Chapter 1048: Tempered a Thousand Times

Fantasy Novel

A short while later, bruised and battered, Lu Ye returned to his dwelling. Under the slightly astonished gaze of Dao Thirteen, who was guarding the door, he silently sat down cross-legged.

Senior Brother was unreasonable!

He had only just advanced to the Divine Sea Realm, with no time to consolidate his cultivation or familiarize himself with his dramatically increased strength, when Senior Brother had already beaten him up.

Although Senior Brother only exerted the power of a Divine Sea First-Layer cultivator throughout, it was Senior Brother, how could he be a match?

Of course, Lu Ye had no complaints about this. He knew Senior Brother was doing it for his own good. While such a rigorous tempering left him disheveled, it allowed him to master his power much faster than if he had simply practiced in isolation.

He had a premonition that Senior Brother’s tempering was just the beginning!

To avoid such a disheveled state, he needed to familiarize himself with his power as quickly as possible.

Indeed, the next day, just as Lu Ye was meditating, two thumps sounded outside his door, followed by Dao Thirteen’s angry shouts and roars, which quickly faded into the distance.

Lu Ye’s ears twitched. Although he didn’t see it firsthand, he could imagine the scene outside: someone must have tried to force their way in, Dao Thirteen resisted, and was subsequently thrown away.

And a person who could so easily throw Dao Thirteen, a Fifth-Layer Divine Sea cultivator… there were dozens such individuals on Sacred Island.

The door was roughly pushed open, and Mong Jie, wearing a straw hat, stormed in like a bandit.

By his appearance, he had clearly been planting rice in the spiritual fields just moments ago, as his trouser legs were still rolled up, and his calves were covered in a mixture of mud and water.

"Senior, you are..."

Mong Jie looked at him calmly: "The Holy Lord sent me to temper you."

As he spoke, his large hand reached out and grabbed Lu Ye.

Lu Ye was utterly helpless, picked up like a small chicken and carried outside. Flung into mid-air, Mong Jie stood with his arms crossed: "I will only retain the power of a Divine Sea First-Layer cultivator. You can attack with full force, no need to hold back. If I move a single step within an hour, you pass the test. If not, you’ll work with me."

"You said it!" Lu Ye raised his hand, drew his Pan Mountain Blade, and surged with spiritual power, charging at Mong Jie with absolutely no reservations.

Lu Ye knew he couldn't possibly be a match for an experienced senior like Mong Jie, but if it was within the same cultivation realm, forcing him to move a step within an hour might be achievable.

Instantly, spiritual energy surged, and sword light shimmered.

An hour later, an even more bruised and battered Lu Ye was dragged by Mong Jie, like a dead fish, into a spiritual field, where he spent the entire afternoon planting rice seedlings…

The next day, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a faint fragrance instantly filled the room.

Lu Ye looked up and saw Tofu Ji smiling at him.

This time, Dao Thirteen didn't even issue a warning.

"Let's go," Yue Ji smiled happily.

"Let's go!" Lu Ye rose.

That afternoon, Lu Ye didn't help her sell tofu, as it had already sold out. Instead, Lu Ye helped her grind soybeans.

Days passed by.

Every day, a kind-hearted senior would come to find Lu Ye, tempering his body and mind in different ways.

Lu Ye endured the hardship but also found joy in it.

Because he knew, such an opportunity was truly rare.

Which of those seniors wasn't one of the most powerful cultivators in the world? If not for the great opportunity in the Nine Provinces, which brought them together, ordinary people would never have the chance to be tempered by them; it was a complete misuse of their immense talent.

But in this Blood Refining Realm, at Senior Brother’s request and under his leadership, such an opportunity presented itself to Lu Ye.

How could he not seize it?

Although he was tormented every day by different seniors, Lu Ye's progress was evident. His Divine Sea Realm cultivation quickly solidified, and he continuously familiarized himself with his current power through repeated beatings.

This was primarily because, even without these seniors, Lu Ye could have achieved these things given enough time.

More importantly, the seniors came from different factions with distinct methods, which greatly broadened Lu Ye’s horizons. He witnessed the exquisite techniques of the Nine Provinces' top cultivators, and through repeated confrontations, he also learned how to more effectively utilize his own power.

No one deliberately taught him anything; everything relied on his own comprehension, feeling it through his own pain and body.

What can be taught is, after all, someone else's. What is truly understood is one's own.

To describe it, Lu Ye was like a piece of raw iron, and the seniors, hammer blow by hammer blow, tempered this raw iron into something refined and resilient.

Every day, his confrontations with these seniors were extremely brief. An hour, as limited by Mong Jie, was considered the longest; most lasted only half an hour.

For the rest of the time, Lu Ye sometimes followed their requests and helped them with chores, but more often, he meditated on himself. A beating should have value; the temporary physical pain transformed into combat experience was incredibly worthwhile, a benefit ordinary people could only dream of.

Lu Ye relished it.

Additionally, he gained a new ability: Blood Arts!

When he broke through to the Divine Sea Realm under the Blood Sea, he had absorbed a golden light cluster—the very thing that could transform a Blood Race member into a Saint Seed. Let's call it Saint Blood for now.

The profound essence within the Saint Blood that allowed living beings to transform into Saint Seeds was completely incinerated by the Talent Tree, but the Blood Race's bloodline inheritance remained. This was the massive influx of information that had exploded in Lu Ye's mind at the time.

In other words, Lu Ye, as a human, had acquired the Blood Race's bloodline inheritance!

This was quite bizarre.

Blood Arts are mysterious and possess a strong corrosive effect on things with spiritual essence, a fact that had been confirmed in numerous conflicts with the Blood Race.

Had a spell cultivator gained such a benefit, they would surely be overjoyed, because no matter how Blood Arts changed, they were ultimately a form of spell.

But Lu Ye was, after all, a blade cultivator. He could not abandon his current training in blade arts to cultivate Blood Arts.

Fortunately, he didn't need to give up his blade arts, as the Blood Race inheritance was imprinted deep within his bloodline, allowing him to easily cast them as long as his strength was sufficient. Although the Talent Tree's incineration meant the inheritance Lu Ye received wasn't complete, it was still an intangible treasure.

Moreover, Lu Ye himself was proficient in the art of spells.

The reflection of the Dragon Ascent Realm's origin allowed him to achieve success in various factions. When disguised as the spell cultivator Niu Meng, he was quite convincing; when disguised as the sword cultivator Li Taibai, even Lin Yue couldn't spot a flaw. If he wished, he could even disguise himself as a ghost cultivator.

Now, having gained the inheritance of Blood Race Blood Arts, it would only further enrich his repertoire.

Among the numerous Blood Arts, he valued three the most.

One was the Blood River Art, the kind of blood river that only Blood Race members above the True Lake Realm could summon. This art allowed one to create an environment conducive to their abilities anytime, anywhere, and in certain critical moments, it could be used to avoid fatal damage.

This was a very practical art.

The second was the Blood Escape Art.

There are many different versions of Blood Escape Arts in the Nine Provinces, but they are mostly similar. Ying Wuji had used one before; it was a secret art for fleeing.

However, once activated, the user would fall into a weakened state for a short period.

Lu Ye had never cultivated a Blood Escape Art, nor did he know the specifics of those in the Nine Provinces, but undeniably, the Blood Race had their unique insights into this art. The Blood Escape Arts of the Nine Provinces likely couldn't compare to those of the Blood Race.

Used effectively, this art could save one's life when facing an invincible opponent.

The third was the Blood Refining Art.

Through secret methods, one could refine their own vital energy and blood into essence blood.

Essence blood had endless marvelous uses. If incorporated into the Blood River, it could enhance the Blood River's power. If used to activate Blood Arts, it could significantly boost their power.

For Blood Escape Art specifically, activating it in a normal state versus using essence blood to activate it produced entirely different effects; the latter allowed for much faster escape.

The Blood Race inheritance even claimed that if one cultivated the Blood Refining Art to its utmost depth, they could achieve rebirth from a single drop of blood.

Lu Ye thought this sounded a bit far-fetched.

But the Blood Race's bloodline inheritance recorded it as such, so there was no way to verify its authenticity.

He didn't need to spend energy cultivating ninety-nine percent of the Blood Arts. Since he received the Blood Race bloodline inheritance, the casting of these arts was imprinted in his bones, available at a whim. Of course, the power exerted varied depending on his cultivation and proficiency.

The Blood Refining Art, however, required active practice because it consumed one's own vital energy and blood to refine essence blood.

Lu Ye had been doing this recently. He had already seen results, with one drop of essence blood stored in his heart chamber, containing an incredibly vast and powerful energy.

Moreover, he discovered that this Blood Refining Art was extremely compatible with him.

Ordinary Blood Race members needed to continuously replenish themselves during the process of cultivating the Blood Refining Art because their vital energy and blood were constantly and greatly consumed.

While Lu Ye also needed to, his situation wasn't as severe as the Blood Race’s because of his vigorous vitality.

The gift of the fragmented origin of the Dragon Ascent Realm had endowed him with terrifying vitality, and as time passed, it continuously transformed his physique.

In terms of physical constitution alone, he was no less inferior to body cultivators of the same realm. This was not solely due to the early refinement of dragon scales but also the subtle transformation from the Dragon Ascent Realm's origin.

Even a fragmented origin was still the origin of a realm, and its conferral upon a single person brought unimaginable benefits.

With a vast and continuous supply of vitality, the vital energy and blood lost by Lu Ye during the Blood Refining Art could be rapidly replenished. As long as he exercised a little restraint, the consumption from the Blood Refining Art had little actual impact on him.

However, Lu Ye ultimately refined only three drops of essence blood. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to refine more, but he lacked the capacity.

The Blood Refining Art also had limitations: the higher the cultivation, the more essence blood one could refine.

He had only just advanced to the Divine Sea Realm, and three drops of essence blood was his limit.

For him, these three drops of essence blood were three trump cards. By activating essence blood, his explosive power could instantly receive a huge boost. He even had a feeling that he could fully leverage the burning of essence blood to activate the Blood Dye Spirit Pattern, and even beast transformation!

If this were true, it would be good news for him.

Blood Dye and Beast Transformation were his trump cards, but these two abilities always had a persistent drawback: they couldn't achieve instant bursts of power, but rather required continuous buildup.