"This technique is unbelievably brutal; it feels as if my entire body is being torn apart! No wonder that bastard Batian has such shocking strength—just the entry-level training is this excruciating!"
Batian the Martial Emperor was recognized as the strongest among the Ten Titled Martial Emperors.
This body-tempering manual had been serendipitously obtained from Batian the Martial Emperor, and he had kept it a secret, intending to practice it covertly. Who would've thought he'd lose his life in the Tian Dang Mountain Range before he could even start?
"With this body-tempering technique, even if I can't unlock my meridian points, I can still cultivate to the level of Martial Emperor!"
Li Yunxiao took a deep breath, shouted once more, and bent his body into a bow. To reach the Nine Heavens Peak stage, one must possess astonishing willpower. Talent matters, but even more critical is the courage and determination to persist through every hardship without yielding!
"The first form of the Batian Body-Tempering Technique—Moon Yang!"
Li Yunxiao bent his body into a ring-like shape. The immense pulling force made his body feel like it was being quartered, with every muscle and bone fracturing under the strain!
"Boom!"
This time, he endured for five seconds before being sent flying into the wall again. The impact churned the blood in his internal organs, causing him to spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.
"Again!"
He bellowed, his pride burning even hotter after two failures. "If Batian could train in this, then I can do it even better!"
Among the Ten Titled Martial Emperors, Batian might be acknowledged as the strongest, but none of them would willingly admit defeat to each other, all carrying hearts full of pride and ambition to conquer the world!
"Moon Yang Form!"
One day later, at the Academy's Gravity Training Hall.
A series of teleportation arrays were inscribed onto the bluish stone tiles, each leading to different gravity zones. Students only needed to place a single yuan stone into the array to be transported instantly.
The entire Gravity Teleportation Formation spanned several acres, an undertaking possible only in the capital, with its immense resources and influence to establish such a grand training ground. At the center of the numerous teleportation arrays stood a high platform spanning over a thousand square meters, serving as the drop-off point for return journeys from all the gravity zones.
Li Yunxiao observed the bustling crowd of students, their youthful and innocent faces transporting his thoughts to decades ago. Back then, he had been an ordinary martial apprentice, just like these students, listening to legendary tales of great heroes, training tirelessly day and night, striving towards the path of the strong.
Most of the students who came here to train were from impoverished families, dreaming of one day becoming warriors of the kingdom, bringing honor to their ancestors and glory to their names!
Everyone entered the teleportation arrays brimming with energy but returned like wilted eggplants, quietly enduring their exhaustion. Occasionally, someone would glance at Li Yunxiao's luxurious attire, their eyes flashing with surprise.
He stepped into a yellow-marked array labeled "Ten Times," placed a yuan stone into the slot, and instantly, a golden light enveloped him, obscuring his figure until he vanished from the Gravity Hall.
In the next moment, he landed in the designated zone, where an immense pulling force surged from the ground. His body instantly compressed, and his blood and flesh were squeezed together.
"Hah… Hah…"
Prepared for this, Li Yunxiao panted heavily, his upper body severely pale due to lack of circulation, making him appear ghastly and deformed.
Forcing himself to stand upright, he scanned the vast tenfold gravity zone. It was even larger than the teleportation hall, with numerous training rooms labeled from 001 to 200. Given that the Jia Lan Academy housed tens of thousands of students, 200 training rooms were far from sufficient.
At that moment, many were waiting for rooms in the public area, seated in silence.
Li Yunxiao narrowed his eyes slightly, sweeping his divine sense over the crowd before heading toward Training Room 013. Each step he took under the immense gravity drained his strength, causing his capillaries to expand and contract rhythmically as they struggled to adapt to the pressure.
"I must master the Moon Yang Form as soon as possible. Only then can I use medicinal aids to attack my meridians—this body must be prepared to withstand the strain!"
After more than half a minute of exertion, he finally arrived at the door of Room 013. As he approached, the door opened suddenly, and a student, drenched in sweat and visibly exhausted, emerged.
The student froze slightly upon seeing Li Yunxiao, then quickly lowered his head and walked toward the teleportation array.
"Damn, how lucky is that guy to get a room just as he arrives?"
"We've been waiting forever, and none have opened up. This guy shows up and immediately gets one?"
"Right? It's as if he knew Room 013 would become available."
"Who is this guy? How is it that he doesn't seem to have any energy fluctuations?"
"Are you joking? No energy fluctuations mean his meridians aren't open. How could a normal person survive in tenfold gravity?"
Just as Li Yunxiao was about to step into Room 013, a hand suddenly stretched out to block him. A white-robed student stood before him with a smile. "I'm Yu Hezheng, a student of the Intermediate Class and a martial apprentice at the peak of seven meridians. You must be new here. How about letting me have this room?"
The Academy's students were divided into four levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Graduates.
Li Yunxiao looked up and replied coldly, "Let you have it? Get lost!"
Yu Hezheng's face turned dark. Though furious, he glanced at the surrounding crowd, seemingly wary of something. Forcing himself to remain calm, he said through gritted teeth, "You're new here, right? Do me this favor today, and you can use my name if you ever run into trouble."
"Use your name? Get lost already, or I'll make you!"
Yu Hezheng's face flushed purple with rage. Few had ever dared to disrespect him like this. His anger turned to a grim smile as he sneered, "Quite bold for a piece of trash without energy fluctuations. Let me teach you some rules of the Academy!"
As his words fell, his aura surged, releasing a faint pressure toward Li Yunxiao.
"Qi energy? Could Yu Hezheng have condensed his qi energy and broken through to the Yuan Realm?" someone exclaimed from the public area, drawing everyone's attention. Faces filled with astonishment turned toward them.
"He's so talented! I heard he unlocked his seventh meridian just last week. Isn't condensing qi supposed to take several months? How did he do it in seven days?"
"I doubt he's broken through yet. If he had, there would be a visible glow of energy, not just this pressure."
"Even so, that's incredible. At this rate, he'll probably step into the Yuan Realm within ten days!"
"Kid, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll just break all your ribs without killing you." Yu Hezheng's chest swelled with pride as he listened to the astonished whispers around him. The presence of the goddess he admired standing behind him only spurred his desire to show off. Gathering his full strength, he launched a punch.
"Whoosh!~"
With a sharp whistle, his fist cracked with the sound of snapping joints, like beans popping in a pan. A fierce, tiger-like force surged from his punch, roaring toward Li Yunxiao with imposing momentum!
"Fubo Fist? You've got the form down, but this technique isn't just about creating the aura of a tiger roaring in the forest—it's about seizing the precise moment for a decisive strike."
Just as everyone began to sweat for Li Yunxiao, he unexpectedly commented on Yu Hezheng's technique, as if he were an instructor offering pointers to a student.
"This guy must be insane! He's got the nerve to critique a peak martial apprentice's strike?" one student exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"It doesn't seem like a joke though. What he's saying is actually spot-on," another student muttered thoughtfully.
A third shook his head, frowning. "Whether he's right or not, standing still against a peak martial apprentice's punch is asking for trouble unless he's secretly a martial artist!"
Yu Hezheng's anger flared even further. With a snarl, he channeled even more power into his fist. Initially intending only to injure Li Yunxiao, his fury now drove him to aim for complete destruction.
"Take this!"
Li Yunxiao let out a soft shout, stepping forward with surprising grace. His hands formed claw shapes in front of his chest, coiling like a dragon's head poised to devour everything in its path.
For a moment, the crowd seemed to hear a faint dragon's roar echoing in their ears.
Yu Hezheng's pupils constricted. His Fubo Fist had enveloped his opponent in an inescapable strike zone, yet Li Yunxiao's movement exuded a sense of dominance, as if it would consume all resistance. Not only had the tiger's aura shattered, but it now felt like his own strike was delivering meat straight into the maw of a beast.
"What's happening? Why does this feel like I'm the one walking into a trap?"
Though startled, Yu Hezheng quickly regained his composure. "No matter how strange your technique, I'm still a peak martial apprentice! My strength alone is enough to crush you!"
"Ahh!"
Suddenly, pain shot through Yu Hezheng's arm as his seemingly invincible punch missed its mark. Li Yunxiao's clawed fingers had locked onto his right arm, effortlessly nullifying the force of his attack. A sharp ache radiated through Yu Hezheng's limb, and he realized with growing horror that his energy had been completely neutralized.
"Hmph!"
Having immobilized his opponent, Li Yunxiao seized the moment. With a swift motion, he thrust his right shoulder forward, slamming it against Yu Hezheng's chest.
"Boom!"
Yu Hezheng staggered backward, blood surging to his throat as his chest went numb. He barely managed to regain his balance after retreating several steps.
"Sigh, this body…" Li Yunxiao muttered to himself, dissatisfaction evident in his tone. "If I had the same level of strength as him, my Dragon Form could have shattered his arm outright, and this shoulder strike would've been a knockout blow. But now, it only made his arm ache and his chest numb."
"Zzz~ What just happened? Did anyone see it clearly?"
"Yu Hezheng's punch can split mountains and crack stones. I even saw a faint glow of elemental energy. How did it get broken so mysteriously?"
"This is too strange! There's no elemental energy fluctuation coming from that kid at all. Could he be a hidden master?"