Pain!

Such pain!

It was a heart-wrenching pain!

The veins in his body felt like thousands of little knives cutting back and forth, causing Chen Xuan to break out in a cold sweat, almost screaming in agony.

His veins were torn bit by bit, and as the energy from the soul stone repaired them bit by bit, the process repeated itself endlessly.

"I cannot give up!"

Several times, Chen Xuan almost passed out. Each time he was about to faint, Lao Li would appear and provoke him.

A hint of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, and the sky gradually brightened. Chen Xuan lay panting on the bed; this night, he had walked countless times on the edge of death.

"Kid, are you okay?"

"Old man, is this how people cultivate? Aren't you afraid of training me to death?" Chen Xuan lay on the bed, weakly complaining.

"If you want to become strong, you have to endure what others cannot. If you can't even bear a little pain in your training, then I might as well scatter my soul, get up and see if there are any changes in your veins!" Lao Li retorted sharply.

Chen Xuan looked inward and was almost shocked. His veins had doubled in width compared to yesterday, and they had become even tougher. If his previous meridians were like small ditches, they were now like small rivers, emitting a foul smell all over his body.

"Is this marrow-cleansing and hair-purging?" Chen Xuan exclaimed excitedly, jumping out of bed.

"Kid, don't get too excited. This is just the beginning. Don't be satisfied with just this!" Lao Li dampened Chen Xuan's enthusiasm.

By this time, Chen Xuan had already disappeared, finding a nearby stream to take a bath and wash away his fatigue.

In the following months, Chen Xuan underwent earth-shaking changes. His body was filled with a masculine aura, his veins widened by the soul stone like a surging river, and his flexibility had increased significantly compared to before.

"Not bad, kid. Originally, I thought it would take at least two months to achieve this effect. You're faster than I thought. Next, let's change the training method!" Lao Li nodded approvingly in Chen Xuan's sea of consciousness.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"What will we train next?" Chen Xuan put away his stance and asked immediately.

"What weapon do you like?"

"Dagger!" Chen Xuan uttered a word.

The dagger, the king of weapons and the heart of combat, that was why Chen Xuan chose it.

"Good, take a dagger and practice every day. I want every strike to hit the same spot!" Lao Li issued a new training task for Chen Xuan.

"Old man, when can I start cultivating true energy? My veins have widened now, shouldn't I start?"

"Yes!" Lao Li pondered for a moment. "It's time to consider. Do you want to practice the set of techniques I told you about last time?"

"The one without grades?"

"Why hesitate? Let me tell you, if you want to quickly improve your rank, this set of techniques is the most suitable. It has appeared once before. Many people have died for it, but to this day, no one has successfully practiced it completely. It seems that no one has ever succeeded in practicing it!"

"Really? Tell me more! It sounds very powerful!"

"Concentrate, and I'll transmit the formula to you!"

Chen Xuan focused, and he saw many words and images flying around in his mind, forming a book-like appearance in just a cup of tea's time.

"Devouring Heaven Decision, what kind of technique is this?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Kid, you don't know, do you? This technique was created by a person of heaven-defying level. Devouring heaven means that when practiced to the extreme, one can swallow even the heavens. The most powerful part is not this, though. It can also devour others' true energy. If you want to improve quickly, this technique is perfect for you!"

"I'll practice this one!"

Strike and retract, Chen Xuan practiced this posture repeatedly every day. He knew that Lao Li asked him to practice for a reason!

One thousand and fifty.

...

Every day, Chen Xuan practiced his dagger strikes tens of thousands of times.

Chen Xuan made a mark on a tree and aimed his strikes at it. Initially, he could only hit the mark once in ten tries, but after five or six days, he could hit it about half the time.

Blowing out the candle, he sat cross-legged. Chen Xuan activated the Devouring Heaven Decision, and thick spiritual energy surged toward him from all directions.

"Absorb."

"Refine."

The refined spiritual energy flowed into his dantian little by little, transforming from a thin state into a viscous one.

In three days, Chen Xuan had advanced to the Late Earth Stage. If he were to say it, no one would believe it. To advance one stage in three days, this was the benefit brought by the Devouring Heaven Decision.

Pushing open the door, Chen Xuan stepped out.

"Dad, why are you here?"

Chen Xuan said to his father standing outside the door.

"I came to see you. I've seen how hard you've been training every day recently. Your mother asked me to come and check on you. Cultivation is not something that happens overnight but gradually. Don't be too impatient, take care of your body!"

"I'm fine, I know. I'll take care of myself!"

"You've reached the Late Earth Stage!"

At this point, Chen Xuan's father grabbed his shoulder.

"Good, good, good!"

Chen Xuan's father repeated the word "good" three times.

"I just broke through yesterday!" Chen Xuan said with a smile.

"Good, very good. Keep it up, but also take care of yourself!"

Although Chen Xuan's strength was considered the lowest in the family, his father was still very happy to see his son making progress.

In his previous life, Chen Xuan had no parents. In this life, he must protect his loved ones well. Loved ones were his taboo; if anyone dared to touch them, he would kill them.

One month passed, and Chen Xuan could hit the target at least nine times out of ten with his ten strikes. His body had also progressed from the Late Earth Stage Three to the Late Earth Stage Five.

"Lao Li, shouldn't we go out and find someone to spar with? I've reached a bottleneck in my cultivation!"

"Kid, you're barely reaching my ideal standard now. It's time to go out. Only through actual combat can your potential be better stimulated. Before you go out, prepare yourself. You must reach at least the Late Earth Stage Eight before you can come back!"

"Old man, are you kidding me?"

Chen Xuan knew how difficult it was to advance one stage. Those with excellent talent could advance one stage in half a year at the fastest, and those with average talent might not be able to advance even in a year. All of his rapid progress was due to the care of the Devouring Heaven Decision.

"Do you have any ambition, kid? Hurry up and prepare!" Lao Li roared.