Gal Martial Saint

The favorability of the Huiyuan Sword Art remained utterly motionless.

No matter how he practiced, no matter how he praised it in his heart, that number was like a corpse, firmly stuck at 90 points.

This only made Gu Chengming more certain of his earlier guess: this 90-point favorability was likely the bottleneck for this basic sword art.

To go any further, unless some qualitative change occurred, relying solely on this kind of daily interaction would probably make it hard to advance even an inch.

[The Huiyuan Sword Art also felt quite guilty.]

[It watched you swallow those precious pills one by one, yet could only offer you its meager response in return, its heart filled with shame.]

[It thought, am I too useless?]

[Rather than waste these resources on it, you might as well learn a more profound sword technique or cultivate a more powerful art.]

Gu Chengming looked at this line of inner monologue brimming with "first-wife bearing" and felt a wave of helplessness.

If only these resources were for body refining.

If that were the case, even if they didn't boost his cultivation much, at least he could use them to raise the favorability of that money-grubbing Hundred Bones Ming, stepping on his left foot to launch his right foot into the sky.

Wait...

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Gu Chengming's mind, as if he had grasped some key point.

Think about it carefully. These past few days, even though he had taken the pills, his cultivation speed for the Huiyuan Sword Art hadn't undergone a qualitative change due to the medicinal power itself.

What did that mean?

It meant that, in essence, the efficiency of his cultivation technique didn't have an absolute linear relationship with the resources themselves.

Instead, it was strongly correlated with "favorability"!

Think back to Hundred Bones Ming's earlier behavior.

When it gained favorability from using the "Spirit Rhinoceros Bone Quenching Dew," was it really because the medicinal power was that strong?

Not necessarily.

It was more likely that the act of "spending money" itself made it feel valued, or it mistakenly believed Gu Chengming liked it because he "felt good," leading to self-conquest and a favorability boost.

In other words...

As long as he could make Hundred Bones Ming feel these pills were for it, as long as he could trick it into believing they were actually "Divine Medicine for Body Refining," then...

Could he use these resources, clearly meant for cultivating Spiritual Sense, to scam a favorability boost from a Body Refining Technique?

Just as he was thinking this, the system panel also transmitted Hundred Bones Ming's inner thoughts.

[Hundred Bones Ming thought to itself, all these high-grade resources being used on a basic sword art is a sheer waste of heaven's bounty! How hateful that it is merely a Body Refining Technique, unable to enjoy these resources.]

But then, the tone shifted abruptly.

[Hundred Bones Ming thought again, no, wait. This kid Gu Chengming's cultivation speed when practicing techniques is actually strongly correlated with his favorability toward a specific art, not with the resources.]

[As long as it can trick Gu Chengming into believing these pills are actually body-refining pills, into thinking they can help him refine his body, then wouldn't his favorability toward it skyrocket?]

[As long as Gu Chengming has favorability toward it, wouldn't its cultivation speed take off?]

[With this thought, Hundred Bones Ming was ecstatic!]

[It felt it was simply gifted with genius, unparalleled in the world!]

[This opportunity was meant to be used by me!]

"?"

A question mark slowly appeared above Gu Chengming's head.

The next moment, Hundred Bones Ming's interaction appeared again.

[Hundred Bones Ming attempts to expound a brand-new theory to you.]

[These pills in your hand are actually more suited for body refining than for sword practice.]

[As the saying goes, fitness starts with the brain...]

"??"

PS: This chapter is 6,800 words, a triple-combo.

Routine request for votes—once we hit a thousand, I'll continue with extra updates—

Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty-Seven — The So-Called Auction Bargain Hunt...

Actually, this set of crooked theories—"fitness starts with the brain, body refining starts with the spirit"—wasn't entirely nonsense.

In the theoretical system of the cultivation world, and even in the literary works Gu Chengming had seen in his past life, there were traces of it.

As everyone knew, Body Cultivators were often beings of "high attack, high defense, low magic resistance."

They achieved sainthood through their physical bodies, shattering mountains with their fists, yet they were often extremely weak against Illusion Techniques and mental control skills.

In those classic storybooks, the character with the strongest physical body and the best fighting ability was often the first to be turned by the villain using some kind of mental charm technique, then turned around and beat his teammates into the ground.

Therefore, having a strong Spiritual Sense was indeed the key to making up for a Body Cultivator's weakness.

But this speech was originally what Gu Chengming had planned to use to fool Hundred Bones Ming.

He had his prepared speech ready, a whole set of theories about "Spiritual Sense guiding Qi and Blood" and "micro-manipulation determining the upper limit," all set to talk this cultivation method into a corner.

Yet the method had the audacity to steal his lines instead?

Gu Chengming stared at the rows of eager words on the System Panel, a wave of absurdity surging in his heart.

Well, regardless of how the process went, at least the result met Gu Chengming's expectations.

Since both sides had reached an agreement, what was there to wait for?

Time to train!

Gu Chengming sat cross-legged and took out a "Glazed Pure Consciousness Pill" from that exquisite Jade Bottle. The pill was cool to the touch, completely crystal clear.

Without any hesitation, he tilted his head back and swallowed the pill.

Gu Chengming felt a roar in his mind, and then, his once heavy thoughts instantly became incredibly light.

He didn't even need to focus deliberately to clearly "see" every Meridian and every bone inside his body, and he could even hear the sound of blood flowing with perfect clarity.

This was the power of a Second Realm top-grade pill.

Although the Glazed Pure Consciousness Pill itself had no effect on strengthening the Physical Body, its sole purpose was to sharpen Gu Chengming's Spiritual Sense, allowing him to "inner-view" better.

But for Hundred Bones Ming, that was more than enough.

Gu Chengming could clearly feel that, with the aid of that high-precision "inner-viewing," the path of Resonant Qi through his Meridians had been optimized to the extreme.

Of course, Gu Chengming knew very well in his heart.

This so-called "divine effect" was actually ninety-nine percent the result of Hundred Bones Ming working its tail off.

The negligible auxiliary effect of the Glazed Pure Consciousness Pill was nowhere near enough to support such a massive improvement.

What truly worked was the cultivation method's effort to prove that "my theory is right" and "this pill really works."

It was desperately squeezing its own potential, actively cooperating with that nonexistent "body-tempering Medicinal Power."

As the cycles continued to turn, a faint luster began to spread across Gu Chengming's skin—a sign that his dermis was gradually toughening under the tempering of Resonant Qi.

The bones inside his body trembled incessantly, expelling strands of gray-black impurities.

This process of expelling impurities was usually excruciatingly painful, but under the suppression of the Glazed Pure Consciousness Pill, Gu Chengming only felt a dull ache as if through a layer of gauze, completely within his tolerance.

[Hundred Bones Ming is overjoyed!]

[It thinks to itself: It worked! It really worked! Gu Chengming truly believes these pills are for body tempering!]

[It truly is a genius! It found the correct use of this Golden Finger so quickly!]

Time ticked by, minute by minute.

When the Medicinal Power had completely dissipated, Gu Chengming slowly withdrew his technique and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

He clenched his fist, feeling the noticeably elevated sense of power within him, and nodded in satisfaction.

This mutual scam of a two-way street had yielded outstanding results.

[Hundred Bones Ming highly praises your trust.]

[Favorability +2]

[Favorability +5]

[...]

[Current Favorability: 35/Friendly]

As Favorability broke through the boundary of "Stranger" and entered the "Friendly" stage, a warm current arose from nowhere, merging into the depths of Gu Chengming's body.

It was a gift from the cultivation method, an elevation of the essence of life.

[Physique +1]

[Current Physique: 5]

[Current Remaining Lifespan: 720 days]

Although it was only a single point added to Physique, his Lifespan had nearly doubled.

Did this mean his Physique attribute was almost reaching the level of a normal person?

The heavy stone that had always hung in Gu Chengming's heart was finally half-settled.

Over the next few days, Gu Chengming's life was very routine.

Eat, sleep, fool Hundred Bones Ming, take pills and train.

With Hundred Bones Ming's full cooperation, his Physique steadily improved, and his days were full yet monotonous.

Until one afternoon, the tranquility of the small courtyard was broken once again.

"Senior Brother Gu, Jiang Lu is here to visit."

Outside the Courtyard Gate, Jiang Lu's slightly restrained voice rang out.

Gu Chengming opened the door and saw Jiang Lu holding two bottles of Spirit Wine, a somewhat embarrassed smile on his face.

"Junior Brother Jiang, please come in."

The two sat down at the Stone Table in the courtyard.

"Actually..."

Jiang Lu paused, his expression growing even more awkward:

"It's mainly about the body-tempering resources I promised to help Senior Brother Gu find—there's still no solid news... I felt bad coming empty-handed to see you."

"No matter."

Gu Chengming waved his hand and poured Jiang Lu a cup of tea:

"These things depend on fate; they can't be forced. I'm already grateful that you kept an eye out for me."

Seeing that Gu Chengming wasn't bothered, Jiang Lu finally relaxed, and his smile became much more natural.

"By the way, Senior Brother Gu."

Jiang Lu seemed to suddenly remember something:

"Although I didn't find the specific body-tempering resources, the sect's Disciple Marketplace just opened recently. Would Senior Brother Gu be interested in taking a look?"

"Maybe you can find something useful there."

The so-called "Disciple Marketplace," as the name suggests, is a trading venue spontaneously organized among the sect's disciples.

Unlike official channels like the Sword Repository Pavilion, where items are guaranteed in quality but expensive and rigid in variety—mainly exchanged for sect contribution points—the Disciple Marketplace is more like a large free-trade bazaar.

The currency circulating here is primarily Spirit Stones, and the items traded are wildly diverse.

There are unknown ores picked up by disciples during outdoor training, "failed pills" from alchemy mishaps that unexpectedly produce strange effects, obscure family-inherited Secret Manuals, and even services like ghostwriting love letters or hired monster hunting.

In short, it's a mixed bag—you might uncover a hidden treasure or buy a pile of junk; it all comes down to your eye and luck.