For Ye Chen, the pain caused by the Domineering Refining Saint Technique, which would have been enough to make an ordinary person pass out, merely made his complexion slightly pale, yet his gaze remained unshakably determined.
"Domineering Refining Saint Technique, first form!"
Ye Chen once again took up the standard movement, just like the human figure in the first diagram, and followed the pathways of the human body diagram to operate his cultivation technique. A warm current ran through his meridians, stimulating his physical body, beginning to strengthen it.
However, a tremendous pulling force appeared in an instant, and it felt like all his muscles were being torn apart literally, and every inch of muscle and bone seemed to be ripping apart.
Thud—
Merely after two breaths' time, Ye Chen's body couldn't bear it, and he was directly flung away, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, his internal organs feeling as though they had been shredded.
Nevertheless, Ye Chen remained silent and silently began to cultivate again, swearing not to stop until he succeeded or died trying.
...
Night gradually fell.
In the courtyard, due to the young master's orders, no one dared to rashly enter, not even Huan'er.
In the room, Ye Chen lay gasping on the floor, drenched in sweat, his clothes clinging tightly to his body.
Only a faint stench filled the air.
This was the unpleasant smell emanating from Ye Chen, and at this moment, from all 36,000 pores on Ye Chen's body, a slightly blackish sweat was slowly being expelled, carrying impurities from within his body.
Three days had passed, and Ye Chen had fallen to the ground three hundred eighty-seven times, but each time he was able to stimulate his physical body, strengthening it in a nearly masochistic fashion. Thanks to the dominance of the Domineering Refining Saint Technique, his progress included not only simple physical strengthening but also the expulsion of impurities from his body, continually reinforcing it.
Undoubtedly, the results were quite good. Over three days of cultivation, Ye Chen could feel each time he practiced the first form that his body received some improvement.
Although the improvements were subtle, the cumulative changes were enough to bring about a transformation. Over the three days, his muscles and bones had vastly enhanced.
His senses were very sharp, and he could feel that his physical condition had certainly become much stronger than before.
Regrettably, the price was severe muscle soreness, and even moving slightly felt like a million needles piercing through him.
However, Ye Chen did not rest immediately but rather, enduring the severe pain, he crawled up, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to cultivate.
Only when all his strength was exhausted and his body was extremely empty was the cultivation effect the most efficient for doubling his effort—Ye Chen understood this principle deeply.
He sat cross-legged, enduring the intense pain all over his body; his eyes tightly shut, his strong and resolute willpower made his breathing slowly even and strong.
Between his breaths, faint glimmers of light from around the world were drawn into the young man's body.
This was the spiritual energy scattered throughout the world, the main source of power for cultivators, whether acquired or innate. Without the constant supply and transformation of the world's spiritual energy into personal strength, it would be tantamount to forfeiting one's martial arts.
At this moment, the Emperor Tower Seal on Ye Chen's chest shone; the spiritual energy of the world around him surged towards him, several times denser than usual.
Long after, Ye Chen opened his eyes, bright and clear, feeling the internal strength inside his body stronger than before. He muttered to himself, estimating that with such a rate of cultivation, he would certainly break through to the Fourth Layer within two months.
Being able to break through a level within two months was indeed a joyous event, especially considering that Ye Chen had wasted two years. If it weren't for his astonishing talent, he wouldn't have achieved such progress.
Of course, the Domineering Refining Saint Technique and the Human Emperor Tower also played roles; the former purged some impurities from the meridians in his body and sped up their operations, while the latter caused the nature's spiritual energy in the area to become several times more concentrated.
Yet, he still shook his head because to enter Tiandu Academy, the minimum requirement was the Acquired Eighth Realm.
Moreover, as cultivation progressed to later stages, progression increasingly required the accumulation of time. The time needed to advance from the Seventh Layer to the Eighth Layer often exceeded half a year, and it was not guaranteed that one could make the leap.
Given his current rate of cultivation, reaching the Eighth Layer in merely nine months was simply impossible.
"It's a pity that I can't enter the Human Emperor Tower; otherwise, with the spiritual energy inside dense enough to form mist, my cultivation speed could increase by more than tenfold at this stage," Ye Chen sighed helplessly, as entering the Human Emperor Tower, let alone harnessing its vast and ocean-like spiritual energy, was out of reach.
"Although the Domineering Refining Saint Technique can strengthen the physical body, it mainly focuses on body refinement and does not greatly aid the cultivation of inner strength. It's unclear if Tiandu Academy's entrance trial allows the testing of physical strength," Ye Chen muttered to himself.
"Ultimately, the best method is still to activate the latent power in the Holy Body Bloodline within me; otherwise, reaching the Acquired Eighth Realm in just nine months is somewhat unlikely."
"Or perhaps, I could rely on the power of medicinal pills to activate the Holy Body Bloodline."
Pills were magical; they could not only heal injuries of cultivators but also accelerate their cultivation speed and even help them break through bottlenecks. Therefore, alchemists held high positions in the world.
He wanted to concoct a special kind of pill remembered from his memory, one that could activate the latent power of the Holy Body Bloodline.
But alchemy was also a luxury; even the lowest level of alchemy needed thousands of Gold Coins, an amount not trivial even for the entire Ye Family.
And for pills like those that revitalized bloodlines, just the cost of materials alone could reach a staggering hundred thousand Gold Coins!
A hundred thousand Gold Coins, what an enormous amount; for the entire Ye Family, it might represent an entire year's income.
For ordinary people, it was an astronomical figure.
Although his father had said he could provide all kinds of support, Ye Chen did not want to put his father in a difficult position.
"Huan'er, how much money do you have?" Ye Chen couldn't help asking the little maid who was cleaning.
Huan'er responded, "I have five Gold Coins."
Hearing this, Ye Chen was immediately disappointed. Actually, five Gold Coins were quite a lot; an ordinary family could live for a month on just two Gold Coins. Unfortunately, for him, it was just a drop in the bucket!
"Young Master, today is the first of the month. If you are short of money, you can go to the Salary Hall to receive this month's salary," Huan'er suddenly said.
Ye Chen's eyes lit up; he had almost forgotten that the start of each month was the time to collect the family's monthly salary, and today was just the beginning of the month. Although it was only fifteen Gold Coins, even a small mosquito is meat; he had to take it back.
Moreover, as long as he had some Gold Coins, he could find ways to double them!
He planted a firm kiss on Huan'er's cute cheek: "Huan'er, I really love you to death."
PS: I want to mention here that many readers have said that this is very different from the original Saint Dynasty; of course, this is just the beginning. We can't expect Ye Chen to become invincible right away with his Golden Blood Qi bursting forth. To help new readers adjust, there must be a process. I've said that after about a hundred chapters, Ye Chen will return to his state during the Saint Dynasty era, and my writing style will naturally change. To be honest, I'm finding this part quite challenging to write. I hope everyone can understand.