How to Improve One's Aptitude

The second floor was different. Only officially registered members of the Demon Suppression Division who had earned merits could enter.

The third floor was for those who had received special permission, like Su Ye, or accumulated enough merits.

Crossing the high threshold, he took in the room packed with all kinds of books. Two men dressed as clerks stood inside the door. They merely glanced at him and showed no intention of speaking.

Su Ye passed between the wooden shelves on either side. Now and then, figures moved along the aisles. He spotted a boy holding several ledgers in both hands, his face full of indecision.

Another boy of about the same age beside him advised, "Luo Que, the commandant already gave you guidance. This Mystic Ice True Skill suits you perfectly, so why agonize over it?"

"Brother Lin is right. I was being greedy."

The boy slowly put the ledgers back on the shelf, then pulled one out. After registering it, he and his companion hurried away.

Su Ye only glanced at them and kept going, turning straight toward the second floor.

As he walked, he sensed several concealed gazes sweeping over him from time to time. These people were probably guards of some sort. This was an important place belonging to the Demon Suppression Division; it would have been strange if no one were watching over it.

The second floor was noticeably more spacious. It was silent, with no one in sight. Standing between the bookshelves, Su Ye casually picked up a cultivation manual and flipped through it.

An incense stick's time later, he had recorded the cultivation techniques and martial skills required for the Meridian Mirror. He casually picked up a book and continued toward the third floor.

At the entrance to the third floor, an invisible barrier blocked Su Ye's way. Without needing anyone to direct him, he took the Black Iron Token from his robes. With a soft pop, the invisible barrier vanished.

The third floor of the Hall of Bestowing Merit was spacious. Unlike the first and second floors, with their rows of shelves, it had only narrow passageways wide enough for two people to walk through.

The first thing that caught his eye was a massive rosewood table, five or six meters wide and more than ten meters long. Dozens of yellowed ancient books were arranged neatly on it.

After glancing around, Su Ye walked over and casually picked up the book in front of him.

Five archaic characters were written clearly on its cover: "Great Sun Golden Body Skill."

According to the book, this was a body-tempering martial art. At noon, beneath the blazing sun, one had to form the Great Sun Seal, visualize pure yang energy, and guide it through every bone in the body.

One also had to strike various strange poses continuously for two hours to achieve the effect of tempering the body.

The hardship involved was beyond what outsiders could understand. Before training, one also needed to use a special secret medicine as an aid.

For example, Golden Gang Powder was made by taking five Vajra Vines, two Blood Sun Fruits, one qian of Golden Lingzhi, and two qian of Pure Yang Pepper. The ingredients were ground into powder, mixed with a small amount of water, then simmered over low heat for an hour.

The medicine was applied all over the body, and its effects lasted for an hour. That was the complete process of training in this skill.

[Great Sun Golden Body Skill · Mystic Grade Middle Rank] recorded

"No wonder nobody takes the body-tempering path."

Su Ye recognized several of the ingredients and knew their value. A single training session would cost at least a hundred taels of silver, though the amount depended on the grade of the skill.

But no matter the grade, body-tempering martial arts all required their corresponding secret medicines. If not for the panel, Su Ye would never have been able to master the [Dragon Tiger Vajra Skill] he had learned earlier; even reaching the entry level would have been a pipe dream.

Back then, Meng Daniu had only given him the cultivation method. It had not come with the accompanying secret medicine. External Cultivation was only meant to help poor commoners strengthen their bodies through training.

Scions of noble families and Martial Artists who had inherited Internal Cultivation methods did not need to work so hard. After tempering themselves in the Body Tempering Realm, they could continuously absorb the power of heaven and earth to strengthen their inner true qi.

Those from well-off families could even take pills to speed up the process. Not only did this leave no hidden dangers, but their progress was also faster than that of External Cultivation Martial Artists. Most importantly, body tempering did not increase one's lifespan. That was the fundamental reason.

Su Ye picked up the cultivation manuals and martial arts on the table and examined them one by one.

[Mountain Sea Condensing True Scroll · Mystic Grade High Rank] recorded

[Demon Slaying Seven Kill Blade · Mystic Grade High Rank] recorded

[Floating Light Fleeting Shadow · Mystic Grade High Rank] recorded

[Marrow Cleansing Meridian Stripping · Mystic Grade High Rank] acquired

[Bone Changing Spirit Forging Skill · Mystic Grade High Rank] acquired

"What is this?"

His hand turning the pages suddenly stopped. These martial arts could cleanse the meridians and marrow, transforming one's constitution.

Take [Marrow Cleansing Meridian Stripping], for example. If one cultivated this skill to perfection, the meridians would expand by more than half, and the bone marrow's ability to produce blood would increase by over eighty percent.

His thoughts raced. Su Ye gathered every book on the table with titles related to this sort of thing. Along with the two he had found earlier, he had collected more than five books.

A faint smile crept over Su Ye's face. If he brought these five cultivation techniques to perfection, he would be nothing short of a martial arts prodigy.

While Su Ye secretly rejoiced, someone hidden from sight shook his head again and again.

"Impatient by nature. He'll never amount to anything."

Another voice suddenly spoke up. "Brother Chu, why are you being so harsh?"

"This boy is still young. It must be his first time in the Hall of Bestowing Merit. Seeing so many cultivation techniques and martial skills at once, it's only natural that he'd get carried away."

"When we were young, weren't we the same?"

Ignoring the people hidden from view, Su Ye picked up the [Mountain Sea Condensing True Scroll] and quickly left the Hall of Bestowing Merit.

On the first floor, he handed the two ancient books in his possession to a young woman dressed as a clerk. After she registered them, he hurried back to his residence.

He opened the courtyard gate and shut it behind him. The room was just as he had left it. After a quick wash, he changed into fresh clothes and sat cross-legged on the wooden bed.

"I've been stuck at the sixth level of the Meridian Mirror for so long. When will my realm improve?"

As the panel appeared, rows of cultivation techniques came into view. A line of small text at the bottom caught Su Ye's attention.

[Note: The host may choose to hide perfected cultivation techniques. Hidden techniques can be displayed again.]

Looking over the panel's densely packed cultivation information, Su Ye didn't hesitate and immediately chose the hide function.

After he enabled the hide function, the panel appeared as follows.

Host: Su Ye

Realm: Sixth Level of the Meridian Mirror

Cultivation Techniques: [Body Tempering Initial Giải · Mortal Grade High Rank] Entry Level [Mountain Sea Condensing True Scroll · Mystic Grade High Rank] Not Yet Initiated [Great Sun Golden Body Skill · Mystic Grade Middle Rank] Not Yet Initiated

[True Dragon Treasure Body · Mystic Grade High Rank] Not Yet Initiated [Marrow Cleansing Meridian Stripping · Mystic Grade High Rank] Not Yet Initiated

[Bone Changing Spirit Forging Skill · Mystic Grade High Rank] Not Yet Initiated

Martial Skills: [[Meteor Hammer Technique · Mortal Grade High Rank] Not Yet Initiated

[Blood Fiend Severing Heaven Palm · Mystic Grade] Entry Level [Demon Slaying Seven Kill Blade · Mystic Grade High Rank] Not Yet Initiated [Vast Sea True Intent Fist · Mystic Grade Middle Rank] Not Yet Initiated [Dragon Capturing Hand · Mystic Grade Middle Rank] Not Yet Initiated...

Movement Skills: [Floating Light Fleeting Shadow · Mystic Grade High Rank] Not Yet Initiated [Treading Snow Without a Trace · Mystic Grade Low Rank] Not Yet Initiated ...

Assistance Points: 8653

"Much tidier."

His gaze then fell on the few martial arts that could improve his foundation. He had never seen such miraculous skills before. Now that he had plenty of Assistance Points, he might as well give them a try and see how effective they were.

Improving [Marrow Cleansing Meridian Stripping · Mystic Grade High Rank] would consume 400 Assistance Points.

Confirm?

Su Ye didn't hesitate.

Confirm.

As soon as he spoke, his mind went hazy. When he came to, he discovered that his meridians had somehow widened by twenty percent and grown considerably tougher than before.

Don't underestimate that twenty percent increase in the width of his meridians. An extra ten percent of explosive power in battle could often decide who won.

[Marrow Cleansing Meridian Stripping · Mystic Grade High Rank] Entry Level