The Star Energy Aptitude

He was covered in injuries left by He Yi.

Since Seven Injuries Fist gained the ability to heal the body after its side effects were reversed, he might as well give it a try.

Qin Chen opened Seven Injuries Fist and studied it over and over. Before long, he'd already gained some insight.

For some reason, he felt that he'd already reached the entry level in Seven Injuries Fist.

Although he hadn't used Seven Injuries Fist even once, the thought had taken root in his mind.

Of course, he didn't think it was because of his talent for comprehension. He knew full well how lousy his comprehension was.

That meant the only explanation was...

Qin Chen took a deep breath, excitement impossible to hide in his eyes.

The claim that cultivation became extremely easy after the side effects were reversed really wasn't an exaggeration!

One look, and he'd reached the entry level!

Combat skills in this world were divided into five grades, from D-Grade, the lowest, to S-Grade, the highest.

Proficiency in a combat skill was divided into four levels: entry, Minor Completion, Major Completion, and Grand Completion.

Martial Artists generally couldn't cultivate D-Grade Combat Skills until they officially became Martial Artists.

Otherwise, they'd struggle to withstand the energy it consumed, and forcing themselves to use one could even injure them.

Of course, Qin Chen didn't have to worry about that!

Without hesitation, Qin Chen immediately began practicing the Seven Injuries Fist he'd just learned, while it was still fresh in his mind.

A faint sound rang through the air.

At the same time, a warm current welled up from deep within him and flowed toward his limbs and bones.

His whole body felt warm, and his injuries were steadily healing.

The healing wasn't very fast, but it was definitely happening.

As Qin Chen kept practicing Seven Injuries Fist, more and more warmth surged through him, and his injuries healed faster and faster.

The bruises beneath his skin slowly faded, then vanished completely.

Meanwhile, his proficiency in Seven Injuries Fist was rising at an unbelievable rate.

At one moment, inspiration struck Qin Chen. He threw a punch, and the air suddenly burst with a sharp crack.

Seven Injuries Fist, Minor Completion!

At the same time, a warm current many times more powerful than before surged through him, coursing into every part of his body.

By the time the warmth faded, Qin Chen could no longer feel even the slightest pain.

Which meant his injuries had healed completely!

Qin Chen stood there, staring at his hands in disbelief.

He wasn't a clueless novice when it came to cultivation.

Under normal circumstances, it took an ordinary person at least a week to reach the entry level in a D-Grade Combat Skill, let alone Minor Completion!

And that was only for those easier D-Grade Combat Skills.

For something as difficult as Seven Injuries Fist, it would take at least a month just to reach the entry level.

Yet he'd done it at a glance, then raised his proficiency to Minor Completion after practicing a dozen or so times.

This...

Was freaking awesome!!

With this system, he could seek out the hardest Combat Skills whenever he chose one.

Once he reversed their side effects, those abstruse and difficult Combat Skills that seemed impossible to ordinary people would come as easily to him as reaching for something in his pocket!

That was right!

He was a genius!!

After taking some time to calm down, Qin Chen slowly sat down where he was.

He closed his eyes and arranged his hands into a special pose.

As time passed, Qin Chen felt himself enter an endless, pitch-black space.

There wasn't the slightest glimmer of light around him.

After an unknown length of time, blue light suddenly lit up the dark space, and Qin Chen's eyes snapped open.

Countless blue specks of light drifted around him like fireflies.

This was Star Energy!

He was practicing a technique called the Star Energy Cultivation Method.

After countless rounds of refinement, the ancestors of Xia Nation had eventually created the cultivation method best suited for absorbing Star Energy.

Once students awakened, the school distributed it to all of them.

In terms of cultivation methods, everyone could be said to start on the same line.

And the Star Energy Cultivation Method was genuinely powerful.

Even a novice like him, unfamiliar with the method, had attracted a great deal of Star Energy on his first attempt.

But the problem was—

He couldn't absorb any of that Star Energy, damn it!

Countless blue specks circled around him, but not one could enter his body.

A full half hour passed before one blue speck finally merged into him, seemingly very unwillingly, and began tempering his body.

If you think this book is good, add it to your bookshelf so you can find it again next time.

Qin Chen slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Cultivating Seven Injuries Fist had been easy; attracting Star Energy to temper his body was just as difficult.

The Star Energy treated getting close to him like getting close to a pile of shit.

Qin Chen could only comfort himself by thinking this was a trial every genius with one point of Star Energy Aptitude had to endure!!

Damn it, in a couple of days, he'd look for a Combat Skill whose side effect lowered Star Energy Aptitude.

Whoever wanted to be a genius with one point of Star Energy Aptitude could have the job!

Complaining aside, he still had to keep tempering his body.

The first realm of a Martial Artist was Body Tempering!

By absorbing Star Energy to temper their bodies, Martial Artists laid the foundation for the realms that followed.

Body Tempering was divided into nine layers.

Even the lowest, Body Tempering Layer One, was enough to take on more than a dozen ordinary people with ease.

That was because reaching this point meant officially stepping into the realm of a Martial Artist.

Qin Chen had only awakened yesterday, and hadn't even reached Body Tempering Layer One yet.

Of course, only a day had passed since the awakening. Unless someone was a top-tier genius, they wouldn't break through to Body Tempering Layer One this quickly.

Everyone could only absorb Star Energy after awakening. Before the age of sixteen, their genes weren't fully developed, and cultivating too early would instead damage their bodies.

So before awakening, everyone was at least on the same starting line in terms of their realm.

But after awakening, differences in various conditions could quickly open up a gap between people.

These conditions included not only differences in their Star Energy Aptitude, but also another crucial factor: resources.

Star Energy seemed gentle, but it was actually violent. As it entered the body to temper it, it also caused damage.

The higher one's Star Energy Aptitude, the less damage it did to the body.

And vice versa.

It was like treating your own son and an outsider—blood was thicker than water.

Someone with Star Energy Aptitude as low as Qin Chen's was like the son born after his wife ran off with his enemy.

Star Energy did everything it could to kill him!

That was exactly what was happening to Qin Chen. As Star Energy tempered his body, it also rampaged through him.

His muscles were torn apart again and again. The intense pain made a few beads of sweat break out on Qin Chen's forehead.

"Good!"

"I like that wild streak!"

Qin Chen forced himself to his feet through the pain, then resumed practicing Seven Injuries Fist.

He wanted to see whether the Star Energy could wreck his body faster than he could heal it.

That familiar warmth welled up from deep within him and flowed through his limbs and bones.

The torn muscles healed at astonishing speed as the warmth passed through them—only to be torn apart again.

Over and over!

Qin Chen clenched his teeth. Only he knew how excruciatingly good it felt.

Although he was enduring tremendous pain, he could clearly feel his body slowly growing stronger, drawing closer and closer to Body Tempering Layer One.

This was his own unique way of tempering his body.

Why had it been said earlier that resources were important too?

Because if your body was injured during Body Tempering, you had to recover before you could begin the next round of cultivation.

If you forced yourself to cultivate anyway, the results would be poor at best, and you might even cause permanent damage to your body.

That was where the gap in resources came into play.

Every world had a miraculous ability called Money Power!

This world was no exception.

There was a type of Star Liquid on the market called Body Tempering Fluid. Its main use was to heal injuries caused by tempering the body with Star Energy.

That way, even with low Star Energy Aptitude, one could rely on Money Power to undergo multiple rounds of Star Energy tempering in a short time.

In short:

If you lack talent, make up for it with money!

Clearly, that wasn't an option for Qin Chen.

One vial of Body Tempering Fluid cost three thousand Star Coins, and Qin Chen had only a little over ten thousand Star Coins to his name, counting every last cent.

It might seem as if ten thousand Star Coins could buy three vials of Body Tempering Fluid, but buying them would be utterly idiotic.

Body Tempering was an ongoing process; a few vials of Body Tempering Fluid wouldn't solve the problem.

But...

He didn't need it anyway!

He didn't believe Body Tempering Fluid could be as effective as his Seven Injuries Fist.

And as he kept practicing Seven Injuries Fist, he felt his proficiency continuing to rise.

As his proficiency increased, so did its healing effect.

Body Tempering Fluid?

Trash!

Time slowly passed as Qin Chen continued absorbing Star Energy to temper his body and practicing Seven Injuries Fist...