Cao Yun had pushed his cultivation to the limit. One of the main reasons why many people failed to achieve high levels of cultivation was injury. Almost every level could injure the cultivator. To become stronger, there were risks. Thus, to become godly beings, the risks were huge. In the 6th-grade Mortal stage, the cultivator would gather and condense Qi within his Lower Dantian. This meant that his Lower Dantian was under extreme pressure and could break. That was the main goal of the 3rd-grade Mortal stage, to temper the Lower Dantian so that it may resist.
Of course, the more Qi you could gather, the stronger you would become. For that very reason, Cao Yun had used all his cards to condense as much Qi as possible, risking the rupture of his Lower Dantian. Thankfully, his mind cultivation, especially his Yi, made him more aware of all the small changes in his body. As such, he was able to stop just when he started to feel his Lower Dantian in danger.
At this moment, he released his tension. All of a sudden, just as a dam breaking, the Water Qi from his Lower Dantian flowed through his Eight Extraordinary Vessels. The flow was so intense that the vessels of a normal human would have ruptured, preventing that was the training of the 4th-grade Mortal stage. It continued to flow into his Twelve Standard Meridians strengthened by his 5th-grade Mortal stage. Finally, a very small part of his Qi went into his lesser meridians. This was the reason why many cultivators didn't work on them too much, only a small portion of this gushing Qi was flowing through them and they could easily control it. So there was almost no danger of them being damaged. However, now that Cao Yun had tempered them, the Qi naturally flowed through them just as if they were Standard Meridians.
He would become much stronger than a normal 7th-grade Mortal. Because, indeed, he had finally broken through to 7th-grade Mortal. Obviously, he wouldn't be as strong as an 8th-grade Mortal, but he probably would be very close. Even as a 6th-grade Mortal, his strength had exceeded the upper limit by a good margin. He could lift 275 dan when an average 6th-grade Mortal was limited to lift between 100 and 200 dan.
Physical strength was increasing rapidly during the Mortal realm, also called the Foundation Realm. This was a realm focused on the body, tempering it to prepare for the next realm. But then, the physical strength would stagnate a lot. There was a limit for a body of flesh bone, even with the use of Qi. However, if he could improve his physical strength, it would give him an edge in battle.
Thus, Cao Yun decided to go test his brute strength. For the time being, he continued to meditate and observe the Qi flowing naturally in his system. As he had learned, he didn't try to hinder it or focus on it, he just put all of his intent in watching it, as if it wasn't even his own body. The knowledge he gained from it was invaluable. Seeing firsthand how the Qi was flowing in his muscles for example, would allow him to better train them when he would be consciously controlling his Qi. Cultivators were fighting against nature in the sense that they were trying to exceed their natural lifespan. However, it was also extremely important for them to observe nature to understand the principles behind it and use them.
According to the legends, even Emperor Nuwa had derived the Qi cultivation method she taught to mankind from her understanding of nature. These principles already existed in the universe, even before the apparition of the first human. Only someone who watched the universe's inner workings was able to derive them and teach them to mankind.
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After several hours of silent contemplation, Cao Yun's Qi was perfectly calm. His Lower Dantian felt completely full and his flesh was bloated by some Qi that left his Meridians. Then, he headed toward the Anvil of Marble. This was a training facility meant for blacksmiths. The point was to hit it as hard as you could to train your physical strength. Obviously, blacksmithing was the occupation requiring the most strength. Even Spirit Warrior blacksmiths had still to use their muscles as their spiritual powers were not enough to produce as much impact as their body.
The Anvil of Marble was the name of a rock shaped in the form of an anvil. This rock was made from Ageless Marble, the same material that constituted the perimeter walls of the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. By its side, there was also a big hammer made from Silk Gold, a metal renown for its flexibility. It was the perfect metal for this hammer. The Ageless Marble could not even be dented by a Mortal Warrior using all of his strength, including Qi Manifestation. If you were to strike with a tool that couldn't bend, all the force would then be sent into you as it couldn't deform the Anvil of Marble at all. It could lead to innumerable damages.
It was rather late in the evening and no one was using the Anvil of Marble. There weren't that many blacksmiths to begin with. Of course, other cultivators still used this facility from time to time to train their upper strength. Many forgot about their lower strength though...
The instructor monitoring the facility didn't bat an eye when he saw Cao Yun. He quickly explained the rules, which were easy. You just took the hammer and hit the Anvil of Marble with as much strength as possible. Then, an array formation on the wall facing you would illuminate itself according to the strength measured. This array formation was engraved on the surface of the anvil itself. It then continued on the wall vertically. And it would shine from the bottom to the top. On the wall, there were also characters to give you an idea of your strength depending on how high the array formation would get illuminated. This was very straightforward, many blacksmiths liked that. This facility was just meant to train your strength so you needed clear feedback.
A 7th-grade Mortal should have a strength between 500 and 1000 dan. As Cao Yun had just broken through his strength should be in the lower part of this range. He took the hammer and breathed slowly to calm his mind. Using his Yi to its fullest, he focused all his strength in his legs to be deeply rooted into the ground. Then, he moved as fast as he could and used all his articulations from his ankles to his wrists to generate as much power as he possibly could.
The hammer hit the Anvil of Marble with a powerful sound. In fact, the sound came from the hammer itself that was vibrating, absorbing a huge part of the impact while the anvil itself did not change at all. Cao Yun felt a little backlash but it was less than ten percent of the force he had used. Just by sending some Qi in his articulations he could completely protect his body from his own strength.
Then, he looked at the shining wall. The highest mark was written as twenty thousand dan, twice the highest strength of a 9th-grade Mortal, almost a thousand tons. In fact, this was the highest strength of a 1st-grade Mortal Warrior. The lowest mark was only 100 dan, the lowest strength of a 5th-grade Mortal. The wall began to get illuminated. A dim light rose. It came from the anvil itself and rapidly made its way to the wall. In the end, the light went all the way to around 800 dan. This was already a very nice performance. Cao Yun had still not trained his body with the huge quantity of Qi he had now in his meridians.
However, as he was full of energy, Cao Yun couldn't stop just now. He kept on hitting the anvil over and over again. His results were disparate but all of them were between 750 and 850 dan.
Putting the hammer down, Cao Yun was ready to leave when he remembered something. He had used his intent, but he had not tried to use his entire mind cultivation, and especially, not the intent of the Drop of Wrath. When he had been recovering his cultivation back in the woods between Baziyun City and Yinmen City, the Drop of Wrath had been really helpful. But since then, he had tried not to use it, fearing that it would take over. However, now that he knew for sure what it was, this fear was mostly absent from his mind. He knew what he was doing with it and he could suppress it if it went out of control.
Hence, he tried once more, but this time, he used all of his mind cultivation. His Qi circulated with even more vigor thanks to his Po character and the intent of the Drop of Wrath. Cao Yun even felt the thin Qi transported in his blood get excited. All of his muscles vibrated and he even put his understanding of 'Slaughtering the Enemy' in his strike. To the utmost of his concentration, he yelled as the hammer went down. The shock was so brutal that Cao Yun was forced to let go of the hammer. The sound alerted the instructor in charge of the Anvil of Marble, who was immediately worried. Of course, he had recognized Cao Yun who was renown in the Wubei Sect by now. If the young prodigy hurt himself under his watch, he would get in a lot of trouble.
When he turned back, the instructor got so shocked that he forgot how to talk. The wall of light was showing a strength of 3,000 dan. It wasn't that impressive in itself, but considering that Cao Yun was only a 7th-grade Mortal, it was incredible. The instructor had no spiritual senses but as Cao Yun had just broken through, his body was exuding his own Qi and a Mortal Warrior was extremely sensitive to it.
A strength of 3,000 dan was the middle strength of an 8th-grade Mortal, usually ranging from two to five thousand dan. The disparity between levels became wider as one ascended in his cultivation. Technically, even though he was only a 7th-grade Mortal, Cao Yun had the physical strength of an 8th-grade Mortal. Seeing that Cao Yun was panting, lying on the ground, he probably couldn't exert this strength more than once, maybe twice. However, he could surprise an opponent in the middle of a fight. Only one strike would be necessary.
The instructor decided to keep it for himself. He would just warn the chief elders and no one else. Spreading rumors on fellow cultivators was bad in itself, but someone who was favored by many chief elders, that would be suicide.
Cao Yun himself was shocked. This wasn't a strength that he could use freely during a fight. But the instructor had been right. If he used it when the enemy least expected it, he could reverse a fight. And that was without taking into account that he hadn't trained his body since his breakthrough. Could he achieve a strength of four or even five thousand dan? Even if physical strength was not very important in later stages of cultivation, in the levels he was currently in, it was.
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Back in his room, Cao Yun went through his memories. He pulled up the 'Universal Law of Immortality' and the 'Cultivation of Wrath' to read and compare the details on the 7th-grade Mortal stage. This stage was pretty straight forward. It consisted in strengthening his vessels and meridians with this new quantity, density and quality of Qi that was now in his Lower Dantian.
They had already been strengthened separately, but now he would consider them as a whole. Even though they had already been tempered, this wouldn't be enough to resist to the movement of Qi in the Mortal Warrior realm. This realm was also a great opportunity to temper his flesh and prepare his body for the next levels. In the 8th and 9th-grade Mortal stages, he would have to open a myriad of points all over his body, his acupoints. Having the best possible physique was a good idea. There was no special technique of any kind. The 'Cultivation of Wrath' once again advised the use of the 'Dance of Slaughter' as well as the use of blood from 3-core demonic beasts. The 'Universal law of Immortality' also showed a few moves to focus on specific pathways through the vessels and meridians.
Later, Cao Yun would ask Chief Instructor Peng. As it was only the beginning of the week, Cao Yun went directly into his study.
"Well, you broke through again?! You're even faster than me when a husband... I probably shouldn't talk about that. Anyway, I'll send another high spirit stone in your room later as a reward."
Chief Instructor Peng used his spiritual senses to scan Cao Yun's body.
"Your Qi is condensed to its limit. I assume your physical strength has soared. Even though I emphasize the training of the flesh, do not get too agitated by numbers. In a fight, speed can completely suppress strength, or the opposite. The more advanced you'll become, the more you'll realize that how you use your body is more important than one specific aspect. It doesn't mean that you should neglect your strength though, of course."
Chief Instructor Peng asked him to get inside.
"I guess you came to learn about our 'Coiling Turtle'. And you're right, we do have a secret technique concerning the 7th-grade Mortal stage. Usually, an outer disciple must vow to serve the sect for at least ten years to learn of it. However, I already asked the chief elders about you. They agreed to teach to you on a much simpler condition." Cao Yun was first apprehensive as he didn't want to serve the sect for ten years. He was currently full of doubts and wouldn't be able to make such a decision. "When you become a Spirit Warrior, you must promise to protect the Wubei Sect if it is attacked by demonic cultivators."
Cao Yun was surprised. It meant two things. The chief elders believed that he would become a Spirit Warrior for sure. But it also meant that they were afraid of a conspiracy from demonic cultivators that could last for decades. No matter his talent, Cao Yun didn't believe he could become a Spirit Warrior before he turned 40, in a bit less than 25 years.
"I agree!" Cao Yun didn't have to hesitate. After all, killing demonic cultivators was the only goal that was clear in his mind. Everything else was uncertain. And the Wubei Sect had given him many things, it was natural to repay his benefactors.