Rise Four Levels in a Row

Late at night, Han Fei lay on his back beside the fire, looking up at the stars.

By then, the two had been talking for a long time. Han Fei told Qi Xuanxuan many things about the outside world. Of course, the outside world he meant was Earth from his previous life.

Still, Qi Xuanxuan found it all fascinating, especially things like skyscrapers, cars, and airplanes.

If Qi Xuanxuan learned that none of those things existed in this world, her expression would probably turn very ugly.

In the Primordial Group, the great gods had never seen any of the things Han Fei described either.

Yellow Emperor: "Have any of you heard of the things he described?"

Yan Di shook his head. "No..."

Han Fei said speechlessly, "You were born in the Primordial World. It would be strange if you had."

Outside, Han Fei asked in confusion, "According to what you said, Qin, Qi, Shu, Hua were disciples who graduated in the previous class. Then there should be plenty of Tianyuan Divine Sect disciples in the Spirit Gathering Realm and Martial Origin Realm, right? But as far as I know, the disciples of the various main peaks are generally only in the Innate Realm. The highest are merely in the Spirit Gathering Realm. Why is that?"

Qi Xuanxuan explained, "Because once disciples graduate, they can no longer be considered disciples. Tianyuan Divine Sect opens its gates once every ten years. Once those ten years are up, regardless of what cultivation they have reached, their status as disciples ends."

"Some return to their families or regions and become powerful figures. Some stay in the sect and become stewards. Others join the Dark Guards and become one of them. The Dark Guards within the sect, even the elders and Headmasters of the main peaks, all rose step by step from being disciples. That is what they call inheritance passed down through generations."

Only then did Han Fei understand. He had always wondered why Wang Rui, who was only at the Innate Realm Eighth Level, could become Taihe Peak's senior brother. In truth, Wang Rui did not really count as a senior brother at all. At most, he was like a class monitor in a school from Han Fei's previous life.

As they chatted, the two gradually forgot the time. Soon, the eastern sky began to lighten.

After a moment of silence, Qi Xuanxuan said, "I... I'm going back to the sect. Aren't you coming back?"

Han Fei shook his head. "I still haven't found what I need. I'll go back once I find it."

Qi Xuanxuan nodded. She wanted to ask Han Fei what he needed, but when the words reached her lips, they became, "In that case, let's meet again at the Martial Tournament."

Qin, Qi, Shu, Hua, the four great experts, took Qi Xuanxuan into the air and flew straight toward Tianyuan Divine Sect.

Han Fei said enviously, "So this is flying through the air? When will I ever reach the Martial Origin Realm?"

Yan Di said, "You've already wasted a day here. If you want to grow stronger, hurry up and find the Three-leaf Clover."

Han Fei: "..."

Days passed. Four days later, Han Fei finally found the last herb, Three-leaf Clover, beside a cliff—and there were even two stalks growing together.

Under Fuxi's guidance, Han Fei hastily set up a simple Eight Trigrams Formation nearby to confuse low-level demonic beasts and ward off other Martial Artists.

Then Yan Di took control of Han Fei's body and took out all three herbs.

Chiyou said, "I say, little Yan, you don't even have a pill furnace. How are you going to refine pills?"

Yan Di said nothing, answering Chiyou's question directly with his actions.

A layer of illusory mist wrapped around Han Fei's body. A transparent flame slowly ignited above his outstretched right palm.

Soul Fire could burn all things, even souls and consciousness.

With his left hand, he picked up two stalks each of Floating Spirit Grass, Jingyuan Flower, and Three-leaf Clover.

As he scorched the herbs with Soul Fire, he explained to Han Fei, "Pill refinement can be simple or difficult. The key is mastering the changes in the herbs—knowing what temperature to use at what time."

Through his own eyes, Han Fei watched the herbs continually change in his hand. Though he did not fully understand, he remembered every word Yan Di said.

Soon, the six herbs gradually turned into liquid, forming two round spheres in his palm.

Yan Di explained further, "After thoroughly burning the ingredients into liquid, the next step is removing the impurities."

As he spoke, the flames in his hand intensified. The two masses of liquid started out palm-sized, but eventually shrank until they were only the size of fingernails.

Yan Di said, "After removing all impurities, the next step is shaping them. At this point, lower the flame's temperature until the liquid no longer ripples. This is the longest process, so you must be patient."

One hour passed, then two. By the time five hours had passed, the pills in his hand had finally turned milky white. They were no longer liquid, but solid pills.

Another hour passed, and a rich medicinal fragrance spread through the surroundings.

Yan Di said softly, "The pills are complete."

As he spoke, the Soul Fire in his right hand gradually vanished, and two crystal-clear pills fell into Han Fei's palm.

Yan Di seemed to be refuting Chiyou's earlier words. "Would a mere first-grade pill require a pill furnace? Long hair, short knowledge. I truly feel sorry for you."

Chiyou: "..."

Han Fei regained control of his body. Looking at the two Spirit Gathering Pills in his right hand, he revealed a trace of astonishment.

"It's... it's really done? What would happen if an ordinary person ate one of these? Would they become a Martial Artist right away?"

Yan Di denied it. "Ordinary people have not yet come into contact with spiritual energy, and their bodies have not been tempered. If they consume a Spirit Gathering Pill, they may explode and die immediately, because their bodies and meridians cannot withstand its power. That feeling would be worse than death—utterly agonizing."

Han Fei shuddered in fright and immediately gave up certain unrealistic ideas.

Yan Di said, "Take one first and see what level you can break through to."

Yellow Emperor said, "Don't expect to have an easy time these next few days. Once you finish breaking through, the few of us will give you special training to improve your combat strength as much as possible."

Han Fei nodded firmly. He put one Spirit Gathering Pill away and swallowed the other.

Boom! Spiritual energy erupted, instantly flooding Han Fei's entire body.

Han Fei held his breath and barely withstood the Spiritual Energy Shock. Then the spiritual energy spread outward, almost completely enveloping his body.

Clenching both fists, Han Fei let out an angry roar.

The spiritual energy immediately blasted outward in all directions. The Eight Trigrams Formation arranged around him was scattered by the Spiritual Energy Shock as well.

Innate Realm Third Level, Innate Realm Fourth Level...

By then, night had fallen. Yet the vortex of spiritual energy erupting from Han Fei emitted faint glimmers of light, while the spiritual energy storm around him showed no sign of dissipating.

Very soon, his cultivation reached the Innate Realm Fifth Level, but the speed began to slow, and the spiritual energy vortex gradually shrank.

Pangu said, "Looks like he's about to reach his limit."

Yan Di said, "Breaking through to the Innate Realm Fifth Level is already quite good. He may even have a chance to reach the Sixth Level of the Innate Realm. There's enough spiritual energy. It depends on what he chooses."

Chiyou said, "He'll probably choose to break through. Who wouldn't like higher cultivation?"

Fuxi said, "I think it would be better not to. Familiarizing himself with his current strength is the right path. Blindly pursuing higher realms will weaken his combat power."

A quarter of an hour later, the spiritual energy storm completely vanished. Han Fei's cultivation settled at the Innate Realm Fifth Level Peak. He still chose not to break through to the Sixth Level of the Innate Realm.

Fuxi, Pangu, and the others were all very satisfied with this. Han Fei had resisted the temptation and had not blindly sought a breakthrough, which greatly relieved them.

Without realizing it, they had begun nurturing Han Fei as though he were their successor.

As the spiritual energy gradually withdrew, Han Fei spread his hands and stared blankly at himself, seemingly unable to believe his current cultivation.

"Just one Spirit Gathering Pill raised me four levels? This..."

In his understanding, although Spirit Gathering Pills could increase cultivation, they should not raise it by so much. At most, they could raise one or two levels. They also damaged the body, and in severe cases, could cause one's cultivation to stagnate permanently.

Yan Di said, "You don't need to be so surprised. These past few days, I seem to have figured something out. In my world, we mainly cultivated divine abilities and spells. We did not place much importance on martial techniques or cultivation methods. Although we needed spiritual energy, we never craved it to such an extent. What we valued more was enlightenment."

After Yan Di finished speaking, Pangu and the others all voiced their agreement.

Yan Di continued, "Take Pangu, for example. He was born in Chaos, at the very beginning of heaven and earth. From the day he existed, he was already that powerful. He had no need to cultivate at all. So we cannot use the perspective of our world to limit this one."

"I think the so-called Spirit Gathering Pills must be somewhat different in this world from those in ours."

Han Fei nodded. At that moment, he agreed with Yan Di's explanation.

Chiyou cut in, "Now that your cultivation has improved, your spiritual energy intensity at level fifteen should be enough. Your special training officially begins."

Han Fei revealed a faint smile. "I'm the group owner of the Primordial Group. Do you think I'd be afraid of you?"