After getting the Blood Essence Refinement Pill, he took the bus back to his neighborhood. He ate dinner (a delicious braised pork belly dish with pickled vegetables and low-grade spirit rice) with his sister, since his father was coming home later that day, before changing into loose exercise clothing and heading out to the public martial arts center.
Every gated neighborhood came with a community training hall for the residents to practice cultivation and martial arts to maintain their health. Although it wasn't even close to the private training halls that people like Feng Deying had in their homes, it was still better than practicing martial arts in their home.
"If I knocked over another vase, Qingxuan would kill me," he chuckled to himself. He winced at the thought of her cane smacking him upside the head again.
"I sense a story behind this…"
"Shut up."
The martial arts center was a squat, boxy building. Even though it was almost 9 o'clock, the lights were on and Yunfan could see the silhouettes of people against the window. He pushed the glass doors open and stepped inside.
Although there were several people inside, most of them elderly residents of the neighborhood. Despite having liver spots and white hair, they were all very mobile and limber. They looked up at Yunfan momentarily, before returning to their cultivation. A few greeted him warmly.
"Xiao Chu! I haven't seen you recently, how have you been?"
"I've been doing good. Good to see that you're still in good health, Old Leng!"
"You as well, tell your father to stop working so hard!"
Chu Yunfan smiled and dipped his head, before moving towards the punching bags. No one was using this section of the training hall so Yunfan had plenty of space.
As he began circulating his Internal Energy, his skin flushed slightly and breaths of steam escaped from the corners of his mouth.
"Ascending Tiger!"
His uppercut caused the punching bag to swing upwards, nearly becoming perpendicular with the ground.
"Crushing Claw!"
Yunfan's fingers clawed at the reinforced nylon but could not find any purchase against the smooth punching bag.
"Fatal Pierce!"
His open hand left an indent but nothing more.
Chu Yunfan looked thoroughly dissatisfied. He sighed. "Even with my bodily control, there just isn't the same amount of experience that someone in the Mastery Stage has."
"You can compensate with a higher cultivation base," the Alchemy Emperor suggested. "After all, you've gained many resources today."
"I'm a little hesitant to use the B-ranked nutrient fluid…" Yunfan sighed. "There must be a reason why Mu Zhenfei didn't use them himself. What about the Blood Essence Refinement Pill?"
"The Blood Essence Refinement Pill is best used at the Blood Purifying stage; you should save it until then."
"If I want to reach the Mastery Stage, then I'll have to risk it with the B-ranked nutrient fluid," Yunfan summarized. He removed a golden vial from his gym bag and observed the glimmering, golden fluid inside.
He hesitated for a moment, before gritting his teeth and drinking the entire thing.
Immediately, the golden fluid seemed to turn into strands of light that flowed through his body. Chu Yunfan sat down cross-legged and began turning this light into Internal Energy. The process was much smoother and efficient than converting ATP into Internal Energy. Soon, his entire body was suffused with Internal Energy, with plenty of golden light still remaining, and he began directing the Internal Energy into his joints and cartilage.
He began carefully destroying and reconstructing his joints, making them more flexible and durable. He also had to be careful not to accidentally sever any nerve connections, but his inhuman Internal Energy control made that possibility practically zero.
After expending all the Internal Energy in his body, he began converting the golden light into Internal Energy again. Chu Yunfan repeated this process nine times, until there was not even the tiniest thread of light left.
His cultivation soared appropriately— within two hours, he had gone from initial to peak Joint Popping!
As he neared the last of his reserves, sweat began trickling down his forehead. His brow was scrunched with utmost concentration, as he reached the upper limit that he could strengthen his joints. After two hours of intensive, non-stop cultivation, his mental power expedenture had reached his limits.
Little did Yunfan know that he was supposed to process high-ranked nutrient fluid over the course of two weeks!
Just as he was growing uncertain, an almost invisible spark of starlight began flickering on Yunfan's forehead. His mind became serene as still water.
With mechanical precision, he began directing his Internal Energy again. His control reached incredible levels that seemed completely impossible to normal people. Furthermore, he began speeding up!
Chu Yunfan had already been working incredibly quickly, but he could now do twice as much, twice as good, in half as much time!
Within an instant, he broke through into the Blood Purifying stage!
He shifted from his cross-legged position, every single one of his joints releasing an assortment of cracks and pops. It almost sounded like a salvo of muted gunshots.
The elderly residents who had been exercising had already returned home. Outside, the sky was dark and the street lamps cast pale circles of light on the sidewalk.
Yunfan breathed outwards, his heated breath steaming in the chill air like a dragon. His eyes gleamed with excitement. Without using any martial skills, he extended his arm forwards and punched the hanging sandbag.
The chains that suspended the punching bag screeched as the sandbag was launched backwards before being abruptly jerked backwards by the same chains.
"Congratulations," the Alchemy Emperor remarked with an impressed whistle. "Your cultivation speed is astounding, even by the standards of Ancient Zenith once-in-a-generation talents."
"Even fragmented, the Divine Idol is truly unbelievable…" Yunfan murmured, examining his hands under the soft glow of the street lights outside.
He turned towards the open space in the training hall, his eyes sharpening into slits.
"Ascending Tiger."
His fist surged forwards, stirring the calm air and creating a gust of wind. Although the wind wasn't nearly at the level of Qin Wu's demonstration, it was incredibly impressive for someone only in the Physical Refinement Realm.
"Crushing Claw."
As his Internal Energy moved into his clawed hand, flickering black and gold light wreathed his fingers. This time it was much more tangible and the suppressive aura was stronger. The instant before his hand would've touched the floor, he retracted his arm.
Dad can't afford to pay the fee for any damages…
He inhaled deeply and exhaled through his nose, before joining his fingers into an open palm. Yunfan's Internal Energy began gathering at the tip of his middle finger, building up within an instant.
"Fatal Pierce."
Chu Yunfan struck, a powerful tempest of wind gathering around him. It seemed like he had bent the world to his Will and sharpened it to a lethal point.
When the windstorm died down, nothing seemed to have happened. However, Yunfan was already extremely excited. "Mastery Stage! I really did it!"
For a few moment, he simply stood there and basked in the achievement. It had been so long since he'd felt a real sense of… pride. Specifically, pride in himself.
Without warning, he rushed out of the training hall, racing down the streets with whoops of joy. He laughed out loud without inhibitions like he hadn't felt in years. It felt like shackles that had been placed around his heart had been loosened, and he could finally breathe again.
Meanwhile, the Alchemy Emperor hovered next to a punching bag. He tilted his head.
Under the gentle illumination of the street lamps outside, a tiny trickle of golden sand poured out of an incredibly tiny pinprick in the hanging sandbag.
"That rapscallion," he chuckled fondly.
The Emperor shook his head with an almost fatherly smile, before he drifted through the wall to follow Chu Yunfan.
"Quiet down! You're going to wake up all your neighbors!"