What Demoness Dares Disturb My Dao Heart!

What Demoness Dares Disturb My Dao Heart!

Three days before the Explorer Academy entrance exam.

Old Yuan stood at the edge of the clearing, watching Luo Jun fight the Mechanical Puppet in the field to a standstill, a pleased expression on his face.

The Mechanical Puppet had now been adjusted to the third setting. Yet against such a formidable sparring partner, Luo Jun was not at a disadvantage in the slightest.

After so many days of Devil Training, supplemented by Pills and treatment equipment, Luo Jun's physique had visibly grown stronger. Even so, there was no way his strength could contend with a third-setting Mechanical Puppet.

Aside from relying on reflexes and skill, the key to handling it was his use of Vital Energy.

Vital Energy flowed through the body like water. For skilled Cultivators, they could freely control where it gathered and where it thinned, naturally concentrating it to produce more powerful effects!

That was exactly what Luo Jun was doing now. When facing the third-setting Mechanical Puppet's attacks, he dodged whenever possible. When he truly could not evade, he concentrated his Vital Energy for defense, minimizing the damage!

This was actually a basic combat technique of the Body Refinement Realm, but mastering it to such a smooth and effortless degree would probably take a year or more.

Yet Luo Jun had needed only twenty days!

Old Yuan's targeted training was certainly important, but Luo Jun's own talent and diligence could not be overlooked either.

"He's a good prospect!" Old Yuan nodded in satisfaction, the fringe around his bald pate fluttering in the wind.

At dusk, beneath the afterglow of the setting sun, Luo Jun climbed the final step of the Trial Stone Steps with heavy strides and stood atop Trial Peak.

Trial Peak was one of Ningyuan Mountain's three main peaks, and the shortest among them. From summit to base, it stood 606 meters tall and had a total of 3,600 steps.

The small pavilion halfway up the mountain was exactly at the 1,800th step. Although the upper and lower halves had the same number of steps, the resistance increased the higher one climbed, making the latter half ten times harder than the first.

Today, Luo Jun had finally reached the summit in one go without triggering his belt's punishment!

"Not bad." Old Yuan, who had long been waiting at the summit, nodded approvingly, though inwardly he was somewhat shocked by Luo Jun's rate of progress.

Ordinary Cultivators needed to reach at least the third or fourth layer of the Body Refinement Realm before they could climb to the pavilion in one go. Only after reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, when their control over Vital Energy underwent a qualitative leap, would they dare challenge the summit.

Luo Jun was only at the first layer of the Body Refinement Realm, yet he could already stand here. He truly could be called exceptionally gifted!

His naturally powerful physique gave him Vital Energy reserves far beyond those of ordinary people, but that alone only counted as talent. Throughout the history of Vital Energy Cultivation, talented people were as numerous as carp crossing a river. Those who truly achieved greatness also needed unwavering conviction and extraordinary perseverance.

The fact that he had conquered Trial Peak so quickly showed that Luo Jun possessed those qualities.

He was a promising talent, but he could not be allowed to grow too complacent!

"Master, how was that?" After catching his breath, Luo Jun looked at his teacher confidently, his face practically screaming, "Praise me already."

Seeing him look up, Old Yuan suddenly pulled a stern face. "What are you looking at me for? Reaching the top of Trial Peak only counts as an introduction to Vital Energy Cultivation. There's nothing to be Proud of."

Hearing that, Luo Jun sighed, all the pride on his face vanishing. "Just as I thought..."

Seeing him grow a little dispirited, Old Yuan cleared his throat and changed his tone. "Still, being able to stand here means you've done well enough. At the very least, you should have a chance to stand out in the entrance exam in a few days... The academy will begin preparing the examination grounds the day after tomorrow, so starting tomorrow, you won't need to come train. Rest well, adjust your condition, and prepare for the exam!"

"No..." Luo Jun shook his head and met Old Yuan's eyes directly, a sharp gleam flashing in his own. "Teacher, I'll come again tomorrow! I'll give you a surprise!"

"A surprise?" Old Yuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Fine, but only in the morning. The academy people will come inspect the grounds in the afternoon. The relationship between you and me as master and disciple cannot be exposed."

"No problem. One morning will be enough!"

That night, after returning to his Rental House, Luo Jun sat cross-legged on his bed and opened the Dice of Heavenly Secrets panel.

Level: 11 (966/1200)

Strength: 32 points

Agility: 25 points

Perception: 26 points

Spirit: 28 points

Luck: Level 6

Skills: All Things are Dice, Beginner Point Correction, Regret

Item: Wealth Ring

Chips: 40

Uses: 2/5

You currently have unclaimed attributes. Draw now?

These days, Luo Jun had not only been training his body and cultivating Vital Energy; he had not neglected leveling up the Dice of Heavenly Secrets either.

Just as he had analyzed before, as his strength grew, opportunities to gain experience in the real world became fewer and fewer. In order to level up as quickly as possible, Luo Jun used all five of his daily chances in battles against the Mechanical Puppet.

But the Mechanical Puppet was ultimately meant for training. Though its attacks were fierce, as long as Luo Jun could not block them, it would immediately hold back. At most, it could inflict superficial injuries. The fights looked intense, but their Severity Coefficient was actually extremely low. The experience he could gain was very limited and could not compare to a true life-or-death battle.

Through training, Luo Jun could only gain a few dozen experience points each day. After more than twenty days, he had accumulated just over a thousand points, barely enough to gain one level.

However, Luo Jun had not drawn the Attribute Points from that level.

That was because Old Yuan had set his goal as adapting to the third-setting Mechanical Puppet and climbing to the top of Trial Peak before the exam. Those were his training objectives. If he achieved them by increasing his attributes, Luo Jun felt as though he were cheating.

He had to pass Old Yuan's test first, then give him a surprise!

Draw attributes!

The white die spun and finally landed on three.

Not very lucky... With Point Correction added in, he received eight Attribute Points, which he evenly distributed among his four attributes.

Come to think of it, after these days of Devil Training, Luo Jun's body had grown much stronger. His strength, endurance, resistance to blows, reaction speed, and flexibility had all improved considerably, yet those improvements had not appeared in his attributes.

It seemed exercise would not increase attributes. Likewise, simple physical training did little to increase one's Vital Energy reserves.

Luo Jun felt that attributes were more like representations of a living being's fundamental rank. For example, as humans, everyone had five points of Strength. Whether someone was a skinny man weighing less than a hundred pounds or a world Strongman champion, the muscles and Bones that made up their bodies were not fundamentally different.

But Luo Jun was different. With Strength exceeding thirty points, the strength of his muscles and Bones had already surpassed the limits of ordinary lifeforms. That was the difference in rank.

As for the improvements brought by exercise, they were more like a state of condition.

Even a Strongman would become weak and frail after prolonged malnutrition. Meanwhile, a skinny person could grow strong through determined fitness training.

The attributes did not change; what changed was one's condition.

Then what about the Body Refinement Realm's tempering of the body? Luo Jun could feel that the Body Refinement Realm was also an essential enhancement of bodily functions, another kind of increase in rank. Yet that increase did not raise his attributes.

Did that mean that compared to the Body Refinement Realm's tempering of the body, the Dice of Heavenly Secrets' attributes were a more fundamental form of enhancement?

Luo Jun shook his head. Questions this profound were not something he needed to worry about right now. He should seize the enhancement In Front Of him first!

For instance, the Foundation Solidification Realm Second Layer!

That was right. After more than twenty days of special training, the Vital Energy within Luo Jun's body had been constantly squeezed dry and replenished, growing twice as strong as before! He had already met the requirements to break through to the Foundation Solidification Realm Second Layer!

Now, all that remained was the final bit of luck.

But he was not worried about that. According to Old Yuan, a breakthrough to the second layer generally had a 70% success rate. With his attribute correction and Level 6 Luck added in, the actual success rate was probably around 80%!

Even if he was truly unlucky and failed, Luo Jun could use the Regret Skill to abandon the Realm Breakthrough and try again tomorrow. But if that happened, he would not be able to give his teacher much of a surprise.

After making his preparations, Luo Jun sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard, finding the most comfortable position as he began mobilizing the abundant Vital Energy in his body.

Slowly, the speed of Vital Energy circulation within Luo Jun's body reached its peak. It filled all his Meridians and had reached the critical threshold for a breakthrough.

Dice of Heavenly Secrets, activate!

As the black and white dice spun, the Prompt Sound rang beside Luo Jun's ear.

"Ding. Event Difficulty: 88 points. Final Points: 86+5. Event Success!"

Luo Jun: "?"

88 points of difficulty?!

Was this really the probability of breaking through to the second layer? Old Geezer hadn't lied to me, had he?

Without Attribute Correction and Regret, I might have died here!

Still, it had succeeded after all. Though Luo Jun had doubts, he still tried to push his Vital Energy to its limit and began the breakthrough.

With every circulation cycle, a portion of the Vital Energy within him merged into his limbs and bones, tempering his body, spirit, and even his soul!

After just nine cycles, his body would completely absorb this Vital Energy, complete its tempering, and break through to the Foundation Solidification Realm Second Layer.

The process would last roughly ten minutes. Feeling the changes in his body, Luo Jun excitedly prepared to welcome a brand-new version of himself!

It was the eighth cycle. In two minutes at most, I'll—

Crash!

Just as victory was within sight, the window beside the bed suddenly shattered, and a figure crashed into the cramped Rental House!

"Holy shit!" Luo Jun was startled by the sudden change and nearly lost control of his cultivation. Fortunately, the Willpower he had forged during this time allowed him to steady his mind and focus on circulating his Vital Energy.

But he was at the critical moment of his breakthrough and did not dare move rashly. He could only lean against the headboard and slightly turn his head to look at the uninvited guest.

It was a woman, around twenty-three or twenty-four years old. Her Facial features were exquisitely delicate, complemented by long curly hair and glamorous makeup. She was extraordinarily alluring. She wore a fitted short-sleeved T-shirt on top and tight jeans below, outlining her stunning figure.

She was a real beauty!

What was even more deadly was that this beauty seemed to have just gone through an intense fight. The little clothing she had been wearing had been partly torn open, creating a tantalizing glimpse that made the restless young Luo Jun swallow hard. Even the Vital Energy he had just stabilized seemed to go slightly off course.

Luo Jun hurriedly steadied his mind and cleared away his distracting thoughts. Looking at the woman again, only one thought remained in his mind:

"What demoness are you, daring to disturb my Dao heart!"

Thanks to Qing Jin Ya for the 100 Origin Point Coin tip!

(End of Chapter)