Transcendence

Only three people remained in the vast Refining Pool.

The students who had already given up stood outside, watching the Refining Pool with strange expressions.

More precisely,

they were staring strangely at Jiang Ye inside the Refining Pool.

Zhao Qingli and Lin Yushu were the top students in their respective grades.

It wasn't surprising they'd lasted this long.

But who was the handsome young man who was still in there?

He looked unfamiliar!

Time continued to pass.

Half an hour later.

"I'm about to break through." Lin Yushu's eyes flew open. He immediately left the Starry Sky Refinement Pool.

The others heard his mutter and were startled.

He was about to break through?

With Lin Yushu's current strength, there was no doubt that he meant breaking through to First Break!

After leaving the Refining Pool, Lin Yushu sat cross-legged nearby and began refining the Star Energy in his body.

Now only one man and one woman remained in the pool.

Another half hour passed.

"Whoosh!"

Zhao Qingli opened her eyes. Her beautiful gaze swept over Jiang Ye before she rose and strode out of the Refining Pool on her long, snow-white legs.

Her Guanyuan Acupoint was already full.

There was no point in staying any longer.

And so, only one person remained in the Refining Pool.

"Jiang Ye."

Lin Xuan stared at the young man in the pool, his expression a mixture of disbelief and amazement. "This damn thing has to be rigged!"

Nearby, Wang Ziang wore a complicated expression. "No wonder he was so confident earlier. Looks like he'd prepared for this."

"You pulled off something huge without saying a word? You really are good at hiding your capabilities."

Time passed.

Ten hours.

Fifteen hours.

Eighteen hours.

It was deep into the night, and most of the people present had gone home.

A few, however, chose to sit where they were and cultivate.

They all wanted to see just how long the young man in the pool could last.

Inside the Refining Pool,

starshine surged into Jiang Ye at a rate of more than a thousand strands per minute.

At that speed,

even with an absorption rate of only one percent, nearly ten strands of starshine entered his Guanyuan Acupoint every minute.

His Guanyuan Acupoint filled rapidly.

98%.

99%.

100%!

"Buzz!"

The instant his Guanyuan Acupoint filled, an intense sense of fullness spread throughout his body.

Jiang Ye knew there was no need to keep absorbing.

"Time to refine it."

Jiang Ye circulated the Star Martial Advancement Method, mobilizing the Star Energy in his Guanyuan Acupoint and refining it, strand by strand.

"Following the Circulation Route of the advancement method,"

"the Star Energy travels along a set path, sheds its impurities, then returns to the Guanyuan Acupoint."

"This process is called 'Star Energy tempering.'"

Soon, the first strand of Star Energy was drawn from Jiang Ye's Guanyuan Acupoint.

It began following the Circulation Route, burrowing deep into his bone marrow.

The Star Energy would seep into the bones and sinews throughout his body. Its impurities would enter his bloodstream and be expelled.

At the same time, the Star Energy itself would temper his bones and sinews.

That was the process of refining.

There was no doubt that it was arduous and slow.

Tempering required reaching deep into the body, so it took a great deal of time.

A few minutes later,

"Whoosh!"

The strand of Star Energy quietly dissipated.

"It failed." Jiang Ye felt a pang of regret, but wasn't surprised.

When he absorbed Star Energy earlier, 99% of it dissipated.

There was no way to avoid losing some while refining it, either.

"My body doesn't seem very sensitive to Star Energy." Jiang Ye pondered. "Is it because of my talent?"

He'd heard that

some geniuses could absorb and refine Star Energy automatically.

They didn't even need a refinement method to guide them.

Their bodies were highly compatible with Star Energy. Once it entered them, it would naturally merge with their bones and sinews.

"Dao Bone? Or an even higher level of Transcendent Talent?"

Jiang Ye shook his head. Those things were far beyond him.

"Keep refining."

So what if it dissipates? I'll just absorb more.

He was still in the Refining Pool, where he could absorb Starry Sky Energy without limit.

Pain?

After eighteen hours, of course it hurt.

But for Jiang Ye, it still didn't compare to the torture on the second level of the Martial Arts Heavenly Ladder.

After all, the torture on the second level only grew more painful the longer it went on.

By now, Jiang Ye's pain tolerance had become unimaginable.

On the hovering platform,

Zhang Jianwu, Cao Feng, Cang Haisong, and the others sat cross-legged.

The Starry Sky Refinement had already lasted eighteen hours. They couldn't possibly keep watching the whole time.

They had to cultivate, too.

Just then, Cang Haisong said in surprise, "He's stopped absorbing Star Energy. Why hasn't he come out?"

"Is that kid planning to stay in there and refine it?"

At that, Zhang Jianwu and Cao Feng opened their eyes, their eyelids twitching.

Jiang Ye really was treating the Refining Pool like his own home.

Everyone else couldn't wait to leave once their refinement was done.

But Jiang Ye wasn't satisfied with filling his Guanyuan Acupoint—he was refining the Energy inside, too.

"Doesn't matter." Zhang Jianwu chuckled. "If he doesn't mind the pain, let him stay. There's no time limit anyway."

He looked down at Jiang Ye, a gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Miss Chen told me earlier that this kid had awakened his Martial Bone."

Looking at him now, he really does seem extraordinary.

Those who awakened their Martial Bone usually had unusual traits.

Jiang Ye had nothing but Primitive Talent, yet he was performing like this. It seemed to confirm what Chen Zilu had said.

"But a Martial Bone Awakening with Primitive Talent? I've never heard of that." Zhang Jianwu pondered. "Still, Miss Chen only mentioned it in passing. Maybe it's not that uncommon in prosperous regions."

At the same time,

Jiang Ye discovered that his efficiency at refining Star Energy was far beyond what he'd imagined.

After failing to refine the tenth strand,

Jiang Ye finally succeeded.

"Buzz!"

After more than ten minutes of refining, the eleventh strand of Star Energy shed its impurities and merged with his bones and sinews.

Jiang Ye's whole body shuddered.

He could clearly feel

that in that instant, something astonishing seemed to stir deep within his bone marrow.

A primordial force surged up from the depths of his soul.

"I'm so strong."

Jiang Ye clenched his fist. A faint silver gleam flashed across his fingertips.

"Transcendent power?"

Jiang Ye's heart trembled at the sight.

It was said that those who broke the Life Shackle would develop astonishing transcendent powers within their bodies.

He hadn't reached that level yet.

And yet the first sprouts of something transcendent were already taking root inside him.

The next moment, the tempered strand of Starry Sky Energy returned to his Guanyuan Acupoint.

"So this is Starry Sky Energy."

In an instant, Jiang Ye gained a deeper understanding of many things.

Starry Sky Energy came from beyond the Starry Sky. It carried transcendent properties, and now, at last, it had merged with him.

This marked Jiang Ye's official entry into Starry Sky Martial Arts!

Jiang Ye could sense that the refined strand of Star Energy would never dissipate.

It had become a true part of him.

"Strange. My Star Energy absorption rate is only one percent." A strange glint appeared in Jiang Ye's eyes. "By rights, my refining rate should be about the same."

"But the truth is, my refining efficiency reached ten percent."

Why?

Jiang Ye thought it over.

He figured it was most likely because of his physique.

In a sense, one's bones and sinews were part of one's physique.

His talent made his body insensitive to Star Energy, which explained his low absorption rate.

But when he refined Star Energy, it had to merge with his bones and sinews.

His physique was now Upper Class A, so the quality of his bones and sinews had risen accordingly.

As a result, the moment Star Energy touched them, it could merge with them.

These two seemingly contradictory phenomena were appearing together in Jiang Ye—a truly rare occurrence.

"Still, a refining efficiency of one in ten is too slow."

"Is there a faster way?" Jiang Ye wondered.

He didn't hesitate. He took out the delicate metal bottle Chen Zilu had given him.

"Star Sea Nectar." Jiang Ye looked at it expectantly.

Pop! He opened the cap.

A faint, sweet fragrance immediately filled the air.

A tiny bottle like this might be worth over a million. It was incredibly precious.

I hope it makes a noticeable difference. Jiang Ye tipped his head back and drank a small sip.

A cool sensation spread through his mouth, flowed down his esophagus into his stomach, and quickly began circulating through his body.

Jiang Ye immediately started circulating the advancement method.

"Hm?!" The moment he began, he felt something was different.

As the Star Sea Nectar circulated through his body, every meridian seemed to open up, becoming astonishingly clear.

"Buzz!" A strand of Star Energy followed the Circulation Route, traveling along the bones and sinews throughout his body and seeping into them.

Before he knew it, the strand began to take effect.

It steadily tempered Jiang Ye's body.

Ten minutes later,

Jiang Ye's whole body shuddered. He felt a strand of Star Energy travel along the Circulation Route and return to his Guanyuan Acupoint, completely merging with him.

"Success!" Jiang Ye's pupils contracted.

He stared at the metal bottle in disbelief.

He'd only taken one small sip, and his very first attempt at refining had succeeded?!

Was he simply lucky, or was the effect of this Star Sea Nectar outrageously powerful?

"The value of this Star Sea Nectar is probably far greater than a million." Jiang Ye was shaken, but at the same time, he was overjoyed.

With the Star Sea Nectar's help, refining everything that came next would be many times easier!

"I'll refine all the Star Energy right here in the Refining Pool!" Jiang Ye made up his mind.