Time flew by, and another two months quietly slipped past the city walls of Mingdu.
During this period, undercurrents surged within the Empire's high echelons, with the secret expansion and re-equipping of several main Imperial legions proceeding at full throttle.
Vast resources were silently mobilized and integrated, all stemming from the project codenamed "Cornerstone," released by the Hall of Worship.
One by one, trainees practicing the Body Tempering Method were promoted from ordinary soldiers to instructors, quietly beginning to reshape the Physique of the Empire's lower-ranking soldiers.
Of course, all this information circulated only within the most core circles; outside, the world remained calm...
Inside the Kong Family manor, within the backyard training grounds, "Ming'an... can drinking this really make one stronger?"
"Guaranteed."
Kong Ming'an looked at Meng Hongchen, who was holding the potion in front of him, and Xiao Hongchen, who stood not far away with a similarly conflicted expression, and responded with a light laugh.
A month ago, these two were suddenly sent to Kong Ming'an by Jing Hongchen under the pretext of "peer exchange and mutual progress."
With just one glance, he saw through Jing Hongchen's motive: to try and forge a connection.
Initially, Kong Ming'an was a bit puzzled; logically, in such a situation, his grandfather should have rejected him.
But who would have thought that this time his grandfather not only didn't, but even personally brought Meng Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, and a somewhat accessory-like Jing Hongchen to tell him about it, speaking with a hint of solemnity.
This completely threw Kong Ming'an off.
Of course, after seeing his grandfather's eyes later, he understood.
His grandfather was worried he'd get sick from cooping himself up in the lab all day, so he wanted him to meet more friends his age.
It was also for his mental well-being.
Thus, he naturally had no reason to refuse and agreed.
Looking at the two in front of him, Kong Ming'an smiled and said, "This potion can, to a certain extent, increase the efficiency of Body Tempering Method cultivation. Don't waste it."
Saying this, he already picked up his own portion and then, as if demonstrating, drank it all in one gulp.
"Tsk..."
The effect was real, but the taste was truly indescribable.
After a slight mental complaint, Kong Ming'an walked to the center of the training ground. Without any superfluous words, he took a deep breath, then assumed a stance, and immediately began his Body Tempering Method cultivation for the day.
Horse stance... opening and closing pushes... bow stance punches... and various strange postures for stretching, twisting, and compressing muscles and bones... His postures weren't flashy; after all, the movements were merely auxiliary. What was important was the stimulation of the spirit power flowing within his body.
As the spirit power began to stimulate the Acupoints throughout his body, his skin visibly turned crimson at a speed discernible to the naked eye.
Wisps of scorching white Qi rose from the pores all over his body, converging into a hazy cloud of steam that enveloped his figure.
A scorching aura spread outwards, and for a moment, the temperature within the training ground seemed to rise by several degrees.
Beside him, watching the muscles and fascia beneath Kong Ming'an's skin creeping and tighten like coiling Dragons, and hearing the subtle yet dense popping sounds of his bones.
Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath, and as if having made up his mind, he suddenly tilted his head back and gulped down the potion in his hand with a "gug-gug-gug."
"Together!"
Feeling the bitterness in his mouth and the burning sensation that traveled from his mouth to his stomach, Xiao Hongchen gritted his teeth and spoke.
Without a word, he walked to Kong Ming'an's side, assumed a stance, and likewise began his Body Tempering Method cultivation.
"..."
Must it be a competition?
Meng Hongchen couldn't quite understand her elder brother's strange thought process, but seeing that both of them had drunk it, her small face immediately fell.
Closing her eyes and pinching her nose, Meng Hongchen, resigned to her fate, also gulped down the medicine with a "thump-thump-thump."
"Ugh... So bitter! So spicy! And it's sour too..." Tears were almost welling up in Meng Hongchen's eyes. She stuck out her small tongue and fanned herself continuously with her small hands, feeling like her whole body was on fire.
Barely suppressing her discomfort, Meng Hongchen looked at the crimson figures of the two not far away, like shrimp in a steamer, and the heatwaves that distorted the air, her small face turning slightly pale.
It should have been a happy cultivation session with a handsome young man, so why did it end up like this?
The young Miss Meng, at this moment, had a big question in her heart.
But in the end, she gritted her silver teeth and stumbled to join them.
For a moment, within the training ground, the surging heatwaves grew even more scorching.
Time flowed by in agonizing torment.
At noon, Kong Ming'an slowly concluded his practice. The crimson skin all over his body quickly receded, and the rising steam gradually dissipated, leaving only a slightly warm body and a fine layer of sweat beads.
He slowly exhaled, his breath steady and long, as if the cultivation he had just undergone, as if being in a furnace, was merely a warm-up.
The Hongchen siblings, on the other hand, were already drenched in sweat and panting, but still persevering.
Although the Hongchen siblings had less of the potion than he did, they still needed more time to digest it. This was a result of their differing Body Tempering Method cultivation efficiency.
However, with the aid of the potion, their cultivation efficiency could reach about 40% of Kong Ming'an's, which was double the usual 20% effect.
Glancing at the Hongchen siblings who were still cultivating, Kong Ming'an did not leave. Instead, he sat cross-legged at the edge of the training ground, closing his eyes to control the spirit power throughout his body to circulate along specific pathways, sensing the condition of his Meridians and Physique.
Eight months.
From the Awakening of his Spirit until now, a full eight months.
The first three months were a difficult period of exploration, deduction, and extreme verification and adjustment of the Body Tempering Method on himself.
The latter five months were spent enjoying the astonishing benefits brought by this groundbreaking method.
The effects were naturally significant; although his spirit power Rank continued to increase at its usual pace, the strength of his Physical Body was rapidly climbing at a speed far exceeding his spirit power Rank!
Through precise Soul Engineer instrument testing and self-perception evaluation, his current comprehensive indicators such as pure Physical Body strength, defense, speed, reaction, and endurance had steadily reached the level of a Rank 20 Advanced Beast Spirit Spirit Master in Spirit Avatar state!
This was the result achieved without attaching a first spirit ring, with zero spirit power bonus to his Physique.
Kong Ming'an estimated that, at the current efficiency, within the next year, solely through continuous Body Tempering Method cultivation and deep excavation of his body's potential, his Physique was expected to challenge the Spirit Ancestor level.
After that, the rapid progress phase of the Body Tempering Method would end.
And with the remaining ten months or so, plus the already prepared ten-thousand-year whale glue and several other Heaven And Earth Treasure that strengthen the foundation, cultivate the origin, and temper the muscles and bones... he might be able to touch the baseline of a Spirit King's strength for this body before he reached nine years old and his spirit power Rank was close to breaking through Rank 10!
And this was his first step in attempting a ten-thousand-year first spirit ring.
What? A ten-thousand-year first spirit ring is a bit outrageous?
Please, with the entire Sun Moon Empire's resources tilted, and several Soul Engineer legions and reserve legions of high-quality soldiers serving as a sample pool to continuously innovate the Body Tempering Method,
under such dual blessings, it's impossible to try for a hundred-year or even a thousand-year first spirit ring, right? That would be too embarrassing.
"It's a pity... according to current data, the pure Body Tempering Method cultivation effect begins to decline at Spirit Ancestor, drops to one-fifth of its original effect after Spirit King, progresses like a turtle at Spirit Emperor, and reaches its limit at Spirit Saint... 'Easy to get started... difficult to master, and even more dependent on talent than the traditional Spirit Master system in the Late Stage...' Sure enough, Body Cultivator is still tough."
Kong Ming'an complained inwardly, but he wasn't overly disappointed.
After all... this was only for now.