He wasn't injured? Chen Changsheng was rather shocked, unable to understand why this was the case. Even if it was as he conjectured, and the star radiance had also put his body through Purification while being converted into true essence, it could not have toughened his body to such an astonishing extent. It must be known that this stone had carried no small amount of lethal power.

He extended his hand out the window and borrowed the light reflected off the snow to carefully examine his hand. Although he had been very calm earlier, the fact of true essence flowing through his body had taken up his complete attention. Only now did he begin to truly scrutinize his body.

After a few moments, his eyebrows slightly rose. Besides his skin being tighter and whiter than before, there was no perceptible difference. However, after putting his complete attention on his body, he had this faint sensation there was something more in his body, some kind of strength or Qi.

He walked up to the mirror and noticed a hairpin. This hairpin had probably been dropped by Mo Yu a few days ago. He raised the hairpin, examined its sharp end, thought, and then stabbed it without hesitation into his arm. He could vividly sense the sharpness of the pin, sense it touch against his skin, but the prick of pain was incredibly weak. There was no wound—the sharp end of the hairpin had left not a single mark.

As he gradually increased his strength, the pain caused by the hairpin became increasingly distinct, but it still could not pierce through his skin. His skin had seemingly gone through some magical transformation. It continued to sink downward under the pressure of the hairpin but never once showed signs of breaking, like a lotus leaf bearing the weight of a dewdrop.

Chen Changsheng put down the hairpin and tried with his dagger.

After a moment, he gazed at the clear but narrow line of blood on his left arm, once more confirming for himself that his body had gone through some mysterious and magical change. It had grown much tougher, so tough that even the most perfect of Purifications described in the Daoist Canon might not have been able to obtain such results.

Just what had happened? He could only ask this question to Senior Black Dragon. Chen Changsheng felt that strength, that Qi, flowing through his body and found it impossible to further suppress his confusion. He also found it impossible to suppress sudden energy vigorously running through his body. He put on his clothes and shoes as quickly as possible and then leaped out of the window.

His shoes crushed through the snow and flattened the dead grass. As he steadied, he appeared rather bewildered. His room was on the second floor and was not too far from the ground. Even when he was just relying on the body strengthened through the broths and tempering of his teacher and senior, he would not be injured from jumping down, but it would never have been so easily, so agilely accomplished.

He fell silent, looking through his warm puffs of breath and the frigid lake through the forest. He wanted to try.

His knees slightly bent, then he put his strength into his waist, and jumped.

Whoosh!

A small hole appeared in the snow in front of the house. Snowflakes and bits of grass fluttered about.

Chen Changsheng's body had vanished.

Immediately after, he appeared several dozen zhang away by the lake.

A cold wind blew and fallen leaves stirred.

His expression was still somewhat bewildered, his complexion slightly pale.

He had never once imagined that he could ever be so fast.

All this had come from his strength, which had suddenly increased by leaps and bounds, and his body, which had suddenly toughened by leaps and bounds.

Where had this strength come from?

Was this truly a result of Purification?

It seemed that Purification was the only explanation, but it was an explanation he found very difficult to believe.

When he thought of that strange mental sensation he had felt when he had been washing off that dried blood, he inexplicably grew uneasy.

He jumped over the wall and departed the Orthodox Academy, borrowing the cover of the snowstorm to return once more to New North Bridge.

The snow was still coming down, the mantle on the ground still thick.

The footsteps of the two humans and two Snow Mastiffs had long since been concealed.

He looked around and confirmed that no one was paying attention, that the distant soldiers were in the middle of changing guards, and leapt into the abandoned well.

With a thump, his feet landed on solid ground, much to his astonishment.

He had already mentally prepared himself to fall for a very long time. He had not expected to hit the ground as soon as he jumped.

This abandoned well originally had no bottom. Beneath it should have been an almost abyssal darkness through which he could have fallen until he descended in front of the Black Dragon.

Now, the well had a bottom formed of firm yellow soil covered in a thin layer of snow.

He raised his head to the mouth of the well. A snowflake drifted down, causing his eyes to squint.

He crouched down and measured the thickness of the snow layer. He confirmed that this well had not even been sealed for half a day.

...

...

"You aren't doing this, right?

Tang Thirty-Six snatched the kitchen knife from Chen Changsheng's hands and looked him in the eye.

In recent days, it had become Chen Changsheng's turn to cook. Tang Thirty-Six disliked his cooking, feeling that it was even more tasteless than Xuanyuan Po's. He had just been about to remind Chen Changsheng that when making pickled peppers and fried meat, putting in the pickled peppers was a requirement, when he happened to see Chen Changsheng prepared to bring the kitchen knife down on his own fingers.

Chen Changsheng knew that something had been misunderstood here and asked, "What sort of person do you think I am?"

What sort of person? Naturally the sort of person that can't take the pressure from the outside world anymore and thus attempts to harm themselves in order to avoid any challenge. Or perhaps it was a person that can't take the pressure from the outside world anymore and has gone funny in the head, taking pleasure from wielding a knife at themselves. Or perhaps it was one of those people that can't take pressure from the outside world, forgets the kindness their father and mother showed by raising them, and jumps from the upstairs window.

"You truly aren't one of those idiots, but I'm just worried that you're hardening your heart and want to cut off a finger to show your will."

Tang Thirty-Six offered him back the kitchen knife and said, "Geniuses like us who have obtained a perfect Purification won't produce such misunderstandings."

Cultivators who had succeeded in Purification would receive a huge boost to the toughness of their bodies. It wasn't that they couldn't use a kitchen knife to hack off one of their fingers, but it would be a much more difficult task.

"Perhaps Purification means you don't have to be afraid of kitchen knives, but I haven't seen you helping to cut the vegetables recently." Chen Changsheng took the kitchen knife and continued cutting white radishes.

In these past few days, he had gone to New North Bridge twice and realized that the abandoned well truly had been sealed up. He could only teach himself how to grow accustomed to his changed body. Using a kitchen knife to hack at his own finger was something he had often done. Only by growing used to the toughness and strength of his body could he accurately use this toughness and strength, and to rely on them to fight.

It was very normal for Tang Thirty-Six to be worried about him. After all, the Grand Examination was imminent.

Those people taking part in the Grand Examination had already arrived at the capital from various places of the continent. Countless gazes were looking towards the Orthodox Academy, looking towards..that Chen Changsheng who had declared that he would assuredly take first rank of the first banner. Although it was the archbishop that had declared this matter to the world and Chen Changsheng himself had never admitted to it, nobody cared about these details.

Xu Yourong's engagement, the Proclamation of Azure Sky, and this declaration had made Chen Changsheng extremely famous, pushing him to an extremely high status. The problem was, who would serve him? If not for Jin Yulu reclining on his chair, enjoying the snow and drinking hot tea, that dilapidated gate of the Orthodox Academy would already be leveled flat.

One could scarcely imagine the pressure Chen Changsheng was enduring.

"In truth, there's something I've never understood. If the conservative faction of the Orthodox Academy and those ministers still loyal to the Chen Imperial clan want to use the Orthodox Academy's revival to challenge the Divine Empress's authority, then compared to you who still haven't succeeded in Purification, aren't I a much better choice?"

Tang Thirty-Six said as he took up a cabbage leaf, ladled some rice in, then placed a few peppers and pickled vegetables inside.

Chen Changsheng took the chopped radish and threw it into the bone broth that had already been stewing for quite some time, then said, "A minor character like me might be easier to control."

Tang Thirty-Six took a satisfied bite out of his cabbage wrap, his voice indistinct as he said, "I think it's about your engagement with Xu Yourong. That's more important."

The youths of the Orthodox Academy were well aware of each role that they played, otherwise Chen Changsheng wouldn't have used such a term as 'minor character'. But it was precisely this casual attitude that clearly indicated that they simply didn't care about any major characters and what they wanted. It had nothing to do with them, and they would just live their own lives, participate in their own Grand Examination, take their own first rank of the first banner.

Chen Changsheng did not tell Tang Thirty-Six about the changes within his body, nor about the star radiance converting into true essence. He found it impossible to imagine suffering through that terrible burning that was worse than death.

That snowy plain was like the age of twenty, a shadow that he could never escape, pressing down on him and making it difficult for him to breathe.

How could he ensure that this snowy plain would not be disturbed? The way was to not disturb it, to not enter Meditative Introspection, or even think about, to completely and utterly forget about it. But it was truly difficult to not think about it whatsoever, especially when he thought about how this snowy plain was completely formed of crystallized star radiance. If this were all converted into true essence, how much would there be?

He sighed, "Being rich is truly a good feeling."

Tang Thirty-Six replied, "I don't feel anything."

Chen Changsheng replied, "That's because you grew up with far too much money."

"Perhaps." Tang Thirty-Six had to think for a few moments before admitting to this.

Chen Changsheng continued, "But the feeling of having money you are unable to spend is a truly unpleasant feeling."

Tang Thirty-Six said sympathetically, "Truly a child of the countryside. After the Grand Examination concludes, I'll teach you how to spend money."

...

...

The snowy plain was Chen Changsheng's ample savings, but it was also a terrifying pile of chaff. A single spark was enough to ignite it. The instant it turned into ashes, it would bring him away from this world.

In this situation, anyone with intelligence would shy away from adding oil or piling on grass, but not Chen Changsheng. He still spent every night in quiet meditation, drawing starlight into his body, his hands gripping the jade essence sent by Luoluo while a pile of crystals gifted by the Wenshui Tangs sat at his side. His attitude was absolutely fearless.

No one else knew of the situation with his body, so they would naturally feel rather differently about this sight. Tang Thirty-Six's admiration towards him was already at its peak, as he thought, anyone who failed to succeed in Purification after such a long time would have given up, but this guy still persists. His will is truly astonishing.

Admiration was just admiration. He had already given up any hope that Chen Changsheng would take first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination.

The most optimistic of people would think the same.

So Tang Thirty-Six..became abnormally diligent.

The assessment of the Proclamation of Azure Sky and Chen Changsheng's example were reasons enough for Tang Thirty-Six to be diligent, but there was an even more important reason. If Chen Changsheng could not take first rank of the first banner, he was doomed to become the laughingstock of the populace. As Chen Changsheng's friend and a student of the Orthodox Academy, Tang Thirty-Six had to do something.

Xuanyuan Po was similarly diligent. His right arm had recovered, and with Chen Changsheng's instruction, he was cultivating with a certain method. His strength was growing by leaps and bounds, his energy seemingly limitless. Thus, a great calamity was visited on the great banyan tree by the lake and the hard gray stones of the academy were constantly fractured like the ice on the lake.

This calm school life was disrupted one early morning by a carriage.

At the time, Tang Thirty-Six and Xuanyuan Po were bickering while Chen Changsheng was walking in the snow and mumbling to himself, seeming to be reciting something.

(TN: Ancient Chinese coins had holes in the middle, so you could tie them on a string, usually termed in English as a 'string of cash'. If you had so many coins that you could have ten thousand strings of cash, you would be ostentatiously rich. Of course, tying them all around your waist would probably break it.)