Hao Yi chuckled upon hearing the words, retracting his aura:
"You really can keep your composure."
Li Fei: "I just trust that the teacher won't harm me."
A hint of desolation flashed in Hao Yi's eyes as he slowly said:
"After receiving the Implant, as one deepens their Martial Arts Cultivation, there are several corresponding periods. First is the Embryo Cultivation Stage, where you nurture the Implant within your body and slowly cultivate it. Next comes the Body Breaking Stage, where the Implant begins to grow rapidly, replacing some of your body tissue, thereby granting you various Extraordinary Abilities. Then comes the Qi Change Stage, where you cultivate Innate Qi through the Implant. After the Qi Change Stage is the Tao Foundation Stage, where you need to construct the foundation of Martial Arts."
"The foundation of Martial Arts requires assembling Implants of five different elements—gold, wood, water, fire, earth—to construct it. Different combinations of Implants can form different Tao Foundations. The one I want you to construct is an extremely difficult Martial Arts Foundation—'Mixed Element Heavenly Gold'."
Hao Yi explained the steps of Martial Arts Cultivation to Li Fei and also explained what 'Mixed Element Heavenly Gold' was.
Five different Implants make up the foundation of Martial Arts?
Li Fei hadn't expected the Martial Arts of this world to be like this.
"Teacher, where is the difficulty in cultivating this 'Mixed Element Heavenly Gold'?"
He asked.
Hao Yi: "The higher the grade of the Implant, the more severe the mutant reaction it brings, and the greater the physical endurance required. Most Tao Foundations start with a First Grade Implant, but the five Implants that make up 'Mixed Element Heavenly Gold' are all at least Second Grade. This foundation requires high resistance to mutant reactions, as well as a strong physique and resilient willpower."
"The fact that you were able to cultivate the Heavenly Gang Dominator Body so quickly shows that your natural constitution is suitable for Horizontal Training Skills. As I've told you before, there is an Implant corresponding to the Heavenly Gang Dominator Body, which is this 'Mixed Element Heavenly Gold'. The higher your mastery of the Heavenly Gang Dominator Body, the greater your chances of successfully cultivating 'Mixed Element Heavenly Gold' in the future. This is why I want you to cultivate it. As for your aptitude, it can be enhanced through medication."
Li Fei nodded, "I understand, Teacher. I am willing to cultivate 'Mixed Element Heavenly Gold.'"
For others, cultivating 'Mixed Element Heavenly Gold' might seem as difficult as ascending to heaven, but for him, it posed no difficulty.
A look of satisfaction appeared on Hao Yi's face, he nodded and pointed to a black powder beside him:
"Each grade of Implant is further divided into three ranks, top, middle, and bottom. This Steel Armor Implant comes from a Second Grade Steel Armor Beast, and the Implants extracted from them are usually of the lower Second Grade. Among ten thousand Steel Armor Beasts, there might only be one that could produce a top Second Grade Implant, so it's quite rare.
However, very few Tao Foundations use the top Second Grade Steel Armor Implant, and even fewer can accomplish such a foundation due to its difficulty. It could take decades for one person to succeed, so this box of Implants has been in the warehouse for some years, and nobody has tried to extract it. I didn't expect Wang Qitai's granddaughter to plan on cultivating 'Qing Hao Linglong,' requiring this Implant."
Li Fei asked: "Teacher, does this mean that pairing a Tao Foundation with an Implant is not always better the higher the quality?"
Otherwise this box of top Second Grade Steel Armor Implants wouldn't have waited for him to use it.
Hao Yi nodded: "The higher the quality of the Implant, the greater the difficulty in successfully cultivating the Tao Foundation. That's one reason. Secondly, the five Implants making up the Tao Foundation ultimately need to form a balance. If the quality of a single Implant is too high, it's impossible to achieve that balance, and it can spoil everything."
Li Fei understood. Some Tao Foundations that could use the lower Second Grade Steel Armor Implants were sufficient, and using the upper Second Grade might ruin things.
As for those Tao Foundations that needed to use the top Second Grade Steel Armor Implants, the cultivation difficulty was very high, and only a very powerful prodigy would dare choose them.
It appeared that the woman named Wang Fengqing was such a prodigy.
"That Wang Qitai may be a bit petty, but you are my student, so you needn't worry about him daring to do anything. If anyone troubles you here in the Martial Arts Hall, as long as you are in the right, don't be afraid of conflict. If it really leads to trouble, I will cover for you!"
Hao Yi said to Li Fei.
If it were someone else, he wouldn't say such things, for there are too many who abuse their martial prowess to cause trouble.
But Li Fei was too honest, and he had always seemed like a well-behaved, good kid who wouldn't start trouble on his own, which is why Hao Yi spoke to him this way.
"I understand, thank you, teacher,"
Li Fei bowed to Hao Yi.
This showed that Hao Yi's status in the Martial Arts Hall was even higher than he had imagined, and with these words, his future actions within the Martial Arts Hall would be much easier.
He couldn't help but thank Li Lei for finding him the right teacher.
"The water is boiling now, go add the medicinal herbs."
"Okay."
Thus, the Medicine Bath Room began to fill with a strong herbal scent.
Li Fei poured over a dozen herbs into the pot, and by the end, only a gloopy black liquid remained in the pot.
Hao Yi poured the black viscous fluid from the pot into containers each containing different doses of Steel Armor Implant powder, and Li Fei was instructed to stir them evenly.
Finally, Hao Yi poured the contents of all the containers into one large container and asked Li Fei to stir it evenly, forming a large black lump of mud.
"Alright, take off all your clothes,"
Hao Yi said to Li Fei.
Li Fei didn't feel embarrassed and quickly stripped off all his clothes, standing naked before Hao Yi.
Hao Yi picked up a brush, dipped it into some of the black mud from the container, and spread it evenly on Li Fei's body.
"In the Early Stage, the implant for a Second Grade Steel Armor Beast was just scales; back then, martial artists would directly sew these scales onto their skin, then use medication and Breathing Skill to integrate them into their bodies,"
As Hao Yi applied the mud, he explained the history of the implants:
"This method of cultivation was too crude and often led to mutant reactions. Over generations, it has been continuously improved, and the Second Grade Steel Armor Implant has become what you see today. The scales of the Steel Armor Beast are ground into powder, mixed with medication and applied over the skin, and then gradually absorbed into the body, leading into the Embryo Cultivation Stage."
Hearing this, Li Fei couldn't help but ask:
"Teacher, once the implant grows inside me, will my body be covered in scales?"
Hao Yi shook his head:
"In the Early Stage, martial artists experienced that, but modern martial artists don't, as long as you manage it well and there are no issues during the Embryo Cultivation Stage, the implant will only make your skin tougher but appear no different from ordinary people."
Relieved by Hao Yi's answer, Li Fei breathed a sigh of relief.
If he ended up with a body covered in scales, growing horns and a tail, the thought was too comical and hard to imagine.
Thinking this, early martial artists really endured a lot to gain their strength.
Soon, Hao Yi had covered Li Fei's entire body with the black mud mixture of implants and medication.
He had Li Fei sit still for ten minutes, and once the mud on his body had dried, they began practicing Heavenly Gang Qi Pile.
...