For the time that followed, Ye Wudao began tirelessly practicing his techniques, from the Northern Dark Divine Art to the Infinite Art, then martial skills like the Mountain Crushing Fist.
Whenever he practiced any technique a hundred times, he stopped.
After practicing a technique a hundred times, if he wanted to improve its effects further through his own efforts, he would need to practice it a thousand times.
He did the math and found it wasn't worth it.
If he had extra time, he could do that.
But right now, he needed to grow stronger quickly. A hundred times was just the right number.
If he encountered higher-level techniques in the future that required a large amount of technique proficiency, he could then sprint toward a thousand or ten thousand repetitions to improve his cultivation efficiency.
Time ticked away, second by second. By the next dawn, when the sky was nearly bright, Ye Wudao was still practicing martial skills.
There was no helping it—there were simply too many martial skills, and he couldn't practice them all in time.
Some simpler martial skills only took one or two minutes per practice.
But more complicated martial skills took seven or eight minutes each time.
By the time the door to Cell No. 1 opened and the three masters returned, he still had half his martial skills short of a hundred repetitions.
But the good news was that he had already broken through to the Body Tempering Great Accomplishment Realm.
Although the cultivation efficiency of the Northern Dark Divine Art and Infinite Art could not increase without limit, he still gained 160 points of technique proficiency per minute.
Over nine hours in one night, the two techniques together had gained 170,000 points of technique proficiency.
At the same time, they had brought him 17,000 points of realm experience.
The first to enter the cell was Third Master Zhang Hankuang. The instant he opened the door, he froze on the threshold.
Hu Lianfeng, behind him, said unhappily, "Get in already! Why are you standing there without moving? Seen a ghost?"
Zhang Hankuang took a small step forward and muttered, "I really have seen a ghost!"
Then he looked at Ye Wudao, who was practicing the Eight Trigrams Palm, and asked, "Wudao, why have you started practicing fist techniques?"
After speaking, he realized he had misspoken and hurriedly spat, "Pah!" Then he continued, "Why are you practicing fist techniques yourself? Don't you cultivate automatically?"
Ye Wudao withdrew his palm technique, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said softly, "I feel like when I cultivate actively, my cultivation efficiency seems higher, and I gain more insights!"
Zhang Hankuang was struck as if by lightning and stood rooted to the spot.
Hu Lianfeng stepped out from behind Zhang Hankuang, staring at Ye Wudao with utter disbelief. "You mean you can make your cultivation even faster?"
Ye Wudao nodded. "I think so!"
At that moment, Qin Tianlong walked in, frowning. "You practiced like this all night?"
Ye Wudao nodded. Sensing that something was off in Qin Tianlong's tone, he said nothing.
Qin Tianlong's brows furrowed slightly. He walked to Ye Wudao's side and seized his hand.
After a while, he asked in surprise, "You've advanced to the Body Tempering Great Accomplishment Realm?"
"What?" Zhang Hankuang and Hu Lianfeng cried out in unison as soon as he finished speaking.
Ye Wudao nodded. "Yes! I advanced to the Body Tempering Great Accomplishment Realm half an hour before you three masters returned."
Hearing this, Qin Tianlong gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Sigh! You truly can't be judged by ordinary standards."
"The reason you could practice martial skills for an entire night was because your techniques were cultivating automatically, repairing your body at every moment."
"On top of that, you advanced to the Body Tempering Great Accomplishment Realm. The energy from that instant of successful advancement completely restored your body."
"If an ordinary person did what you did, their body would have collapsed under the strain long ago."
"But it seems there's no point in telling you this. Your techniques can cultivate automatically, your body is constantly growing stronger and repairing itself—no matter how you train, it seems there won't be any negative effects on you."
He glanced at Ye Wudao and shook his head helplessly. "In any case, judge your own training. If your body feels wrong, stop immediately."
Ye Wudao nodded. He knew Qin Tianlong was concerned for him.
However, after cultivating all night, he had not felt the slightest discomfort.
At that moment, Zhang Hankuang walked over, carefully sizing Ye Wudao up as he asked softly, "Wudao, you're cultivating two techniques at once, and your cultivation speed is this monstrous?"
Ye Wudao smiled. "It's not that monstrous, is it? Once the Northern Dark Divine Art and Infinite Art reach completion, I feel my cultivation speed can get a little faster still."
Zhang Hankuang rolled his eyes and said as though he wanted to cry but had no tears, "At your pace, won't you advance to the Houtian Realm in a few days?"
Ye Wudao nodded. "More or less. I should be able to advance to the Houtian Realm in around three days."
Zhang Hankuang froze on the spot. He had merely been complaining about Ye Wudao's cultivation speed; he hadn't expected Ye Wudao to answer so honestly.
He sighed helplessly, sat on his bed, and said softly, "Back then, my master said I was a one-in-a-hundred Martial Path genius."
"And it took me three years to advance from the Body Forging Realm to the Houtian Realm."
"By all accounts, you've only cultivated for two days, yet in another three days you'll advance to the Houtian Realm."
Hu Lianfeng, standing nearby, had already gone numb. He looked at Zhang Hankuang and said softly, "You've got it pretty good. It took me a full eight years to advance to the Houtian Realm."
Zhang Hankuang shot Hu Lianfeng a look. "What kind of talent do you have, and what kind do I have?"
"Besides, the Martial Path wasn't perfected in your time. When I cultivated, the Martial Path was already being vigorously promoted."
"How can those be compared?"
Hu Lianfeng was displeased by that. He snorted coldly. "What talent are you talking about here?"
"Compared to Wudao, that little bit of Martial Path talent of yours isn't even worth a hair!"
Zhang Hankuang was instantly speechless. He flopped straight onto the bed and muttered, "Sigh! Comparing people to people can make one die of anger!"
Hearing this, Hu Lianfeng also lost heart. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, not knowing what he was thinking.
At that moment, Qin Tianlong spoke. "Stop complaining. We're ordinary people, while Wudao may be someone destined to forge an era."
Zhang Hankuang and Hu Lianfeng felt better after hearing that.
Even Qin Tianlong, a Xiantian Realm powerhouse, seemed pale and powerless before Ye Wudao's talent, let alone the two of them, who were only in the Houtian Realm.
Ye Wudao looked at Qin Tianlong and asked, "Great Master, I've already reached the Body Tempering Great Accomplishment Realm. Can I go to the Rift World tonight?"
Qin Tianlong nodded. "You can. When the time comes, I'll rent you a weapon. Do you want a broadsword, a Tang saber, or a spear?"
Ye Wudao thought for a moment and said softly, "A broadsword."
"I feel a broadsword is more suitable for killing demon beasts."
Zhang Hankuang raised a brow at that and said softly, "Kid, are you looking down on Tang sabers?"
Ye Wudao hurriedly shook his head. "No. It's just my own feeling after learning martial skills for three different weapons."
"A broadsword's use is broad and sweeping, suited for chaotic melee combat."
"Although Tang sabers emphasize that an inch longer makes an inch stronger, they're difficult to wield among hordes of demon beasts."
"As for Great Master's spear technique, I haven't even entered the gate yet!"
Qin Tianlong nodded at Ye Wudao's reasoning. "Your feeling is right. Tang sabers truly aren't suited for use amid chaos, especially since you haven't cultivated inner force yet. A broadsword is indeed the most suitable weapon for you."
He glanced at Zhang Hankuang and said softly, "You've practiced with Tang sabers for so many years. Haven't you sensed their flaws?"
Zhang Hankuang was taken aback and asked in return, "Flaws? I haven't felt anything like that!"
Qin Tianlong smiled. "That's normal. You've never come into contact with other weapons, so you feel that Tang sabers are the best."
"Tang sabers are long and sharp, but they aren't friendly to Body Forging Realm martial artists."
"Because they are too long, once the tip strikes something hard, it takes tremendous strength to pull the blade back."
"As a Houtian Realm martial artist, you've already entered the stage of using inner force in place of physical strength, so you don't feel these drawbacks."
"But Wudao still relies on his body to exert force. A broadsword may be heavier, but it will be easier to use in battle."
"A broadsword is heavy by nature and doesn't rely on sharpness to end a fight. For Body Forging Realm martial artists, it can be drawn and retracted more freely."
Zhang Hankuang nodded. "So that's how it is! I only began using Tang sabers after reaching the Houtian Realm, so I never had that feeling of being unable to draw and retract them freely."
"Looks like I need to learn more about all kinds of weapons."
Qin Tianlong smiled. "In truth, every weapon has its strengths and weaknesses. The key is how you use it."
As soon as Qin Tianlong said this, the other three people in Cell No. 1 fell into deep thought.
Xiantian Realm martial artists viewed the Martial Path from an entirely different realm. A casual bit of guidance from them could make others suddenly see the light.
For the time that followed, Qin Tianlong explained more about the Martial Path.
Before taking Ye Wudao as his disciple, he had never discussed such things with Zhang Hankuang and Hu Lianfeng.
After accepting Ye Wudao as his disciple, his mindset seemed to have changed somewhat.
Since he had to explain the Martial Path to Ye Wudao anyway, he might as well explain it to them all together.
After speaking for a while, Cell No. 1 fell quiet. The four began to sleep and rest, preparing for their trip to the Rift World that night.
Before you continue