Twelve Frantic Hours, a One-Star Martial Artist

"I've reached my limit!"

Inside the cultivation room, Qin Chen was drenched in sweat, his skin was red, and veins bulged on his forehead.

He had nearly reached his limit an hour ago.

That also told him that the limit of peak body tempering was where he had been an hour ago.

But he had forced himself to endure another hour.

"Fifty percent!" Looking at the mark he had condensed, he frowned.

He could leave now and, after recovering, spend another 2,000 points to come back in. That would almost certainly allow him to fully condense the mark and break through to One-Star Martial Artist.

But the points were a minor matter. He didn't want to spend any more time.

With that thought, he called out softly, "Wind!"

At once, it was as though a breeze swept through his body, bringing a refreshing sensation to a body that had already reached its limit. The redness of his skin began to fade, and he began to sweat less.

"That's another advantage of being a multi-element martial artist!" Qin Chen smiled and began condensing the mark again.

Outside.

Everyone was still discussing when Qin Chen would come out, but even after eight hours, there was still no movement at the door.

"He hasn't passed out in there, has he?" a trainee asked quietly.

"Impossible. If someone inside passes out, the room will sound an alarm." A staff member shook his head.

"What if the alarm is broken?"

At those words, the expressions of several staff members changed.

"I told you, my boss can stay in there for ten hours. It's still early," Zhou Lei said proudly.

"Let's wait a little longer!" Old Li said at last, staring at the door.

It was unlikely that the alarm was broken. These elemental cultivation rooms had just been upgraded and had never been used; they were practically brand-new.

After another two hours, Old Li's expression changed. It had been ten hours.

"How did you know he could stay in there for ten hours?" Old Li turned to Zhou Lei.

Zhou Lei looked utterly bewildered. Of course he didn't know why; it was just his unconditional admiration for Qin Chen.

"I just know!" he said firmly.

"But why hasn't he come out yet?" Old Li asked again.

He believed Zhou Lei, but there was still no movement at the door.

"Uh... actually, ten hours was just an estimate. If my boss really wants to hold out, another hour won't be a problem at all."

Zhou Lei thought for a moment. He couldn't let the others see that he had made it up, so he offered an explanation.

Old Li nodded, a look of shock on his face. To last eleven hours-he had seen so many batches of geniuses pass through here, but he had never even imagined such a thing, much less seen it.

The others believed Zhou Lei too. After all, a genius was willing to be someone else's underling, so Zhou Lei must know Qin Chen well.

At that moment, everyone looked toward the door. Though they couldn't see what was happening inside, they couldn't help showing their admiration.

Seeing that no one was asking him any more questions, Zhou Lei breathed a quiet sigh of relief. At the same time, he hoped Qin Chen would come out soon, or he wouldn't know how to explain himself.

In the cultivation room.

Qin Chen's body had reached its limit again, and his Elemental Mark was ninety percent complete.

"Ice!"

He called out softly, and the temperature inside and outside his body plunged. Even the temperature in the area around him dropped by several degrees.

"That feels good!" Qin Chen savored the sensation. After the extreme heat, the sudden chill brought him immense relief.

The mark inside him was gradually taking shape. Though the final part of the mark was the hardest to condense, his speed at the moment was not much slower than before.

"Why hasn't he come out yet?"

Outside, eleven hours had passed, and there was still no movement at the door, leaving everyone puzzled once more.

"Could the alarm really be broken?" Old Li's expression suddenly changed.

It had been more than eleven hours, almost twelve. That was more than most One-Star Martial Artists could endure.

At that moment, he looked at Zhou Lei again, but Zhou Lei said, "M-maybe the alarm really is broken!"

"Quick, notify Commander-in-Chief Yang!" Old Li shouted.

Once someone was inside an elemental cultivation room, no one but Yang Xue had permission to enter. This was also to keep trainees from being disturbed while they cultivated.

"Instructor Yang is here!" a trainee suddenly shouted.

Everyone saw Yang Xue and Luo Bin hurrying over from a distance.

"Commander-in-Chief Yang, quick, open the door! Number One has been in there for almost twelve hours. I suspect the alarm is broken!" Old Li said hurriedly.

"Why didn't you notify me sooner?" Yang Xue asked coldly.

Twelve hours was close to the length of time only a Two-Star Martial Artist could endure.

Old Li trembled all over. He didn't know how to explain, so he looked at Zhou Lei.

Zhou Lei was so scared he had wet himself. He didn't even dare raise his head.

Yang Xue couldn't be bothered with them. She took out a key card and walked toward the door.

Inside the room.

Boom!

When Qin Chen's mark reached one hundred percent completion, power welled up inside him and surged in an instant.

"One-Star Martial Artist!" Qin Chen stood up, feeling that tremendous power.

Name: Qin Chen

Fire-element realm: One-Star Martial Artist (second Divine Mark progress: 0)

Wind-element realm: Peak Body Tempering

Ice-element realm: Peak Body Tempering

Combat power: 704

After becoming a martial artist, Divine Marks would appear on an Elemental Mark.

At that moment, there was one Divine Mark on Qin Chen's fire Elemental Mark. It had formed on its own when he broke through to One-Star Martial Artist.

To break through to Two-Star Martial Artist, he needed to form another Divine Mark.

"My combat power went straight past the threshold for a Two-Star Martial Artist!" Qin Chen was also astonished as he looked at his combat power.

The combat power standard for a Two-Star Martial Artist was 700, and he had just passed that threshold.

As he was now, he couldn't claim he could defeat a Two-Star Martial Artist, but he could certainly be invincible among Middle One-Star Martial Artists.

[Ding, you have completed Task 4 (God-Level Mode). The rewards have been issued.]

Qin Chen hurriedly looked into the System Space. Sure enough, two mark fragments were lying inside, one wind-element and one ice-element.

The system had said the rewards were random, but evidently they were still randomized according to his actual circumstances: either one of each, or both wind-element or both ice-element.

There was also a special box, which should be the martial arts gift pack.

Qin Chen only needed a thought to open the box, but he didn't open it immediately. Instead, he straightened his clothes and walked toward the door.

Opening it here was clearly inappropriate. The temperature was already rising higher and higher, and it would soon reach the level for a Two-Star Martial Artist.

Although this place could also speed up the condensation of Divine Marks, he had discovered that condensing a mark and condensing a Divine Mark were two entirely different things.

Even here, he felt it would take at least half a month to condense a second Divine Mark.

He didn't know whether the elemental cultivation room offered only a limited increase in the speed of condensing Divine Marks, or whether Divine Marks were simply too difficult to condense. In any case, it was impossible for him to stay here for half a month.

Leaving aside whether he could endure the ever-rising temperature, a One-Star Martial Artist had not yet reached the point of being able to go without food for half a month.

He arrived at the door and was about to open it when suddenly, with a click, it opened on its own. He looked up in surprise and saw Yang Xue outside.