TL: Etude
"This cave seems to be the den of some beast, but judging from its condition, it appears that no beast has been here for a long time. The beast that used to live here is probably dead. It should be safe to cultivate here for the time being," Ye Tian assessed.
With that, he began his cultivation with ease. After drinking a large mouthful of low-level beast blood, Ye Tian started practicing his body cultivation technique. With an ample supply of low-level beast blood, he cultivated in the cave for a full five days, during which his strength broke through once more, reaching 900 catties.
However, after reaching 900 catties of strength, increasing it further became somewhat difficult; the effectiveness of the low-level beast blood was diminishing. Ye Tian had anticipated this situation. His case was relatively good; although progress was slow, he was still advancing. In contrast, martial apprentices with lower talents found it almost impossible to progress beyond 900 catties. They needed to spend more time and effort to incrementally increase their strength and eventually break through the bottleneck.
After exhausting his supply of beast blood, Ye Tian hunted beasts in Xiao Qing Mountain. Each time he killed a beast, he returned to the cave to cultivate. As for his regular meals, they were entirely replaced by beast meat. The nutrition and energy provided by beast meat far surpassed that of ordinary food, which also contributed to an extent to Ye Tian's increasing strength.
Hunt, cultivate, then hunt again...
In this manner, a month passed.
In the cave, Ye Tian finished his cultivation for the day and sensed the power within his body.
"I'm close to 1000 catties of strength now. However, starting from yesterday, my strength hasn't increased. I must have reached the threshold of a martial apprentice and am now in a bottleneck. Once I break through this bottleneck, I can advance to the level of a martial warrior," Ye Tian muttered to himself.
As for how to break through the bottleneck, he didn't ponder it. Instead, he began to practice his blade techniques. Over the past month, he had occasionally practiced his blade techniques. Although the time spent was limited, he had a medium-level talent for blade techniques, so his progress wasn't slow.
Now, his bronze-level blade technique, Shadow Strike, had reached the peak of the minor completion stage. However, advancing it to the major completion stage was extremely difficult.
"According to the secret manual, it's hard to cultivate a bronze-level blade technique to the major completion stage without reaching the Blade Momentum realm. My Blade Form is already perfect; I'm just a step away from Blade Momentum. It's time to comprehend Blade Momentum," Ye Tian decided.
Blade Momentum involves releasing one's understanding of the blade, forming a unique momentum. Only those with sufficient comprehension of blade techniques can grasp Blade Momentum.
Not knowing how to comprehend Blade Momentum, Ye Tian continued to practice his blade techniques. One strike after another, he kept contemplating the mysteries contained within the blade techniques. When tired, he would drink some beast blood and practice his body cultivation technique.
In this manner, another half-month passed.
On this day, Ye Tian had a sudden insight. Numerous understandings of the blade surged into his mind, and he involuntarily closed his eyes.
Gradually, his aura changed, becoming oppressive like a blade, making the air around him seem thick.
Boom!
Blade Momentum erupted. Invisible blade qi impacted the stone walls around him, causing countless particles of stone to fall from the walls.
"Blade Momentum, achieved!"
Ye Tian smiled faintly.
Suddenly, he felt as if some kind of shackles within his body had broken.
"Could it be..."
Ye Tian thought of a possibility and quickly gulped down several mouthfuls of beast blood, beginning his body cultivation practice.
Waves of energy from the beast blood filled his entire body, refining every part of him. Unlike before, Ye Tian clearly sensed a surge of immense power throughout his body, accelerating the refinement of his flesh and making him increasingly stronger. He knew he had broken through, advancing from the level of a martial apprentice to that of a martial warrior.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the transformation of his body was complete.
"Whew," Ye Tian exhaled a turbid breath, then clenched his fists, sensing the immense power contained within his body. He was overjoyed.
"I'm much stronger than before, definitely breaking the limit of 1000 catties. I've indeed advanced to the level of a martial warrior!"
Ye Tian had achieved his goal for coming to the wilderness. However, he didn't plan to return just yet; he intended to cultivate his Shadow Strike technique to the major completion stage before going back.
Having comprehended Blade Momentum, Ye Tian's understanding of blade techniques deepened. In just three days, he fully comprehended Shadow Strike to the major completion stage. The speed of his Shadow Strike at this stage was extremely fast; even a late-stage martial warrior would find it difficult to dodge if caught off guard.
"In terms of strength, I estimate that I can contend with a mid-stage martial warrior. However, I still fall short when compared to late-stage martial warriors. Their strength is too formidable, and they have elemental protection. Even if my Shadow Strike is powerful, it's useless if it can't break their defense," Ye Tian thought to himself.
Additionally, Ye Tian found that his body cultivation technique could no longer help him enhance his strength. It was said that martial warriors could absorb elemental energy to improve their strength, but he didn't know how to refine it. Therefore, he needed to return to Linhai Base to continue improving his strength.
"It's time to go back."
Ye Tian packed up his belongings, wrapped up the beast materials he had acquired during this period, and left the cave, heading in the direction of Linhai Base.
...
Linhai Base, East City Gate.
After a month away, Ye Tian's clothes were tattered, his face dirty, and he even emitted a strange odor. However, the gatekeeping soldiers didn't dare to look down on him, casting envious and respectful glances instead. They knew Ye Tian was a martial warrior, and one who had stayed in the wilderness for a long time at that. Such martial warriors were not to be trifled with.
Upon entering Linhai Base, Ye Tian didn't go home immediately. Instead, he found a nearby inn to stay in, took a bath, and changed into a new set of clothes before returning home. When he saw his sister Ye Yu studying at home, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had been genuinely worried that something might have happened to Ye Yu during the month he was away. Thankfully, everything was normal.
The next morning, Ye Tian left early. He was heading to the Martial Warrior Black Market.
The Martial Warrior Black Market was located underground and was a frequent haunt for martial warriors. Martial apprentices and ordinary people were not qualified to enter; only martial warriors could.
Ye Tian had heard of the Martial Warrior Black Market before but had never been inside. He was extremely curious about everything within it. Now that he had finally advanced to the level of a martial warrior, he naturally wanted to take a look.
More importantly, he needed to purchase some items he required from the Martial Warrior Black Market.