Chu Yi sat in his room, listening to the rustling of leaves outside the window, accompanied by the low growls of other students training in the courtyard, creating a rhythmic background sound. Since the headmaster's speech, a heavy weight seemed to press down on his heart. He knew very well that he was currently the weak link in the team, and the upcoming Major General Tournament in two weeks would be their stage to showcase their strength. If he couldn't make a breakthrough in these two weeks, he would not only disappoint himself but also drag down the entire team.
He clenched his fists tightly, took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes, beginning to focus on meditation. The flow of spiritual energy was slow and quiet, like a gentle stream. Chu Yi concentrated hard, trying to sense the fluctuations of the spiritual power within his body. Every time, he would deeply feel the limitations of his cultivation. His awakened talent had really become the biggest obstacle to his survival in this world.
Day after day, after his training in the day, Chu Yi would return to his room at night to meditate. With the help of the Soul Condensing Pills provided by the academy, his control over spiritual energy became more and more precise. Although his spiritual cultivation was still stuck at the first level, he did not give up. Every day, he exerted all his effort to absorb spiritual energy, integrating it little by little into his spiritual meridians.
Four days later, it was Chu Yi's turn for the duty. He set off early in the morning, planning to fetch water from the river outside the city. However, when he reached the riverbank, he saw a shabby-looking man in tattered clothes, lazily leaning against an old tree. This man looked like a beggar, his clothes worn out, his beard unkempt, and he exuded an air of untidiness, his eyes appearing dull.
"Who is this? A drunk beggar from last night?" Chu Yi muttered to himself, feeling that this person was completely out of place with the city's style.
Just as he was wondering, the man suddenly glanced at him and gave a strange smile. That gaze made Chu Yi feel a bit uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace. But after walking only a few steps, a hoarse voice called out from behind, "Hey, kid, why are you running so fast?"
Chu Yi stopped and turned around to see the scruffy man standing up and slowly walking toward him.
"You are...?" Chu Yi frowned, showing some wariness.
The man waved his hand carelessly and said lazily, "Don't be nervous. I'm thirsty, and my body is old and weak. Can you help me bring some water?"
"Water?" Chu Yi was momentarily stunned as he sized up the shabby man. After a moment, he decided that this beggar probably didn't pose a threat to him. He then fetched a bucket of water and brought it to the man.
"You can call me Eskanar," the man said nonchalantly, then pulled a dry twig from his pocket and began chewing on it.
Seeing this, Chu Yi confirmed his suspicion and lowered his guard. He then continued to prepare to take the water back to the academy.
Just as he was about to pick up the water, he suddenly felt a sharp sting at the back of his neck, like a mosquito bite. In a few seconds, his consciousness began to blur, and he collapsed to the ground, knocking over the water bucket.
Chu Yi's consciousness slowly began to clear from a state of chaos. His vision was still blurry, his head heavy, as if he were struggling to wake up from a dream. He blinked, and the blur in front of him gradually became clear—he was still lying by the riverbank, with the blue sky and white clouds in view and a gentle breeze brushing his face. However, a familiar figure now stood above him—the scruffy man, Eskanar.
"You awake?" Eskanar stood in front of him, still chewing on the twig, looking just as lazy as before, as if the events of a moment ago were nothing more than a regular occurrence to him.
Chu Yi struggled to sit up, his head still dizzy. He couldn't help but ask, "What did you do to me?"
Eskanar gave a small smirk, showing a hint of disdain, "Me? I didn't do anything. I just injected you with a little 'special' medicine. Don't worry, it won't kill you."
"Medicine?" Chu Yi frowned, full of suspicion. "What exactly do you want?"
"To cultivate antibodies," Eskanar's voice carried an indifferent tone, as if he were talking about something utterly normal. "You young people always think you're training hard, but in reality, you haven't even touched the true limit. Cultivating resistance to toxins is no different from your regular physical training. This time, you're training your immune system," he crouched down and patted Chu Yi on the shoulder.
"Toxic antibodies?!" Chu Yi was stunned. He had never heard of someone training specifically to resist toxins. This was completely beyond his comprehension.
"That's right. Think about it. On the battlefield, poison, sleeping drugs, and even toxic spiritual attacks are everywhere. You young spiritual masters think you're strong enough, but once you're poisoned, no matter how high your cultivation, it won't matter. The little bit of poison I gave you today is just an appetizer. In the future, you'll need to take more, training your body to get used to these toxins," Eskanar seemed very confident, as if he had already grown accustomed to Chu Yi's reaction.
"But... does this really make sense?" Chu Yi stood up from the ground, still feeling weak, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He really couldn't understand how this extreme form of training could benefit him.
"Of course it makes sense," Eskanar said while still chewing the twig, "I've seen countless spiritual masters fall just because of a little poison. If you want to win at the Major General Tournament, you need to make sure you're flawless. Just improving your spiritual power and enhancing your attack strength isn't enough. If you collapse at a crucial moment because of a drop of poison, all your previous efforts will be wasted."
Chu Yi silently pondered Eskanar's words. Though it sounded absurd, he knew that in this world, many things didn't follow the usual logic. And, he was indeed at a bottleneck in his cultivation. Any method that could lead to a breakthrough, no matter how unreasonable, was worth trying.
"So, from now on, I'll be taking this poison every day? I'm not going to die from it, right?" Chu Yi looked at Eskanar with a hint of helplessness in his voice.
"Yes, but each dose will increase, and the toxicity will get stronger," Eskanar's smile became even more eerie, "You better be mentally prepared. You think this has no meaning because you haven't reached that level yet. Once you truly understand the power of toxic antibodies, you'll thank me."
Chu Yi felt a bit nauseous but held it in. His heart was conflicted—on one hand, he resented this absurd training; on the other, he really wanted to get stronger.
"As for whether you'll survive this special training, that depends on your luck," Eskanar patted his shoulder, pretending to comfort a frightened little animal, but actually taking the opportunity to insert a poisoned needle, coated with sleeping drug, into Chu Yi's back. Before long, Chu Yi collapsed again.
As time passed, Chu Yi started his new "training" regimen. Every day after training, Eskanar would force him to take various poisons, from sedative drugs that numbed his nerves to highly toxic substances that caused his muscles to ache. Every one of these medications caused Chu Yi immense pain. At first, his body often reacted violently, his limbs would go numb, his vision blurred, and sometimes he would even vomit. However, as the days passed, he gradually noticed that his body's reactions to these drugs became weaker.
Little by little, Chu Yi began to realize that this extreme training seemed to be effective. His body was gradually adapting to the toxins, his resistance was increasing, and the flow of his spiritual energy began to speed up, as if the disturbance of the toxins made his spiritual power circulate more swiftly.
"You're really unexpectedly tough," one day, Eskanar saw Chu Yi's pale face as he stubbornly took the poison despite the discomfort, and nodded approvingly, "Looks like my training method is quite effective."
"You're not... really going to make me keep doing this, right?" Chu Yi asked while enduring the discomfort in his body.
"Of course not. Once you've fully adapted to these poisons, you won't need to take them anymore," Eskanar shrugged, "By then, you'll find that no matter how strong the toxicity is, it won't affect you. You'll have better survival ability than other spiritual masters."
— Five days until the Major General Tournament.