Ultimate Body Forging Art

Lin Chen thought far too highly of this system.

It really came through at critical moments.

[Ding. 89 Gold Coins deducted. Exchanged for 89 years of cultivation. Flaws corrected.]

[50 Gold Coins deducted. Exchanged for 50 years of cultivation. The Incomplete Body Forging Art has been cultivated to peak perfection.]

[After more than a hundred years of cultivation, the host has gained insight. After integrating everything, the Ultimate Body Forging Art has been created.]

[30 Gold Coins deducted. Exchanged for 30 years of cultivation. The Ultimate Body Forging Art has reached the beginner stage. The physical body possesses the strength of ten thousand jin and cannot be harmed by Low-Grade Artifacts. Further cultivation requires Spirit Stones for exchange.]

Memories and cultivation experience spanning more than a century flooded into his mind in an instant.

Lin Chen gritted his teeth and endured it.

From soul to flesh, he underwent a complete baptism.

Blood and qi energy erupted within him like a volcanic explosion.

His body instantly turned crimson.

Steam rose from the top of his head.

This formidable energy circulated through his body, reforging every muscle, bone, and tendon.

This pain was a hundred times more intense than when he had previously exchanged for Body Tempering Realm cultivation.

Lin Chen's face twisted as his teeth ground together with cracking sounds.

The veins across his body bulged like great serpents writhing beneath his skin.

The elders on the mountain stretched their necks, all watching Lin Chen.

"What is that kid doing?"

"It looks like he's cultivating a Body Forging Art. Could he be a body cultivator?"

"It's merely a flawed folk Body Forging Art. Its defects are far too great, and cultivating it naturally brings many side effects. Judging by his appearance, he should be enduring the pain right now."

The elders all silently found it a pity.

That kid knew full well there would be side effects, yet he still cultivated it like this. That was truly rare.

Such unyielding perseverance, yet he possessed a Five Elements Waste Spirit Root.

Without some special ability, the sect would not accept him.

The reason was simple: no matter how many resources were thrown at such a spirit root, they would be wasted.

At most, he could cultivate to the Qi Condensation Realm.

The sect could grab cultivators like that by the handful. Why waste resources nurturing him?

These were the elders' true thoughts.

Especially Elder Liu, who had announced the rules earlier. He felt even more conflicted.

Even if Lin Chen had been a Low-Grade Spirit Root, he would have tried to persuade the other elders to accept him.

Elder Liu sighed and stopped looking at him.

At that moment, Lin Chen was suffering and reveling in it.

As time passed, the excruciating pain throughout his body rapidly faded.

In its place came a sensation of swelling power and unparalleled ease.

It was as though all the pressure on his body had vanished.

He could no longer feel the suppression of the tenfold gravity here at all.

Lin Chen cackled with delight.

"System, is my physical body invincible now?"

[Host, please put that expression away. The Ultimate Body Forging Art has only just reached the beginner stage. Any Qi Condensation cultivator wielding a mid-grade dharma sword could cut you in two.]

[Folk Body Forging Arts are incomplete. Their cultivation threshold is low, their progress is slow, and their flaws are numerous. Now that it has been corrected into the Ultimate Body Forging Art, it can grow stronger all the way until the physical body becomes saintly.]

Lin Chen's eyes shone brightly.

That was badass!

As long as he had Spirit Stones, he could cultivate for a thousand years, even ten thousand years, in one go.

The very thought of it was terrifying.

Thinking of that, he asked again, "System, under what circumstances can I comprehend something like this?

"The previous Extreme Path Method and the current Ultimate Body Forging Art—I can't understand the process of comprehending them at all!"

[Host, please rest assured. When the time comes for you to comprehend something, you will naturally comprehend it.]

"The way you put that really makes me want to beat you up."

[Host, please do not be blindly arrogant. With your current strength, you are still just a tiny nobody.]

Lin Chen nearly spat blood from anger.

He simply stopped paying attention to the Sharp-Tongued System.

Opening his eyes, he looked toward the Mountain Peak.

"Ninety Thousand Steps, here I come."

Brimming with confidence, Lin Chen strode as swiftly as if flying and charged straight toward the Mountain Peak.

At the same time, three people behind him had caught up during this interval.

They believed this was already Lin Chen's limit.

What Lin Chen could do, they could do as well.

Just as they were only a dozen or so steps away from catching him, Lin Chen seemed to go mad and suddenly started running.

Yes, running!

Every step they dragged themselves forward cost them an enormous price; they practically wanted to die, while he was actually running.

What the hell...

The three of them nearly suffered a collapse of their Dao hearts.

"He's cheating!"

"Is nobody going to do anything? Someone's cheating!"

"I can't walk anymore. You guys keep chasing him!"

The last one simply lay down on the ground and played dead like a dog.

"I told you Brother Chen was insanely amazing, but you just wouldn't believe me!"

At that moment, Jin Yuanbao had actually caught up as well.

He looked proudly at Lin Chen's back, filled with incomparable pride.

"He's cheating! How could anyone still walk as swiftly as flying under these circumstances?"

"That's right. He clearly couldn't walk anymore just now, but suddenly erupted like this. He obviously took some pills."

"Give it a rest!"

Jin Yuanbao looked disdainfully at the three beside him. "Take some pills and let me see, then. Cheat for me, why don't you? Is it really that hard to admit that someone else is stronger than you?"

As he spoke, Jin Yuanbao also slowly passed the three of them and continued upward.

"I refuse to accept this!"

Seeing this, the three were stirred into fighting spirit once more. They swayed as they rose to their feet and continued climbing.

Compared to their condition, Lin Chen was stronger by who knew how many times.

He even kept circulating the Body Forging Art as he walked, continuing to temper his body.

Although his cultivation speed was as slow as a snail's, this was free, so however he looked at it, it was worth it.

The elders on the mountain all stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed, not saying a word.

Their expressions were identical, every face filled with shock.

A moment later, the elders completely erupted.

"Elder Liu, explain what is going on with this kid!"

"That's right. Did you hide some information from us? Could this kid have some special talent?"

"Elder Liu, you must give us an explanation."

Elder Liu wore a gloomy expression at that moment.

Who had he offended? Lin Chen's information was so sparse that among more than eight hundred people, his strength ranked no higher than around eight hundredth.

He was the sort who could be left anywhere for a hundred years without anyone noticing him.

Who could have imagined that someone with such trash talent would reach this point?

Where exactly had something gone wrong?

They had just specifically checked the Formation, and everything was operating normally.

That was strange.

"Why is there no information about Lin Chen's parents or family?" an elder asked.

Elder Liu thought for a moment. "Every person assigned a quota has detailed information on record.

"But Lin Chen's Jade Slip was lost. Everything we know now was gathered only fifteen days ago."

The elders sucked in breaths of cold air.

"Something like this actually happened? Isn't the information for admission quotas guarded by dedicated personnel? How could such an oversight occur?"

"Well, it was quite a coincidence. The person guarding the information died three years ago.

"What's even stranger is that when we cross-checked the information, we discovered that Lin Chen's parents and family also died three years ago, on the very same day."

The elders inhaled sharply again.

Could this really be a coincidence?

Or did the Lin Family possess some secret?

Were these two deaths connected in the end?

"Since it involves the lives and deaths of people connected to the sect, this is absolutely no trivial matter. I will report it to the sect and have this matter thoroughly investigated again."

The elders fell silent.

Their gazes refocused on Lin Chen.

This fellow was leaving everyone else in the dust, already having reached the seventy-thousandth step.

His speed had slowed somewhat, but he maintained his rhythm.

Before the third hour ended, he climbed the ninety-thousandth step and successfully reached the summit.

The first thing he did was not lie down to rest. Instead, he swept his gaze around and headed straight for Elder Liu.

When he reached him, Lin Chen bowed and cupped his fists. "Elders, Lin Chen has not failed his mission. I reached the Ninety Thousand Steps within the allotted time."

"Good, good, good. Go wait off to the side," Elder Liu replied with a smiling expression.

Yet Lin Chen remained where he was. He merely raised his head and looked at Elder Liu without saying anything.

It was the first time Elder Liu had been stared at so directly by a disciple who had not even entered the sect.

This fellow had quite the nerve!