t his persona. He jolted awake, shocked. Had he been infected by that detestable brother of his?
Stay aloof! Stay handsome!

Inside the room.
Damn it! It hurts like hell!!!
What in the world is this Body Tempering Technique that old man gave me? Hurting at first is bad enough, but now it feels like hundreds of durians are rolling around inside me, burning hot and relentless!
People talk about having a troublesome father, but mine is just intent on torturing his own son!
Yudao cursed his old man countless times in his heart...

As time passed, the swelling within him grew, his body burning as if climbing toward a critical point.
In the throes of pain, Yudao had long since stopped circulating the nameless Body Tempering Technique. Yet, for some reason today, it continued on its own, unstoppable!
At that moment, a tattered scroll appeared, floating in front of him, flipping pages wildly, emitting a faint, flickering red glow. All this happened as his eyes remained tightly shut—no one saw, not even his parents outside the room.
Yudao’s body turned a deeper red, black lines beneath his skin growing more pronounced. At last, after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a wave of unbearable pain crashed over him. The ragged scroll dissolved into a streak of red light and shot into his brow.
A single, agonized roar resounded—then, silence.

Outside.
Hearing their son’s final cry, Yufu burst through the door, the three of them rushing in. The heat in the room was palpable, yet nothing had caught fire.
Their son lay curled on what could barely be called a bed, shirtless, his body writhing in pain.
Scratches marred the walls all around, evidence of the ordeal’s intensity.
Yudao’s face was drawn with agony, his brows tightly furrowed, unconscious.
The black streaks had vanished from his skin, but the red hue lingered, his body covered in blood, faint red light emanating from him—strangely otherworldly.
Yumu looked at her son, drained of all strength and wracked with pain, unable to stop herself from covering her mouth to stifle a scream.
No matter how powerful a cultivator she was, in that moment, she was only a mother—fragile, easily shattered.
Seeing her son like this tore at her heart—guilt, anxiety, anguish, even fear and dread seized her.
Unbidden, her vision blurred, everything melting into a haze.
Those were tears.

That night, in the snow, the child had curled up among the collapsed roof tiles and bricks, seeking a shred of warmth to survive the storm.
Tonight, in blood, the child once again curled on a broken bed, seeking a sliver of relief from the pain, fighting to endure one more time.
That night, he became her son, and she silently vowed to care for him well.
Tonight, he was still her son, but now in such a state.
The scene before her was achingly familiar; this child was still just as helpless.