Sacrifice, My Gang!

Just as Soul Power within a Soul Ring could be used to open up meridians when absorbing it...

After feeling the warm, restless current in his abdomen, Yu Tianchen tentatively used his Soul Power to hold back some of the energy and began using it to open the meridians required for cultivating the Great Sun Thunder Body.

As expected, things went more or less as Yu Tianchen had predicted.

The method worked.

Meanwhile, the remaining energy from the Whale Rubber that Yu Tianchen hadn't harnessed was being absorbed alongside the medicinal bath, constantly tempering his body.

So he was tempering his body in two ways at once.

And he had entered a very favorable cycle.

Opening meridians expanded his capacity for Soul Power, increasing the amount he could absorb and advancing his cultivation of the Great Sun Thunder Body. His body also grew stronger as his meridians were opened.

At the same time, with the herbs' help, the Whale Rubber's energy was strengthening Yu Tianchen's body.

A body strengthened by the Whale Rubber would also open its meridians a little faster.

It wasn't all that noticeable yet, but as time went on, the benefits of this improvement would become clear.

Now that he knew what the Whale Rubber could do for him,

Yu Tianchen didn't hesitate.

When his parents returned that night, he immediately asked his father to purchase more Whale Rubber that was at least a thousand years old.

Then, the next day, when he saw Yu Yuanzhen, he brought it up with him as well.

Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Xiaotian were both more than happy to meet Yu Tianchen's demand for Whale Rubber.

Yu Yuanzhen even took Yu Tianchen to the Mimicry Training Ground he had prepared especially for him.

The place was thick with lightning qi and sat atop a mountain.

It was a training ground specially built by Yu Yuanzhen and the elders for Yu Tianchen.

The mountaintop made it easier for Yu Tianchen to use the Five Thunder Shock Drums to draw down lightning. With the lightning qi all around him, his cultivation efficiency would improve by leaps and bounds.

They had even built a courtyard nearby for Yu Tianchen's convenience.

That way, if he trained late and didn't feel like going home, he could stay right there.

Yu Tianchen was, of course, very pleased with the arrangement.

From then on, he moved in.

Every day, he either experimented with different ways to use thunder in the Mimicry Training Ground,

or soaked in a medicinal bath, refined the Whale Rubber's energy, and used the Five Thunder Shock Drums to draw down lightning and cultivate the Great Sun Thunder Body.

Just like that, two years flew by in the blink of an eye.

One day, at the Mimicry Training Ground atop the mountain,

Yu Tianchen sat cross-legged on the ground. Faint patterns of lightning spread across his body, and his skin gleamed with a faint bronze, metallic sheen.

Above his head, the Five Thunder Shock Drums flashed with brilliant lightning, continuously drawing the thunder from the sky and the surrounding lightning qi into Yu Tianchen's body.

As the thunder and lightning qi poured into him, the bronze sheen on his skin began to ripple and gradually transform into jade-like patterns.

But once the transformation reached a certain point, it stopped dead. No matter how relentlessly the thunder and lightning qi surged against him, nothing changed.

After a long while, the lightning qi around him gradually faded. The Five Thunder Shock Drums dimmed and returned to Yu Tianchen's side.

He slowly opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and looked disappointed.

"So I still failed to break through to the Jade Thunder Body..."

Two years had passed.

Yu Tianchen's strength had improved considerably.

He had not only mastered the Five Thunder Shock Drums' full-power activation but had also successfully advanced the Great Sun Thunder Body to its first stage, the Bronze Thunder Body.

His Soul Power had reached Level 20 a year ago, and after absorbing a Soul Ring, it had now risen to Level 27.

The main reason he'd reached such a high level

was that his Second Soul Ring came from a Mystic Nether Thunder-Armored Rhino that was around four thousand years old. It had shot him straight from Level 20 to Level 23 and helped his Great Sun Thunder Body break through to the first stage, the Bronze Thunder Body, when he had already been just one step away.

Unfortunately, for the past year Yu Tianchen had tried to advance the Great Sun Thunder Body to its second stage, the Jade Thunder Body, but he'd never managed to break through. He could only continue cultivating his Soul Power while remaining at the first-stage Bronze Thunder Body.

He also still hadn't figured out how to turn ordinary lightning into Ultimate Lightning while controlling the Five Thunder Shock Drums.

Only when he activated the drums at full power did the lightning he used become Ultimate Lightning.

"Should I sacrifice Gangzi one more time?"

Yu Tianchen found himself thinking about Yu Xiaogang again.

When his Soul Power reached Level 20, the system had granted him four sacrifice opportunities.

At the time, though, he'd had to hunt for a Soul Ring, cultivate the Great Sun Thunder Body, and develop the Five Thunder Shock Drums.

Besides, he had only sacrificed Yu Xiaogang a year earlier. Yu Tianchen had been afraid that sacrificing him again would work such excellent material to death.

So he'd kept all four sacrifice opportunities unused.

Now, it seemed the time had come to use them.

People had to learn to be content.

He'd already given you two years to catch your breath. Now it was time for you to suffer a little, Gangzi!

"System!"

Yu Tianchen summoned his system.

A pale blue screen unfurled.

After selecting Yu Xiaogang as the sacrifice target, Yu Tianchen immediately pressed the red button.

"Sacrifice, my Gang!"

[ Ding! Sacrifice provision activated! ]

[ Selected target: Yu Xiaogang ]

[ Initiating sacrifice... ]

[ Sacrificer: Yu Xiaogang, Innate Soul Power Level: 0.5, Soul Power Level: 24 ]

[ Host: Yu Tianchen, Innate Soul Power Level: 10, Soul Power Level: 27 ]

[ Sacrifice successful! Yu Xiaogang's Soul Power Level has been permanently reduced by 3. His private parts have been shortened by 5, and he has entered a temporary kidney-deficient state lasting three years. ]

[ Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the offering: Eight Gates Resonance Method ]

[ Eight Gates Resonance Method: A secret technique that uses the body's eight major acupoints to resonate at the same frequency, detonating the Soul Power stored within the body to provide an all-around boost. ]

[ Eight Gates Acupoints: The eight acupoints are the Gate of Opening, Gate of Rest, Gate of Life, Gate of Wound, Gate of Obstruction, Gate of View, Gate of Shock, and Gate of Death. Resonating any two acupoints provides an all-around, twofold boost. When all eight gates are opened, the boost can reach tenfold. ]

[ Warning! Resonating the acupoints greatly increases the burden on the body. After all eight gates are opened, the user will enter a period of weakness. The duration of the weakened state depends on the user's physical constitution. ]

"Eight Gates Resonance... Why does this feel a little like the Eight Gates technique from Naruto?"

Feeling the secret technique he'd just obtained, Yu Tianchen couldn't help muttering under his breath.

It was a little similar, but there were still plenty of differences.

The biggest difference was that even with all eight gates open, he would only fall into a weakened state. If his body was strong enough, that weakened period could be greatly reduced.

He wouldn't end up practically dead like someone who opened all eight gates in Naruto.

Speaking of which...

If he opened all eight gates, could he pull off a Night Guy like Might Guy?

"Good thing I've got nothing else to do right now."

"I'll try cultivating it."

Yu Tianchen closed his eyes and began practicing the secret technique.