Chen Yu secretly sighed in distress, feeling uneasy.
If it were the Law Enforcer searching him, he would still have seventy percent confidence of bluffing his way through.
However, Wang Lingyun was like finding bones in an egg, and might even create problems where there were none.
Chen Yu wasn't sure his preparations would get him past this.
He watched as Wang Lingyun's hand moved from his neck to his chest.
Chen Yu's heart leapt into his throat.
His heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
That crystal stone... was right at his heart!
Thump, thump! Thump, thump!
Suddenly, Chen Yu felt a heavy, mountain-like heartbeat, resonating mysteriously with the pulse of the space around him.
It even felt as if the whole room was swaying slightly.
Strangely, Wang Lingyun and the black-robed Law Enforcer seemed completely unaware.
"Hmm?"
A scorching heat emitted from Chen Yu's heart.
The invisible pulse seemed to come from the crystal stone pressed against his heart.
At the next moment!
Wang Lingyun's hand reached Chen Yu's left heart area.
Chen Yu held his breath, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Wang Lingyun and the black-robed Law Enforcer noticed Chen Yu's abnormality but assumed it was the "internal energy" Wang Lingyun carried causing him immense pressure.
One breath... two breaths... three breaths.
Wang Lingyun's hand moved away from Chen Yu's heart and went on to search his abdomen, back, and other areas.
Chen Yu was bewildered, "What's going on? He didn't find it?"
At this moment, the scorching sensation at his heart became clearer, along with faint shocks of electricity.
The strange crystal seemed to have vanished.
Chen Yu's body was numb and stiff, motionless, as Wang Lingyun finished searching him.
"Law Enforcement Lord, I have thoroughly searched him and found nothing..."
Wang Lingyun said respectfully.
The black-robed Law Enforcer nodded, saying with a hint of meaning, "Now that you've checked him, I have no concerns."
He could see that Wang Lingyun harbored animosity toward Chen Yu and wouldn't give him the slightest chance, more assuring than searching himself.
With that, the Law Enforcer departed gracefully.
Wang Lingyun didn't leave, leisurely observing Chen Yu with a playful glance.
Only the two remained in the room, and it was eerily quiet.
Chen Yu remained motionless, feeling the numbing current at his chest gradually fading.
He instinctively reached for his heart.
"What!"
Chen Yu was shocked, finding that the crystal stone once pressed against his heart had disappeared without a trace.
What... happened?
Only faint warmth and slight pain lingered at his heart.
Wang Lingyun's amused expression didn't register much in Chen Yu's mind.
Chen Yu's "distraught" appearance secretly pleased Wang Lingyun, believing he had thwarted Chen Yu's "opportunity," which was a severe blow.
Without this opportunity, Chen Yu feared he wouldn't break through the Meridian Passage Stage in time and would be expelled from the sect.
"Chen Yu!"
Wang Lingyun suddenly spoke, his face turning stern, "I advise you to give up on 'Mu Xueqing' early and go back to Xiangyang City. This sect no longer has a place for you!"
"Xueqing?"
Chen Yu snapped back to reality and temporarily set aside the enigmatic crystal stone.
In his mind.
The graceful, pure silhouette of a young girl, Mu Xueqing, flickered and disappeared.
In the Yunyue Sect, Mu Xueqing was intelligent and beautiful, admired and pursued by many disciples.
Chen Yu and Wang Lingyun were among her admirers.
Additionally, Mu Xueqing, Chen Yu, and Wang Lingyun all came from Xiangyang City.
Chen Yu and Mu Xueqing's closer relationship incited Wang Lingyun's jealousy.
"Heh, I don't need to remind you. Soon, you will be expelled from the sect. After that, we won't live in the same world."
Wang Lingyun suddenly sneered.
Saying this, Wang Lingyun laughed out loud and turned to leave.
From this moment on, Chen Yu was beneath his notice!
Someone who couldn't even stand as an Outer Disciple, how could he compete with him?
Watching Wang Lingyun leave, Chen Yu stayed silent.
"Two months left, if I try my hardest to break through the Meridian Passage Stage, I only have a twenty to thirty percent chance. With precious spiritual materials, my chances would double, but unfortunately..."
Chen Yu sighed inwardly.
He couldn't compare to Wang Lingyun, the Young Master of the Wang Family, who could receive the family's maximum support.
Within his own family, Chen Yu's aptitude was decent, and his status wasn't low, but nothing compared to the "Young Master" backed by immense support.
In cultivation, natural talent was important, but external resources were equally critical.
Initially, obtaining a meteorite fragment was an opportunity for Chen Yu, but Wang Lingyun destroyed it.
"That's right!"
Chen Yu suddenly thought of something and quickly shut the door.
Unbuttoning his shirt, Chen Yu examined his heart where he had placed the crystal stone close to his body.
What he saw gave him a fright.
On the surface of his left heart, a "heart-shaped" blood pattern had appeared.
Zzzz~
That heart-shaped pattern shimmered with a crystalline glow and emitted a faint electric sensation.
More strangely.
Chen Yu vaguely saw a delicate, transparent crystal heart, like clear water, merging bit by bit into his real heart.
"This..."
Chen Yu was dumbfounded by the phenomenon, something he'd never heard of!
Reflecting more carefully.
The crystal stone itself resembled a "crystal heart."
Thump, thump! Thump, thump!
Chen Yu felt his heartbeat grow steady and strong, each beat filling him with unimaginable confidence.
After several breaths.
The blood pattern at his heart disappeared.
Whoosh~
Chen Yu let out a long breath, feeling as if he were in a trance.
But clearly, this wasn't a dream.
Vaguely, a unique energy flow centered on his "heart" spread to his limbs and even his brain.
This process lasted for an hour.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, Chen Yu felt clarity in his mind and his blood boiled.
An indescribable power surged from his heart, revitalizing his entire body.
At this moment, he felt filled with vitality.
Flick!
He lightly tapped his foot, his body rising half a person's height, more effortlessly than ever before.
"Hah!"
Throwing a punch, he created an invisible gust of wind, full of momentum.
Crash, crack!
A thin crack appeared on the wall ahead, a power four or five times stronger than usual!
"Speed, strength... all improved significantly!"
Chen Yu couldn't believe it.
Not only that.
Through the window crack, the figures, vegetation, and houses outside in the night became clearer and brighter to him.
Night became like day!
Holding his breath, he could hear the faint whispers of other Outer Disciples in nearby buildings.
Not only had his physical qualities improved, but also his vision, hearing, and sense of smell had qualitatively enhanced.
"This body..."
Chen Yu trembled, raising his hand, questioning whether this was a human physique.
As he raised his arm, his gaze sharpened again.
"No! The scars are gone!"
Chen Yu stared at his arm as if he had seen a ghost.
He distinctly remembered a scratch on his arm from the meteorite fragment.
Upon closer inspection.
Only a faint red trace remained on his arm, fading at a speed visible to the naked eye, until it disappeared entirely.
What terrifying self-healing!
Chen Yu gasped. Although a cultivator's physique was robust, his usual recovery rate needed at least half a month for scars to disappear.
Now, scars vanished in no time.
Records mentioned only legendary physiques or mythical races had such healing capabilities.
"What exactly is that crystal heart?"
Chen Yu touched his left heart, the steady, powerful heartbeat instilling him with strange confidence.
He was filled with mixed feelings.
The joy came from the crystal heart transforming his body drastically; the worry stemmed from a foreign object merging with his heart, ominous and unpredictable.
Who knew what this mysterious stone was, or whether it would lead him down a "non-human" path?
Gurgle!
The hunger pangs interrupted Chen Yu's thoughts.
"How strange, I ate just two hours ago..."
Chen Yu muttered to himself.
Flick!
Without thinking much, he went alone to a forest on the mountain's edge.
With "night like day" vision and enhanced agility, Chen Yu easily caught a wild rabbit and set up a barbecue.
In the end, after eating the entire roasted rabbit, his stomach still felt empty.
He hunted a wolf and ate half of it, about twenty pounds, finally satiating his hunger.
Such an appetite, along with the digestive ability, exceeded normal human limits.
Chen Yu grew more anxious.
But he had no way back; he couldn't very well dig out his heart.
Under cover of darkness, he decided to start practicing his fist technique.
"Iron Plow Fist!"
Chen Yu's fists were like iron balls, whistling through the air, the speed increasing with every move.
In the dark, his movements were vigorous and powerful, yet filled with coordination and fluency.
After just a few rounds... Chen Yu felt something was amiss!
"The Iron Plow Fist" was the fist technique he chose upon entering the sect, known among lesser martial arts for its power.
However, it was both easy to learn and difficult to master.
This martial technique was simple to grasp but required high physical qualities and personal determination to hone it.
Yet just now.
Chen Yu noticed his performance of the "Iron Plow Fist" was much more fluent, and he seemed to progress significantly in his mastery!
"Once more."
Chen Yu focused, and the fist technique flowed like a seamless stream, every sequence melding perfectly together.
In daylight, challenging moves he once struggled with were executed effortlessly.
Whoosh! Bang! Bang, bang...
In the night, Chen Yu's fists blossomed like a violent storm, each punch echoing like an iron ball, deeply resonating.
Dust stirred around him, with faint roaring sounds.
"Impossible! 'Iron Plow Fist' not only reached minor success but feels extremely stable in skill..."
Chen Yu stood still, incredulous.