Back in his room at night, Yu Fei tidied up and prepared to fuse his talents.

After 12 AM tonight, the second stage would officially end, and everyone’s points would be tallied.

The third stage, a point-based challenge, would begin a week later at Base 105.

During this week, the prodigies could either heal their injuries or cultivate at the Tianxing Dojo. Of course, there would also be a camping party every night with unlimited grilled meat and mushrooms.

Yu Fei took out the Senluo Jade Fruit, uncorked the bottle, and drank it in one go. The emerald-green liquid had a slightly grainy texture in his mouth and a faint sweetness that reminded him of a mung bean smoothie.

A gentle, warm energy seeped into every corner of his body. The Primordial Qi Sword Lotus in his heart awakened and greedily absorbed the energy.

He quickly got into bed, ready to sleep. Within his mental space, he locked onto the four red talents.

With the Void Martial Body as the primary, he would fuse the Profound Heart Wisdom Light, the Profound Mansion Celestial Body, and the Chixiao Battle Body.

"Fuse."

Thirty motes of stardust burst with brilliant light, transforming into a beam that pierced through the four talents, stringing them together.

Suddenly, a profound drowsiness washed over him. Just as he was about to fall into a deep sleep, he caught a glimpse of a dazzling golden gem abruptly appearing in his room out of the corner of his eye. The red gem that had been following him these past few days appeared right after it.

Yu Fei’s mind went blank for a moment. Right before he succumbed to sleep, an immense panic surged in his heart.

’Is that? Honglian? Why would she sneak in at the crucial moment I’m fusing my talents?

’I’m screwed! I’m not going to wake up in a lab, am I? They’re not going to dissect me, are they? Will I... even wake up?’

Then, a wave of drowsiness swept over him, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Zhuo Feiming looked at the sleeping Yu Fei with an ’I knew it’ expression. She then instructed Dong Yu, "Go stand guard outside. Don’t come in unless something happens!"

Dong Yu, who had been concealed, nodded slightly and then vanished.

From the perspective of a Martial Saint, the changes within Yu Fei’s body were nothing short of a miracle of life.

Martial Saints represent the pinnacle of human cultivation. Their extremely high martial attainments allowed them to perceive the essence of things more clearly.

What was most important in the path of martial arts? When all was said and done, there were only a few answers.

Aptitude, resources, and willpower!

From a Martial Saint’s point of view, these three formed a tripod; not a single one could be missing.

Their importance varied at different stages of a Martial Artist’s growth. In the first three realms of Body Tempering, aptitude was the most important, followed by resources.

Treasures in this world that could alter one’s aptitude were extremely rare, and many had side effects. This was what made prodigy Martial Artists so special.

The Ox Subduing Pile Skill and the Six Harmonies Killing Fist, practiced in the first realm of martial arts, were foundational Cultivation Techniques carefully selected for their universality and their ability to accurately screen for Martial Artists with superior aptitude.

Being able to master these two Cultivation Techniques to perfection meant a Martial Artist’s foundational aptitude and comprehension were among the best of their generation, giving them a high probability of eventually reaching the Grandmaster realm.

As for realms above Grandmaster, besides aptitude, the influencing factors were numerous and difficult to define. However, with better aptitude, the path would be smoother and allow for a higher margin of error.

Flames flickered in Zhuo Feiming’s eyes. The martial body that had already formed within Yu Fei seemed to be infused with a new power, constantly expanding in both depth and breadth.

Only a tiny fraction of the Senluo Jade Fruit’s energy had been consumed. Although the Primordial Qi Sword Lotus had devoured it freely, it hadn’t used much. The majority of the life force energy remained hidden deep within his body, ready to be reactivated if Yu Fei ever faced danger.

Yu Fei’s martial body evolution was less a transformation and more like his own traits being further activated. In other words, this kid possessed the most unique talent in the history of martial arts—a self-adapting, evolutionary talent.

’Perhaps... this guy could become a being beyond the level of a Martial Saint?’

At this thought, Zhuo Feiming couldn’t help but laugh. ’How could that be possible? At best, there’s only an infinitesimally small hope.’

She then turned and left. She needed to personally inspect the other prospects in this batch. Who knew, there might be other surprises!

The fusion process took a long time. In a daze, Yu Fei vaguely heard the chirping of birds outside.

He slowly opened his eyes, his mind a complete blank. After a moment, as if his system was rebooting, all his past memories flooded back.

Yu Fei suddenly remembered the brilliant golden gem from before he lost consciousness last night.

WHOOSH. He leaped out of bed and scanned his surroundings vigilantly.

It was still his original room, not some laboratory. He checked himself from top to bottom; not a single part was missing.

Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief and plop down on the bed. Thinking about what happened last night, he broke out in a cold sweat.

He had been too careless. He didn’t know if Honglian had noticed anything unusual. This incident taught him a profound lesson: in the future, he had to upgrade and load his talents in an exceptionally secure location. He couldn’t be careless on someone else’s territory.

After calming down for a moment, Yu Fei sank his consciousness into his mental space to observe the newly fused talent on the Fate-Defying Pearl.

The first thing he saw was an elegant and noble silver radiance.

Xuanxiao Spirit Body

Quality: Silver

Description: Innate Body

Effect 1, Wisdom Heart: A single thought comprehends the profound; all techniques are mastered naturally.

Effect 2, Spirit Body: Creation returns to truth; its wonders are unparalleled.

Effect 3, Profound Yang: Pure Yang Profound Gang; Divine Powers manifest on their own.

Yu Fei looked at the explanation for the Xuanxiao Spirit Body, feeling a bit lost.

The good news was that his talent had been upgraded. The bad news was that he didn’t really understand it.

He discovered that as his talents continued to fuse and upgrade, their effects and descriptions were becoming more and more abstract.

But that was fine. ’The meat is still in the pot,’ as they say. With the descriptions of the talent’s effects, he could always figure out the right direction to go.