Time passed in the Refining Pool.
In the blink of an eye, several hours went by.
By now, quite a few people in the Refining Pool had twisted faces and trembling bodies.
Starry Sky Energy possessed supernatural properties and fundamentally transformed the human body.
The process was no different from cells breaking apart and reassembling.
The longer the transformation lasted, the greater the pain one had to endure—but the benefits were greater, too.
"Ah!"
At last, someone couldn't take it anymore. He let out a loud cry and fled the Refining Pool in a sorry state.
He left through the passageway.
A while later,
more people shakily got to their feet and left.
Time continued to pass.
In the blink of an eye, the Starry Sky Refinement had lasted three hours.
One hundred people had now left the Refining Pool.
On the suspended platform,
Zhang Jianwu watched the scene and nodded slightly. "Most of those attending Starry Sky Refinement for the first time have finished."
It was difficult for first-timers to endure that kind of pain.
Those who had lasted this long were exceptionally impressive.
Cao Feng nodded. "The longer you've practiced the Refinement Method, the longer you can endure the pain."
"These first-timers have only just started practicing, so naturally, they can't hold on for long."
As he spoke, he glanced at Jiang Ye, looking somewhat surprised.
"This kid actually lasted this long." Cao Feng's eyes widened in astonishment.
Zhang Jianwu wasn't surprised.
He'd known for a while that Jiang Ye had a strong Martial Will.
Even without having mastered the advanced method, he could still last longer than most.
But as time went on, the pain would grow more and more intense. Jiang Ye probably wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.
Inside the Refining Pool,
Jiang Ye wasn't distracted by anything happening around him.
His eyes were closed as he felt the starlight within his Guanyuan Acupoint.
"Three hours have passed, and there are already more than three hundred strands of starlight in my Guanyuan Acupoint."
Jiang Ye calculated, "But to completely fill it, I'll probably need close to ten thousand strands."
He still had a long way to go.
Even so, Jiang Ye was full of confidence.
Because just a short while ago, he'd noticed something that delighted him.
"As the pain keeps getting worse, I seem to be absorbing starlight faster and faster!"
Jiang Ye guessed that this might be the effect of Finding Joy in Misery.
When he was in pain, all his attributes received a considerable boost.
The increase in his overall attributes had also raised the rate at which he absorbed starlight.
"The deeper the pain, the greater the boost."
Jiang Ye was secretly thrilled. "If this pattern holds, then the longer I stay here, the faster I'll absorb starlight as time goes on!"
Before,
he could absorb only one hundred strands of starlight a minute.
Now, he could absorb at least three hundred strands a minute!
But his absorption efficiency hadn't changed. It was still 1%, so out of three hundred strands of starlight, fewer than three entered his Guanyuan Acupoint.
His improved attributes couldn't change his talent.
Even so, Jiang Ye was delighted.
"Keep it up," Jiang Ye told himself. "I'll fill my Guanyuan Acupoint as soon as I can, then refine the energy here."
Refining it in the Refining Pool was undoubtedly more effective than going home and refining it alone.
After all, the Star Energy in his Guanyuan Acupoint would dissipate, too.
It just didn't dissipate very quickly.
Jiang Ye closed his eyes and absorbed energy at full speed.
Two hours passed.
Then four.
Before he knew it, the Starry Sky Refinement had lasted more than seven hours.
Fewer than a hundred people remained in the Refining Pool.
Half of them were students from Ancheng First Middle School.
Fewer than twenty students from Ancheng Third Middle School remained.
Outside, Zeng Xueqing watched Jiang Ye in the Refining Pool, her face full of disbelief. "Has this guy gone crazy?"
"How can he last this long!"
She considered herself about as strong as Jiang Ye.
Yet she'd lasted less than four hours before giving up.
But seven hours had passed, and Jiang Ye was still in there.
Not far away, Lin Xuan from Ancheng First Middle School looked even more sullen. "Damn it, did this guy cheat?"
"How can someone with Primitive Talent last this long!"
On the suspended platform,
Zhang Jianwu, Cao Feng, and Cang Haisong were all astonished.
"His Martial Will is that strong?" Zhang Jianwu furrowed his brow. "He didn't perform this well during the Thunder Fire Trial."
Beside him, Cang Haisong suddenly said, "Old Zhang, have you noticed? That kid seems to be absorbing energy faster!"
Zhang Jianwu and Cao Feng's eyes narrowed.
They'd noticed it, too.
Earlier, Jiang Ye could absorb at most one hundred strands of Star Energy a minute.
But now?
He was absorbing five hundred strands of Star Energy a minute!
"Has he mastered the advanced method!?" Cao Feng exclaimed in shock.
The longer someone practiced an advanced method, the faster they would absorb energy.
But the rate varied from person to person.
When Jiang Ye was absorbing one hundred strands a minute, Cao Feng had figured that he probably hadn't mastered it.
After all, Jiang Ye didn't have Primitive Talent for practicing this method, so there wasn't much to compare him against.
But now he was absorbing five hundred strands a minute?
He'd definitely mastered it!
"Not just mastered it." Cang Haisong, standing nearby, looked startled as well. "At this rate, he's surpassed Zhao Qingli and Lin Yushu!"
Zhao Qingli and Lin Yushu were both close to achieving Great Accomplishment in the Refinement Method.
Could Jiang Ye's advanced method be close to Great Accomplishment, too?
What kind of interstellar joke was this!
Zhang Jianwu's eyes flickered as he remembered something Chen Zilu had told him earlier.
"Could it be..." His gaze shifted.
Just then, Jiang Ye suddenly stood up in the Refining Pool.
"Hm?"
All three men narrowed their eyes.
"Is he finally about to give up?" Cao Feng watched Jiang Ye.
But the next second, Jiang Ye walked over to another spot in the Refining Pool and sat down.
The corners of all three men's eyes twitched.
"Did he think the Star Energy in his old spot wasn't concentrated enough?" Zhang Jianwu and the others were speechless.
By this point, everyone else in the Starry Sky Refinement was on the verge of their limits, writhing in agony.
Yet Jiang Ye thought there wasn't enough Star Energy and had gone out of his way to find a more concentrated spot to absorb it.
Everyone knew that the more concentrated the Star Energy, the more unbearable the pain it brought!
Was Jiang Ye really made of steel? Was he immune to pain!?
"Interesting." Cang Haisong suddenly laughed. "I'm starting to wonder how long this student can last."
The minutes ticked by.
As the Starry Sky Refinement continued, every minute became more grueling than the last.
Everyone felt as if they were trapped in a furnace heated to over a thousand degrees. The pain was excruciating.
Even Zhao Qingli bit down hard on her lip, her fair forehead slick with sweat.
As for Lin Yushu, he'd long since stopped caring about appearances. His broad, pockmarked face was scrunched into a ball.
Another hour passed.
Wang Ziang finally couldn't hold on any longer and left the Refining Pool.
Now, only two people from Ancheng Third Middle School remained.
Zhao Qingli and Jiang Ye!
On Ancheng First Middle School's side, fewer than ten people remained.
Time continued to pass.
The last few students from Ancheng First Middle School also left one after another.
By the tenth hour of the Starry Sky Refinement,
only three people remained in the Refining Pool.
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