The night was deep, like indelible black ink, temporarily concealing the clamor and schemes deep within the Lin Family estate. Yet at the edge of that silence, Lin Chen's dilapidated little courtyard seemed to have become the eye of the storm, brewing an earth-shaking change unknown to anyone.
Carrying a chill and the nauseating stench of hypocrisy from the council hall, Lin Chen returned to this place that belonged solely to him, yet also symbolized his humiliation and despair.
Pushing open the creaking courtyard gate, he saw the familiar desolation before him—weeds swayed in the night wind, medicinal dregs piled in the corner gave off a faint burnt smell, and the air was filled with the stale aura of abandonment.
Yet Lin Chen's state of mind stood in stark contrast to his surroundings.
It was as though a blazing fire burned within his chest!
Every scene from the council hall was branded into his mind: Lin Zhenhong's aggressive pressure, Lin Bao's twisting of black into white, Wang Teng's vicious ruthlessness, Lin Xiaotian's cold indifference as he wavered between Lineage interests and so-called familial affection, and the gazes of the surrounding elders and stewards—some sympathetic, some contemptuous, some reveling in his misfortune...
All of it became the most primal, most powerful driving force, pouring into his unyielding heart!
"Seven days!" Lin Chen stood in the middle of the courtyard, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned faintly white. "In seven days, I'll reach the Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer!"
This was not merely a goal. It was his only chance to shatter this dead end and seize control of his own fate!
He knew full well that Lin Zhenhong and Wang Teng would never let the matter rest. If he failed the Family Test seven days later, what awaited him would be far more than simply having his cultivation crippled and being driven from the Household. Wang Teng's whisper of "a fate worse than death" was no empty threat. He could even imagine the brutal retaliation and pursuit he would face once he lost even the insignificant status of a Lin Family descendant!
This was a true desperate situation! A fierce tiger blocked the road ahead, while a ten-thousand-foot abyss lay behind him. He had no way out!
His only hope lay in the mysterious black iron shard within his Dantian Sea of Qi, glowing with a dim black radiance—
The Myriad Dao Furnace!
This mysterious iron shard, the sole relic left by his mother, had lain dormant for three years before awakening at his most desperate moment. It was his only trump card against this desperate situation, and his greatest support in defying fate and changing his destiny!
"Phew..." Lin Chen slowly exhaled a breath of foul air, forcing himself to calm down. Anger and unwillingness could indeed provide motivation, but only absolute calm and focus could unleash the Myriad Dao Furnace's power to the fullest.
His gaze fell once more upon the mountain of medicinal dregs in the corner.
These worthless scraps in other people's eyes were, to him now, the foundation stones paving a stairway to survival!
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Chen strode to the pile of medicinal dregs and sat down cross-legged once again. He paid no attention to the dust still clinging to his body, nor to the coldness of the ground. In an instant, his entire mind sank into his dantian.
Buzz!
As his will connected with it, the black iron shard floating above the Sea of Qi—the core of the Myriad Dao Furnace—let out another low hum. Dim black light flowed across it, and an invisible, tyrannical suction force burst from within his body, enveloping the medicinal dregs before him!
This time, Lin Chen no longer cautiously grabbed them by the handful as he had before. He stretched out both hands and swept a large amount of medicinal dregs before himself like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey!
"Refine!"
He shouted inwardly!
The Myriad Dao Furnace seemed to sense his resolve to smash the cauldrons and sink the boats, and its rotation suddenly accelerated! That invisible suction force became even more violent, like a greedy whirlpool madly extracting the last traces of essence from the medicinal dregs!
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
A dense series of faint, teeth-grating sounds rang out! Great quantities of medicinal dregs visibly shriveled, ashed, and turned to powder! Strands of energy currents in different colors, laden with heavy impurities, were forcibly dragged into Lin Chen's body like a hundred rivers converging into the sea, surging through his meridians toward the Myriad Dao Furnace in his dantian!
Within the furnace, an invisible flame that seemed capable of incinerating all things burned even more fiercely! No matter how mixed or filthy the energy was, the instant it entered, it was like snow meeting the blazing sun—instantly broken down, refined, and purified!
Great amounts of impurities were refined into nothingness, leaving behind only streams of weak yet incomparably pure Medicinal Power! These energies came in various colors. Some were pale green, containing the vitality of vegetation; some were crimson, carrying a trace of fire-aspect energy; others were earthy yellow, bearing a heavy, solid aura... Clearly, these medicinal dregs came from the refinement of different pills, and their residual medicinal properties were all different.
If an ordinary martial artist absorbed such mixed energy, the lightest consequence would be damaged meridians, while the worst would be cultivation deviation!
Yet the Myriad Dao Furnace seemed to possess the miraculous power to turn decay into wonder! It perfectly refined and harmonized these pure medicinal energies of differing attributes, ultimately transforming them into a gentle, balanced flow of energy brimming with immense vitality, which slowly entered Lin Chen's recently repaired yet exceptionally tough and broad meridians!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lin Chen felt streams of warmth rushing through his limbs and bones like surging rivers, washing over him again and again! With every wash, his physical body became stronger, his blood and qi more vigorous, and the true qi within his dantian more condensed!
His Body Tempering Realm Double Layer Early Stage cultivation rose at a breakneck pace, as though he had boarded a rocket!
Double Layer Early Stage Peak!
Body Tempering Realm Double Layer Middle Stage!
In less than half an hour, he had already broken through to the Body Tempering Realm Double Layer Middle Stage! And the speed of his advancement showed no sign of slowing!
"Faster! It has to be faster!" Lin Chen roared inwardly, his hands continuously raking the surrounding medicinal dregs before him as he let the furnace devour and refine them madly!
He forgot time, forgot exhaustion, forgot everything around him! His entire mind was immersed in the ultimate exhilaration of his rapidly rising strength, as well as his intense yearning to fight against this desperate situation and grasp his own fate!
Within the little courtyard, only the mountain of medicinal dregs visibly dwindled, while a faint heat wave radiated around Lin Chen's body from the high-speed circulation of his true qi.
The moon climbed to the zenith, then slowly slanted westward.
At the darkest hour of the night, a burst of footsteps and a somewhat aged, weary voice sounded outside the courtyard.
"Ah... what a sin..."
An old servant carrying a food box, his body bent with age, trembled as he reached the courtyard gate. He was Lin Fu, responsible for delivering three meals a day to Lin Chen, this "cripple." Back when Lin Chen had still been a genius, Lin Fu had treated him with utmost respect. But over the past three years, he too had gradually become cold and numb.
He pushed open the courtyard gate and saw Lin Chen looking as though he had fallen into madness, his entire body covered in dust and surrounded by heaps of powdered medicinal dregs. A complicated expression flashed through the old servant's cloudy eyes—pity, confusion, but above all numbness and resignation.
"Young Master Lin Chen... this is today's meal." Lin Fu placed the food box on the stone steps by the gate, his voice dry. The food box was simple, and the meal inside was even cruder: two blackened cornbread buns and a bowl of thin vegetable soup.
This was the treatment given to a "cripple" of the Lin Family.
Under normal circumstances, Lin Chen might have felt a trace of humiliation at such deliberate neglect. But at this moment, he did not even raise an eyelid.
All his focus was immersed in the mysterious workings of the Myriad Dao Furnace and the frenzied growth of power within him! Everything outside seemed cut off from him.
Seeing Lin Chen's "foolish" appearance, Lin Fu shook his head and sighed. "Ah, perhaps the blow was too much and he's gone mad... Fine, then. Going mad is better than being driven out while clear-headed and made to suffer..."
He said no more, turning and silently leaving behind the crude food box and Lin Chen, who remained immersed in cultivation.
Lin Chen was wholly unaware of Lin Fu's arrival and departure.
At that moment, his consciousness was engaged in a wondrous exchange with the Myriad Dao Furnace.
As more and more medicinal dregs were refined, his control over the Myriad Dao Furnace became increasingly natural and effortless. He could even faintly sense that the furnace was not a dead object. It seemed to possess a trace of weak "spirituality"!
It could distinguish the quality of the energy contained in different medicinal dregs! For those dregs containing purer and richer energy—perhaps waste left over from refining higher-grade pills—the furnace's absorption speed would noticeably increase, and the energy it converted would be even more immense!
Moreover, Lin Chen discovered that it was not only his cultivation that was improving during the refining process. His Spiritual Power also seemed to be growing slowly! Every communication with the furnace and every act of guiding energy was like tempering his will and soul!
What delighted him even more was that as the refining continued, his repaired and reshaped meridians seemed to be continuously tempered, widened, and strengthened by this pure Medicinal Power! The meridian barriers became even more crystalline and transparent, and the amount of true qi they could contain and transmit continued to increase!
"This Myriad Dao Furnace... it is simply a supreme treasure tailored for me!" Lin Chen was deeply shaken, and his reverence and gratitude toward this mysterious iron shard grew ever stronger.
He even began to suspect that the "accident" three years ago that had caused his meridians to become blocked might not have been entirely a bad thing. Was it precisely because of that mutation that his body could withstand the impact of the Myriad Dao Furnace's awakening? Was that why his meridians, after being reshaped by the furnace, had become far superior to those of ordinary people?
Though it was only speculation, it ignited an even more blazing hope in Lin Chen's heart!
The night passed without incident.
When a pale, fish-belly white appeared in the eastern sky and the first ray of dawn pierced the darkness, spilling over the sleeping town, Lin Chen finally opened his eyes slowly.
A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes like two cold stars, piercing and fierce!
After a night of frenzied refining, the mountain-like pile of medicinal dregs before him had shrunk by a full third! At least several hundred jin of medicinal dregs had been completely refined and absorbed by him!
His cultivation, too, had soared like a rocket, successfully breaking through the barrier of the Body Tempering Realm Double Layer and firmly stepping into—
Body Tempering Realm Double Layer Peak!
Only one step remained before the Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer!
Feeling the surging power within him, several times stronger than it had been the night before, and the condensed, pure true qi endlessly coursing through his meridians, Lin Chen finally revealed a smile from the bottom of his heart!
In a single night, he had crossed two minor realms in succession and reached Double Layer Peak!
If word of such cultivation speed spread, it would be enough to shake all of Qingyang Town! Even those so-called great families and great sects would go mad over it!
This was the heaven-defying aspect of the Myriad Dao Furnace!
Yet Lin Chen was not carried away by joy.
He could clearly sense that as his cultivation rose, the effect of relying only on the energy provided by these ordinary medicinal dregs had already begun to weaken. If he wanted to break through the barrier of Double Layer Peak and enter the Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer within the remaining six days, he would likely need to refine more things of even higher quality!
"Medicinal dregs... still aren't enough." Lin Chen's gaze swept over the remaining pile of medicinal dregs, and he furrowed his brow slightly.
Furthermore, cultivation level alone was not enough. The Family Test often did not merely test cultivation; it would very likely include practical combat as well. He needed to quickly familiarize himself with his explosively increased strength and turn it into true fighting power! Otherwise, no matter how high his realm was, he would only be a decorative frame, incapable of dealing with Lin Bao, much less the ruthless Wang Teng!
"Cultivation, combat, resources..." Lin Chen calculated rapidly in his heart.
Seven days sounded like a long time, but in truth, it was extremely pressing! He had to race against every second!
He stood and stretched his somewhat stiff body. A sleepless night, coupled with the continuous high-intensity operation of the furnace, had placed an enormous burden on both his body and spirit. If not for the furnace's energy constantly nourishing his flesh, he would likely have been unable to endure it long ago.
Even so, waves of exhaustion and hunger washed over him now.
He glanced at the food box on the stone steps, long since cold, his eyes indifferent. Hoping for the Lineage to provide cultivation resources was no different from a fool dreaming. If he wanted better resources and greater strength, he could only rely on himself!
"The Crimson Flame Pig farm at the Lin Family's back mountain..." A thought suddenly flashed through Lin Chen's mind.
It was one of the Lin Family's businesses, where they raised a low-level demonic beast called the Crimson Flame Pig. This type of demonic beast had delicious meat, and its hide possessed some value as well, making it a source of income for the Lin Family. More importantly, Crimson Flame Pigs contained a faint trace of fire-aspect energy. Their blood and inner cores—though the latter rarely formed—were great tonics for Body Tempering Realm martial artists!
Naturally, the truly valuable parts would never be his to touch as a "waste." But the pig farm disposed of many dead or culled Crimson Flame Pigs every day. The flesh and bones that others considered worthless might be resources he could refine!
Moreover, working at the pig farm would help him conceal himself, ensuring that no one discovered the abnormal growth of his strength.
With that thought, Lin Chen hesitated no longer. He tidied himself up simply, cleared away the medicinal dregs in the courtyard that had already turned to ash, then pushed open the gate and headed toward the Lin Family's back mountain.
The Lin Family estate was gradually awakening in the early morning.
From time to time, he encountered servants who had risen early or Lin Family descendants who had come out for morning training.
When they saw Lin Chen, their expressions varied.
Some avoided him as though fleeing from the plague, taking detours from far away in fear that they might catch his bad luck.
Others pointed at him and whispered among themselves, their eyes full of contempt and schadenfreude.
"Look, isn't that Lin Chen? I heard the family head summoned him for a scolding last night?" "It was more than a scolding! I heard the Su Family's young lady publicly broke off the engagement, and he still refused to know his place and talked back. He even offended Young Master Wang!" "Tsk tsk, he brought this upon himself and cannot live! The Great Elder has already spoken: if he does not reach the Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer in seven days, his cultivation will be crippled and he'll be driven out!" "Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer? Hahaha, if he can reach it, I'll write my name backward!" "If you ask me, this waste is beyond saving. He's probably smashing the jar now that it's cracked, just waiting to be kicked out."
Those piercing discussions buzzed around him like flies.
If it had been the Lin Chen of the past, hearing them might have made him angry, humiliated, even despairing.
But now, his heart was as calm as a lake.
He could not even be bothered to spare those people a glance from the corner of his eye.
Summer insects cannot speak of ice; how could sparrows understand the ambition of a swan?
Those shallow-minded people who only knew how to fawn over the powerful and kick a man when he was down were not worth wasting even a shred of emotion on.
His only goal was to become stronger!
Then, with absolute strength, he would stomp every doubt, mockery, and scorn beneath his feet!
Carrying that unwavering conviction, Lin Chen's figure vanished into the morning mist leading toward the back mountain.
There, what awaited him might not merely be the flesh and blood of Crimson Flame Pigs, but another starting point on his path toward becoming strong and fighting against this cruel fate!
Within his Dantian Sea of Qi, the mysterious black iron shard—the Myriad Dao Furnace—gave off a dim glow, like an ancient ferocious beast lying dormant, ready at any moment to devour everything and refine the myriad daos!
In the depths of despair, the spark of hope had already been lit!
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