The Alchemical Path

Those at the higher sixth transformation realm were the true standouts among them.

Back then, Chen Wu's sister from his previous life had been admitted to the Republic's top-ranked police university with her sixth transformation of Tempered Essence cultivation.

The Holy Demon Embryo gave Chen Wu an enormous advantage in martial cultivation. He could not waste that advantage; he was bound to carve out a path never traveled by anyone before.

Afterward, Chen Wu had his secondary body continue practicing fist and palm techniques, while he himself began cultivating the Trace-Hiding Step.

With the assistance of the three souls, Chen Wu mastered this movement technique in less than a morning.

Primordial Palm and Eight Extremes Fist also improved considerably through his secondary body's training.

Checking the time, Chen Wu prepared to head down to the mall's underground first-floor dining area. After lunch, he would return and continue cultivating.

When Chen Wu said he wanted to eat, his secondary body put on a show of scolding him. "At such a young age, how can you be so slack? For the sake of satisfying a mere appetite, you would abandon the road to the heavens."

"Just tell me—are you eating or not?"

"Eating."

"Then get back here."

After saying that and recalling his secondary body, Chen Wu emerged from the training room and prepared to go downstairs.

Then he heard a crisp, pleasant voice behind him. "Hey, Chen Wu, why are you here?"

Chen Wu turned around and saw a sweet-looking girl staring at him, her face filled with surprise mixed with delight.

"You are..."

Though he knew this girl was his classmate, Chen Wu still tried his best to look as though he were thinking, in keeping with his persona.

The girl had long expected Chen Wu's reaction. Introducing herself with easy familiarity, she said, "It's me. Zhang Qian, your classmate for two years in high school."

As if he had just remembered her, Chen Wu gave an awkward smile. "So it's you. By the way, Zhang Qian, what brought you here?"

In Zhang Qian's eyes, Chen Wu clearly had not recognized her.

But she did not care about that.

After all, Chen Wu was practically a legendary figure at school.

He slept through theory classes, read books during martial arts classes, clocked in when school started, and left as soon as it ended.

He did not even attend extracurricular training sessions. Normally, he also acted as though strangers should keep their distance and had barely interacted with anyone in the class. It would have been stranger if he had recognized her.

Zhang Qian casually said, "Recently, I've felt that my martial cultivation has made a breakthrough, so I came to the training room to seclude myself for a while. I'm striving to break through to the fourth transformation this summer."

Zhang Qian's grades throughout the entire year could not exactly be called merely among the best; they could be called outstanding.

So long as she broke through to the fourth transformation before the start of senior year, then barring any surprises, her name would appear on the school honor roll once the martial examinations were over.

Chen Wu merely smiled and offered his congratulations. "I see. Then congratulations."

Hearing Chen Wu's lukewarm congratulations, Zhang Qian raised an eyebrow. "By the way, Chen Wu, what are you doing here?"

Chen Wu answered calmly, "Nothing much. I just came here to practice martial arts."

"!!!!!"

Watching Zhang Qian's shocked expression, her small mouth slightly open, Chen Wu silently turned and left.

After Chen Wu had gone quite far, Zhang Qian finally came back to her senses. She hurriedly pulled out her phone, opened U-Message, entered the class group chat, and let her slender fingers fly across the screen.

"Comrades, huge news! Huge news! Guess who I ran into at the martial arts gym near my house?"

-- Group member, Class 3 of the Class of 2008, Zhang Qian (future fourth transformation of Tempered Essence)

"Who did you run into? Don't tell me you caught Old He secretly tutoring someone again?"

"Are you stupid? Could something like tutoring be discussed in the class group? Wouldn't it have to be said secretly?"

After that message, another one popped up, sent by a member named "Director He."

"@The student above, please do not spread rumors. Extracurricular tutoring violates relevant national regulations. As an outstanding teacher under the background of the new curriculum reform, I firmly oppose paid tutoring. Furthermore, if you discover any school teacher engaging in extracurricular tutoring, please actively report it."

-- Teacher He, homeroom teacher of Class 3 of the Class of 2008.

"Could it be Old Sun? That can't be right. He teaches math—what would he be doing at a martial arts gym? Is he trying to find a second spring?"

-- Group member, Class 3 of the Class of 2008, Li Hongquan (third transformation of Tempered Essence).

Not long after that message was sent, a group member named "Teacher Sun" immediately sent another message.

"@Student Li Hongquan, do not fabricate rumors, believe rumors, or spread rumors. Also, have you finished your summer homework? I will be giving it special attention when school starts."

After keeping everyone in suspense for a while, Zhang Qian finally dropped her bombshell in the group chat. "You all guessed wrong. I ran into Chen Wu at the martial arts gym. He said he came to practice martial arts."

"!!!!!"

"!!!!!"

"!!!!!"

Seeing the stream of exclamation marks flooding the group chat, Zhang Xiyue revealed a satisfied smile.

"To be honest, if I hadn't personally seen him walk out of the training room, I wouldn't have believed it either."

"So Chen really came around. It seems what I said at the class meeting on the day the final exam results were announced had an effect. Everyone should learn from Chen. As long as the college entrance examination isn't over, don't give up."

-- Teacher He, homeroom teacher of Class 3 of the Class of 2008.

"Teacher He is right. Everyone must work hard and strive to reach the third transformation before the college entrance examination, so we can get into a good school."

-- Class monitor of Class 3 of the Class of 2008, Wu Yiming (fourth transformation of Tempered Essence)

"Teacher He is right. Even the legend of our grade is working hard. What reason do we have not to work hard? We must work hard."

-- Study committee member of Class 3 of the Class of 2008, Zhao Zihan (fourth transformation of Tempered Essence)

The news of Chen Wu practicing martial arts caused a massive uproar in the class group chat, while he himself was leisurely eating lunch on the underground first floor of Shengwu Plaza.

They would find out sooner or later anyway. This was the perfect chance to let Zhang Xiyue spread the news that he had resumed his martial path.

At a place called Golden City Beef Noodle House, he ordered a bowl of Redflame Cattle beef noodles and a pound and a half of Redflame Cattle beef, then dug in with gusto.

The meat of the ferocious beasts known as Redflame Cattle was somewhat helpful for trainee martial artists tempering their bodies, making it just right for Chen Wu at his current stage.

I was still thinking about how to spread the news that I've resumed martial cultivation. This is the perfect opportunity to get it out there.

As Chen Wu slurped down noodles in great mouthfuls, he considered matters beyond martial techniques.

The benefits brought by the Holy Demon Embryo did not extend only to martial cultivation; it was an all-around enhancement.

No matter the field, he could reach its pinnacle.

At his current pace, it would not take much time to train all three martial techniques to perfection.

This far exceeded Chen Wu's expectations. Therefore, in addition to continuing to temper his essence and intensively cultivate martial techniques, Chen Wu decided to add another task for himself: concurrently study the hundred arts of martial cultivation.

As the saying went, "A thousand birds in the forest are not worth one bird in the hand," and "What you have and what others have are not as good as what you yourself possess."

Methods, talismans, formations—techniques of the spirit-refining path like these were all subjects one could only encounter after entering university.

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