7: Chapter 7 Tempering the Physical Body! The Exclusive Weapon: The Candle Dragon Staff!

Chapter 7: Tempering the Body! Dedicated Weapon: zhulong staff! "However..."

The Great Elder's voice suddenly lowered, his tone growing grave. "That cavern is not easy to breach."

Leaning on his bone staff, he drew a circle on the ground and then four lines inside it.

"A Tuli lurks inside the cavern. It resembles a white ram, but possesses four horns. This creature naturally feeds on the essence of earth veins and has guarded that jade marrow for who knows how many years."

"The Tuli's hide is as thick as rock; ordinary attacks cannot pierce its defense at all. However, its body is nourished purely by earth spiritual energy, making it fear flame-attributed power the most... especially your dragon flame."

Kuayan couldn't help chiming in from the side, "The cavern passage is narrow, so we of the Kuafu Clan can't fit our bodies through at all. The last few times we tried to go down, we got stuck before even getting halfway. Using brute force to push through risks causing a cave-in, and if that happens, forget the jade marrow—the entire cavern would collapse."

The Great Elder nodded, his turbid gaze falling upon Lin Ye. "You have a smaller stature, so entering won't be a problem. And your dragon flame counters the Tuli."

"However..."

He shifted his tone. "The Tuli is no ordinary exotic beast. It has cultivated in that cavern for countless years and possesses a masterclass control over the earth veins. If you enrage it, a novice Qi Practitioner like you might not be able to withstand its full blow, even with dragon fire."

"So my advice as an old man is..."

"Don't go!"

"It's too risky, not worth it."

The campfire crackled, its firelight flickering across Lin Ye's face.

He remained silent for three seconds.

Then he raised his head and smiled slightly. "Thank you for the advice, Great Elder. But... since dragon flame counters it, I must make this trip."

"To tell you the truth, I come from another world, which I believe you all can tell. In a few days, I must return to my original world to participate in a trial assessment. That's why I'm eager to grow stronger—otherwise, leaving this sliver of divine sense with me would be far too wasteful."

Even if it was just a sliver of the Zhulong Divine Sense, if fully unlocked, it was an existence capable of destroying a world!

Lin Ye didn't want to waste such a precious gift; this was an opportunity!

Since ancient times, the winner takes all and the loser falls—do or die!

The Great Elder stared at him for a long moment, a complex gleam flashing in his cloudy eyes.

He refrained from advising further.

Kuayan opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing. He merely sighed heavily and patted Lin Ye on the shoulder...

This time he held back his strength, only causing Lin Ye to sway slightly from the pat.

"Fine! Since you've made up your mind, don't rush to leave tonight. Apply the Body-Tempering Ointment tonight!"

"Improve as much as you can before setting out tomorrow!"

The night grew deep.

The Kuafu Clan arranged a separate wooden hut for Lin Ye. Although absurdly large for him, it was quite comfortable once the animal hide mats were laid down.

Sitting cross-legged on the hide, he opened the bone jar.

A potent herbal fragrance washed over him.

The ointment was deep green, with a texture as fine as fat, shimmering under the glow of the zhulong seal.

Stripping off his top, he applied the ointment evenly to every inch of his skin.

At first, it was a cool sensation.

Then...

Boom!

It felt as though countless red-hot steel needles were plunging into his skin, drilling into his muscle, and piercing into his bones all at once!

Lin Ye clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.

His body was undergoing a wild transformation.

Muscle fibers snapped and reconnected, bone density surged at a visible rate, meridians were forcibly widened, and a layer of grayish-black impurities seeped out from his skin.

If his body before was like a stubborn rock...

Then now, it was striding toward becoming steel!

Only after a full two hours did the severe pain gradually subside.

Lin Ye stood up and looked down at his body.

His muscle definition was much clearer, and his skin had a faint metallic luster, like polished metal.

He clenched his fist, making the air pop in his palm.

His strength had surged by at least fifty percent!

Most importantly, his meridians had expanded, significantly raising the limit of the Zhulong Divine Sense he could endure!

He sat cross-legged again and submerged his mind into his consciousness space.

The zhulong seal floated deep within his consciousness space, a crimson dragon silhouette swirling with black flames.

He attempted to activate it, absorbing a minuscule sliver.

Painful!

Still excruciating pain!

But this time, it was clearly not as severe as before.

Only a few beads of blood seeped from his skin, his meridians didn't tear, and his bones didn't creak.

Lin Ye opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air, mingled with dark red sparks.

He squeezed his fists, feeling the surging power within his body.

"Still far from enough."

He was still a million miles away from fully absorbing that sliver of the Zhulong Divine Sense.

However...

At least he saw hope!

Early the next morning, Kuayan called him to the open ground at the center of the tribe.

A-Yao was also there, holding a dark red long staff in her hands.

The staff reached eyebrow height, slightly taller than Lin Ye. It was dark red all over, with a dragon motif carved spiraling upward along the shaft—the dragon's head at the tip and its tail at the grip. The lines were ancient and powerful, exuding an indescribable aura of pressure.

What surprised Lin Ye even more...

The Zhulong pattern on the staff was extremely similar to the design of the zhulong seal inside his consciousness space.

"This was made from the piece of Denglin Peach Wood A-Yao gave you yesterday."

Kuayan took the staff, sounding a bit embarrassed. "A-Yao and I rushed to make it overnight, so the craftsmanship is rough—don't mind it. We carved a dragon on it, thinking that since you received the favor of that entity from Mount Zhong, carving its pattern would serve as a nice memento."

Lin Ye took the staff. It felt heavy in his hands, yet extraordinarily comfortable to hold, as if tailored specifically for him.

"Wait."

He suddenly recalled something and blurted out subconsciously, "This color scheme, these patterns... why does it look a bit like the Golden-Hooped Staff?"

A-Yao tilted her head. "Golden-what staff?"

"Nothing." Lin Ye chuckled.

A-Yao blinked her amber eyes and suddenly said, "Right, I forgot to tell you. Denglin Peach Wood has a special trait: endless vitality."

"You can make it shrink or enlarge with just a thought. My father said you have a small stature, so if you encounter a huge creature, a short staff wouldn't be very useful. So he specifically kept this trait of the peach wood. Why don't you try it?"

Heart stirring, Lin Ye gripped the staff firmly and tried to activate it with his thoughts.

Grow!

The staff extended silently, growing from eyebrow height to two meters, then three meters. The shaft, now as thick as a bowl, gleamed dully in the moonlight, while the dragon head at the tip appeared increasingly fierce.

Shrink!

The long staff rapidly shrank, turning in the blink of an eye into a small dark red rod less than a palm's length, which could easily be hung at his waist.

He tested it several times, finding it increasingly nimble to control.

As-You-Will Golden-Hooped Staff... No, As-You-Will Peach Wood Staff.

Although its grade was a world apart, this feeling was indeed quite interesting.

"What is this staff called?" A-Yao asked.

Lin Ye pondered for a moment. "Let's call it... the zhulong staff! Well then, A-Yao, Brother Kuayan, I must be on my way!"

Next.

He walked out of the wooden hut, with Kuayan and A-Yao following behind.

"Let us walk you out."

"No need."

Lin Ye stretched his wrists, politely declining their goodwill, and turned to head in the direction of the Chenyuan Cave.

After walking a hundred meters, Kuayan's thunderous voice echoed from behind: "Kid! Come back alive to eat meat!"