Hundred Refinements Realm

Appearing alongside Jing Qian were two pure-white threads that shot forward.

The power of Sewing Souls and Weaving Spirits erupted, winding around the Short Stout Cultivator's neck in alternating loops before tightening viciously.

Then he hunched over, curling himself into a ball, planted both feet against the enemy's back and spine, and drove his toes down. His whole body was like a taut bow brimming with power, stretching itself to the limit.

"Rise!"

A crisp shout rang out!

His neck snapped, his head flew, and a pillar of blood shot into the sky!

Jing Qian roused his meager Magic Power and spread it evenly through his sinews, bones, and muscles. An immense force burst forth as he forcibly hauled on the threads, slicing the Short Stout Cultivator's head clean off!

Even then, his feet remained planted on the other man's back, his body rigid and straight. Together with the headless corpse, they formed a bizarre right angle.

Before the blood raining from the sky could even fall, he slipped into the void once more and vanished again!

The power of Sumeru activated, and Jing Qian returned to the Safe Zone!

He had rehearsed this small combo of Destiny Constitution powers countless times in his mind.

Once he actually used it, the result was exactly as he had expected—astonishingly effective!

Since bringing the two Hums and Has into the Destiny Stele Space, this was the first time he had truly slain an enemy completely!

The largest mass of pure-white smoke he had ever seen billowed from the Short Stout Cultivator's corpse and surged toward him.

He calmly enjoyed his spoils of war, and for a time, the space fell silent once more.

"Destiny Essence: 2.45!"

"Destiny Essence: 2.73!"

The soaring Destiny Essence plunged Jing Qian into wave after wave of ecstasy, leaving him feeling as though he were flying.

At the same time, in the real world, Innate Primordial Qi transformed from Destiny Essence emerged within his depleted body from his Niwan Palace. It flowed downward from above, filling his small frame in the blink of an eye.

Nourished by this pure qi, all his exhaustion, pain, and overexertion rapidly healed.

The qi was simply too abundant, to the point that it overflowed from his body.

And with the Azure Pearl no longer there to catch and absorb the excess qi for him,

the surplus could only drift into the surrounding air and ocean, wasting at least some of it.

Within the space, the Short Stout Cultivator, who had been thoroughly dead, slowly climbed to his feet again. He picked up his head where it had fallen nearby, set it back onto his neck, and came back to life once more.

However, after experiencing death once, even having revived, his aura had been greatly diminished, and his strength was much weaker.

With one side waning and the other waxing, it would undoubtedly be much easier for Jing Qian to strike at him again.

For Jing Qian, within the Destiny Stele Space, the first killing of every newly added soul was undoubtedly the most difficult!

As the number of slayings increased, that soul would only become a treasure vault gradually opening itself to him, allowing him to pluck its riches at will.

At that moment, Jing Qian was immersed in a new mass of memories, absorbing fresh knowledge.

This time, what the Short Stout Cultivator had contributed was the trade he had relied on to make a living throughout his life!

In the memories, before a massive furnace, the Short Stout Cultivator—still a young man—stood with several companions before a black-skinned monk built like an ox, listening to his lecture:

"You lot were lucky enough to enter the path of cultivation through Determining Destiny. It is absolutely because some ancestor's grave emitted the wrong kind of smoke and happened to cover your heads."

"Still, although you succeeded in advancing and became cultivators, don't go around looking like wretches who have suddenly struck it rich."

"You have entered the gates of Shedi Zang Temple and received our temple's Destiny Fire opportunity. If you cannot make a contribution, you have no qualifications to enjoy the temple's protection and resources."

The black-skinned monk's words landed with the weight of iron, filling every listener with awe.

"The path of cultivation is long and arduous. Without an unyielding will, it is difficult to achieve anything. Our temple does not support idlers. You must prove your worth through concrete action."

"In cultivation, we speak of wealth, companions, methods, and land, with wealth foremost. You were born poor, and if you want to establish yourselves for real, you must have a trade to make a living."

"Inscription Carving and Dietary Supplement Pill Refining are both costly, meticulous crafts. Even the simplest initiation requires considerable resources. They are difficult pursuits, not ones you can afford to covet."

"But in Weapon Forging, you can try to enter the field by forging mundane iron weapons. So long as you are willing to put in the time and work hard, you may truly reap some gains. It is best suited to rough people like you."

"From today onward, you will study Weapon Forging under me. If you learn it well, let alone Origin Gold rewards—even the Destiny Constitution Refinement Method may be bestowed upon you by the temple!"

With that, the black-skinned monk pulled a red-hot metal ingot from the furnace. The great hammer in his hand whirled through the air, pounding away with a clang-clang that sent sparks flying everywhere.

From then on, the Short Stout Cultivator formally embarked on the path of learning Weapon Forging. Every day, he followed behind the monk, hammering and beating, rubbing and grinding.

Although his talent was ordinary and the forging secrets he mastered were rather poor, relying on his stubborn persistence, he truly managed to achieve a little.

Even after he completed his apprenticeship, Weapon Forging became the fundamental means by which he established himself and accumulated resources—a craft that brought him immeasurable benefits.

The precious memories Jing Qian had obtained were all the Weapon Forging experience the Short Stout Cultivator had painstakingly accumulated, hammer blow by hammer blow. They were equally priceless.

After absorbing these memories, he instantly became a veteran blacksmith who had never even touched a forging hammer once.

The wondrous effect of the Destiny Stele Space revealed itself once more!

"Inscription Carving, Dietary Supplement Pill Refining, Weapon Forging, Weaving Clothes and Painting Skin—these must be the specialized livelihood professions exclusive to cultivators in this world, right?"

"The Hundred Refinements Realm? It seems to have some real substance!"

Muttering under his breath, Jing Qian carefully savored the fresh memories in his mind. He felt that his understanding of this world's cultivation system had become far more vivid and complete.

A mature cultivation system could not do without the effective use of resources. How to use Destiny Essence and destiny constitutions to transform and process all kinds of precious magical materials was a vital link in any cultivation system.

The various professions derived from this would also grow increasingly profound as time passed and knowledge was passed down.

The four major professions revealed in the memories—Inscription Carving, Dietary Supplement Pill Refining, Weapon Forging, and Weaving Clothes and Painting Skin—were the most mainstream professional paths in cultivation.

Nearly every cultivator would attempt to study one of them during their cultivation, using it to process the magical materials they acquired and earn more resources.

It was just that those who achieved anything were exceedingly rare.

And once the outstanding practitioners of any profession reached a certain unique level of mastery, they could obtain the title of Hundred Refinements.

Anyone with this title, even a cultivator of the Determining Destiny Realm, would see their status soar, becoming comparable to a dragon-elephant.

The lifelong aspiration of this Short Stout Cultivator was to become a Hundred Refinements Artisan one day.

In his heart, that was even more desirable than advancing to the dragon-elephant realm and condensing a Dharma Form.