Xiang Yu sat in a meditative posture, his expression troubled as he struggled to circulate the violent energy flowing through his meridians. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Though clearly encountering difficulty, he still persisted with determination, refusing to give up despite the obvious strain.
The minutes stretched into hours as he maintained his focus, guiding the rebellious energy through his qi pathways.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of internal struggle, Xiang Yu's tense muscles began to relax. His furrowed brow smoothed gradually, and his clenched jaw loosened. With a deep exhale, he released a significant amount of remnant qi that spread throughout the room in a colorful mist that dissipated shortly after.
As he opened his eyes, their usual sharpness dulled by fatigue, Xiang Yu frowned slightly. This wasn't working as he had hoped. Although he could accelerate his cultivation with the help of spirit food, he felt certain there must be a more efficient approach. Just now, he had prepared a fourth-grade spirit meal with meticulous care, yet after consuming it, he had only managed to absorb a mere ten percent of its total medicinal properties.
It was the same frustrating pattern as before—when he had eaten fifth-grade food, he had only absorbed twenty percent of the benefits. Most of the precious energy was simply going to waste. The fundamental problem was clear: his medium-grade spiritual root simply couldn't handle such concentrated power.
"If this continues," he thought, "if I ever manage to create first-grade spirit food, wouldn't I be completely incapable of absorbing its benefits?" The thought was quite disheartening.
He had to find a way to overcome this limitation. The most obvious solution would be to upgrade his spiritual root, but Xiang Yu didn't know of any reliable method to accomplish such a feat. Previously, he had theorized that consistently consuming high-level food might stimulate his spiritual root enough to trigger a slight advancement. Once even the smallest advancement occurred, his system could handle the rest and help him improve exponentially.
But now it seemed that not only was this approach failing to trigger any advancement, but he also suspected that his spiritual root might actually suffer damage if repeatedly overwhelmed by energy it couldn't properly process. The delicate channels might become permanently blocked or distorted, setting back his cultivation permanently.
Xiang Yu stared at the floor, deep in contemplation. After several minutes of intense thought, his eyes suddenly brightened with inspiration. With swift movements, he reached toward his spatial ring.
From the spatial storage, he retrieved three items: a round pill that emitted a faint golden glow, and two paper talismans covered in intricate calligraphy.
"The path forward might lie in secondary professions," he mused, studying the pill carefully. "Mostly pill refining." He had kept the foundation-building pill because he had no use for it, at least not at the moment. But now, he saw a different purpose for the item.
He recalled how he had acquired the cooking profession. After cooking for a few days, the profession had suddenly appeared in his system, complete with levels and capabilities. Could the same principle apply to other professions? The possibility was tantalizing.
Xiang Yu decided to test his theory. He would study the pill's composition carefully and attempt to replicate it, learning the fundamentals of pill refining in the process. Additionally, he found some blank papers and carefully cut them to match the shape of the talismans he possessed. He wouldn't limit himself to pill refining alone—talisman drawing might prove equally valuable.
Before embarking on this new path, however, Xiang Yu remembered another pressing matter. His Fire Palm technique had just broken through to the minor success realm the day before and still had zero experience points available to double. In order not to waste his system's function, he realized he needed to advance this technique first.
He began practicing the palm technique. This time, he practiced just the fire palm technique, deliberately ignoring his other techniques, not wishing to waste precious time on skills that already had experience points to double.
He decided that from then on, he would only practice techniques when they had no experience points, otherwise, he'd just leave it to the system unless he really wanted a technique to reach mastery quickly. That approach would save time for learning professions and other valuable skills. With his current strength, techniques and scriptures might not increase his strength by much, he could only rely on secondary professions to boost his cultivation speed.
After just a few minutes of focused practice, Xiang Yu managed to gain two points of experience for his Fire Palm technique. The soft red glow on his palms dimmed slightly until it went off completely.
With that out of the way, he turned his attention back to the pill and talismans.
...
Xiang Yu started with the pill, turning it carefully in his palm as he considered his approach. He possessed no formal knowledge about pill refining—only fragmentary bits of information gathered from overheard conversations and stories. Such hearsay could hardly be considered reliable guidance for something as complex as alchemy, but it was all he had to work with.
He began by inspecting the pill with meticulous attention. Closing his eyes, he deactivated the qi sense that normally blanketed the entire pavilion, instead concentrating all his sensory ability on this single small object. The pill seemed to magnify in his perception as he focused, allowing him to examine its structure with much detail.
For anyone else, such a thorough inspection would have been nearly impossible, but Xiang Yu's uniquely powerful qi sense, when concentrated on such a tiny target, allowed him to perceive details that would remain hidden to most cultivators. As his awareness penetrated the pill's structure, he could discern how different properties interacted and fused with one another. The energy pathways twisted and flowed in complex patterns, creating a harmonious whole that was far greater than the sum of its parts.
Though he couldn't identify which specific herbs had been used—his knowledge of medicinal ingredients was still too limited—he gradually developed a rough understanding of the formation process itself. The way the energies had been bound together, the layering of effects, the stabilization of volatile elements—these aspects began to make sense to him even without knowing the specific ingredients.
With this preliminary understanding, Xiang Yu gathered some herbs he knew possessed medicinal properties. He didn't attempt to recreate the foundation-building pill—such ambition would be foolish at this stage. Instead, he decided to create his own original concoction using random herbs with medicinal qualities. His goal wasn't to create a functional pill but rather to practice the formation process he had observed. He reasoned that with enough attempts, he might accumulate sufficient experience for the profession to manifest in his system, just as cooking had done previously.
He summoned his spirit fire. With careful concentration, he used the fire to heat the herbs while simultaneously manipulating his qi to shape them into a pill form. The delicate balance required intense focus—too much heat would scorch the ingredients, while too little would fail to activate their properties.
As he worked, he attempted to refine the medicinal properties of the herbs, encouraging them to blend into the pill structure rather than remaining separate entities. Without an alchemy furnace, he was forced to perform this delicate process by hand, leaving the process vulnerable to atmospheric contamination and energy leakage. Professional alchemists would have considered his method crude and inefficient, but Xiang Yu, lacking any formal training, pushed forward with determination, unaware of these shortcomings.
Hours passed as he made attempt after attempt. Each failure taught him something new—how quickly certain herbs burned, how others resisted blending, how his qi needed to flow to maintain the proper structure. Though he achieved no successful pills, his understanding gradually deepened.
Eventually, Xiang Yu noticed the light changing around him. Glancing toward the window, he saw the sun hanging low on the horizon, its golden rays stretching across the sky. The day had slipped away while he was absorbed in his practice. Looking down at the floor around him, he observed the scattered remnants of numerous failed attempts—scorched herbs, malformed lumps, and powdery residues that had once been promising ingredients.
Despite the evident lack of progress, Xiang Yu felt no discouragement. This was merely the first day of what he knew would be a long journey. As for the depleted herb supply, he wasn't concerned. These were merely low-level medicinal plants that grew abundantly throughout the forest. He could easily gather more.
And if they proved insufficient, a mischievous smile crossed his face as he considered another solution. He could always "borrow" some from the master's personal supply. Surely the master wouldn't be too reluctant to part with a few herbs. After all, Xiang Yu reasoned with amusement, if he ate the meat, wouldn't the master drink the soup?
...
The three men walked slowly into the 99th floor, their footsteps echoing in the vast chamber. The one who appeared to be the leader of the group couldn't help but think to himself that they were quite fortunate for having chosen this particular strategy.
From what he had witnessed, if they had decided to confront Li Yao directly in combat, they would have been the ones lying dead on the cold stone floor.
When they had observed the fierce battle between Li Yao and the demon, they were genuinely shocked by her power. He felt that Li Yao possessed Golden Core cultivation, or at least combat prowess equivalent to that realm.
The three brothers, with their mere early Core Formation realm strength, stood no chance against such a powerful opponent. Had they faced her head-on, even with a thousand lives, they wouldn't be able to afford it.
"Eldest brother, as expected of you, to come up with such a plan," one of the brothers spoke, his voice filled with admiration that hadn't been present during their earlier planning.
"That's right, eldest brother really has great foresight," the other one added with equal reverence.
The eldest just looked at them before sighing deeply. These two—their faces changed as quickly as turning pages in a book. Just hours ago, they had vehemently opposed his suggestion to wait and observe, insisting instead on capturing Li Yao directly. If he hadn't convinced them to exercise patience, they truly would have died without even a burial place.
At the center of the room, Li Yao struggled desperately to rise from her prone position. She managed only to lift her head to face the incoming opponents. She wondered with growing panic how they had gained entrance to this floor—it shouldn't have been possible for more than one person to occupy a floor at the same time.
[They're using a concealment treasure to deceive the pagoda,] the Empress spoke in her mind, her voice matter-of-fact despite the dire situation.
[It seems like quite a nice treasure too. You should take it,] she continued, as if discussing the weather rather than a life-or-death predicament.
Dammit, how am I supposed to take it? I can barely even stand, Li Yao thought bitterly.
[Oh, I forgot about that,] the Empress replied with surprising casualness.
"Hey, aren't you too relaxed? I'm about to die, you know," Li Yao spoke aloud, frustration evident in her voice. She thought to herself that these three were all Core Formation realm cultivators. Under normal circumstances, she would have defeated them easily, but now, emptied of energy and barely conscious...
[Aren't you forgetting something?] the Empress interrupted her gloomy thoughts.
Li Yao could only ask weakly, "Forgetting what?"
[You tell me,] the Empress replied jokingly, clearly enjoying herself.
"Hey, now is not the time for jokes. Do you really know of a way out?" Li Yao asked, desperation creeping into her voice.
[Fine, I'll tell you...] the Empress finally relented.
When Li Yao heard the Empress's suggestion, her expression transformed into a knowing smile. "Ah, I almost forgot about that," she spoke, her face brightening with renewed hope.
"Big brother, she's smiling. Do you think we scared her too much?" one of the approaching brothers asked, confusion evident in his voice.
"Well, with that face of yours, which woman wouldn't be scared when they saw you?" the other replied with a snicker.
"You..." The insulted brother prepared to retort, but the eldest raised his hand.
"Calm down," the eldest spoke sharply, causing them to fall silent immediately. "Be on your guard. I sense that this girl isn't as simple as she appears."
"Eldest brother, aren't you being too cautious?" one brother questioned.
"That's right, she has already exhausted all her strength. What can she possibly do?" the youngest-looking one added dismissively.
The eldest just sighed deeply. These brothers of his truly possessed no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. Still, even he could tell that the girl had genuinely exhausted her strength—perhaps he was overthinking the situation.
When they drew closer to Li Yao, the eldest spoke with menace, "Little girl, this is nothing personal. Just blame heaven for making you so talented." He unsheathed his sword with a dramatic flourish, the blade gleaming in the chamber's dim light.
"Big brother, aren't we going to have fun with her first?" the second brother interjected with a lascivious grin, causing the eldest to facepalm in frustration.
"We have our mission. Don't get distracted," he reprimanded sharply.
"Tch, I was just saying," the second one muttered, clearly disappointed.
The eldest cleared his throat in embarrassment. He had been trying to appear cool and intimidating, but his brother had ruined the moment entirely.
"Anyway, as I was saying—" But before he could finish his sentence, Li Yao suddenly rose from her position with impossible speed. The brothers didn't even register when her sword materialized in her hand. In the next heartbeat, she had pierced directly through the eldest brother's chest, splitting his heart perfectly in two with.
"It's nothing personal," Li Yao echoed his earlier words with a cold smile as the brother coughed up blood, his eyes widening in shock as life drained from them.
Li Yao pulled her sword free in one fluid motion, swinging it elegantly to remove the blood. Crimson droplets splattered across the stone floor in a macabre pattern.
Only now did the remaining two brothers fully register what had just happened. "How is that possible?" the youngest spoke in utter disbelief, his face pale with shock.
In the next instant, both brothers were consumed by rage, their faces contorting with fury. "How dare you kill the eldest!" they roared in unison as they charged at Li Yao, weapons drawn and caution abandoned.
But Li Yao simply swung her sword in a perfect arc, cutting off both their heads in one fluid, almost casual motion. The precision and speed of her attack made it appear as though she had never been weakened at all.
She then swung her blade once more to clear the blood before sheathing it carefully. The sword clicked satisfyingly into place as the two severed heads of the disciples hit the ground with heavy thuds, their expressions forever frozen in shock and rage.
Li Yao walked over calmly and collected the spatial rings from the three brothers' fingers, but she had no time to inspect her spoils as something extraordinary was happening within her body.
When she had realized she was in mortal danger, she had remembered the gift her senior brother had given her—something he instructed her to use only when she had no other choice. When she had opened the small package earlier, she was surprised to discover it contained what appeared to be a simple cake. Yet this ordinary-looking dessert radiated immense spiritual energy.
The moment she placed it in her mouth, she was first struck by its overwhelming sweetness. Then, before she could even swallow, the cake dissipated into pure qi, traveling throughout her body with startling speed. The energy was so potent that her core filled instantly, restoring her strength and allowing her to dispatch the three brothers with ease.
But the effects weren't complete—she could feel the energy continuing to build within her, growing at an alarming rate. If she didn't handle this properly, she might actually explode from the overwhelming power.
[Quickly, circulate the energy! Don't let any of it go to waste!] the Empress shouted urgently in her mind.
Li Yao immediately assumed a meditative position and began circulating her energy, desperately struggling to refine the seemingly limitless power flooding into her core. Her body glowed with a faint blue light as she fought to control the surging tide of energy that threatened to tear her apart from within.
...
Outside the heaven testing pagoda, Elder Mei Zhiyuan instantly rose from his position, his face contorted with disbelief. "I-Impossible," he spoke, his voice trembling with rage and confusion.
The spiritual connection he maintained with his three subordinates had just been severed completely, this could only mean one thing—they had died. How could this happen? Could they have triggered some trap hidden within the pagoda's?
But that was impossible, he had told them of all the traps in the pagoda, how could they fall for them? Could it be that the three trained cultivators couldn't overwhelm a single girl? Was Li Yao truly that formidable?
His robes billowed around him as he charged towards the heaven testing pagoda, murderous intent radiating from his body like waves of heat. But before he could reach the entrance, two figures materialized before him, their gleaming swords pointed directly at his chest.
"Elder Mei, I don't think this is appropriate," Elder Huang Fengqi's soft voice cut through. Despite her gentle tone, her eyes remained sharp and vigilant. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
"What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to interfere with the test?" Elder Guo Shantian demanded, his eyebrows furrowed in disapproval and his sword firm.
The disciples and spectators gathered around the pagoda turned their attention from the test rankings toward this unexpected confrontation. Whispers rippled through the crowd. Had Elder Mei truly lost his senses because his disciples failed to secure positions in the rankings?
Elder Mei Zhiyuan glanced around nervously, noticing the growing crowd of witnesses. Dammit! Now that things had spiraled to this point, there was only one path forward.
"Everyone!" he shouted, his voice carrying across the courtyard. "Change of plans—attack!"
In the next heartbeat, chaos erupted. Throughout the previously peaceful gathering, concealed figures suddenly drew hidden weapons, faces transforming from passive observers to cold-blooded killers as they began cutting down the unsuspecting spectators around them.
"Not good, we're under attack!" one person shouted above the sudden screams and clash of weapons. "Ring the bell!"