The night grew slightly deeper, the sky outside the window stained an inky blue-black, as if a bottle of ink had been overturned.
Ye Chuan lay on his bed, lost in thought. Originally, he had planned to accompany Bai Qianshuang for a while as she slept.
Of course, it was purely to safeguard her sleep health—to help her dream less.
But Bai Qianshuang had already entered a meditative state for cultivation, seemingly beyond the reach of dreams. In that state, it was as good as rest.
"I just hope that empress's memories don’t awaken. No dual-soul nonsense, please." The mere thought of the possibility—written plainly in Bai Qianshuang’s information panel—that the memories of an empress might resurface gave Ye Chuan a headache.
Especially an empress betrayed by her own allies. She didn’t seem like the easiest person to deal with.
Among other powerful beings—Lilith was an exception. Sure, the lady was a bit tsundere, but when it came to sharing treasures, she delivered.
The Holy Grail was truly a top-tier artifact.
But an empress? If she became aware of Bai Qianshuang’s memories, she might just cut Ye Chuan down without hesitation. Probably not someone easily fooled.
Ye Chuan pondered for a while but couldn’t come up with a solution.
"Whatever. Might as well check the requirements for breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage."
Sitting up cross-legged, Ye Chuan reminded himself of his real priority—strengthening his power.
To become the "Kidney King of Tianxuan" or stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Aiser, he needed strength. Especially since he still couldn’t defeat Qin Tianya, let alone that little dragon Elder Xuan.
Speaking of Elder Xuan—if Ye Chuan hadn’t stabbed his kidneys and threatened to sever his demon core yesterday, the old man might have outlasted him in their clash.
Thankfully, he hadn’t run into some eunuch. Otherwise, his bluff wouldn’t have worked.
Still too weak. No power.
"Nascent Soul? If I’ve got the resources, why worry about breaking through?" Ye Chuan smirked. His pockets were deep now.
Avoid the challenge?
Bring it on!
[Conditions for Nascent Soul breakthrough met. Please choose your method of Core Transformation—]
[Heavenly Path Core Transformation: Endure a tribulation lightning one realm above your own. Shatter the Golden Core with thunder, merging spiritual energy and soul to forge a Heavenly Nascent Soul.]
Note: Heavenly Nascent Soul grants vastly superior soul strength—Divine Sense range +1000%, Soul Power +1000%, Spiritual Energy capacity +1000%.
[Earthly Path Core Transformation: Endure a tribulation lightning of the same realm. Shatter the Golden Core with thunder, merging spiritual energy and soul to forge an Earthly Nascent Soul.]
Note: Earthly Nascent Soul grants strong soul attributes—Divine Sense range +300%, Soul Power +300%, Spiritual Energy capacity +300%.
[Mortal Path Core Transformation: Endure a tribulation lightning one realm below your own. Shatter the Golden Core with thunder, merging spiritual energy and soul to forge a Mortal Nascent Soul.]
Note: Mortal Nascent Soul grants ordinary soul attributes—Divine Sense range +100%, Soul Power +1%.
[Note: Must temper both body and Golden Core with tribulation lightning to purge impurities.]
"Rare. No paywall for this breakthrough?" Ye Chuan skimmed the conditions, then studied them carefully. Just endure lightning tribulation?
No microtransactions?
Really?
Since when is the system this generous?
If it’s just lightning tribulation, he was familiar with that. The Qingyun Sect alone had weathered two heavenly tribulations, each fiercer than the last.
But when his gaze landed on the final note, he fell into rare silence.
"Must temper the body and Golden Core with lightning… Does that mean I can’t use Chaos Energy? Or at least shouldn’t?"
Ye Chuan mulled it over. Chaos Energy could absorb external energy and convert it for his use, but the output was pure spiritual energy—devoid of lightning’s essence, let alone its purifying properties.
To condense a Nascent Soul, the Golden Core needed refinement to elevate the quality of spiritual energy.
"Troublesome. But my physique isn’t weak." Ye Chuan still aimed for the Heavenly Path, but the problem was enduring a Nascent Soul-level tribulation without relying on Chaos Energy.
His physical strength already far surpassed his peers.
"I think I can manage." After some calculations, Ye Chuan figured his infinite mana could sustain his body’s recovery, plus the damage reduction from the "Emperor’s New Clothes."
Worst case, he could absorb part of the tribulation with his Chaos Indestructible Body?
No—wait.
A realization struck him.
If he remembered correctly, his Chaos Indestructible Body already guaranteed a tribulation upon breakthrough—one far exceeding his realm, possibly rivaling the Nascent Soul tribulation in intensity!
"Would that mean two tribulations at once? And I can’t use the Indestructible Body?" Ye Chuan tugged at his lips. That was indeed a problem. A severe one.
…
"Yikes." The more he thought about it, the more certain he became—two tribulations, compounding into something far worse than their sum.
No pay-to-win. Pay with your life instead?
"Suddenly feels unreliable. Sure, breaking through to Nascent Soul doesn’t require materials or cash, but it’s anything but simple."
Ye Chuan was beginning to see the downside of his unrivaled constitution. Magic immunity was great, but heavenly tribulations were unavoidable—especially when lightning was mandatory for refining his body and core.
"Ugh." Ye Chuan flopped back onto the bed.
In that case, sleep first.
Rolling over, he kept thinking.
"Though… I could attempt the breakthrough in the Adventure World. Death there isn’t permanent."
Power gains in the Adventure World were real, and death carried no lasting consequences.
But if he got obliterated by lightning, would he be stuck forever at Golden Core?
Higher margin for error didn’t mean higher success rate.
"Headache." Ye Chuan pulled out his phone and began scouring lottery interfaces and point shops for body-strengthening techniques, items—
"Right, defensive elixirs too." To ensure his body could withstand the tribulation, he started gathering every resource that could bolster his physique.
"Techniques, gear, elixirs…"
Ye Chuan spread them across the bed. His current arsenal wasn’t lacking, including treasures exchanged from the point shop—like a temporary but massive physique enhancer.
"Still doesn’t feel safe. And what’s the penalty for failure? Downgrade?"
What truly worried him was the innate tribulation from his Indestructible Body.
"Hmm…" After some deliberation, Ye Chuan decided he’d stack every possible buff before attempting the breakthrough.
"Enough overthinking. Might as well try." After organizing his defensive items, he sat until midnight.
Screw it. Tianxuan Continent, activate!
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
