Eighth Layer of Body Tempering

Li Ye carried roast chicken and fine wine to the Corpse Incineration Room, eating and drinking as he stoked the Hot Furnace.

By the time he had eaten and drunk his fill, night had fallen completely.

Two Corpse Incinerators brought in a blood-soaked corpse, then hurried away.

Immediately afterward, the Black-Clad Academicians, led by Wu Qing, streamed in from outside like water. Every one of them wore a grim expression and looked wary.

The gate was quickly shut.

A silver disk hung high among the clouds, scattering specks of Divine Radiance.

Li Ye turned around and saw that the corpse on the stretcher seemed to have moved.

Has it already undergone Corpse Transformation?

He couldn't help feeling a jolt of alarm.

Crack!

A cold-faced Black-Clad Academician stepped forward and locked Li Ye and the corpse inside the room.

Hm?

Li Ye turned around and saw that the blood-soaked Corpse Wrapping Cloth had somehow fallen to the floor, while the corpse on the stretcher had vanished.

The sight made his scalp prickle.

He had been a Corpse Incinerator for so long, yet this was the first time he'd encountered such a cunning corpse.

No wonder it was the corpse of a Rebel Army General.

Li Ye immediately scanned his surroundings, checking every corner of the room.

He still couldn't find any trace of the corpse.

Gone?

How could it be gone?

Could it have moved so fast that it outpaced his eyes, creating a blind spot in his vision?

But how fast would it have to be? That was impossible.

Li Ye wondered.

Suddenly, a streak of crimson flashed before his eyes. It was a thread of blood, dripping down from above.

Li Ye jerked his head up. In his field of vision, a corpse in a tattered, bloodstained suit of armor clung to a roof beam, its gray pupils fixed eerily on him.

The corpse was tall and broad, with disheveled hair hanging loose. Blood seeped in countless thin streams from wounds on its chest, brow ridge, and elsewhere.

Li Ye had been mentally prepared, but he still couldn't help exclaiming, "So you really did undergo Corpse Transformation."

He noticed that beneath the blood covering the Fierce Corpse's skin, tufts of red hair had already sprouted.

About eight centimeters long.

Under the moon's Yin Qi, the red hair continued to grow.

The longer the red hair, the stronger the Fierce Corpse.

"Haah! Haah!"

A hoarse sound rasped from the Fierce Corpse's throat. Frost across its face mixed with blood and fell away.

It seemed to sense that its power had nearly finished transforming. Its whole body shot down like a bolt of lightning, pouncing to kill him.

It was incredibly fast.

Dense waves of Corpse Qi pressed down in sheets.

If this had happened a few days ago, Li Ye wouldn't have been able to dodge that speed.

So he thought, then barked, "Swift Wind Leg!"

Boom!

The Night Roaming God's skill activated. The muscles in Li Ye's legs bulged like iron blocks, swelling a full size in an instant. Thick tendons surfaced, Divine Power surged, and wind rose beneath his feet as he sprang into the air, trailing afterimages.

Then, with a swift turn, he lashed out with a kick. Terrifying force raised a gale, the air exploded, and the dense Corpse Qi was torn apart. His foot struck the Fierce Corpse squarely in the chest.

Then... a metallic clang rang out beneath Li Ye's foot.

A sharp crack followed. The Fierce Corpse's chest caved in, and it was kicked into the Corpse Incineration Furnace like a cannonball.

An Iron Corpse!

Watching the Fierce Corpse fly into the Corpse Incineration Furnace, a term surfaced in Li Ye's mind. His eyes widened.

An Iron Corpse was a corpse whose inner power had transformed to a certain level, making its body as solid as iron, Invulnerable to Blades and Spears.

Fierce Corpses of this rank were far beyond ordinary ones.

Li Ye had clearly felt as if he'd kicked an iron plate. This Fierce Corpse, transformed from the body of a Rebel Army General, was nothing like a body of flesh and blood.

It was undoubtedly an Iron Corpse.

Unfortunately for it, it had run into Li Ye.

The Night Roaming God's legs could crush steel blades with ease. Li Ye had inherited his talent, and the strength in his legs was easily over a thousand jin.

A mere Iron Corpse couldn't withstand his power.

Inside the Corpse Incineration Furnace, the Rebel Army General's corpse gradually blended into the flames.

Although it still retained some ability to fight, once it entered the Corpse Incineration Furnace, the invisible rules inside bound it.

Not even the Heavenly King himself could escape.

The Life Imprint of this deputy general began to unravel, and scenes from his life blossomed one after another.

He had been born into a Martial General Family. His rank was middling, and he had studied martial arts from childhood. Gifted and accomplished, he had already made a name for himself before he turned twenty.

One year, on one particular day, his father summoned him to the main hall and spoke to him gravely.

When the deputy general left the room, he looked dazed.

A few days later, his father brought him to a grand and lavish manor, where they met a dignified, imposing middle-aged man.

From then on, the deputy general's cultivation and status rose like floodwaters.

Gold and silver, resources, and beautiful concubines—he had everything he could want.

Last came scenes of the deputy general rebelling and riding across the battlefield.

"So that dignified middle-aged man must be King Liang, who's currently in rebellion,"

Li Ye guessed.

He couldn't help marveling at the power of authority, wealth, and beauty. They had made a Martial General Family that had served the Imperial Court for generations rebel, then switch sides.

Buzz!

A stream of white mist flew out of the Corpse Incineration Furnace and entered Li Ye's body.

In the next moment, a series of crackling pops rang through his body. It was as if he'd undergone hundreds of days and nights of arduous cultivation, and his aura surged.

A moment later, a powerful aura burst from Li Ye. With a boom, he broke through into the Seventh Layer of Body Tempering.

But that wasn't all. His aura continued to rise at an astonishing pace.

A few moments later, another crack sounded inside him, like an eggshell breaking.

He'd broken through again, reaching the Eighth Layer of Body Tempering.

His strength rose a little more before finally stopping.

"Body Tempering cultivation?"

"As expected of a Rebel Army General. He didn't just help me break through to the Eighth Layer of Body Tempering; he also boosted my cultivation by more than half a layer. I'm not far from the Ninth Layer of Body Tempering now."

Delighted, Li Ye gauged his strength.

Without using Swift Wind Leg, he could muster around seventeen hundred jin of force.

"The chimney's gone out. That was fast."

One of the Black-Clad Academicians in the courtyard exclaimed in surprise.

Clang, clang, clang!

The others, already on guard, noticed as well. They drew their sabers, their steel blades half out of their sheaths, while wave after wave of killing intent spread through the courtyard.

By the rules, the door had to be opened once the chimney went out.

A Black-Clad Academician stepped forward through gritted teeth and opened the door.

He saw the familiar figure of a young man.

His eyes widened.

At that moment, everything in Courtyard No. 3 seemed to freeze. Only after a long while did the sound of steel sabers sliding back into their sheaths ring out.

One of the Black-Clad Academicians asked curiously, "It didn't undergo Corpse Transformation?"

Li Ye shook his head, indicating that he wasn't sure.

He had sensed the corpse was dangerous, so he'd tossed out an ancestral talisman ahead of time, then pushed the corpse in to burn.

"I see."

The Black-Clad Academician was slightly surprised, thinking that this kid really did have a few tricks up his sleeve.

"Not bad!"

Wu Qing, their leader, gave Li Ye a long look, then turned and left.

The other Black-Clad Academicians followed.

Although some of them had shown Li Ye a little appreciation, that didn't change the fact that Corpse Incinerators' lives were as cheap as grass.

Perhaps, in their eyes, lowly creatures like Li Ye didn't even count as people.

Li Ye shrugged. He was already used to the Black-Clad Academicians' cold attitude.

He didn't care.

As far as Li Ye was concerned, the more invisible he could remain for now, the better. He was actually glad the Black-Clad Academicians ignored him.

No one would want the Rebel Army deputy general's ashes.

Li Ye shoveled them out and buried them outside. When he came back, he shut the gate.

Then he began practicing the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art. Gradually, faint rumbles of thunder sounded with each breath, and white smoke began to rise from his body. Before long, he had entered a state of deep concentration.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Half an hour later, someone knocked at the door.

"Brother Li Bai, are you there?"

Zhou Bao shouted at the top of his lungs.

Li Ye paused his practice of the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art, rose, and opened the door. As expected, Zhou Bao stood outside.

Zhou Bao got straight to the point. "Brother Li Bai, I'm leaving."

Leaving?

Li Ye looked surprised. Last time, he'd urged this fellow to leave, but he hadn't been willing.

Why was he suddenly leaving now?

Zhou Bao explained that he had encountered Fierce Corpses on both of the last two nights, and had barely subdued them with the Corpse Suppressing Incantation.

He'd nearly gotten into trouble the previous night.

After careful consideration, Zhou Bao felt that if he stayed, he might die. Better to leave.

"But before I go, I'd like to invite you down the mountain for a good drink. I wonder if Brother Li Bai would do me the honor?"

Zhou Bao asked earnestly.

Licheng City was one of the cities at the foot of the Divine Concealment Sect's mountain.

As for Yihongyuan, it was the most renowned brothel in Licheng City, where countless wandering heroes of the martial world, scholars, and writers lingered, unable to tear themselves away.