51 – Secrets of Body Tempering

I stepped off the flying boat and took a deep, slow breath. The air of Tianhe Sect filled my lungs. Crisp, rich with spiritual energy, and strangely comforting. It still felt odd to call this place home. Back on Earth, “home” had always been temporary: rented rooms, short-term apartments, places I’d leave the moment a new job appeared.

This felt different. More permanent. Almost… welcoming.

I turned back to my father as he stored the flying boat into his storage ring. A few worries still lingered in my mind.

“Should I be worried?” I asked.

“About the exiled disciple, or Chizeng?” he replied.

“Chizeng? That’s the one with the mauling scar on his neck, right? I did that?”

“Yes, you did.” My father nodded. “As for him, you don’t need to worry anytime soon. By exiling his disciple, he has already distanced himself from the matter. He won’t act directly either. It is common courtesy among cultivators that those of higher realms do not personally attack those of lower realms without sufficient justification.”

“Justification like killing someone’s child?” I muttered, remembering how quickly the five Golden Cores had chased me across the Golden Plains.

He nodded. “Not everyone honors that courtesy. When the incentive is great enough, politeness is easily discarded.”

“Noted.”

We began walking the steps up to my father’s garden at the very top.

“Also,” he added seriously, “do not let the fact that you mauled Chizeng’s divine sense go to your head. You possess a powerful soul, that much is true. But harming a higher-realm cultivator through their divine sense was mostly luck. Had he been prepared, you would have been the one injured. Your soul may be strong enough to contend with Golden Core cultivators for now, but never test it against Nascent Soul elders. Even after you break through to Golden Core yourself.”

I nodded again. There was clearly a massive gulf between Golden Core and Nascent Soul. The latter seemed to involve the soul on a much deeper level.

“Then… is there no judicial system in the sect?” I asked, thinking back to the hall earlier.

“There is,” my father said. “But it is enforced by the elders. Unless the majority agrees, the rules don’t truly bind them.”

Damn. That explained how quickly everything was swept under the rug. The Sect Leader might look like the judge, but in reality he was just another member of the jury. Or more accurately, the entire hall had functioned like a board of executives. Issues were decided by majority vote, and Chizeng’s swift abandonment of his disciple was nothing more than damage control. The other elders had accepted it without comment. Even my father hadn’t pushed further, knowing dragging it out wouldn’t end well.

And judging by his earlier response on the boat… the elders probably expected me to quietly hunt down the exiled disciple and finish the job myself later.

Yeah… these people are definitely nuts.

“Oh well. That’s that, then.” I decided to drop the matter. “Any elders I should keep an eye on?”

My father thought for a moment. “The elder who announced your achievements is Duànhún (斷魂|Severing Souls). He is the master of Yǐtài Jiàn (Ethereal Sword) peak of Tianhe sect. Beside him is his granddaughter, Luòyīng (落英|Falling Petals). Despite her petite appearance, she is over two hundred years old and serves as the Elder of the Enforcement Hall.”

My jaw dropped. “May I ask why she is so small?”

My father blinked. “She’s not. She’s perfectly normal. A little on the shorter side, perhaps, a little below 5 chi tall. But she’s an adult. You are just the one more than twice her size.” (around 150-160 cm or most commonly known as the infamous 5 ft tall women)

I glanced down at my towering chimeric frame and antlers. “That’s...Right. Let’s move on.”

“You have met Yinyue and Baiduan. Elder of education hall and immortal forge respectively. Chizeng is the master of Taiheng Peak itself, which means he oversees the day-to-day management of the entire sect. Then it is Elder Gūyuè (孤月|Lone Moon), she’s the elder of Bìlián (Jade Lotus) peak. This peak only accepts female disciples.”

I tried to memorize the new names and faces. Having the openly hostile Chizeng in charge of running the sect didn’t exactly inspire confidence. Given how openly hostile he had been toward both me and my father.

“Lastly, there’s Tianjiao,” my father continued. “He oversees the Grand Library, the Training Hall, the Mission Hall, and the Treasury.”

“HUH?!” The sound escaped me before I could stop it. “Is he that competent? Or filling in?” 

My father simply nodded. “Both.”

I cringed hard, trying, and failing, to reconcile the image in my head.

The lazy, balding, pot-bellied elder who always looked like he was one nap away from retirement. The guy whose default posture was “feet up, crumbs everywhere.” The same person who drilled his nose so openly it should’ve been considered a public sport.

And he was simultaneously running four of the most important halls in the entire sect?

My brain short-circuited for a moment. It felt like discovering that the office slacker who spent all day watching cat videos was secretly the CEO, CFO, Head of HR, and the janitor all at once and somehow doing an excellent job at all of them.

“You should know, he’s also the elder of the Education Hall and Enforcement hall before Yinyue and Luoying.”

My brain exploded from the informationSix positions. The man had held six major roles at once. What kind of monstrous overachiever was he?

Wait… was that why he was balding? The stress of managing that much responsibility must have been insane. It was the only logical explanation. The only way to confirm would be to ask him directly. Which is impossible unless I have a death wish.

We finally reached the gazebo in my father’s private garden. I needed a change of subject.

“Anything else you want to ask?” my father offered.

I thought for a moment. I am already overloaded with eldritch knowledge. So I kept it simple.

“There is one thing. You slipped a manual called the Great Thundergod Steps into my storage ring. It mentioned something about body tempering. Could you help with that?”

A bright surge of green joy bloomed in my father’s halo. He looked genuinely pleased, maybe even proud, that I had asked.

“I don’t know what kind of preparations are needed, so I figured I should bring it up now,” I added.

“Excellent,” he said, rising to his feet with more enthusiasm than I’d seen from him in a while. “I have plenty of spiritual herbs in stock. The preparations shouldn’t take long. Stay here and rest. I’ll have everything ready in a few hours.”

With that, he left swiftly, practically radiating energy.

Huh. I hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. I always assumed body tempering involved brutal physical training, flagellation, or some kind of masochistic suffering. But if it could be done with herbs, that was much more my speed. Will it come in the form of pills again?

—

Unfortunately for Danxing, he could not see the devious, gleeful smile that spread across his father’s face as he left the gazebo.

For his son to voluntarily request body tempering… What a rare and joyful occasion. He wouldn’t get another chance like this once the boy learned what he had truly asked for.

“Qingfeng~” Luochen sang playfully as he slowly pushed open the door to the alchemy room. “It’s time.”

Qingfeng immediately dropped the bundle of herbs he was holding. His face smoothed into perfect serenity, eyes gently closed, the very image of a compassionate Buddha.

“Stop pretending and prepare the herbs,” Luochen ordered. “I’ll fetch Zhaoxia.”

The moment his master left, Qingfeng’s saintly expression gave way to a devilish smile. Filled with fanged teeth. He had suffered through this process himself. He had waited quietly, patiently, for this very moment.

Now it was his junior brother’s turn.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the peak, Zhaoxia was gently treating an inner disciple’s injury. Her beautiful, fairy-like face was attentive and kind as she listened to the young man’s boasting.

“Zhaoxia~”

An ominously playful voice drifted through the half-opened door. “It’s time.”

Zhaoxia’s gentle chuckle started soft and melodic, like wind chimes in a tranquil garden. Slowly, it deepened, growing darker and more sinister,the laugh of a beautiful demon struggling to contain her excitement.. Gradually it turned more ominous. Like a female demon desperately trying not to enjoy what is to come. She reached into her storage ring and pulled out a massive set of heavy, black chains. The wounded inner disciple’s face paled in terror… and might have awakened something in him.

The three gathered in a specially reinforced secret chamber, each of them quietly giggling with poorly concealed excitement. Luochen prepares a massive pot. Qingfeng prepares the herbs and the fire. Zhaoxia stood quietly in one corner, concealing herself. Getting ready.

—

I am back within my sea of consciousness. Standing atop a very clear and reflective lake as  I eye the representation of my Merit Essence suspiciously.

“You growing stronger after I devoured those five soul brands makes perfect sense,” I muttered, pointing at the flickering purple flames of my soul power.

“But you!” I jabbed a finger at the golden halo and drifting clouds that represented my Merit Essence. “Aren’t you supposed to be incapable of growing on your own?”

This didn’t add up. I had gained a massive amount of Merit Essence after freeing tens of thousands of trapped souls from the Yougu Sect’s corpse banner. Then it is somehow used somewhere during the trial. Now I somehow gain Merit Essence on my own?

How does this make sense? Wasn’t I supposed to do some good and virtuous deed? Does it count as my achievement on discovering spiritual vein to the sect? Or do I get something because that temple the King of Jin decided to build to honor me? What’s more, I don’t even know how to use this!

“Master!” A young voice called out from outside.

I reluctantly withdrew from my sea of consciousness. I’ll deal with this later.

It was Mengyu, or A’Meng as he wants to be called. One of my three outer disciple servants. The boy was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily from the long climb up the stairs from my residence to my father’s garden on the highest part of Shengyuan Peak.

“What are you doing here?”

“Grandmaster sent me,” he panted. “The preparations are complete.”

“Already? That was fast.” I stood up and stretched. “Alright, lead the way.”

—

The victim, still blissfully unaware, entered the reinforced chamber.

Luochen maintained a perfectly calm and loving expression, fully aware of his son’s uncanny ability to detect lies. Qingfeng, meanwhile, used a subtle technique to freeze his own face into complete neutrality.

“Is it ready?” Danxing asked innocently.

“Yes,” Luochen replied, pointing toward the massive cauldron.

Danxing approached the pot, immediately gagging and covering his nose at the atrocious, eye-watering spicy stench. Still, he foolishly leaned forward to peer inside. The cauldron was filled with a bubbling, viscous red liquid that glowed brighter than fresh blood.

“Is this the secret to body tempering?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhaoxia sprang into action. Thick black chains shot out like striking serpents, wrapping around his body and tightening viciously, locking every limb in place. Danxing barely managed to keep his balance and avoid falling straight into the pot.

“Wha—?! What is this for?!” He looked back at his father, who was now holding a comically oversized ladle.

“Boop.”

Luochen gently tapped his son’s deer skull with the ladle.

Just enough to ruin his balance.

Only then did the realization hit.

“WAAAAAAAGH!”

Danxing screamed as he toppled forward into the boiling red liquid with a massive splash.

The Fire Qi-infused medicinal brew was merciless. It burned through flesh, muscle, and bone as if trying to reduce him to ash. Every nerve ending ignited in white-hot agony. Yet even as the liquid viciously destroyed his body, it simultaneously rebuilt it, forcing cells to regenerate stronger, tougher, and more resilient. The Fire Qi tempered his meridians, refined his marrow, and forged his bones into something far harder than before. Each cycle of destruction and rebirth packed his body with explosive new power.

“LET ME OUT!” Danxing’s head broke the surface, screaming. A giant ladle immediately shoved him back under.

“LET ME OUUUUUUT!”

Luochen stirred the pot calmly with his ladle. “Don’t worry. This won’t take long.”

It took an entire day.

A’Meng stood outside the chamber, hands clasped together in prayer, silently begging his master for forgiveness.

The screams echoed across Shengyuan Peak for the full day and night. No one on the Healer’s Peak managed to sleep.

—

The next day, Luochen finally lifted his thoroughly cooked son out of the cauldron.

“Is it over…?” Danxing rasped weakly.

“Soon,” his father assured him.

Without warning, Luochen hurled him into a second massive pot filled with crystal-blue liquid that radiated bone-chilling cold. The temperature inside was far below freezing. A terrifying contrast to the previous inferno.

Where the red Fire Qi liquid had burned and forged, the blue Ice Qi liquid now froze and hardened. It seeped into every pore, every meridian, and every newly strengthened cell. The extreme cold crystallized the gains from the Fire tempering, locking in the reinforced structure of his body while purging remaining impurities. It strengthened his internal organs, refined his blood, and granted his physique a terrifying new resilience against both extreme heat and cold.

After surviving the boiling hell, Danxing was now being flash-frozen in icy purgatory for another day.

No one sleeps on the second day either from the screams.

—

On the third day, Luochen lifted his son out of the blue cauldron with the giant ladle.

“How is it?” he asked warmly.

“Fuck you!”

“That’s the spirit.” Luochen smiled and immediately tossed him into the third pot.

“WAAAA—euh?” Danxing’s scream of panic cut off in surprise. This pot felt… perfect. The liquid was warm and soothing, gently healing the accumulated damage from the previous two days while nourishing every fiber of his newly forged body.

“It’s finally over then?” he asked, looking up at his father.

Luochen simply smiled.

He took out a little purple marble. After that, Luochen acts as if he accidentally drops the ball to the pot.

The sound of a thousand thunderclaps erupted from the marble as it sank.

“Jesus Christ.” was all Danxing managed before the screaming resumed.

The liquid itself remained purely healing. However, the Thunder Qi contained within the marble was anything but gentle. Violent arcs of purple lightning crackled through the solution and into his body. It hammered his bones, refined his marrow, and etched lightning pathways into his meridians. Every nerve ending was scorched and reborn, granting explosive reaction speed and terrifying resilience against lightning-based attacks. His muscles twitched and convulsed as they were tempered to contain and release bursts of power, perfectly complementing the Great Thundergod Steps. The Thunder Qi purged the last traces of hidden impurities while fundamentally transforming his physique into something far more explosive and lightning-attuned.

Thus, the third sleepless night passed amid endless screaming.

The next morning, Luochen finally lifted his thoroughly tempered son out of the pot with the ladle.

Immediately, Danxing shattered the black chains binding him and bolted. Stronger and faster than ever before, his uncontrolled new power sent him crashing straight into the reinforced wall. He bounced off, hit the ground, then scrambled back to his feet in pure panic, terrified another pot of torture awaited him.

“It’s…”

“FUCK YOU!” Danxing interrupted, pointing accusingly at his father.

He whirled toward Zhaoxia. “FUCK YOU!”

Then at Qingfeng. “FUCK YOU!”

Without another word, he sprinted out of the chamber.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make it up to you!” Qingfeng shouted after him cheerfully.

Another loud “Fuck you!” echoed from outside.