First Steps

"Heavenly Constellation Stance will help you absorb this Implant faster."

Hao Yi said to Li Fei, "However, during the practice, you'll feel itchy and sore all over. You only need to endure it."

He had great confidence in Li Fei's willpower. After all, Li Fei had previously mastered the Heavenly Star Qi Stance with his assistance, and that had been far more difficult than this.

"Teacher, is the itching and soreness all over because the Implant is damaging my body?"

Li Fei asked.

Hao Yi nodded. "That's right. Every kind of Implant causes a certain amount of damage to the human body. It's unavoidable."

"Okay."

Li Fei was relieved when he heard that and did not sever his connection with the Myriad Blood Bead.

Since it was harmful damage to the human body, he would let the Myriad Blood Bead bear it.

He then began practicing the Heavenly Constellation Stance, and sure enough, he soon felt itchy all over and his muscles began to ache.

However, the Myriad Blood Bead bore most of the damage, so the strange sensations Li Fei felt were much weaker and easy to endure.

He did not disappoint Hao Yi. He successfully practiced the Heavenly Constellation Stance and "persisted" for more than an hour.

During this process, the Blood Soul in the Myriad Blood Bead continued to decrease, consuming more than one bead.

By then, the black sludge covering Li Fei's body had faded considerably.

"Very good."

Delight appeared in Hao Yi's eyes.

Li Fei had passed the most difficult hurdle, and the probability that he could successfully absorb this Second Grade Upper Class Steel Armor Implant had greatly increased.

He removed the gloves from his hands. Just as he had during the previous qi circulation training, he repeatedly slapped every part of Li Fei's body with his palms, using his own Innate One Qi to accelerate the Implant on the surface of Li Fei's body into his body.

During the process, Li Fei felt as if tens of millions of needles were stabbing into his body. If the Myriad Blood Bead had not shared the damage, he truly could not imagine how agonizing it would have been.

Half an hour later, only a tiny bit of the black sludge remained on the surface of Li Fei's body.

Finally, Hao Yi had Li Fei fill a wooden tub with hot water and soak his entire body in it.

After soaking for half an hour, not the slightest trace of black sludge remained on Li Fei's body.

He had finally absorbed the Implant completely.

He looked at the Myriad Blood Bead within his body.

Level: 3, 47%

Blood Soul: 12 beads +26%

Absorbing this Second Grade Upper Class Steel Armor Implant had increased his energy by more than 30%, consuming a total of more than three Blood Souls.

If this damage had been inflicted on an ordinary person, it would have been equivalent to reducing their "Health Bar" by one-third. Losing one-third of the body's blood might cause shock; losing one-third of one's "Health Bar" meant half a life was already gone!

This was still the result of Li Fei having cultivated the Heavenly Star Overlord Body to Small Success, which had greatly reduced the difficulty of absorption. It was easy to imagine how difficult this Second Grade Upper Class Steel Armor Implant was to absorb.

That was why Wang Qitai had previously felt that Hao Yi was trying to kill Li Fei by having him absorb an Implant of this grade at the very beginning of his cultivation.

"You've now successfully absorbed the Implant into your body. From here on, you'll officially enter the Embryo Nurturing Stage."

After Li Fei put his clothes back on, Hao Yi instructed him:

"The Embryo Nurturing Stage may last as little as a month or as long as a year. The Implant in your body will then begin to grow rapidly, allowing you to enter the Body Breaking Stage. The duration depends on the individual. The higher your compatibility with the Implant, the less time you'll need in the Embryo Nurturing Stage."

Li Fei nodded to show that he understood.

A month at the shortest, a year at the longest—the difference in time was enormous.

He planned to meet Li Tianyu at Martial University a year later, but if he had to spend a whole year in the Embryo Nurturing Stage, he definitely would not be able to achieve that goal.

"During the Embryo Nurturing Stage, you'll need to take special medicine every day to nurture the Implant within your body. I'll write you a prescription later. Remember to go to the Materials Building to buy the medicine."

Hao Yi said to Li Fei.

"I have to spend money again."

Li Fei sighed inwardly.

Martial cultivation really cost money at every turn.

In the lobby of the Practice Building, Wang Qitai and Wang Fengqing sat silently on a sofa, waiting.

Once an Implant had been thawed, it had to be absorbed into the body that same day.

Wang Qitai did not believe Li Fei could successfully absorb a Second Grade Upper Class Steel Armor Implant, so he had brought his granddaughter to wait in the first-floor lobby.

He felt that it would not be long before Hao Yi carried Li Fei downstairs and sent him to the hospital for emergency treatment. If that happened, he would still have a chance to take the remaining Implant for himself.

Unexpectedly, the wait lasted several hours, leaving Wang Qitai increasingly restless.

"How could it take this long? Could he really be able to absorb it?"

Wang Qitai gradually grew anxious.

But then he consoled himself: "If that person really had such excellent talent, he could have gone straight to a university's Conflict Mitigation Department. Why come here to muddle around in this Military Academy? Hao Yi must be gambling with this student's life!"

At last, footsteps approached.

Wang Qitai and Wang Fengqing turned their heads at the same time and saw Hao Yi and Li Fei walking downstairs.

Whoosh—

Wang Qitai abruptly rose to his feet and stared at Li Fei in disbelief.

"You really absorbed it? How is that possible?!"

Wang Fengqing also slowly stood up and let out a sigh.

Seeing Wang Qitai's expression, Hao Yi felt delighted. He clasped his hands behind his back and simply walked past him.

Wang Qitai's face darkened, but there was nothing he could do to the other man.

Wang Fengqing stepped forward and stopped Li Fei.

Hao Yi, who had been walking ahead, immediately turned around to look over, and Wang Qitai also grew tense.

Wang Fengqing looked at Li Fei, clasped her fists in salute, and said sincerely:

"Congratulations on successfully embarking on the path of martial cultivation. I hope I'll be able to see you at Martial University in the future."

Li Fei was startled. He also clasped his fists in salute. "Thank you, Senior Sister."

He had originally thought that he had offended this genius student from Martial University, but now it seemed that her attitude was rather friendly. What's going on?

"Grandfather, let's go."

Wang Fengqing turned to Wang Qitai.

When she passed Hao Yi, she stopped and saluted again. "Mr. Hao, I'm truly sorry for troubling you."

Only after saying that did she leave the lobby with her grandfather.

"His granddaughter has quite a broad mind. Her future achievements will definitely surpass his."

Looking at the backs of the two departing figures, Hao Yi sighed to Li Fei.

Li Fei looked at the sunlight outside the building and smiled.

Now that he had successfully embarked on the path of martial cultivation, he had already begun looking forward to the future.

"You're certain Hao Yi took him to obtain a Second Grade Upper Class Steel Armor Implant?"

In the practice room, Yuan Dao asked in astonishment after finishing his punches.

The refined young man named Xiao Qi nodded. "I'm certain."

The information about the Implants each student took from the warehouse should have been confidential. However, the Tiger Sabre Gang had long regarded the Xing City Military Academy as its own backyard. Naturally, they had connections in every direction and could inquire about plenty of secrets.

"Didn't you say Li Fei's aptitude was only Rank B-? How could he directly use a Second Grade Upper Class Steel Armor Implant for the Embryo Nurturing Stage?"

Yuan Dao frowned.

He had previously sent Xiao Qi to investigate Li Fei's aptitude test results. After learning that Li Fei only had Rank B- aptitude, and also learning about Li Fei's attitude before Lu Changwu and the others—that he was not some reckless fool and had not directly declared that he would oppose the Tiger Sabre Gang—he had not planned to take any action for the time being.

But yesterday, Li Fei had unexpectedly won the championship in the Graduation Grand Exam, astonishing everyone. Today, he had even obtained a Second Grade Upper Class Implant for the Embryo Nurturing Stage. This forced Yuan Dao to take him seriously.

The Embryo Nurturing Stage did not provide much combat power. Only after entering the Body Breaking Stage would one officially count as a martial artist. During that period, the Implant began replacing the body's tissues, allowing the martial artist to possess extraordinary strength.

Moreover, for people with good aptitude, the transition from the Embryo Nurturing Stage to the Body Breaking Stage did not take very long.

Therefore, Yuan Dao no longer intended to wait.

Once Li Fei entered the Body Breaking Stage, he would truly possess the strength to threaten him.

"That Young Master Chen lost so much face yesterday. He'll definitely have some ideas."

Yuan Dao pondered for a moment, a vicious glint flashing through his eyes. He instructed Xiao Qi:

"Have Blind Bear send people to take the initiative and contact that Young Master Chen. You know what to do, right?"

Xiao Qi nodded. "I understand."

He then turned and left.

P.S. I'll be getting a recommendation tomorrow and competing with the other books. I hope everyone will keep reading every day. The daily reading data is very important; only then can this book go farther. Finally, a word about the future update schedule: one chapter at midnight every day, and one chapter at noon.