14: Qualification Enhancement: A Prodigy

At the summit of the blood-colored lonely Peak, the biting Evil Qi wind was like a blade, causing Lin Yuan's clothes to flutter violently. He sat cross-legged on the bone-chilling cultivation platform, his gaze like lightning, staring at the golden notification on the data panel that radiated a fatal temptation:

[Current Status]

Realm: shedding mortality realm Nine Heavens (Nine Body Tempering · Perfection)

evolution points: 2233 (+500/day)

Can Breakthrough to: Awakening Realm First Heaven (consumes 200 evolution points, can perform Origin Awakening)

The transformation brought by the Mortal Transformation Baptism was clearly visible. The Fusion degree of the Primordial Purple Qi had quietly climbed to 0.5%, and the daily income of evolution points had also skyrocketed to 500 points, providing a solid backup for this Breakthrough in a desperate situation.

"shedding mortality realm Nine Heavens, the limit of a mortal body..." Zhou Xingchen's teachings echoed in his mind. "The Awakening Realm, knocking on the door of talent, is the beginning of transcendence!"

No more hesitation! Lin Yuan's fingertips carried determination as he clicked heavily on the [Breakthrough] option!

Boom—! 200 evolution points evaporated instantly! The Spiritual Qi in his body, which had been as silent as a deep pool, was suddenly thrown into billions of stars and boiled violently! Violent! The torrent of Spiritual Qi accumulated from nine Body Tempering sessions, hidden in the deepest parts of his limbs and bones, roared towards his Dantian like nine awakened ancient Dragons!

At the core of the Dantian, endless Spiritual Qi spun, compressed, and collapsed crazily! A dazzling nebula vortex, seemingly containing the mysteries of the Universe's birth and death, roared into existence! Lin Yuan felt his body undergoing a earth-shaking reorganization!

His bones emitted a buzzing sound like a Dragon's roar. Countless dense purple lightning Divine Power patterns, leaping with destructive electric arcs, appeared and were branded on the surface of his bones! His internal organs were repeatedly washed and strengthened by pure energy, and every heartbeat was like beating a Heavenly drum!

[Breakthrough Complete!]

Realm: Awakening Realm First Heaven!

Awakening talent: Thunder Origin (Elementary · Controlling Ten Thousand Jun)!

Primordial Purple Qi Fusion degree: 2% (+2000/day)!

Remaining evolution points: 2033!

"This is... the power of the Origin!" Lin Yuan slowly clenched his fist. Between his fingers, dazzling purple electric snakes splashed and entangled wildly, making crackling explosions!

Unlike the pure physical Body Tempering of the shedding mortality realm, at this moment, he clearly "perceived" the power of thunder surging within his body, like an extension of his Bloodline!

Just entering Awakening, he awakened the Thunder Origin! One must know, 99% of Martial Artists need to struggle in the Awakening Realm, mining until the Peak of the Nine Heavens, before they have a slim chance to touch the threshold of their own talent! This gap is like clouds and mud!

2% Fusion degree! 2000 evolution points per day! The road to becoming stronger is like being equipped with a sea of stars engine, accelerating crazily!

His gaze swept over the exchange list of the identity token:

[Resource Exchange]

Elementary Pei Yuan Medicinal Pill (Inferior): 50 points/pill (limit 20)

Basic Sword Technique (Trash): 10 points

Lin Yuan did not hesitate and invested all the 1000 points (certification reward) he had just received to exchange for 20 Elementary Pei Yuan Medicinal Pills! A glimmer of light flashed, and a warm jade bottle appeared in his palm.

Uncorking the bottle, a rich medicinal fragrance mixed with a faint scent of herbal essence rushed towards his face. On the surface of the Medicinal Pill, dense silver pill patterns were clearly visible—this was the best resource for consolidating the Foundation in the Early Stage of the Awakening Realm.

Just as he was about to take the pill to Cultivate—

Hum!

In his storage ring, that roll of silent, tattered Jade Slip suddenly flew out on its own, hovering in the air, emitting a faint call! At the same time, the data panel simultaneously popped up a new golden prompt:

[Detected completable Cultivation Technique: "Tai Chu Huan Zhen Jue" fragment]

Completion conditions:

Pre-requisite Cultivation Technique: Advanced Star Brilliance Body Tempering Technique (already met)

Consume evolution points: 700 points

"So that's it! This is the real Treasure Trove left by Father!" A sharp light exploded in Lin Yuan's eyes. Without hesitation, 700 evolution points were deducted instantly!

Clang—!

The tattered Jade Slip suddenly erupted with a brilliant golden light that pierced through the blood evil! Countless mysterious runes containing the Concept of the beginning of Chaos and the derivation of all things, like a golden torrent, ignored all obstacles and instantly poured into Lin Yuan's Sea of Consciousness!

A massive amount of information and exquisite cultivation routes were deeply branded!

[Cultivation Technique completion successful: "Tai Chu Huan Zhen Jue"]

Effect: Basic cultivation efficiency + 800%!

Additional effect: Cultivation simultaneously tempers Mental Energy, efficiency + 200%!

Thinking of this huge advantage of Mental Energy, Lin Yuan acted again! He consumed 200 and 1000 evolution points respectively to upgrade the [Mental Tempering] ability by two levels! The evolution points reserve hit the bottom instantly, with only 133 points left!

[Mental Tempering (Top-tier · Passive)]

Effect: Automatically increase Mental Energy by 500 points every day!

The first Pei Yuan Medicinal Pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth! Lin Yuan instantly operated the newly acquired "Tai Chu Huan Zhen Jue"! Under the guidance of the Cultivation Technique, the newly awakened Thunder Origin power in his body perfectly blended with the surging medicinal power, turning into a roaring energy torrent entangled with destructive purple lightning, rushing crazily through his widened and strengthened Meridians!

Even more astonishingly, the violent, chaotic, and erosive Spiritual Qi in the Blood Evil Valley was forcefully captured, devoured, and tamed by this torrent, turning into countless dense electric lights, like loyal guards, circling around Lin Yuan!

[Cultivation Log · Blood Evil Jedi (First 5 days)]

Day 1: combat power + 0.1 star (1.2 stars → 1.3 stars / 12900 → 13900); Mental Energy + 0.06 stars (0.52 stars → 0.58 stars / 5200 → 5800) [Tai Chu Huan Zhen Jue + 0.01 star, Mental Tempering + 0.05 stars]

Day 5 (cumulative consumption of 5 Pei Yuan Medicinal Pills):

Basic combat power: 1.79 stars (17900)

Mental Energy: 0.82 stars (8200)

evolution points balance: 10133 (including +2000 for the day)

evolution points, breaking through the ten-thousand-point mark for the first time! The portal to higher Aptitude was slammed open!

[Aptitude Promotion Interface]

Current Aptitude: Heaven-Sent Prodigy

Promotion target: World-Shocking Prodigy

Consumption: 10000 evolution points

Effect: Cultivation efficiency + 500%! Comprehension Ability + 300%!

"Confirm! Promote!" Lin Yuan whispered in his heart!

Boom—!

It felt like the Origin of the Universe exploded in the depths of his Soul! The invisible shackles shattered inch by inch! In an instant, Lin Yuan felt his thinking speed soar ten times, a hundred times!

Some obscure and difficult details in the original "Tai Chu Huan Zhen Jue" now became as clear and thorough as looking at patterns on his palm!

The invisible flow of Spiritual Qi in the air turned into clearly visible, colorful energy threads in his eyes! Even the chaotic and violent Evil Qi energy of the Blood Evil Valley, some of its rough movement trajectories, were faintly captured by him!

The whole world was completely "clear" in his eyes!

[Aptitude Promotion successful: World-Shocking Prodigy]

Cultivation efficiency + 500%!

Comprehension Ability + 300%!

Passive effect: Mental Tempering (Top-tier) efficiency doubled! → Daily increase Mental Energy 1000 points (0.1 star)!

Cultivation gain: Basic combat power + 0.5 stars per cultivation day! Mental Energy + 0.05 stars!

For the next 5 days, under the five-fold violent blessing of the Blood Evil Jedi, World-Shocking Aptitude, Top-tier Cultivation Technique, Pei Yuan Medicinal Pill, and passive tempering, Lin Yuan's cultivation results were terrifying:

[Cultivation Log · Blood Evil Jedi (Last 5 days)]

Day 6: Basic combat power + 0.5 stars (1.79 stars → 2.29 stars / 17900 → 22900); Mental Energy + 0.15 stars (0.82 stars → 0.97 stars / 8200 → 9700) [Cultivation + 0.05, Mental Tempering + 0.1]

Day 7: Thunder Origin talent successfully Advanced under the scouring of violent energy → Thunder Origin (Intermediate · Thunder Moves Nine Heavens)! combat power increase significantly improved!

...

Day 10 (Final results):

Realm: Awakening Realm First Heaven

Basic combat power: 4.29 stars (42900) (excluding equipment, talent bonuses)

Mental Energy: 1.57 stars (15700)

Remaining evolution points: 10133

When the death knell announcing the end of the ten-day observation period rang loudly over the Blood Evil Valley, the scarlet rock wall engraved with "Either become stronger, or die!" suddenly lit up with new blood-colored characters:

[Potential Training Camp observation period ended!]

Immediately proceed to the certification hall for final talent level evaluation!

The biting gale of the blood-colored lonely Peak seemed to still linger on his clothes, carrying a rich smell of blood and Evil Qi. Lin Yuan passed through an archway made of floating, twisting, and squirming blood-colored runes and stepped into the certification hall.

The empty, cold hall, filled with the faint smell of energy disinfectant, was in stark contrast to the wildness of the Blood Evil Valley outside. In the center of the hall, a house-sized dark blue crystal ball hovered quietly, emitting a constant and cold light.

Several people wearing standard instructor robes were checking the information on the light screen listlessly, and a formulaic laziness permeated the air. Having just completed a large-scale distribution, there were only a few figures in the hall performing certification at the moment.

"Next, Lin Yuan." An old instructor with gray hair, who was too lazy to lift his eyelids, shouted the name in a tone without waves, and waved his hand casually.

Lin Yuan's expression was calm, and he stepped forward steadily. When his palm pressed on the surface of the bone-chilling crystal ball—

Hum—!

Inside the dark blue crystal ball, it was as if billions of stars had been thrown in, and countless violent data streams surged, collided, and stirred crazily! The dazzling light instantly filled the entire hall! The huge projection screen on the wall was like an awakened giant beast, and the data refreshed crazily like a waterfall:

[Certification scan complete]

Name: Lin Yuan

Bone age: 16

Realm: Awakening Realm First Heaven

Benchmark combat power (average in the same Realm): 0.2 stars

Benchmark Mental Energy (average in the same Realm): 0.1 stars

Talent Realm basic level: 1

Measured basic combat power: 4.29 stars (exceeds benchmark value 2145%!)

Measured Mental Energy: 1.57 stars (exceeds benchmark value 1570%!)

Talent Awakening: Thunder Origin (Intermediate · Thunder Moves Nine Heavens)

Comprehensive potential evaluation: Level 1 · Peerless Talent!

"Clatter!"

The expensive recording Jade Slip in the white-haired instructor's hand dropped straight to the ground and shattered into pieces!

The casual expression on his wrinkled face was instantly replaced by extreme shock and bewilderment; his mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg, and his cloudy, aged eyes stared fixedly at the glaring "2145%" and "1570%" on the screen!

"Whoa—!"

The entire hall, which had been deathly silent, instantly erupted into Chaos, like cold water poured into a boiling wok of oil!

"Four... 4.29 stars?! He's only at Awakening Stage 1?! What kind of joke is this?!"

"The crystal ball must be broken?! It's definitely broken! Go check it immediately!!"

"Hmph! Even if the data is real, so what? He only reached Awakening Stage 1 at 16! A Peerless Talent at a low Realm? That sounds like a joke! His Foundation is unstable; sooner or later, he'll crash and burn!"

"Exactly! Perhaps he used some crooked secret technique to overdraw his potential, just a flash in the pan! Just wait and see, he'll be exposed soon enough!"

Lin Yuan turned a deaf ear to the surrounding clamor, as if he were merely brushing dust off his shoulder.

He calmly accepted the token that the white-haired instructor handed over with trembling hands.

The token felt warm and heavy in his hand, its entire body flowing with a faint golden luster.

On the front, the two ancient seal characters for "Level 1" were simple and vigorous, and below them were the slightly smaller, yet even more dazzling characters for "Peerless Talent"!

Just by holding it in his hand, he could feel the weight and privileges contained within!

At the same time, a clear stream of information flooded into his mind:

【Obtained "Level 1 Peerless Talent" status certification!】

【Reward: Spirit Martial Hall points +5000!】

【Unlocked: Advanced resource exchange privileges (Mysterious-tier Cultivation Technique, Medicinal Pill, Materials, etc.)!】

As his gaze swept over the brand-new exchange list projected from the token, the icons for high-grade Peiyuan Pills and Mysterious-tier Martial Skills radiated an alluring glow.

Just at this moment—

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Heavy footsteps sounded like the beating of war drums as a middle-aged man, clad in streamlined dark gold armor with an aura as sharp as an unsheathed sword, approached with a powerful, tiger-like stride!

On the jade pendant hanging from his waist, the two characters for "Elite" glowed like a burning branding iron, exuding unquestionable authority!

His gaze was like a hawk's, instantly locking onto Lin Yuan.

"Lin Yuan?" The voice was low and powerful, carrying a metallic texture. "I am the Chief Instructor of the Elite Training Group, Xiao Zhan! From now on, you are under my command!"

His sharp gaze was like an X-ray, scanning Lin Yuan from head to toe. Deep within those eyes, a flash of fiery anticipation, like discovering a peerless piece of unpolished jade, flickered.

"Follow me!" He turned, his armor clanking. "Don't hide anything; show off your skills! Let everyone see what a true 'Peerless' is! Don't let those who think highly of you... be disappointed!"

Lin Yuan gripped the heavy golden token in his hand, feeling the power surging within him that far exceeded the certified data, and silently followed Xiao Zhan's tower-like figure.

The sunlight spilled down, stretching their shadows long.

In the distance, the Elite Training Base's cluster of spires, towering into the clouds with countless flickering runes engraved on their bodies, loomed in the swirling mist like a dormant steel beast, exuding a cold and powerful aura, silently declaring—a new, more cruel journey was about to begin!

In a cold, shadowy corner of the certification hall, several figures with obscure auras, dressed in dark-patterned black robes, were whispering to each other while looking at the absurdly glaring data backed up on the crystal ball:

"Target: Lin Yuan. Data anomaly coefficient has exceeded the threshold; mark as 'S-Rank Potential Observation Subject'."

"Awakening Stage 1 at 16, 4.29-star combat power... perhaps he is the dark horse of this year's selection competition. Initiate Level 3 surveillance."

"Hmph, I hope this 'dark horse' has hooves hard enough to trample out a bloody path... otherwise, the one who gets trampled to pieces will be himself."

A cold wind swept through the hall, silently scattering these whispers without leaving a trace.

Lin Yuan followed closely behind Chief Instructor Xiao Zhan, his steps steady.

The road beneath his feet, paved with an unknown cyan metal, reflected a cold luster under the scorching otherworldly sun.

In the distance, the Elite Training Base's iconic cluster of spires pierced through the low-hanging clouds, and countless mysterious runes on the towers slowly moved and flickered like living things, emitting heart-palpitating energy fluctuations and ancient majesty.

Passing through a massive stone gate carved with battle scars that looked like axe and blade marks, and flowing with dark red energy circuits, the scene before him made Lin Yuan's pupils shrink!

A boundless, giant plaza!

On the plaza, more than twenty thousand Martial Artists of the Awakening Realm were sitting cross-legged, densely packed like an ant colony!

Each of them had auras of varying strength rising from their bodies, and majestic Spiritual Qi was being frantically extracted and gathered from all directions!

Above their heads, tens of thousands of Spiritual Qi vortexes of varying sizes had formed!

These vortexes collided and pulled at each other, eventually converging above the plaza into a sea of Spiritual Qi storms that blotted out the sky and rotated slowly!

Even more suffocating was that, despite being consumed by such a massive amount of Spiritual Qi, the concentration of Spiritual Qi within the entire base space showed no sign of decreasing at all!

It was as if the ground was connected to an endless source of Spiritual Qi!

"Here, the Elite Training Base, the 'Gu-raising Pit'!"

Xiao Zhan's voice was like muffled thunder, still clearly reaching Lin Yuan's ears amidst the roaring of the massive Spiritual Qi tide, "320,000 trainees, with 20,000 in the Awakening Realm! Here, even breathing is a competition! If you are one step slow, you will be trampled by others, and not even your bone fragments will be left!"

He raised his hand, like a general commanding thousands of troops, and pointed to the architectural complexes on the edge of the plaza, which were of different styles and exuded powerful energy fluctuations:

"See that? That is the 【Realm Breaking Tower】—throw points into it, and there is a chance to trigger the infusion of rules to forcibly break through!"

"Next to it, the 【Slaughter Battle Tower】—simulating the Myriad Races battlefield, challenging limits; the record holder of each floor earns a fortune every day!"

"The one in the distance with faint blue ghost fires is the 【Mental Training Tower】—a place specially designed for torturing... oh no, tempering mental will. Going in once, losing a layer of skin is considered light!"

"There are also the 【Myriad Techniques Pavilion】, the 【Origin Hall】... want to use these places?"

Xiao Zhan's mouth curled into a cold arc, "Use points to exchange for them! Here, points are life!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Lin Yuan like lightning: "Sources of points? Certify your Martial Artist Rank, break all kinds of records! The base organizes a unified certification every 15 days, giving basic points based on Realm."

He emphasized his tone, carrying a hint of imperceptible expectation, "You are a 'Level 1 Peerless Talent'; you start with one more life than others—5000 points! Use them well, and don't waste this 'Peerless' title!"

Lin Yuan looked around.

The entire base was like a cold and efficient war machine, with almost no leisure areas for daily life to be seen.

The Martial Artists were either frantically absorbing Spiritual Qi on the plaza or rushing hurriedly to various challenge facilities, their faces full of exhaustion and ferocity.

Food? Only the most basic Fasting Pills were distributed at fixed times.

Everything was for one goal—the selection competition half a year later that would determine fate and resources!

"I have high hopes for you, kid."

Xiao Zhan's large hand, covered in metal arm armor, patted Lin Yuan's shoulder heavily, with a force so heavy that the ground beneath Lin Yuan's feet shook slightly, his voice carrying the cruel sincerity unique to an iron-blooded instructor.

"Here, hiding things is just waiting for death! Show your claws and fangs! Use your skills! Let those arrogant guys see what a 'Peerless' who crawled out of the 'Abandoned Sequence' is really made of! Don't let me down!"

Lin Yuan nodded heavily, his gaze sweeping like a hawk over those towers that symbolized power and opportunity.

Finally, his gaze firmly locked onto the one with the most twisted and eerie appearance, exuding a fluctuation that made one's Soul uneasy—the Mental Training Tower!

His experience on Blue Star made him deeply aware of the strategic value of Mental Energy, but he had suffered from a lack of a place for systematic tempering.

Now, this excellent opportunity was right before his eyes!

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yuan strode toward the Mental Training Tower!

In front of the Mental Training Tower, the air seemed to have become much thicker and colder.

The tower was constructed of a dark, dull material that was neither metal nor stone, and its surface was covered with countless twisting and writhing faint blue runes that seemed to be wailing in pain; just approaching it made one feel dizzy and their Soul palpitate.

A breath of deathly silence and madness, originating from ancient times and capable of devouring Souls, rushed toward him.

In front of the tower, an old man with white hair and beard, his figure hunched like a withered tree, was curled up in a dilapidated rattan chair, his eyelids drooping as if he might fall asleep at any moment.

Lin Yuan stepped forward, pressed his identity token into the groove of the registration stone platform, and deducted 500 points.

"Hmm?" The old man lifted his eyelids slightly, his eyeballs, cloudy like dust-covered glass beads, glanced at Lin Yuan, his shriveled lips moving to emit a voice as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing: "Little kid... the Mental Training Tower... is not a place for playing around. The last little guy who was as 'confident' as you is now... still learning how to eat with a spoon..."

His voice carried a numbness as if he had seen through life and death, along with a faint mockery.

Lin Yuan's expression was calm; he took back his token and nodded slightly to the old man, thanking him for the reminder.

He took a deep breath, and the air mixed with bloody Evil Qi and cold deathly silence surged into his lungs; purple lightning starlight flashed and vanished in his eyes, and without the slightest hesitation, he turned and stepped toward the black stone gate that was slowly opening, like the hideous throat of a giant beast!

"Creak—Boom!"

The heavy stone gate closed slowly behind him, emitting a dull, thunderous sound like a tombstone shutting, completely isolating the last trace of light.

Inside the Mental Training Tower, absolute darkness and silence instantly devoured everything!

Only the terrifying whispers and mad wails coming from the depths of his Soul, becoming clearer and clearer, indicated that the real test... had just begun!