Wang Erdong, Your Joke Went a Little Too Far!

Li Yun looked up at Zhao Chuanfeng.

This fellow wore a scornful, cold expression. His attitude was genuinely arrogant, and deep down, he truly looked down on Li Yun.

But it did not matter.

Li Yun was equally straightforward. He picked up the yellowed booklet, rose to his feet, and left.

Before leaving, he even specifically thanked Zhao Chuanfeng. His politeness caught Zhao Chuanfeng so off guard that he could barely react. This bastard actually isn't angry?

After being humiliated to his face like that, he had not flown into a rage from shame?

Hmph, the Outer Sect was still the Outer Sect.

Born from barren soil and without backbone—people like that were nothing more than that. They would never achieve anything great in their lives.

How could he possibly understand Li Yun's logic?

In Li Yun's eyes, getting angry when he lacked strength was utterly meaningless.

Even shouting, "Thirty Years West, Thirty Years East," would only make him look even more useless. There was no point.

He might as well seize whatever advantage he could first, then return in one decisive push to reclaim his dignity once he had sufficient strength.

Li Yun left Azure Dragon Courtyard that very night.

As he departed, he glanced once more at the Azure Dragon Stone Stele at the entrance. He had originally wanted to squeeze out a few more Cognition Points while no one was around. After all, once today had passed, it would not be so easy to enter the Inner Sect again.

Unfortunately.

He had barely stopped for long when his Cognition Points had only risen by around six thousand before someone came out of Azure Dragon Courtyard, clearly with unfriendly eyes.

To avoid causing trouble, Li Yun had no choice but to leave first.

By the time he returned to Rank 95 Academy in the Outer Sect, the courtyard was already silent. Most rooms had gone dark, and everyone had evidently gone to sleep.

There was no one around anyway.

Li Yun simply sat down in a corner of the courtyard.

He summoned the System Panel.

Host: Li Yun

Age: 16

Aptitude: Rank 5

Identity: Celestial Martial Sect, Outer Sect Disciple of Rank 95 Academy

Realm: Houtian Realm, Second Layer of Body Tempering

Martial Arts: Basic Stance Cultivation (Mastery Realm, 1%)

Martial Cognition Points:

Looking at the 240,000 Martial Cognition Points on the panel, Li Yun could not help but smile. This was the foundation of his confidence.

Liu Ningkong, Zhao Chuanfeng... compared to Martial Cognition Points, they were all bullshit!

"Just wait!"

"Very soon, you'll learn that offending me was the greatest mistake of your lives."

"System, add points!"

Without wasting the slightest moment, Li Yun directly spent Cognition Points to comprehend Basic Stance Cultivation once more.

This time, he spent a full ten thousand points.

A quarter of an hour later.

Li Yun awoke from his comprehension. Basic Stance Cultivation had risen from 1% Mastery Realm to 1% Great Accomplishment Realm.

Li Yun was not satisfied and continued comprehending.

Another twenty thousand Cognition Points were deducted.

Half an hour later, Basic Stance Cultivation reached the Perfection Realm!

The Perfection Realm of Basic Stance Cultivation meant that he had cultivated it to its limit—of course, that was only the limit in the ordinary sense.

According to Zhang Ruohan, Basic Stance Cultivation contained twelve kinds of Martial Intent, corresponding to the Twelve Stances. Those were the true source of martial arts.

Only after reaching Perfection Realm would one have the chance to comprehend these twelve kinds of Martial Intent.

Each kind comprehended would provide immensely powerful assistance to Body Tempering.

And now, after Basic Stance Cultivation reached the Perfection Realm, three words indeed appeared on the panel—Can Be Sublimated.

Li Yun guessed that this so-called sublimation likely pointed directly to the twelve kinds of Martial Intent contained within Basic Stance Cultivation.

He immediately decided to give it a try.

Yet the instant the thought arose, Li Yun's expression changed.

With only that single attempt, fifty thousand Martial Cognition Points vanished from the panel in an instant!

He had first used thirty thousand Cognition Points to push Basic Stance Cultivation to the Perfection Realm, then another fifty thousand... his Martial Cognition Points were directly reduced to!

"Damn..."

"Why do these Martial Cognition Points seem so damn easy to burn through?"

Li Yun's heart ached, but the process of deducting Martial Cognition Points could not be reversed.

He could only face reality.

And at that moment, the sublimation began.

The next second, he felt as though his soul had left his body, drifting hazily into a wondrous state.

It was as though he had fallen into a vast dream.

In the dream, he was no longer human. He had become a towering pine.

Standing amid the mountains, whether battered by wind and rain or blanketed in frost and snow, he remained proudly upright.

Meanwhile, faintly discernible, profound, lively breaths of energy seeped into his body from between heaven and earth, making his vitality ever more vigorous.

"Phew..."

"What marvelous Green Pine Intent... truly unfathomably profound!"

Who knew how much time passed.

When Li Yun came back to his senses again, dawn had already begun to brighten the sky.

Some diligent Outer Sect Disciples in Rank 95 Academy had already risen to practice Zhuang Gong. Yet from time to time, someone would glance at him, their expression strange.

Li Yun was instantly shocked.

"A whole night actually passed... damn, cultivation really knows no years..."

"This is only the first True Intent of Basic Stance Cultivation. If I encounter deeper martial arts in the future, wouldn't comprehending them take even longer..."

Li Yun drew a deep breath.

Looking around the courtyard, since people were awake now, it was no longer suitable to practice martial arts there.

He simply stood and headed straight for the gate.

He planned to find somewhere deserted and carefully experience the Green Pine Intent he had comprehended over the course of the night, to see whether it truly provided enormous benefits to Body Tempering.

And just as he left.

The people in the courtyard began murmuring among themselves.

"Hey, what do you think is wrong with Li Yun? Has he gone mad?"

"He sat in the courtyard all night without sleeping?"

"And he looked completely blank and stupid!"

"Heh, what do you know? That guy has always acted all mysterious. Maybe he was comprehending the True Intent of Zhuang Gong..."

"Tch, give me a break. Him? With his mere Rank 5 Aptitude, it would already be impressive if he reached the Initial Accomplishment Realm in a year, and you say he comprehended True Intent... If he can comprehend True Intent, I'm willing to stand on my head and eat dog shit."

"Don't be so ruthless. If he's reached the Initial Accomplishment Realm in Zhuang Gong right now, I, Wang Erdong, can stand on my head and eat dog shit immediately."

Creak!

At that moment, the door to another room beside them opened.

Gu Yunzheng stepped out with a strange expression on his face.

"Wang Erdong, what did you just say?"

"Ah, so it's Senior Brother Gu. Sorry for waking you..."

The moment Wang Erdong saw Gu Yunzheng, he immediately became fawning.

"Don't try to cozy up to me."

"I'm asking what you just said."

Wang Erdong did not understand what he meant. After a brief daze, he said, "Senior Brother Gu, it was nothing... I said that if Li Yun had reached the Initial Accomplishment Realm in Zhuang Gong by now, I'd stand on my head and eat dog shit... It was just a joke. Please don't take it to heart."

Gu Yunzheng smiled.

"No, why would I take it to heart?"

"I don't."

"However, your joke may have gone a little too far. To be honest, Li Yun somehow reached the Initial Accomplishment Realm in Zhuang Gong several days ago. The Martial Arts Deacon witnessed it personally, so you..."

Gu Yunzheng chuckled. Without finishing his sentence, he walked away.

Wang Erdong was instantly dumbfounded.

The people around him were also stunned. Then, the looks they gave Wang Erdong became strange as well.

"I..."

Wang Erdong was so embarrassed he nearly wanted to burrow into the ground. In a fluster, he blurted out, "I suddenly remembered that I have something to do at Rank 97 Academy... I'm leaving."

Then he hurriedly ran out of Rank 95 Academy.

Seeing this, the others gathered around Gu Yunzheng one after another.

"Senior Brother Gu, was what you just said true?"

"Li Yun really reached the Initial Accomplishment Realm in Zhuang Gong?"

It had to be said that the news Gu Yunzheng had suddenly dropped was a tremendous shock to everyone present.