"This is the Realm of Divine Transformation… yet my strength hasn't increased much?"
In the depths of his consciousness, Fang Han could sense the mysterious Divine Transformation Point within his mind—it was unmistakable. He had stepped into the final stage of the Mortal Body Realm: Divine Transformation. One more step, and he would break through to the Realm of Divine Powers—transcending mortal limits and truly entering the immortal path. At that level, even emperors ruling billions would bow to him in reverence.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
He flicked his arms five times, slicing the air with sharp gusts that howled like sword energy. Fang Han could feel his strength increase slightly—but not by much. His power hovered between five and six horse strength, at most half a horse more. That meager improvement didn't align with the legends of the Divine Transformation stage, which was said to bring explosive growth in power.
He frowned slightly.
"The Realm of Divine Transformation is just a sudden awakening," the dragon spirit Yan chuckled darkly within him. "True power comes afterward—when you feed your body with vast amounts of food and elixirs. Once you reach this stage, your appetite will skyrocket. You'll be able to digest almost anything. Tell me, are you hungry now?"
Before Fang Han could answer, his stomach growled loudly—like a croaking frog.
"Hungry? I feel starving! Come, let's head to the Jade Dining Hall—I swear I could eat a whole ox right now!" Fang Han laughed, feeling a ravenous energy tearing at him from within.
"The Jade Dining Hall?" Yan scoffed. "Their so-called Five-Spirit meals may be fine for ordinary disciples, but they're worthless to you now. From this day forward, every meal must include Blood Pills or at least Fasting Pills and Essence Pills. Only these will fully nourish you and refine your blood. Remember this, Fang Han—what you eat determines your destiny.
"In the mortal world, Divine Transformation experts are as common as stars in the sky, yet none reach the Realm of Divine Powers. Why? Because their diet is filth! An ordinary expert eats an ox a day, yet his body fills with residue he can't expel—how could he ascend? Even here in Yuhua Sect, few ever transcend this stage.
"Listen well—what a being consumes defines its nature.
Those who eat grass are swift but dull.
Those who eat meat are brave but brutal.
Those who eat grain are clever but frail.
Those who eat pure essence… become divine and immortal.
At the Mortal Body Realm, eat flesh.
At the Divine Power Realm, eat elixirs.
At the Eternal Life Realm, eat the very breath of heaven."
"'Those who feed on essence become divine and immortal…'" Fang Han murmured, savoring the words. They carried the weight of truth. Without hesitation, he took out another Blood Pill and swallowed it. The heat spread instantly through his body—no residue, no waste—his hunger vanished, and his strength surged once more.
"The Yuhua Sect is stingy," Yan grumbled. "You slay an Asura and they reward you with just one Essence Pill and one Fasting Pill—barely enough for three days! After all, the Nine-Aperture Golden Pill altered your body; your appetite is far greater than most. Once you enter the Realm of Divine Powers, your energy demands will multiply again."
"Maybe they'll reward me properly once I pass the inner disciple trial," Fang Han mused. "Three days is plenty for now. I'll train hard, grow stronger, and fully master this realm. Once I become an inner disciple, even the true disciples won't dare kill me at will."
He knew the truth—right now, his life was fragile. If someone like Jin Shitai wanted him dead, he could die quietly and no one would care. But as an inner disciple, his identity would grant him protection.
"You still have two days left," Yan reminded him. "Here—this is the essence pill forged from the blood of the Asura you killed. Eat it, and your strength will soar."
In his claw appeared a massive pill, the size of a bowl, glowing with deep crimson light—it pulsed like a beating heart.
While Fang Han immersed himself in training, refining the Asura Blood Pill and tempering his body to new limits, far away in the heart of the Yuhua Sect—within the towering Feathered Celestial Palace—a storm was brewing.
"Father, you must avenge me! Fang Qingxue cut off my arm! Stone Dragonzi was maimed as well!"
Jin Shitai knelt on the jade floor, his face twisted with venomous hatred. His severed arm had stopped bleeding, but the exposed bone gleamed white, the wound darkened by a sinister miasma.
Before him stood an elder in a pure violet Dao robe, wearing the Thunder Sun Crown. His eyes glimmered like lightning, and strange fires—green, violet, white—flickered faintly around him. His presence was overwhelming.
The resemblance was clear: this was Jin Shitai's father, Elder Lieyangzi Jin Rilie, one of the Great Elders of Yuhua Sect.
Unlike the examiners at the Feathered City, who were mere half-elders, Jin Rilie was a true powerhouse—his cultivation deep and terrifying, his status above even most true disciples. He was one of the sect's pillars, a man whose words could shake mountains.
"Hmph. Fang Qingxue? Her cultivation is only at the third level of the Origin Strength Realm—I know her limits. Stone Dragonzi has mastered the Instant-Kill Technique; even ordinary elders can't match him. How could she harm either of you? And this wound…" His gaze sharpened. "There's demonic energy here. This is the mark of the Bone Relic Shadow Demon—a technique of the Innate Demon Sect. Fang Qingxue may dabble in demonic arts, but she could never manifest this. Did you provoke the Demon Commander, Ying Tianqing?"
"Everyone knows Fang Qingxue has been consorting with that little demon!" Jin Shitai hissed. "Father, you must make this right!"
"Of course I'll handle it," Jin Rilie said coldly. "But your arm will need to be replaced—with the limb of a Demon King from the Sky Demon Realm or an Asura Lord. I'll also need to ask Elder Danyangzi for a Qianyang Bone-Replacement Pill to attach it."
"I can wait, Father," Jin Shitai said through clenched teeth. "But I want justice first. I want Fang Qingxue punished—publicly! Let Elder Tianxing judge her, and cut off her arm in return!"
"Very well," Jin Rilie's sleeve swept through the air, his voice like thunder. "Follow me—to the Heavenly Tribunal!"