Sleeping during the day and moving at night had become standard practice in Cell No. 1.
The three masters had gone to bed early. Ye Wudao had just advanced to the peak of the Body Tempering Realm, and he was hungry again.
After a hearty breakfast of meat, he, too, fell into a deep sleep.
Ever since he began practicing the Martial Path, his diet had consisted mostly of meat.
At eight that evening, the four of them entered the Rift World once more.
Inside the canyon, Ye Wudao stood on a steep slope with a broadsword in hand. He turned to Qin Tianlong beside him and asked, "Great Master, why haven't we seen anyone from the Zhang Family today?"
Qin Tianlong replied with a smile, "You really think the Zhang Family came here to train?"
"They only came to earn Demon Slayer Guard status, so they could join the main group in gathering Spirit Rhino Grass a week from now."
"Last night, they hunted demon beasts here partly to get used to the environment of the Rift World."
"But a big part of it was Zhang Jianye putting on a show."
"Everyone knows Zhang Jianye sent the Zhang Family disciples into the Rift World for the Spirit Rhino Grass. But if his disciples didn't kill a single demon beast, people would inevitably start talking."
"The Zhang Family doesn't care about the points they earn from hunting demon beasts. They can easily get cultivation resources at the Martial Arts Academy, so they have no need to risk their lives here."
"There aren't many scions of prominent families in the Rift World. Aside from those who need combat experience, most of them wouldn't come here to fight for their lives."
Ye Wudao pressed his lips together and said gravely, "Then doesn't that go against the Blue Star Federation's efforts to promote the Martial Path?"
"Like you said, hothouse flowers can't withstand a storm."
"According to what you're saying, are Rogue Cultivators like us raising the scions of those families?"
"We risk our lives in the Rift World, and then half the resources we earn go to the Martial Arts Academy, to those scions?"
Qin Tianlong sighed. "Alas, that's simply how things are in the Blue Star Federation right now."
"Fortunately, the Demon Slayer Guards keep those families in check. Otherwise, they'd be even more arrogant."
"But which of the Grandmaster Realm experts among the Demon Slayer Guards doesn't have a family behind him?"
"So everyone turns a blind eye to this sort of thing."
"There are so many scions of prominent families. Expecting them all to enter the Rift World and hunt demon beasts isn't realistic."
"I heard a while ago that the Demon Slayer Guards have also noticed the state of the Martial Dao World on Blue Star. They'll probably organize an assessment in the Rift World for Martial Arts Academy students in the next few years."
"The Martial Path has only been promoted on a large scale for a little over twenty years. Ordinary people couldn't access it before, so the Demon Slayer Guards were powerless to do anything about those families."
"After all, the Martial Dao World is still dominated by prominent families. The Demon Slayer Guards need time to break this vicious cycle of family monopolies."
He glanced at Ye Wudao and said softly, "All right, go kill some demon beasts."
"Once you've spent some time making your way through the Martial Dao World, you'll understand these things for yourself."
Ye Wudao nodded, then leaped down and ran toward the bottom of the canyon.
His Light Smoke Step had reached mastery. When he used it now, his body could briefly remain airborne, like the light-footed martial artists in the television shows.
Ever since he discovered that his own Self-Strengthening could drive his techniques to improve, all his Body Tempering Realm martial skills had reached perfection, while his Houtian Realm martial skills had reached mastery.
His only Xiantian martial skill, the Overlord Spear, had also reached minor mastery.
In another nine days, all his Houtian martial skills would reach perfection.
Broadsword in hand, he charged into the beast horde without the slightest fear.
More than twenty martial skills, some perfected and others mastered, gave him ample confidence.
With the Roaming Dragon Step, Life-Taking Four Blades, and Four Seasons Blade Technique working in concert, he didn't flinch even when facing second-tier demon beasts.
Against some of the weaker second-tier demon beasts, he could even kill them with a single strike.
He didn't go looking for the kings among the second-tier beasts, either. He kept his distance from top-tier second-tier demon beasts like Earth-Splitting Beasts and Diamond Tigers.
He knew that with his current fighting strength, he could only take on mid-tier second-tier demon beasts.
Those top-tier second-tier demon beasts were powerful and enormous. He would need to advance to the Houtian Realm and gain Inch Power before he could deal with them.
Not far away, Qin Tianlong killed demon beasts while keeping an eye on Ye Wudao.
After watching for a while, he couldn't help but marvel. With Ye Wudao's current strength, even ordinary warriors at the Houtian Great Accomplishment level were probably no match for him.
The three footwork techniques and three blade techniques worked together. Amid the second-tier demon beasts, he moved as if no one could stand in his way.
Qin Tianlong could also see that Ye Wudao was deliberately avoiding the several top-tier second-tier demon beasts.
That alone showed that Ye Wudao's sense of danger was far sharper than an ordinary person's.
He watched for a while longer and realized that Ye Wudao showed no signs of fatigue at all.
Even he, a warrior at the Xiantian Realm, grew tired after fighting for too long. Ye Wudao was only at the Body Tempering stage, after all.
This reminded him once again of Ye Wudao's unusual nature: his techniques were constantly improving, and his realm was steadily rising.
As his realm improved, his body grew stronger, and the damage and fatigue it had suffered were repaired at the same time.
At that moment, Ye Wudao was like a war machine that never tired, slaughtering demon beasts with abandon amid the horde.
At the same time, Ye Wudao's performance had drawn the attention of the others.
His display was simply too dazzling for anyone not to notice him.
"Who is that kid? How is he so fierce?"
"He's so young, and he's already at the Houtian Realm?"
"Look at his blade work. Isn't that the Four Seasons Blade Technique? He's probably mastered it, right? There's even a hint of the changing seasons in it."
"Good grief, this kid knows a lot of martial skills! In just a little while, I've seen him use seven or eight. And he's mastered all of them to a high level!"
"Is some prominent family's genius disciple here to train?"
"This is the Sea City area of the Sea City Rift. There are only a handful of families in all of Sea City worth mentioning, and I've never seen this kid before."
"Could he be from another city?"
Everyone was curious about Ye Wudao's identity.
They would never have guessed that Ye Wudao was actually a prisoner in the First Prison.
It was just that Ye Wudao didn't wear a prison uniform when he entered the Rift World.
According to Qin Tianlong, prison uniforms were too conspicuous, so it was best not to wear them if they could help it.
But it seemed that Cell No. 1 was the only cell in the entire First Prison with that privilege. The prisoners there could go without their uniforms.
The prisoners in the other cells could change clothes in the vehicle, but most of them had no way to get ordinary clothes.
Time ticked by, and shortly after four in the morning, Ye Wudao suddenly felt something change in his body.
"Ding!"
The system notification rang in his mind.
Ye Wudao immediately understood: he was about to advance to the Houtian Realm.
Without thinking twice, he quickly withdrew from the battlefield and headed to the edge of the canyon.
Qin Tianlong noticed something was wrong with Ye Wudao and hurried over to protect him as he advanced.
Ye Wudao sat cross-legged on the ground, his body trembling slightly as the true qi in his dantian surged through his limbs.
Soon, an understanding of "jin force" appeared in his mind.
Houtian Realm jin-force training had four stages: Inch Power at initiation, Hidden Power at minor mastery, Neutralizing Power at major mastery, and Penetrating Power at the peak.
Because his techniques improved automatically, he didn't need to figure out how to use these kinds of force himself.
The system directly implanted the methods of generating all four kinds of force into his mind.
In other words, although he was only at the Houtian Initiation Realm, he could already use the Penetrating Power of the Houtian Peak.
However, the difference in physical strength and power meant he still fell short of a true Houtian Peak warrior.
As his realm rose, his body underwent another cleansing and transformation. A thick layer of black, sticky fluid instantly covered him.
After quite some time, the changes in his body gradually came to a stop.
Ye Wudao opened his eyes and assessed his physical strength.
The most obvious change was that his body had grown harder. His muscles were sharply defined, and his skin had become much firmer.
His body had completely passed beyond the Body Tempering stage, and his sinews, bones, skin, and membranes had all reached a certain level of strength.
Cultivation in the Houtian Realm still involved strengthening the sinews, bones, skin, and membranes, so they could withstand the four kinds of force.
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