Inside the Body Tempering Room.
A group of young boys and girls stopped their movements at this moment, forming a circle as if they were looking at some kind of monster, staring directly at the two figures in the center of the field.
"Wow, where did this monster come from?!"
"Tier Five Basic Skill can't even integrate with his body, this is too exaggerated."
"Does someone like this exist in the circle?"
They whispered to each other, their faces filled with disbelief.
Being able to become students of Zhou Wuliang, none of them were ordinary people. Some were guests from the New Star, while others were from the Ancestor Star families, and at this moment, these celestial talents were deeply shocked by the scene before their eyes.
"Never heard of such a person in North Sea. Luo Fan, Mo Ya, is this person from the New Star?" A tall boy with a black vest spoke solemnly.
The boy called Luo Fan, looked unremarkable, with ordinary height, only his arms were unusually long, nearly touching his knees. He wanted to calm his voice as he looked at everything happening in front, but still, it carried a hint of trembling.
"Never heard of... If he was from the New Star, someone with this kind of talent wouldn't remain unknown..."
"I haven't heard of it either; this kind of innate talent is a bit too monstrous, right..." Mo Ya, wearing red clothes, had a red mole at the corner of her right eye, with a delicate and pretty face.
She looked at the center of the field, her eyes filled with shock.
At this moment, Li Hu had beads of sweat on his forehead, his palm subtly trembling a few times.
The man like a tower now no longer had the bold aura from before, more like a humble programmer emptied out.
He looked at Su Tu in front of him, his voice carrying a trace of weakness.
"Little... little Tu... don't you feel anything yet?"
Su Tu was currently mimicking the moves on the virtual light screen in front of him, muscles tense, meticulously precise, every motion was extraordinarily standard.
As Li Hu's Qi flowed through his body, instead of feeling the 'blood vessel tearing, steel piercing' pain that Li Hu mentioned, he felt as if he was in a hot spring, warm all over, extremely comfortable.
"Brother Hu... actually, there is a bit of sensation..." Su Tu said somewhat bashfully.
After Luo Jia Skill, Li Hu had switched over thirty Basic Skills for him, but none could make Su Tu's body react, and Li Hu had guided him over thirty times.
To know, channeling Qi into the body is a delicate task; once or twice might not show anything, but after thirty times, even Li Hu now only felt mentally exhausted.
Yet, to not lose face in front of his junior disciple, he gritted his teeth and endured.
"Little Tu, honestly, you're really bad at lying; even this Pavilion Forest Skill might not make you feel anything." Li Hu flicked the sweat off his head, looking at Su Tu as if he were seeing a monster.
Basic Skill is the fundamental skill, building the foundation for a Martial Artist. Cultivating Basic Skill is incredibly painful, akin to stripping and reforging all flesh and tendons.
This is because the principle of Basic Skill is to break and stand anew, drawing out the Power of Qi and Blood, bearing Heaven and Earth Qi. The stronger the innate talent, the stronger the Basic Skill needed to recreate flesh, and vice versa.
If someone with weak innate talent cultivates a high-tier Basic Skill, their bones will shatter instantly, tendons and veins break cleanly, whereas someone with exceptionally strong bones using a low-tier Basic Skill will find it useless, sometimes even feeling nothing.
Those who can touch the Martial Arts Dao are mostly cultivated from childhood, having consumed countless Nutrient Liquids, Body Refining Medicines, and even electric stimulus, yet most can only bear Tier One Basic Skill.
Even among other students Zhou Wuliang accepted, the two celestial talents from the New Star seemingly only practice Tier Three Basic Skill.
But Su Tu? An ordinary person who has never touched martial arts, yet he doesn't react to Pavilion Forest Skill? Pavilion Forest Skill is Tier Five Basic Skill!!
What kind of concept is this??
Each tier increase of Basic Skill requires the body's endurance and intensity to be ten times that of the previous tier!!
If an ordinary person uses Tier Five Basic Skill to build a foundation, their flesh and blood would collapse instantly!!
Yet Su Tu shows no reaction to Pavilion Forest Skill... indicating that even Tier Five Basic Skill can't fully activate Su Tu's physical talent.
What the hell kind of monster is this!!
Li Hu's feelings were very complicated at the moment; he didn't expect that the disciple his teacher accepted casually due to a promise would have such terrifying physical talent, completely beyond his imagination.
Tier Five Basic Skill, probably already reaching the level of Martial Arts New Star, even above that...
"Why don't we take a break?" Su Tu heard Li Hu's words and smiled slightly. Compared to Li Hu who looked drained, Su Tu seemed refreshed.
The reason was simple; every time Su Tu switched Basic Skill, a system notification would pop up.
[You finished cultivating Wind Sand Skill, Body Strengthening Proficiency +10]
[You finished cultivating Dust Fall Skill, Body Strengthening Proficiency +10]
[You finished...]
[Finished...]
[You have finished cultivating Pavilion Forest Skill, Body Strengthening Proficiency +3]
Although the proficiency it offers is getting lower, I still managed to gain a total of 239 proficiency points.
Just assuming a stance and visibly seeing myself grow stronger; this feeling is simply ecstatic.
However, Su Tu also noticed that this bug-like grinding method seems to have reached its limit. To steadily increase proficiency, he still needs to master a basic skill suitable for himself.
"Xiao Tu... to be honest, Pavilion Forest Skill is already the highest level basic skill in our sect..." Li Hu's voice carried a hint of helplessness.
"Ah?" Su Tu was taken aback upon hearing this.
An unexpected situation arose as Su Tu's physical aptitude was too high, preventing him from completing the basic skill, stirring his blood, thus unable to enter the Martial Arts Dao...
"Try this basic skill."
Just when Su Tu and Li Hu were at a loss for words, Zhou Wuliang's voice sounded, and this old man somehow appeared beside them.
And in the entire Body Tempering Room, none of the other six students noticed his presence. If he hadn't spoken, they might never have noticed the presence of this elder.
Luo Fan's eyes flickered slightly, murmuring softly: "Heart and Spirit Level Transcendence!"
"Master."
"Teacher." Su Tu and Li Hu greeted the elder standing beside them.
He seemed to always be standing by their side, just a fist's distance away, yet Su Tu felt nothing the whole time, only realizing the elder's presence when he handed him a worn-out notebook.
"This feeling again!!"
Su Tu thought to himself, it's this feeling of being so close yet separated by a vast land.
That thing under the shadows that day also gave him this feeling, only that creature wasn't as strong as Zhou Wuliang.
Su Tu was able to sense certain things, but facing Zhou Wuliang, even if he stared at him intently, he felt that the next second the elder would disappear as if they weren't in the same world at all.
Zhou Wuliang projected a virtual screen in front of Su Tu.
On the screen was a small figure sitting cross-legged emitting golden light all over.
"Tier Seven Basic Skill!!!" Li Hu's eyes widened in shock at the sight of this basic skill.
At Tayue Martial Arts Hall, there were indeed only Tier Five basic skills, as higher-level skills weren't accessible to ordinary students.
A Tier Seven basic skill is extremely precious throughout the entire universe's myriad races, its value immeasurable, not to be cultivated by any but the most illustrious martial artists, not to be glimpsed by any but the exceptionally gifted.
Even Li Hu had no qualification to cultivate this basic skill.
Su Tu now understood what a Tier Seven basic skill represented. Since he had such an opportunity, he certainly couldn't let it slip by!!
He mimicked the actions on the screen, closed his eyes slightly, and gathered his Heart and Spirit.
Zhou Wuliang's expression was complex as he looked at Su Tu. In fact, when Li Hu had Su Tu switch to the twentieth basic skill, he'd been called over by his disciple and had been watching the pair from beside them all along.
Even with his extensive experience, he was slightly astonished by Su Tu's bone and aptitude.
Unable to hold back, he offered the Golden Body Skill, which carries a Divine Technique within itself. Once cultivated, the cultivator would be shrouded in golden light, impervious to blades; those who reach Great Success in Golden Body Skill could physically travel across the shining sun!
Zhou Wuliang placed his hand on Su Tu, sending streams of warmth flooding into his body instantly.
He was in a good mood; though chided earlier, his student now showed promise, and if truly capable of enduring the Tier Seven basic skill, a miracle might happen in three months!!
"Seven, indeed my lucky number!" Zhou Wuliang found Su Tu increasingly pleasing to the eye.
"Old man will personally guide you. This Golden Body Skill is extremely domineering; if you cannot endure, remember..." he advised, fearing for Su Tu's foundational harm.
Yet the next second...
Su Tu, who had been sitting quietly with eyes closed, opened his eyes and looked at Zhou Wuliang with a hint of helplessness.
"Huh? Why are you looking at the old man? Continue with the basic skill, nurture Qi and blood?"
"Could it be that you cannot endure any longer?"
Zhou Wuliang's voice carried a hint of disappointment, which was understandable. Within the entire Federation, those capable of mastering a Tier Seven basic skill were less than a hundred, each a future flagbearer, a progenitor of pioneers!
A boy who had never encountered such a skill, for him to hope the boy could establish his foundation with a Tier Seven basic skill was indeed somewhat optimistic.
Yet Li Hu, who was familiar with Su Tu, looked at him with a look that had already developed a bit of PTSD, and at this moment only felt his scalp tingling. He knew that look too well.
That was by no means the look of being unable to endure, that look meant...
"Xiao Tu... you still... feel nothing...?" Even Li Hu wasn't aware if his voice trembled with excitement or fear, as it slightly quivered at this moment...