Ye Xiao had been at a loss.
Now, his goal was clear.
"I'll first raise my realm to the hundredth level of the Mud Embryo Realm, then complete the Hundred Refinements to Steel achievement."
"After that, I'll try to break through my limits while exhausted!"
And so,
for the time that followed,
Ye Xiao put aside all unrealistic ambitions.
He threw himself completely into the first floor of the Gravity Training Tower.
The first floor had five different gravity zones, ranging from one to five times normal gravity.
Ye Xiao kept to a steady rhythm.
He rested for fifteen minutes, got up to throw two punches, then immediately rested again.
And so it went.
Ye Xiao stood alone in a corner of the first floor of the Gravity Training Tower.
Even with people coming and going around him,
nothing could distract him.
Instead, many people watched him with looks of amusement.
"That weirdo has such a strange way of training."
"He rests for fifteen minutes, throws two punches, then goes right back to resting."
"Heh, this guy's here for a laugh. He wants to get stronger but doesn't want to suffer through training. Since when has it been that easy?"
"I heard he's a freshman."
"No way. How would a freshman have a Gravity Training Card to get in here? And how would a freshman know about this spot?"
"Who knows? I heard he's got connections. Isn't there a famous special-admission student among this year's freshmen?"
"Oh! So it's him? That special-admission student? He's only at the Professional First Realm, and he's got the weakest E-Grade profession! He doesn't even have to attend regular classes—he came straight to the Gravity Training Tower to train. No wonder people say he's got connections. Looks like they're damn right!"
"I hate people like him most. They rely on their connections and background to snatch training resources from everyone else."
"Who knows which student he secretly had pushed out to get into our school?"
"..."
Even though all kinds of conspiracy theories were flying around the first floor of the Gravity Training Tower,
Ye Xiao still paid them no mind.
Because he understood one thing.
In the face of all these rumors and doubts,
just talking about it
would never convince anyone.
The only way was to prove himself with his fists!
When he could use his fists
to beat every freshman in the entire first year,
all the doubts would naturally disappear!
Soon,
the morning passed in a flash.
After a whole morning of punching without eating or drinking, Ye Xiao was on the verge of collapse, desperately in need of replenishing his energy.
Just then,
Ye Xiao squeezed out the last bit of strength in his body
and threw this punch!
The wind howled. The dent in the training dummy in front of him deepened a little.
[ Ding! ]
[You completed a punch. Force of this punch: 31%!]
[You gained 3 Martial Value!]
[Your realm has increased!]
[Current realm: Mud Embryo Realm · 98th level!]
[Current realm: Mud Embryo Realm · 99th level!]
[Current realm: Mud Embryo Realm · 100th level!]
"I did it!"
Ye Xiao was so exhausted that his whole body went limp. He couldn't even lift his arm.
He fell backward.
Fortunately, there was a padded mat beneath him.
He wasn't injured when he landed.
Just then,
Ye Xiao noticed a red light flash across his Path of the Strong.
It vanished in an instant.
Ye Xiao knew he had achieved a new milestone!
He hurriedly checked.
[Hundred Refinements to Steel! Trigger condition: Reach level 100 of the Mud Embryo Realm! Achieved! Reward: Body Protection Pill! System message: "A hundred punches. Your hand must hurt, huh? It'll hurt even more in the future."]
Ye Xiao's eyes were soaked with sweat.
He wiped them with his shirt, a happy smile spreading across his face.
"My hand really does hurt, but it feels great!"
With a thought from Ye Xiao,
a Body Protection Pill appeared in his palm.
He stared at the pill, which looked like a little chocolate ball,
and couldn't help sighing with emotion.
"I've suffered so much for such a tiny thing!"
"I hope you don't disappoint me!"
Ye Xiao popped the Body Protection Pill into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.
A few seconds later,
Ye Xiao could feel warmth spreading through every part of his body.
It was as if a warm current were protecting every blood vessel and every meridian inside him.
"The time is right!"
"Let's break through my body's limits!"
Ye Xiao scrambled up from the ground.
You could say
that Ye Xiao could stand now not because of his physical strength,
but entirely because of his tremendous willpower!
"When your body can't hold on, your willpower will carry you through!"
"Come on! Squeeze out the last bit of strength and potential in my body!"
"Show me where this body's limits lie!"
With a boom,
a faint, pale-red mist rose from Ye Xiao's body!
This sight
immediately drew the attention of many upperclassmen nearby.
"Why's that guy giving off a red glow?"
"Red glow? Could his Blood Qi have turned to mist?"
"That's a classic sign of severe injury!"
"Huh? Is this freshman crazy? Doesn't he realize his internal organs are damaged and his blood qi is leaking out?"
"..."
Even the old man on guard outside the Gravity Cultivation Tower
stopped what he was doing.
He walked into the tower's first floor and stared at Ye Xiao from a distance.
"Is that kid trying to kill himself?"
"It's only his first day training here. He's got plenty of time ahead of him. Why push himself to the point of burning up his blood qi?"
"But wait, how does someone his age know how to burn up his blood qi?"
For a moment,
the eyes of every upperclassman on the first floor of the Gravity Training Tower were fixed on Ye Xiao.
And Ye Xiao began to exert his strength!
He felt power rise from the soles of his feet, traveling upward through his bones, one segment at a time.
Ankles, knees, lumbar spine, spine, shoulder blades...
Every joint had been opened!
The power flowed like water, starting at his feet and passing through every joint without resistance or blockage, naturally surging onward.
When it reached his fist,
he
punched the surface of the training dummy!
The whole place fell silent.
The training dummy's surface made only a crisp sound.
It didn't even wobble.
It remained standing exactly where it was, utterly motionless.
In an instant,
the room erupted in laughter.
"Ha ha ha! That's hilarious!"
"That freshman made such a big show of it. I thought he'd be something special!"
"Turns out he can't even budge a training dummy!"
"The training dummies on the first floor are the weakest. Any freshman can make one move, but he couldn't even get it to budge."
"What a waste of my anticipation. An E-Grade loser is still an E-Grade loser. If he didn't have connections, he'd probably be mining somewhere right now!"
"..."
While the whole place roared with laughter and mockery,
only two people had different expressions.
A delighted smile appeared on the old guard's face.
And a smile of success appeared on Ye Xiao's.
One second!
Two seconds!
Three seconds!
Boom!!!
The Hidden Force inside the training dummy detonated, blasting it to pieces!
Shards of the shattered training dummy flew everywhere, smacking into the upperclassmen's faces and stinging their skin.
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