On the night of October 14, the chill in the air deepened.
Ye Li sat alone in the courtyard of a traditional compound on Changyuan Street, eyes closed as he regulated his breathing and waited for the medicinal effects to wear off.
The courtyard lay in darkness. Only the cool moonlight filtered through sparse branches, casting broken, mottled shadows across the ground.
The daytime clamor had faded, and now all was silent. It was the perfect time to hone himself.
Ye Li slowly opened his eyes and rose, standing in the open space of the courtyard.
It had been only seven days since he broke through into the Body Tempering Realm, and his progress was clear on the panel:
Early Body Tempering (221/1500) Technique: "Azure Dragon Force · Perfect" "Nine Chapters Fist Manual (3+480/500)" ...
Thanks to the astonishing boost from the [Green] trait, Ye Li not only reacted faster while in a focused state, but his training efficiency had also increased by a full 15%!
He poured every bit of this precious extra time into honing the Nine Chapters Fist Manual.
With no shortage of pills and the combined aid of Dragon Tiger Pills and Body Tempering Pills,
Ye Li steadily gained 38 points of realm experience each day, pouring all his remaining energy into this ordinary martial art.
In just two short days!
The experience of this ordinary martial art had soared from its initial 3 points to 483! Its speed was simply unbelievable.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before this basic boxing technique, taken from the gang's library, reached perfection in his hands.
At that moment, Ye Li shifted slightly. His feet took root in the ground as he lowered his waist and settled his hips, executing the moves of the Nine Chapters Fist Manual with effortless ease.
There was none of the stiffness or hesitation of a beginner. Every fist and palm flowed in perfect harmony, his force gathered and released at will, as if he were a master who had immersed himself in the art for more than a decade.
His punches landed with the steadiness of a mountain, his fists stirred the air, his steps flowed without pause, and his movements were nimble.
His transitions were as smooth as flowing clouds and running water. Strength traveled through his muscles, tendons, and bones, gathering before bursting forth with faint, crisp crackles. His tendons and bones sang in unison.
In some extraordinary worlds, combat skills were divided into Clear Force, Hidden Force, and Transforming Force...
By that measure, Ye Li had already crossed the threshold into minor mastery of Clear Force!
If anyone heard he'd made such progress in two days, they'd have to say, "He's cheating!"
Of course, in a world of such high martial prowess, realm was everything!
The gap between realms only grew wider with every step upward!
Thus, in the eyes of martial artists in this world, so-called techniques were nothing but clever tricks fit for the mediocre!
Only those who couldn't break through to higher realms would waste their time studying techniques.
After all, a higher realm meant sharper perception, keener eyes, greater strength, and greater speed...
Even if an early Body Tempering martial artist possessed Transforming Force technique, a Post-Heaven expert would likely see his attacks as slow as a crawling snail, their trajectories clear as day and easily countered.
And Xiantian experts?
They possessed insight and comprehension like human calculating machines.
To them, the exquisite moves of low-level martial artists were no more than children at play. They could grasp their essence at a glance and even deduce and refine them on the spot.
For this reason, techniques that directly advanced one's realm and tempered the body's foundations were priceless treasures.
The basic martial arts readily available on the market were usually seen as ornamental introductions or auxiliary methods. Few martial artists would devote themselves to studying them during a crucial period of advancement.
Ye Li had thought the same way, which was why he had ignored martial arts training until now.
But things were different now.
These martial arts could make traits appear!
It was like buying a box and getting a pearl thrown in for free. Naturally, he had to push his martial arts training with everything he had.
A single [Swiftness] trait had increased his training efficiency by 15%, effectively extending the time he could train each day.
What if he awakened another trait with a similar effect—or one even stronger?
What if it directly improved his natural aptitude and comprehension?
What if it merely increased how efficiently his body absorbed cultivation pills?
At the thought, Ye Li's fists grew faster, and his calculations grew clearer:
"In half an hour, my fist manual experience will reach the 500-point threshold for perfection. But after that, I'll still need to invest more experience to trigger a trait awakening, all the way to its carrying limit..."
"The limit for Azure Dragon Force is (2000/100), which takes a long time. Where will the limit be for Nine Chapters Fist Manual, an ordinary martial art?"
"Will it also require twenty times its normal experience, like Azure Dragon Force, or will 2,000 points be enough? If the sunk cost gets too high, I'll have no choice but to put it aside for now and wait until I break through to the middle stage."
At that moment, Ye Li had set the sunk-cost threshold for this martial art at 2,000.
If it reached 2,000 without awakening a trait, either awakening a trait in this manual cost too much, or martial arts couldn't awaken traits at all.
In that case, he'd immediately stop investing in it and focus all his efforts on raising his realm.
While Ye Li trained with all his might, the story unfolded elsewhere:
Turning to Qing State, seven days had passed!
At the summit of Dragon Tiger Mountain, in Central Province of the Great Qing Dynasty.
Deep within a Daoist temple wreathed in clouds and mist, a divination that had continued without rest for seven days finally came to an end.
The chief eunuch held a sheet bearing Heaven's secrets in his hands. A stream of light shimmered around him, then became a streak that tore through the night sky, crossing ten thousand li to reach the brilliantly lit Qinzheng Hall deep within the palace.
Inside the magnificent hall, candle flames flickered. The armored emperor sat upon his golden throne, radiating authority without needing to display his anger.
The Great Qing Dynasty's chancellor stood before the steps, a jade tablet in his hands. Below him stood the court's senior officials, hands folded, their expressions grave.
Every eye turned toward the streak of light descending from the heavens.
The light faded, revealing the chief eunuch. He hurried forward, his voice low yet clear in the silent hall:
"Your Majesty! Celestial Master Zhang of Dragon Tiger Mountain has burned incense, bathed, and fasted for seven days, drawing upon the power of the stars across the heavens. He has glimpsed a fragment of the origins of that Golden Trait in the Southern Border! The results of the divination are here. I ask Your Majesty to review them!"
The court officials' faces remained composed, but their hearts stirred.
The Southern Border was remote, and clues were scarce.
Even with the support of Dragon Tiger Mountain, the foremost sect of the mystic arts, and its profound divination techniques, the results were often vague directions or fragmented information.
Past experience had shown that nine times out of ten, such divinations only plunged people deeper into the fog, or sent them in completely the wrong direction.
They would not have resorted to such an elusive method if the matter did not involve a Golden Trait, an earth-shaking variable capable of shaking the foundations of the state.
But it wasn't that Celestial Master Zhang of Dragon Tiger Mountain lacked ability. It was simply that every time, he was handed a high-stakes challenge.
After all, when enough information was available, the [Cause-Tracing and Effect-Tracking] trait could directly provide the answer.
Only when even this Orange Trait failed to produce a useful conclusion would they pass the matter to the Celestial Master and trust in the mystic arts.
The emperor's gaze swept over the officials below, sharp as lightning. The chancellor understood and gave a slight nod.
The chief eunuch carefully unfolded the seemingly ordinary sheet of white paper in his hands, turning it toward the emperor and the chancellor.
When they saw the writing, the emperor and chancellor frowned at nearly the same time: What... did this mean?
There were no poems, prophetic verses, or divinatory symbols on the paper.
There were only seventeen cold Chinese characters and digits, arranged abruptly, followed by a glaring capital "X"!
The paper read:
Three Five Two Two Zero... Six Six Six One X!
(35220...6661X)
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