Chapter 10

After the hour of Zi passed, Zhang Xin awoke from his meditation. As soon as he regained consciousness, he felt a significant increase in his total spiritual energy, at least by nearly one-tenth. Moreover, in terms of strength, there was also a considerable improvement, about ten percent.

Indeed, the 'Spirit Ascension Pill' lived up to its name. Although the 'ten percent' increase was due to his small base, the gains from just this hour were equivalent to about a month of cultivation.

Zhang Xin sighed inwardly, feeling that his divine soul was indeed too weak. According to his knowledge, the effects of the 'Spirit Ascension Pill' were not just limited to this. If used on others, even those with the most ordinary aptitude, the increase in spiritual energy would far exceed his own.

However, there was no need to regret. He had indeed fully absorbed the effects of the Spirit Ascension Pill, and the majority of it was used to replenish the deficiencies in his divine soul.

His divine soul's injuries were too severe. Over the past three years, even with all his efforts, he could only make his divine consciousness appear intact. In reality, it was still a mess.

Then, Zhang Xin leaped up and began performing some strange movements in the room. As time passed, his skin turned a bright red.

"Master, what are you doing? Is it Tai Chi? It doesn't seem like it. It looks more like yoga."

Ruo'er had already finished scanning the spirit pills and was now full of curiosity.

"This is the 'Clear Body Cloud Body Technique' of the Sun and Moon Mystic Sect, specifically used to clear out the toxins from the pills!"

Zhang Xin replied with a hint of annoyance, continuing the movements. By now, he was sweating profusely, and the sweat had a strong, pungent smell.

In fact, this technique not only cleared out the toxins but also reduced the body's resistance to the pill's effects.

Whether it was the Spirit Ascension Pill he had just taken or the Nourishing Spirit Pill and Essence Nourishing Pill, taking a certain quantity would render them ineffective. If the Spirit Ascension Pill was used too early, the Nourishing Spirit Pill and Essence Nourishing Pill would also have reduced effects in the future. Therefore, spirit masters took pills in a gradual manner.

Xie Ling'er was determined to help him pass the three entrance trials, so she disregarded the consequences, which suited Zhang Xin's plans.

Failing to become an inner disciple could mean wasting several years outside. Why not take the risk now?

Apart from the order of taking pills, each sect had some unique methods to reduce the body's resistance to pills.

The 'Clear Body Cloud Body Technique' of the Sun and Moon Mystic Sect was one of them. The set of movements Zhang Xin was performing was slightly different, as he had improved it himself, enhancing its effectiveness by about thirty to forty percent. He originally intended to submit it to the Scripture Hall to earn contribution points, but it hadn't happened before the incident.

"Toxins? I said before that I could help you detect toxins."

"But if they are detected, can't you still take them? Others use them this way, so don't worry about it."

Zhang Xin only stopped after performing the set of movements four times. He then immediately rushed to the bathhouse to wash himself clean, feeling refreshed and light.

He had a mild obsession with cleanliness and couldn't tolerate the pungent smell on his body.

However, Zhang Xin did not go to sleep after that. Upon returning to the dormitory, he picked up the long sword 'Qiu Lan' and began swinging it continuously in the room.

—This was his usual practice before the hour of Zi, but it had been delayed due to reminiscing with Xie Ling'er.

Ruo'er was not surprised by this, but she was concerned about Zhang Xin's body: "Master, why are you still practicing this? You're already so tired today, meow."

"I can't stop practicing!"

Zhang Xin's eyes were sharp, and he showed no sign of wavering as he continued to swing his arms, creating a dazzling trail of light.

The room was not very spacious, but Zhang Xin deliberately did not move his feet while practicing. This way, just swinging the sword in all directions was enough.

"But I still don't understand, what's the point of practicing this? Master said that if his constitution doesn't improve, his sword skills won't progress."

Ye Ruo scratched her face, puzzled: "Isn't Master planning to become a spirit master? Why practice the sword? The spirit techniques of the Mo Palace today were much more powerful than Master's sword skills. Hmm, can you achieve the 'intention preceding the action' this way?"

"How could that be? 'Intention preceding the action' cannot be achieved through this method. I am just getting familiar with the nature of the sword."

Zhang Xin laughed, then explained after a moment of thought: "Do you remember the battle realms I told you about, such as 'intention preceding the action' and 'intention and action advancing together'?"

"Um! Yes, Master said it, and I won't forget a single word."

Ye Ruo nodded: "Intention preceding the action, intention and action advancing together, action preceding the intention, and ultimate action concealing the intention. In the same realm, a cultivator who has mastered the second battle realm, 'intention and action advancing together,' can defeat ten cultivators who have mastered 'intention preceding the action.' After mastering the third battle realm, 'action preceding the intention,' one can fight ten cultivators who have mastered 'intention and action advancing together.' Different battle realms result in vastly different combat power. I also said that it's like the online game 'Heavenly War Emperor' where Master spent over a million federal coins but still lost to those skilled players because of poor technique."

Zhang Xin ignored the strange words Ye Ruo used and continued explaining: "Above 'ultimate action concealing the intention,' there are realms such as 'spiritual energy refinement,' 'human and weapon as one,' 'three flowers converging at the top,' 'five qi converging at the origin,' 'emulating heaven and earth,' 'harmony with heaven and earth,' 'all phenomena becoming clear,' and 'primordial spirit entering the path.' There are twelve battle realms in total. Among them, 'human and weapon as one' refers to a spirit master's control over their life-bound spirit weapon. As the name suggests, it means making the life-bound spirit weapon as much a part of the body as a limb."

Ye Ruo still didn't understand: "Is Master practicing the sword to achieve 'human and weapon as one'?"

"Something like that! Actually, I also want to change my habits, but it's not easy. I used to use a sword, and now I use a saber. If I'm not careful, I'll treat the saber like a sword."

Zhang Xin sighed and continued swinging the saber. As his speed increased, a faint humming sound began to fill the room.

Knowing that the dormitory had excellent soundproofing, Zhang Xin practiced without restraint, stopping only after two thousand swings. He then hurriedly went to bed and fell asleep immediately.

—In the past, Zhang Xin's goal was to reach at least five thousand swings until his arms could no longer bear it.

But Ye Ruo was right; he was indeed extremely tired. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he lost consciousness.

When Zhang Xin woke up the next day, it was already mid-morning.

He had overslept, but he didn't mind much. Today was the loser's group match, and even if he slept all day, it wouldn't matter.

However, he soon noticed that Ye Ruo was floating beside his bed, staring at a holographic table with a puzzled look.

"What are you looking at?"

Zhang Xin glanced at the table and saw strange characters he couldn't understand.

"It's the scan results of the Spirit Ascension Pill from yesterday and the record of Master's physical condition at the time."

With a wave of Ye Ruo's hand, the characters on the table changed to those of the Sky Dome Continent.

But Zhang Xin still couldn't understand them—vitamin one, vitamin three, vitamin twelve, water molecules, sodium atoms, and so on.

However, he vaguely guessed the part on the right side of the chart, which seemed to indicate the effects of these components on his body.

"Did you find anything?"

Zhang Xin's tone was teasing. Just by looking at Ye Ruo's troubled expression, he knew she had found little.

"Nothing at all!"

Ye Ruo hugged her knees, looking dejected: "No matter how I analyze it, I can't explain how the pill increased Master's mental strength by one-tenth in just one night."

"Here, it should be called 'spiritual energy.'"

Zhang Xin corrected her, then smiled: "If you could understand it, that would be truly strange! The seven great mystic sects of the Sky Dome Continent, with so many divine masters and holy spirit masters, have studied for over two hundred thousand years and still can't figure it out. They can only explain it with a vague yin-yang system. If you could uncover its secrets in a day, that would be truly remarkable."