Astonishment! Body Tempering Thirteenth Layer!

In the valley, Li Yun opened his eyes.

Unable to wait another moment, he rose to his feet and directly assumed the stance of the Primordial Chaos Stance in the open clearing.

Neither quite standing nor quite squatting.

A dense True Intent radiated from his body, gradually forming a hazy, visible halo around him.

At once, the air around him began to surge.

Clusters of spiritual energy actually flowed toward Li Yun—cyan, green, white, red, blue... a riot of colors that became dreamlike and illusory beneath the sunlight.

As so much differently colored spiritual energy entered his body, Li Yun could clearly feel his skin, flesh, bones, tendons, meridians, and even his internal organs being permeated and tempered by it.

The sensation was indescribably comfortable.

It was as though his entire body had been immersed in a spiritual pool, soaked as it underwent tempering.

His body visibly grew stronger.

It could practically be said that every minute brought a tangible transformation.

"Good heavens!"

"Primal Chaos rules all things; all manner of spiritual energy tempers my body!"

"These one million Cognition Points were worth every last bit..."

In only half an hour.

Li Yun felt a tremendous force arise from nowhere, and his entire body became even stronger than before.

Body Tempering Fifth Layer!

"Damn... this Body Tempering efficiency... it's practically flying!"

"At this rate, I really won't need those Qi and Blood Pills they gave me."

He could temper his body without Qi and Blood Pills, and at a speed that was damn near flying. Even among the Outer Sect Disciples of the Celestial Martial Sect, he was probably the first.

Still, it was best not to use pills if he could avoid it.

As the old saying went, every medicine carried some poison.

All sorts of medicinal ingredients were gathered into a single furnace. No matter how exquisite the refining method, it was difficult to completely remove the medicinal toxins from the ingredients.

Once those things settled in the body, there was no guarantee they could all be expelled.

Given enough time, they would inevitably become hidden dangers.

This pure, natural spiritual energy was far more nourishing.

Li Yun had tasted the marrow and knew its flavor.

His cultivation did not stop. Two hours later, his cultivation rose again, reaching the Body Tempering Sixth Layer!

After that, although the rate of advancement slowed somewhat.

It was still incredibly fast.

At the very least, under the same circumstances, an Outer Sect Disciple cultivating only the Basic Stance Cultivation would not be able to match his speed even after swallowing ten Qi and Blood Pills at once.

By dusk.

Li Yun's cultivation had forcefully reached the Body Tempering Ninth Level!

Theoretically, this was already the limit that all Body Tempering Realm martial artists could reach. Continuing beyond this point meant circulating the Qi and blood within the body, comprehending the changes inside and out, and nurturing a breath of pure Internal Force.

That was when one entered the Force Refining Realm.

At that point, Internal Force and external force would merge into one, and the power of every martial art unleashed would surge dramatically.

Only then could one be considered a true martial artist.

But something was strange.

After reaching the Body Tempering Ninth Level, Li Yun discovered that using the Primal Chaos True Intent as his foundation to draw in all manner of spiritual energy and temper his body had not ended.

Instead, it continued tempering him.

He could still clearly feel every cell within and without his body continuously growing stronger under the permeation and tempering of spiritual energy.

That left him puzzled.

There had to be a limit to Body Tempering. If one could temper the body endlessly and grow stronger without limit, why would the Martial Dao need so many realms afterward? One could simply focus on cultivating the physique.

The Body Tempering Ninth Level was also a Body Tempering limit verified by countless martial artists of the past through innumerable examples.

It could be said that at the beginning of a martial artist's cultivation, once this realm was reached, there were basically no more effective methods to continue transforming the body.

Yet he was still tempering his body. This clearly defied the usual laws.

"Could it be because of the Primal Chaos True Intent?"

Li Yun did not quite understand. Although he had comprehended the Primal Chaos True Intent, this tiny trace of it was no more than a drop in the ocean compared to the vast heaven and earth.

To rely on this small trace of Primal Chaos True Intent to directly fathom the mysteries of heaven and earth's primal chaos was nothing but wishful thinking.

Unable to figure it out, Li Yun could not be bothered to dwell on it.

In any case, since he could continue tempering his body, he would simply keep at it. The stronger his body was compared to others, the more solid his foundation would be. That could not possibly be a bad thing.

He simply stopped overthinking.

And continued cultivating.

Time swiftly passed, and another two days went by.

Li Yun finally felt that the tempering of his body by the many kinds of spiritual energy he drew in through the Primordial Chaos Stance and Primal Chaos True Intent had gradually reached a nearly saturated state. He faintly felt as though it could no longer be tempered further.

But by then—

After the Body Tempering Ninth Level, he had undergone four more successive transformations!

In other words, if measured according to the levels of the Body Tempering Realm, he was no longer at the Body Tempering Ninth Level, but the Body Tempering Thirteenth Layer!

His body had become unprecedentedly powerful.

Setting aside toughness, resistance, and the like, in terms of strength alone, he estimated that he could now reach around three thousand jin—one and a half tons!

In his previous life, he could practically have lifted a small car with one hand.

And in this world, it was even more astonishing.

An ordinary martial artist at the Body Tempering Ninth Level generally possessed around nine hundred jin of strength. Those with unusual constitutions or natural divine strength would be stronger, but at most, they would not exceed one thousand five hundred jin.

Yet he had reached three thousand jin!

That was three times the strength of an ordinary Body Tempering Ninth Level martial artist, and twice that of some naturally powerful Body Tempering Ninth Level martial artists.

One force could crush ten techniques.

With such strength, if he were placed among ordinary Outer Sect Disciples, then even without mastering so many martial arts, he could still fight however he pleased.

No matter how formidable a Body Tempering Ninth Level martial artist was, they could not withstand an eruption of his three thousand jin of force. One punch landing on their body would leave them dead or gravely wounded!

And that was without even counting Martial Skills.

Five Martial Skills at perfection, along with Thunderclap Fist Intent!

In one word: invincible!

He even suspected that if he were to face a true Force Refining Realm martial artist, he might be able to contend with one head-on.

Of course, without having truly fought one, it was difficult for him to be certain.

After all, on the path of the Martial Dao, every major realm advancement was a qualitative breakthrough. No matter how strong a Body Tempering Realm martial artist was, they used external force, while even the weakest Force Refining Realm martial artist used Internal Force.

One was overt, while the other was hidden.

Internal Force was concealed within the body and left no outward trace. Once it struck solidly, it could produce an effect akin to striking the ox across the mountain, penetrating skin and flesh to directly injure the internal organs.

There were all sorts of other transformations as well.

There might even be some old schemers cultivating forbidden martial arts that caused their Internal Force to mutate and gain certain special effects, making them impossible to guard against.

So after his burst of excitement.

Li Yun immediately calmed down and silently warned himself that although his start was good, he still could not get carried away. He had to keep training.

He simply continued practicing the Primordial Chaos Stance until his physique could no longer be tempered at all before stopping!

After eating a little.

He sat down and continued observing the Wind of the Valley Mouth, continuing to gather Cognition Points...

What a life of toil!

But there was no helping it. Who told him he had so many martial arts? Every single one was crying out to be fed, waiting for vast amounts of Cognition Points to improve them?