Tempering Potion

"It's nothing, Guen. A bunch of people coming to cause you trouble is also a kind of tempering for you—only benefits, no harm," East Guardian said casually. "At least in Eastsea Province, no one will bother you. As for this matter, they won't make too big a fuss over it. The strongest expert they'll send is at most Scarface Old Three's level."

What else could Guen say? He could only accept it with a wry smile.

East Guardian then dropped his grin. "But you still need to be careful. This is Eastsea Province—I can protect you here. Once you leave Eastsea Province, I can't watch over you all the time. And you have to be wary—the Imperial Council and the Council of Elders have extensive networks of informants within the empire. When you travel around the empire in the future, stay alert. Look at this time—even without something like a Smart Watch, they still found you quickly enough. Ah, forget it. Your current state is partly my fault, so take this as compensation."

East Guardian returned to his own room, took out two silver-white potions from a small box, and carefully handed them to Guen.

"What are these?"

Guen gently held the potions. Just having them in his hand gave him a strange, oppressive feeling, as if his spirit was being crushed.

East Guardian looked a little reluctant. "These are Tempering Potions, but they temper the spirit. Only the High Priest, working together with two Mages, can produce them. Normally, you can take a small amount to stimulate your mental strength—it's very beneficial for cultivation. In a crisis, if you drink a large dose, your spirit will be greatly roused. Even for me, it can boost my abilities by about seventy percent. For you, one potion could increase your power two or three times over for a short period."

"Tempering Potion?" Guen's heart stirred. He finally understood where that oppressive feeling came from.

The two Mages of the Goddess Temple were both Spirit Readers. Only a Spirit Reader could use Telekinetic Power to touch a person's spirit and achieve such an effect.

Afraid Guen wouldn't grasp it, East Guardian continued explaining. "Don't underestimate this Tempering Potion. It uses a Spirit Reader's Telekinetic Power as a guide, and the High Priest refines a large amount of Life Energy as a supplement to create it. Otherwise, it would damage the human body. The deeper one's cultivation, the stronger a Fighter's spirit becomes. But compared to a Spirit Reader, a Fighter's spiritual attainments naturally fall far short.

"This Tempering Potion is like letting you obtain the spiritual power of a higher realm in advance. It's not real Telekinetic Power—after all, Telekinetic Power is unique to Spirit Readers—but it has extraordinary uses. Stronger mental power lets you control your body more precisely and apply force with finer technique. So it's useful for daily training, and in critical moments, it can be unleashed for a burst of power. I accumulated a lot of merits to be granted ten of these, and now I only have half left. These two are yours."

After East Guardian's explanation, not just Guen, but even Cal was deeply tempted.

"Sir, isn't this too precious?" Guen felt uneasy, as if the potions were a hot potato in his hands.

East Guardian laughed heartily. "Originally, one would have been enough for you. But your performance has satisfied me greatly. The extra one is my investment in you. Who knows—maybe someday I'll need to ask for your help."

East Guardian was at the Ninth Stage of Planetary Level, lacking nothing—Force Weapons, Battle Armor, Secret Treasures. Saying this was purely his way of showing appreciation for Guen.

"Since you've put it that way, refusing would mean I don't understand your kindness in guiding a junior. Then I'll accept them. Guardian, if there's ever a place where you need me, Guen, just say the word." Guen didn't hesitate and took the potions.

East Guardian nodded with satisfaction. "Alright, go rest. With me here in Eastsea Province, no one dares to provoke the Goddess Temple."

"Yes."

Guen and Cal withdrew together.

Cal said with undisguised envy, "Brother Guen, your future is boundless."

Guen smiled faintly. "I still need to thank Brother Cal for bringing me to Eastsea Province to make my way. I won't forget this debt."

Cal smiled but didn't reply.

The strong confidence Guen showed was precisely the sharpness and drive of a genius. Cal didn't find it strange. Setting aside East Guardian's favor, the fact that Guen had single-handedly killed a Planetary Level Fighter was something Cal himself couldn't do. In terms of strength, Guen was already on par with Cal.

But the complexity in his heart was hard to put into words.

Guen returned to his own room, slowly calmed his mind, and then took out one of the Tempering Potions. He opened the stopper—there was almost no smell. The substance inside had congealed into a gel, and an inexplicable pressure settled on Guen's heart.

"Let me test the effect first."

Guen took a small sip of the Tempering Potion.

The moment it entered his mouth, before he could even swallow, the potion transformed into a surge of abundant energy that rushed straight into his mind.

"Boom!"

Thunder seemed to roar inside his head. His originally hazy consciousness suddenly became exceptionally clear.

"What is this?"

Guen stood up and couldn't help but run through a set of punches. Casually, he executed the entire Hundred Refinement Fist, and without being bound by the existing forms, he gradually produced a hundred and first move, a hundred and second move...

In one breath, he threw two hundred and thirteen punches.

A twenty-one times Force Multiplier!

This didn't mean Guen's realm had surpassed the Hundred Refinement Fist's creator—the later moves were all formless, merely Guen's most natural expression—but it shattered his previous highest Force Multiplier.

Guen twisted his body, sensing the subtle changes within. All kinds of techniques slowly became clear to his understanding.

This was all thanks to the sudden surge in mental strength.

The Tempering Potion stimulated his spirit, pushing it to a higher level. At the same time, the vast Life Energy and specially modified Telekinetic Power contained within the potion sustained this consumption, ensuring that this heightened state wasn't just a flash in the pan.

Guen made full use of this hard-won period of strength to hone his skills.

This benefit was like a child gaining an adult's strength and knowledge in advance—even if only temporary, it brought endless advantages for the future.

Those at higher realms had stronger bodies and keener perception of their body's subtleties, making it easier to spot and correct their own mistakes.

If one's realm was insufficient, spending a long time could also achieve this.

So generally, someone who had stayed long in a realm had an advantage over a newcomer, and those at higher realms had an advantage over those at lower ones.

There was only one exception—geniuses.

Only those who could, to some degree, ignore or compensate for others' advantages of higher levels and longer immersion could be called geniuses.

Guen was exactly that kind of person.

The Fifth Stage trial—in the entire Aoyu Empire, Guen was only the second to reach and undergo it.

So with such an opportunity, his progress would only be faster.

Relying on his powerful mental strength, Guen grasped more techniques, and his Force Multiplier broke through the previous twenty-one times—something many Planetary Level Fighters couldn't achieve.

From Moto's data, Guen also learned that the human body's Force Multiplier limit was one hundred times. But reaching that hundred times was no easy feat for ordinary people.

The limit of the Planetary Level is thirty times.

It's not that the limit of comprehension lies there, but rather the limit of the body's endurance. The foundation of force lies in the physical body—whether the body can execute such precise force and withstand the cost of doing so determines the upper bound of the Force Multiplier.

Let alone thirty times; for ordinary Planetary Level Fighters without special body-tempering techniques or exceptional talent, twenty times is already a threshold.

Guen achieved twenty-two times Force Multiplier in one breath before he felt the difficulty.

At the same time, the spirit within his mind rapidly withered, clearly indicating the medicine's effects had run out.

After all, a Fighter is not a Spirit Reader. What they possess is not Telekinetic Power ignited from the mind, but Origin Power born from the body. They cannot substantially manipulate the changes of the spirit within their minds.

"Moto, do you have any relevant knowledge about this Tempering Potion in your records?" Guen asked.

It took a while before Moto replied, "This is a unique method of the Forest Goddess Temple, made with the assistance of Spirit Readers using Thatcher Spring. In the universe, this potion is called a Mental Stimulant Potion. It has some auxiliary effect for low-level Fighters, but each use reduces its efficacy. After about four or five times, it becomes useless. My records specifically note this point: if you obtain the Mental Stimulant Potion from the Goddess Temple, you should take as much as possible in the first two uses for better results.

"In the universe, stimulant potions made with Thatcher Spring are only low-grade Mental Stimulant Potions. Thatcher Spring has the effect of solidifying Telekinetic Power and removing spiritual imprints. It appears with moderate probability on ordinary planets, often in canyon regions. Higher-grade Mental Stimulant Potions in the universe can be made with treasures like Red Luo Mountain Fruit or Locke Divine Water, but my records only contain the names, without further introduction."

"Thatcher Spring? Red Luo Mountain Fruit? Locke Divine Water?"

Guen shook his head. He had never heard of any of these names. Even Thatcher Spring was something he only learned about from Moto.

"It seems Tucha Planet knows the Forest Goddess Temple inside and out, even such hidden matters. The High Priest must have concealed something too. If what the High Priest said is true—that the orthodox lineage of Tucha Planet belongs to those black-haired humans—then why wouldn't Tucha Planet demand the Goddess Temple hand over something as good as Thatcher Spring to his descendants? Why let the Goddess Temple of outsiders control it?"

Though Guen felt a tangle of doubts, he suppressed his thoughts. For now, the urgent matter was his own strength.