Chapter 21

Lin Xuan clenched his fist slightly, satisfaction filling his heart.

"With my current strength, once Blood Rage erupts, I can finish Niu Fang with a single punch."

At the late stage of body tempering, the improvement was even greater.

The gap between minor realms was already especially obvious. By the time one reached those beings of the fourth major realm, who knew how vast the difference would be?

Lin Xuan could not help looking forward to it.

"How about I try cultivating?"

Though he possessed the Useless Body of Ten Thousand Years, Lin Xuan's desire to grow stronger burned fiercely. Besides, he still had seventy-two years of cultivation time left. He had never been this wealthy before.

Without another word, Lin Xuan sank his consciousness into Myriad Ages in an Instant and began autonomous cultivation while circulating the Divine Firmament Body Tempering Art.

However, ideals were plump, while reality was brutally thin.

Without blood qi to support him, the aptitude of Lin Xuan's useless body was displayed in all its vivid glory.

The increase in his qi and blood was slower than a turtle's crawl. After ten years had passed, he had advanced only a tiny step within the late stage of body tempering.

"Am I really this useless?"

Lin Xuan could not help feeling irritated. He immediately stopped worrying about anything else and increased his investment of time, only stopping when he had thirty-six years of cultivation time remaining.

Yet even then, he had advanced only a little further. No wonder they said a useless body could struggle for an entire lifetime and still fail to step onto the immortal path.

Lin Xuan gave up completely.

"Forget it. I should increase my strength first. Without blood qi to support me, I shouldn't waste my effort."

With that, he changed direction and headed straight for the Martial Pavilion.

Having just obtained seven hundred Contribution Points, he had enough to choose a powerful martial skill.

Unfortunately, seven hundred Contribution Points were still too few. It was clearly impossible to equip himself with movement techniques, blade techniques, and a battle saber all at once.

"Fine, I'll take things one step at a time. Once I advance to the outer sect, I can accept missions and leave the holy land. Then I can steal time and blood qi by killing demon beasts, while also earning Contribution Points quickly."

By the time Lin Xuan finished thinking, he had already arrived at the entrance to the Martial Pavilion.

"Hm?"

"Why are you here again?"

The Pavilion Elder's eyes widened as he stared at Lin Xuan, growing somewhat angry.

He had only just reminded Lin Xuan not to reach for what was beyond his grasp. Had this brat simply treated his words as wind passing by his ears?

"Greetings, Elder. I've come to exchange for a martial skill."

Unaware of the Pavilion Elder's thoughts, Lin Xuan answered truthfully.

"Have you gone mad? Aren't the two martial skills from before enough for you to cultivate?"

The Pavilion Elder narrowed his eyes slightly. "I seem to have told you that your own strength is the foundation. Chewing more than you can swallow will get you nowhere. Martial skills may be good, but your cultivation cannot be allowed to fall into an inferior rank."

"This disciple will remember Elder's teachings. However, this disciple's cultivation has not fallen behind."

Lin Xuan answered honestly.

"Tch!"

"A mere menial servant dares to spout such wild words?"

"How long have you been in the sect? You dare say something like that?"

The Pavilion Elder sneered.

"This disciple entered the sect five days ago!" Lin Xuan answered.

"What?"

"Are you joking with me?"

The Pavilion Elder glared. "You entered the sect five days ago, and you're at the initial stage of body tempering?"

"No. Reporting to Elder, this disciple is already at the late stage of body tempering."

Lin Xuan shook his head.

"What the hell?"

The Pavilion Elder was horrified. With a raised hand, terrifying power enveloped Lin Xuan.

The next instant, his power directly scattered, and he lost his composure.

His jaw nearly dropped onto the table, his aged eyes filled with shock...

Whoosh!

Before the Martial Pavilion, Lin Xuan only felt his vision blur before the Pavilion Elder appeared directly in front of him, gripping his shoulders tightly with both hands and staring fixedly into his eyes.

That powerful aura left him without even the thought of resisting.

"So strong. Just what realm is this Pavilion Elder in?"

Lin Xuan could feel that, at this moment, the Pavilion Elder was like a vast sea of stars. Merely gazing at him from afar was enough to inspire boundless terror.

"Five days after entering the sect, late-stage body tempering, and yet he's merely a menial servant..."

"Such talent... such talent—how could he be a menial servant?"

"If you had been given the finest resources, wouldn't you already have reached Blood Refinement by now?"

The Pavilion Elder's voice trembled slightly.

He swore that in his entire lifetime of cultivation, he had never encountered anything like this.

Even those peerless prodigies of astonishing talent, now buried beneath the dust of history, had never accomplished such a feat.