Just like that.
Ye Xiao spent ten minutes.
After throwing five punches,
he was drenched in sweat and dropped straight to the ground.
He was so exhausted that he didn't have an ounce of strength left.
But even so, during this process,
Ye Xiao was delighted to discover that his physical fitness had been quietly improving!
Because
the threefold gravity his body felt now
was nowhere near as oppressive as it had been at first.
"My body is actually starting to adapt to threefold gravity!"
At the thought, a hint of joy rose in Ye Xiao's heart.
As Ye Xiao rested to regain his strength,
he opened his attribute panel to take a look.
With a thought, a system panel appeared before his eyes.
[Host: Ye Xiao] [Profession: Martialist (sole inheritor of the Extreme Path)] [Realm: Mud Embryo Realm · 40th Layer] [Fist Power Amplification: 1%] [Technique: Extreme Martial Fist Sutra] [Passive: Subtle Force] [Divine Ability: Heart of Extreme Martial] [Status: Exhaustion] [Martial Value: 30] [Realm Advancement Intensity: 30%] [Requirements to break through to the next major realm: Complete one Law-Breaking Fist! (Incomplete)]
Just one day ago,
Ye Xiao had been no more than a nobody at the first layer of the Mud Embryo Realm.
During the awakening test, everyone had laughed at him and looked down on him.
Who would have thought
that a day later, although Ye Xiao's realm was still stuck in the First Realm,
he would have amassed a full forty layers of strength within it?
As for Ye Xiao's true combat power,
it was already on par with the peak of the Second Realm.
It was even not far off the early Third Realm!
"Is this what it feels like to build up strength before making a breakthrough?"
Ye Xiao thought to himself.
He had an increasingly strong feeling
that he shouldn't rush to break through.
Instead, he should keep stacking up more layers in the Mud Embryo Realm!
As the saying went, a towering structure had to start from the ground!
Only by laying a more and more solid foundation could one build the tallest skyscraper upon it!
Then,
Ye Xiao noticed a negative status in his status bar: Exhaustion.
[Exhaustion: Your body has run out of strength. Your physical attributes have decreased. Please rest!](*)
But just then,
Ye Xiao saw a separate asterisk at the end of the status information.
So he checked it.
[Exhaustion can serve as an opportunity to break through your physical limits. Risk factor: 80%.]
Ye Xiao was pleased at first when he saw the first part.
But after seeing the high risk factor of 80%,
he fell silent.
Clearly, this was a high-risk, high-reward move.
If, at this point,
Ye Xiao forced himself to push his body to its limits
after exhausting all his strength, when his muscles were sore and strained,
the ideal outcome would be for him to unleash his body's potential and break through his physical limits.
But the worst-case scenario was that his body wouldn't withstand the strain, leaving him injured with severe aftereffects.
Ye Xiao thought it over again and again.
In the end, he decided to play it safe.
"Safety first."
"I'm only at the beginning of my cultivation. I shouldn't expect to get fat in one bite..."
As Ye Xiao muttered to himself,
a voice rang out in his mind.
[As the host has accumulated more than 30 Martial Value, the Martial Heart Mall has officially opened!] [Currently unlocked in the Martial Heart Mall: Mud Embryo Realm-exclusive items!]
Then,
a list of items appeared before Ye Xiao.
Only the section at the top marked "Mud Embryo Realm" was lit up.
All the other sections were grayed out.
Ye Xiao's realm didn't meet the requirements, so he couldn't view them.
Ye Xiao looked lower down and saw what was inside.
[Recovery Items] [Martial Dao Golden Pellet (Small): Restores a small amount of stamina immediately and heals minor injuries when consumed. Cost: 5 Martial Value.] [Spring Return Powder: Gradually and continuously restores stamina and heals minor injuries when consumed. Lasts half an hour. Cost: 4 Martial Value.] [Blood Qi Pill: Replenishes blood and qi and speeds up wound healing when consumed. Cost: 3 Martial Value.]
Ye Xiao quickly scanned the list.
Then he muttered to himself,
"The first one, the Martial Dao Golden Pellet, is good for emergencies when I'm low on stamina at the beginning. It'll let me keep training for longer."
"The second, Spring Return Powder, can help me recover after training and cut down on rest time."
"The third, the Blood Qi Pill, should be for quickly healing the damage caused by ordinary training."
Besides those,
Ye Xiao also noticed that there were auxiliary items available for exchange.
[Mind Clearing Talisman: Removes fatigue and keeps you alert. Cost: 8 Martial Value.] [Great Strength Pill: Temporarily boosts fist power by a small amount. Lasts 10 minutes. Cost: 10 Martial Value.] [Iron Skin Paste: Temporarily hardens the skin and slightly increases defense. Lasts 10 minutes. Cost: 8 Martial Value.] [Spirit Gathering Incense: Increases the concentration of spiritual energy in the surrounding area by 10% when lit. Cost: 15 Martial Value.]
"Is that all?"
"Looks like I can exchange for very few items because I'm only in the Mud Embryo Realm."
Ye Xiao grumbled to himself.
"So what should I exchange for to help with my cultivation?"
As Ye Xiao pondered,
just then,
a voice suddenly rang in his ear.
[Ding—]
This time, it wasn't a simple data notification. Instead, it was a solemn, aged voice he had never heard before:
"The Heart of Extreme Martial has awakened."
"From this day on, every punch you throw, every step you take, and every breakthrough you make will be remembered."
"The road is long. Don't look back."
"The road is far. Don't stop."
[The Path of the Strong has begun!]
"Wait, what is the Path of the Strong?"
Ye Xiao blinked in surprise.
"Did I meet some kind of condition and unlock new system content?"
Then,
a series of entries about the [Path of the Strong] appeared before his eyes.
[Path of the Strong] [First Punch! Trigger condition: Throw your first punch! Achieved! Reward: [First Cry] title! Title effect: Fist Power +1 jin (commemorative value). System prompt: "The first punch is always the hardest. You threw it."]
After Ye Xiao finished reading the first entry,
a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"So it's like an achievement system with milestones!"
What Ye Xiao found amusing
was that after he achieved the "First Punch" milestone, he got a reward of +1 jin of fist power.
Though it did have commemorative value.
Then,
Ye Xiao looked further down.
[100th Punch! (Not achieved)] [1,000th Punch! (Not achieved)] [...] [Hundred Refinements to Steel! Trigger condition: Reach the 100th layer of the Mud Embryo Realm! (Not achieved) Reward: Body Protection Pill!] [...]
Ye Xiao looked through the list.
He found that he could currently achieve only two kinds of milestones.
One was for the number of punches thrown.
The other was "Hundred Refinements to Steel," which required reaching the 100th layer of the Mud Embryo Realm.
The reward was a Body Protection Pill.
Ye Xiao tapped it to see the details.
[Body Protection Pill (Sixth Realm Pill): After consuming it, your body will remain absolutely safe even in a state of exhaustion. Lasts 2 minutes.]
At that, Ye Xiao grew excited.
"Isn't this just what I need to match the earlier opportunity to break through my physical limits while exhausted?"
Before you continue