At dawn, Li Fei swallowed a pill and began practicing the Heavenly Constellation Stance.
The pill he took was called the Embryo Nurturing Pill. It was one of the most commonly used pills during the Embryo Nurturing Stage and could provide nourishment for an Implant.
The Heavenly Constellation Stance was the stance technique best suited to the growth of the Steel Armor Implant at this stage, so Hao Yi had Li Fei practice it after taking the Embryo Nurturing Pill.
Half an hour later, Li Fei's body grew hot, and he began to sweat all over.
He wiped away the sweat, then took out a box of balm and spread it over his body.
The balm was called Golden Kui Balm. It was a medicine specially formulated for Metal Attribute Implants like the Steel Armor Implant, and could accelerate the Implant's growth.
Yesterday, Li Fei had bought medicine near the Material Building. A full set of medicines for the Embryo Nurturing Stage, such as the Embryo Nurturing Pill and Golden Kui Balm, cost 95 yuan and could last a month.
Li Fei bought one set first, leaving him with little money.
After applying the Golden Kui Balm, Li Fei sat cross-legged where he was and began practicing a breathing technique.
More than ten minutes later, his skin had absorbed all the balm.
After checking the Myriad Blood Bead, Li Fei discovered that he had lost some Blood Soul, though his energy had increased somewhat.
This showed that both the Embryo Nurturing Pill and the Golden Kui Balm would cause a certain amount of damage to the human body.
"Martial artists usually die young. They either die in battle or die on the path of cultivation."
Recalling what Hao Yi had told him yesterday, Li Fei understood those words much more deeply now.
He got dressed and ran to the Military Academy.
As before, he first soaked in a medicinal bath in the Medicinal Bath Room, then waited for Hao Yi to arrive.
Cultivating the Heavenly Star Overlord Body would likewise help the Steel Armor Implant grow rapidly within his body, so the focus of Li Fei's cultivation in the days to come remained the Heavenly Star Overlord Body.
Once Li Fei finished his medicinal bath, Hao Yi entered the Medicinal Bath Room right on time.
Next came the same qi circulation training and impact resistance training as before.
"You're currently in the Embryo Nurturing Stage. The pills you take every day will cause a certain amount of damage to your body, so you shouldn't practice the Heavenly Star Overlord Body as frequently as before. Change it to once every two days."
After finishing the morning's training, Hao Yi spoke to Li Fei.
If Li Fei had only ten Blood Souls, he definitely would have followed Hao Yi's advice, because he was already consuming more Blood Soul each day than he could recover. But now he had sixteen Blood Souls, and the Myriad Blood Bead absorbed energy every day and would continue to level up, so he decisively said to Hao Yi, "Teacher, I'd like to try keeping the same schedule as before for now—practicing the Heavenly Star Overlord Body twice a day. If my body feels unwell, I'll reduce the frequency."
Hao Yi pondered for a moment, then nodded. "All right."
Thus, after the midday break, the afternoon cultivation continued.
After completing the second round of Heavenly Star Overlord Body cultivation, Hao Yi handed Li Fei a very thick book. The words "Illustrated Handbook of Implants" were written on its cover.
"You've already set foot on the path of a martial artist, so you should learn some basic knowledge. This book records information on more than a hundred common lower-third-grade Implants. Read it whenever you have free time."
Hao Yi spoke to Li Fei.
"All right. Thank you, Teacher."
Li Fei accepted the book.
Afterward, he said goodbye to Hao Yi, shouldered his backpack, and ran home.
That evening, after finishing the day's physical training and Embryo Nurturing training, Li Fei read the Illustrated Handbook of Implants Hao Yi had given him in his bedroom.
The book classified Implants according to the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—and recorded all kinds of Implants, along with their corresponding traits, abilities, and compatible dao foundations.
Li Fei found the second-grade Steel Armor in the book and discovered that this Implant had only two compatible dao foundations: Earth Kunlun and Core of Steel.
"Core of Steel should be the dao foundation Teacher cultivates. Yesterday, that Wang Qitai said Teacher had to rebuild his dao foundation. Could something have gone wrong with it?"
Li Fei thought to himself.
Unfortunately, the book only mentioned the names of the compatible dao foundations and did not introduce their details. Moreover, Li Fei could not find the Primal Chaos Heavenly Gold that Hao Yi wanted him to cultivate.
As for the Azure Radiance Exquisite that Wang Qitai's granddaughter, Wang Fengqing, was going to cultivate, it was not in the book either.
"That means the Implants required by these two dao foundations aren't common Implants, so they weren't recorded in this book."
Li Fei naturally arrived at that conclusion.
He then saw a line in the information on the second-grade Steel Armor Implant: "Taking the Withering Fire Pill can accelerate the growth of the Steel Armor Implant."
"The Withering Fire Pill... I wonder if the Military Academy's materials warehouse has this pill?"
Li Fei felt that if it did, he could buy it.
His innate aptitude was only Rank B-. Although the Myriad Blood Bead could infinitely improve his endurance, there was nothing he could do about his compatibility with an Implant.
The best aptitudes could complete the Embryo Nurturing Stage within a month, while someone with Rank B- compatibility might need several months.
Although practicing the Heavenly Star Overlord Body twice a day could speed up the process, Li Fei was still unsatisfied.
He had entered the Military Academy on July 9 this year. The Military Academy decided its annual quota for the university's Conflict Mitigation Department in May, so he did not actually have a full year to prepare. At most, he had ten months to fight for next year's quota.
Lu Changwu had told him that applicants for the university's Conflict Mitigation Department had to undergo an assessment, and one of the key assessment criteria was their monthly exam results.
That meant Li Fei had at most ten chances to prove himself. If he wasted too much time in the Embryo Nurturing Stage, he would squander the few opportunities he had.
So Li Fei wanted to complete the Embryo Nurturing Stage as quickly as possible.
If it was possible, he wanted to achieve a good ranking in this month's monthly exam! The following day, after finishing a day's cultivation, Li Fei suddenly asked Hao Yi, "Teacher, I read in the book that the Withering Fire Pill can speed up the growth of a second-grade Steel Armor Implant. Can I take this pill?"
Hao Yi was startled when he heard this. He looked at him solemnly. "Every kind of pill damages the human body. Pills like the Withering Fire Pill that promote Implant growth are even more so. And when the Implant grows faster, you'll need to take Embryo Nurturing pills more quickly as well. That will likewise accelerate the damage to your body. The two effects compound, and the bodies of the vast majority of people can't withstand it."
"So as long as my body can withstand it, I can take it."
Li Fei thought to himself, then nodded at Hao Yi. "Teacher, I understand."
Hao Yi watched his eyes.
"You seem very eager to accelerate your cultivation progress. Why?"
Li Fei fell silent for a moment before deciding to be honest. After all, he still needed the other's help.
"Teacher, I want to obtain a quota for the university's Conflict Mitigation Department!"
Hao Yi was not surprised. His gaze softened somewhat, and he said with a trace of pride, "Since you're my student, you should naturally fight for this quota. It's just that the difficulty is immense. Follow me in cultivation for three years, and after three years, you should have the ability to fight for a quota."
"Three years?"
Li Fei shook his head and looked straight at Hao Yi, enunciating every word.
"Teacher, three years is too long. I only fight for the present!"
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