As night fell, stars twinkled across the sky, banishing the cold from the desolate evening as wisps of moonlight spilled down.
Dao Ling sat cross-legged in his room, his entire body wrapped in essence energy, his physique radiating powerful fluctuations that made the air crackle and explode.
Ye Yun looked puzzled. He had completely refined an entire vial of Limit Potion, yet it seemed he could still continue refining...
"Could he have a special physique?" She tucked a lock of green silk behind her shoulder, her delicate brows raised, then shook her head. If Dao Ling had a special physique, she would have sensed it.
"Perhaps his physical talent is exceptional. Among ordinary physiques, this资质 (aptitude) is极品 (top-grade). If he gains some good fortune in the future, his achievements won't be trivial," Ye Yun thought. While the cultivation world was mostly composed of ordinary physiques, top-grade aptitudes were extremely rare, and such people often had greater potential than some non-ultra-high-end special physiques.
Special physiques usually came with innate physical talent, while ordinary physiques were mundane. If an ordinary physique surpassed a special one, it meant future achievements would be significant.
Seeing Dao Ling begin to wake, Ye Yun smiled. "How do you feel?"
"This potion is incredible." Dao Ling touched his body, joy lighting up his young face. "What is this potion? The暴躁 (unruly) energy in my body has been suppressed, and most of it has merged with my flesh and blood."
He clenched his fist, feeling his physical foundation had transformed. He marveled at the alchemist's magical means—Ye Yun had solved the problem plaguing him with just one vial of potion.
"It's a Limit Potion, specially designed to help the Body Forging Realm unlock physical potential," Ye Yun said with a smile. "Your physique is good. I estimate that with a bit more tempering, you can break through to Rhyme Spirit Realm."
"I see." Dao Ling nodded, his eyes brightening. The turbulent energy in his body had now calmed, allowing him to use the PantherUnicornBeast's true blood to break through limits. If previous issues recurred, he could continue using the Limit Potion.
If Ye Yun knew he intended to use the precious Limit Potion merely for physical tempering, she might cry—such potions were extremely rare and hardly obtainable by ordinary people.
"Dao Ling, practice hard these days. With your physique, you have a good chance of passing the trials. If you can secure a high rank, the rewards will be substantial," Ye Yun said suddenly, her eyes filled with expectation.
"What rewards?" Dao Ling put on his clothes, unable to resist asking. "There are rewards for participating in the trials?"
"Ranking among the top ten allows you to select a martial art from Star Academy's Skill Pavilion. With luck, you might even obtain a minor divine ability, plus pill rewards," Ye Yun said, biting her plump red lips. She then shook her head—this was a high bar. Even ranking in the top 100 would be impressive, as these trials were different from previous ones.
Dao Ling's heart surged with excitement. Minor divine abilities were terrifying martial arts. He had only heard of them, never expecting Star Academy to have such treasures.
Ordinary martial arts were divided into low, medium, and high tiers—for example, Star Fist was a high-tier martial art.
Above these were minor divine abilities, each extremely powerful, and there were even the seventy-two great divine abilities passed down from ancient times, each capable of overturning rivers, seas, and plucking stars from the sky.
As for the dreamlike Ten Supreme Divine Abilities, even Ye Yun viewed them as peerless arts existing only in fantasy!
Seeing his eager expression, Ye Yun smiled inwardly. Reaching the top ten was extremely difficult. Though Dao Ling's physique was strong, it would be a challenge.
However, if he could truly earn a top-ten spot through his own abilities, he might indeed shine brightly in future Qingzhou.
Dao Ling checked the sky and rose to take his leave. Ye Yun nodded, following him to the door and watching his back. Finally, she couldn't help but say, "Practice hard."
Dao Ling's body stiffened slightly. He turned to meet her flowing gaze, and their eyes locked. Ye Yun's bright eyes dodged as she chided herself inwardly: *Why am I pinning my hopes on him? I must have grown too complacent these past couple of years.*
"I will," Dao Ling said gently, smiling as he left. The bright moonlight cast his slightly thin shadow, which gradually vanished into the night.
Hurrying home, Dao Ling closed the door and sat cross-legged on his bed, producing a jade vial.
He knew consuming the ancient ferocious beast's true blood was hasty, but with Star Academy's trials approaching, he had to accelerate his growth. He would figure out how to resolve any physical隐患 (hidden dangers) after joining Star Academy.
"I wonder how much this will boost my strength?" His gaze fixed on the golden droplets of true blood in the vial. Taking a deep breath, he sensed the immense energy within but didn't hesitate to drink it down.
The Panther Unicorn Beast's true blood entered his stomach, triggering a terrifying transformation. The droplets merged, forming a fearsome ancient ferocious beast that roared mightily, releasing a terrifying aura.
*Roar!* The PantherUnicornBeast was极其可怕 (extremely terrifying), its body bursting with brilliant golden radiance like a divine demon's wall. Every wisp of气息 (aura) it released扭曲 (twisted) Dao Ling's body to the brink of explosion!
The PantherUnicornBeast was an ancient ferocious beast, a king in the outside world, said to possess the bloodline of the Qilin divine beast!
Thus, its true blood was extremely precious, far superior to that of other ancient ferocious beasts, as it had the potential to gradually sublimate Qilin divine beast blood and possibly evolve into a divine beast given the right opportunity!
Dao Ling sat cross-legged, and Daoist chants arose within him like a soul-calling melody. Golden ancient characters manifested in his abdomen, each carrying the weight of ten thousand jun, pressing down on the PantherUnicornBeast.
The PantherUnicornBeast roared wildly, its body扭曲 (twisted) under the suppression of the ancient characters, its golden radiance dissipating.
Witnessing this, Dao Ling exclaimed: "This is too terrifying! The *Devouring Heaven* technique is only showing the tip of the iceberg. I wonder how powerful it will become in the future!"
It was不可思议 (incredible) that the *Devouring Heaven* technique suppressed the PantherUnicornBeast in this form, and he had heard that the technique would automatically manifest when encountering divine beast true blood.
The PantherUnicornBeast嘶吼 (roared), its golden body erupting with towering energy that shook the golden ancient characters. Even a wisp of the released aura made Dao Ling feel his body might shatter.
He focused his mind, reciting the scriptures faster and faster. The golden ancient characters grew heavier, and the PantherUnicornBeast's body began to split, reverting to strands of golden true blood.
Terrible气息 (aura) arose within his body as the golden true blood dissolved like flowing magma, each droplet bursting forth like a surging river!
Rumble!
Waves of collision sounds erupted in Dao Ling's body, his young face contorting as he clenched his fists,冲击 (assaulting) the gate of his physical limit. The pain in his body was excruciating.
Driven by the *Devouring Heaven* technique, the PantherUnicornBeast's true blood released abundant essence, each strand exuding a蛮荒 (primordial) aura.
Dao Ling's body glowed golden, his five internal organs beating like divine wheels, every bone in his body ringing, his spine发出大响 (roaring). His entire physique seemed to复苏 (reawaken).
"What a terrifying true blood! I feel its vigorous medicinal power!" Dao Ling's face was filled with astonishment. This was a comprehensive improvement, and his potential seemed to be expanding infinitely.
The *Devouring Heaven* technique was extremely可怕 (terrifying), capable of transferring the potential of ancient ferocious beasts to oneself. It was hard to imagine who had created such a technique.
Soon, Dao Ling's body erupted with blazing and刺骨 (biting) golden radiance, so dazzling that it illuminated the entire room. He was like a small sun emitting light.
"Break!" Dao Ling shouted, and thunderous sounds erupted within him. The suppressed气息 (aura) finally burst forth!
Boom! A golden airwave surged out, his body like a sun emitting golden ripples that made the room shake.
An aura was觉醒 (awakening), extremely powerful, with ever-intensifying golden ripples that caused the air to crack and the surrounding walls to develop cracks.
His气息 (aura) grew stronger at an astonishing pace as the golden energy in his body drilled into his bones and muscles, tempering his physique. Every inch of his flesh and blood seemed to复活 (reawaken), continuously releasing powerful fluctuations.
The house shook, on the verge of collapse, when silver runes suddenly shone on the bluestone floor below, looking mysterious as if emerging from the earth.
The silver runes filled the air, wrapping the爆发的波动 (erupting fluctuations) and stabilizing the shaking house before dissipating into the air.
About an hour after the commotion subsided, the door suddenly opened, and a scruffy, down-on-his-luck middle-aged man walked in, limping as he moved.
The lame man widened his eyes, quickly locking onto Dao Ling, who was sitting in meditation. His eyes shone with精光 (brilliant light), then filled with excitement as he trembled and said: "This... Did he succeed?"
The lame man looked at the body sitting on the bed with激动的眼睛 (excited eyes). Sensing its strength, he exclaimed with a mix of joy and surprise: "This aura—he's almost attained the physical might of an ancient ferocious beast!"
"What did this little brat eat? His aura is still increasing!" The lame man's face was filled with惊色 (astonishment), feeling that Dao Ling's blood qi was暴涨 (skyrocketing) like a rocket.
"Did he consume some treasure potion or saintly liquid?" The lame man rubbed his hands, extremely excited, pacing like a child as he muttered: "Was his origin lost before, but now it's returning?"
"But..." The lame man furrowed his brows, carefully sensing Dao Ling's aura. Scratching his head, he said: "There's no origin波动 (fluctuation). Why is his aura breaking through so quickly? This defies common sense."
At this point, the lame man took out a jade jar from his bosom, containing a drop of purple liquid wrapped in Daoist rhyme, steaming with purple qi and emitting dazzling霞光 (rosy light), like a piece of purple divine jade, extremely不凡 (extraordinary).
Taking a deep breath, the lame man dripped the purple treasure liquid onto Dao Ling's head and stared intently.
The purple liquid appeared on Dao Ling's crown and instantly vanished, transforming into a strand of purple energy弥漫道韵 (emanating Daoist rhyme) that looked like a layer of purple smoke within his body.
This energy seemed mysterious, disappearing into his muscles.
Suddenly, a terrifying波动 (wave) erupted from Dao Ling's body—ancient,蛮荒 (primordial)!
A war god had苏醒 (awakened), and his entire body harbored an extremely terrifying波动 (wave), as if it could flatten heaven and earth when released!
There was also a will, coming from the ancient past, sitting through all time, telling an ancient history.
This terrifying气息 (aura) vanished as quickly as it appeared, returning to calm.
The lame man said excitedly: "This Dao Source Liquid is indeed terrifying! It will definitely help the little brat restore his former origin. If I can find enough Dao Source Liquid, I can mend it completely!"
"Ruoyun, do you see?" The lame man's eyes sparkled with joy as he murmured: "Do you see? Our son has succeeded."