Chapter 08: Breakthrough

At the top of Luoyan Peak, a deathly silence had fallen. Liu Yong, who possessed the strength of the third level of the Blood Fusion Realm and was about to become a personal disciple of an inner gate elder of the Flowing Cloud Sect, had actually been defeated by Shen Chen, who was only at the first level of the Blood Fusion Realm and had only joined the Flowing Cloud Sect a month ago. Moreover, Liu Yong was unconscious, his life hanging by a thread!

If it weren't for seeing it with their own eyes, who would have believed it?

However, Wu Gang and the others, along with Wang Yue, had witnessed everything with their own eyes!

"Swallow..." Wu Gang and the others swallowed hard, their faces showing extreme shock and fear.

"Senior Brother Shen Chen, you are so amazing!" Wang Yue, standing beside him, gave Shen Chen a thumbs up, completely awed and convinced by Shen Chen.

"Who still doesn't believe me?" Shen Chen coldly scanned Wu Gang and the others.

"We believe! We all believe!"

"We were wrong! We only followed Senior Brother Liu Yong's orders, we were forced to do it!"

"Senior Brother Shen Chen, please be magnanimous and forgive us!"

...

Wu Gang and the others quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look at Shen Chen.

Originally, Wu Gang had planned to teach Shen Chen a lesson after Liu Yong defeated him, to regain some face. But now, how could Wu Gang even think of resisting?

Even Liu Yong, at the third level of the Blood Fusion Realm, was no match for Shen Chen. Wu Gang, who had already been defeated by Shen Chen, didn't stand a chance.

Moreover, Shen Chen was only fifteen years old and had only joined the Flowing Cloud Sect a month ago, yet he already had such strength. Given time, his future was boundless!

Therefore, Wu Gang had completely given up the idea of continuing to oppose Shen Chen and didn't dare to cause him any more trouble.

"Since no one disagrees, why don't you quickly hand over the Body Tempering Pills in your hands? Didn't you agree that the winner would take the Body Tempering Pills?" Shen Chen said with a cold snort.

"Ah... Yes, yes, yes! Senior Brother Shen Chen is right!"

"We lost, we are willing to hand over the Body Tempering Pills!"

...

Wu Gang and the others' faces changed, but they could only take out their Body Tempering Pills from their chests with a dejected look.

Wang Yue glanced at Shen Chen, then ran over to Wu Gang and the others, snatching the jade bottles containing the Body Tempering Pills from their hands with a haughty expression. He then ran to the unconscious Liu Yong, feeling around in his chest and pulling out a small cloth bag. Inside the bag were over forty small jade bottles.

"Damn! Liu Yong, this bastard really is ruthless! He stole so many Body Tempering Pills!" Wang Yue muttered to himself.

Wang Yue, returning to Shen Chen with a full load, was overjoyed, like a child who had never seen the world before and had just received many toys, full of excitement and enthusiasm.

"Get lost! I don't want to see you anymore!" Shen Chen said calmly.

"Yes! Senior Brother Shen Chen, we'll leave right away..." Wu Gang and the others quickly turned and ran, not forgetting to carry the still unconscious Liu Yong.

After Wu Gang and the others had disappeared, Wang Yue shouted loudly.

"We're rich! So many Body Tempering Pills! I've never seen so many in my life!" Wang Yue held a pile of jade bottles containing Body Tempering Pills, burying his head in them.

Since Wang Yue had climbed to the top of Luoyan Peak and stood by Shen Chen, he had decided to stand on the same side as Shen Chen. If they had lost, it would have been just a beating. But now, the unknown Shen Chen had won and obtained so many Body Tempering Pills, Wang Yue was genuinely excited.

"Stop shouting! You'll attract wolves! Come, let's find a hidden place to divide and consume these Body Tempering Pills. It's better to keep them in our stomachs than to leave them and have them stolen by others," Shen Chen patted Wang Yue's head and said with a smile.

Hearing Shen Chen's words, Wang Yue's eyes lit up, and he happily followed Shen Chen into the depths of Luoyan Peak.

Wang Yue heard clearly that Shen Chen said he would share the Body Tempering Pills with him. How could this not excite Wang Yue?

They found a naturally formed, well-hidden cave on Luoyan Peak. Shen Chen and Wang Yue first cut down a few trees to cover the entrance, then took out the Body Tempering Pills.

After counting carefully, including the small cloth bag taken from Liu Yong, Shen Chen and Wang Yue had a total of fifty-six Body Tempering Pills.

Generally, a first-level Blood Fusion Realm martial artist could consume no more than three Body Tempering Pills a day. If they exceeded three, it would cause the blood qi in their body to go berserk, and in severe cases, it could lead to death.

Therefore, Shen Chen directly took out three Body Tempering Pills and handed them to Wang Yue.

"Swallow these three first. We'll cultivate here until we finish all the Body Tempering Pills, then we'll go out," Shen Chen said with a smile.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Shen Chen!" Wang Yue said gratefully.

"If you don't mind, call me Chen Ge in the future. 'Senior Brother' sounds a bit too formal," Shen Chen said with a smile.

"Alright! Chen Ge, from now on, Wang Yue will follow you!" Wang Yue nodded heavily.

The two didn't hesitate, each taking out three Body Tempering Pills, swallowing them, and then sitting cross-legged to guide the spiritual energy from the Body Tempering Pills to flow through their bodies, nourishing their physical bodies.

"Whoosh!" The Body Tempering Pills Shen Chen had just swallowed were instantly devoured by a black vortex that suddenly appeared in his mind.

"This bottomless pit, I wonder how much spiritual energy it will take to fill this hole..." Shen Chen sighed and took out another three Body Tempering Pills, swallowing them.

"Buzz!" The black vortex appeared again, devouring the spiritual energy from the three Body Tempering Pills.

...

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Chen couldn't remember how many Body Tempering Pills he had swallowed. When he swallowed another three, the black vortex in his mind didn't appear again. The spiritual energy from the Body Tempering Pills flowed into Shen Chen's limbs and bones.

Instantly, Shen Chen felt as if he were soaking in a hot spring, with his cells dancing and boiling, warm currents flowing through his meridians, and previously blocked acupoints loosening up like stubborn stones being eroded by the warm currents.

"Great opportunity! Break through!" Shen Chen shouted in his mind, and the blood in his meridians began to flow rapidly according to the cultivation technique. Soon, the blood in Shen Chen's body seemed to be poured into a pot of oil, boiling fiercely.

Following the route described in the "Vast Sea Tidal Technique," the blood qi in Shen Chen's body surged forward, impacting the loosened acupoints.

"Boom..." The surging blood qi fiercely impacted the acupoints, like waves crashing against rocks. However, these rocks were part of Shen Chen's body!

Each impact felt like someone was hammering Shen Chen's bones, causing excruciating pain!

The intense pain made Shen Chen frown and clench his teeth, but he didn't relax for a moment.

At this moment, if he couldn't withstand the pain and gave up, the spiritual energy from the three Body Tempering Pills would be wasted. These Body Tempering Pills, which were not of high quality, might not have been valued by Shen Chen in the past, but now, in the Flowing Cloud Sect, obtaining Body Tempering Pills was extremely difficult.

Shen Chen didn't want to waste the opportunity to enhance his strength!

If Shen Chen had been weaker, he might have been the one lying unconscious on the ground.

This was not the result Shen Chen wanted!

In both his past and present lives, Shen Chen was not someone who would easily give up or let others control him. Even if the other party was a billionaire or a powerful official, if they opposed Shen Chen, he would dare to wield a kitchen knife and fight to the death with them!

This life was no different!

"Not enough! The spiritual energy from three Body Tempering Pills is still too little, I need three more!" Shen Chen thought, taking another three Body Tempering Pills and putting them in his mouth.

"Whoosh..." The three Body Tempering Pills turned into pure spiritual energy, flowing into Shen Chen's blood and bones.

A surge of blood qi rose from Shen Chen's flesh, joining the flood that was impacting the acupoints.

The excessive spiritual energy caused the blood qi to surge, almost bursting Shen Chen's blood vessels. Thin blood marks appeared on Shen Chen's skin, making him look as if he had just been pulled out of a pool of blood.

The intense pain repeatedly assaulted Shen Chen's nerves, but he clenched his teeth and remained silent.

Time passed slowly, and the cave remained deathly silent. Suddenly, a change occurred!

"Boom, boom, boom..." Under the relentless impact of the blood qi in Shen Chen's body, the blocked acupoints were finally opened one by one.

One, two, three... nine!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." The surging blood qi merged into a river, the sound of the blood qi flowing clearly and loudly in the silent cave.

"Buzz..." When nine acupoints on Shen Chen's right arm were connected, a faint green blood qi light instantly condensed, floating quietly on Shen Chen's right arm.

Shen Chen instantly felt a surge of strength throughout his body!

The second level of the Blood Fusion Realm, finally broken through!