The art of body tempering

In the Si Household's great hall, not even tea had been served this time, yet the atmosphere was stranger than at any previous Lineage meeting.

After listening to Si Shuo's incoherent account, complete with flailing hands and feet, everyone fell even quieter than when they had learned he had reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer in a single hour.

Second Uncle Si Che held the Spirit-Testing Stone and circled Si Chen three times.

"It really... is a thunder spirit root." Second Master Si looked up at Si Kai, his face filled with bewilderment that plainly said, "Elder Brother, this defies all reason."

It... it had actually grown?!

Thump. The eldest Lineage elder clutched his chest and sank shakily back into his chair, murmuring, "The ancestral records... th-they never mentioned anything like this..."

Si Kai drew a deep breath and slowly released it. He felt his composure as the Household head undergoing an unprecedented trial.

He turned to his third brother, Si Shuo, whose expression said, "This has nothing to do with me," and asked gravely, "Are you certain you only 'explained' it?"

Si Shuo was on the verge of tears. "Elder Brother! Heaven and earth bear witness! I only showed him what my thunder spirit root looked like. I know nothing about anything else!"

Silence filled the hall.

Explain it? How were they supposed to explain it? Tell outsiders that their child had felt he was missing a spirit root, then grown one himself?

Wouldn't the great sects band together the very next moment and exterminate him as an Otherworldly Demon?!

Just then, Ye Fu arrived after hearing the news.

She entered the hall and hurried straight to her son, taking his little hands and examining him carefully. Only after confirming he had not lost so much as a strand of hair did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Then she swept her gaze across her husband and the Lineage members, all of whom had utterly lost control of their expressions, and raised her delicate brows.

"Why do you all look as though you've seen a ghost?"

She pulled Si Chen into her arms, her tone bristling with a mother's protectiveness. "Growing a spirit root is a good thing! It means our Chenchen is exceptionally gifted! Don't tell me you'd rather he had no spirit root and went out only to be looked down on?"

She gently pinched her son's little cheek, her smile tender and proud. "Ignore them. Our Chenchen is the best."

"..."

Every Lineage member, including the Household head, Si Kai, sank into an even deeper silence.

Well, in a mother's eyes, even if her son punched a hole through the heavens tomorrow, he would probably earn nothing more than, "My son is amazing."

Si Chen rested quietly in his mother's arms. He had wanted to say that this did not seem particularly complicated, but an unfamiliar sensation made him swallow his words.

It was not pain. It was more like... a faint warning from deep within his body.

As though, after that act of creation from nothing, the inside of his tiny body had become a little crowded, a little overburdened.

Even the spiritual power flowing through his meridians seemed a shade heavier than before.

The sensation was strange, unlike anything he had experienced since his reincarnation.

He clearly understood that if he forced his cultivation higher now, this still-growing body would likely begin to crack from within.

Mortals were still far too fragile...

Should he abandon this fleshly body that constrained him?

Si Chen hesitated.

Even if this body disintegrated now, his consciousness would not be extinguished. The death of his star and its transformation into a black hole had already proven that... his consciousness was immortal and indestructible.

To him, death was merely a return to his original form.

But abandoning his body meant abandoning the name "Si Chen,"

Abandoning his identity as a "son,"

Abandoning the sweetness he had tasted on his tongue, abandoning the sense of security that came from being cared for.

Return to that age-old solitude? He had experienced it for five billion years. He did not miss it.

Compared with eternal "existence," these fleeting moments belonging to "the mortal Si Chen" seemed all the more precious.

He did not want to go back.

He wanted to stay and continue this wondrous, bewildering journey called "life."

This seemingly fragile mortal body had become an ark he could not bear to abandon.

In that case, he would have to make this "ark" a little sturdier...

Of course, there was also the most important point: if this body were destroyed and his original essence returned...

Even he did not know what would happen to this world...

Si Kai noticed his son's brief distraction and was the first to sense something amiss. "Chen'er, how do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"

Si Chen came back to himself and answered honestly, "It feels a little heavy inside my body. As though... there isn't enough room."

At those words, several Lineage elders immediately gathered around, their expressions tense.

"Not enough room? Could his foundation be unstable?"

"Growing a spirit root is unheard of. Perhaps it is, after all, an act against heaven, liable to damage his fundamental essence!"

The pride on Ye Fu's face instantly turned to worry, and she gripped her son's hand tightly.

Looking at his nephew's faintly furrowed little brows, Si Shuo forgot every last thought of "making the world feel pain." All that remained was anxiety.

"Stop guessing wildly!

He suddenly slapped his forehead. "Elder Brother! Chen'er's condition doesn't sound like a problem with his spiritual power. It sounds more like... his body's strength can't keep pace with the development of his soul and cultivation!"

The more he spoke, the more certain he became. "Ordinary cultivators progress step by step. As they cultivate, spiritual energy repeatedly nourishes their bodies, gradually strengthening them."

"But this brat? His cultivation shoots upward like a meteor. How could his body keep up?! I don't know what happened with that spirit root, but it probably piled frost onto snow and brought the whole problem to the surface!"

"You mean he needs body tempering?" Si Kai immediately grasped the key point. His third brother's words were rough, but his reasoning was sound. At present, agonizing over how a spirit root could grow was pointless. Resolving the problem with Si Chen's body was the urgent priority.

"Exactly!" Si Shuo nodded. "And it has to be a superior body-tempering method. A gentle one probably won't be enough."

One Lineage elder stroked his beard and spoke worriedly. "There are several body-tempering methods in the Lineage treasury. But... body tempering is unlike cultivating other arts. It invariably takes patient grinding, with an emphasis on gradual progress. I fear the results would be negligible in the short term..."

Another Lineage elder added, "Rapid methods do exist, but the process is usually quite painful. Without tremendous perseverance, it is difficult to endure. Chen'er is still so young. I fear..."

At the word "painful," Ye Fu tightened her arms around her son.

Second Uncle Si Che pondered briefly before picking up the discussion. "At present, there are two choices that are safest and best suited to Chen'er's condition."

"The first is the Yi Wood Eternal Spring Art. It is a gentle method that draws on the vitality of plants to nourish the body, moistening all things in silence. It carries almost no risk and is the safest option. However... its progress is indeed slow. It may take several years before the first results appear."

"The second," he said, looking toward Si Shuo,

"Is the Nine Tribulations Thunder Body that Third Brother cultivates. It draws on heavenly lightning to temper the body. Fierce and domineering, it allows extremely rapid progress. But... lightning is merciless. The slightest mistake can scorch the meridians. The risk is immense..."

"Use the Nine Tribulations Thunder Body!"

"Let him cultivate the Yi Wood Eternal Spring Art!"

The two voices rang out almost simultaneously.

The first belonged to Si Kai. To him, since the danger had already appeared, it was like an ant hole in a dam: they could not afford to delay.

The second belonged to Ye Fu. All she wanted was for her son to be safe.

Every gaze in the hall instantly focused on Si Chen.

On one side were his father's resolve and expectations; on the other, his mother's reluctance and worry.

Feeling both, Si Chen grew even more determined to stay.

He looked at his parents, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Why can I only choose one?"

Everyone froze. This child made it sound so simple!

The Yi Wood Eternal Spring Art nourished gently, while the Nine Tribulations Thunder Body destroyed with brutal force. One brought life, the other death; one was yielding, the other hard. Their attributes conflicted, their paths diverged. Since ancient times, who had dared be so reckless with body tempering?

"Nonsense!" Third Granduncle immediately bristled, his beard puffing and his eyes glaring. "Chen'er, do you know these two arts have conflicting attributes? Cultivating them together is no different from setting yourself on fire!"

"Indeed, body tempering is no child's game. You must devote yourself to a single path to see results..."

Si Chen merely tilted his head, recalling the power of lightning that had surged through his body, then sensing the tranquil vitality emanating from the ancient tree in the courtyard outside the window.

In his eyes, destruction and growth were not opposites.

He had once been a star, both a source of light for life and a blazing fire that burned everything to ashes. Creation and destruction had always been two sides of his existence.

"I want to try."

Si Chen raised his head, his gaze passing over everyone before settling on his parents' faces. "My body seems able to hold both plants and lightning."

Beside him, Third Uncle Si Shuo looked at his nephew's earnest little face, and the firm conviction of "impossible" in his heart suddenly wavered.

He remembered this brat reaching the Qi Refining Ninth Layer in an hour, remembered him reproducing a spell after a single glance, remembered the thunder spirit root that had grown all on its own...

Talk common sense with this brat? Common sense wasn't worth a fart where he was concerned!

A wild idea sprang into his mind.

"Elder Brother!" he shouted, startling everyone.

"I think... what Chen'er said might actually be possible!"

Second Uncle Si Che frowned at him. "Third Brother, do you know what you're saying?"

"I do! Of course I do! I have an idea!" Si Shuo rubbed his hands together and paced a couple of steps.

"Think about it. Ordinary people can't do this because their mortal flesh can't withstand it! But is our Chen'er an ordinary person? He can even think a spirit root into existence! His body... might just be different from ours too!"

The more he spoke, the more brilliant the idea seemed, as though it had been tailor-made for his nephew. "We can have him practice the Yi Wood Eternal Spring Art for a few years first, build a foundation, and use plant vitality to nourish his body until it's sturdier. Like... like soaking wood thoroughly in water before bringing down lightning to strike it. Hey! Think about it. Isn't wet wood harder to burn than dry wood? Maybe he'll be able to withstand it!"

The crude analogy made several Lineage elders purse their lips. Even Third Granduncle could not help pressing a hand to his forehead.

He spread his hands, his face lighting up. "If it still feels wrong then, it won't be too late to stop the Nine Tribulations Thunder Body and cultivate only the Yi Wood Eternal Spring Art!"

"That's called... that's called having grounds to advance or retreat!"

Having finished, he could not help nodding in admiration of his own quick thinking. The approach seemed utterly flawless.

The Lineage elders listened, dumbfounded. Si Che opened his mouth to object, only to find himself momentarily at a loss for words. Ye Fu was stunned as well and looked toward her husband.

Si Kai looked at his third brother's expression, plainly begging for praise, then at his clear-eyed son, who truly seemed to believe he could accommodate both powers. Finally, he glanced at his wife's worried yet faintly persuaded expression and remained silent for a long while.

At last, he spoke slowly. "We will follow Third Brother's suggestion and begin with the Yi Wood Eternal Spring Art. Once his foundation is somewhat steadier, Chen'er himself will decide whether to attempt the Nine Tribulations Thunder Body."

He looked at Si Chen, his gaze deep. "You chose this path yourself. However inconceivable it may be, as your father, I will allow you to try. But remember: if anything feels wrong, stop immediately. You must never push yourself just to prove your strength."

Si Chen met his father's gaze and nodded earnestly.

And so, under Third Master Si's half-sensible, half-outlandish proposal, an unprecedented body-tempering plan combining the powers of life and destruction was settled upon.

No one knew what this seemingly reckless path would temper that mortal body into.