Xiang Yu's eyes widened as he observed the status screen. The transformation had yielded exactly what he'd hoped for:
[Spiritual Root: Medium-Grade Omni-Element (10/2000)]
Just as he'd suspected, the Chaos Body had triggered another improvement in his spiritual root. When he first acquired the Transcendent Dao Physique, he'd gained a spiritual root where none had existed before. Now, with this second physique, his cultivation potential had increased yet again.
He took a deep breath, tempering his excitement with rational analysis. While this was undoubtedly progress, he recognized its limitations. This improvement could only elevate him to high-grade status eventually. If he wished to advance beyond that threshold, would he need to somehow acquire yet another physique? This wouldn't be sustainable.
"I need to focus on my secondary professions as planned," he reminded himself. It was the clearest path forward. By improving his pill refining, he could eventually create pills capable of enhancing his spiritual root directly, bypassing the need for additional physiques.
Xiang Yu committed himself to grinding experience points across his various professions. He began with talisman making, eager to test the new formulas he'd acquired during the last system reset.
He crafted explosion talismans of the eighth grade—nearly fifty of them in succession. The process flowed more naturally now, each talisman requiring less concentration than before. He then diversified his production, creating barrier talismans, water prison talismans, wind burst talismans, qi dispersion talismans, tremor talismans, and many more.
Though each variant offered unique tactical advantages, Xiang Yu still preferred the OG explosion talismans. Their straightforward destructive power held an undeniable appeal. Nevertheless, he crafted substantial quantities of each type, knowing they weren't solely for his personal use.
Now that he had been recognized as a secondary professionist, with his Martial Aunt investing resources in him, he need to show tangible results, he thought. Most of these talismans would be submitted to the sect, strengthening their collective power rather than just his individual capabilities.
Xiang Yu didn't mind this at all. In fact, he was all for it. He had never been one to enjoy combat. If he could provide weapons for others to handle the fighting, that would be ideal. His survival-focused mindset remained unchanged despite his growing power.
After completing his talisman production, Xiang Yu shifted his attention to alchemy. Between the abundant herbs growing in the spirit vein cavern and those provided by his martial aunt, his resources seemed practically limitless.
With focus, he refined an impressive array of ninth-grade pills: qi condensation pills, minor healing pills, qi circulation pills, basic poison resistance pills, minor strengthening pills, and various others. The diversity available even at this lowest grade surprised him.
Though he encountered several failures, his success rate hovered around thirty percent—remarkably high compared to the typical ten percent achieved by most ninth-grade alchemists. He attributed this efficiency to his superior enlightenment and elevated mind level. He was confident that he could increase his success rate further as long as he improved these aspects.
Having little personal use for these pills, Xiang Yu stored them carefully, planning to deliver them to his junior sister upon her return. They would serve the sect's broader needs.
When he was done, he realized that it was already late. Dinner time had arrived, yet he'd been completely absorbed in his craft. He departed the spirit vein and prepared a meal, though no one appeared to share it. While he understood his junior sister and martial aunt's absence due to pressing sect matters, his master's absence concerned him.
Extending his qi sense toward his master's quarters, Xiang Yu detected Elder Guo's aura—still vibrant and steadily rising. Not wishing to disrupt the delicate process, he quickly withdrew his perception.
"He's building his foundation," Xiang Yu realized with genuine admiration. Two days after losing his cultivation completely, he was already building a foundation—truly a genius. Though abundant resources had certainly facilitated this rapid recovery, the achievement remained remarkable.
After finishing his solitary meal, Xiang Yu returned to the spirit vein, channeling his energy into crafting formations and weapons for sect disciples. Having completed numerous items, he stored them alongside his previous creations. Like the talismans and pills, these items would primarily benefit the sect rather than himself, their current quality being of limited personal value.
Exhaling loudly as he surveyed his day's production, a wry smile crossed his face. "I hope they won't call me lazy," he thought. "I've probably contributed more to the sect today than their entire GDP."
...
He glanced at the time, noticing only two hours remained until system reset. These precious moments had been deliberately reserved for something far more ambitious than mere crafting.
His gaze drifted to the spirit spring where the boar continued floating aimlessly, showing no signs of qi absorption. But the animal's progress—or lack thereof—wasn't his concern now. What truly interested him was that the spring had completely replenished its energy since his last use.
A calculating smile spread across Xiang Yu's face as he retrieved several pills from his spatial ring. These weren't the ninth-grade remedies he'd just refined but the superior eighth-grade healing pills claimed from the Core Formation expert—ten remained of his original stock.
He removed his clothing and slipped into the multicolored waters of the spirit spring. The familiar tingling sensation of spiritual energy caressing his skin barely registered as his mind focused entirely on what was to come.
"Time for bloodline training," he whispered to himself, steeling his nerves for the agony he was about to endure.
After settling into a comfortable position, Xiang Yu turned his awareness inward, conducting a final assessment of his internal landscape. The dragon and phoenix bloodlines rested peacefully in their respective territories.
Taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and released his control.
The effect was instantaneous. Like two ancient enemies spotting each other across a battlefield, the bloodlines surged from their designated regions with predatory intent. There was no gradual escalation, no warning growls or circling—it was on sight.
Xiang Yu's face contorted as the warring essences collided within him. Their battle lines crisscrossed through his organs, leaving catastrophic damage in their wake. His spleen ruptured first, followed quickly by his liver and one kidney. Blood vessels shredded beneath the onslaught, flooding his abdomen with internal bleeding.
On the surface, his skin began to crack like parched earth, crimson lines appearing across his arms and chest as the conflict manifested externally. Yet through this excruciating pain, Xiang Yu maintained his resolve. He had to endure, this was an investment in future strength.
"Let them fight," he thought grimly, swallowing one of the healing pills.
His body worked frantically to repair itself—the Transcendent Dao Physique and phoenix bloodline's regenerative properties laboring alongside the spirit spring's restorative energy. When even these combined forces struggled to keep pace with the devastation, he supplemented them with healing pills, consuming them at carefully timed intervals to maximize efficiency.
The process continued relentlessly as minutes stretched into hours. For Xiang Yu, however, time lost all meaning, dissolved in an ocean of torment. Each second extended into what felt like years of unbearable agony. Blood seeped from his eyes as capillaries ruptured beneath the strain.
Several times his consciousness wavered, tempting him to abandon this self-imposed torture. Each time, he forced himself to endure. "Just one more minute," he promised himself repeatedly, even as his vision dimmed and his lungs struggled to draw breath through damaged tissues.
Finally, when he teetered at the very precipice of his endurance, the familiar notification appeared before him:
[Calculating Settlement]
Li Yao sat at her desk, carefully working through stacks of memorandums that demanded her attention as Sect Leader. Her brush moved quickly as she approved some documents and declined others, steadily reducing the mountain of paperwork before her.
As she quickly dispatched one scroll after another, the Empress's voice echoed within her mind approvingly.
[You're really starting to get the hang of it,] she observed. [At this rate, you may be able to reach my level in a few million years.]
Li Yao paused momentarily, her brush hovering above the parchment. The Empress really did love to brag—a few million years?
[You don't believe me?] the Empress immediately sensed her skepticism.
"Yeah, yeah, I believe you," Li Yao responded aloud, resuming her work. Experience had taught her it was always better to simply agree when the Empress was in one of these moods.
As she signed another document with her official seal, her thoughts drifted to her senior brother. How long had it been since they'd spent any meaningful time together? Four days trapped in the pagoda, longing for his company, only to return and be immediately buried in administrative responsibilities. She wondered if she could endure this isolation much longer.
A fleeting impulse to sneak away and check on Xiang Yu crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. He was probably sleeping at this hour—she shouldn't disturb him. Besides, her expression hardened with determination, tomorrow would be the last day she'd work this intensely. She'd make certain of it.
From within Li Yao's spiritual sea, the Empress observed her host's diligent efforts and resolute expression with pride. "This little girl has grown quite a bit," she thought to herself.
...
When Xiang Yu saw the system notification, he instantly commanded the warring bloodlines to cease their conflict. Blood erupted from his mouth in a violent spray, while more crimson fluid seeped from his eyes, ears, and nose. This wasn't training—it was pure torture.
With trembling hands, he consumed the remaining healing pills and focused his mind on recovery, his breathing ragged and uneven. He realized that he needed to upgrade his alchemy skills quickly if he hoped to continue this brutal method. With a thousand healing pills at his disposal, this process wouldn't be nearly as devastating.
After several minutes of intensive meditation, he finally regained some semblance of functionality. The battling bloodlines had ravaged his internal organs so thoroughly that he could barely move without excruciating pain lancing through his body. Every breath felt like inhaling shards of glass.
Xiang Yu summoned the system settlement screen with a thought, anxious to see if this self-inflicted agony had yielded worthwhile results. If the gains weren't substantial, he would feel profoundly wronged:
[Body Refining: 11th Layer (2380/11,000) (+500/11,000)]
[Qi Gathering: 5th Layer (300/500) (+200/500)]
[Mind: Level 4 (1362/4000) (+10/4000)]
[Spiritual Root: Medium-Grade Omni-Element (10/2000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (130/1,000,000) (+20/1,000,000)]
[Chaos Body: Level 1 (50/10,000) (+50/10,000)]
[Bloodline: Dragon, Phoenix: Thin Blood (80/1000) (+50/1000)]
[Enlightenment: Superior (50/4000) (+50/4000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (20,320/40,000) (+10/40,000)]
[High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Beginner (90/100) (+10/100)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Minor Success (33/200) (+5/200)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Minor Success (9/200) (+5/200)]
[High-grade Ice & Wind Palm: Beginner (14/100) (+10/100)]
[High-grade Light & Dark Palm: Beginner (2/100)]
[Cook: 4th Grade (200/600) (+20/600)]
[Appraiser: 7th Grade (100/300) (+100/300)]
[Talisman Maker: 8th Grade (50/200) (+30/200)]
[Alchemist, Formation Master, Blacksmith: 9th Grade (52/100) (+50/100)]
[Experience Points Doubled]
[Alchemist, Formation Master, Blacksmith: 9th Grade (52/100) → 8th Grade (0/200)]
[Talisman Maker: 8th Grade (50/200) → 8th Grade (100/200)]
[Appraiser: 7th Grade (100/300) → 7th Grade (200/300)]
[Cook: 4th Grade (200/600) → 4th Grade (400/600)]
[High-grade Light & Dark Palm: Beginner (2/100) → Beginner (4/100)]
[High-grade Ice & Wind Palm: Beginner (14/100) → Beginner (28/100)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Minor Success (9/200) → Minor Success (18/200)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Minor Success (33/200) → Minor Success (66/200)]
[High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Beginner (90/100) → Minor Success (0/200)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (20,320/40,000) → 5th Grade (0/50,000)]
[Enlightenment: Superior (50/4000) → Superior (100/4000)]
[Bloodline: Dragon, Phoenix: Thin Blood (80/1000) → Thin Blood (160/1000)]
[Chaos Body: Level 1 (50/10,000) → Level 1 (100/10,000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (130/1,000,000) → Level 1 (260/1,000,000)]
[Spiritual Root: Medium-Grade Omni-Element (10/2000) → Medium (20/2000)]
[Mind: Level 4 (1362/4000) → Level 4 (2724/4000)]
[Qi Gathering: 5th Layer (300/500) → 6th Layer (0/600)]
[Body Refining: 11th Layer (2380/11,000) → 11th Layer (4760/11,000)]
...
As the system results flashed before his eyes, Xiang Yu's expression transformed from pain to satisfaction despite the blood still drying on his face. The system hadn't disappointed him—far from it. His gaze immediately locked onto the most dramatic improvements.
His Body Refining had gained a staggering five hundred points. While not entirely unexpected given the brutal ordeal his physical form had just endured, the magnitude still impressed him. Even now, he could feel his tissues knitting back together, organs regenerating from the catastrophic damage inflicted by the bloodlines.
The Qi Gathering advancement surprised him even more—two hundred points gained, pushing him cleanly into the sixth layer after doubling. This remarkable progress likely resulted from stimulating his bloodlines while immersed in the spirit spring. The combination had transformed his body into a qi absorption vessel of unprecedented efficiency, mimicking how spirit beasts naturally absorbed energy through their bodies rather than spiritual roots.
His Transcendent Dao Physique had gained twenty points—the highest single-session increase he'd ever witnessed for this attribute. Though he attributed most of this advancement to forming the Chaos Body, the bloodline stimulation had clearly contributed as well. Speaking of which, his newly acquired Chaos Body had already accumulated fifty points, doubled to one hundred after the system reset. At this pace, it wouldn't be long before it upgraded to the next level. Would that grant him immunity to a mutated element? The possibility intrigued him.
The bloodlines themselves had progressed impressively, hitting one hundred sixty points. It wouldn't be long before they advanced from thin blood to common blood.
Curiously, his various palm techniques and elemental abilities had shown moderate improvement despite receiving no active training. Xiang Yu suspected the Chaos Body's influence but didn't dwell on this unexpected bonus.
Turning his attention to his professions, he noted consistent progress across the board. His cooking skill had advanced beyond the halfway mark of fourth grade, just one reset away from reaching third grade. In the cultivation world's professional classification system, ninth through seventh grades were considered low-level, sixth through fourth were mid-level, while third and above entered the rarefied realm of high-level mastery.
Xiang Yu glanced at the oblivious boar still paddling aimlessly through the spirit waters beside him and sighed deeply. Without genuine spirit beasts as ingredients, he would likely hit a ceiling in his culinary advancement. As his cooking proficiency increased, the limitations of his available resources became increasingly apparent. Unless he acquired spirit beasts or somehow obtained mid-level herbs, creating truly high-grade spirit food would remain beyond his reach.
His Appraiser profession continued its rapid advancement, just one reset away from entering the mid-level (sixth grade). This skill grew fastest among his professions, which made perfect sense considering how he spammed it throughout the day. With no meaningful cooldown, he used it constantly to identify everything he encountered. Though it drew power from his spiritual sea like talisman making, the energy consumption remained negligible by comparison.
Speaking of Talisman Making, this skill had reached its halfway point and would advance to seventh grade after the next reset. The next reset had multiple breakthroughs across multiple disciplines lined up and he couldn't wait to see the results.
His remaining professions—Alchemy, Formation Master, and Blacksmith—had all reached eighth grade. With this advancement came a flood of new insights and formulas. Xiang Yu's earlier concern about depleting his limited supply of eighth-grade healing pills now seemed unfounded. With his newly acquired eighth-grade alchemy skills, he could produce these pills himself. The formula had automatically materialized in his mind through the system's insights.
Most significant of all, his Abyssal Void Flame had advanced to the fifth grade...
...