After relaxing both body and mind in the First Layer illusion, Jiang Ye returned to reality.
It was now the early hours of the next morning.
The sky outside the window was growing light.
"My body..."
The moment he returned to reality, Jiang Ye immediately noticed something different.
First of all, he felt as if his strength were an endless tide, surging without limit.
If he ran ten kilometers without stopping now, he probably wouldn't even be out of breath.
Jiang Ye looked out the window.
Though it was still dim outside, and a thin morning mist hung in the air, he could easily see things two hundred meters away.
Even the words a hundred meters away looked perfectly clear to him.
"When I broke through to Cultivation Method mastery before, my five senses definitely weren't this sharp."
Jiang Ye thought to himself, "The Grade A+ Physique has greatly improved my foundation in every way."
"Still, what's improved the most is probably my cultivation speed."
Even before, he had cultivated faster than most students in Key Class.
Now, he had an Upper Class A Mortal Body.
Just how fast would he be able to cultivate?
Jiang Ye turned his gaze from the window, walked to the middle of the room, and settled into a fighting stance.
His Star Martial Cultivation Method was now mastered, so there was no need to keep practicing it.
Instead, Jiang Ye began training in the Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist.
"Whoosh—"
As Jiang Ye used his breathing method, a great deal of air flowed into his body and began circulating through the meridians around him.
The moment he started practicing his punches, he immediately felt the difference.
The Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist placed great emphasis on using breath.
It used breath to evoke the sound of thunder.
Even when he eventually drew in Star Energy, he would still need to use his breath as a guide.
Previously, less than one percent of the air Jiang Ye breathed in could enter his meridians and be used by him.
But now, at least ten percent of it flowed into his meridians.
To put it more plainly:
He was now cultivating this Yellow Tier Mid-grade Art Technique at ten times his previous efficiency!
Of course, the actual improvement might not be quite that dramatic, but there was no doubt it was far greater than before.
"This feels amazing."
Jiang Ye had never felt that cultivating could be so comfortable.
He swung his fists again and again, practicing the Art Technique as if he'd forgotten everything else.
Hours passed in the blink of an eye.
"Big Brother! Come out and eat!"
Only when little Jiang Ting's clear voice rang out from beyond the door did Jiang Ye snap out of his absorbed state.
"Coming!"
He called back through the door.
Then he let out a long breath.
"Hoo..."
"Now that was satisfying!"
Looking at his bare upper body, Jiang Ye couldn't help grinning.
Cultivating with a Grade A+ Physique really was incredible!
The sluggish feeling he'd had before was completely gone. Every crucial point flowed smoothly, like a mountain stream pouring into a river and rushing onward without a single obstruction.
"What a miserable life I was living before."
Jiang Ye shook his head with a smile, then looked at the panel.
--Low Martial Achievement System-- [Physique: Mortal Body (Upper Class A)] [Talent: Primitive] [Cultivation Methods] Star Martial Cultivation Method: Mastered Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist: Beginner (98%) [Achievements] Martial Arts Grandmaster, Friend of the Ancestor, Martial Arts Grandmaster, Red Face Seeks the Way, Keen Hearing, Gale Step, Saintess as Servant, Ancestor Feeding, Limit Grandmaster, Finding Joy in Misery [Martial Arts Heavenly Ladder] Second Layer --
"98%?!"
Jiang Ye was overjoyed. In just a few hours, he'd improved by nearly ten percent!
He hadn't even improved by that much over the past few days combined.
Granted, he'd spent most of those days focused on the Cultivation Method, but he'd still found time now and then to practice his punches.
To improve this much in just a few hours...
It was almost impossible to imagine.
This was a Yellow Tier Mid-grade Art Technique, after all—harder to cultivate than the Star Martial Cultivation Method.
"Upper Class A. So this is what Upper Class A means."
"Hahaha!"
Jiang Ye couldn't help laughing from the bottom of his heart.
It felt as if all the hardships he'd endured had been worth it.
A thousand bitter tears from the past had bought him a moment worth its weight in gold!
What a rush!
He wiped the sweat from his body, put on his shirt, and walked out.
Living room.
The family of four sat together for breakfast.
"Xiao Ye."
Seeing Jiang Ye's relaxed expression, Jiang Dahai smiled and asked, "What happy dream were you having? You're in a great mood this early."
Jiang Ye coughed, then said, "Mom, Dad, I forgot to tell you—I got into Key Class."
He'd been so busy breaking through to mastery these past few days that he hadn't had time to tell his parents.
"What? Key Class?"
Jiang Dahai and Li Anping exchanged a glance, then both looked astonished.
"I remember the requirements for transferring into Key Class are pretty high, aren't they?" Jiang Dahai asked, puzzled.
Jiang Ye nodded with a smile. "They are. You have to break through to Cultivation Method mastery to get in."
That left the couple even more shocked.
"Xiao Ye, y-you've already reached Cultivation Method mastery?!"
Jiang Dahai's eyes widened like saucers.
He remembered that he hadn't broken through to mastery until he was about to graduate from college.
But Jiang Ye was still in his senior year of high school!
They both had Primitive Talent. How could the difference between them be so huge?
"Xiao Ye."
Jiang Dahai's voice suddenly trembled. He looked at Jiang Ye. "Do you think you have a chance of getting into the Twenty-Five School Alliance?"
The Twenty-Five School Alliance.
For ordinary people, it was a name from a far-off world.
With a background like Jiang Ye's—Primitive Talent and a poor family—he'd had no hope of getting in.
And yet now, Jiang Dahai could see a glimmer of hope.
Meeting his adoptive father's fervent gaze, Jiang Ye nodded.
"My goal has always been the Twenty-Five School Alliance," Jiang Ye said solemnly.
And that wasn't even the limit of his ambition.
".Good!"
Jiang Dahai fell silent for a moment, then nodded firmly.
"Xiao Ye, it's good to have that kind of ambition. Your mother and I will support you unconditionally!"
He spoke earnestly. "Just focus on working hard. If you need anything, tell us."
Warmth filled Jiang Ye's heart.
But he knew that, with their current wages, his parents could hardly help him much with Martial Arts anymore.
He would have to earn his own way.
The poor could afford to study, but Martial Arts had always been beyond what a poor family could support.
"It all depends on the Starry Sky Refinement at the end of the month," Jiang Ye thought.
He had already signed up at school a few days ago.
Chen Zilu had told him he had one free chance.
It was his only chance to undergo Starry Sky Refinement for free.
The next time he signed up, it would cost tens of thousands.
So this opportunity was crucial. He had to do everything he could to improve himself.
"On my most recent exam, my total score in the four Martial Arts subjects was only 520, putting me 89th in my grade."
"There are still six months until the college entrance exams. Even if I can't reach the 900-point standard for the Ten Great Famous Schools, I have to get as close as I can."
In six months, he had to gain nearly four hundred points.
Could he win?
Facing a gap like that, anyone would feel hopeless.
Before, Jiang Ye hadn't had even the slightest confidence.
But now, he had an Upper Class A Mortal Body, and he'd gained a whole host of buffs.
Faced with a challenge as daunting as scaling the heavens, he now felt he had a chance.
Brothers, will I win?
In the book, I gaze up at the stars. In real life, the author gazes up, hoping to ride on the gods' coattails!
Brothers, please give me a hand. Your reads are what keep me going. I don't want to lose. I want to keep writing!
Only with enough reads can I get a recommendation and climb the rankings!
I want to win this time, too!
I'm begging you all!
Before you continue