Translator: CinderTL
At home.
"It's finally here!"
Jiang Ye stared at the message on his watch, taking a deep breath.
The Cosmic Divine Path Certification Trial.
Thanks to Zhao Qingli's help, he hadn't needed to register himself; she had already secured his participation through internal channels.
"Ten days left," Jiang Ye mused. "I must use these ten days to maximize my combat power."
He glanced at his status panel:
[Cultivation Techniques]
[Star Martial Cultivation Method: Perfection]
[Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist: Major Success (78%)]
[Star Martial Advancement Method: Small Success (20%)]
After more than two months of arduous cultivation, Jiang Ye's progress was remarkable.
Not only had he achieved Small Success in the Star Martial Advancement Method, but his Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist had also skyrocketed from 4% to 78%.
Of course, this progress was inseparable from his monthly expenses of over a hundred thousand yuan. Without such substantial financial support, even an Upper A-tier physique couldn't have advanced so rapidly.
"Just one final cosmic tempering remains before my first breakthrough," Jiang Ye mused.
Achieving Small Success in the Star Martial Advancement Method already met the threshold for the first breakthrough. His Guanyuan Acupoint could now contain a hundred thousand strands of stellar energy. However, his physical transformation remained incomplete, requiring one last cosmic tempering.
In short, Jiang Ye's first breakthrough was now a certainty.
"Still," Jiang Ye pondered, "breaking through to the first breakthrough carries risks. I'll need to use Body Protection Potions."
Shattering life's shackles was no trivial matter. While it wasn't usually fatal, cases of failed breakthroughs leading to shattered meridians and permanent debilitation were not uncommon.
"If the first breakthrough goes smoothly, my next goal is to push the Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist to Perfection as quickly as possible," Jiang Ye planned.
The Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist was a combat art technique.
Ordinary martial dao ingredients like leopard gall and tiger gallbladder couldn't accelerate cultivation progress.
However, martial ginseng of the profound tier or higher could enhance comprehension and greatly boost cultivation power.
With this in mind, Jiang Ye opened his smartwatch's contacts, found Zhao Qingli's profile, and sent her a text message:
Jiang Ye: Class Monitor, thank you for your help with this matter.
He had barely sent the message when a reply buzzed back:
Zhao Qingli: Just remember our agreement.
Jiang Ye: Got it. Once I succeed in the trial, I'll transfer the hundred thousand yuan to you. (/smirking emoji)
Zhao Qingli: ...
Jiang Ye stared at her response, scratching his head in confusion.
Why the ellipsis?
Could the agreement she's referring to be something else?
After a moment's thought, he sent another message.
Jiang Ye: By the way, want to grab a meal sometime? My treat.
This time, Zhao Qingli took a while to reply.
Zhao Qingli: Sure.
"So that's what she meant," Jiang Ye muttered, a strange expression on his face.
Compared to the hundred thousand yuan, Zhao Qingli seemed more interested in his offer to treat her?
He shook his head and typed another message.
Jiang Ye: Class monitor, I need to buy some low-grade profound martial ginseng. 300 grams should be enough.
Zhao Qingli: Okay, I'll bring it tomorrow.
Jiang Ye: One more thing. I want to attempt my first breakthrough during the cosmic tempering in three days. Do you have any Body Protection Potions?
Zhao Qingli: Mad Dragon Potion, thirty thousand yuan per bottle.
Jiang Ye: Can you give me a discount?
Zhao Qingli: That's the cost price. Take it or leave it.
Jiang Ye put down his smartwatch and took a deep breath, a pang of regret twisting his features.
Low-grade profound martial ginseng was incredibly expensive, with 300 grams costing at least a hundred thousand yuan.
Adding the thirty thousand for the potion, his wallet would be completely empty again!
But for the upcoming Cosmic Divine Path Certification, he had no choice but to splurge this once.
"Cultivation," Jiang Ye muttered, focusing his mind and beginning to practice the Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
It was time for cosmic tempering again. Jiang Ye boarded the school bus and arrived at the water-blue cubic building.
To his surprise, the Star Practitioner present this time was none other than Star Envoy Liu—Liu Beimu—whom he had first encountered during his initial cosmic tempering session.
"Greetings, Star Envoy Liu," Jiang Ye said, offering a polite greeting.
"Hmm," Liu Beimu replied with a slight nod.
After Jiang Ye entered the Purification Pool, Liu Beimu gazed in his direction, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "This kid... he seems to have grown considerably stronger since I last saw him."
Liu Beimu had been away from Ancheng for some time. His current visit was primarily due to a mission in the city, and he had decided to undergo cosmic tempering while passing through.
One of the duties of a Star Practitioner was to undergo cosmic tempering.
"Last time, this kid lasted seven days in the Purification Pool," Liu Beimu recalled, feeling a pang of concern. "I hope he doesn't last even longer this time..."
In the Purification Pool, Wang Zi'ang remained seated beside Jiang Ye.
"Brother Jiang," Wang Zi'ang said curiously, "I heard you're attempting your first breakthrough this time?"
"The first breakthrough isn't as simple as it sounds," Jiang Ye replied, shaking his head. "I'm not even confident myself."
Wang Zi'ang scoffed. "You're just playing your usual 'underestimate yourself first, then surprise everyone' trick, aren't you? I bet you're absolutely brimming with confidence this time!"
Jiang Ye remained silent for a moment before saying, "This is the first breakthrough, after all. I've heard it can be risky."
"Then I sincerely wish you success with your first breakthrough," Wang Zi'ang said earnestly.
As they spoke, the cosmic tempering had already begun.
Time flowed by.
Jiang Ye closed his eyes, focusing on refining the stellar energy within his Guanyuan Acupoint.
Streams of pale silver stellar energy, almost sentient, surged from the acupoint, permeating every meridian and bone in his body.
Refined by his bones and meridians, the energy then returned to the Guanyuan Acupoint.
90%
92%
95%
99%
Jiang Ye was already on the verge of his first breakthrough.
Under the cosmic energy's tempering, his physical strength continued to surge, relentlessly climbing until it reached that critical threshold!
"We're here," Jiang Ye murmured.
A feeling akin to spring snow melting surged from the depths of his soul, filling him with a sense of profound clarity.
In that instant, every cell in his body seemed to expand and relax.
"Cells are the fundamental building blocks of the human body," he recalled his teacher saying. "But they are also the first shackles that bind us."
"What is the first breakthrough?"
"The first breakthrough means breaching the cellular defenses, allowing every cell in your body to absorb and fuse with stellar energy."
This requirement alone demanded extraordinary physical resilience.
Through rigorous cultivation of the Star Martial Cultivation Method and the Star Martial Advancement Method, Jiang Ye had already brought his body to this standard.
All that remained was to shatter the final shackles of the human form.
Without hesitation, Jiang Ye produced a metal vial.
"Mad Dragon Potion," he muttered, a flicker of regret crossing his eyes.
The vial was small, barely half the size of his palm, transparent throughout, revealing a wine-red liquid that shimmered like amber within.
Thirty thousand credits per bottle!
Pop! Jiang Ye opened the bottle and drained it in one gulp.
"Let's begin," he said, immediately activating the Star Martial Advancement Method.
The Advancement Method's energy circulation pathways inherently contained a technique to break through life's shackles.
Whoosh!
As Jiang Ye began circulating his energy, every cell in his body seemed to come alive, surging with restless energy.
Under a microscope, one would have been horrified to discover that countless cells across his body had split open, each bearing a tiny fissure.
This was an utterly astonishing phenomenon.
For an ordinary person, such cellular damage would have resulted in instant death.
Fortunately, a warm energy coursed through Jiang Ye's body, spreading throughout his system.
"The Mad Dragon Potion is taking effect," Jiang Ye silently observed.
The Mad Dragon Potion protected his meridians, muscles, and even individual cells—an effect no ordinary martial dao ingredient could achieve. This was precisely why martial dao potions were so highly valued.
Under the potion's protection, Jiang Ye's cells began absorbing and integrating cosmic energy, undergoing constant tempering.
"Most of my cells are undergoing transformation," Jiang Ye sensed.
"This is the true process of becoming transcendent."
He continued circulating his energy relentlessly.
As time passed, he could feel the hundred thousand strands of stellar energy flowing into his limbs and bones like a surging river, an endless torrent of power.
The stellar energy fused into his bones and meridians, a process entirely different from the superficial integration during refining. This time, it penetrated deep into his bone marrow, truly and completely merging with his bone cells, becoming inseparable, like two halves of a whole.
"Every inch of my meridians is vibrating."
"So powerful!"
Jiang Ye felt a primordial force awakening within him, his life's essence steadily ascending to new heights.
If breaking through his life's shackles had a progress bar, he was now sprinting toward his first breakthrough at a rate of 10% per minute.
20%
30%
40%
90%
100%
At the precise moment his life's essence reached its peak, Jiang Ye's body became utterly transparent. Stellar energy surged from his Guanyuan Acupoint, flowing upward to the Heavenly Gate and downward to the depths of his bone marrow.
Boom!
In an instant, a formidable qi prowess erupted from Jiang Ye's body. This energy, refined to its absolute limit and completely integrated with his being, was the essence of his stellar energy. As it coursed through his bones and meridians, it flowed like molten lava through the planet's core, generating an intense life magnetic field.
This was the Martial Dao Aura, also known as transcendent pressure.
"So that's what it is," Jiang Ye murmured, his eyes gleaming with sudden understanding.
Previously, he had never truly grasped the concept of Martial Dao Aura.
In that moment, he understood.
This wasn't just the crushing dominance of the strong over the weak.
It symbolized his life's ascension!
"After nearly three years of cultivation, finally!" Jiang Ye's heart surged with heat. "I've broken free from life's shackles!"
Boom!
An uncontrollable surge of qi prowess erupted from his body.
Simultaneously,
Every face in the Purification Pool paled as all eyes snapped toward Jiang Ye's location.
"He's broken through to the first breakthrough!"
"So powerful... I feel like I should kneel."
"Is this what a cosmic martial artist is like? This qi prowess makes me tremble."
Many felt their expressions shift in alarm.
Nearby, Wang Zi'ang was speechless. "You said you weren't confident, and you break through in just half an hour!"
Outside the Purification Pool,
A flicker of surprise crossed Liu Beimu's eyes. "That kid... he's already reached the first breakthrough?"
"Lucky brat. He breaks through on his final cosmic tempering session before the College Entrance Examination."
"Looks like he has a shot at getting into one of the top-tier universities in the twenty-five school alliance," Liu Beimu murmured, nodding slightly.
Within the twenty-five school alliance, aside from Penglai University, the other top-tier universities typically require scores around 850.
Achieving the first breakthrough makes reaching that score effortless.
Turning to Zhang Jianwu beside him, Liu Beimu remarked in surprise, "Director Zhang, you don't seem the least bit surprised?"
Zhang Jianwu chuckled. "Star Envoy Liu, you probably don't know this, but this kid's goal is Penglai University. The first breakthrough is just his starting point."
"Penglai University?" Liu Beimu was slightly surprised.
"The admission score for Penglai University this year has been basically finalized," Liu Beimu murmured. "It's 890 points or higher!"
He shook his head. "This kid still has a long way to go."
"890 points, huh?" Zhang Jianwu mused. "Subtracting the 20 points for his Second-Tier Reserve Star Professional Position, Jiang Ye still needs quite a few more points. That's going to be tough."
Liu Beimu was astonished. "He's already a Second-Tier Reserve Star Professional?"
Zhang Jianwu nodded slightly.
"No wonder."
Liu Beimu took a deep breath and looked at Jiang Ye again, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Primitive innate talent, yet he's already a Second-Tier Reserve Star Professional?"
No one can predict this kid's future, Liu Beimu thought to himself.
Jiang Ye, of course, was unaware of these thoughts.
The moment his life level reached the first breakthrough, several lines of text instantly appeared before him:
[Detected: Your strength has reached the system's new upper limit!]
[Unlocked Title: Martial Dao Great Grandmaster!]
[Martial Dao Great Grandmaster: Mastery beyond comprehension, reaching the pinnacle of martial arts. The second great peak of the martial dao. Before the Great Grandmaster, even Grandmasters are but ants.]
[Reward: Dao Bone Reshaping]
"This system's upper limit... it just keeps going up and up?" Jiang Ye stared at the panel, speechless.
He had already surpassed the Low-Martial System's initial limit when he achieved Major Success in his cultivation method. Yet with each breakthrough, the system claimed he had reached a new upper limit.
Could it be that the Low-Martial System's upper limit actually referred to the multiverse of low-martial worlds, allowing for infinite scaling?
"A low martial world must have an absolute maximum value," Jiang Ye speculated. "But I wonder how strong one needs to become to reach that peak."
A flicker of anticipation stirred within him.
In this world, he could exploit glitches to test the system's limits.
For instance, by riding a hypersonic aircraft?
Or even a starship?
Jiang Ye had considered these possibilities before, but he hadn't yet put them into action.
"Dao bone reshaping?" Jiang Ye's gaze shifted to the reward.
The panel subtly updated:
[Low-Martial Achievement System]
[Physique: Mortal Body (Upper A-tier) → Profound Physique (Upper D-tier)]
[Cultivation Techniques]
[Star Martial Cultivation Method: Perfection]
[Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist: Major Success (79%)]
[Star Martial Advancement Method: Small Success (20%)]
[Achievements]
[Martial Arts Grandmaster, Patriarch's Friend, The More You Fight, the Stronger You Become, Exterminate Demons and Uphold Justice, Martial Dao Great Grandmaster]
[Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder]
[Second Layer]
"My physique has advanced from a mortal body to a profound physique?"
"And it's even a Upper D-tier profound physique?" Jiang Ye exclaimed, his face lighting up with surprise.
A profound physique—that's a physique on par with dao bone!
He had suspected he would advance to a profound physique this time, but he never imagined the system would directly elevate him to Upper D-tier.
If he remembered correctly, Wan Yaoyang from Qingyang High School only had a Lower D-tier physique.
"This feels amazing, absolutely incredible," Jiang Ye murmured, his voice filled with genuine awe.
Having just achieved his first breakthrough, he was already in a state of unparalleled bliss. Now, the system had directly reshaped his dao bone, causing his body to undergo a further transformation.
The sensation was transcendent, even more exhilarating than flying on a starship.
However, what Jiang Ye was most eagerly anticipating was something else entirely.
"Now that I've achieved my first breakthrough, I can finally enter the third layer of the Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder!"
"I wonder what form the assessment on the third layer will take?"
Jiang Ye's heart raced with anticipation.
(End of the Chapter)
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Translator's Corner
🙏Sorry for the delayed chapters. Had a technical issue. To read ahead please go to the site. It is always updated first.
𝟏𝟒 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 | 𝟖.𝟒𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 | 𝟏𝟒.𝟐𝐌 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 [𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦]