Breakthrough to the Soul-Tempering Realm

[Ahhhhh! It hurts too much!! I can't take it anymore!!]

[Hundreds of demon souls bore into your seven orifices all at the same time!]

[The Ten Thousand Souls Banner uses this grand formation to instantly refine them, turning them into energy to temper your soul, helping you break the shackles of your innate aptitude and break through to the Soul Tempering Realm!]

[However, this process can be likened to forcefully pouring a liter of water into a half-liter container!]

[Under normal circumstances, your body should have exploded and you should have died.]

[The fact that you are still alive is entirely thanks to the Ten Thousand Souls Empowerment Formation stabilizing your body and soul.]

[But, it is too painful.]

[It should have been a level of damage that would explode your body, but you are not dead and remain wide awake. One can only imagine how unbearable that pain is.]

Outside the simulation, Chen Yi's face was twisted in a mask of sheer agony.

"I miscalculated. I should have equipped the 'Super Beast's Pain Perception' trait..."

Chen Yi rejoiced that he had the simulator.

All the difficulties and torments of cultivation along the way were borne by his simulated self.

In reality, he only had to watch the simulation's progress, choose his options, and adjust his traits.

It was simply too easy.

"Bro... it feels weird calling myself bro... Bro! Hang in there! Next year I'll give you 'Wandering Dragon Teasing the Phoenix'!"

[Oh, resilient middle-aged man! How can you catch the sweet scent of plum blossoms without braving the biting cold? Fear not a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinings, for you must leave your purity in this mortal world!]

[Stop reciting poetry so randomly, damn it...]

[While you are hovering between life and death here, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner is watching the show from the sidelines.]

[You feel that he is the kind of person who, if he had a smartphone, would take a picture right now and post it on his social media feed.]

[What a wicked bastard!]

[It wasn't until the dead of night.]

[That your miserable screams finally stopped.]

[Your clothes have been soaked and dried, dried and soaked, repeating for who knows how many times.]

[You take them all off, casually strike out with a flaming palm, and burn them to ashes.]

[Then, butt-naked, you head to a nearby stream to soak and relax.]

[It's finally over...]

[You have completed your breakthrough and formally stepped into the Soul Tempering Realm!]

[While soaking in the bath, you take a look at your current personal stats.]

[Name: Chen Yi]

[Realm: Soul Tempering Realm, First Tempering]

[Cultivation Methods:

-- External Martial Art: Heart Flame Profound Art (High-tier, Proficient)

-- Internal Martial Art: Pure Yang Spirit Guiding Profound Art (High-tier, Proficient)

-- Mental Cultivation Method: Azure Flame Mental Mantra (High-tier, Novice)

-- Martial Skills: Crimson Heart Fist (High-tier, Novice), Dragon Flame Profound Art (High-tier, Novice), Rocket Step (Mid-tier, Mastered), Cloud Burning Hand (Mid-tier, Minor Accomplishment), Shen Family Spearmanship (Mid-tier, Minor Accomplishment), Wind and Wave Palm (Mid-tier, Mastered), Cloud Collapsing Sword Art (Mid-tier, Mastered)...]

[Equipped Traits (7/9): Simulator (Prismatic), The Strictest Father of Alien Races (Gold), Photographic Memory (Purple), Treasure Hunting Nose (Purple), Low-tier Bone Aptitude (Green), Spider Sense (Green), Demonic Aura Detected (Green)]

[Acquired Traits (147): Stroke of Genius (Purple), The Only True Seer in the Game (Purple), Older is Wiser (Purple), Gotta Learn Foreign Languages (Green), Hard Work Pays Off (Green), The Older the Luckier (Green), Silent Footsteps (Green)...]

[Current probability of traits of each rarity:]

[White Common 69%, Green Rare 20.8%, Purple Epic 8%, Gold Legendary 2%, Prismatic Mythic 0.2%]

Through the memories obtained from previous simulations, Chen Yi knew.

The so-called Soul Tempering Realm, as the name implied, was about tempering a martial artist's three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls.

A human has three ethereal souls: the Heaven Soul, the Earth Soul, and the Life Soul.

Among them, the Life Soul governs the seven corporeal souls: Corpse Dog, Concealed Arrow, Yin Sparrow, Thief Swallower, Non-Toxin, Filth Remover, and Smelly Lung.

After entering the Soul Tempering Realm, martial artists cultivate their mental mantras, using spiritual energy and blood vitality to wash and temper their three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls, thereby strengthening their soul body and spirit.

Completing the tempering of one ethereal soul or one corporeal soul corresponds to a minor realm within the Soul Tempering Realm.

Therefore, the Soul Tempering Realm has ten levels, known as the Ten Temperings.

The process of soul tempering will, to a certain extent, improve a person's wisdom and comprehension.

The power used to represent the strength of the soul body is mental essence, which can also be called soul power.

Just as the higher the physical strength, the stronger the blood vitality.

Only upon reaching the Soul Tempering Realm is a martial artist's cultivation considered complete.

External martial arts cultivate blood vitality, which corresponds to the Nine Stages of Body Refining.

Internal martial arts cultivate spiritual energy, which corresponds to the Twelve Levels of Spirit Gathering.

Mental mantras cultivate mental essence, which corresponds to the Ten Temperings of Soul Tempering.

These three energies are not completely independent.

The improvement of spiritual energy is inseparable from the enhancement of blood vitality. Only a more robust physical body can support the entry of more essence of heaven and earth into the body.

The improvement of mental essence is likewise inseparable from the tempering of the three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls by blood vitality and spiritual energy.

The three energies complement each other, jointly forging the cornerstone of a martial artist's power!

A martial artist could know no martial skills at all, but if they did not master and utilize the three energies, they could not be considered a true martial artist.

"Having entered the Soul Tempering Realm, I am already in the first tier among rogue martial artists. The threat posed to me by martial artists who aren't from orthodox backgrounds is now much smaller!"

[After making some adjustments, you take the now-empty Ten Thousand Souls Banner and set foot on the path of cultivation once again.]

[Stepping into the Soul Tempering Realm is certainly a cause for joy, but this is merely one hurdle on the long and arduous path of martial arts.]

[Ahead of you, there are still many great mountains to climb.]

[For someone with mediocre aptitude like you, climbing these mountains will be even harder than it is for others.]

[I feel like I'm giving off some 'A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality' vibes...]

[Year 29, 46 years old.]

[Drawing a trait...]

[Draw successful!]

[Mortal Bone (Gold):

If you only possess a low-tier bone aptitude, have no special physique, and have not undergone body remodeling using heavenly treasures or earthly resources, etc.

After reaching the Core Transformation Realm, your comprehension of divine abilities will not be restricted by the rules of heaven and earth, and your comprehension speed for divine abilities will be enhanced tenfold!

Cultivating in the mortal realm~ fate and feuds all fade to naught~ watching them pass by~ ordinary in the end, yet far from mediocre~~~]

[Would you like to adjust your traits?]

[Yes / No]

Seeing the golden trait, Chen Yi was excited for a moment, but then he was immediately dumbfounded.

"Core Transformation Realm? Comprehension of divine abilities? What does that mean?"

Chen Yi realized that the effect description of the trait had touched upon a blind spot in his knowledge. He hadn't even heard of this "Core Transformation Realm."

"This is probably a trait that will only be useful in the very late stages of cultivation..."

[You equipped 'Stroke of Genius'!]

[You equipped 'Wandering Dragon Teasing the Phoenix'!]

[You continue to wander around the Central Plains, slaying demons and eradicating evil everywhere.]

[The Ten Thousand Souls Banner is empty, so its natural feedback to your cultivation is gone.]

[You are now in desperate need of a large number of demon souls.]

[There are too few demons in the Central Plains. In order to evade the Demon Slaying Division, they are scattered extremely sparsely and hidden well. Looking for them one by one like this is too inefficient.]

[Among the Five Domains, the Eastern Wasteland has the most demons because there are very few humans there—so few that they haven't even formed any nations.]

[Furthermore, the Eastern Wasteland borders the Great Wasteland, which is the territory of the demon race. Powerful demons all operate within the Great Wasteland.]

[You decide to go take a stroll in the Eastern Wasteland.]

[You didn't go before because the Spirit Gathering Realm was truly not worth mentioning, but now that you are in the Soul Tempering Realm, you have at least some confidence.]

[Year 30, 47 years old.]

[You replaced 'Wandering Dragon Teasing the Phoenix' with 'The Only True Seer in the Game'.]

[On your way to the Eastern Wasteland, you conveniently took care of some demon troubles.]

[With your combat strength now improved, you are able to take down even more powerful demons.]

[Your hair is also growing increasingly red.]

[The reputation of the Red-Haired Demon Slayer resounds ever louder among the rogue martial artists in the southern regions of the Central Plains.]

[This year, you find yourself unknowingly passing through Baiyun County in Qingzhou. You decide you might as well drop by Third Sister's house for a visit, and take the opportunity to see how Da Chun has been doing.]