Ye Long opened his eyes again, unable to shake off the utter exhaustion gripping his entire body.
It felt as though thousands of ants were gnawing at him from head to toe, driving him crazy with an unbearable itch.
Yet when he stood up and stretched his limbs, a wave of electric shocks coursed through him.
Breathing in the fragrance infused with spiritual energy, even the stabbing pain seemed to recede by more than half.
This brought to mind a fundamental truth.
In this Cultivation World, spiritual energy was quite literally the source of a cultivator's life.
The sole purpose of cultivation was to pursue the secret arts of longevity, breaking through one shackle after another until one transcended the five elements.
The Cultivation World vividly and thoroughly exemplified the law of the jungle—the strong prey upon the weak.
Therefore, to survive in this era, one had to grow strong—stronger than anyone else.
Of course, apart from personal strength, external factors were equally important.
Things like magical treasures and medicinal pills...
"Magical treasures, from lowest to highest: Dharmic Instruments, Spirit Artifacts, and Immortal Artifacts (Lower, Middle, Upper, and Top grade)."
"Medicinal pills, from lowest to highest: Liquid Medicine, Spirit Pills, and Immortal Pills (pills with one to nine patterns are collectively called Spirit Pills, and those above are Immortal Pills)."
From this, one could well imagine...
Just how rare and precious treasures and pills truly were!
Yet every breakthrough relied on more than just various resources to aid cultivation.
In their quest for the Dao, some cultivators relied on enlightenment, some on plunder, and others on murder and pillaging.
In the vast expanse of the universe, such events were hardly uncommon.
This highlighted the critical importance of external assistance...
Acquiring a divine weapon or sharp blade was worth more than a thousand words.
Hence the saying: "Martial arts without a sharp weapon are useless; no matter how high your martial prowess, you still fear a kitchen knife."
Unless one was overwhelmingly powerful, people generally chose to arm themselves to the teeth.
......
Recalling the fragmented, unfamiliar memories from earlier, Ye Long could not help falling into deep thought.
For a mortal, cultivation was undoubtedly as difficult as ascending to heaven, but once a cultivator achieved success... they could finally display their might and secure a place for themselves.
"Brat, if you're awake, get outside and fall in immediately!"
Just as Ye Long's mind was wandering, a loud shout broke through the doorway.
Startled out of his wits, he hurriedly scrambled out of the room.
Clearly, whatever daydreams he harbored about fantastical realms had to be put aside until he survived the immediate ordeal.
Arriving at the courtyard, he discovered that some twenty people were already waiting in line.
Seeing everyone standing tall with chests puffed out in neat rows, Ye Long felt his heart pounding anxiously.
Without daring to overthink, he rushed to the very end of the line, puffed out his own small chest, and stood at attention.
At that moment, a dashing, imposing middle-aged man strode toward them.
His physique was as robust as an ancient, sky-propping tree.
Although he had yet to release the aura of an expert, it was enough to make everyone tremble with fear.
He looked less like a human and more like a primordial beast.
With ordinary facial features, sword-like brows, and piercing eyes beneath starry pupils, his lean frame made every step feel as though he were treading on the hearts of everyone present, leaving them breathless.
The man stepped forward like a general reviewing his troops.
Ye Long straightened his back even further, gripped by an inexplicable tension.
"My name is Qin Feng. Thanks to everyone's undeserved kindness, they call me 'Madman Qin,' and I am the king here. In my domain, you do everything I say! When I say one, it means one, and there is no room for two! There are three absolute prohibitions!"
"First, no one disobeys my orders! Second, nobody steps a foot outside the gates without my permission! As for the third, absolutely no one is allowed to whine about being tired!"
Qin Feng walked along as he spoke, stopping right in front of Ye Long. His expression suddenly turned freezing cold as he demanded:
"You, did you hear me?"
Hearing this, Ye Long gave a start, then shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Yes, I heard you."
The moment the words left his mouth, a whirl of indescribable emotions flooded his heart.
Wasn't this bastard just practicing outright hegemony?
Yet, unexpectedly...
Hearing how subdued Ye Long's tone was, Qin Feng's expression grew fiercely sharp as he roared furiously:
"I didn't hear you! Did you skip breakfast?"
Hearing this, Ye Long had no choice but to shout out once more at the top of his lungs:
"Yes, I heard you!!"
Qin Feng: "In my territory, I don't need superfluous nonsense. I only want a 'yes' or 'no'!"
Ye Long: "Yes!!"
Qin Feng: "Very well, let the training begin."
Then, shifting his tone abruptly, Qin Feng continued:
"If you want to gain greater strength than others, you must put in more effort than anyone else! Did you all hear that?"
The crowd and Ye Long: "Yes!!"
Mustering this synchronized shout, Ye Long felt as though he had finally endured hardships to find sweetness, officially entering Minwu Hall.
He had truly become a part of it!
Hot blood surged through his heart, and towering ambition rushed to the crown of his head.
The scorching sun beat down upon a vast expanse of mountains and rivers.
Bearing the burning heat, Ye Long wore a ten-kilogram suit of armor on his back, undertaking a task ordinary children wouldn't even dare to imagine.
That was, running laps around the courtyard of Minwu Hall!
Within half an hour, he began to feel the strain.
Sweat dripped profusely down his face, and he inadvertently bit his lip until it broke.
As someone who had lived two lives, how could Ye Long not know that this was the trumpet call of his own physical limits?
Yet, watching a team of people breeze past him, his stubborn resilience only left him gritting his teeth in bitter frustration.
"What is wrong with you? Keep up! Otherwise, get the hell out of here—I don't keep idlers!"
Qin Feng bellowed.
With that, Qin Feng trailed right behind Ye Long, treating him not as a child—in his eyes, there was no distinction between children and adults, only subjects of training.
Ye Long roared in a hoarse voice: "Yes!!"
With that shout, it was obvious he was pouring every ounce of strength he had left into it.
This was far more than desperately chasing after twenty-odd burly men; the people ahead of him seemed like sworn enemies, driving his eyes to turn bloodshot.
"Hah-huff... Hah-huff!"
Breathing heavily, even with spiritual energy replenishing his stamina, he was reaching his breaking point.
Catching wooden posts flashing by in his peripheral vision, Ye Long knew there was no retreat here, nor did he dare entertain the thought of giving up!
Yet Qin Feng was like a demon. Seeing Ye Long slow down even slightly, he roared again:
"What the hell is wrong with you? Keep up! If you don't finish your laps today, no dinner for you!"
Ye Long: "Yes!!"
Yet his shouts had grown numb, reduced to purely instinctive responses.
In truth, even Ye Long himself didn't know how many limits he had broken through; his willpower was truly astonishing.
By now, the sun was directly overhead, and the terrifying residual heat continued to scorch the earth.
Ye Long silently rallied his morale:
"Just one more lap!"
Inside him, his spirit surged like a flood dragon thrashing the seas. On one hand, he refused to fall here; on the other, only by gasping for air like this could he push through to the very end!
As wisps of spiritual energy nourished his internal organs, sending waves of cool relief through his flesh and bones, he managed to regain a sliver of clarity.
During this process, he probably couldn't even remember how many times he had regained consciousness.
He didn't dare think about anything else, nor did he have the energy to do so. Only a single sentence remained deeply branded into his mind:
"If you want to gain greater strength than others, you must put in more effort than anyone else!"
Little did he know, a journey of profound transformation awaited him amidst this endless running...