Ever since he began cultivating,
Ye Li had remained diligent and hardworking.
He put in two hundred times the effort of an ordinary person, cultivating for at least seven hours every day.
But sadly, even now, he still hadn't broken through to the mid-stage of Body Tempering.
Because far too many things had happened—way, way, way, way, way too many!!!
Ye Li: Am I some kind of novel's protagonist or what?
Answer me!
Look me in the eyes! Tell me!!!
From October 7, when I broke through into Body Tempering, to October 26, only a mere nineteen days had passed.
And yet I'd already taken a master, killed someone, and had a whole pile of problems dumped on me!
In a few more days, would my trait levels be exposed, and then forces with Grandmasters and Martial Saints come after me despite my mere Body Tempering cultivation?
At that moment, Ye Li didn't know he had already attracted their attention.
Anyway, Ye Li felt as if Heavenly Will had set him up, dragging him into all sorts of trouble for no reason.
If he hadn't been quick-witted, he would have been killed long ago.
Still, after everything he'd been through, Ye Li had gained far more than a mere breakthrough into a minor realm.
After all, even Fang Yuan had initially only wanted to sell Bubble Fish and become a god with the Double Ten Absolute Body.
At Ye Li's original pace, he would probably have needed another half a month to break through to the mid-stage.
But now that he had the Ginseng Pill in hand, there was no need to wait.
What could be done today shouldn't be put off until tomorrow!
Borrowed strength would have to be repaid one day.
Only by possessing greater strength of his own could he command his own fate!
Right now, Ye Li was only in the Body Tempering Realm, so he called Zheng Tong "Master"!
But once Ye Li reached the Xiantian Realm...
Wouldn't he be like Tang San, becoming a god and calling his master "Tongzi"?
At that thought, Ye Li stood in the courtyard, gazing at the deep yellow pill in his hand.
Even just holding it, he could smell the rich, unmistakable medicinal scent of ginseng wafting from it.
Usually, precious medicinal ingredients like this were sealed inside a clean bottle.
Now that it had been taken out, just smelling the wafting fragrance made Ye Li feel his blood and qi surging throughout his body, stronger than after an entire stick of incense's worth of cultivation.
Seeing that Ye Li wanted to take it immediately, Li Liang couldn't help warning him:
"Young Master, be careful. The Ginseng Pill shouldn't be swallowed whole, or its medicinal power may dissipate. You could end up regretting it. I suggest—"
Ye Li said, "There's no need!"
With that, Ye Li grabbed the Ginseng Pill and swallowed it!
Then, as if he'd just eaten a potato chip, he casually sucked the pill powder off his fingers.
The moment it went down, Ye Li felt as if his entire body were on fire. His meridians and blood vessels seemed to burst open with a "boom."
If the medicinal power had erupted unchecked, its concentrated essence might have made Ye Li explode like he'd swallowed a high-yield C4 charge.
Ye Li understood at once. He began channeling the terrifying medicinal power through the Azure Dragon Force, guiding his blood and qi!
Whoosh...
With his senses at the peak of Clear Force, Ye Li could clearly feel the uproar of blood racing through his vessels.
If the Dragon Tiger Pill's medicinal power had made his blood flow like a creek,
then this Century Ginseng Pill was the Amazon River bursting its banks in flood season.
Human? What human?
Ye Li's blood vessels had to hold fast against this onslaught, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
In the next second, Ye Li would surely burst into a spray of blood and die like Tom the cat!
But this pill had been specially prepared and blended with countless supplementary ingredients.
It was meant to protect the heart meridians of someone on the brink of death, keeping a gravely wounded Post-Heaven cultivator alive.
Naturally, it wouldn't simply kill someone by overnourishing them.
The next moment, Ye Li felt another surge of medicinal power rise in his abdomen, protecting his blood vessels and making sure his rapidly flowing blood didn't burst through them.
With the pill's help, Ye Li felt as if he had endless energy, enough to go at it for three days and three nights.
Suppressing the vigorous vitality surging through his meridians and blood, he kept practicing the Azure Dragon Force technique while steadily regulating his breathing. His skin flushed red as if filled with blood.
At the same time, the values on Ye Li's panel began to jump.
Realm: Body Tempering early stage (768+10+10+10.../1500)
Almost every time the number jumped, it meant he had digested half a Body-Tempering Pill or put in ten hours of hard training.
At that moment, Ye Li felt no pain from his blood-swollen body. Instead, the more he practiced the technique, the more his energy surged, and his strength visibly grew.
He could feel every cell in his body greedily absorbing the immense vitality released by the Ginseng Pill, tempering itself over and over on the edge of destruction and rebirth.
As time passed, the value on the panel finally reached its limit.
Realm: "Body Tempering early stage (1500/1500)"?
"Now! Break through for me!"
"Raaagh!!!"
Ye Li shouted, uniting his spirit and will as he focused all his mental energy on allocating his points!
The next instant, all the blood and qi in his body abruptly contracted, gathering at a single point in his dantian. Then, like a spring compressed to its limit, it burst forth!
"Vmmm—!"
Just as when he'd broken through into the early stage of Body Tempering, World-Shocking Wisdom began guiding his body through a transformation.
Every breakthrough sent his body soaring toward perfection!
This time, as he broke through into the mid-stage of Body Tempering, World-Shocking Wisdom flooded his mind with countless insights from previous breakthroughs, while also subjecting the Body Tempering Realm to an intensive tune-up!
If breaking through into the early stage had merely made the Body Tempering Realm go "hee hee hee,"
then reaching the mid-stage meant the trait was putting the realm through a loyalty test.
[World-Shocking Wisdom] was like a sadistic dom holding a leather whip, lashing the realm furiously while asking it soul-searching questions:
"Do you love Ye Li? Do you love Ye Li? I'm asking you, do you love Ye Li? Do you or don't you? Do you? Do you?"
The Body Tempering Realm could only endure the trait's torment and admit in humiliation:
"I do, I do, I do, I do! I love Ye Li so much!"
"If you love him, why aren't you giving him Monthly Tickets! Recommendation Tickets?"
Under the control of [World-Shocking Wisdom], the blood and qi coursing through Ye Li's body gradually slowed. His blood grew as dense and solid as lead and mercury, shimmering with a jelly-like translucence!
Then, his bones let out a continuous series of crisp cracks, like pearls cascading onto a jade plate!
It was a sign of his tendons and bones resonating together, of his body shedding its old form and taking on a new one!
A sense of power far stronger, more refined, and more fluid than before instantly filled every corner of his body!
It was as if his body had shed a burden of a thousand jin, growing incredibly light, while his senses became sharper than ever.
The whisper of the night breeze, faint insects chirping in the distance, even the subtle sound of blood flowing smoothly through his vessels—all of it was clearly audible.
Realm: Body Tempering mid-stage (1/2500)
His blood was as dense as lead and mercury. He had reached the mid-stage of Body Tempering!
After the breakthrough, Ye Li stood in the courtyard, quietly regulating his blood and qi.
He used the Azure Dragon Force to breathe and stabilize his cultivation, allowing the immense medicinal power to continue settling and nourishing the body he had just transformed.
+5+5+5+5+5+5+5+5...
The Ginseng Pill's powerful medicinal effects continued working inside him, its strength slowly seeping into his muscles and bones.
But for Ye Li, now in the mid-stage of Body Tempering, the experience he gained was halved.
To progress from the mid-stage to the late stage, he had to fill out his flesh and blood!
When his flesh and blood had become as hard as if they'd been cast in iron, he would have reached the late stage of Body Tempering!
Half an hour later, Ye Li had absorbed all the pill's medicinal power and covered half the experience bar for the mid-stage of Body Tempering!
Name: Ye Li
Realm: Body Tempering mid-stage (792/2500)
Cultivation techniques:
"Azure Dragon Force · Perfect"
"Nine Chapters Fist Manual · Perfect"
Traits: [Dazzling · World-Shocking Wisdom][Green · Swiftness][White · Ingenuity]