Chapter 3011, Encountering a Bottleneck Translator: Silavin & Tia Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Inside the room, Yang Kai sat cross-legged and circulated his Secret Arts, causing the rich surrounding World Energy to immediately rush towards him like a river flowing into the sea. It was then absorbed into his pores and distributed through the meridians in his body. Gradually, the room where Yang Kai sat turned into a vortex that swallowed everything around it. It guided the World Energy that surged towards him from the surroundings before vanishing without a trace. His cultivation slowly climbed, becoming stronger and stronger. Little by little, signs of a breakthrough appeared. The aura in his body fluctuated, his meridians expanded, and his body trembled. Yang Kai steadied his mind to prevent external influences from interfering and his expression turned indifferent, neither happy nor sad. His aura simultaneously grew stronger and stronger as time went on. The shackles of the First-Order Emperor Realm felt like a mountain that was lying directly in his path, with the beautiful scenery in the surroundings and the obstacles along the road to achieving a breakthrough. If Yang Kai were to become distracted by the scenery and stop, his Martial Dao would end then and there. On the other hand, the fierce winds, the thunder, and the lightning at the top of the mountain were the challenges hindering his growth. Many cultivators had stopped in front of these hurdles, leading to a lifetime of regret. Even if they thumped their chest in sorrow later, they would no longer have another chance to try again. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦 Yang Kai meandered up the winding mountain path without stopping, ignoring all distractions around him. The fierce winds, lightning, and thunder could not stop him at all. He only had one thought lingering in his mind. He wanted to overcome the mountain in front of him and stand at a higher place, overlooking the vast numbers of living beings beneath him. He did not know how long had passed before a slight change abruptly came over his calm expression. His eyebrows furrowed together slightly. Following that, the changes became more and more obvious. Finally, he coughed out a mouthful of blood while at the same time, the aura in him that had climbed to its limits suddenly wilted like a dying flower. If the path to breakthrough was compared to climbing a mountain, then what just happened was equivalent to him rolling down from the top of the mountain. His goal was right before him; all he needed was one more push to overcome all that stood in his way; however, he failed to take the last step. Not only did he fall short of his goal and tumble down the cliff, he also suffered a slight injury from the agitation of his aura. Yang Kai’s complexion was rather unsightly. Opening his eyes, he glanced at the Source Crystals around him, of which nearly eighty percent had been used up. He reached up with his hand and wiped away the blood at the corners of his mouth before taking out several Emperor Grade Pills and stuffing them into his mouth. With a wave of his hand, the room was immediately filled with countless High-Rank Source Crystals. [Again!] This time around, Yang Kai proceeded even more cautiously than before. In the Emperor Realm, each breakthrough to the next Minor Realm was very difficult and represented a significant increase in strength. Unfortunately, Yang Kai was stuck at the peak of the First-Order Emperor Realm. The threshold of the Second-Order was right at his fingertips, but he kept falling short for some reason. Therefore, he could not take this resentment lying down. First, he took some time to recover from his wounds and steady his condition. Once all his preparations were complete, he began trying to break through again. The World Energy churned again under his influence while at the same time, the Source Crystals inside the room began to turn into mist and pour into his body. His aura climbed steadily. It wasn’t fast, but it was a constant increase. In less than half a day, his First-Order Emperor Realm aura began to climb to the peak again. He swiftly used several Secret Techniques to guide the strength in his body to challenge that layer of shackles again. *Hong…* A shock reverberated in his soul again and his vision blurred, causing him to feel dizzy. Unable to restrain the sweetness rising in his throat, he spat out another mouthful of blood and his aura deflated once more. [I was so close!] A flash of determination flitted across his expression as he internally shouted, [Again!] Ever since Yang Kai began his journey on the Martial Dao, his experience could be described as filled with wonders and tribulations. How many times had he narrowly escaped death? How many times had he created miracles? Compared to everything he faced in the past, what was this small obstacle? He refused to believe that he couldn’t even break through the barrier of the First-Order Emperor Realm. Another day later, Yang Kai grunted as blood trickled out the corner of his mouth. When he opened his eyes, a sharp light flashed through them. [I was almost there! Again! Just a little more!] The stubbornness in his bones had been completely triggered. There was a fierce determination burning in his heart as Yang Kai tried again and again, only to fail each time. [There will always be a chance of success as long as I don’t die!] ….. Yang Kai did not know how many days passed, but during this time, he challenged his limits again and again only to fail again and again, finally forcing him to accept reality. His cultivation had reached a bottleneck! After realizing this, Yang Kai took several deep breaths and calmed the surging vitality in his chest. He stopped trying to break through to the next realm and simply sat there cross-legged. He was motionless and expressionless; there was no joy, anger, or sorrow. Along his journey, he had gone through all kinds of dangers and nearly lost his life countless times; however, this was his first time experiencing something like this. Basically, every breakthrough he went through was a matter of course, occurring naturally and freely when he accumulated enough experience and energy. This was the first time he had ever encountered a bottleneck. [It feels like I was so, so close. It’s like there’s a thin film blocking me from prying deeper into the mysteries of the Martial Dao. It feels like I can reach out and break it with a touch, but it just won’t break!] These kinds of situations could not be solved through brute force and determination alone. He had tried several dozen times, so if he could have pushed through with will alone, he would have already. [Is this the Emperor Realm? The obstacles are truly much harder to overcome than previous realms.] Yang Kai believed that it had something to do with the smoothness of his cultivation up until now. He had never encountered a bottleneck during a breakthrough before; hence, he had never known this helpless feeling either. Over time, this common obstacle finally showed itself in the Emperor Realm. It also gave Yang Kai a taste of what an ordinary cultivator felt like. The Heavens were truly fair, and the joy of success could only be tasted after experiencing setbacks. Besides, only after experiencing such setbacks could the road of cultivation be considered complete. Yang Kai was not discouraged. Rather, he considered himself lucky. It was fortunate that the bottleneck had appeared in the First-Order Emperor Realm. Although it seemed difficult to overcome right now, it did not mean that there was no hope. If it had occurred in the Third-Order Emperor Realm, it would have been much more troublesome than this. After understanding this point, his emotions calmed as he knew that as long as he could overcome this obstacle, his journey on the Martial Dao in the future would be smoother than before. Yang Kai waved his hand and put away all the remaining Source Crystals in the room before getting up and going outside. Since effort was not enough for him to break through, then it wasn’t a question of effort anymore. It was simply that his opportunity had yet to arrive and he could not force it. When he pushed open the door, the black puppy lifted its head and looked up at him. Yang Kai did not know how many days the black puppy had been waiting here; however, nothing seemed to have changed with it at all. When it saw him walking out, it simply glanced at him before closing its eyes again and continuing its nap. Yang Kai used his leg to nudge at it, but it seemed intent on playing dead. Chuckling, his figure flickered and disappeared instantly. When he reappeared again, he had arrived at a different mountain peak. A loud trio of voices then reached his ears, “Big! Big! Big!” “Big! Big! Big!” Yang Kai swept his glance in that direction and saw the three Monster Kings yelling so hard that their faces were flushed. They were staring intently at a dice cup that was being held in Hou Yu’s hands with all her might. A rattling sound came from inside the dice cup. It wasn’t just crisp and pleasant, it was also refreshing and calming. The shaking of the dice cup was accompanied by the rippling of the air which spread out to the surroundings. Hou Yu, the Chief Emperor Artifact Refiner of High Heaven Palace and the ‘Monkey Grandmaster’ famous throughout Star Boundary, had rolled up her sleeves to reveal her fair and tender arms. She had one foot on a wooden stool, her long skirt fluttering to reveal her calves. It was an extremely indecent posture. Nevertheless, she ignored her lack of elegance as her beautiful eyes were staring fixedly at the three Monster Kings in front of her. Meanwhile, her hands moved faster and faster, a triumphant expression on her face. None of them noticed Yang Kai’s arrival as all their attention was fixed on the dice cup, causing his expression to darken with rage. Yang Kai was well aware of Hou Yu’s gambling addiction. Back then, she incurred a huge debt of Source Crystals because of this vice. In the end, she was cornered on an island, relying on the Spirit Array Nanmen Da Jun had arranged for her years ago to avoid being tracked down. This continued until Yang Kai had rescued her out of there. Otherwise, she would still be stuck on the island right now. He had recruited her into High Heaven Palace because of her skills as an Emperor Artifact Refiner, and in regards to that particular aspect, she had not disappointed him. She had easily refined the Flowing Clouds Shuttle for him. Not a day went by since Hou Yu entered High Heaven Palace that she did not wish to escape though. Unfortunately, there were three Monster Kings taking turns guarding her, so how could she hope to escape? Oftentimes, she was captured before she could even leave the gates of High Heaven Palace. But now, it seemed like this woman was a terrible influence. Who did these three Monster Kings think they were? How could they be dragged into gambling with her!? Looking at how they were behaving, it was clear that they were extremely into it as well; thus, Yang Kai suddenly became a little worried for High Heaven Palace. It felt like the Sect’s future was becoming uncertain. [Was it the right choice to recruit Hou Yu?] He glanced at the dice cup again, and his expression darkened further. [That damn thing is an Emperor Artifact! What’s more; it’s an Emperor Rank Artifact that can prevent Divine Sense probing!] Thinking about it though, it made sense. The Monster Kings were all very powerful so what could they gamble on if she could not prevent them from seeing the results beforehand with their Divine Senses? “Place your bets!” Hou Yu shook the dice cup for a long time before slapping the dice cup down on the stone table in front of her. She had a sneer on her face as she glanced over at the three Monster Kings. Her posture was full of confidence, as if she was undefeated in this world. “Open it! Hurry up!” Xi Lei urged. “Xiao Hou, you better refine my Eagle Claw carefully if you lose!” Ying Fei smiled. “Me? Lose? How can I lose? You must be joking!” Hou Yu sneered. Xie Wu Wei added, “Don’t forget about me!” She snorted, “Don’t worry. Just leave your Crab Shell to me if I actually lose.” “Good good, quickly open it!” “Are you sure?!” “We’re sure!” “Then look carefully!” Hou Yu’s eyes flashed madly as she lifted the cup and revealed three carefully crafted dice. Upon looking at the dice, the three Monster Kings smiled widely. On the other hand, Hou Yu’s expression changed. She looked like she had a layer of frost on her face, like her parents had just died. “Xiao Hou, don’t forget about your promise!” Xi Lei grinned. Hou Yu turned her head away with a furious expression. She was just about to say something when her expression changed in an instant to the most forced smile possible as she stuttered, “P-P-Palace Master, you came! Why didn’t you say something?”