A hundred battles, a hundred defeats, becoming an emperor through adversity (thanks to Cangyue Xuan for the alliance leader support)

After he and Su Tingxue said good night and agreed to go to sleep, Zhou You stayed awake and kept browsing the posts.

Do you think refining a phone into a magical treasure would work?

Are cat demons reproductively isolated from ordinary cats?

Does Jesus count as having become an immortal through corpse liberation? (This thread has been locked.)

The posts were as bizarre as ever, their leaps of logic beyond Zhou You's ability to follow.

"Maybe I should browse fewer posts from now on, before they corrupt me." Zhou You reflected aloud, urging himself to stay away from harmful content.

The mystery of Perfected Lord Wenchang's trip abroad

"Huh?"

Zhou You spotted an interesting post. "Let's click in and have a look."

The poster was called "Little Li from AA Building Materials."

"I heard Perfected Lord Wenchang went abroad to renew his path in the Literary Dao. He's gone to the Far Side of the Ocean to run for president."

Perfected Lord Wenchang was highly renowned among modern cultivators, and the post drew countless replies as soon as it went up.

"Seriously? That actually works?"

"From the perspective of cultivating the Literary Dao, it's feasible."

"Brilliant idea! Why didn't I think of that? Everyone says Perfected Lord Wenchang can't keep up with the times, but I think we're the ones falling behind."

Little Li from AA Building Materials replied, "Apparently, Perfected Lord Wenchang didn't come up with it. It was a young cultivator who'd only just started Qi Refining."

"What a talent."

"Did a human being actually come up with that?"

"United States: Let me just say, thank you..."

"What an unusual train of thought."

Zhou You was a little annoyed. Wasn't this a perfectly ordinary idea? Anyone could come up with it off the top of their head. How could these cultivators call his thinking unusual?

How rude. I'm done reading.

How do you all train your bodies? I've hit a bottleneck lately

Zhou You clicked in to learn.

The poster was called "I'll Never Talk."

"I always have my Dao companion beat me. Don't you all do that?"

"Is that a legitimate method?"

"First, beat yourself until your skin splits open, then soak in a medicinal bath worth a fortune. You wouldn't believe how good it feels."

"I opened a steelworks. Whenever I have some free time, I jump into the molten steel and swim to train my body."

"I sneak into a military base and use the Transformation Technique to disguise myself as a target."

Zhou You browsed the replies and felt that none of their body-training methods were ones he could learn.

Having mosquitoes bite him was still the easiest option.

With that in mind, Zhou You replied, "I always have mosquitoes bite me."

Lu Tianxing was an elder of Kunlun Mountain's Punishment Hall and frequently used all sorts of instruments of torture to interrogate prisoners.

The Punishment Hall had been founded when Kunlun Mountain was first established. Not all cultivators were good people, and quite a few were devoted to evil, so the hall had come into being to deal with them.

Lu Tianxing had been quite troubled lately. He had encountered an incredibly tight-lipped traitor who practiced body training and enjoyed abusing himself. His skin and flesh were so tough that none of the instruments of torture could make him talk.

A restriction had been placed in his mind. Recklessly searching his soul might destroy it completely, leaving them with no information at all.

Left with no other choice, Lu Tianxing could only seek help on the Cultivation Forum.

How do you all train your bodies? I've hit a bottleneck lately

He browsed the replies one by one, looking for useful information.

"Beatings, medicinal baths, swimming in molten iron... I've tried all of these."

Suddenly, a fresh reply caught his eye.

"'I always have mosquitoes bite me'... huh, that might work!" Lu Tianxing's eyes lit up. The Cultivation Forum really did have experts who could think up every possible way of abusing themselves.

Ordinary mosquitoes certainly wouldn't do, though.

With that thought, he made a phone call.

"Hello, is this the Beast Hall? Can you breed Foundation Establishment mosquitoes?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end before the reply came. "Didn't the Gu Cultivator tradition die out? Are you some surviving remnant?"

"That rotten rice-thrower wants to challenge me?" Nuomi rubbed her hands together at the news, itching to have a spell duel with Su Tingxue right away.

"Well, would you look at that? Two defeats in a row still haven't made her give up. Fine, bring her on!"

Nuomi was usually a coward, scared of one thing after another. Only when facing Su Tingxue was she brimming with confidence. She wouldn't have been afraid even if an entire company of Su Tingxue clones showed up.

Zhou You had originally been concerned that Nuomi had reluctantly agreed to fight Su Tingxue only for his sake.

Now, it seemed his concerns had been completely unnecessary. If Nuomi had any spirit jade on hand, she would probably have paid him to arrange a fight with Su Tingxue.

"Could she be following the path of a hundred battles and a hundred defeats, becoming an emperor through adversity?" Recalling what she had seen on the Primordial Continent, Chu Xiaoyao murmured just loudly enough for Zhou You to hear.

"What does that mean?"

"It's a cultivation path where repeated defeats shatter your Dao Heart, and you rebuild it again and again. Eventually, you forge an unsurpassed will, continually surpass yourself through adversity, and attain the Dao as an Immortal Emperor."

"When I was on the Primordial Continent, I encountered an opponent like that. He was the successor to the Hundred Defeats Lineage, and he was very difficult to deal with. His willpower was terrifyingly strong. After every defeat, he reflected on himself, surpassed his former self, grew stronger, and challenged me again."

Zhou You couldn't help asking, "So what happened in the end? Did he win?"

Chu Xiaoyao gave Zhou You a very strange look. "Of course not. He was surpassing himself, not me. How could I possibly lose?"

Then Chu Xiaoyao sighed. "Still, although he never beat me, the fact that he qualified to be my opponent means that cultivation method has its merits."

"Wow, that rotten rice-thrower is so scheming." Nuomi felt she had learned just how treacherous people could be. So that was why Su Tingxue was challenging her-she was using her to keep surpassing herself.

"...I think you two are overthinking this," Zhou You said.

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Chu Xiaoyao pouted. How dare he question this emperor's authority? Back on the Primordial Continent, he'd have been hacked to death already.

"The facts' side."

During the lunch break, the Celestial Master and the vengeful ghost met on the Rooftop to fight.

Even during lunch break, students were always running up and down the stairs. If they fought on the second-year floor like last time, they would easily be discovered.

The midday sun blazed overhead, but with Nuomi's domain in place, it was pleasantly cool. No matter how fierce the sun was, its rays couldn't get through.

"I didn't think you'd dare challenge me again." Nuomi floated in the air, laughing with her hands on her hips, full of confidence.

A little Daoist with such shoddy skills thinks she can beat me?

Su Tingxue smiled coldly. Her best friend often remarked that she was pretty but never liked to smile. If she smiled more, she would definitely look even prettier.

As it turned out, her best friend had been right. Smiling gave Su Tingxue a distinctive charm, even when it was a cold smile.

"Just come at me." Su Tingxue's Dao Heart was firm, and she ignored Nuomi's taunts. Her indifference made Nuomi stamp her feet in anger.

Zhou You and Chu Xiaoyao watched the fight with a grilled sausage each. Chu Xiaoyao had treated him.

"Flames, rise!" Su Tingxue struck first, summoning her Life-Bound Yang Fire. She had been nourishing it with spirit stones over the past few days, and it burned hotter than in their last battle!

Her previous defeat had come after a spur-of-the-moment challenge, with no preparations. This time, she was fully prepared!

Nuomi moved like a fish through water, graceful and nimble. The yang fire brushed past her shoulder without even singeing the edge of her clothes.

"That's it? Your skills aren't up to much." Nuomi was smug. She had expected something impressive, but it was nothing special-only a tiny bit stronger than last time.

Su Tingxue didn't respond. Her gaze was utterly cold. "Mind's Eye, open!"

Her Yin-Yang Heavenly Eye transformed, advancing to the level of the Mind's Eye. Everything on the Rooftop fell within her perception: empty bottles stirred by the breeze, old desks piled in a corner, Zhou You and Chu Xiaoyao eating grilled sausages, and Nuomi's next move!

I saw it!

Ever since Zhou You's words had enlightened her and awakened her Mind's Eye, Su Tingxue had been training it constantly. Even when watching horror movies at home, she kept it active.

She was no longer the same as before. She had predicted Nuomi's movements!

When Nuomi dodged the yang fire again, a talisman appeared directly in her path and stuck squarely onto her body!

"Bind!"

A Binding Talisman!

The cinnabar and yellow paper had been shipped from Dragon-Tiger Mountain. This was a premium talisman that Su Tingxue had selected from ten she had drawn!

"Huh? Why can't I move?"

Nuomi had never experienced anything like this before and was terribly flustered. How had that rotten rice-thrower suddenly started predicting her movements, then immobilized her?

Su Tingxue wore a victorious smile as she approached Nuomi, taking a good look at the loser's anxious expression.

She was rarely in such a good mood. It was almost on par with how she had felt when she first achieved Qi Induction.

"Oh, so it only holds me for a moment." Nuomi suddenly started moving again.

Su Tingxue was horrified. How was that possible? This was the Binding Talisman she had painstakingly selected from ten attempts. How could it only hold her for a moment?

"You dared stand this close to me."

Nuomi poked Su Tingxue in the forehead.

"Heh."

Su Tingxue's eyes went vacant. Terror gripped her, and she dropped to her knees with a thud.

When Su Tingxue came to her senses, she realized she had lost again.

Could my mastery of talismans still be lacking?

"Are you all right?"

Having finished his grilled sausage, Zhou You stepped forward and helped Su Tingxue up.

Su Tingxue shook her head to show she was fine. "It's just one defeat."

As she spoke, she took a fist-sized, glowing blue stone from her pocket. It seemed brimming with vitality.

The stone's name was obvious.

"Here. This is the spirit stone we agreed on."

Nuomi floated over, looking very surprised.

"Huh? So I get a reward for beating you? Then you still owe me two." Nuomi counted carefully on her fingers. "Once at the Old Dormitory Building two years ago, and once in the corridor a few days ago."

"Ahem-" Su Tingxue coughed violently, wishing she could take Nuomi down with her.