According to what the Heavenly Mystery Elder said, the key to the second level of Spirit Nurturing was to refine Qi and temper the muscles, making the body tough and powerful.
All cultivators who reached this realm had infinite strength and could easily tear apart wolves, tigers, and leopards with their bare hands!
Ryan had stepped into the second level of Spirit Nurturing by foreseeing the future cultivation results in an instant, and he immediately felt the specific changes of this realm as well.
In just an instant, he clearly felt that the blood-pumping ability of his heart had been greatly improved.
Endless power was surging and rolling in his limbs and bones.
The invisible and intangible power was completely materialized at this moment, as if it had thoroughly soaked into every cell!
"Awesome!"
At this moment, Ryan felt extremely satisfied in his heart and truly understood the meaning of "being reborn". Just at the second level of Spirit Nurturing, he felt...
He was like a superman. With just a slight exertion of his feet, he could jump up to a height of more than ten meters in the air, and that was definitely not the limit.
Ryan noticed that at this stage, as long as he took a deep breath to inflate his lungs and then exhaled with a shout, the wind he blew out could stir up a small mini-storm.
His eyes sparkled, and he exclaimed in his heart: "How long has it been since I started cultivating? And I already have such abilities!"
"If I went to the mortal world and wandered around in the Jianghu."
"Without revealing my true identity, I'm afraid that just based on my physical quality, I would be regarded as a first-class martial arts master by others!"
"It's unimaginable what kind of divine power the cultivators of higher realms have!"
"How inspiring!"
The sense of pleasure brought by the improvement of the life level and personal evolution surpassed all experiences.
Ryan indulged in it, feeling carefree, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.
However...
Despite looking glorious in front of others, after enjoying this moment, he still had to pay off the cultivation debt bit by bit by himself.
[Ryan: The Only Awakened One of the Supernatural Power of Causality]
[Currently Advanced Cultivation Ability: The Second Level of [Xuanji Qi-Nurturing Method].]
[Repayment Efficiency: Eighteen times (The Bodhi Cushion equipment is in effect; The Dragon Descendant's Blood Wine is taking effect; Associated with the Good Karma of the Dream Enterer).]
[Repayment Degree: 0/33 (months).]
[Available Times of Advancement: 0]
"As expected, or rather, the interest is even less than expected!"
Ryan's original plan was that in the early stage of his cultivation, he must maintain a relatively fast advancement record.
By doing so, he could strengthen the impression of being a celestial prodigy that he left on the high-level officials of Xuanji Cave Heaven, so that it would be easier for him to seek resources from various halls of Xuanji Cave Heaven!
From the perspective of an Earthling in his previous life...
Since it was also an investment, why not allocate more resources to projects with stronger potential?
Showing one's cultivation talent was equivalent to demonstrating one's potential!
The interest generated by advancing the future cultivation results for a few months was simply negligible.
Just one or two pills could offset it.
And the greater gains obtained in this process were the net profits!
Ryan himself had wanted to quickly improve his realm level by advancing.
And the bet from Aston Lowell, the true disciple of the Artifact Refining Hall, was just a windfall.
He just happened to seize the opportunity at the right time and didn't miss it.
Aston Lowell, dressed as a scholar in white, used to look like a young master.
He was charming and bossy, as if he was the protagonist among the crowd.
But now, he had witnessed with his own eyes that Ryan had broken through the realm in an instant.
The other person had casually broken through from the first level of Spirit Nurturing to the second level!
Aston Lowell's self-confidence had been severely hit.
Comparing people makes one feel inferior, and comparing goods makes one want to discard the inferior ones.
Aston Lowell had thought that he had unparalleled talent and could reach the second level of Spirit Nurturing in half a year.
But Ryan had proved with ironclad facts that he was just a frog in a well.
Aston Lowell was dejected and was severely hit by Ryan's talent.
He lowered his proud head and murmured to himself: "It turns out that I don't actually have much cultivation talent."
"All along, I've just been blindly arrogant..."
He thought his talent was at the full level, but in the end, it was nothing special. The sense of gap was maximized.
Fenrir Howe, who didn't know when he had come close and had originally planned to come forward to support Ryan and boost his friend's morale a little, also witnessed this scene.
He immediately stopped in his tracks.
"As long as he's willing, he can break through the realm at any time?"
The young Champion Marquis looked at Ryan from a distance, feeling full of sighs: "Perhaps for him, the so-called bottleneck doesn't exist at all!"
The many future scenarios he had experienced in the dream made Fenrir Howe know...
Almost all cultivators in this world would encounter bottlenecks when breaking through realms!
The difference only lay in whether the bottleneck was extremely firm, with no looseness at all, which could trap cultivators on the path of seeking the Dao for decades, hundreds of years or even longer, or whether it was easier to break through!
And what about Ryan?
Not to mention his outstanding comprehension, he was even like a [Heavenly Dao Body and Saint Embryo] with no bottlenecks on the path of cultivation!
Fenrir Howe sighed, half happy for his friend's talent and half worried about his own future: "Sure enough, there's no fairness in the world..."
"Brother Ryan has such outstanding talent and supreme comprehension. If he doesn't count as a [Celestial Prodigy], I really don't know who is qualified to bear such a title!"
He shook his head and turned around to leave: "Anyway, I also have some opportunities and can understand the Dao in my dreams."
"Although I haven't fully understood the secrets in it and can only make limited use of the dream, I can also have an extra double of cultivation time compared to ordinary people!"
"This is my unique cultivation advantage, Fenrir Howe!"
"With this advantage, even if I can't catch up with Brother Ryan's footsteps, I won't be left too far behind!"
When Fenrir Howe left, Ryan also got the bet that the winner deserved.
It's worth mentioning that...
Whether in his previous life on Earth or in the cultivation world in this life, for many people, the things they "deserve" may not necessarily be obtained.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people who were cheated of their salaries but had no way to claim them back.
Although Aston Lowell didn't give Ryan a good first impression, he was also a person with pride.
"Admit defeat when you lose!"
It had to be said that Aston Lowell seemed to have a fairly good ability to withstand pressure.
Just now, he was still looking so depressed that he almost wanted to destroy himself immediately, but before long, he quickly adjusted his mood.
He even threw out some tough words: "Ryan, your cultivation talent is much stronger than mine, but..."
"The path of cultivation doesn't necessarily mean that the more advanced one is the winner!"
"Those with high talent may not necessarily go the farthest!"
"I was just narrow-minded before and couldn't recognize that my talent was mediocre!"
"Now, you can take this [Blazing Flame Muscle-Casting Pill]."
"After realizing that I'm not qualified to 'rely on myself without external help', I'll use all the pills, spirit stones, and methods of refining treasures that I've accumulated!"
"I'll surpass you soon, Ryan!"
Even though he was full of unwillingness and grievance, Aston Lowell still stiffened his neck and maintained his last bit of pride.
He presented the sky-blue jade medicine bottle containing the [Blazing Flame Muscle-Casting Pill] with both hands.
After Ryan verified through the small detection ability attached to the supernatural power of causality that the medicine bottle indeed contained the extremely rare and top-notch pill, he was overjoyed.
He put the medicine bottle of the Blazing Flame Muscle-Casting Pill into his Hundred-Treasure Pouch, planning to go back immediately and refine it by taking it right away.
Aston Lowell's habit of keeping good treasures with him but never using them was really bad!
What was the point of keeping them?
Didn't they end up falling into his hands?
It would be better to take the pill on the day he got it!
He should learn from others' mistakes and draw lessons from them. Why did he have to experience them himself?
After parting ways with Aston Lowell and his group, Ryan went straight back to the small bluestone house.
On the way, his thoughts raced: "Tomorrow, it's time to go up to the mountainside and experience the life of the inner disciples."
In fact, he was still stalling for time to pay off the [Cultivation Cause].
According to the current eighteen-fold cultivation efficiency, it would take about one and a half months to pay off the debt for advancing the cultivation of [Xuanji Qi-Nurturing Method] to the second level and obtain new opportunities for advancement.
When there was a cultivation debt on his shoulders, it always made him feel a bit uneasy...
However, he was no longer a novice who had just entered the sect.
If anyone jumped out to compete with him in talent or test him, he could also ask the other person whether they were qualified to do so.
Competing with him?
At least they had to pass the tests of Aston Lowell and Fenrir Howe first before they were qualified to meet him, right?
Aston Lowell was a small genius, needless to say, with his talent clearly shown on his face.
And Fenrir Howe was a genuine person endowed with great fortune. He seemed to have ordinary talent, but in fact, he had endless opportunities and was born with a noble destiny.
And his identity as a celestial prodigy had already passed the joint tests of his master, True Person of Turbid Wine, and the elders.
In this situation, it was easy to find dozens of excuses for stalling for time, so there was no need to worry or be anxious too much.
Boom!
Suddenly, a dull and loud noise rang out not far away.
The ground trembled, and huge stones weighing tens of thousands of pounds rolled down from the mountainside.
"Moo!~"
The shrill screams attracted Ryan's attention.