Body Forging Seventh Layer!

Zhou Xuan's gaze slowly shifted away from the pile of talismans and talisman-making materials, finally landing on an inconspicuous jade bottle nearby.

Those were the three Qi Gathering Pills gifted by Senior Sister Zhang Ling.

He had originally intended to wait until his spirit root quality improved by another grade or two, allowing for higher cultivation efficiency, before consuming these pills to maximize their effects.

After all, with his Five Elements Waste Spirit Root—which he had forcibly upgraded from a Five Elements Impure Spirit Root—his efficiency in absorbing and converting medicinal power was, at best, a measly thirty percent!

The remaining seventy percent would be completely wasted!

For a pauper like him who treated resources as his lifeblood, that was even more painful than being killed!

But now...

The look in Zhou Xuan's eyes became conflicted.

He looked at the Qi Gathering Pills, then back at the talisman-making materials.

One was a life-saving straw right in front of him, the other was the Heavenly Path to his future.

How was he supposed to choose?

"Damn it!"

Zhou Xuan cursed under his breath, his expression shifting uncertainly.

Many of the handymen passing by were already hurrying back to their own dwellings, and soon after, faint fluctuations of spiritual energy began to emanate from those dilapidated wooden shacks.

Clearly, under the threat of death, these handymen who usually resigned themselves to fate had also begun to desperately squeeze out their last bit of potential, hoping to grasp that slim glimmer of hope.

Everyone was starting to push themselves to the limit.

He could wait no longer!

"Liu Ruyan, you just wait for me!"

Zhou Xuan gritted his teeth, a flash of ruthlessness appearing in his eyes.

He grabbed the jade bottle and, without hesitation, poured out a round, plump Qi Gathering Pill that emitted a faint medicinal fragrance.

"If it's a waste, then so be it! It's still better than being swept out the door like trash!"

He hardened his heart and tossed the pill straight into his mouth.

The pill melted the moment it touched his tongue, and a massive, pure surge of spiritual energy instantly exploded within his meridians!

Zhou Xuan immediately sat cross-legged, enduring the stinging pain of his meridians being stretched to their limit.

He channeled his introductory Body Tempering Realm technique with all his might, guiding the spiritual energy to wash over his limbs and bones.

However, reality was cruel.

That massive surge of spiritual energy was like water poured into a sieve full of holes.

Most of the energy dissipated into the air from his limbs and bones before he could even refine it.

Less than thirty percent of the energy was captured and refined by him with great difficulty, converted into his own strength.

Zhou Xuan could clearly feel this waste, and his heart ached so much it twitched.

This wasn't cultivation; this was burning money!

But he had no choice; he could only grit his teeth and run the technique over and over again, absorbing every last bit of spiritual energy he possibly could.

Time slipped away, bit by bit, in this painful and extravagant cultivation session.

By the time Zhou Xuan finished refining all three Qi Gathering Pills, the rooster's crow for the next morning was already ringing out outside.

"Hoo..."

He exhaled a long, turbid breath and slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through the dark room.

He looked down at his body and saw that his skin was covered in a thick layer of foul-smelling, black-gray grime.

This was the phenomenon of marrow-cleansing that only occurred when one's Body Tempering Realm improved significantly.

Zhou Xuan leaped up from the ground, feeling his body filled with explosive power and an unprecedented sense of lightness.

He didn't bother cleaning up, instead pushing open his door and rushing to a small pond not far away, jumping in with a splash.

The cold pond water instantly washed away his exhaustion and grime.

When he poked his head out of the water and saw the face reflected on the surface, he couldn't help but pause for a moment.

It was the same face, but his features seemed more defined and chiseled, his skin was much smoother, and his complexion—previously sallow from long-term malnutrition—now possessed a jade-like luster.

He'd gotten even more handsome!

Zhou Xuan felt the surging power within his body and, with a thought, checked his cultivation.

Body Tempering Seventh Layer!

Overnight, he had jumped from the third layer to the seventh, breaking through four stages in a row!

If this were any other handyman disciple, they would likely be ecstatic and moved to tears right now.

But there was no joy on Zhou Xuan's face; instead, his brows were locked in a frown, his eyes filled with disdain and frustration.

"What absolute trash!"

He couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"Three Qi Gathering Pills!"

"If these had gone to someone better, let alone reaching the ninth level of Body Forging, it would have been more than enough to step straight into the Qi Refining Realm!"

"Even for an ordinary disciple with a three-element or four-element Spirit Root, it should have at least pushed them to the Great Perfection of the ninth level of Body Forging, right?"

"But when it comes to me, seventy percent of the medicinal efficacy was fed to the dogs, and all I got in the end was the seventh level of Body Forging?"

The more Zhou Xuan thought about it, the angrier he became, and he flipped his middle finger at the water's surface.

This damn trash Spirit Root!

However, complaining was one thing, but he knew clearly in his heart that at least the biggest crisis right now had been resolved.

With a cultivation base at the seventh level of Body Forging, let alone the assessment three months from now, even if Wang Fugui came with a list to purge people right now, he definitely wouldn't be on it.

Zhou Xuan let out a long sigh of relief, but immediately, a new problem surfaced in his mind.

Overnight, going from the third level to the seventh level of Body Forging.

This speed was too fast!

It was fast enough to be frightening!

Although he could explain it by saying he had taken medicinal pills, where would a miscellaneous affairs disciple get Qi Gathering Pills?

Even if he had them, such a rapid rate of improvement was enough to attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Especially that old dog Wang Fugui, and Zhao Long, who might be watching him from the shadows!

"No, I must hide my strength!"

Zhou Xuan made his decision immediately.

He climbed out of the pool and onto the bank, his mind stirring as the spiritual energy within his body began to retract and disguise itself.

Soon, the powerful aura unique to a seventh-level Body Forging cultivator on his body receded like a tide.

In the end, his aura stabilized at the second level of Body Forging.

He had previously disguised his cultivation as that of a first-level waste after breaking through to the third level.

Now, his cultivation was just a sliver stronger than before, but not so strong that it was obvious.

A miscellaneous affairs disciple, spurred on by the threat of being purged by the sect, had worked his life away and luckily broken through one level.

This was quite reasonable, right?

Zhou Xuan nodded with satisfaction. After finishing all this, he slowly put on his clothes and headed toward the Miscellaneous Affairs Department.

Today was the second day of his rotation break, but there was no such thing as a day off for work at the Miscellaneous Affairs Department.

As he walked, he silently issued an order in his heart.

"System, convert all twenty-two demon cores into Gold Touch Value for me!"

[Ding! Absorbed first-grade low-tier Wind Wolf demon core, obtained Gold Touch Value +8!]

[Ding! Absorbed first-grade low-tier Iron-Armored Boar demon core, obtained Gold Touch Value +7!]

A series of notification sounds rang out in his mind, and Zhou Xuan's mood finally improved quite a bit.

[Gold Touch Value balance: 530 points.]

Looking at this number, hope reignited in his heart.

The goal of one thousand Gold Touch Value was already more than half complete!

As long as Senior Sister Zhang Ling, the Explosion Immortal, was reliable today and blew up a few more furnaces of pills, perhaps he would be able to gather the rest soon!

When he arrived at the familiar mountain of trash in front of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, the atmosphere here was even more oppressive and dead than yesterday.

Many of the miscellaneous affairs disciples had bloodshot eyes and worked with numb expressions, as if they were walking corpses.

Zhou Xuan's appearance did not attract much attention from anyone.

"I wonder what new waste will be sent over today?"

Zhou Xuan licked his lips, his eyes flashing with a greedy and excited light.

"Maybe I'll be able to scavenge some more treasures!"