Chapter 8 - There's Never A Shortcut

The puzzled crowd went over to the chamber, and what they saw instantly darkened their faces. A black ironstone target in the cultivation chamber had completely broken into two, with its upper part lying on the ground!

And on the ground was a terrifying mass of blood!

Everyone’s heart gave a hard jerk. “Is this guy still a human being?”

Yunxiao’s appearance in the Gravity Cultivating Hall at the next moment was no less shocking. But, the uproar soon calmed down, and all the students who saw him smiled bitterly. His cruel cultivation had provoked them, as if someone had given each one of them a shot in the arm, causing them to immediately double their original cultivating program!

Yunxiao finally realized that his current look had attracted too much unwanted attention, so he immediately took a set of clean clothes out of his storage ring and put it on, then walked quickly back to his dormitory.

The effect of the Tyrant Body Tempering Technique was indeed overwhelming, but the pain it brought was unbearable for any average individual. Yunxiao had almost every inch of his skin and muscle torn apart, and every pore seeped with blood. By the time he got to the end of the cultivation, he had almost fainted with pain, and was only holding on with his instincts!

Every expert who had become a Martial Sovereign through cultivation was not ordinary. They had all endured a hundred times more hardships than average people before they achieved a result that was a hundred times greater!

There was never a shortcut to the path of the strong!

Yunxiao took a shower as soon as he got back to his dormitory. His skin, which was scarred and terrifying to look at, turned out to be as smooth as jade, without a trace of a scar. And between his movements, he clearly felt a force he had long lost. Although it was still very weak, he was very satisfied with it.

“It is truly the number one body-tempering technique under the heavens, for it has given me a body that is stronger than the one cleansed with a ninth-grade spirit medicine. Now, with the physique of an apprentice warrior, I can start experimenting with some simple concoctions. As long as I can produce some low-level medicinal pills, my cultivation speed can be further accelerated!”

The strength of an alchemist depended on the strength of the soul, but many basic refinements required some physical strength before they could be carried out.

He was thinking of buying some herbs and refining tools when he suddenly felt a chill in the back of his head—someone was throwing a punch at him! He snorted coldly and reached a hand behind his back without so much as looking, grabbing toward the incoming attack.

“Pa!”

A burst of force slammed him in the palm as he closed his fingers tightly and did a backflip, his right hand turning 360 degrees along with his body!

“Ka! Ka! Ka!”

The air rang with a bone-cracking sound, accompanied by a loud scream, “Young Master Yun, it’s me! AHH! My arm!”

Only then did Yunxiao see who the person was, and was stunned. “Fatty Han?”

Han Bai winced in pain as he looked at his arm, which was so twisted that it appeared like a braid dough, and said sadly, “Young Master Yun, my arm is crippled!”

“Serves you right! Who asked you to sneak up on me?” Yunxiao said crossly. “Count yourself lucky that I’ve merely broken your bone into seven pieces. Go to the infirmary later and get some milkvetch root and flour. Mix them together and apply the mixture on your arm. You’ll be alright in a few days.”

“I saw you were a little odd last time, so I wanted to test you out.” It was then that Han Bai said incredulously, “Young Master Yun, your strength… Could it be that…”

Yunxiao shook his head and said, “I haven’t opened my chakras yet. What do you want from me?”

Han Bai’s eyes grew wide as he said disappointedly, “You’ve become so strong, and yet you haven’t opened your chakras? Where have you been hiding these days? Teacher Luo is looking for you everywhere.”

“What does this little girl want from me? Is she going to send me to the gravity chamber?” Yunxiao said indifferently.

Han Bai broke out in a cold sweat. “Little girl…Young Master Yun, you’re not losing your mind, are you? If you want to die, just say it. One more thing, you might be in big trouble! Lan Fei’s gone these days too, and I heard that he’s cultivating in seclusion to break into the Origin Realm! You’ve crippled Du Feng and Luo Jie, so he’ll be looking for you first when he gets out!”

Yunxiao glanced at Han Bai, who looked worried, and smiled. “Just calm down. It’s just the Origin Realm.”

“It’s just the Origin Realm?” Han Bai said with anger and frustration. “Do you know what the Origin Realm means? It means an individual has condensed Primordial Qi and become a real warrior! There’s a big difference between warriors and us, apprentice warriors! Chen Zhen, Princess Ruxue and I have been worrying about you for days, but look at you! ‘It’s just the Origin Realm’, huh?”

“Heh,” Yunxiao smiled faintly. So what if Lan Fei became a real warrior? He was not even fit to lick his shoes! Even though he had no cultivation base at the moment, he would not take a mere warrior to heart. Whether it was Yu Hezheng or Lan Fei, they were no different from three-year-old kids in his eyes.

“I’m going to buy something, but I’m short of money. Lend me some.” Although Yunxiao was the young master of the Li Family, he had long been excluded from the family, and his pocket money was not much. Therefore, compared with other young masters, he was very poor.

Han Bai widened his eyes as he said in surprise, “Are you really not worried at all? You know, there are over 3,000 freshmen in our intake, but only about 30 have made the breakthrough so far and become warriors. Those who do make it, even in the poverty-stricken classes, are considered the best students!”

The students in their class were all children of dignitaries, so they habitually called other classes poverty-stricken classes. But, the overall strength of their class was also the worst among the rest, so other classes were calling their class trash-stricken class.

“Oh, I’m worried, but it’s no use worrying. How much money do you have now? Lend me it all and I’ll pay you back some other time.”

“Young Master Yun, I can feel that you’ve changed a lot! I got to hand it to you!”

Han Bai produced his bag of holding and poured out a pile of gold coins. “There are about two or three hundred gold coins here, enough to last you a year!”

Without standing on ceremony, Yunxiao put away all the gold coins. “Although not much, I’ll make do with it.” He picked up one and threw it to Han Bai. “Go and buy medicine. Your arm must be covered with the medicinal paste within twenty-four hours, or it will really become crippled.”

Startled, Han Bai hurriedly turned and ran away with the gold coin. But, he had barely reached the door when a loud bang suddenly rang out, and his fat body was subsequently thrown flying back. He left a trail of blood in the air before falling on the ground next to Yunxiao’s feet, where he passed out. There was a distinct footprint on his bulging belly.

“You piece of trash who have no idea of death or danger!”

A cold snort came from outside the door, and then a shadow was thrown over, falling next to Fatty Han. The man was covered in blood, his face swollen like a winter melon as he groaned in pain while being sprawled on the ground, muttering something that could not be understood. Yunxiao stared at him for a while before he recognized the man as Chen Zhen.

“Li Yunxiao, how dare you touch my men! Today, I’m going to cripple you completely!”

More than a dozen people rushed in through the door, led by none other than Lan Fei. He walked proudly ahead, his energy rising with every step. By the time he came up to Yunxiao, a bright light shone out of him, making him look mighty!

It was the light of Primordial Qi, the sign of a warrior!

“Boss, you have really become a warrior! You must avenge me!” Du Feng, who was behind Lan Fei, cried loudly. His crotch was bulging as if he had put a washbasin inside, apparently with too many bandages on it which had not been removed.

Luo Jie, who stood beside him, wore a pale face, his eyes blazing with murderous rage and body trembling with anger.

“Why do you glow all over when you have just stepped into the Origin Realm? Do you think you are a luminous pearl?” Yunxiao leaned over to glance at Han Bai and Chen Zhen’s injury. He was relieved when he saw that they were not in danger of dying even though they looked badly wounded. Still, his eyes were already flickering with killing intent. “And the two of you, it’s been only three days since I last saw you. How come your voices have changed? Oh, where are your beards?”

The remark hit Du Feng right in his weak spot and made him cough out a mouthful of blood with anger before he roared wildly, “Kill him! Kill him! Boss, you must kill him for me!” There was a shrill note in his voice like that of a woman, which made all who heard it shiver uncontrollably, their foreheads covered with beads of cold sweat.

Lan Fei shivered as well and subconsciously moved aside a little before pointing at Yunxiao and snapping, “Are you going to kneel and kowtow yourself, or you want me to break your limbs and cripple you completely?”

Yunxiao was a loser he could bully at will, but there was a lot more to consider if he were to kill the other. After all, killing him was equal to slapping the Li Family in the face, which would completely tear apart the superficial peace between the two families. The consequences of such an action were unpredictable. So, Lan Fei had come with the thought of crippling and humiliating Yunxiao for what he had done to Du Feng.

“You want to cripple me?” Yunxiao’s eyes went cold, and a burst of energy suddenly spread from him. Although it did not have the pressure like that of Primordial Qi, there seemed to be an unspeakable aura condensed in the air that made the group of people, including Lan Fei, feel sick all over as sweat broke out of their palms. “It has been a long, long time since I’ve heard such an arrogant statement.”

‘What’s going on? Why do I have this shivering feeling?’

Lan Fei was utterly shocked, and a sense of fear began to spread through him. He mustered his courage with a furious roar, and a black iron sword appeared in his hand within the next moment. Without saying another word, he brought the sword down toward Yunxiao!

The sense of fear was so inexplicable that it set his nerves on the edge. He was worried that if he did not act decisively, he would not have the courage to strike again! The feeling was akin to standing on a small boat, facing the stormy waves that could sweep the world!

‘How could I have such a feeling? This is absurd!’ He immediately cleared his mind of all distractions and put all his strength into his arms!

“Decisive, unambiguous…Not bad, not bad at all!” Yunxiao nodded approvingly. Then, a black iron sword similarly appeared in his hand, and he lightly placed it sideways across his chest. It was a casual move, but it kept Lan Fei’s attack at bay!

“You dare to tease me! You’re looking for death!”

Upon hearing Yunxiao’s comment, Lan Fei flew into a rage, and his face flushed red with fury! At the same time, he added more strength to his hands, and even a trace of Primordial Qi he had used to protect his meridians was poured directly into the iron sword.

Clang!

The two swords clashed together violently and sent out many sparks. A great force came down from the blade and cracked Yunxiao’s palms, numbing his arms and knocking him backward. But, he did not lose his balance; he managed to keep his feet on the ground as the force pushed him back for a few steps before he stabilized himself. Meanwhile, a deep cut was left on his black iron sword!