A Good Disciple

As he watched the powerful aura emanating from Xia Yu, a thought sprang into Su Deyu's mind.

Xia Yu hadn't packed away all those Spirit Stones just now. He had absorbed them all.

But he immediately dismissed the thought.

How was that possible?

Even he couldn't absorb a small mountain of Spirit Stones all at once.

Whose body could withstand that?

Drawing in heaven and earth spiritual energy was a gradual process. One began by absorbing it slowly, allowing the body to adapt, then used the converted origin force to strengthen the body bit by bit.

Finally, one slowly accumulated origin force and broke through to the next realm.

That was the orthodox process of cultivation.

The entire process was also a path toward the evolution of life.

But swallowing so many Spirit Stones at once meant taking in an enormous quantity of heaven and earth spiritual energy. Even a sage's body might not withstand it.

Doing so abruptly would only make one's body explode, resulting in death.

Unless...

Su Deyu suddenly recalled something recorded in ancient texts. Some demonic cultivators employed extreme methods to absorb vast amounts of origin force or heaven and earth spiritual energy-a brutal form of cultivation.

Could Xia Yu have been a demonic cultivator before?

But he didn't look like one at all.

Or was he a demonic beast?

A demonic beast's body could forcibly devour Spirit Stones, but they merely swallowed the stones into their bodies and absorbed them slowly.

Xia Yu was clearly human!

In that instant, Su Deyu felt as though his brain had turned into a bowl of mush.

This disciple of his was frighteningly mysterious.

Meanwhile, Xia Yu couldn't have been in a better mood.

The small mountain of Low-Grade Spirit Stones, a full million of them, had been absorbed by the Heaven-Incinerating Furnace in one fell swoop.

The next moment, streams of incomparably pure spiritual energy surged out of the Heaven-Incinerating Furnace.

They flowed along his meridians and poured into Xia Yu's body.

His fourth small world filled at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A quarter of an hour later...

Boom...

Xia Yu's body shuddered as his fourth small world activated.

At the same time, the origin force within the fourth small world surged out, pouring into every cell of Xia Yu's body.

All his flesh trembled faintly.

His body was being strengthened at a frenzied pace.

The combat strength of four Ancestral Dragons amounted to four hundred thousand jin. Only a powerful body could control such strength.

Now, not only was his body being strengthened, but his cultivation was also breaking through.

In an instant, several fluctuations emerged in succession.

Fourth Heaven of the Spirit Origin Realm!

Fifth Heaven of the Spirit Origin Realm!

Sixth Heaven of the Spirit Origin Realm!

Seventh Heaven of the Spirit Origin Realm!

That felt good!

Xia Yu let out a sigh. His body swayed slightly, and a faint dragon's cry echoed through the air.

Beside him, Su Deyu was utterly dumbfounded.

The grand dean, an Emperor Realm expert, felt an indescribable sense of strangeness.

Other people cultivated by breaking through one level at a time, with a considerable interval between each breakthrough.

Even exceptional geniuses could, at most, break through two or three heavens at once. Yet Xia Yu's breakthroughs seemed almost unreal-he had advanced four heavens in a row!

Su Deyu frowned. Something wasn't quite right with this disciple of his.

He quietly sharpened his attention, then breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Xia Yu's roiling aura.

He thought this round of breakthroughs had ended.

But just as that thought arose, Xia Yu's aura surged again.

His fifth small world awakened!

His sixth small world awakened!

Rumble...

Rumbling sounds actually rang out from within Xia Yu's body as the origin force of six small worlds rampaged through him.

Pain!

At that moment, what Xia Yu felt wasn't mere discomfort, but indescribable agony throughout his entire body.

It felt as though his body were being torn into millions of strips!

Yet in the next instant, the immense origin force healed his body immediately.

That sensation was like basking in a spring breeze, warm and soothing.

One moment, pain pierced him to the heart; the next, he was utterly at ease!

These two extreme sensations left Xia Yu unsure whether to laugh or cry.

The repeated swings in sensation nearly drove him to a mental breakdown!

And yet his aura continued to surge, climbing higher and higher.

Under these conditions, his body's potential was being brutally forced open through an extreme method.

Eighth Heaven of the Spirit Origin Realm!

Ninth Heaven of the Spirit Origin Realm!

Tenth Heaven of the Spirit Origin Realm!

At the same time, Xia Yu's cultivation instantly reached the peak of the Spirit Origin Realm.

He was still breaking through?

Su Deyu sucked in a sharp breath.

Seven consecutive breakthroughs-neither a demonic cultivator nor a demonic beast could possibly do that!

This...

Just as he reeled in shock, Xia Yu's aura abruptly surged for a third time!

First Heaven of the Profound Origin Realm!

Second Heaven of the Profound Origin Realm!

Third Heaven of the Profound Origin Realm!

Fourth Heaven of the Profound Origin Realm!

Fifth Heaven of the Profound Origin Realm!

"Good heavens, you're not a monstrous genius-you're an actual monster! What kind of monster are you?"

Su Deyu stared blankly, muttering to himself.

Despite all his knowledge and experience, he had never seen anything like this.

His entire worldview had been overturned!

In just a quarter of an hour, one person had broken through twelve minor stages, including a breakthrough into a new major realm. This...

This wasn't merely shocking-it was utterly unheard of!

Su Deyu felt as though he were going mad!

Meanwhile, Xia Yu let out one contented sigh after another.

He felt utterly at ease from head to toe!

At last, the Heaven-Incinerating Furnace stopped releasing pure heaven and earth spiritual energy.

His breakthroughs came to a halt.

He glanced at his seventh small world and silently lamented the missed opportunity. With just a little more, he could have awakened his seventh small world in one go.

Xia Yu slowly opened his eyes. The sensation of strength filling his entire body was wonderful!

He gently clenched his fists!

A muffled bang rang out.

He shifted his body, and a series of sharp cracks and pops followed.

The corners of Xia Yu's mouth lifted. If only he could have a few more opportunities like this.

Turning his head, he saw Su Deyu's profoundly shocked expression.

"Master, I'm sorry. I accidentally absorbed them all!" Xia Yu gave him an embarrassed smile.

Su Deyu was still in a daze.

"Master!" Xia Yu called again.

Only then did Su Deyu respond, barely recovering his senses.

The next moment, he reached out with both hands and began pinching Xia Yu all over.

He kept muttering, "Monster, reveal your true form at once!"

The sudden action startled Xia Yu.

"Master, what are you doing?"

Su Deyu ignored him and felt him over several more times before finally stopping.

"He really is human. This makes no sense. How is it possible?"

Su Deyu muttered to himself, then let out a long sigh after a good while.

"I'm getting old! The world is vast, and nothing is too strange to exist!"

This series of actions left Xia Yu rather bewildered.

He asked quietly, "Master, are you all right?"

Su Deyu shook his head.

"Then, Master, since we're finished here, shall we go take a look at the treasury? See if there's anything suitable for me?" Xia Yu asked with a smile.

With such a good master and such a wonderful place, he needed to make a little more effort.

After all, an opportunity like this was unlikely to come again.

Or rather, this might well be his only chance.

"Treasury? What treasury?" Su Deyu suddenly asked.

"Well, didn't you say that once I'd taken the Spirit Stones, I could visit the treasury and see whether there were any treasures suitable for me?"

"Did I say that? I never said that. I only said I would give you a welcome gift. With so many Spirit Stones as your welcome gift, it's surely the finest one under heaven."

Su Deyu spoke with a perfectly straight face.

By now, he had recovered his composure.

No matter what, he couldn't let Xia Yu go to the treasury.

He had borrowed some of those Spirit Stones. He had no idea how he would explain this, much less when he could repay them.

This disciple of his caused trouble wherever he went. He absolutely could not go to the treasury.

Xia Yu gave his master a meaningful look. He understood what Su Deyu meant.

Forget it. I'd already gained plenty today.

"Yes, Master. I'll do as you say. I'm not greedy. Whenever you have time, you can take me there."

Xia Yu gave him an obedient smile.

"Good disciple!"

The smile Su Deyu forced out looked worse than a crying face.

"Master, Junior Brother, someone has come from Martial Uncle Lin's place. The feast is starting."

Just then, Shen Yuxuan's voice rang out from outside.

"Coming. Let's go have a drink first. I've taken in a good disciple today, so I'll have a few extra cups."

Su Deyu put heavy emphasis on the words "good disciple."