Gu Ye sat down beside Lin Zheyu, glancing at the text he was reading with curiosity on her face.

"Junior Brother, why are you reading this incomplete technique?" Gu Ye asked curiously.

The technique Lin Zheyu was reading was an ancient, incomplete manual called Meridians and Acupoints Condensation Technique. It focused on cultivating meridians and acupoints. It followed an unconventional path, likely created by a Grandmaster who had no hope of reaching the Martial Innate realm, attempting to carve out a new martial path by further developing meridians and acupoints. Clearly, it had failed.

"To broaden my knowledge of martial cultivation. After reaching the Force Transformation realm, one must expand their meridians, nourish their acupoints, and break them open. I'm preparing in advance," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

This was just an excuse. Through recent research, he discovered that forming divine sense required the assistance of spirit power and acupoints. Some of the relevant acupoint knowledge was quite obscure, and he had searched for a long time before finding this incomplete manual.

"As expected of a genius, you still have the energy to study other techniques. For ordinary people like us, it's already good enough to master our main and secondary techniques and reach the peak," Gu Ye teased with a smile.

"Senior Sister, don't tease me. Condensing true strength can't be rushed. There's plenty of time; I just need something to pass it," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

He put away the manual, picked up the wine jug, and poured Gu Ye a cup.

"Senior Sister Wenzi and Senior Brother Chen Ding have joined the Demon-Suppressing Army. What are your plans?" Lin Zheyu asked.

Great Wei was in a tough spot and lacked manpower, especially among powerful individuals. Many experts from sects and esteemed families had been recruited by the authorities into various organizations. This was not necessarily a bad thing, however. It was also an opportunity.

To cultivate strong individuals, Great Wei had started providing many resources to help talented martial artists grow quickly. This included medicinal pills normally unavailable, pills that could force a breakthrough to the Grandmaster realm, and even those that could push one into the Martial Innate realm. As long as one had sufficient strength and talent and could survive, rapid growth was possible.

"The Demon-Suppressing Army doesn't suit me, and the sect needs strong people to hold things together. My potential has more or less reached its limit, so I'll stay and handle affairs. As for the future of the sect, that's up to you, younger ones," Gu Ye said with a smile.

Lin Zheyu could not help rolling his eyes.

"By the way, how strong is your true strength? Let me see it. I want to see how a genius' true strength differs from ours," Gu Ye said teasingly.

Lin Zheyu did not refuse. Under his control, a strand of faintly colored true strength emerged from his fingertip. He suppressed the other true intents, leaving only three within this diluted, gaseous true origin.

"Mm, as expected of a genius. Your true strength is already this powerful just after forming it. Impressive. Condensing true strength requires a lot of spirit liquid. Do you have enough contribution points?" Gu Ye asked.

"I have enough. My master gave me plenty of contribution points to exchange for spirit liquid," replied Lin Zheyu with a nod. He had recently received quite a bit and stored it all in his storage pouch.

Gu Ye was speechless after hearing that.

"So biased. My master never treated me this well. I had to work hard on missions to earn contribution points for my resources," Gu Ye muttered.

The two chatted briefly about recent events and changes within the sect, and soon Gu Ye took her leave. Great Wei had reassigned many of the sect's core members, leaving Gu Ye with heavier responsibilities and no chance to be as leisurely as Lin Zheyu. However, Lin Zheyu's leisure was only temporary. Huang Baizhong had given him five days to rest and recover, after which he would also need to help handle sect affairs.

"Meridians and acupoints, eh? The acupoints throughout the human body contain many mysterious capabilities. Once I form divine sense, I can start from the acupoints and develop a sufficiently powerful concealment technique..."

After Gu Ye left, Lin Zheyu continued reading the incomplete manual. As he studied it, he began thinking about concealment techniques. Many such techniques relied on the body's acupoints to mask fluctuations of true strength and energy. However, these techniques were still not powerful enough for him.

His true origin was too powerful; ordinary concealment techniques were insufficient. If he could fuse several powerful concealment techniques and incorporate methods like the Ninefold Origin Lock Art, he felt he might be able to create a technique suited to himself. However, that would have to wait until after he formed divine sense. For now, his priority was to condense divine sense, then consider improving his strength and creating a concealment technique.

***

Two days later.

At the Waterfall Deep Pool, Lin Zheyu lay on the ground, utterly exhausted and gasping for breath. After his strength had increased, pushing past his limits had become far more difficult. Each time, he had to go outside the sect to exhaust all his true origin, then use the Furnace Tempering Body Technique to drain his remaining blood qi and physical stamina. Only after that would he return to the Waterfall Deep Pool and completely expend what little strength remained.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 6]

[Skills: Phantom Flash Soul-Chasing Steps (Third Stage: 89%), Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art (Second Stage: 100%), Thunder Roaring Purple Cloud Technique (Third Stage: 100%), Primordial Wuji True Technique (Third Stage: 80%)]

Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his mind. His Origin Force had accumulated to 6 units. To break through his limits in peak condition and gain more Origin Force, he had undone the Ninefold Origin Lock Art in advance and used 1 unit to recover. As a result, only 6 units remained.

Another two days passed, and Lin Zheyu still had not figured out how to cultivate spiritual sense. Still, he felt he was close. He had been feeling this way for several days now.

As for the Thunder Roaring Purple Cloud Technique, it was a body-refining technique Lin Zheyu had found to rapidly consume the true origin within his body. Only martial artists who had cultivated lightning and fire true intent could practice it. When cultivated, thunder-like roars would echo from within the body, and a purple, cloud-like pattern would appear on the skin of the chest. The technique's name came from this phenomenon.

With Lin Zheyu's current mastery of techniques and his powerful spirit and soul, he reached the Perfection of the third stage in less than half a day. The effects were indeed impressive. Even with his already formidable physique, he could still feel a slight improvement after only half a day of cultivation.

A terrifying rumble suddenly sounded. Lin Zheyu jolted upright. The disciples cultivating nearby all felt a suffocating pressure that made it hard to breathe.

"It's that space-time node!"

Lin Zheyu looked toward the horizon. Even from here, he could feel the terrifying energy fluctuations coming from the direction of the space-time node.

"Did it succeed or fail?" Lin Zheyu murmured as he stared into the distance.

Deep down, he did not want anything to go wrong with Great Wei. If it did, his peaceful life would be affected as well. Suppressing the soreness in his muscles, he took a deep breath and leapt onto a nearby building. There was no sign of darkness spreading across the sky, and the concentration of Baleful Yin force had not increased.

"Seems like it succeeded?"

Lin Zheyu waited for a long time. The concentration of Baleful Yin force still showed no significant change. He let out a quiet breath of relief.

"I'll go back and continue studying the Origin Returning Art. I refuse to believe I can't figure it out!" Lin Zheyu muttered as he leapt down from the building.

After so many days of study, he could already attempt small portions of the cultivation technique. However, new problems would arise midway, preventing him from continuing. Still, he felt he was close. In at most ten more days, he was certain he would figure it out.