Eight Directions Body Refining Technique

The disciples scattered in a hubbub. Yang Chen and Zhu Xi walked together, following the housing numbers listed among their newcomer supplies to find their future residences.

"Yang Chen, I'm next door to you. Let's keep in touch if anything comes up."

Zhu Xi stood outside Room 133 and turned back with a smile.

Yang Chen nodded and walked into his own quarters without a word.

Inside was a roughly thirty-square-meter room, complete with a toilet, washing area, cabinet, and bed. In the middle, an empty space one zhang wide had been left open. Yang Chen guessed it was meant for cultivation.

He went to the bedside, where fresh bedding had already been laid out, and carefully began taking stock of the supplies he had received.

There was quite a lot: two sets of gray disciple robes, two pairs of cloth shoes, and a sect rules handbook.

There was also a black iron token—the identity token of a Labor Disciple—and a white jade bottle labeled "Qi Strength Pill."

Beside the white jade bottle lay three translucent stones, each about the size of a quail egg, with a faint gleam flowing through them.

Beyond that, there was an ancient-looking book, its cover inscribed in bold, dancing strokes: Eight Directions Body Refining Technique.

Yang Chen's brows lifted with delight as he looked over these supplies.

He was no stranger to Qi Strength Pills. They were the finest treasures for increasing one's strength, priceless even if one offered a hundred gold in the mortal world.

As for those three translucent stones, they were the renowned Spirit Crystals.

Spirit Crystals were universal currency with countless uses. Whether for cultivation or for activating certain weapons and equipment of tremendous power, one could not do without them.

Yet what delighted Yang Chen most was the Eight Directions Body Refining Technique, because it was a Spirit Grade Top-tier Cultivation Method.

In this world, the strong were revered. To live with dignity, one needed strength—and with this cultivation method, he had stepped onto the road of becoming stronger.

His predecessor's family was considered a major clan in Fulong County, yet the cultivation method they used to temper the strength of their clansmen was merely Spirit Grade low-tier, worlds apart from the Eight Directions Body Refining Technique.

The first realm of martial cultivation was known as the Qi Martial Realm. This realm focused mainly on tempering one's physical strength. At this stage, the higher the grade of one's cultivation method, the faster one's strength would grow.

For martial artists of equal talent, one who cultivated a Spirit Grade high-tier method would see their strength increase at least fifty percent faster than the former. As the days and months piled up, that gap would become astonishing.

That was the advantage of joining a major power. A casually handed-out bit of resources was already beyond anything the outside world could imagine.

Yang Chen held the Eight Directions Body Refining Technique, turning it over and over in his hands, unable to put it down.

Only after a long while did he calm himself, thinking, My martial path begins here.

Though he thought so, he did not begin cultivating right away. Instead, he picked up the sect rules handbook and read it carefully.

To him, starting cultivation a day earlier or later made little difference. But he had to commit the Sun Moon Sword Sect's rules to memory. He had no desire to violate them by accident and ultimately be expelled from the sect.

He read for one or two shichen. There were not actually many sect rules, but in order to memorize them thoroughly, he read through them several times until he knew them inside out. If he encountered any problems in the future, he would at least have something to refer to.

Once he had memorized the sect rules, Yang Chen opened the door and walked outside.

Labor Peak provided meals—two a day, and no meals would be served after the designated time.

Martial artists all had hearty appetites. Yang Chen planned to begin cultivating that evening, so naturally, he needed to fill his stomach first.

He went to Zhu Xi's room next door and knocked softly.

Yet after waiting a moment, there was no movement inside. Yang Chen guessed that Zhu Xi had likely already begun cultivating.

He looked toward a large building in the center of the residential area. Quite a few Labor Disciples in gray robes were currently hurrying in that direction, which meant mealtime had arrived. If he went late, there might not be much food left.

Knock, knock, knock!

With that thought, he knocked harder.

Creak!

Zhu Xi opened the door. Seeing Yang Chen, he gave a wry smile. "Yang Chen, I'm cultivating right now. What is it?"

Yang Chen smiled. "It's time to eat. If we miss this time, there won't be anything left."

Zhu Xi smacked his forehead and laughed sheepishly. "Ah, look at my memory. I got so caught up in cultivation that I forgot! Come on, come on, let's hurry and eat."

He shut the door and headed toward the dining hall with Yang Chen.

As they walked, Zhu Xi's face was full of excitement, and he could not help saying, "Yang Chen, have you cultivated yet? The Eight Directions Body Refining Technique truly deserves to be called a Spirit Grade Top-tier Cultivation Method. I cultivated for less than a shichen just now, and my strength already increased by several points. I have a feeling that even without taking Qi Strength Pills, my strength will break through one thousand kilograms within seven days at most, and I'll become an official martial artist."

"Then congratulations in advance."

Yang Chen spoke with a smile, though inwardly he was not surprised. Their family backgrounds were similar. Although neither of them was an official martial artist yet, they had both built a foundation back when they were in their clans.

Take Yang Chen himself. His current Punching Force had already reached eight hundred and thirty kilograms. He was only a little over one hundred kilograms away from the one thousand kilograms required for Qi Martial First Level.

"Haha, no need to congratulate me. The two of us are birds of a feather."

As they chatted, they soon arrived at the dining hall.

There were not many disciples in the dining hall at the moment. Yang Chen guessed that many of them were immersed in cultivation and had not carefully read the sect rules handbook.

This dining hall belonged to their batch of disciples. The disciples who had joined the sect last year lived in another area, roughly one li away.

When they reached the serving window, Yang Chen found that the food here could only be called average. Compared with the treatment he had received back in his clan, there was still some gap.

It was somewhat lacking for him, but for many newcomers from mountain villages, it was a sumptuous feast.

For example, an honest-looking youth seated not far away was wolfing down his food. The speed at which he swept through it like wind scattering clouds was enough to leave anyone dumbfounded.

After getting their meals, the two casually found a place to sit.

Zhu Xi pointed at the food on his tray. "If the meals are like this every day, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep it up."

Yang Chen shook his head. "You're too used to living in silks and feasting on delicacies. This food is actually not bad—at the very least, it's enough to support daily cultivation."

"It can satisfy us for now, but once our strength rises, ordinary food will struggle to meet our daily needs. If we want to ensure we have enough energy, we'll still need to eat Fierce Beast Meat."

Yang Chen agreed with Zhu Xi. Fierce Beasts were powerful creatures that had yet to develop spiritual intelligence. Their flesh was rich in the energy needed for cultivation, and consuming it over a long period could increase one's strength.

The fact that the two of them could rival Quasi-Martialists even before entering the sect was also partly related to their occasional consumption of Fierce Beast Meat.

Fierce Beasts were powerful and difficult to hunt, so their price had always remained high. The meat of Fierce Beasts comparable to the early stages of the Qi Martial Realm—that was, below the fourth level of the Qi Martial Realm—cost over a hundred taels of silver per jin. Even farmed Fierce Beast Meat cost dozens of taels per jin. An ordinary person might not be able to afford it even once in an entire lifetime.

And that was only for First Order Early Stage Fierce Beasts. If they were First Order middle-stage or even late-stage, the price would be even more exorbitant.

Once one reached the Second Order, worldly gold and silver would no longer be enough to buy it. Spirit Crystals had to be used instead.

Generally speaking, one Spirit Crystal could buy around a hundred jin of First Order Early Stage Fierce Beast Meat. It sounded like a lot, but Yang Chen and Quasi-Martialists like him could eat ten jin in a single meal.

The sheer consumption required for a martialist's cultivation was clear to see. From this, one could tell that the treatment given to this group of newcomers was actually extremely generous.

Three Spirit Crystals could buy three hundred jin of First Order Early Stage Fierce Beast Meat, and they received them every month. On top of that, there were the expensive Qi Strength Pills. Outside the sect, such treatment was unimaginable.

"I looked into it. This dining hall provides Fierce Beast Meat on the second floor. If you want to improve your meals, you can go upstairs to eat."

Yang Chen said with a smile, "But you'd better prepare yourself for the price. One Spirit Crystal can only buy eighty jin of First Order Early Stage Fierce Beast Meat."

That was the benefit of thoroughly reading the sect rules—many things became clear at a glance.

"That price is downright terrifying."

Zhu Xi naturally knew the market price of Fierce Beast Meat as well. Hearing that one Spirit Crystal could only buy eighty jin, he could not help but complain.

One Spirit Crystal was not much, but cultivation was a matter of perseverance. Over the years and months, the gap would become astonishing.

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