Ye Chen dragged himself into a shallow, moss-choked cave. He spent a feverish night nursing his torn shoulder in the damp dark, sustained only by the system's residual Qi. By dawn, the severe bleeding had finally stopped. He stumbled outside, desperate to test his newly forged weapon.
Ye Chen stepped back from the massive stone boulder. He took a deep breath of the humid forest air.
He gathered the chaotic Qi inside his newly repaired meridians. He concentrated the heavy energy entirely at the tip of his calloused right knuckles.
He lunged forward with explosive speed and drove his fist directly into the solid rock.
The heavy boulder shattered instantly. Thick clouds of gray stone dust exploded violently into the dark forest canopy.
A sharp and agonizing crack echoed directly up Ye Chen's arm. He fell heavily to his knees in the dirt.
He clutched his right forearm tightly. The bone had fractured severely under the immense kinetic recoil of his own attack.
"The system gave me absolutely perfect technique," Ye Chen grunted through the blinding pain. "But my body is completely inadequate."
His Stage 3 Body Tempering physique was simply too weak. His fragile mortal bones could not contain the violent shockwave generated by the Chaos Bone Shattering Fist. He needed a much stronger physical foundation immediately.
He spent the next seven days living as an absolute savage deep within the Myriad Beast Forest.
He discarded his torn and bloodied servant robes entirely. He wrapped his body in the thick and heavy pelts of the beasts he slaughtered.
It was a brutal and merciless existence. He hunted lesser beasts constantly through the dark undergrowth. He extracted their Qi and devoured their spiritual essence without hesitation.
He used his fractured arm as a harsh and unforgiving teacher. Every single strike he threw sent fresh agony shooting straight up to his shoulder.
He forced his body to heal the micro fractures rapidly using the absorbed qi energy. The constant cycle of violent destruction and rapid healing forged his body anew.
His muscles grew significantly denser to handle the heavy impact velocity. The deep malnutrition of the past three years vanished completely from his frame.
On the seventh night, a familiar and intense heat exploded inside his dantian. The accumulated beast Qi finally breached the internal dam holding him back.
[Congratulations! Host has advanced to Body Tempering Stage 4.]
Ye Chen stood up tall in the dark forest clearing. He was no longer the frail and starved stable boy who accepted beatings.
His chest was broad and heavily scarred from numerous close encounters with fangs and claws. His muscles were lean and built purely for absolute lethal efficiency.
A sudden rustling in the thick bushes interrupted his thoughts.
A pack of Grade 1 Iron Tusk Boars charged directly into his clearing. There were six of them in total. Their razor sharp tusks gleamed dangerously in the pale moonlight.
Ye Chen did not even bother to circulate his heavy chaotic Qi. He stepped calmly into the direct path of the massive lead boar.
He delivered a simple and incredibly fast open palm strike directly to its thick skull.
The heavy beast dropped dead instantly. Its skull was completely pulverized by his raw baseline physical strength alone. He did not need his specialized fist technique for such weak prey anymore.
He dispatched the remaining five beasts in less than ten seconds. He moved exactly like a ghost among the panicking animals. He snapped their heavy necks with effortless precision.
He commanded the system to extract their spiritual essence immediately. A tiny stream of weak Qi entered his lower abdomen.
"This is completely useless," Ye Chen sighed in deep frustration.
The extracted energy from lesser beasts barely registered on his progression bar anymore. He had officially hit a severe cultivation bottleneck.
He needed to reach Stage 5 rapidly to survive the inevitable confrontation with the inner sect.
The Chaos Body Tempering Art was a demanding technique. It required incredibly pure spiritual fuel to evolve further.
He desperately needed specialized medicinal pills and a proper internal Qi cultivation method. The system had not provided him with any internal breathing arts during his rapid progression.
His system point balance was entirely empty. He could not afford any locked items in the Shop interface. He had to return to the human world to acquire these resources manually.
He waited patiently until the moon was hidden completely behind thick black clouds. He moved silently toward the outermost fringes of the Azure Cloud Sect.
He avoided the heavily guarded main gates entirely. He scaled the sheer western stone wall using only his bare hands.
He slipped seamlessly right past the Enforcement Hall patrols standing completely unaware below him.
Fatty Wang ran the lucrative black market of the outer sect. His real name was forgotten by everyone who dealt with him.
He traded heavily in stolen sect resources. He smuggled banned contraband and sold highly dangerous information to the highest bidder.
His hidden operation was located deep inside a rotting wooden storehouse near the lowest servant quarters.
The heavy wooden door creaked open violently.
Fatty Wang jumped in his seat. He reached quickly for a hidden poison dagger taped under his messy wooden desk.
A tall figure stepped slowly out of the dark shadows. He was covered completely in dried black blood and wore the ragged pelt of a shadow panther. His eyes burned with a cold and terrifying intensity.
"Put the knife away," Ye Chen commanded quietly. "You do not know how to use it properly anyway."
Fatty Wang dropped the dagger in sheer terror. His jaw fell wide open. He stared blankly at the face of the boy the entire sect thought was dead.
"Ye Chen?" Wang gasped loudly. "Elder Wang issued a massive kill order for you. Everyone says you were eaten alive in the forest last week."
"I was busy," Ye Chen replied coldly. He walked slowly toward the greasy merchant. "And I need resources immediately."
He tossed a heavy leather sack directly onto the wooden desk. The sack hit the wood with a loud and incredibly dense thud.
Fatty Wang opened the leather sack with severely trembling hands. The dim candlelight of the room caught the brilliant blue glow emanating from inside the bag.
"Grade 1 beast cores," Wang whispered in pure disbelief. "There are dozens of them in here. A hunting party of elite outer disciples would take a full month to gather this many."
"I gathered them in seven days," Ye Chen stated flatly. "I want to trade them right now."
Wang swallowed hard. The absolute predatory aura radiating from Ye Chen was completely suffocating.
"What exactly do you want for these?" Wang asked nervously. "I have low grade steel swords. I have basic healing salves from the alchemy pavilion."
"Do not insult me with garbage," Ye Chen narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I demand a high tier internal Qi manual. I also want Grade 4 Marrow Cleansing Pills."
Fatty Wang laughed nervously. He wiped thick sweat from his greasy forehead using his silk sleeve.
"My body needs to withstand a massive upgrade," Ye Chen explained impatiently. "Do you have the items or not?"
"You are completely crazy," Wang shook his head rapidly. "Grade 4 pills belong strictly to the inner sect elite. High tier internal manuals are kept securely under guard in the grand library."
"Then find them for me," Ye Chen stepped much closer to the desk. "Or I will take my highly profitable business to someone else."
Ye Chen leaned over the desk menacingly. "I might even tell the Enforcement Hall exactly where your little operation is located on my way out."
"Wait!" Wang raised both hands in immediate surrender. "I do not possess those rare items here in my shop. But I know exactly where you can find them tonight."
Ye Chen stopped moving. He waited silently for the terrified merchant to explain further.
"There is a Ghost Market happening tonight," Wang whispered conspiratorially. "It is an illegal gathering located deep inside the abandoned mining caves beneath the sect."
"A black market," Ye Chen clarified calmly.
"It is much bigger and much more dangerous than a simple market," Wang corrected him quickly. "Masks are strictly mandatory for all attendees."
Wang leaned in closer. "Inner and outer disciples mix freely without revealing their true identities. Even corrupt sect Elders attend secretly to sell their stolen goods."
"Why would a high tier manual be available there tonight?" Ye Chen demanded sharply.
"Elder Zhao from the alchemy pavilion was disgraced and quietly executed yesterday," Wang explained eagerly. "His entire private estate is being fenced in the caves tonight to avoid official confiscation."
Wang pointed a fat finger at the bag of glowing beast cores. "His personal internal Qi manual is the grand prize of the auction. Your beast cores will easily buy you a seat at the table."
Ye Chen looked down at his heavily scarred and powerful hands.
His chaotic energy was tearing through his newly forged muscles. A proper internal manual would finally allow him to regulate his power safely. It was the exact key he needed to breach the next stage of his cultivation.
"Give me a mask," Ye Chen ordered the greasy merchant. "And give me exact directions to the mining caves."