Third-Rank High Stage

Su Yi began testing his storage ability. The Dragon Abyss Sword vanished from his hand in an instant.

It appeared in a corner of the Consciousness Space.

Su Yi finally understood how the storage ability worked.

Within ten meters, he could envelop an object with mental power and store it away.

The mental power consumption was low and depended on the object's size.

Su Yi returned to the Consciousness Space. He felt as though his connection to it had grown closer.

With a thought, the space around the Dragon Abyss Sword began to warp, transforming into a warehouse-like room according to his wishes.

Once he was done, Su Yi smiled in satisfaction.

"From now on, this will be a separate storage room."

Su Yi took the sword out and put it away again, over and over, thoroughly enjoying himself.

He even bought some everyday necessities, ready-to-eat canned food, and snacks to put in the Storage Space.

Once he entered the Underground Cave, he would be unable to light a fire. Using energy stones cost far too much; he could not afford that kind of luxury.

Although the Storage Space could not hold living things, storing food was no problem. It probably would not spoil, either.

"It's time to temper my vertebrae. It's been over twenty days since August 27, and I've still only tempered five. Twenty-one to go."

He remembered that Fang Ping had reached the third-rank high stage in just a month. But Fang Ping had a cheat, so there was no point envying him.

Tempering all the vertebrae in one go eliminated the adjustment period entirely. Su Yi could not do that; he had to temper them one at a time.

Fang Ping faced no pressure when tempering his bone marrow, either. As long as he had enough wealth points, he could keep tempering.

Su Yi, on the other hand, had to spend considerable time and resources to finish.

September 27.

Friday.

Once today's classes were over, the holiday would begin.

Textbook in hand, Su Yi headed to his afternoon class.

During this period, he had only attended classes during the adjustment periods when he had no choice but to pause tempering his vertebrae. He had skipped all the others, wanting to finish tempering his spine as soon as possible.

However, after optimizing the Tempering Method so that it could temper bone marrow, Su Yi found tempering his vertebrae easier, and he adjusted more quickly, too.

Previously, he had taken ten days to temper five vertebrae. Since starting again on the nineteenth, he had already finished his sixth today, and it was only the eighth day.

"Su Yi, over here!"

The moment he entered the classroom, Su Yi heard someone calling him. He turned and saw Xue Hang waving.

Su Yi walked straight over to Xue Hang, sat in the empty seat beside him, and set down his books. "Senior brother, you're taking language classes, too?"

These days, all the classes he attended concerned the Underground Cave.

This particular class taught the Abyss language.

But Xue Hang had been at third rank for a long time. Had he never taken it before?

Xue Hang scratched his head. "I focused on cultivation before, so there are plenty of classes I never took. Now that I've started tempering my vertebrae, I'm catching up on what I missed."

Su Yi nodded in understanding. Tempering the vertebrae reduced combat strength, so many people chose to make thorough preparations before starting.

Once they began, they would be unable to fight for nearly two or three months. Zhuang Xuan, for instance, had kept practicing Battle Arts after reaching the third-rank middle stage instead of starting to temper his vertebrae.

"Junior brother, you've started tempering your vertebrae already, haven't you?"

"I've tempered eleven."

"Almost halfway! You really do cultivate fast, junior brother!"

"..."

Soon, the elderly language professor entered and began the lesson.

Although he was a language expert, studying the language also meant studying every aspect of the Underground Cave. Only then could he deduce meanings based on the conditions there.

As a result, the elderly professor's lessons covered all manner of subjects, displaying profound knowledge of both geography and culture.

Su Yi had already taken quite a few geography classes. Combined with this professor's lectures, they gave him a deeper understanding of the Demon Capital Underground Cave's geography.

October 17.

Su Yi was tempering his final vertebra.

Time passed little by little. He maintained his Horse Stance, continuously tempering his bones.

Then his spine began to feel hot, every bone in his body seemed to leap with excitement, and his vitality boiled...

Delight spread across Su Yi's face. He knew he was about to finish.

The next instant, his vitality surged violently. Every bone in his body cracked and popped, while his vertebrae vibrated relentlessly.

Layers of tainted blood dripped from the surface of his body almost like water.

"My body's transforming. The greater circulation is complete!"

Su Yi was overjoyed. He had finally reached the third-rank high stage.

His vitality, once obstructed in places, now flowed smoothly through every part of his body below his skull.

His spine burned hot, and with every circulation, his vitality seemed to grow a little stronger.

After this repeated more than ten times, Su Yi began coughing violently, spitting out mouthfuls of murky, tainted blood.

"I'm undergoing a transformation!"

Su Yi felt his skin constantly contracting and expanding. Every cycle made it a little denser.

His flesh was transforming, and inside his body, his bones and vitality were transforming as well.

"The third-rank high stage really is different."

Su Yi absorbed the last of his Cultivation Energy Stones at full speed, converting their energy into vitality to fuel his transformation.

After a flurry of cracks and pops, Su Yi finally completed his transformation into the third-rank high stage.

After all this cultivation, he had very little left of the Cultivation Energy Stones in his hands.

Name: Su Yi

Realm: Third-rank martial artist

Vitality: 658 cal / 1269 cal

Mental power: 466 Hz / 629 Hz

Bone tempering: 176 bones (100%), 1 bone (90%), 29 bones (30%)

Knowledge: Mid Grade Combat Method—Falling Blossom Sword—major achievement {Optimization +2}; Mid-Grade Footwork—Cloud Step—major achievement {Optimization +2}; Basic Cultivation Method—Tempering Method {Optimization +4}; Horse Stance {Optimization +1}—void standing realm; Basic Fist Technique—minor achievement;

Basic Leg Technique—major achievement; Basic Sword Technique—major achievement {Optimization +1};

...

Energy: 97,777 points

Damage status: 20.33%

Su Yi felt stronger than ever. His tendons, bones, and skin had all reached an extreme, and perhaps even the third-rank peak was not far off.

After finishing tempering the marrow in his final vertebra, Su Yi sighed softly. Of all the bones in his body, only his skull remained untempered.

But he had run out of resources. He had only about five grams of Cultivation Energy Stones left, and even that was thanks to the adjustment periods giving him time to replenish his vitality.

His control over his strength had also fallen considerably.

Previously, Su Yi had been able to control around seventy percent of his vitality. Now, he could only manage roughly twenty percent, barely enough to qualify as a trump card.

Quickly regaining control would still take time and resources.

"I need to spend some time consolidating my gains."

After a quick wash, Su Yi thought for a moment, then called Lyu Zhen.

Yesterday, he had received a message from Lyu Zhen saying that the Tempering Method experiments had entered their final stage and asking him to call when he had time.

The call connected, and Lyu Zhen's laughter came through from the other end.

"Su Yi, your timing is perfect. The experiment was a complete success. The Tempering Method really does reduce vitality consumption by five to ten percent. The more compatible someone is with it, the less vitality they consume.

"After practicing it, their bone-tempering speed also increased by five to ten percent.

"Among the hundred test subjects stuck at 149 cal, three completed their first bone tempering immediately after practicing the new Tempering Method, three did so within two days, and two within a week.

"After comparing multiple rounds of trials, we found that people with greater compatibility broke through more easily. Two highly compatible subjects advanced straight to a second bone tempering.

"No one has achieved a third bone tempering yet, though that may simply be because it's too difficult. Based on our results, it should increase non-martial artists' chances of completing their first and second bone tempering by roughly five to ten percent."

Su Yi was thrilled, too. Now that the results were out, did that mean the resources they had discussed would arrive soon?

"What about safety?"

This was what concerned Su Yi most. Although he knew this Tempering Method was sufficiently safe, it would be promoted nationwide. If the experiment determined that further safety reviews were necessary, there was no telling how long it would take.

"There are no safety issues so far. I invited several eighth-rank grandmasters to observe with me, and we examined everyone who practiced it. We found no abnormalities.

"I've already submitted the Tempering Method to the central Ministry of Education for final testing."

Lyu Zhen remained confident. He had run numerous tests and simulations before daring to let the test subjects practice it.

As soon as he decided to recruit a hundred test subjects, the neighboring military district caught wind of it. Tens of thousands of soldiers eagerly signed up to participate.

"That's good. As long as it's safe."

The excitement in Su Yi's voice left Lyu Zhen deeply moved. He really was a good kid.

"Oh, right, Grandmaster. I've reached the third-rank high stage."

Brimming with joy, Su Yi shared the good news with Lyu Zhen, like a child showing off his grades to an elder.

Lyu Zhen was delighted and praised him with a smile. "So soon? You really are a genius."

Su Yi said nothing, simply smiling happily.

"But Su Yi, now that you've broken through, you need to take time to consolidate your gains. Otherwise, you'll end up as a martial artist with nothing but vitality.

"You need to practice and analyze your Battle Arts in depth. At the very least, you must be able to control your strength..."

Su Yi answered with a smile, "My control did drop quite a bit after the breakthrough. Right now, I can control about twenty percent of my strength!"

His answer surprised Lyu Zhen. He still had twenty percent control after it dropped? Had he already mastered a finishing move before this?

He had assumed that, with Su Yi tempering his bones so quickly, he would not have had time to practice Battle Arts. It seemed his talent for Battle Arts was impressive as well.

"Very good, very good. Keep practicing your Battle Arts and improve your control over your strength."

After all, he was at the third-rank high stage and would soon enter the Underground Cave. Every bit of extra strength counted.

"Okay!"

Lyu Zhen's advice aligned perfectly with Su Yi's own plans. Before entering, he would practice his Battle Arts some more and improve his vitality control.

The explosive power of a trump card and a finishing move were on completely different levels.

"All right, let's leave it there for now. I still have some research to do. Once the Ministry of Education sends word about the Tempering Method, I'll message you."

"Okay!"

After ending the call, Su Yi felt a little wistful. In the end, he had still been too embarrassed to ask about the reward.

He had sounded so righteous before. If he changed his tune now, the image he had established would collapse.

But without resources, his vitality recovery was still far too slow.

No, I'd better talk to my teacher!

Every bit of time I can save counts!