Martial Disciple Realm

When the last piece of equipment was steadily placed in its designated spot on the second floor, Lin Yun lightly dusted off his hands.

Su Nianhe shook out her arms. A fine sheen of sweat clung to her forehead, and the ends of her high ponytail were slightly mussed, yet she did not look the least bit disheveled. Instead, she radiated a vibrant energy.

Leaning against the wall, she sat down and smiled with crescent eyes. "Finally done. I'm exhausted."

Lin Yun walked over as well and sat beside her, leaning against the wall.

"I counted." Su Nianhe held up her fingers and waved them smugly. "I moved sixty machines. I won, right?"

"Alright, alright, you won."

Lin Yun smiled knowingly.

Though he had lost the contest, he was very happy. The moving fee was two thousand per machine; forty machines meant eighty thousand.

Added to the forty-odd thousand he had left before, he now had one hundred and twenty thousand in hand—enough to buy the Astral Body-Tempering Grass, with plenty left over.

Yet he was in no hurry to ask for the money. He simply stayed by the wall with Su Nianhe, quietly resting alongside her.

Su Nianhe was the first to speak. She turned to look at Lin Yun, her voice soft and carrying a hint of caution. "Lin Yun, I heard about your brother."

Lin Yun's gaze dimmed slightly. "I'm fine. I'm used to being alone anyway."

"You're not alone. Even if your brother is gone, if you don't mind, then from now on, I'll be your family. I'll always stay by your side."

Upon hearing this, Su Nianhe suddenly grabbed Lin Yun's arm and spoke with utmost seriousness.

Her words were like a warm current, instantly flowing through every limb and bone in Lin Yun's body.

The moment he had learned of his brother's death, he had thought his world had completely collapsed.

He had believed that from then on, he truly would be all alone, able only to carry his hatred on his back and trudge through this cold world by himself.

Only in the end did he realize that he had forgotten the foolish girl beside him, who had silently waited for him for ten years.

Lin Yun's Adam's apple bobbed. He wanted to say something, but his throat seemed blocked, and he could not utter a single word.

In all his life, he had never been this nervous.

After a long while, he finally took a deep breath. As though making some decision, he asked, "Nianhe, you should be able to get into Imperial Capital First Martial Academy, right?"

"Of course!" Su Nianhe immediately lifted her chin, her face displaying a pride unique to a young girl. "I bought all this equipment so I could adapt to Imperial Capital First Martial Academy's training intensity in advance. Once I get there, I can't let anyone surpass me."

After saying that, she seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly grabbed Lin Yun's arm.

"But don't worry, Lin Yun. With your current vitality of nine points, plus your top scorer results in the academic subjects, you'll definitely be able to get into one of Imperial Capital's third-tier martial academies! Then we'll be close by and can see each other often. I can look out for you too!"

Afraid that Lin Yun would feel inferior, she spoke quickly and anxiously. Her eyes sparkled with sincerity.

Looking at how nervous she was, Lin Yun suddenly smiled.

He shook his head, looked firmly into Su Nianhe's eyes, and said word by word, "I'll get into Imperial Capital First Martial Academy too."

Su Nianhe froze.

What did it mean to get into Imperial Capital First Martial Academy?

It had been one hundred and eight years since spiritual energy revival, yet fewer than eighty people from all of Azure City had ever gotten into Imperial Capital First Martial Academy.

Her cultivation had reached the fourth level of the Martial Disciple Realm, and she even had hopes of breaking through to the fifth level before the martial examination. Otherwise, how could she be so confident?

But Lin Yun... while his current cultivation had certainly surprised her, getting into Imperial Capital First Martial Academy...

Would be harder than ascending to the heavens!

Su Nianhe immediately realized that perhaps Lin Yun did not truly want to apply to Imperial Capital First Martial Academy. He was merely using this method to tell her that he would always stay with her.

At that thought, a brilliant smile bloomed uncontrollably across Su Nianhe's face.

"Alright! I support you!"

"Mm."

Lin Yun nodded, his gaze incomparably resolute.

He had not dared to dream of it before because his aptitude was poor. But things were different now. He had the system; he could spend money to grow stronger.

Six days were enough for him to complete his body tempering, break through into the Martial Disciple Realm, and even gain admission to Imperial Capital First Martial Academy in one stroke.

He wanted to go to the Imperial Capital with Su Nianhe.

He wanted to stand at the same height as her.

He wanted to give an answer to her ten years of bitter waiting.

Seeing Su Nianhe's happy expression, the corners of Lin Yun's lips could not help but rise as well.

He stood and patted the dust off his pants. "Alright, Nianhe. I should go back and train."

"Oh, right!" Su Nianhe hurriedly nodded, then took out her phone. "I'll pay you first!"

[ Ding! 80,000 Dragon Nation currency has been deposited into your account.]

[Current host balance: 120,372 Dragon Nation currency.]

Looking at the balance on his phone, Lin Yun's gaze grew even more determined.

"Then I'm off."

Lin Yun waved to Su Nianhe.

"Mm!" Su Nianhe nodded. As she watched Lin Yun's retreating figure turn away, she suddenly shouted loudly again:

"Lin Yun! I believe in you! You can definitely get into Imperial Capital First Martial Academy!"

Lin Yun paused.

He turned around and gave Su Nianhe a brilliant, toothy smile.

It was the first time he had smiled so happily.

After returning home, Lin Yun impatiently entered the bathroom and walked to the bathtub.

"System, exchange for the Astral Body-Tempering Grass."

[ Ding! 80,000 Dragon Nation currency deducted. Astral Body-Tempering Grass ×1 exchanged.]

[Current host balance: 40,372 Dragon Nation currency.]

A soft white light flashed, and a spiritual herb, emerald green from stem to tip and dotted with tiny silver stars across its leaves, appeared in Lin Yun's hand.

The blades of grass trembled faintly, releasing a crisp, refreshing scent of vegetation. Just breathing it in made his vitality feel a little more active.

The silver stars on its leaves flowed beneath the light as if they contained an entire starry sky. It truly lived up to the name Astral.

Following the method provided by the system, Lin Yun filled the bathtub with scalding water, then carefully placed the Astral Body-Tempering Grass inside.

"Sizzle—"

The instant the spiritual herb entered the water, the once-clear boiling water turned a deep, profound ink-green. Countless specks of starlight rose and fell within it, churning and rolling, while a rich medicinal fragrance instantly filled the entire home.

Once the water had cooled to a suitable temperature, Lin Yun took off his clothes and slowly lowered himself into the bathtub.

"Hiss!"

The moment he touched the medicinal liquid, a bone-piercing chill burrowed through his skin and into every limb and bone. Immediately afterward, it transformed into a scorching, burning sensation.

It felt as though countless tiny needles were piercing every inch of his muscles and every bone in his body at once.

This was the Astral Body-Tempering Grass's medicinal power cleansing his meridians and stripping away the impurities accumulated in his body over eighteen years.

Lin Yun clenched his teeth and did not make a sound.

Compared to the agonizing pain of his vitality running wild before, this suffering was nothing at all.

He closed his eyes and guided the vitality within him, slowly circulating it along the route of the basic body-tempering method he cultivated.

The ink-green medicinal liquid continuously churned. Threads of black impurities seeped from Lin Yun's pores, and the once-clear liquid gradually became murky and dark.

Time passed second by second.

On the first day, all the medicinal power worked upon his skin and flesh.

The hidden injuries left behind by years of training, as well as the muscle strain caused by insufficient vitality, were repaired one by one by the Astral Body-Tempering Grass's gentle yet domineering medicinal power. His somewhat thin muscle fibers became thicker and tougher, every strand brimming with explosive strength without appearing bulky.

When the dawn of the second day shone through the window and into the bathroom, the medicinal power finally pierced through the barrier of flesh and began seeping into his bones and meridians.

This pain was even worse than the first day's.

Lin Yun felt as if every bone in his body was being gnawed by countless ants, while also being thrown into a furnace and reforged. His formerly narrow, fragile meridians were continuously widened and reinforced under the medicinal power's cleansing. The minute cracks torn open by his previous rampaging vitality were completely smoothed away, and his meridian walls became as resilient and smooth as jade.

The vitality that had once been somewhat sluggish now surged like a rushing river through his body, without the slightest obstruction.

Lin Yun could clearly feel that his body was undergoing a transformation as profound as shedding his mortal form and exchanging his bones.

It was not until the early hours of the third day, when the final wisp of starlight vanished from the medicinal liquid, that the body tempering was finally complete. The water in the bathtub had turned murky ink-black, with not a trace of medicinal fragrance remaining.

Lin Yun slowly opened his eyes.

Two restrained flashes of brilliance flickered through his gaze before vanishing.

He rose from the bathtub, feeling the surging yet incomparably steady power within his body. The corners of his lips could not help but lift.

He took a deep breath and slowly circulated the vitality within him.

[ Ding! It has been detected that the host has completed full body tempering and has officially broken through to the first level of the Martial Disciple Realm!]