Chapter 16: The Thunderflame Body-Tempering Art! Cultivating a Peak Seventh-Tier Cultivation Art!

Under the overlap of those two powers, Xiao Xuan’s True Qi gradually began to carry traces of lightning and flame.

Then the amount of Thunderflame Power grew more and more.

Very soon, it spread throughout all of Xiao Xuan’s Essence-Blood.

In only a few seconds, a cultivation art that would normally require months, or even years, for an ordinary person to condense even a single thread of Thunderflame Power was brought by Xiao Xuan straight to the Beginner level, with Thunderflame Power filling his entire body!

Of course, at present, that only meant one strand of Thunderflame Power within each drop of Essence-Blood.

The next step would be increasing the amount of Thunderflame Power.

The more he increased it, the higher the level of the cultivation art would become!

In theory, cultivation arts of this type could be improved without limit.

But in general, that was not recommended.

Because the amount of elemental power each drop of Essence-Blood could carry was limited.

The further one progressed, the harder it became to carry more elemental power!

And the elemental power condensed by a powerful cultivation art could match dozens, hundreds, or even thousands upon thousands of strands of lower-level elemental power with a single strand.

That was why there was no point in stubbornly grinding away at lower-level cultivation arts.

In fact, there were not many people who could cultivate a cultivation art all the way to Great Perfection to begin with!

Of course, that was unless they had no higher-level cultivation art available.

And this level, with one strand of Thunderflame Power in every drop of Essence-Blood, was generally called one strand of Elemental True Qi!

【Ding... Congratulations. Cultivation Art: Thunderflame Body-Tempering Art has successfully been cultivated to Beginner. You have successfully condensed one strand of Elemental True Qi.

Cultivation Speed Enhancement: 600%

True Qi infused into the body can strengthen the flesh: 300%

Eco Points required to upgrade to Proficient: 10000!】

Very soon, a notification sounded.

Still, the cost made Xiao Xuan wince a little.

That was quite a lot. If he wanted to cultivate it all the way to Great Perfection, would it not take more than a hundred thousand?

More than a hundred thousand was enough to raise his strength all the way to the Grandmaster Realm!

But when he remembered that this was, after all, a Peak Seventh-Tier cultivation art, he let it go.

Peak Seventh-Tier cultivation arts were things that ordinary Martial Emperors did not even possess!

And what kind of level was a Martial Emperor?

Above the Martial Apprentice came the Body-Tempering Realm. After Body-Tempering came the Vitality Realm, the Innate Realm, the Grandmaster Realm, and the Great Grandmaster Realm!

Above the Great Grandmaster Realm was the Martial King Realm!

And only above the Martial King Realm did one reach the Martial Emperor Realm!

It was three major realms above the Grandmaster Realm!

If all it took was a mere hundred thousand or so Eco Points to cultivate a Peak Seventh-Tier art to Great Perfection, then how was that any different from getting it for free?

“I’m still too weak. If I actually had real strength and casually killed a whole pile of Fifth- and Sixth-Tier Ferocious Beasts, wouldn’t my Eco Points skyrocket?”

Thinking that, Xiao Xuan turned his attention to the other martial skills once more.

Since Xiao Xuan already had Blade Mastery, his first choice was naturally blade techniques!

And among all the blade arts, Xiao Xuan selected a Peak Seventh-Tier martial skill called 【Thunderflame Annihilation Slash】.

That martial skill was truly extraordinary.

At Great Perfection, it could also unleash a terrifying 900% destructive power.

The difference, however, was that at Beginner level alone, it could already unleash 500%, and every additional level of proficiency increased its power by another 100%. Its lower threshold was far higher, while its upper limit was roughly the same as ordinary martial skills. For Xiao Xuan, that naturally made it the best choice.

A martial skill like that was absolutely one of the finest among all martial skills.

Ordinary martial skills, after all, were like the Thunderflame Body-Tempering Art: 300% at Beginner, and 900% at Great Perfection.

But this Thunderflame Annihilation Slash was already stronger at Beginner than an ordinary martial skill at Proficient level!

Xiao Xuan did not waste any words. He directly spent 3000 Eco Points to learn it.

Next came a movement art!

It was also of the lightning-and-fire attribute.

【Flame-Dancing Lightning Flash】, once cultivated to Beginner, could raise his speed by 200%. However, each later increase in proficiency could only add another 75% speed bonus!

If cultivated to Great Perfection, it could increase speed by a full 500%!

The bonuses from movement-type martial skills, or even talents, were originally only about half of combat-power bonuses to begin with!

A normal Peak Seventh-Tier technique would only provide around 450% speed enhancement, yet this one reached 500%. That alone showed just how powerful it was.

It had already surpassed the range of an ordinary Peak Seventh-Tier technique.

Xiao Xuan cultivated it to Beginner as well.

After that, Xiao Xuan found another defensive cultivation art called 【Thunderflame Adamantine Body】.

That art could greatly raise his defensive power.

At its highest level, it could increase the body’s physical defense tenfold.

And more importantly, while cultivating it, one could continuously use the power of thunder and fire to temper the body’s toughness at all times!

To a certain extent, it could even help improve one’s overall strength.

And with that, Xiao Xuan had more or less gathered everything he needed for this round of cultivation.

Generally speaking, the three essentials of a Martial Artist’s martial skills were combat, speed, and defense.

Xiao Xuan also looked through the other cultivation arts. They were indeed top-tier arts.

But since they did not provide any substantial increase to his strength, there was no need for him to learn them all and waste his Eco Points!

Xiao Xuan glanced at the seven or eight thousand Eco Points he had left and directly poured them all into his Vitality!

His Vitality Value quickly reached 305, which meant he had advanced to the Innate Realm, Third Layer!

Xiao Xuan immediately opened his current status panel and took a look.

…………

Name: Xiao Xuan

Race: Human

Level: Innate Realm, Third Layer

Vitality: 305

Soul: 10

Cultivation Arts: Bloodthirsty Demonic Art (High Fifth-Tier! Combat Power *560%)Thunderflame Body-Tempering Art (Peak Seventh-Tier! Beginner, 0/10000! 300%)

Martial Skills: 【Thunderflame Annihilation Slash】 (Peak Seventh-Tier! Beginner, 0/10000! 300%)【Flame-Dancing Lightning Flash】 (Peak Seventh-Tier! Beginner, 0/10000! 200%)【Thunderflame Adamantine Body】 (Peak Seventh-Tier! Beginner, 0/10000! 400%)

Traits: 【Scavenger! Unique】 (Can pick up trash! Recycle trash!)

【Decent Talent! Blue】 (0/10000! Aptitude *1000)

【Lightning Control! Blue】 (Lightning-type attacks *650%! 3280/10000)

【Flame Control! Blue】 (Fire-type attacks *500%! 0/10000)

【Strength Enhancement! Blue】 (Strength Enhancement 500%, 0/10000)

【Speed Enhancement! Blue】 (Speed Enhancement 250%, 0/10000)

【Defense Enhancement! Blue】 (Defense Enhancement 500%, 0/10000)

【Gigantification! Blue】 (Body enlarges to 15 meters, thereby increasing physical combat power by 500%; can stack with the three foundational body Traits!)

【Blade Mastery! Blue】 (Possesses several hundred years of blade experience, increasing blade technique power by 500%)

【True Eye! Blue】 (Can instantly see through the disguises and cultivation of enemies whose strength does not exceed yours by more than tenfold!)

【Combat Mastery! Blue】 (Possesses formidable combat talent and can unleash your own power as tremendously powerful combat strength!)

Eco Points: 125

…………

Looking at his current attributes, Xiao Xuan was naturally very satisfied.

“So the next thing I need to do is get a Trait that can rapidly heal injuries and improve self-recovery. At that point, the speed at which I gain Eco Points will rise by a lot again.”

Just as Xiao Xuan was thinking that,

【Attention, passengers on Flight 03125, the D-Class passenger transport craft bound for Nanhai City, Shanhe Province, will soon depart. Please proceed to the departure lounge and wait for boarding.】

At that moment, an electronic voice rang throughout the airport.

Xiao Xuan immediately strode forward!

But just as he arrived, he saw a familiar back.

Of course, it was not Mu Xiying, because Xiao Xuan had deliberately bought a flight different from hers.

When the other person was checking in, Xiao Xuan finally saw her face clearly.

Though she could not compare with Mu Xiying’s beauty, which almost seemed beyond what the world should possess, she was still stunning.

And compared to Mu Xiying’s cold aloofness, she carried a little more gentleness and youthful innocence.

Only, that innocent air contrasted rather sharply with her ample chest.

It was actually Xiao Xuan’s former middle school classmate: Su Qingwu.

After middle school, however, their paths had split apart. Xiao Xuan, whose talent had been lacking, went to the third-rate Frenzied Blade Martial Hall.

As for Su Qingwu, because of her outstanding talent, she entered Blackwater Martial Hall, the finest martial hall in all of Blackwater City.

“Su Qingwu? Why is she going to the provincial capital too? Could she be going to take Nanhai University’s special admissions exam?”

When Xiao Xuan saw that Su Qingwu had already reached the Vitality Realm, Seventh Layer, he could not help marveling inwardly. As expected of the genius who had ranked first in the entire school back in middle school!

It was said that even after entering Blackwater Martial Hall, she had still remained the most outstanding genius in the entire hall.

Still, Xiao Xuan did not pay it too much mind. She had probably already forgotten an old classmate like him.

Very soon, after boarding the craft, Xiao Xuan found his seat.

Yet by sheer coincidence, his seat happened to be right beside Su Qingwu’s.

“Xiao Xuan? You’re Xiao Xuan?”

To Xiao Xuan’s surprise, Su Qingwu recognized him instantly.

And she seemed extremely excited!

That expression left Xiao Xuan completely baffled.

Why was Su Qingwu so excited to see him? Could it be that she had a secret crush on him?

But Xiao Xuan quickly dismissed the thought!

“Su Qingwu, it’s been a long time! Are you heading to the provincial capital too?”

Xiao Xuan immediately put on a surprised expression.

“Yes, I’m going to take Nanhai University’s special admissions exam. What about you, Classmate Xiao?”

Su Qingwu showed a pair of little tiger teeth as she smiled brightly.

At the same time, she looked at Xiao Xuan with curiosity.

As for Xiao Xuan, she knew him all too well!

Of course, not because of Xiao Xuan himself, but because of his sister who had gotten into Nanhai University.

That peerless genius, Mu Xiying, the greatest talent Blackwater Martial Hall had produced since its founding.

And Mu Xiying was also Su Qingwu’s one and only idol.

“I’m going to see my sister!”

Xiao Xuan explained casually.

But the moment Su Qingwu heard that, a trace of delight instantly appeared in her eyes.

“Senior Mu Xiying? Then does that mean you’re going to Nanhai University too?”

Su Qingwu hurriedly asked.

“Uh... more or less!”

Xiao Xuan was a little bewildered. Why did this girl’s gaze look exactly like that of a rabid fan?

Could Su Qingwu actually be one of Mu Xiying’s admirers?

After hearing his answer, however, Su Qingwu hesitated, as though she wanted to say something but felt too embarrassed to do so.

Naturally, Xiao Xuan knew what she was thinking, but he could only pretend not to notice and began chatting with her off and on.

“Oh, right. Is Nanhai University’s special admissions exam really this early? I remember the special admissions exams for other universities all take place after the college entrance exam, don’t they?”

Xiao Xuan suddenly remembered that point.

“Yes. Because Nanhai University needs to secure slots in the Hundred-Province Genius Tournament for those top geniuses, the top university in each province opens its special admissions exam early.

Of course, those geniuses mostly go there just for the prestige, because the ones taking the special admissions exam are all fresh high school graduates, while the strongest participants in the Hundred-Province Genius Tournament can even include tenth-year senior students.

If someone could make it into the top thousand right after finishing high school, they could go straight into Imperial Capital University!

But in the Hundred-Province Genius Tournament, only the third round ignores grade level.

The first two rounds are all assessed according to year level.

So if someone in the college entrance exam division can reach the third round, that is already an honor in itself.

After all, the college entrance exam only tests explosive power and things like that. There is still some gap compared to real combat strength.

Everyone wants to see whether they truly are the number one among the new students!”

Su Qingwu explained it all.

After hearing that, Xiao Xuan immediately understood.

“Wait, does that mean that if you pass the special admissions exam, you get to go to the Imperial Capital for the Genius Tournament for free?”