Milestone: The Path of the Strong Begins!

Just like that.

Ye Xiao spent ten minutes.

After throwing five punches.

His entire body was drenched in sweat, and he collapsed directly onto the ground.

Because he was so exhausted that he didn't have a shred of strength left.

But in this very process.

Ye Xiao was pleasantly surprised to discover that his physical constitution had been strengthening imperceptibly!

Because.

The 3x gravity his body was currently feeling.

No longer carried the same oppressive weight it had at the very beginning.

"My body is actually starting to adapt to the 3x gravity environment, bit by bit!"

Thinking of this, a trace of joy welled up in Ye Xiao's heart.

While Ye Xiao rested to recover his strength.

He opened his attribute panel to take a look.

With a thought, a projection of the system panel appeared before his eyes.

[Host: Ye Xiao]

[Profession: Martialist (Sole Successor of the Extreme Path)]

[Realm: Mud Embryo Realm · 40th Layer]

[Fist Power Amplification: 1%]

[Technique: Extreme Martial Fist Sutra]

[Passive: Skillful Force]

[Divine Ability: Heart of Extreme Martial]

[Status: Exhausted]

[Martial Value: 30]

[Realm Advancement Progress: 30%]

[Requirement for Next Major Realm Breakthrough: Complete one Law-Breaking Fist! (Incomplete)]

Thinking back to just one day ago.

Ye Xiao was still just a small fry at the 1st Layer of the Mud Embryo Realm.

He had been mocked and looked down upon by everyone during the awakening test.

Who could have imagined.

One day later, although Ye Xiao's realm remained at the first stage.

He had accumulated a full forty layers of strength within that first stage.

And Ye Xiao's true combat power.

Was already equivalent to the limit of the second stage.

It was even not much different from the early phase of the third stage!

Is this the feeling of accumulating strength to burst forth?

Ye Xiao thought to himself.

He had an increasingly strong feeling.

He would not rush to break through his realm.

Instead, he would continue to stack higher realm layers within the Mud Embryo Realm!

As the saying goes, a ten-thousand-foot tower rises from the ground!

Only by laying a foundation as solid as possible could one build the tallest skyscraper upon it!

Immediately after.

Ye Xiao noticed that a negative status had appeared in his status bar: Exhausted.

[Exhausted: Your internal strength is completely depleted, and your physical attributes are decreased. Please rest!] (*)

But just then.

Ye Xiao saw that at the very end of this status information.

There was a single asterisk.

So, Ye Xiao checked it.

[Exhaustion can serve as an opportunity to break through physical limits. Risk factor: 80%.]

Seeing the first line, Ye Xiao was initially delighted.

But upon seeing the 80% risk factor that followed.

He immediately fell silent.

Clearly, this was a high-risk, high-reward operation.

If, at this moment.

Ye Xiao were to force extreme pressure onto his body while his strength was spent and his muscles were sore and strained.

The ideal outcome would be for Ye Xiao to unleash his latent potential and break through his physical limits.

But the worst-case scenario was that his body would fail to withstand the pressure, resulting in direct injury and severe, lasting sequelae.

After much deliberation.

Ye Xiao decided to choose a conservative strategy.

"Safety first, after all."

"I am currently at the starting stage of cultivation; I shouldn't try to become a fat man in one bite..."

Just as Ye Xiao was talking to himself.

A voice rang out in his mind.

[Due to the host accumulating over 30 Martial Value, the Martial Heart Mall is officially unlocked!]

[Currently unlocked Martial Heart Mall content: Exclusive to Mud Embryo Realm!]

Immediately after.

A mall interface popped up before Ye Xiao's eyes.

In the top row, only the "Mud Embryo Realm" section was illuminated.

All other sections were grayed out.

Because Ye Xiao's realm did not meet the requirements, he could not view them.

Ye Xiao shifted his gaze downward to see what exactly was inside.

[Recovery Category]

[Martial Dao Golden Pellet (Small): Consuming this immediately restores a small amount of stamina and heals minor injuries. Exchange cost: 5 Martial Value.]

[Spring Return Powder: Consuming this slowly and continuously restores stamina and heals minor injuries for half an hour. Exchange cost: 4 Martial Value.]

[Blood Qi Pill: Consuming this replenishes blood qi and accelerates wound healing. Exchange cost: 3 Martial Value.]

Ye Xiao scanned them quickly.

Then he muttered to himself.

"The first one, Martial Dao Golden Pellet, is suitable for saving my life when my stamina is insufficient in the early stages, allowing me to train longer."

"The second one, Spring Return Powder, can be used for recovery after training to reduce rest time."

"The third one, Blood Qi Pill, should be for the rapid repair of damage from ordinary training."

Besides these.

Ye Xiao also noticed that there were auxiliary items available for exchange.

[Mind Clearing Talisman: Eliminates fatigue and maintains clarity. Exchange cost: 8 Martial Value.]

[Great Strength Pill: Briefly increases punch power by a small amount for 10 minutes. Exchange cost: 10 Martial Value.]

[Iron Skin Paste: Temporarily hardens the skin, slightly increasing defense for 10 minutes. Exchange cost: 8 Martial Value.]

[Spirit Gathering Incense: When ignited, the concentration of spiritual energy in the surrounding area increases by 10%. Exchange cost: 15 Martial Value.]

"Is this all there is?"

"It seems that because I am in the Mud Embryo Realm, the items I can exchange for are few and far between."

Ye Xiao grumbled to himself.

"Then what should I exchange for to help with my cultivation?"

Just as Ye Xiao was pondering.

At this moment.

Suddenly, a voice reached Ye Xiao's ears.

[Ding--]

This time, it was not a simple data broadcast, but a solemn and ancient voice he had never heard before:

"Heart of Extreme Martial has awakened."

"From this day forward, every punch, every step, and every breakthrough of yours shall be recorded."

"The road is long, do not look back."

"The road is far, do not stop."

[Path of the Strong has been activated!]

"Wait, what is the Path of the Strong?"

Ye Xiao was slightly taken aback.

It seems that because I met certain conditions, new content in the system has been unlocked?

Immediately after.

A series of details regarding the [Path of the Strong] popped up before his eyes.

[Path of the Strong]

[First Punch! Trigger condition: Throw your first punch! Achieved! Reward obtained: [First Cry] title! Title effect: Punch power +1 jin (commemorative significance). System prompt: "The first punch is always the hardest. You have thrown it."]

After Ye Xiao finished reading the first line of content.

A smile played on his lips.

"So it's like achievement content, a milestone of sorts!"

What Ye Xiao found amusing was.

After he achieved the "First Punch" milestone, it only gave a reward of +1 jin to his punch power.

However, this was of unique commemorative significance.

Following that.

Ye Xiao continued to look down.

[One Hundredth Punch! (Not achieved)]

[One Thousandth 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 discovered that there were actually only two types of achievements he could currently work toward.

One was the number of punches thrown.

The other was "Hundred Refinements to Steel," which required reaching the 100th layer of the Mud Embryo Realm.

As a reward, it would provide a Body Protection Pill.

Ye Xiao clicked in to take a look.

[Body Protection Pill (Sixth Realm pill): After consumption, it allows the body to remain in absolute safety while in a state of exhaustion, lasting for 2 minutes.]

Seeing this, Ye Xiao immediately became energized.

"Doesn't this perfectly correspond to the previous breakthrough of physical limits through exhaustion?"