"Although the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art can bypass the problem of blocked, ossified roots, once you break through to the mid-stage of the Body Tempering Realm, your cultivation speed still can't compare to those with superior root aptitude!"
"To break through to the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm will take at least five months, perhaps even half a year."
"I was able to break through quickly from the peak of the early stage of the Body Tempering Realm to the mid-stage because the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art's method of tempering the body externally and internally had a tremendous effect. But I'd already spent a long time building up my foundation at that stage. It was the combination of both that allowed me to break through so smoothly."
"But as my cultivation deepens, the problem of blocked, ossified roots will become harder and harder to avoid, no matter how wondrous the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art is."
Su Mo sighed softly. Even with his terrifying talent for comprehension, after mastering the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art and breaking through to the mid-stage of the Body Tempering Realm, his cultivation speed had inevitably slowed.
By his estimate, it would take at least half a year to raise his cultivation to the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm.
The Azure Origin Body Tempering Art's advantage was that it allowed older cultivators and those with ossified roots to overcome their disadvantages, letting ordinary people become Martial Artists in the Body Tempering Realm. But after reaching the Body Tempering Realm, their cultivation speed would still be severely affected by blocked roots.
That was also why the many major sects and Lineages in Anyuan County Town had always looked down on the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art. Only those with superior root aptitude could advance unhindered along the Martial Dao and go further.
The Azure Origin Body Tempering Art was more like a shortcut, but it was difficult to rely on that shortcut for long. Not only was the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art incomplete, allowing cultivation only up to the peak of the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm, it also had no follow-up Cultivation Technique to bridge the gap to the Meridian Opening Realm.
What was more, Martial Artists with inferior root aptitude might manage to become Martial Artists, but their subsequent cultivation speed would become unbearably slow.
That was the situation Su Mo was facing now.
It would take at least five months, and perhaps nearly half a year, to advance from the mid-stage to the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm.
"Although the Ancient Profound Pearl lets me gain the innate traits of Fierce Beasts and wild animals after killing them, strengthening myself and improving my physical constitution, it can't directly affect my cultivation realm. If I don't break through to the next major realm, I'll stay in the same place. My lifespan definitely won't increase. Looks like I'll have to risk life and limb to cultivate from now on!"
Su Mo's thoughts churned. The Ancient Profound Pearl could keep granting him the innate traits of wild animals, but it had no direct effect on his Martial Dao Realm. It could only strengthen his physical prowess.
But Su Mo practiced martial arts and cultivated not only to pursue strength and survive in this harsh world, but also to gain a long life—perhaps even eternal life, to live forever, deathless and indestructible...
He didn't know whether anyone in the martial world could truly live forever. But whenever he broke through to a major realm, his lifespan increased by decades. When he'd gone from an ordinary person to the Body Tempering Realm, for instance, he'd gained thirty years, extending his life from seventy to a hundred.
Once he broke through from the Body Tempering Realm to the Meridian Opening Realm, the increase in his lifespan would only be greater.
As long as he continued breaking through to major realms, his lifespan would keep growing.
Su Mo guessed that this miraculous phenomenon was most likely connected to the Ancient Profound Pearl.
The innate traits of the wild animals and Fierce Beasts he'd killed had been extracted by the Ancient Profound Pearl. It had even drained their vitality and fed it back into his body. That was why his lifespan had soared whenever he broke through to a major realm.
In the vast martial world, Su Mo was likely the only one with such an advantage. Even the top experts of great Lineages and sects had to transcend the mortal realm and pierce the profound lamp within their bodies before their very level of life could transform and their lifespans increase dramatically.
But Su Mo had begun experiencing it as early as the Body Tempering Realm.
The old master of the martial arts school, Yu Guande, had reached the Tendon Changing Realm, but even he could live only into his nineties at most. He was now in his seventies and had kept himself in fairly good condition, but he'd suffered a serious injury in his youth, and his vital energy and blood had long since declined badly.
Ordinary experts in the Tendon Changing Realm lived no more than a hundred and ten years at most.
After finishing his cultivation, Su Mo went to the well at the martial arts school, drew some water, and washed up before returning to his room to rest.
When he got back, his roommates, Xie Baolin and Yue Haofeng, had already gone to bed.
The two of them were amazed by Su Mo's diligence in cultivation, but they weren't surprised. After all, the martial arts school offered only one month of free lodging. Once that was over, many disciples who couldn't afford the steep lodging fees had no choice but to leave.
The night passed in a flash.
"Su Mo, this is the breakfast Senior Brother Yue Haofeng brought back for us. He said that after we've eaten, we can go to the medicine hall for a bowl of Body Strengthening Soup before heading to the training grounds. It'll speed up our cultivation."
When Su Mo woke in the morning, Xie Baolin was already up in the bed beside him. Senior Brother Yue Haofeng, in the other bed, had even gone to the school's dining hall and brought breakfast back for them. Guande Martial Arts School provided meals, but if you went too late for breakfast, it was easy to miss out.
Senior Brother Yue Haofeng had also said that after breakfast, they could get a free bowl of Body Strengthening Soup at the school's medicine hall before practicing at the training grounds.
The Body Strengthening Soup was included in the tuition paid when they became disciples. The school provided it free for one month, but after that, anyone who wanted to keep drinking it while practicing martial arts would have to pay extra, just like they did for lodging.
"Su Mo, it was your first day at the school yesterday. Did you really go train in the middle of the night?"
As he ate breakfast, his roommate Xie Baolin chatted with him.
Xie Baolin was only around sixteen, younger than Su Mo, but he was powerfully built and tall. His skin was a little dark. He was said to have come from a mountain village, and his parents had sold everything they could to send him to the martial arts school.
When Su Mo had returned from training the previous night, Xie Baolin had actually woken up. He hadn't expected Su Mo to work so hard on his very first day at the school.
"Yeah. I'd finally gotten my first Body Tempering Cultivation Technique, and I didn't want to waste any time, so I did a little extra training last night."
After getting up and washing, Su Mo picked up the breakfast on the table and began eating. The previous day, Senior Sister Lin Yutong had taught them the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art in the school's main hall. Honestly, Su Mo had waited all this time just to get his hands on a body-tempering Cultivation Technique.
So the moment he got it, he couldn't wait to begin.
He just wanted to break through as quickly as possible.
"Su Mo, you're really diligent. I'm from a remote village below Qingshan Town, and I used to herd cattle. To get into Guande Martial Arts School, my parents sold a lot of things from our home and borrowed quite a bit of money before they could scrape together the tuition."
"My parents told me that only by becoming a Martial Artist could I make something of myself and stop people from looking down on me and bullying me," Xie Baolin said honestly.
He thought Su Mo looked like Senior Brother Yue Haofeng, who came from a wealthy family in Qingshan Town. Su Mo had spent years hunting, but his skin was fair, his features handsome, and his build tall and straight. There was a mysterious air about him.
That gave Xie Baolin the impression that Su Mo came from a remarkable background. He wasn't alone; many of the school's disciples thought the same. Su Mo simply had an imposing bearing.
"I'm much like you. I also come from a remote mountain village, and I make my living by hunting. I'm a hunter."
Su Mo replied.
"Then you've had an even harder time than me, Su Mo. No wonder you work so hard!"
Xie Baolin was taken aback. He hadn't expected Su Mo to be no wealthy family's son from Qingshan Town, but just a hunter from a remote village below it, like himself.
That made him feel a pressing sense of urgency.
If Su Mo was working this hard, he had to keep up. His parents were still waiting for him back home. He had to make something of himself and pay back the tuition his parents had borrowed to get him into the school.
"I've heard that if your Martial Dao talent is good enough, some of the school's higher-ups or important people from outside will sponsor you, giving you money or cultivation resources. I hear it's considered an early investment."
Xie Baolin continued. Someone in the room next door had been noticed and given a sponsorship.
Su Mo shook his head. That was the first he'd heard of it.
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