"The outer disciples will compete. That is the fairest way!"

Hearing this, Old Man Boulder and Lady Butterfly became thoughtful. Old Man Boulder shot an unreadable look at Sect Master Musheng, "I think this is indeed the fairest way."

Lady Butterfly saw a chance and nodded without hesitation, "I second this!"

"We will compete for entry to the Windswept Realm based on our outer disciples!"

Old Man Boulder nodded. Secretly, he was very happy. Strategically, for both the Zephyr Sect and Boulder Sect, it would be most advantageous for their outer disciples to compete.

Firstly, unlike the Star-Cutting Sword Sect, both the Zephyr Sect and Boulder Sect had not had a disciple rank in the top fifteen of the Azure Battling Record in decades. Those glorious days were all in the past and their current disciples were not nearly as good. Of course, this was still better than the Cedar Sect, which had never had a disciple place that high in its entire existence.

Secondly, the Star Cutting Sect's inner disciples were too strong; but what about their outer disciples? The strength of each sect's outer disciples shouldn't be too far apart. Although it was risky, it was still better than letting the Star-Cutting Sword Sect hog all the spots for themselves!

If their outer disciples competed the quotas might shift in their favour!

The Star-Cutting Sword Sect's Master looked at the three before him. Under their combined pressure he was unable to turn over their decision. But that mattered little. He chuckled slowly. Inside he was thinking that they were utter fools.

"Good. Very good!" He said, his one eye flashing.

Sect Master Musheng sighed.

Although this was better..he really didn't have much confidence in those darned outer disciples of his..

__________

[Back to the present. In the abandoned bathhouse.]

Van gritted his teeth as he entered the bath.

Sweat drops the size of beads rolled down his forehead. The potent energy swirling within the water charged at his body, turning his skin turned an alarming shade of red. He immediately moved into the third stance of the Thousand Saints Sacrifice method and felt his mind calm. His skin burned and tingled as strands of qi from the bathwater penetrated in and tempered his flesh.

Van grinned, relishing the pain. This body strengthening powder was not bad!

For three hours, Van remained within the cracked bathtub. His skin was being constantly tempered by the potent energy within the powder. When the final drop of energy was sucked out, he clambered out. Steam rose off his body and his muscles seemed firmer and is skin full of vitality. He believed his body cultivation was close to rising by another level!

He was determined to level up before the morning came, so he boiled some more water then he tore open two packets and poured both into the cracked bathtub. The high concentration of powder turned the water a milky colour. The herbal smell assaulted his nose and stung his eyes. But Van smiled.

The concentration of powder in the bath was now twice as high. No doubt the effect would be twice as good!

[That's more like it!]

He submerged himself once more. The effects of the powder near-doubled. Van entered a meditative state and spend the next four hours tempering his body.

This time, as he exited the water, the steam roared upwards like a dragon. Van could feel that his body was undergoing change. He was levelling up!

His muscles spasmed and popped.

Van thought he heard the distant roar of a dragon. And then! A quiet cracking sound echoed through the abandoned bathhouse. Van watched as his skin fell away from him in cracked sheets. The new skin below was revealed. It flashed the colour of polished copper, before returning to his normal skin tone.

Van grinned, he knew he had reached the Copper Buddha level of the Thousand Saints Sacrifice method. According to the manual, his skin could now deflect ordinary blades. Mortal weapons could no longer hurt him!

Van went outside and casually punched the ground.

CRAACK!

A fissure about a meter deep and three inches wide opened the ground. Van pulled his fist back and inspected his knuckles. They were smooth and unmarked. He did not feel any pain at all. The youth grinned and then went about filling the crack with dirt.

When Van finished filling the crack in the ground, it was dawn. He grabbed breakfast and returned less than two hours later.

After levelling, the powder was less effective on him. He used another four bags of powder – two at a time – and then stopped. Combined, the final two packets together were about 1/5 as useful as the first single packet he had used.

However, this still proved that that snooty miss at the Grand Botanica had been lying through her teeth! He had already used seven packets of powder, and the effectiveness of the powder was still around 10%. Whereas she said that it would only be 1% effective after three bags.

And at no point had he been anywhere even close to dying! Sure, it was a little painful but nothing life-threatening. What a dishonest little brat!

Van recalled her haughty tone and was still annoyed.

If Delphine heard his words, she would have spat blood. When had she lied! Although she really did want a packet of powder for her own research, she had told the truth! How was she to know that Van was some kind of body cultivating monster who could extract all the efficiency from the medicinal powder!?

Somewhere in the distance, a young girl with her hair tied into two buns sneezed. Luckily for her, she couldn't hear Van's words.

There were three packets of body strengthening powder remaining. Van planned to mix it into a bath for the wolves. Although he had no clue how he was going to bathe over four dozen full-grown wolves. One at a time? A single wolf is still taller than the average man though!

_______

[Two days later, in the morning]

Eyes closed serenely and his hands resting in his lap, a young man of about thirteen years of age was meditating next to a small tree. Shining through the leaves, the sunlight left dappled light over his eyelids. At that moment, the leaves shuddered.

Wooooosh!

An invisible wind rippled through the area. The spiritual energy in was sucked into a small spinning vortex between the young man's brows.

Van felt the qi trickle along his meridians and join the spiritual stream within his core.

30 seconds.

1 minute.

3 minutes.

8 minutes.

10 minutes.

Van's expression shook. The tornado thinned. The 99th meridian wanted to close. Stubborn, Van held on, trying to extend the time it remained open. After all, when it was open he could achieve 10 times the absorption speed of an average cultivator!

10 minutes and 5 seconds

10 minutes and 10 seconds

10 minutes and 15 seconds

10 minutes and 20-!

The vortex collapsed.

Van's forehead was full of sweat. If only he could keep it open longer! In just ten minutes, his cultivation had increased by what he could normally do in 2.5 hours!

However, he had already been able to extend the time it could remain open by 20 seconds! Van inspected himself internally and instinctively knew he was close to breaking through, so he settled down and continued to cultivate with his other meridians.

Time passed by.

Sometime late in the afternoon, Van felt as if he were chock full of spiritual energy. He had already used his 99th meridian that day and was just drawing wisps of power as usual – however, no matter how hard he circulated the Cicada's Breath technique, no more spiritual power would enter his body.

After a while, he started to feel heavy and full, swollen. The gathered spiritual power inside him started growing in pressure, pushing his insides.

Van felt worried and excited at the same time.

[Am I...breaking through?]

Inside him, the spiritual stream seemed as if it were expanding. The pressure built. Van felt sick and uncomfortable.

[Brat!] The dormant ring inside him suddenly woke.

"Jet. What is happening?"

The ring hmphed.

[You are breaking through!]

"But why is it like this? This didn't happen when I broke into the 2nd level!"

[The 3rd level of Qi Distillation marks the first qualitative change in the state of your core.

From levels 1 to 2, the focus of cultivation is the gathering of the impure qi within the air. This will form a mist-like stream in your core.

To break into the 3rd level, this stream must become a river!]

Van gritted his teeth and endured the pain.

"A river?"

[Yes. If it cannot become a river, the qi you have gathered so far will push out of your body and you will die with blood flowing out from all orifices!]

Van did not want to die in such a pitiful way. He was still young, he still had someone he wanted to protect! He pushed down the pain.

"What do I do?"