Feng Qi's heart stopped completely. Not a single drop of blood moved within his body; his breathing had ceased, his consciousness entirely extinguished. He was no different from a corpse. Yes—he was, in fact, dead.
However, the Jade Armor shone with blinding intensity, swallowing a large portion of the small lake. The water began to bubble and boil as if it were in a pot over fire. At the bottom of the lake, the Jade Armor underwent a mysterious transformation, dissolving into runes. The runes then turned into ink, and from that ink, Sanskrit characters were formed, fully imprinting themselves onto Feng Qi's body.
It was no longer the Jade Armor. Feng Qi's body was wrapped in several layers of shirts he had worn to add weight, yet the Sanskrit characters ignored them all, clinging directly to his body—flesh, blood, and spirit alike. The moment they fused, they scorched his skin, but they did not fade. They remained etched upon him, tracing countless lines and curves across his abdomen, chest, neck, and arms, forming a true Armor of Sanskrit.
Suddenly, Feng Qi's body was moved by some unseen force and carried out of the lake. Left upon the shore, his heart began to beat once more. Blood and energy flowed again; the water he had swallowed while drowning simply evaporated, and his consciousness slowly returned.
"Arh…"
Feng Qi gradually woke up. It took nearly twenty minutes for him to become fully aware, and when he did, he understood nothing.
"What?!"
He looked around, searching for someone or something, but found nothing. He looked up at the sky—the moon was now fully visible. The night was so bright that neither torchlight nor the armor's glow was needed to find one's way. Feng Qi scratched his head and examined his own body, but there was nothing unusual to be seen.
"Did I dream all of that?"
There was a trace of joy in his heart, but also sadness. The thing he had tried so desperately to obtain seemed to no longer exist.
"No! No! I know what I went through. That wasn't a dream. I spent hours here trying to get that Jade Armor. I know I'm not crazy."
The young man slapped his own face and tugged at his hair. He knew what had happened—he was neither mad nor dreaming. He looked around once more and saw nothing, entered the lake again in search of any glow, but found none.
However, as he did so, he felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, reminding him that just before losing consciousness, the Jade Armor had seemed to leap toward him and cling to his body like a living creature.
"I remember that! I even thought it might be some kind of monster."
He then removed the four shirts he was wearing—and froze in shock. Lines of Sanskrit covered his body, resembling armor. From his waist up to his neck and arms, his skin was filled with characters.
"W-What is this?!"
He rubbed and scratched, trying to tear the Sanskrit away, but nothing worked. He jumped into the lake and scrubbed himself with water, yet nothing changed. There was no ink in the water, no sign that it would ever come off.
"I don't understand. What the hell is this?"
After looking around once more, Feng Qi sighed and began gathering his things to leave—when he suddenly felt something strange.
"Huh?"
The tingling returned, faint at first, then rapidly intensifying, until his body began to heat up.
"D-Damn it, I should've left this alone!"
It was as if something within him had loosened. A strange yet pure scent enveloped him. He could see vague shapes here and there. At first he was startled, but then he realized what it was—and began to laugh.
"Hahahaha."
It was nothing less than his cultivation taking form. Right there, Feng Qi sat down in a lotus position and began practicing what he had learned from the three booklets.
He could feel something around him—a faint scent, and a subtle sensation brushing against his skin from all directions. This was the energy that flowed through the world, present in all things.
Within himself, he felt his muscles, flesh, tendons, bones, skin, blood, and nerves growing stronger. There was no doubt about it—his strength was increasing.
He did not jump for joy. He simply continued sensing the energy, trying to absorb it into his body. Then, about fifteen minutes later, Feng Qi crossed an invisible barrier, and his strength rose dramatically. He had truly entered the Body Refinement Realm.
"I-I did it… ha, hahaha… hahahahahaha! I did it! I did it!!!"
Only now did he leap in joy—but not for long. First, he tested his body. With a simple jump, he reached a height no ordinary person ever could.
"I feel so light!"
He tested his speed next. With a single burst, he crossed a considerable distance—no normal person, even moving three times faster than usual, could keep up. Then he tested his strength. Nearby were stones he knew he could never lift before, yet now they yielded easily, pushed aside by his force.
His endurance was astonishing. With just the tip of one finger, Feng Qi held his own body suspended for nearly five minutes without feeling tired.
"This is truly incredible. I'm finally an Immortal! …Huh?"
Suddenly, an unbearable stench began to seep from his body, dark substances oozing from his pores. The smell was horrific.
"Argh!!! So this is what they call purging impurities?"
He was already near the water, so he took a refreshing bath.
"So cultivation affects even this. Before, I'd be freezing by now, but instead I actually feel warm. I know the water is cold, yet it's not enough to make me feel chilled. Hehehe."
Suddenly, something rose in his throat.
"Huh?!"
He then spat out a massive clump of dark matter—and the stench…
"Argh!!!"
Yes, he vomited.
After bathing, Feng Qi did not return home. He didn't feel tired or sleepy after everything that had happened. He wanted to stay and cultivate a bit longer.
"Hm, the Jade Armor turned into a mass of Sanskrit… what should I call this? Hmm, alright—Armor of Letters!"
…
Even Heaven and Earth closed their eyes upon hearing such absurdity.
"Well, that's awful, I know… then I'll just call it the Sacred Jade Armor. Even if it's no longer jade, that should be enough for now."
Having named the armor, Feng Qi's main goal became understanding the process of energy absorption. He searched through the booklets, seeking to grasp something essential.
"Hmm, the power we nurture doesn't come directly from energy, but from Qi. Energy is transformed into Qi during refinement. However, for those in the Body Refinement Realm, only a small portion of energy becomes Qi; the rest turns into heat. The Qi we condense in the beginning is called Body Qi, which differs from the Qi cultivated after entering Qi Refinement. Body Qi turns into physical strength, nourishing blood, flesh, bones, nerves, muscles, tendons, and skin. Only after reaching Qi Refinement does one learn to refine energy into True Qi. Now it makes sense. I just need to keep absorbing and refining—this way, I should be able to reach the Second Layer of Body Refinement."
Feng Qi was no longer in a hurry. The fear within him had been completely erased. He knew cultivation wasn't simply about absorbing energy and breaking through layers. There was a reason so many people were stuck in a realm or far weaker than others at the same level.
He closed his eyes and breathed softly, realizing that the energy was already waiting for him. This reminded him of the techniques' teachings about microchannels and synchronization, so he focused on understanding that point. The Vital Breathing Technique taught him to make his breathing calm, long, and deep. He repeated the same steps taught by all three techniques and felt a significant improvement.
"In the Body Refinement Realm, the meridians are small and weak, making Qi refinement much slower. However, there's no need to rush. When I reach Qi Refinement, I want my channels to be as open as possible. For now, I'll just strengthen my body—slowly, gently, like the flow of the world itself."
Feng Qi seemed to understand many things, and his talent for comprehension was, in fact, quite high.
After nearly three hours, he had grown accustomed to absorbing and refining energy. Unfortunately, most of the energy he absorbed dispersed again, making the accumulation of crude Qi within his body very slow. Still, if not for the clear improvement in his strength, he might have thought cultivation dull. Instead, he was growing stronger at a remarkable pace.
A few more hours passed, and dawn finally arrived. From that day on, Feng Qi was a Cultivator—an Immortal—and he was deeply proud of it. It was time to return. He packed his things and headed back. Work was calling.
On the way home, he reflected on everything that had happened up until yesterday. Now, with a new horizon before him, he swore to himself that he would never love another woman the way he had loved Li Yuhuan. It wasn't a vow of romance—rather, he loved the idea that he could now progress in strength and gain immense power in the future. He was already considering leaving altogether.
In the village, life went on as usual. People woke up, had breakfast, and went to work. Yesterday had been a day off; today, work resumed. The banquet? Feng Qi was far too busy to even remember it.
While cutting and carrying trees, Feng Qi displayed a strength that not even three men combined could match—and for him, it was nothing. He casually lifted an entire tree trunk by himself and carried it to the carts. It was heavy, yes, but it served as training for his body. The manuals stated clearly that absorbing and refining energy alone was not enough; the body must be stimulated to endure the transformation.
The others were dumbfounded. They had no idea where Feng Qi had gained such strength—it was supernatural. Lifting a single trunk alone, even with effort, should have been impossible for a normal person. And then they realized.
"Hey, did Feng Qi reach Body Refinement? Did he become an Immortal?"
"I don't know. With strength like that, I doubt even five men could lift such a trunk, let alone carry it all this way."
"I'd say that strength equals ten men or more. Even ten of us would struggle with a log that thick."
"When did he do this? Just the other day, he wasn't nearly this strong. And yesterday was the Patriarch's celebration."
"I didn't see young Feng there. Did you?"
"No."
"Neither did I."
"Me neither. I think he was training. I heard he'd been pestering the Chief for a commission for weeks—maybe months."
"I heard that too, but it seems he and the Patriarch don't get along. That's probably why he didn't attend."
"Hey… I didn't say anything before, but I heard the Patriarch asking about Young Feng."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Damn, with that old man's temper, Young Feng is going to get an earful."
"You lot! If you have time to chat, you should be working!"
The foreman shouted.
"Come on, lukewarm water's arrived!"
Feng Qi's strength was overwhelming. The men watched him with admiration and respect.
"Take it easy, boss, don't hurt your back."
"Careful—if that falls on you, you'll be seriously hurt."
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the village…
"You still haven't explained why you were crying."
"You're still on about that? I had something in my eyes. People call it 'pepper dust,' don't they?"
"Hahaha, really? A speck like that made you cry so much? A Second-Layer Body Refinement warrior?"
The two speaking were none other than Li Yuhuan and Feng Chen Haoran. Sensing something strange, he had intended to head to the Pagoda, but instead found his fiancée with tears on her face. She ignored him and hid away, yet Feng Chen Haoran still went to the Pagoda, suspecting the cause might be there. When he arrived, however, no one was present.
Even so, he knew very well that Li Yuhuan had once been involved with Feng Qi—they had even been lovers.
This young man was shrewd and exceptionally wise compared to others his age. Like Feng Qi, Feng Chen Haoran was seventeen, nearing eighteen—the age when he would come of age and be free to leave the clan and venture out alone.
His cultivation was already at the Third Layer of Body Refinement, making him many times stronger than Li Yuhuan.
"Why do you keep insisting on this?" Li Yuhuan asked, casting a cold glance at her fiancé.
"Oh? You're even angry with me over this—shouldn't it concern me?"
"Hmph! I'm not your property. You should remember that we're engaged."
"I don't see you as property… I see you as a beautiful woman who awakens my instincts as a man."
Li Yuhuan was secretly charmed by those words.
"Come on, if someone made you cry, shouldn't I demand an explanation from them? Who would dare offend someone of the Li Clan?"
Suddenly, realization dawned on her, and Li Yuhuan turned her back to him.
"All for our clans, isn't it?"
Feng Chen Haoran gazed at her delicate, beautiful figure and smiled maliciously. He stepped closer and grabbed her from behind.
"Why are you still like this, huh? Even after we slept together all night… you're always on guard when I'm around."
"What disgusting language. Is that how one speaks in high society?"
Li Yuhuan felt a heavy weight in her heart—she was no longer pure.
"Hahahahahahaha."
Feng Chen Haoran laughed, and laughed, until he was satisfied. Li Yuhuan looked at him in shock, never expecting such a reaction from her fiancé.
"What's wrong?" The young man sat down in a chair in a suggestive posture. His insinuating gaze made his intentions clear. He wore a loose robe, his abdomen exposed, and being in his own room beside his future wife, he saw no problem with it.
"You… really are hopeless."
Suddenly, Li Yuhuan walked over and sat on his lap in a provocative manner, her eyes seductive. The young man smiled, grabbed her by the hair, and kissed her intensely, holding her waist and letting his hands roam intimate places.
"Tell me!"
Abruptly, he stopped and looked deeply into her eyes with a psychotic smile. Li Yuhuan was startled.
"You met Feng Qi, didn't you? He's the only one who could leave you like this."