Translator: CinderTL
For the next period, Jiang Ye returned to his routine of going between two points: home and school.
However, his class had changed from Class Nine to Elite Class One.
At night, he entered the Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder to undergo the painful trials of the second layer.
Of course, Jiang Ye hadn't awakened any strange attributes.
He was doing this solely to increase his tolerance for pain.
Moreover, he could release his true self within the illusionary realm of the first layer.
After each trial on the second layer, Jiang Ye would return to the first layer to soothe himself.
Through repeated cycles of "breaking and rebuilding," his Martial Dao Will grew stronger, and he gradually became immune to pain.
Day after day, the routine continued.
Before he knew it, the end of January had arrived.
At home, Jiang Ye sat cross-legged on the floor and slowly opened his eyes.
Lines of text floated before him:
[Cultivation Techniques]
[Star Martial Cultivation Method: Perfection]
[Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist: Small Success (5%)]
[Star Martial Advancement Method: Entry (1%)]
"Finally."
"I achieved Entry in the Advancement Method just one day before the cosmic tempering."
Jiang Ye took a deep breath.
Truth be told, he had been slightly anxious.
Relying on his Upper A-tier physique, he had stubbornly chosen this high-grade yellow tier cultivation technique.
If he hadn't reached Entry by the end of the month, he would have wasted a cosmic tempering opportunity, just as Cao Feng had warned.
Fortunately, his worries proved unfounded.
"My Upper A-tier physique truly hasn't disappointed me," Jiang Ye said with a smile.
With less than half a year until the College Entrance Examination, securing admission to one of the Top Ten Elite Schools would be a daunting challenge.
But within the twenty-five school alliance, he aimed to choose the very best.
In martial dao, one must strive.
For children from poor families, the need to strive is even greater!
He now knew that the entry standards for the twenty-five school alliance weren't as high as the first breakthrough.
However, there were still significant differences between the schools within the alliance.
Only by achieving the first breakthrough could he secure admission to the best one.
"900 points... still 300 points short of my goal," Jiang Ye calculated. Although there hadn't been any recent exams, his current strength far surpassed his previous level.
However, the 900-point threshold remained dauntingly high.
The Martial Arts Four-Part Assessment standards were as follows:
600 points: Requires Perfection of the Star Martial Cultivation Method. 850 points: Requires achieving the first breakthrough. 900 points: Requires making progress within the first breakthrough—the minimum requirement for the ten great schools. 1200 points (full score): Only attainable by those who have reached the second breakthrough.
Jiang Ye knew this.
Achieving 900 points would be exceedingly difficult. He had deliberately set such a distant goal to motivate himself.
"If I had chosen the Body Tempering Method or the Foundation Establishment Method earlier, I would never have reached the first breakthrough before the College Entrance Examination," Jiang Ye thought, shaking his head inwardly.
Both refinement methods required over ten cosmic tempering sessions to achieve the first breakthrough.
Even if Jiang Ye had the money, the school couldn't possibly arrange so many sessions within half a year.
Only the Star Martial Advancement Method, with its fewer cosmic tempering requirements, offered a viable path.
Its difficulty, however, deterred most people.
"Entry is just the beginning," Jiang Ye thought, his mind clear. "To break free from life's shackles, you need at least Small Success. The challenge is immense!"
Even achieving Small Success in an Advancement Method didn't guarantee reaching the first breakthrough.
It depended on whether one's life force had reached the critical threshold, a factor entirely determined by cosmic tempering.
"Cosmic tempering uses cosmic energy to cleanse and refine the physical body," Jiang Ye mused. "This process is the true metamorphosis of life."
Such a transformation couldn't be achieved merely through practicing a refinement method.
The refinement method served only as a guide.
To put it bluntly, the refinement method was used to reshape the body, establishing a foundation and strengthening it to accommodate cosmic energy.
Advanced refinement methods could accommodate more cosmic energy, and vice versa.
"How much can life transform? It all depends on one's innate talent for absorption."
Absorption had two layers of meaning.
The first layer was absorbing cosmic energy from the external environment into the body.
The second layer was refining the cosmic energy within the body, making it usable for oneself.
The stronger one's martial dao aptitude, the more stellar energy they could absorb.
Without absorbing stellar energy, even the most powerful cultivation technique would still leave one a carbon-based life form, incapable of withstanding modern weaponry.
But with stellar energy, everything changed.
A cosmic martial artist fears neither guns nor cannons!
This was why innate talent was so highly valued in this world.
Martial dao aptitude was the foundation for embarking on the path of cosmic martial arts. Without it, even mastering cultivation techniques wouldn't allow one to absorb stellar energy.
"I heard that Primitive aptitude has extremely low efficiency in absorbing stellar energy."
Exactly how low? Jiang Ye didn't know.
But he wasn't worried.
So what if the efficiency was low? The cosmic tempering process had no time limit. As long as he persisted long enough, he could continue indefinitely.
If his efficiency was low, he would compensate with time.
Moreover...
Jiang Ye pulled out an exquisite metal bottle.
This was a parting gift from Chen Zilu, designed to enhance stellar energy absorption.
What's more, the system had boosted its value by 200%.
Pop!
Jiang Ye uncorked the bottle.
A fragrant aroma immediately filled the air.
In the sunlight, the bottle contained a pale purple liquid, shimmering like liquid amber—crystal clear and faintly glowing with starlight.
"Stellar Sea Nectar," Jiang Ye recognized its name.
As far as he knew, this substance was extremely rare throughout West Mountain Province.
After all, West Mountain Province was merely a backward region within the Western Ten Provinces.
The Blue Star Federation is now divided into four regions: the Eastern Ten Provinces, the Southern Ten Provinces, the Northern Ten Provinces, and the Western Ten Provinces.
Among these, the Eastern and Southern Ten Provinces are the most prosperous.
The Stellar Sea Nectar can only be found in the distant and flourishing Eastern Ten Provinces.
Its price is unimaginably high.
Even a small bottle could cost over a million credits.
"A million credits..." Jiang Ye's mind flashed back to a smiling, pretty face.
It was easy to accept such a favor, but repaying it would be far more difficult.
While this sum might be insignificant to someone with Chen Zilu's background, it was an invaluable act of assistance for Jiang Ye.
Speaking of Chen Zilu, Jiang Ye recalled his recent attempt to consult Cao Feng. Cao Feng had told him to ask his questions during Martial Arts Class, as he had other matters to attend to afterward.
Jiang Ye couldn't help but empathize with the feelings of his former Class Nine classmates.
Chen Zilu's special treatment of him was truly exceptional.
His handsome face undoubtedly made it easy to win the favor of the opposite sex, and his diligent training likely earned him the teachers' favor as well.
But even so, Chen Zilu's behavior went beyond that. There must be other reasons behind it.
"Why is she being so nice to me?" Jiang Ye pondered briefly, then decided not to dwell on it.
After all, it was all in the past.
If they ever met again, he might have a chance to find out.
But for now, Jiang Ye's top priority was tomorrow's cosmic tempering.
"Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder," Jiang Ye murmured, closing his eyes.
He entered the second level and resumed his grueling trials, making final preparations for the cosmic tempering.
The next day, Ancheng was bathed in clear, cloudless skies.
It was Sunday, but Ancheng Third High School's third-year section was packed.
Third-year students didn't get holidays.
Every day was a sprint toward the College Entrance Examination.
Jiang Ye arrived at school and headed straight for his classroom.
When he reached Senior Class One's classroom, Cao Feng was already waiting on the podium.
"Everyone, get ready. We'll be gathering at the school gate shortly," Cao Feng announced.
"Yes, sir!"
The students quickly prepared themselves.
Soon, Jiang Ye followed the others out of the classroom in a single file.
The entire Class One had turned out, every student participating in the cosmic tempering.
This was the strength of the Elite Class.
In contrast, none of the students from the dozen or so regular third-year classes were participating.
"The gap between regular students and the Elite Class is truly vast," Jiang Ye mused inwardly.
The prerequisite for participating in cosmic tempering was achieving Perfection in the Star Martial Cultivation Method.
Every member of the Elite Class had met this requirement, while among the regular classes, only Jiang Ye had reached Perfection.
This stark difference highlighted the disparity in innate talent, a gap that even money couldn't necessarily bridge.
Moments later, Jiang Ye and the rest of Class One boarded the school bus and set off for the cosmic tempering site.
(End of the Chapter)
Translator's Corner
Hey guys, so as I tried to login into my ScribbleHub account to today and found that it was banned.😭 All the stories have also been taken off of the site. I don't what has happened, I will try to contact them and figure out what's going on. Please contact me if you know what could be happening and have any potential solutions.
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