Since ascending to Saint Awakening, the battle against the Plague of Rebellion was probably his most memorable fight, aside from his confrontation with Zhang Dongwei at Kunlun.

His opponent’s power far exceeded his imagination.

Their Recovery Power was more formidable and terrifying. Their Physical Strength and endurance surpassed his own.

Even fighting to the bitter end, he wasn’t completely confident he could defeat them.

’Those at the Peak of the First Generation are truly formidable beings. As I am now, if I were to face one alone, I’d be more likely to lose than win, unless my abilities happened to directly counter theirs.’

’Even more terrifying, there are six more of them in the Celestial Organization.’

’And who knows if there are even stronger beings beyond them.’

’I’m still nowhere near strong enough.’

’I have to get stronger, to constantly surpass who I was before.’

This battle, however, had also given him a much deeper understanding of his own flaws.

He had reached Saint Awakening too recently; his body had not yet been honed to a satisfactory level.

From the time he reached Saint Awakening until now, his power seemed to have been increasing by leaps and bounds.

But in reality, these gains were merely the effect of stacking various special states.

Self-Restriction Release, Yin Yang Life and Death, the Southern Dipper Immortal Seat...

By stacking these many states, and with the help of his powerful Recovery Ability, his attacks had always come at the cost of damaging his own body.

In his Self-Restriction Release state, every strike inflicted massive strain on his own body.

While powerful, it was actually a pathological state—extremely limiting, highly dangerous, and with poor endurance.

’If I want to get stronger, it’s time to go back to basics and improve my Physical Strength.’

The stronger his fundamental Physical Strength, the greater the power he could unleash from his special states.

As it happened, both Yuan Luàn and Boku, the opponents he faced in this battle, were powerhouses who specialized in Physical Strength.

Before returning to Shangjing Prefecture, he had found time to speak and briefly spar with Boku. Since Zhou Yuanjue had saved his life, Boku was more than willing to exchange ideas.

Although he didn’t learn any secret techniques, Zhou Yuanjue still managed to glean many of the secrets behind the Arhat’s Body.

The Arhat’s Body focused solely on self-cultivation. Its magnetic field was drawn inward, leaving it with almost no field-based abilities. However, its physical destructive power was immense. When unleashed, the user’s entire body became as if forged from diamond.

In reality, those who cultivate the Arhat’s Body aren’t incapable of controlling their Life Magnetic Field. Instead, their Magnetic Field Ability is tied directly to their physical body.

At its core, the power of the Arhat’s Body resided in the cells. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Through relentless, tempering training, they use a special magnetic field to communicate with every cell in their body. This tightens the magnetic bonds between the cells and activates the hidden potential within each one, thus making the body vastly more powerful.

This is also why, when one uses the Arhat’s Body, their skin naturally turns gold, and even their blood runs gold.

This happens because the magnetic field activates every cell within the Arhat’s body, turning each one a faint shade of gold, which causes the overall change.

However, he tried it and discovered that reaching such a level was not something that could be achieved overnight. The subtle manipulation of magnetic fields between cells was incredibly complex. Furthermore, a single mistake could cause damage that wouldn’t heal quickly.

After all, the first time he used Self-Restriction Release, he had fallen into a coma for several months just to regulate the subtle magnetic fields within his body.

However, aside from the Arhat Body, he was also extremely interested in Yuan Luàn’s power—an ability that also happened to be related to human cells.

TAP TAP TAP!!

A flurry of hurried footsteps sounded from outside Zhou Yuanjue’s private training room. Dean Zhong Hongyu and Dr. Yang Lina pushed the door open and strode to Zhou Yuanjue’s side. In her hand, Yang Lina carried a silver briefcase.

"Any results?"

Zhou Yuanjue’s gaze fell on the briefcase in Yang Lina’s hand, and he rose to his feet.

"The cells carried by this ’Plague of Rebellion’ are absolutely terrifying. They can be transmitted through the blood, and in a short time, they devour and assimilate all normal cells. They’re so active... frankly, they’re more frightening than any known cancer cell. It’s hard to imagine the horrific consequences if something like this were to spread on a massive scale."

Zhong Hongyu said, taking a deep breath.

Before their return from Tai Lan Country, Donghua had requested tissue samples from the infected. They were preparing to conduct in-depth research on Yuan Luàn’s cellular abilities.

"It’s terrifying, yes. But if it could be controlled, it could elevate the human body to an extremely powerful state in a short amount of time. The only prerequisite would be sufficient Energy reserves, wouldn’t it?"

"Sometimes, a virus isn’t necessarily an enemy,"

Zhou Yuanjue said.

"You’re right, but that’s impossible. These viral cells are countless times more aggressive than any terminal illness. We can’t even get most cancers under control, let alone something on this level! I have no idea how that monster from the Seven Mo Luo manages to control something so terrifying. He’s an absolute monster."

"What do you want this for?"

Yang Lina said, taking a deep breath.

In the lab, they had already run detailed tests on the cells’ various metrics, like activity levels and strength. The resulting data was simply unbelievable.

"You don’t need to tell me all that. I fought him head-on. I know exactly how terrifying this stuff is—probably better than you do."

"Is what I asked for ready?"

Zhou Yuanjue said, his face calm.

"It’s ready."

Yang Lina nodded. She carefully set down the briefcase and opened it.

Inside the case were rows of vials, about ten in all. They were filled with a pale red liquid.

"These are the cells we extracted from the target’s flesh. We’ve tentatively named them ’Rebellion Cells.’ They’re extremely active. The moment they have nutrients to absorb, they begin to multiply rapidly."

"I don’t know what you plan to do with them, but you must not let them leak. The consequences could be dire. Above all, don’t let them touch an open wound. Otherwise, not even the cellular integrity of a Saint Awakening Level expert could resist its conversion..."

Yang Lina said, her expression grave.

However, before she could finish speaking, Zhou Yuanjue had already picked up one of the vials and broken the seal. Then, with his thumb, he gently sliced open the skin of his upper arm, revealing a deep gash. He then slowly poured the entire contents of the pinky-sized vial—all the liquid Rebellion Cells—directly into the open wound.