Translator: CinderTL
In the vast Purification Pool, only three students remained.
The students who had already given up stood outside, their gazes fixed on the pool with strange expressions.
More precisely, their strange gazes were fixed on Jiang Ye within the pool.
Zhao Qingli and Lin Yushu were the top students from their respective schools. Their persistence was no surprise.
But who was that handsome young man still in the pool?
He looked completely unfamiliar!
Time continued to flow.
Half an hour later, Lin Yushu suddenly opened his eyes. "I'm about to break through," he muttered, immediately withdrawing from the Cosmic Cleansing Pool.
The others were astonished by his words.
Break through?
Given Lin Yushu's current strength, a breakthrough could only mean reaching the first breakthrough stage!
After leaving the pool, Lin Yushu sat cross-legged nearby and began refining the stellar energy within his body.
Now, only two students remained in the pool: one man and one woman.
Another half hour passed.
Swish~
Zhao Qingli opened her eyes, her beautiful gaze sweeping over Jiang Ye before she rose and strode out of the pool, her long, snow-white legs carrying her with graceful strides.
Her Guanyuan Acupoint was already fully saturated.
There was no need to stay any longer.
With her departure, only one student remained in the Purification Pool.
"Jiang Ye," Lin Xuan murmured, staring at the young man in the pool, his expression a mix of awe and disbelief. "This guy's definitely cheating!"
On the other side, Wang Zi'ang's expression was inscrutable. "No wonder he was so confident earlier. He must have been prepared all along."
"Pulling off such a massive feat without a word? You sly bastard. You really know how to keep your cards close to your chest."
Time continued to flow relentlessly.
Ten hours.
Fifteen hours.
Eighteen hours.
Night had fallen, and most of the crowd had dispersed.
Yet a small group remained, choosing to meditate in place.
They all wanted to see how long the young man in the pool could endure.
Within the Purification Pool, stellar radiance surged into Jiang Ye's body at a rate of thousands of strands per minute.
Even with an absorption rate of only 1%, nearly ten strands of stellar radiance entered his Guanyuan Acupoint every minute.
The acupoint rapidly filled.
98%.
99%.
100%!
Buzz!
The moment the Guanyuan Acupoint reached full capacity, an overwhelming sense of fullness flooded his entire being.
Jiang Ye knew he couldn't absorb any more.
"Time to refine."
Activating the Star Martial Advancement Method, Jiang Ye mobilized the stellar energy within his Guanyuan Acupoint, meticulously refining it strand by strand.
"Following the Advancement Method's circulation path..."
"Guiding the stellar energy along a specific route, purging impurities, and returning it to the Guanyuan Acupoint."
"This process is known as 'stellar energy tempering.'"
Soon, the first wisp of stellar energy was drawn from Jiang Ye's Guanyuan Acupoint.
It began to follow the cultivation route, penetrating deep into his bone marrow.
The stellar energy permeated his entire skeletal system, allowing impurities within it to enter his bloodstream and be expelled from his body.
Simultaneously, the stellar energy itself refined his bones and meridians.
This was the process of refining.
Unsurprisingly, the process was arduous and slow.
Refining required the energy to penetrate deep within the body, making it time-consuming.
A few minutes later...
Huff!
The wisp of stellar energy quietly dissipated.
"Failed," Jiang Ye thought with a hint of regret, though he wasn't surprised.
Previously, when absorbing stellar energy, 99% of it would dissipate.
Now that he was refining it, energy loss was inevitable.
"My body seems insensitive to stellar energy," Jiang Ye mused. "Could it be due to my innate talent?"
He had heard of certain geniuses whose bodies automatically absorbed and refined stellar energy, requiring no refinement method to guide the process.
Their bodies possessed a high affinity for stellar energy, allowing it to seamlessly integrate with their bones and meridians upon entering their bodies.
"Dao bone? Or perhaps an even higher level of Transcendent Aptitude?"
Jiang Ye shook his head. These concepts were far beyond his reach.
"Continue refining," he thought. "What does it matter if some stellar energy dissipates? I'll just absorb more."
After all, he was still in the Purification Pool, with unlimited access to cosmic energy.
Pain?
After enduring eighteen hours, of course it hurt.
But this pain still paled in comparison to the torturous trials of the second level of the Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder.
After all, the pain on the second level intensified the further he progressed.
Now, Jiang Ye's tolerance for pain had surpassed all imagination.
On the suspended platform, Zhang Jianwu, Cao Feng, Cang Haisong, and the others sat cross-legged in meditation.
The cosmic tempering had already lasted eighteen hours. They couldn't possibly observe the entire time; they needed to cultivate themselves.
Suddenly, Cang Haisong exclaimed in surprise, "He's stopped absorbing stellar energy! Why hasn't he come out yet?"
"Is this kid planning to stay in there and refine his energy?"
Hearing this, Zhang Jianwu and Cao Feng opened their eyes, their eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
Jiang Ye was truly treating the Purification Pool like his own home.
Everyone else couldn't wait to get out of the Purification Pool after their tempering was complete.
Jiang Ye, on the other hand, wasn't satisfied with just filling his Guanyuan Acupoint; he wanted to refine the energy within it as well.
"No harm done," Zhang Jianwu chuckled. "If he's not afraid of the pain, let him stay in there. The time limit is unlimited anyway."
He gazed down at Jiang Ye, a glint in his eyes.
"Miss Chen mentioned earlier that this kid's martial bone has awakened," Zhang Jianwu mused inwardly. "Now that I see his performance, it does seem to possess extraordinary qualities."
Those with awakened martial bones typically exhibit traits beyond ordinary humans.
Jiang Ye, despite having only a Primitive innate talent, was displaying such remarkable progress, perfectly validating Chen Zilu's assessment.
"Still... a Primitive innate talent with an awakened martial bone? I've never heard of such a thing," Zhang Jianwu pondered. "But Miss Chen only mentioned it in passing. Perhaps such occurrences aren't uncommon in more developed regions."
Meanwhile, deep within the Cosmic Cleansing Pool, Jiang Ye discovered that his efficiency in refining stellar energy far exceeded his expectations.
After failing to refine the tenth strand of stellar energy, Jiang Ye finally succeeded.
Buzz!
After more than ten minutes of refining, the eleventh strand of stellar energy, now purged of impurities, fused into Jiang Ye's bones and marrow.
A sudden tremor ran through his entire body.
He could clearly sense it.
In that instant, deep within his bone marrow, an inexplicable transformation seemed to have occurred.
A primordial power surged forth from the depths of his soul.
"I feel so strong."
Jiang Ye clenched his fist, a faint silver light flickering at his fingertips.
"Transcendent power?"
The sight sent a jolt through his heart.
Legend had it that those who broke free from life's shackles would awaken extraordinary transcendent powers within their bodies.
Though he hadn't yet reached that realm, the seeds of transcendence had already begun to sprout within him.
In the next moment, the refined stellar energy returned to his Guanyuan Acupoint.
"So, this is cosmic energy."
In that instant, Jiang Ye gained a profound understanding.
Cosmic energy, originating from beyond the stars and imbued with transcendent properties, had finally become one with him.
This marked Jiang Ye's official entry into the path of cosmic martial arts!
Jiang Ye could sense that the refined strand of stellar energy would never dissipate.
It had become a true part of him.
"Strange," Jiang Ye murmured, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "My stellar energy absorption efficiency is only 1%. Logically, my refining efficiency should be about the same."
"But in reality, my refining efficiency has reached 10%."
What could be the reason?
Jiang Ye pondered for a moment.
He suspected it might be due to his physical constitution.
In a sense, his meridians and bones were part of his innate physique.
Because of his innate talent, his body was indeed insensitive to stellar energy, resulting in low absorption efficiency.
However, during refinement, stellar energy needed to fuse with his meridians and bones.
Now that his physique had reached Upper A-tier, the quality of his meridians and bones had naturally improved accordingly.
Therefore, as soon as stellar energy came into contact with them, it immediately fused into his meridians and bones.
These two seemingly contradictory phenomena had manifested in Jiang Ye's body, a rare occurrence indeed.
"Still, a refining efficiency of one-tenth is too slow," Jiang Ye mused.
"Is there a faster method?"
Without further hesitation, he retrieved the exquisite metal bottle Chen Zilu had given him.
"Stellar Sea Nectar," Jiang Ye murmured, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Pop! He uncorked the bottle.
A faint, refreshing fragrance immediately filled the air.
This small bottle, likely worth over a million credits, was incredibly precious.
"I hope it delivers significant results," Jiang Ye said, tilting his head back and taking a small sip.
A cool sensation instantly spread through his mouth, flowed down his esophagus into his stomach, and rapidly began circulating throughout his body.
Jiang Ye quickly activated his Advancement Method.
Hmm?! The moment he began circulating the energy, Jiang Ye immediately noticed something different.
Under the Stellar Sea Nectar's circulation, his meridians had become incomparably clear.
Buzz! A strand of stellar energy followed the circulation path, coursing through his bones and marrow, permeating every part of his body.
Unconsciously, this strand of stellar energy began to exert its effects, continuously refining Jiang Ye's body.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Ye shuddered as he felt the strand of stellar energy return to his Guanyuan Acupoint, completely merging with his being.
"Success!" Jiang Ye's pupils constricted.
He stared in disbelief at the metal bottle in his hand.
After taking just a small sip, he had succeeded in his first attempt at refining?!
Was it sheer luck, or was the Stellar Sea Nectar's effects truly this miraculous?
"The value of this Stellar Sea Nectar must far exceed a million," Jiang Ye thought, his heart pounding with both shock and elation.
With the nectar's assistance, his subsequent refining sessions would be many times easier!
"I'll refine all my stellar energy right here in the Purification Pool!" Jiang Ye resolved.
(End of the Chapter)
Translator's Corner
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