Time flew by, and another two months quietly slipped past the city walls of the Capital City. During this period, undercurrents surged within the high levels of the Empire. The secret expansion and re-equipping of several main Imperial legions proceeded at full throttle. Vast resources were silently moved and integrated.
All of this came from the project codenamed Cornerstone, which was released by the Hall of Worship. One by one, trainees practicing the Body Tempering Method were promoted from ordinary soldiers to instructors.
They quietly began to reshape the physique of the lower-ranking soldiers of the Empire. Of course, all of this information moved only within the most core circles. Outside, the world remained calm and peaceful.
Inside the Kong Family manor, within the backyard training grounds, a young girl spoke up. Mingan, can drinking this really make someone stronger? Kong Mingan looked at Meng Hongchen, who was holding a potion in front of him. He also looked at Xiao Hongchen, who stood not far away with a conflicted look on his face. Kong Mingan responded with a light laugh and said that he guaranteed it would work.
A month ago, these two were suddenly sent to Kong Mingan by Jing Hongchen. The excuse given was for peer exchange and mutual progress. With just one glance, Kong Mingan saw through the motive of Jing Hongchen. It was clearly an attempt to forge a connection between the families. Initially, Kong Mingan was a bit puzzled by this. Logically, in such a situation, his grandfather should have rejected the idea.
But who would have thought that this time his grandfather not only accepted, but even personally brought Meng Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, and a somewhat accessory-like Jing Hongchen to tell him about it. His grandfather spoke with a hint of solemnity.
This completely threw Kong Mingan off his guard. However, after seeing the look in his grandfather's eyes later, he understood the true reason. His grandfather was worried he would get sick from staying in the lab all day long.
He wanted him to meet more friends of his own age. It was also for the sake of his mental well-being. Since he understood this, he naturally had no reason to refuse and agreed to the arrangement.
Looking at the two people in front of him, Kong Mingan smiled. He told them that this potion can, to a certain extent, increase the efficiency of the Body Tempering Method cultivation. He told them not to waste it. After saying this, he picked up his own portion.
As if he were demonstrating how to do it, he drank it all in one single gulp. He made a small sound of discomfort. The effect of the medicine was real, but the taste was truly hard to describe.
After a slight complaint in his mind, Kong Mingan walked to the center of the training ground. Without any extra words, he took a deep breath. He then assumed a stance and immediately began his Body Tempering Method cultivation for the day.
He started with a horse stance, then moved to opening and closing pushes, followed by bow stance punches.
He went through various strange postures for stretching, twisting, and compressing his muscles and bones. His postures were not flashy or for show. After all, the movements were merely auxiliary to the process. What was truly 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. This happened at a speed that anyone could see with the naked eye. Wisps of scorching white Qi rose from the pores all over his body. This converged into a hazy cloud of steam that wrapped around his figure. A scorching aura spread outwards. For a moment, the temperature within the training ground seemed to rise by several degrees.
Beside him, Xiao Hongchen watched the muscles and fascia beneath the skin of Kong Mingan. They were creeping and tightening like coiling dragons. He could hear the subtle yet dense popping sounds of the bones of Kong Mingan. Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath. It was as if he had made up his mind. He suddenly tilted his head back and gulped down the potion in his hand. He shouted that they should do it together.
Feeling the bitterness in his mouth and the burning sensation that traveled from his mouth to his stomach, Xiao Hongchen gritted his teeth. He walked to the side of Kong Mingan and assumed a stance.
He likewise began his Body Tempering Method cultivation. Meng Hongchen watched them and wondered if it really had to be a competition. She could not quite understand the strange thought process of her elder brother. But seeing that both of them had drunk the medicine, her small face immediately fell.
She closed her eyes and pinched her nose. Resigned to her fate, Meng Hongchen also gulped down the medicine. She complained that it was so bitter, spicy, and sour all at once. Tears were almost welling up in the eyes of Meng Hongchen. She stuck out her small tongue and fanned herself with her hands. She felt like her whole body was on fire.
Barely suppressing her discomfort, Meng Hongchen looked at the crimson figures of the two boys. They looked like shrimp in a steamer. The heatwaves distorted the air around them. Her small face turned slightly pale.
She thought that it should have been a happy cultivation session with a handsome young man, so she wondered why it ended up like this. The young Miss Meng had a big question in her heart at this moment. But in the end, she gritted her teeth and stumbled forward to join them. For a moment, the surging heatwaves grew even more scorching within the training ground.
Time flowed by in what felt like agonizing torment. At noon, Kong Mingan slowly finished his practice. The crimson skin all over his body quickly receded. The rising steam gradually went away. It left only a slightly warm body and a fine layer of sweat beads. He slowly exhaled his breath. His breathing was steady and long. It was as if the cultivation he had just done, which felt like being in a furnace, was merely a simple warm-up.
The Hongchen siblings were in a different state. They were already drenched in sweat and panting hard, but they were 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 efficiency in the Body Tempering Method. However, with the aid of the potion, their cultivation efficiency could reach about 40% of the efficiency of Kong Mingan. This was double the usual 20% effect they normally had.
Glancing at the Hongchen siblings who were still cultivating, Kong Mingan did not leave the area. Instead, he sat cross-legged at the edge of the training ground. He closed his eyes to control the spirit power throughout his body. He made it circulate along specific pathways. He was sensing the condition of his meridians and his physique.
Eight months had passed. From the awakening of his spirit until now, it had been a full eight months. The first three months were a difficult period of exploration and adjustment. He had to perform extreme verification of the Body Tempering Method on himself. The latter five months were spent enjoying the astonishing benefits brought by this new 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. It was moving at a speed far exceeding his spirit power rank.
Through precise testing with soul engineer instruments and his own perception, he knew his status. His current indicators such as pure physical strength, defense, speed, reaction, and endurance had reached a high level. He was at the level of a Rank 20 Spirit Master who possessed an advanced beast spirit in a spirit avatar state.
This was a result achieved without even attaching a first spirit ring. He had zero spirit power bonus to his physique from rings. Kong Mingan estimated that at the current efficiency, things would change within the next year.
Through continuous cultivation and digging deep into the potential of his body, his physique was expected to challenge the Spirit Ancestor level. After that, the rapid progress phase of the Body Tempering Method would end.
With the remaining ten months or so, he had more plans. He already had ten-thousand-year whale glue prepared. He also had several other heaven and earth treasures that strengthen the foundation and temper the muscles and bones.
He thought he might be able to touch the baseline of the strength of a Spirit King for this body. He wanted to do this before he reached nine years old and before his spirit power rank was close to breaking through Rank 10.
This was his first step in attempting to get a ten-thousand-year first spirit ring. Some might think a ten-thousand-year first spirit ring is a bit outrageous. But he had the resources of the entire Sun Moon Empire at his side.
He had several soul engineer legions and many high-quality soldiers serving as a sample pool to improve the method. Under such blessings, it would be embarrassing if he could only try for a hundred-year or a thousand-year first spirit ring.
He thought it was a pity that the effect of the pure Body Tempering Method begins to decline at the Spirit Ancestor level. According to his data, it drops to one-fifth of its original effect after the Spirit King level.
It progresses like a turtle at the Spirit Emperor level and reaches its limit at the Spirit Saint level. He thought that being a body cultivator was still very tough. Kong Mingan complained to himself, but he was not overly disappointed. After all, this was only the situation for now.