Chapter 1

In the Heavenly Storm Kingdom, at the Xuanwu City, and within the Xuanwu Academy.

The sun blazed overhead.

On the square, hundreds of laborers were carrying bricks to build a combat platform.

The scorching weather had drenched their clothes in sweat.

The bricks were heavy, each weighing about a hundred pounds, and each person could barely carry one brick at a time.

A teenager, about fifteen or sixteen years old, named Ye Tian, looked up at the scorching sun, wiped the sweat from his forehead, gritted his teeth, and lifted three heavy bricks, his young face filled with determination.

"Look, isn't that Ye Tian?"

"I heard that this guy has been training at the Xuanwu Academy for three years but couldn't even condense a single strand of spiritual energy, so he was demoted to a laborer. The Xuanwu Academy has already stopped providing him with cultivation resources."

"Even in this situation, Ye Tian still doesn't give up on martial arts? For three years, he has only been able to earn cultivation resources by doing such hard labor."

"If Ye Tian can't pass this year's trial, he will be expelled from the Xuanwu Academy."

"Indeed, what's the point of his persistence? The trial is in three days, and in such a short time, he's not even a martial artist. The outcome is already determined."

The surrounding students who passed by Ye Tian began to whisper among themselves.

Hearing this, Ye Tian's body stiffened. He tightened his grip on the bricks and, without paying attention to them, dragged his heavy steps to the center of the square and placed the bricks down.

Then, Ye Tian walked to an old man who looked to be in his fifties, with white hair, and said, "Elder Lin!"

The old man opened his deep eyes and said, "Today, you carried five thousand bricks and earned five hundred points. Do you want to exchange them all for Qi Condensing Pills?"

Ye Tian nodded and said, "Yes!"

"Eh, Little Tian, having determination is good, but I must advise you, martial arts might not be suitable for you. You are still young, and there are other paths you can take."

Elder Lin advised.

Ye Tian's face was filled with determination, and he clenched his fists, saying, "Becoming a martial arts powerhouse is my dream. If a person doesn't have a dream, what's the difference from a salted fish? No matter how difficult the path of martial arts is, I will grit my teeth and move forward. I will not give up!"

"Ah! Then, work hard!" Elder Lin shook his head and placed four Qi Condensing Pills in Ye Tian's hand.

"Elder Lin, there's one extra."

Ye Tian said.

His contribution points were only enough to exchange for three Qi Condensing Pills.

"The extra one is a gift for you."

Elder Lin said.

Ye Tian tightened his grip on the pills, looked at the old man who had always taken good care of him, and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Elder Lin."

Elder Lin waved his hand and said, "Go, go!"

Ye Tian nodded, turned around, and returned to his residence.

In a secluded corner of the Xuanwu Academy, there was a piece of wasteland, and on this wasteland stood a thatched cottage.

This was where Ye Tian lived.

The thatched cottage was built by Ye Tian himself.

The Xuanwu Academy had a rule: if a student's realm did not improve within the first year of entering the academy, they would be demoted to a laborer.

Ye Tian had been in the academy for three years and was not even a martial artist, let alone improved his realm.

Naturally, he was demoted to a laborer.

The Xuanwu Academy would not invest any cultivation resources in laborers.

Therefore, most people who became laborers would leave the Xuanwu Academy.

Those who wanted to stay had to solve their own food, clothing, shelter, and cultivation resources.

Moreover, laborers had to participate in the annual trial. If they failed for three consecutive years, they would be expelled from the academy.

Ye Tian had failed the trial for two consecutive years, and this year's trial would be his last chance.

The trial was in three days.

In such a short time, the pressure on Ye Tian was unimaginable. He could only place all his hopes on the mysterious thing inside his body.

No one knew that in Ye Tian's dantian, there was a black cube, which was the culprit preventing him from condensing spiritual energy.

This black cube had been in his body since he was transported to this world.

Indeed, Ye Tian was a穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, which translates to "transmigrator" in English). On a dark and stormy night, he, a college student, was transported to this world called the Nine Provinces Continent.

In this world, martial arts were prevalent, and the strong were revered. The weak were bullied and preyed upon.

To become a martial artist, one must first condense spiritual energy.

Ye Tian had not condensed a single strand of spiritual energy in three years.

It wasn't that Ye Tian couldn't condense spiritual energy; it was that every time he cultivated, the spiritual energy that entered his body was absorbed and devoured by the black cube before it could be converted into spiritual energy.

Over time, Ye Tian discovered that while the black cube absorbed and devoured spiritual energy, it also helped to unblock all his eight extraordinary meridians.

Being able to unblock the eight extraordinary meridians by the age of fifteen or sixteen meant having an extremely solid foundation, and the cultivation speed was several times that of ordinary people.

In other words, as long as the black cube stopped absorbing spiritual energy, he could easily condense spiritual energy and become a martial artist, and he could break through his realm in a short time.

In recent days, the black cube's absorption of spiritual energy from the world had gradually slowed down.

Ye Tian speculated that the black cube was approaching a saturated state.

If he gave the black cube all four Qi Condensing Pills, it would definitely reach saturation.

At that time, the black cube would no longer absorb his spiritual energy, and he could condense spiritual energy and become a martial artist.

Ye Tian sat cross-legged on the thatched cottage's roof, swallowed the four Qi Condensing Pills, and began to cultivate using the most basic cultivation technique of the Xuanwu Academy, the Qi Condensing Technique.

As soon as the four Qi Condensing Pills entered his body, they transformed into pure spiritual energy, which was absorbed and devoured by the black cube.

The black cube gradually reached a saturated state.

Suddenly, the black cube trembled, emitting a dazzling black light, and began to transform and recombine.

Soon, ancient characters appeared on the black cube that Ye Tian couldn't understand.

At that moment, the black cube was covered in cracks and exploded, turning into points of starlight that disappeared.

At the same time, an ancient and authoritative voice echoed in Ye Tian's mind.

"Awaken the bloodline talent, Divine Insight!"

Awaken... bloodline talent?

The sudden happiness left Ye Tian stunned.

He had read about bloodline talents in an ancient book.

Those who could awaken bloodline talents were one in ten thousand, each a favorite of heaven, possessing mysterious and unpredictable abilities. They were the most dangerous and terrifying people in the world.

They were usually referred to as "monsters strong beyond measure."

Divine Insight, enhancing the understanding of all things in the world!

Shaking his head to suppress his excitement, Ye Tian stopped thinking and focused on the immediate task of condensing spiritual energy to become a martial artist.

Ye Tian began to cultivate using the Qi Condensing Technique.

An hour later, Ye Tian opened his eyes and shook his head. "Still too slow."

Although the black cube no longer competed for spiritual energy, the Qi Condensing Technique's absorption of spiritual energy from the world was too slow. It would be very difficult for him to break through his realm in just three days.

Right, Divine Insight!

Ye Tian activated his bloodline talent, Divine Insight, entering an extremely focused state, and then began to cultivate again using the Qi Condensing Technique.

In the state of Divine Insight, Ye Tian's understanding ability increased several times, and he discovered hundreds of flaws in the Qi Condensing Technique.

"I didn't expect the Qi Condensing Technique to have so many flaws. If I avoid these flaws or try to correct them, will my cultivation speed be greatly improved?"

Ye Tian immediately implemented this idea, correcting the flaws in the Qi Condensing Technique while in the state of Divine Insight.

Soon, Ye Tian corrected all the flaws in the Qi Condensing Technique and developed a new method for circulating spiritual energy and absorbing spiritual energy from the world.

"Let's see how effective it is."

Ye Tian immediately began to cultivate using the improved Qi Condensing Technique.

As soon as he started, the spiritual energy from the world rushed into his body, directly entering his dantian.

Half an hour later.

Crack!

A sound of a shackle breaking echoed.

Ye Tian opened his eyes, surprised. "I've already broken through to the First Level of Martial Artist? That's too fast!"

Ye Tian knew the martial arts levels, from lowest to highest: Martial Artist, Martial Master, Great Martial Master, and Martial Ancestor.

Each major level was divided into nine sub-levels.

He was not sure about the levels above that.

Ye Tian continued to cultivate.

An hour later, he broke through to the Second Level of Martial Artist!

Four hours later, he broke through to the Fifth Level of Martial Artist!

...

Two days quickly passed.

In the morning.

Ye Tian, sitting cross-legged on the thatched cottage, slowly opened his eyes, his eyes shining with a sharp light.

"Ninth Level of Martial Artist!"

"Breaking through nine levels in two days!"

"Such a fast cultivation speed, I doubt there is anyone else in the entire Heavenly Storm Kingdom who can match it."

Ye Tian clenched his fists, feeling the surge of power in his body, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Let's see how strong I am now."

Ye Tian went to the testing stone and punched it with all his strength.

Peng!

A line of text appeared on the testing stone.

Twelve oxen of strength!

One ox of strength is a thousand pounds, so twelve oxen equal twelve thousand pounds of strength.

An ordinary Ninth Level Martial Artist has nine oxen of strength, while he had twelve oxen of strength, comparable to a Third Level Martial Master.

To cultivate such powerful spiritual energy, the improved Qi Condensing Technique must have reached the divine level.

"From now on, I will call it the Chaotic Spirit Condensing Technique!"

For the past three years, he had endured cold eyes and humiliation, doing all kinds of hard labor to earn cultivation resources... Now, it was all worth it.

"The trial is in one day, and I haven't learned any martial techniques yet. I need to go to the martial techniques pavilion and choose a few."

After washing up and having breakfast, Ye Tian headed to the martial techniques pavilion.