Dongfang Zhen placed an exquisite incense burner by the edge of the pool, lit the dark purple incense within, and a strange wisp of purple smoke curled upwards, spreading through the mist.

"This is Dragon Shedding Fragrance. It comes from the Fifth World and is a special substance refined from the cast-off skin left behind when a flood dragon molts."

"The purple smoke it produces when burned can help you form a tough, thin film on the walls of your meridians."

"For most Martial Artists breaking through to the Gang Condensation Realm, the Critical Qi and Blood they refine is difficult to retain. This is because their Dantian Qi Sea has not yet opened, and a vortex has not yet formed."

"They can only rely on willpower and Spiritual Power to forcefully hold onto it, but even so, at least forty percent of the Critical Qi and Blood will eventually dissipate, completely wasted."

"If you have the assistance of Dragon Shedding Fragrance for the entire process, you won’t even lose ten percent."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye couldn’t help but sigh internally.

’For these top families that control vast resources and information, producing a genius is almost an inevitability. My teacher, Chen Meng, must have taken the harder path when he broke through to the Gang Condensation Realm, relying entirely on willpower. Who knows how much of his hard-earned Innate Qi he must have wasted.’

Dongfang Zhen then picked up the two vials of medicine and placed them on the edge of the pool next to Lin Ye.

"Soul Revival Grass Extract. After you finish cultivating, it can neutralize the residual Viper Poison Blood in your body, preventing any future complications."

After saying this, Dongfang Zhen glanced at the time.

"It’s almost noon. I’ve already asked Instructor Yin for leave from this afternoon’s martial arts class. Daoxuan and I have also made plans to go challenge the Nirvana Tower."

"I’ll go scout it out for you first. If I find any intel, I’ll tell you when I get out."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dongfang Zhen stood up and walked out of the bathing room.

Lin Ye watched his retreating back, then looked at the staff who were still busy preparing the medicinal liquid, and suddenly spoke.

"Excuse me. I have a request for Instructor Yin."

He had made a calculation.

’One pool of the Three Talents Medicine Liquid should provide me with about 2% progress. And with my system, I have no need for the Soul Revival Grass Extract to neutralize the toxins. The powerful restorative ability from [Healing out of combat] is enough to erase all the negative effects of the Viper Poison Blood. As for the absorption limit of the medicine, for me, it simply doesn’t exist. The system will purify and filter it directly, so I don’t have to worry about building up any resistance. So, in theory, as long as there are enough medicinal ingredients, I can soak here twenty-four hours a day. My breakthrough progress will be unimaginably fast.’

"My request is for unlimited refills of the medicinal liquid until I leave."

"That includes the Three Talents Medicine Liquid and the Dragon Shedding Fragrance."

"Deduct all the credits from my account. If that’s not enough, can I request to pay the rest on credit?"

As he said this, Lin Ye was actually quite nervous.

That Instructor Yin had a rather eccentric way of doing things, and he wasn’t confident she would agree to such an unreasonable request.

However, just two minutes later, the same staff member ran back with a strange expression on his face.

"Mr. Lin, Instructor Yin... has approved your request." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"She told us to temporarily record all the credits you use during your breakthrough."

"However, she requires that when you pay back the credits later, you must repay double the amount."

At this point, the staff member’s tone faltered, as if he found the next part difficult to say.

"And you have a two-week time limit. If you still can’t pay back this debt by the final assessment of the third week..."

"She’ll have you... uh, get the hell out of her training camp."

"Those were her exact words."

After listening, Lin Ye barely hesitated.

He nodded and agreed immediately.

...

「Three days later.」

Lin Ye walked out of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Hall.

His skin was wrinkled from the long immersion, and his face was a little pale. He looked as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

But his eyes were astonishingly bright.

For three days and three nights, aside from occasionally getting up to stretch his muscles, he had spent all his time soaked in the Three Talents Medicine Pool.

Cultivation Technique class, Observation Skill Class—Lin Ye skipped them all.

Although Yin Liulan had tacitly approved, he had also missed out on many sources of credits.

His credits were spent like flowing water. Just the unlimited refills of the medicinal bath and the ceaselessly burning Dragon Shedding Fragrance had already put him in what could only be described as an astronomical debt to Yin Liulan.

But the rewards were equally unimaginable.

Lin Ye focused his consciousness inward. He could clearly see a mass of incomparably pure energy in his Dantian, located in his lower abdomen. It was completely different from his previous Qi and Blood and was now spontaneously forming a tiny, slowly rotating vortex.

The vortex was still small, and its suction was still weak.

But its very appearance represented a milestone.

The first step to breaking through to the Gang Condensation Realm was a success!

Lin Ye himself understood why he had been able to form the vortex so early, when his progress in refining the crude to extract the fine was less than twenty percent.

The reason was none other than his incredibly solid foundation.

His total Qi and Blood was more than four times that of an ordinary Martial Artist. Therefore, even after refining and converting less than a fifth of it into Innate Qi, the resulting amount already surpassed what other peak Vein Opening Realm Martial Artists could produce by converting their entire reserves.

Forming the vortex was a matter of course.

With the suction from this vortex, his efficiency in refining Innate Qi would only increase, and his need for the assistance of the Dragon Shedding Fragrance was even greatly reduced.

’But now that the first step is complete, what’s the second?’

’Lin Hanshan and Dongfang Zhen probably didn’t expect me to be this fast, so they haven’t told me yet.’