Translator: CinderTL
As Jiang Ye pushed his cultivation harder, the surrounding silver stellar radiance surged into his body.
This radiance, brimming with violent energy, coursed through him with brutal force.
Guided by the Star Martial Advancement Method, the cosmic energy flowed along his meridians, like countless invisible blades scraping open sealed pathways within him—a process akin to cosmic tempering.
Are my cells undergoing metamorphosis? Jiang Ye wondered, his heart racing.
The stellar radiance carried transcendent properties, reshaping his cells and rapidly enhancing his strength.
But the process was excruciating.
Within minutes, Jiang Ye was writhing in unbearable pain.
Then, suddenly—
Buzz!
His mind became utterly serene, his consciousness clear as a mirror, purged of all distractions.
Entering the Suffering State, Jiang Ye thought.
Find Joy in Suffering: While in the Suffering State, all attributes receive a substantial temporary boost. The deeper the suffering, the greater the enhancement.
Finding Resolve in Suffering: In a state of extreme pain, maintain absolute clarity of mind, steadfastly guard one's heart, and remain unmoved by any calamity.
As Jiang Ye entered a state of suffering, both effects began to manifest.
The comprehensive enhancement of all his attributes immediately alleviated much of his pain.
Seeing this, Jiang Ye immediately proceeded to the next step.
He guided the cosmic energy, channeling it into the space he had opened in his lower abdomen.
"Guanyuan Acupoint," Jiang Ye sensed.
The Guanyuan Acupoint, located in the lower abdomen, roughly corresponds to the legendary Dantian.
Upon achieving Entry into the Advancement Method, a small space would be opened at this location.
This space served as a vessel for storing cosmic energy.
Though Jiang Ye lacked the ability to internally visualize, he could sense that a space had already been opened at the Guanyuan Acupoint.
As the first wisp of stellar radiance entered the Guanyuan Acupoint, a wave of invigorating energy surged through his entire body.
"Success," Jiang Ye murmured, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
Once cosmic energy entered the Guanyuan Acupoint, it would be temporarily stored there.
It wouldn't dissipate in the short term.
As long as he refined it promptly, he could completely assimilate it.
"This is just the first strand," Jiang Ye thought to himself. "To make this cosmic tempering worthwhile, I need to fill the Guanyuan Acupoint completely."
He soon discovered that achieving this would be far more challenging than he'd anticipated.
"I just absorbed at least a hundred strands of stellar radiance from the outside world," Jiang Ye calculated, then gaped in disbelief. "Yet only one strand entered the Guanyuan Acupoint? The rest dissipated?"
"Is this why the Primitive aptitude is considered low-grade?"
His absorption efficiency was less than one percent.
At this rate, he'd likely need to stay here for an entire day to fill the Guanyuan Acupoint.
"Stay for a day?"
"That shouldn't be a problem," Jiang Ye nodded to himself.
This pain was nothing compared to what he'd endured on the second level of the Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder.
"Keep going!" Jiang Ye, brimming with renewed determination, resumed absorbing the stellar radiance.
Meanwhile, above the Purification Pool, on a vast, suspended platform...
Several middle-aged men and women stood on the platform, gazing down at the students below.
They were teachers from the three major high schools, including Zhang Jianwu and Cao Feng.
"Zhao Qingli hasn't disappointed us," Zhang Jianwu said with a chuckle, watching the students below. "In just a few minutes, she's likely absorbed over 1,000 strands of stellar energy."
From their vantage point, it was easy to gauge how much stellar energy each student had absorbed.
Cao Feng nodded. "Her foundation establishment method is nearing Major Success. Her absorption rate far surpasses the others."
"Among these students, only Lin Yushu from Ancheng No. 1 High School might surpass her," Zhang Jianwu added.
Zhang Jianwu nodded. "Lin Yushu scored 849 on the last monthly exam. He's destined for one of the ten great schools. Zhao Qingli, on the other hand... her chances are slim."
He shook his head slightly.
Zhao Qingli's last monthly exam score was 810.
Reaching 900 within half a year? That would be a tall order.
Beside them, a middle-aged man in a black training uniform smiled. "Money can move mountains. If Zhao Qingli works hard enough, she still has a chance."
This was Cang Haisong, the Elite Class teacher from Ancheng No. 1 High School.
Zhang Jianwu didn't argue.
Money truly can move mountains.
If 100,000 yuan won't do, then a million will.
If a million won't do, then ten million!
But the problem is, even if you spend such a fortune to get into one of the ten great schools, what happens if you can't keep up with the pace? You'll still be weeded out.
You can't just keep throwing money at the problem, can you?
Just then, Cang Haisong suddenly asked, "I heard your school has a student with Primitive innate talent participating in this refinement?"
Zhang Jianwu nodded.
"Is that the student over there?" Cang Haisong pointed in Jiang Ye's direction. He noticed that Jiang Ye's rate of absorbing stellar energy was noticeably slower than the others.
Zhang Jianwu neither confirmed nor denied, turning to Cao Feng instead. "Cao Feng, did Jiang Ye choose the Body Tempering Method or the foundation establishment method?"
He hadn't inquired about this in recent days.
Cao Feng shook his head, sighing helplessly. "He chose the Advancement Method."
"What? The Advancement Method?" Zhang Jianwu's brow furrowed sharply.
Why would he choose the Advancement Method?
Even Zhao Qingli, that girl, hadn't selected this notoriously difficult refinement method!
Cao Feng sighed again. "I tried to dissuade him, but the stubborn kid insisted on the Advancement Method. There was nothing I could do."
Cang Haisong exclaimed in surprise, "The Star Martial Advancement Method? With a Primitive innate talent, he couldn't have achieved Entry so quickly, could he?"
Whether it was the Body Tempering Method, the Foundation Establishment Method, or the Advancement Method, participation in cosmic tempering required achieving Entry first. Otherwise, it would be a complete waste.
"He hasn't achieved Entry yet, but his stellar energy absorption efficiency will just be lower," Zhang Jianwu said, shaking his head. "That doesn't mean he can't participate in the tempering."
Cao Feng countered sternly, "With a Primitive innate talent, his stellar energy absorption efficiency is already less than 1%. Without Entry, it will be even lower."
This was common knowledge.
For every hundred units of stellar energy absorbed by an ordinary person, only one unit would reach their Guanyuan Acupoint.
In contrast, a genius with Nascent Aptitude might absorb ten units for every hundred.
That's a tenfold difference in absorption alone.
The subsequent refinement process showed a similar disparity.
There was a reason why Primitive innate talent was classified as low-grade aptitude.
How could Zhang Jianwu not understand these principles? Yet, at this moment, he found himself speechless.
"Miss Chen has only been gone a few days, and this kid is already causing trouble," Zhang Jianwu muttered, his head aching. "And Cao Feng, that old fox, didn't even tell me about this beforehand."
Zhang Jianwu had never imagined Jiang Ye would choose the Advancement Method.
His keen eye told him this kid wasn't the type to overestimate himself.
But now? Zhang Jianwu found the situation utterly absurd.
Of course, it wasn't a major crisis.
The real problem was how he would explain this to Chen Zilu when she inevitably asked about it later.
"Let's wait and see," Zhang Jianwu sighed softly. "This kid's Martial Dao Will is astonishing. He might be able to endure longer in the pool than we expect."
(End of the Chapter)
Translator's Corner
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🔓 𝔴𝔴𝔴.𝔠𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔱𝔩.𝔠𝔬𝔪 — 13 Series (7 Ongoing) | 14+ New Chapters Daily | 6,100+ FREE