Smelting waste pills, reaching the sky in one step?

The setting sun melted gold, dyeing the clouds at the edge of the sky a brilliant orange-red. The afterglow passed through the layered eaves and dense foliage of the Lin Family mansion, casting mottled shadows on the bluestone path.

Lin Chen's figure, like an arrow released from a bow, darted through the interlacing light and shadow of the corridors and paths. His steps were light and rapid, filled with an irrepressible excitement and urgency. With every breath, he could feel the low hum of the mysterious furnace in his dantian, and the profound rhythm emanating from the completely transformed and perfectly suited "Basic Qi Refining Art" in his mind.

The gains from his trip to the Scripture Repository far exceeded his imagination!

The Myriad Dao Furnace could not only smelt the essence of tangible matter but also smelt intangible cultivation technique information and even optimize and deduce it! Such a heaven-defying ability was truly unheard of!

He was incredibly fortunate now that he had chosen that seemingly ordinary and basic "Basic Qi Refining Art." Precisely because it was fundamental, its framework was the most stable, its dissemination the most widespread, and it was most likely to contain the essence of the great Dao being simple. After being refined and optimized by the Myriad Dao Furnace, this cultivation technique had undergone a complete transformation. Its cultivation efficiency and potential had likely surpassed many of the so-called high-level cultivation techniques in the Lin Family's Scripture Repository!

"Faster! Even faster!" Lin Chen had only one thought in his mind.

He had to seize every minute and every second! There were only six days left until the Family Test! He had to raise his strength to a level that would shock everyone and make all his enemies tremble in these six days!

Soon, the familiar, dilapidated small courtyard appeared before him.

Compared to when he left, the courtyard seemed even more desolate. Even the afterglow of the setting sun couldn't dispel the chill and bleakness here. But at this moment, in Lin Chen's eyes, this was no longer a symbol of shame and despair, but the best place for his secret rise and rebirth!

Without any hesitation, he pushed open the courtyard gate, flashed inside, and then quickly secured the old wooden door from the inside. Although it was just a simple bolt, it couldn't provide much defensive capability, but it could at least give him a sense of psychological security and prevent unnecessary prying.

After doing all this, he immediately walked to the center of the courtyard, his eyes fixed on the pile of discarded medicinal dregs, still like a small mountain, in the corner of the wall.

These were the "fuel" for his next breakthrough to a higher realm!

Although smelting the essence of flesh and blood at the Crimson Flame Pig farm was more effective, it was too risky with too many people around, making it unsuitable for prolonged cultivation. Moreover, although the purified vital energy and blood essence from the furnace could greatly strengthen the physical body and vital energy, its effect on the improvement of true qi cultivation seemed less direct than these medicinal dregs containing various herbal energies.

Combining the two might be the optimal cultivation method! First, use the medicinal dregs to improve cultivation realm, then find an opportunity to smelt the essence of flesh and blood to temper the physical body!

Lin Chen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart from obtaining the heaven-defying cultivation technique, and tried his best to restore his state of mind to that of a calm, still pool. The path of cultivation is most afraid of impatience.

He sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and did not immediately communicate with the Myriad Dao Furnace. Instead, he first began to circulate the brand-new "Basic Qi Refining Art" in his mind.

He wanted to thoroughly familiarize himself with this cultivation technique first and feel the huge difference between it and the previous "original" version!

Buzz!

As the cultivation technique circulated, Lin Chen's body seemed to instantly transform into an invisible vortex!

The surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth, as if strongly summoned, began to converge into his body at a speed several, even more than ten, times faster than before!

If viewed from the outside, one could even vaguely see a miniature spiritual energy cyclone forming with Lin Chen at the center, and the air itself seemed to become a bit more viscous!

"So fast!" Lin Chen was shocked!

This was only the speed of the cultivation technique itself guiding spiritual energy! If it were combined with the Myriad Dao Furnace actively absorbing and smelting... what a terrifying scene that would be?!

Spiritual energy entered his body and flowed rapidly along the new, optimized meridians. Lin Chen clearly felt that this path was much simpler and smoother than the previous "Basic Qi Refining Art"! There was almost no sense of stagnation! Spiritual energy surged through the meridians like the most obedient steed, easily guided and refined!

The refining efficiency had also increased several times over!

In just a moment, he felt that the true qi in his dantian had become even more condensed! The realm he had just broken through to, Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer, was also rapidly stabilizing in this efficient refining process!

What surprised him even more was that as the cultivation technique circulated, streams of subtle yet pure energy were continuously nourishing his meridians and physical body! It made him feel warm all over, full of vitality! This was clearly an additional effect deduced by the furnace, which the original cultivation technique did not possess!

"Perfect! Simply perfect!" Lin Chen marveled inwardly.

With this cultivation technique, even without the Myriad Dao Furnace, his cultivation speed would be enough to rival those so-called family geniuses! And when combined...

Lin Chen no longer hesitated!

After familiarizing himself with the circulation of the cultivation technique, he immediately allocated a portion of his consciousness to communicate with the Myriad Dao Furnace in his dantian sea of qi!

"Furnace! Activate! Smelt the medicinal dregs!"

Buzz—!

The mysterious black iron piece once again emitted a faint glow! A powerful suction instantly enveloped the pile of medicinal dregs in the corner of the wall!

This time, Lin Chen no longer grabbed with his hands, but directly guided it with his intent!

On the pile of medicinal dregs, a large amount of dregs floated up as if drawn by an invisible force, transforming into streams of gray-black torrents that continuously surged towards Lin Chen's body!

As these medicinal dregs essence, containing mixed energies, entered Lin Chen's body, they were instantly captured, decomposed, and purified by the Myriad Dao Furnace!

Hiss, hiss, hiss—!

Inside the furnace, invisible flames burned fiercely, incinerating all impurities, toxins, and waste energies! Only streams of extremely pure medicinal energy of various colors remained!

At the same time, the "Basic Qi Refining Art" (Optimized Version) within Lin Chen's body was also operating at high speed!

The cultivation technique guided the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from the outside, while the furnace provided a continuous stream of pure medicinal energy!

These two were like two surging rivers, ultimately converging into Lin Chen's dantian sea of qi!

Rumble!!

Lin Chen felt as if his dantian was about to explode!

An unprecedented surge of power, like a tsunami, impacted his limbs and bones!

His cultivation, like a flying boat, was soaring upwards at a terrifying speed that could be described as "ascending to heaven in a single step"!

Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer early stage... stabilized!

Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer middle stage... breakthrough!

Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer late stage... breakthrough!

Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer peak!

In less than two hours, Lin Chen's cultivation had once again leaped across two minor realms, soaring directly from the early stage of Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer to the peak of the Triple Layer! He was now only a single step away from the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer!

If outsiders knew of this speed, they would likely be stunned!

It was important to note that for an ordinary martial artist to cultivate from the early stage of Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer to the peak of the Triple Layer, even a genius with excellent talent would require at least several months, or even half a year, of arduous effort! Yet, Lin Chen had accomplished it in less than two hours!

The dominance of the Myriad Dao Furnace, combined with the terrifying efficiency of the optimized cultivation art, produced an effect that was simply heaven-defying!

"Too... too fast!" Even with Lin Chen's firm will, he was currently shocked by this terrifying rate of improvement!

He could clearly feel that the amount of true qi within his body was several times more abundant than when he had just broken through to the Triple Layer! His physical strength and vitality had also been significantly enhanced under the nourishment of the true qi!

He even had a feeling that with his current strength, if he were to face Wang Teng again, even without using the special abilities of the Myriad Dao Furnace, he might stand a chance in a fight based on realm and physical strength alone!

Of course, this was only a preliminary estimation. Wang Teng was, after all, at the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer and had undoubtedly cultivated the Wang Family's exquisite martial arts. His combat experience was far from comparable to Lin Chen's. The true outcome of a battle remained unknown.

But this undoubtedly gave Lin Chen immense confidence!

"Not enough!" Lin Chen's eyes burned with intensity. "I'm just one step away from the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer! Today, I will push through with all my might and break it!"

He looked again at the pile of medicinal dregs, which had visibly shrunk, a wild light flashing in his eyes!

He intended to completely drain these medicinal dregs! To turn them into sustenance for his advancement to higher realms!

Without any hesitation, Lin Chen immersed himself in cultivation once more!

The Myriad Dao Furnace operated at full capacity! The optimized Basic Qi Refining Art was pushed to its extreme!

The man and the furnace seemed to transform into a bottomless black hole, madly devouring the residual energy within the medicinal dregs!

The small courtyard was filled with surging spiritual energy and turbulent power! Even the air had become slightly distorted due to the high concentration of energy!

Time flew by as Lin Chen cultivated frantically.

Night fell again, with no moon or stars visible. Only the faint glow emanating from Lin Chen's body due to the operation of his cultivation art, and the deep black radiance of the Myriad Dao Furnace, illuminated the darkness in tandem.

The pile of medicinal dregs in the corner rapidly diminished at a visible rate.

Finally, when the last handful of medicinal dregs was completely devoured and refined by the Myriad Dao Furnace, the energy accumulation within Lin Chen's body finally reached an unprecedented peak!

He could clearly feel that the solid barrier preventing him from breaking through to the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer was right before him!

"Break... for me!!!"

Lin Chen roared inwardly! He mobilized all the true qi within his body, like a surging, roaring dragon, and fiercely slammed it against the invisible barrier!

BOOM!!!

A deafening roar, as if the heavens and earth were splitting apart, exploded within his dantian and sea of qi!

That solid barrier, under the impact of his concentrated power and will, began to tremble violently!

Crack... crackle...

Minute cracks, like a spiderweb, rapidly spread across the barrier!

Success! Just a little more!

Lin Chen's heart rejoiced, and he was about to mobilize his last ounce of strength to completely shatter it—

However, at this critical moment, an unexpected change occurred!

He suddenly felt that the energy in his dantian seemed to... lack follow-through!

The medicinal dregs! They were all exhausted!

Without the continuous replenishment of external energy, relying solely on the power accumulated within his body, it seemed he was still a sliver short of breaking through this even more formidable realm barrier in one go!

"Damn it!" Lin Chen's heart sank!

Could it be... that he was going to fail at this final moment?!

If this attempt failed, not only would the previously accumulated immense energy be wasted, but he might even suffer damage to his meridians from the forced breakthrough! The next attempt to break through would be even more difficult!

What to do?!

Where could he find energy that could be refined immediately?!

The Crimson Flame Pig farm? No! It was the middle of the night, and venturing there rashly would attract too much attention! Moreover, there wasn't enough time!

Pills? He didn't even have a single spirit stone on him, let alone the means to buy pills!

Was it... really impossible?!

Lin Chen's heart plummeted to the bottom! A sense of immense loss and unwillingness washed over him like a tide!

Just as he was about to despair and give up—

Hum!!!

In his dantian and sea of qi, the Myriad Dao Furnace, which had been silently operating, suddenly, without any warning, erupted with a black radiance more dazzling than any before!

This radiance was deep and dark, yet it seemed to contain an supreme power that could devour the heavens and earth and refine all things!

Following closely, an extremely faint, yet exceptionally pure energy, carrying a hint of a strange flame aura, slowly permeated from the body of the furnace itself!

Although the amount of this energy was minuscule, its quality far surpassed the energy from the medicinal dregs and vital essence he had refined earlier! It was even more refined and condensed than the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!

As soon as it appeared, it was like the finishing touch to a painting, instantly merging into the impact energy within Lin Chen that was about to dissipate!

BOOM!!!!

It was as if it had received the most powerful boost!

The impact energy, which had already lost its momentum, instantly surged as if injected with adrenaline, erupting with unparalleled might once more! It fiercely struck the realm barrier covered in cracks!

BANG—!!!

A muffled yet incredibly clear explosion!

That layer of solid barrier, which had been obstructing Lin Chen from advancing to the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer, could no longer hold on. Like glass shattered by a giant hammer, it exploded and completely disintegrated!

WHOOSH—!

Like a mountain flood bursting forth, a river reversing its flow!

Even more surging and condensed pure true qi instantly filled Lin Chen's Dantian and sea of qi! The sea of qi expanded again, and the quality of the true qi underwent a qualitative leap!

A powerful aura, far exceeding the Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer, erupted from Lin Chen's body! It swept through the entire small courtyard! Even a good portion of the dust on the courtyard walls was shaken loose!

Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer!

He did it!!!

And this time, it wasn't a reluctant breakthrough! It was the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer with an incredibly solid foundation and immensely potent true qi!

"Hoo… hoo…" Lin Chen gasped for air, his face filled with the relief of surviving a near-death experience and unspeakable ecstasy!

That was too close! He had been just a sliver away just now!

If the Myriad Dao Furnace hadn't autonomously released a mysterious and pure energy at the last moment, his attempt would surely have ended in failure!

"The furnace… can actually store energy? Or rather, does it itself contain some kind of primordial power?" Lin Chen's heart was filled with confusion and shock.

He could feel that the source of that pure energy just now wasn't from the outside, but from the furnace's core! That mysterious black iron piece!

Did this mean that the furnace itself was a massive source of energy?

Or perhaps, while refining all things, it also retained a portion of the purest primordial energy, storing it within itself for emergencies?

Lin Chen tried to probe the inside of the furnace with his consciousness, but it remained a chaotic void, making it impossible to glimpse its core mysteries.

"No matter what, I really owe it for this!" Lin Chen's heart was filled with gratitude.

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and felt the surging, powerful strength within him, far surpassing anything before!

Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer!

In just over a day, he had gone from a useless person who couldn't cultivate to the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer!

This speed was simply astounding!

If Lin Zhenhong, Wang Teng, and the like knew about this, they would probably be shocked out of their wits!

Lin Chen clenched his fist, feeling the explosive power transmitted to his fingertips, and a cold, confident smile curved his lips.

Now, he had absolute confidence that he could crush Lin Bao in the Family Test seven days later! Even… facing Wang Teng head-on might not be impossible!

Of course, he wouldn't be satisfied with this.

There were still more than five days until the test!

He wanted to continue improving!

Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer was not enough! He wanted to become stronger! Strong enough for everyone to look up to! Strong enough to nip all threats in the bud!

It's just…

Lin Chen glanced at the empty ground in the corner, his brow furrowed slightly.

The medicinal dregs had been exhausted.

To continue improving rapidly, he needed to find new, higher-quality "fuel."

The Crimson Flame Pig's blood and flesh essence was a good option, but the risk was too great, and its effect seemed to lean more towards tempering the physical body.

Pills? Spirit stones? He was still penniless.

Cultivation techniques? The basic cultivation techniques on the first floor of the Scripture Depository held little significance for him anymore. He was not yet qualified to access higher-level cultivation techniques and martial skills.

"It seems I need to think of another way…" A glint of thought flashed in Lin Chen's eyes.

Perhaps… he could "borrow" some cultivation resources from those who had wronged him?

For example… Lin Bao?

A bold plan began to quietly brew in Lin Chen's mind.