A few days later, Wu Tian hid in a small cave within a nearby forest. The area was damp and cold, but he did not mind. Winter was approaching earlier this year.

Sitting cross-legged, Wu Tian felt the hard uneven ground poke his rear. It was uncomfortable, but the true pain would only come later.

"Listen brat! The [Spiritual Body Refining Method] consists of a very simple principle. You use Qi to destroy your body until it can't be destroyed anymore. It is not only a body refining method, but also a Qi control one! Compared to others who use external forces to temper themselves, you will only rely on your own ability. You won't need to train your muscles separately. If done correctly, your entire being will be elevated by the wonders of Qi."

"Do you understand?" Carefully pacing himself, Wu Tian breathed in and out in a rhythm as he nodded with a soft shout.

"I understand!"

"Good. Now do your thing until you reach the thousand pound level. I'm going to sleep."

"..."

"....."

The silence was suffocating. But not enough to stop his bubbling annoyance.

So I have to rely on myself to this extent as well? Can't even help me and see how I do? No advice? No nothing? How do I know when I'm at the required level?!

With nothing better to do, Wu Tian exhaled his worries and began cultivating. He controlled a small ball of Qi no bigger than a pebble to touch his left knee. Then, he made this Qi turn ethereal, passing through his skin, fat and flesh. When it was deep enough, he forced it to turn much more tangible until he groaned in pain.

Feels like shit! It's disgusting... it's like an egg under my skin... reminds me of that nightmare I had where bugs would lay eggs under my skin... huf~ gross.

After refocusing, Wu Tian made this ball of Qi turn even more tangible, until the pain became unbearable. Then, he slowly pulled it outside his knee while sweating like never before.

When the ball of Qi escaped his knee, he screamed in horror. The pain assaulted him as he roared.

"Fuck! My knee! It hurts! Stupid master! What kind of technique is this?! Fuck you and your stupid tricks! Ah! Ha!! Fuck!! Why does it... damn it!!"

Wincing not only at the feeling but also the sight, Wu Tian saw his knee completely bloodied, a puddle of red forming beneath it. His tears were almost as big as his eyes, falling down crazily. While not comparable to the suffering he experienced inside the Wu Clan, the pain was not to be underestimated. It was pure self-harm. His nerves were torn apart, his flesh wriggling about. It was nothing but pure suffering. As much as one's brain could comprehend and translate.

Don't tell me... do I... do I have to do this with my head and organs too?!

"Master! Master!!" Clutching the pendant, Wu Tian moved it around trying to wake his good old master from the claws of sleep.

After a few minutes, Guizou yawned outside, blankly staring at his little servant disciple or whatever he was supposed to be in his heart. "What is it? I hope you didn't wake me up for no reason."

"Master! This method hurts too much! Not just that, but how do I even practice it everywhere!? Do I have to tear apart my head?! Wait, my genitals too?! I'm not doing it! No way! I refuse!"

"Mmh..." Scratching his chin and combing his beard, Guizou shook his head. "You don't have to be so brutal. Why are you so stupid?"

You're the one who refused to tell me shit!

"All you have to do is use Qi and wriggle it a bit. Gently tear apart your cells. It's a long process, but the outcome is incredible. Especially if you take it slow. The more meticulous you are the better your control over Qi at the end..." About to return, his last, softly spoken sentence was perfectly heard by the traumatized Wu Tian. "...and the less permanently damaged your brain will be..."

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Did he... my... the...

I heard that. I definitely heard that... my brain...

Noooo!

Do I have to do it? Should I run?

But I want to be strong...

Fuck.

.

.

.

Two years later.

Practicing the torturous cultivation method, martial arts and fetching water plus food on top all day long, Wu Tian did not make as much progress as he hoped for. He still had to go out in the forest and relieve himself in multiple ways.

The place where he had made the most progress was his resistance to embarrassment. Going to defecate and pee in a forest while he knew an old man was sleeping around his neck was not the most peaceful scenario. Especially when it came to the third problem. 'It was hard to get into the mood' was a wording Wu Tian felt to be deeply relatable.

Still, he felt himself grow stronger unevenly. His left leg was much better than his right one in every way. Explosiveness, strength, endurance, and so on. The same for his two arms being much better than his entire torso. He was on the way to temper his right leg up to standard.

"Master, this is taking so long! How long has it been?"

Facing the brat, Guizou was dumbfounded. "You don't know how long it has been, but it's been too long? Do you take me for a fool?"

"That was just an expression! But even if I don't know for sure, it has been around two years! Winter came and went twice and is on the verge of reappearing. I remember winter to be around the corner when I entered seclusion."

Hearing a scoff, Wu Tian saw Guizou look at him as if looking at a fool. "What seclusion? You went out every single day. Even if it's for necessities, a true seclusion is about not stepping out of a very strict and secluded perimeter. Sometimes, old bastards even say it's not valid if you moved once! What seclusion... tsk! tsk! You shouldn't try to act more unfathomable than you are."

"Master... I don't think not moving for decades is worth bragging about..."

"What do you know?! Once I did not move for a hundred years straight!"

Seeing his blank stare, Guizou heard a dreadful question next. "And what happened after that?"

"..."

"I..."

"I made a sudden movement... and I strained my back..."

"But I made great progress in my cultivation!"

"Which you can't see... because my body is gone..."

"Damn it."

.

.

.

Three years later. Wu Tian was still cultivating, tempering his body. He felt it nearly impossible to temper his body further except for his head, which he was currently doing. His genitals were done so the second biggest fear, if not first, was over. For now.

"How is it going? Are you done with the first level?"

"No master. I still have to temper my brain... I don't even know if it will work."

Guizou gently looking at him, he chuckled. "Well, it better do! If you go too fast and your brain isn't tough enough, you might end up dying just by stopping. Qi is miraculous. Tempering yourself with it is better than you think. Though, external tempering also works. Just not used as much, at least not in the Mortal Land."

"Is that why the Warrior Realm is considered strong? Because people like my father probably have to use brutal methods and most likely end up dying in the process?"

Seeing him nod, Wu Tian sighed. His master was a golden thigh. He felt him to be carefree and lacking proper elegance. But it was a fact that without his master, he would be dead.

And so, time continued to pass. Unrestrained by any. Seconds flowing until a river of minutes came. This river converging into an lake of hours. Hours then drained by an ocean of days.

Days became months, months closed into a year.

Eight months later.

"I did it!" A shout echoed past the cave and into the forest. Wu Tian had finally made it. He felt so much stronger than he expected. The moment he finished carefully tempering his brain, a surge of power came.

His puzzling expression was met with Guizou. "Good job. What you feel is a Warrior's unity. After tempering your entire body to the first level, you probably met a wall. This is normal. For now, we don't want you to strain yourself or cultivate further for that matter. Let's go slow and steady. Until you eat that Purple Star Pill, you won't cultivate past the first level. Anyhow, congratulations on becoming a fully fledged Warrior!"

Wu Tian did not even listen to everything. He was ecstatic from the shock. A thousand pounds Warrior. He could be considered first class in the Wu Clan. Only his father would have a chance of fighting him. This understanding made him curious. "Master, how strong is my father?"

"The blue haired brat who gave you back the pendant?" Seeing Wu Tian nod as confirmation, Guizou stroked his chin. "Mmh... If I remember correctly, he seemed around two thousand pounds."

"That's it?"

"What do you mean that's it? Your pitiful clan only had one Warrior. Even your ancestor who founded it wasn't even good enough to breakthrough past the Warrior Realm!"

"I guess... Master, after the Warrior Realm, you'll make me a Divine Realm god?" Wu Tian barely had enough control to ask this question, his anticipation almost exploding.

"Wow! Hold on young man. What Divine Realm? First of all, because of the pills, don't even think of becoming a Great Warrior in ten years. Also, Divine Realm my ass! Call it properly. What divine? It's either the Meridian Opening Realm, or Star Realm, which is still valid but less explicit."

"You should focus on practicing martial arts for now. I still need the low grade Yin Flower and that overpriced scam of a Purple Foundation Flower to make the pill. Even after that, I'll only let you breakthrough the second level."