The young man felt extremely aggrieved.
Ling Han smiled faintly, and said, “In this world, it has always been the case that success isn’t achieved just based on efforts alone.”
Bang , this was a hit on the head. The young man was already upset to begin with. When he heard those words, he couldn’t help but become so agitated that he wanted to bite someone.
“However, if you don’t work hard, then you definitely won’t succeed.” Ling Han turned his words around. He looked at Ding Ping, and said, “Do you have a lot of strength?”
Ding Ping could not help but reveal a little pride, saying, “Even those who have been cultivating for four to five years will not dare to compete with me in strength!”
This was quite amazing. One should have reached the fifth layer of the Body Refining Tier after four to five years of cultivation, right?
Ling Han couldn’t help but became intrigued. He clearly didn’t sense any strong bloodline from Ding Ping’s body. He said, “Give me a demonstration!”
Ding Ping initially did not pay any heed to Ling Han. Did the latter not see him being depressed? But the words of Ling Han seemed to have supreme charisma, so much so that he couldn’t help but do as requested. He jumped off the stone, and lifted up with both hands the huge stone that was comparable to an ox.
This stone was at least a few thousand kilograms!
Ling Han was taken aback. If this young man had practiced body arts, then it wouldn’t be unusual for him to lift such a large stone, but that didn’t seem to be the case at all. Ling Han activated the Eye of Truth, sweeping over the young man’s body with his eyes, and suddenly discovered wherein the strangeness lay.
The skeletal structure of this young man was completely different from ordinary people’s. Through the clever borrowing of power, it made him one-of-a-kind. It was clear that he only had the strength of four taels, but could raise up heavy objects of thousands of kilograms in weight.
Of course, this required the skeletal structure of this young man to be very sturdy. Otherwise, it would be crushed bit by bit under such weight. This could be seen from the streaks of patterns branded upon his bones—how many people would have been born with bone patterns?
Ling Han couldn’t help laughing, and said, “Young man, take me as your master!”
Chapter 868 - Tempered into Steel
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ding Ping put down the huge rock, and looked at Ling Han with suspicion. This guy who was only older than him by a few years wanted to be his master? He said, “What can you teach me, and what can I learn?”
The first question was about Ling Han’s ability, while the second was about Ding Ping’s crippled Spirit Base—did any technique which he could learn exist?
Ling Han’s face broke into a smile. He then walked to the side of that huge rock, stretched out a hand, and pa , easily lifted it up as if it wasn’t a huge rock, but just a mass of cotton candy.
“Pu!” Ding Ping immediately widened his eyes and spew out the entire length of his tongue in shock.
Although he couldn’t cultivate, the strength of his brute force could in fact surpass that of most of the adults in town, but even he couldn’t just lift up such a huge rock single-handedly.
Ling Han casually tossed the huge rock up and down—he did so effortlessly.
Indeed, had Ling Han not been fearful of scaring the kid, he could have lifted up an entire mountain! The current level of his physical strength had already stepped into that of the Shattering Void Tier. Even without drawing strength from his Origin Power, his massive physical strength would strike other people speechless.
Ding Ping couldn’t help but be stupefied—to think that the huge rock in hand was being tossed up and caught again as if it was a small pebble. He had to be seeing a ghost.
“Watch carefully!” Ling Han said with a smile while his right hand exerted a little force to toss, and xiu , the huge rock shot straight into the sky like an artillery shell and became a tiny dot in a flash.
Ding Ping’s mouth was so big that he could have swallowed a whole human head, and there were stars flashing in both his eyes.
Now this was called power!
In contrast, he was completely akin to a little baby—he wasn’t even qualified to be compared with Ling Han.
“So what if your Spirit Base is crippled? If the physical force is strong enough, it can crush everything!” Ling Han said, paused, and stretched out his palm towards the sky. Pa , the falling boulder fell into his hand, and he then put it back onto the ground. “Furthermore, it’s not like the Spirit Base cannot be changed!”
“Master!” Ding Ping, his mind being alert at the arrival of good fortune, immediately knelt down and bowed to Ling Han.
Ling Han received the other party’s observance of three-kowtows-nine-salutations before helping the young man up. He said, “My surname is ‘Ling’ and given name is ‘Han’. You are my fifth apprentice.”
Ding Ping was a little surprised. Ling Han was older than him by only a few years, so how could he already have four apprentices? But then again, those capable were qualified to teach. Just the other party’s action of tossing that huge rock was like a divine miracle to him.
“I need to wait for a person here, and shall take you back to my country in a few days’ time. However, since we are just idling anyway, let’s first remold you thoroughly so as not to waste time,” Ling Han said.
Ding Ping couldn’t help but feel excited. Remolding sounded like a sophisticated affair.
Ling Han took out an alchemist’s furnace, and then a lot of medicinal herbs.
Watching Ling Han bring out so many things out of thin air, Ding Ping could not help but be shocked. Is Master a god? It seemed like he had a treasure trove on hand.
“Oh, you will know later.” Ling Han smiled as he threw herbs into the furnace. He then grabbed Ding Ping before tossing him into the furnace as well, saying, “Remolding can greatly enhance the toughness of your skin, bones, and flesh, making your physical strength and defense stronger. However, this process is also very painful.”
He paused, and said, “You can give up at any time, but once you give up, you will no longer be my apprentice. My apprentice’s aptitude can be less than precocious, but his will must be tenacious!”
“Master, I shall endure it!” Ding Ping said with a resolute gaze. He’d thought that he would be doomed to live his life as trash, but now that he saw hope, he would seize it no matter what.
Would it be any more painful than the heartache caused by scornful looks that he had endured for the past six months?
Now those really were sharp knives that gouged at him—he was in so much pain that he wished he was dead.
Ling Han laughed. Treating Ding Ping like an alchemical concoction, he began refining.
What was the current level of his strength, and how precious were the medicinal herbs used? This furnace was filled with medicinal herbs that would have made the eyes of any Shattering Void Tier cultivator bloodshot with jealousy! One should know that there were actually many cultivators in this world, but how many of them had upgraded their physique up to Level Ten precious metal?
Two!
They were precisely Ma Duo Bao and Helian Tianyun—Ao Jian, a being of the immortal realm, didn’t count.
Also, if such refining was to be done daily, then it might just be possible to refine the physique of any ordinary person up to Level Ten precious metal, but what would it require? Limitless treasured herbs, in addition to an Alchemy Emperor who had reached the ninth layer of the Shattering Void Tier to personally undertake such a task.
It could be said that, other than Ling Han, no one would have such a skill.
“Ah…!!!” Ding Ping soon let out a blood-curdling scream like a pig being butchered.
It hurt too much!
However, the young man only shouted twice before he forcefully kept his mouth shut. He clenched his teeth tightly as blu
e veins started popping out on his forehead and his entire body shivered uncontrollably. Nevertheless, he forced himself to bear with it.
His cold sweat streamed, and pa, pa, pa , the bones in his entire body crackled noisily.
This wasn’t a simple matter of remolding, but also forging of bones.
Forging of bones—crush the bones to remove impurities, then weld them back together and crush them again. This process would be repeated, treating the bones like cast iron to be tempered into steel.
After a while, Ding Ping’s mouth narrowed into a thin line, his nostrils were letting out sounds of deep breathing, and his eyes reflected the suffering endured with blood and tears. His lips were already torn from biting, but his gaze remained resolute.
Good!
Ling Han nodded internally. The young man’s bone structure was different from ordinary people’s; furthermore, its extraordinary sturdiness made him the best candidate for cultivating Body Arts. However, just having natural endowment wasn’t enough. In order to climb to the peak of martial arts, the most important thing was to have tenacious willpower—a heart that never gave up.
In this way, when you were in danger, you would think about how to get out of trouble and how to solve problems instead of waiting for death.
It could even be said that people who were highly talented but possessed weak willpower might not necessarily reach the pinnacle of success. On the contrary, those who were less talented but had a strong will might be able to do so. Of course, it was the best to have both talent and strong will.
Now that Ding Ping showed he had both talent and will, it made Ling Han very pleased.
This refining process took one day and one night. During this period, the Ding Clan actually did not come looking for Ding Ping. It could be seen that this young man who was once regarded as the rising star of the Ding Clan had been completely abandoned.
Ling Han opened up the furnace, lifted out Ding Ping, and said, “Follow my lead, I will pass on to you a technique to cultivate Body Arts!”
Nine Dragons Tyrant Body Art!
Ding Ping was finally freed from living hell, and immediately found out how great his progress was—he was full of strength, feeling as if he could smash a tall mountain to pieces with a single punch.
He quickly said, “Yes!”
Through a session of drill and practice, Ling Han carefully explained the mnemonic chant. Some parts could not be expressed in words, so he directly pointed out a finger and taught Ding Ping using telepathy.
How could a cultivator who had reached the ninth layer of the Shattering Void Tier not have such ability?
Even the eight Kings could pass on their Mystical Powers, what more Ling Han.
Ding Ping acted in accordance to the law, but after a while, his stomach was making a noise like thunder; he couldn’t help but turn red in the face, looking somewhat sheepish.
He was hungry!
Chapter 869 - Two Different Worlds
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
To have gotten hungry was only normal.
The source of energy for refining the body was the food one consumed. Ding Ping had not eaten all day and night. In addition, now that he had started cultivated a Body Art, he naturally would have gotten hungry immediately.
Ling Han burst out laughing, and said, “Let’s eat first.”
He took out ingredients from the Black Tower and proceeded to cook them. Soon, a fragrant aroma wafted throughout the entire place; Ding Ping could not help but drool. After allowing himself to take a bite, he could not stop eating.
Looking at him happily chowing down the meat piece by piece, Ling Han could not help but think of Hu Niu. ‘I wonder if that little girl is doing well in the immortal realm? She shouldn’t be eating less meat, right?’
When the time came for him to meet Hu Niu again, the other party should no longer be a little girl, but rather an elegant young woman.
“A girl changes eighteen times before reaching womanhood 1 .” Would the little girl no longer like an “uncle” like him?
Ling Han was immersed in his own thoughts for a while before starting to eat. His splitting open the sky was imminent. As long as he entered the immortal realm, he would then be under the same starry sky as his family—a day would come when he reunited with them.
At this moment, Ding Ping felt a little strange—such delicious food, yet Master was distracted!
He truly deserved to be called Master; he probably had eaten such food too many times before, and already grew tired of it.
After eating, Ding Ping only felt that his whole body was full of strength. He then practiced the Nine Dragons Tyrant Body Art, and after briefly completing a single practice session, went to lift the huge rock again. To his astonishment, he found that his strength had increased by more than tenfold.
It had been just one day!
Moreover, much of the upgrade wasn’t simply just brute strength, but things like the toughness and durability of his skin and bones—these were invisible from the outside.
Ling Han nodded, saying, “Currently, your body cultivation has almost the strength of the third layer, but given your extremely bizarre skeletal structure, you can unleash a hundredfold power. Hence, your explosive power is comparable to the condensed Origin Power of that layer.”
“Go. Go home and have a good rest, and come back here every afternoon. When it’s time to leave for good, I will naturally bring you along.”
With a respectful expression, Ding Ping bowed, and said, “Yes, Master.”
He was filled with joy from the bottom of his heart. He had initially thought that he had become a cripple; never did he expect that he would push open another door of opportunity now.
Nine Dragons Tyrant Body Art: upon major accomplishment, one would possess the true power of nine dragons. How powerful would that be?
He couldn’t wait to go back to his clan and take a look at the smug faces of those people. He naturally had full reverence for Ling Han. After spending a brief period of one day together, he realized that his master’s power was beyond imagination.
Ling Han stayed by the river, waiting for the reappearance of Corpse Boss. He connected with the totem through divine sense, which allowed him to have a panoramic view of every corner of the small town.
He wanted to test the nature of Ding Ping’s heart.
Having talent and will just proved that Ding Ping had potential to become an elite. However, this elite might be a good person or a bad person. Ling Han didn’t want to nurture a monstrous devil with his own hands. Therefore, letting Ding Ping go back this time was a test of his temperament.
Suddenly experiencing an exponential increase in strength and being regarded as a genius again, would he be able to guard his heart?
Ding Ping returned to the town, and came upon the Ding Clan Residence. He entered the manor in an upright and assertive manner.
“Young Master!” The two guards at the door greeted him, yet their faces displayed derision, not showing even the slightest bit of respect.
Everyone knew that Ding Ping had finally awakened his Spirit Base six months ago, but it was crippled, which meant he could not cultivate at all. Nowadays, what was the use of having just massive brute strength?
The clan’s elders had been discussing this matter for quite a while. The conclusion would be out in the next few days, and the position of Ding Ping as the clan’s first heir would be abolished since there were so many of the Ding Clan’s younger generation to choose from. “A plucked phoenix is not as good as a chicken”—was there still a need to show reverence 2 ?
Ding Ping’s gaze swept across them. He harrumphed, saying, “What is with your attitude?”
“What attitude?” a guard asked in bewilderment. “Young Master Ding, what kind of attitude do you need us to have? In a few days’ time, your position will become lower than that of a servant, so do take advantage of these few days and enjoy your last bit of glory as Young Mast
er Ding!”
“Insolence!” Ding Ping raised his hand, and pa , gave him a slap in the face.
That guard was just at the level of the Body Refining Tier, how much could he block? Abruptly, he had been given a solid thrashing. Holding his face with one hand, he couldn’t help but point his halberd at Ding Ping, saying, “You dare to hit me?”
“And why not? As long as I am the young master of the Ding Clan, I have the right to teach you how to be a servant!” Ding Ping said coldly.
“Haha, Brother Ping sure is impressive!” At this moment, a youngster came out from the manor.
“Ding Feiwen!” Ding Ping’s gaze swept across him and suddenly blazed with fire.
Half a year ago, this clansman of his was still calling him “Big Brother Ding” while going circles around him and boot-licking. However, once he discovered that Ding Ping had a crippled Spirit Base, his attitude immediately took a 180-degree turn. Not only did he completely lose his respect for Ding Ping, he also disparaged the latter incessantly.
A vile character through and through.
“Hahaha!” Ding Feiwen laughed loudly. He was not alone; beside him, there was a beautiful young maiden about fourteen or fifteen years old. Her body had already developed quite well, with very distinct contours and undulations; she was extremely alluring.
“Yuanyuan!” Ding Ping couldn’t help blurting out her name once he caught a glimpse of the young maiden.
At this moment, the little beauty bore a cold expression, saying, “Young Master Ding, we have terminated the engagement. Please don’t call out my name so intimately. It will cause other people to misunderstand!” Her name was Ye Yuan, and she was once Ding Ping’s fiancée. However, half a year ago, when she learnt that Ding Ping had a crippled Spirit Base, the Ye Clan proceeded to terminate their engagement immediately.
What a joke. Although the Ye Clan’s power wasn’t on par with the Ding Clan’s, they would never allow the pearl of the clan to be betrothed to a piece of trash.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 444