Bewitchment

Heavy snow swirled through the air, drifting down to the earth.

In the little courtyard beneath the night sky, a figure stood motionless amid the wind and snow, like an old monk lost in meditation.

Snow soon blanketed Ye Wuyou's figure.

Perhaps it was the medicinal herbs, or perhaps the mysteries of the "Formless Heart Sutra." In just twenty-one days, his once somewhat scrawny frame had grown sturdier almost before the naked eye.

Sss...

Soundlessly, the hiss of melting ice and snow echoed inside Ye Wuyou's mind, audible to him alone.

Heat rose from his body, gradually melting the snowflakes.

Even though Ye Wuyou had previously known nothing whatsoever about cultivation, he knew that body tempering was where cultivation began.

"So this is body tempering?"

Ye Wuyou stretched out a hand, trying to catch the snow dancing through the sky.

His blood surged, and his strength seemed to have doubled. Most importantly, the vital breath circulating inside him seemed to flow a little more freely.

That was all.

Normally, after successfully tempering their bodies, most people had to devote themselves to cultivating the elusive vital breath within.

The younger, the better. As the years passed, the blood and vitality that had flourished after body tempering would gradually decline.

It could take a few months at best, or years-even decades-of wasted time at worst to develop vital breath. Then they would find a cultivation method and practice diligently, finally entering the First Realm, Hidden Origin.

But Ye Wuyou did not need to. The "Formless Heart Sutra," which cultivated automatically within him, had already developed vital breath and sent it flowing through all his meridians.

"This method is different from what I first imagined. It's more like... martial arts."

Ye Wuyou frowned slightly.

Even if he had never eaten pork, he had at least seen pigs run. Besides, over the past few days, his four teachers-spring, summer, autumn, and winter-had filled him in on plenty of cultivation theory.

This world's cultivation methods were not what Ye Wuyou had initially envisioned in theory. At least, they did not involve things like the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, primal energy, or elemental power.

There was no talk of foundation establishment, golden cores, or the like.

It was more about cultivating oneself, merely borrowing the substances found between heaven and earth.

Yet this world also had methods devoted to cultivating the soul... The incomprehensible cultivation manual Xia Anmeng had given him earlier surfaced in Ye Wuyou's mind.

Even Xia Anmeng, who had reached the Sixth Realm countless years ago, had survived to this day with nothing but a remnant soul.

All these things gave Ye Wuyou the feeling that this world's cultivation methods had been deliberately divided and cut off from one another.

And then there were the anomalies, also called great dao remnants... which did not belong to this world's cultivation system at all.

Perhaps only after reaching the middle three realms could he gradually understand the mysteries involved.

Ye Wuyou closed his eyes. His blood and vitality roiled ceaselessly, and his vital breath was frighteningly abundant.

As snow filled the sky, four lovely figures huddled together in the side room, silently watching the scenery outside the window.

Chun Tao, Xia Li, Qiu Gua, and Dong Zao.

Four figures, each a different size.

"The young master has finished tempering his body. Why is he still outside?"

"No idea. Perhaps he has something else in mind. What do you think, Chun Tao?"

Chun Tao was leaning beside the window, her beautiful eyes fixed on the figure amid the wind and snow. Suddenly, they flickered with surprise.

"Is the young master... trying to break through to the First Realm?"

"Huh? He's already developed vital breath?"

The "Formless Heart Sutra" truly deserved its recognition by the system as a profound cultivation method. Its "Qi-Guiding Chapter" alone, meant for the early stages of cultivation, would have driven countless people mad if it appeared on the market.

Even so, the tiny amount of vital breath cultivated through the "Qi-Guiding Chapter" alone would never have been enough to support Ye Wuyou's advancement to the First Realm.

Amid the wind and snow, a blue humanoid figure invisible to ordinary eyes emerged from Ye Wuyou's body, countless blue arms spreading across it.

Ye Wuyou could sense the "anomaly" behind him. The anomaly resembling a "ghost" felt like a part of his own body.

"So this is where Xia Anmeng's soul power went." A faint smile curled Ye Wuyou's lips.

That day, he had swallowed nearly sixty percent of Xia Anmeng's soul power.

With that power, he had entered the first stage of the "Formless Heart Sutra"-Formlessness.

But afterward... he had barely used it before the Prison Warden knocked him back to square one with a single punch.

At first, Ye Wuyou had felt rather regretful, thinking he had squandered the little power Senior Xia had painstakingly accumulated over so many years. The worst part was that he had not even gotten to enjoy it.

But now, it seemed that power was still there.

The same familiar soul power flowed along the spectral blue anomaly into his body, finally transforming into vast, surging vital breath.

It belonged to Xia Anmeng, after all. Ye Wuyou knew it very well.

It was simply so effortless to use.

Even more effortless than his own.

A moment later...

The wind and snow filling the sky fell still.

The First Realm-Hidden Origin Realm-was attained.

Ye Wuyou was not remotely satisfied.

Back in the Eighth Layer of the Heavenly Prison, he had briefly reached the Second Realm of cultivation.

If his body had not been too weak at the time, Ye Wuyou reckoned he could have pushed a little higher and reached the Third Realm.

A mere First Realm? What rotten fish and stinking shrimp.

[Having finally realized the importance of power, you only regret letting that remnant soul escape. Such a rich, nourishing supplement is not something you can find just anywhere. But there are plenty of days ahead. When you meet again, it will not be too late to swallow her whole.]

Forget that...

[Break through overnight, sweep through Skywave City the next day, and subdue the Great Yan Kingdom on the third. In less than seven days, you will be invincible beneath heaven, shattering the void beneath your feet. Your figure will no longer appear in the martial world, yet your legend will linger everywhere...]

This... For some reason, Ye Wuyou felt a surge of excitement.

There was still plenty of soul power left. At once, Ye Wuyou gathered his vital breath, intending to advance toward the Second Realm.

"I advise you not to do that."

Footsteps crunched softly against the ice and snow.

A man returned through the snowy night.

At some point, Zhao Changhe had appeared in the little courtyard, dressed in a straw rain cape. Beneath his hat brim, the old man's eyes were sharp and cutting.

"The Prison Warden once told me you were a little special. I didn't understand at first. I thought, this brat's physique and aptitude are both average. What's so special about him?"

He waved a hand lightly, and the wind and snow vanished completely.

"Now I see. You're especially unafraid of dying."

His vital breath dispersed. Ye Wuyou drew a deep breath, the cold air around him filling his belly and cooling the hot blood surging within him.

He really did seem to have gone a little mad just now.

"What were you thinking? Getting lucky and breaking through to the First Realm is one thing. After all, you'd already developed vital breath inside you. We can put that down to your unique cultivation method and call it your good fortune."

"You hadn't even been in the First Realm for half a minute. I was still wondering why you were standing there without moving, but you really are something, brat. You gathered your vital breath and tried to charge straight into the Second Realm. Think you've lived too long, do you? Don't want your meridians or sea of qi anymore?"

"Have there been people who broke through countless realms in a single day? Yes. A thousand years ago, the Liyang Kingdom had a scholar-a genuine scholar. Forget a whole day. He became the strongest man beneath heaven in the time it took an incense stick to burn. And what happened?"

"He was invincible beneath heaven that morning, and his soul departed at noon. Lightning struck him until there wasn't even a body left."

Ye Wuyou rubbed his head and listened to Zhao Changhe's scolding without a word.

He felt as though... he had been somewhat bewitched by that damned narrator.

Why? Has my mind been unsettled lately? I never used to pay any attention to what the narrator said.

Before him, Zhao Changhe spoke again.

"Pull yourself together and watch closely. I'll teach you one final set of moves."

"As it happens, it's perfect for a reckless fool like you."