The silver light of the midnight moon cascaded over the jagged peaks of the northern mountains, casting long, skeleton-like shadows through the isolated cave Ye Chen had chosen for his seclusion.
This cave was far removed from the bustling sectors of the Lin Clan, hidden deep within a treacherous ravine where the howling mountain winds drowned out all sound.
It was the perfect place for what he was about to do—a process so violent and agonizing that if any mortal or low-level cultivator were to witness it, they would think they were looking at a brutal execution.
Ye Chen sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, the heavy, blackened dragon-scale leather scroll of the Primordial Asura Body-Tempering Manual laid open before him.
The jagged, ancient characters carved onto the surface seemed to pulse with a faint, blood-red light under the moonlight, radiating a faint smell of burnt iron and ancient battles.
“To forge an unbreakable blade, the iron must first be melted down to its very liquid core,” Ye Chen murmured, his voice deep and completely devoid of fear.
“The human body is no different. The cultivators of this lower realm spend all their time storing Qi inside their dantians, leaving their physical shells fragile and soft. They are like palaces built upon a foundation of wet sand.”
He closed his eyes, expanding his immense soul awareness to memorize every intricate meridian pathway, every forbidden energy junction detailed within the broken scroll.
The manual was incomplete, yes, but with the supreme tactical memories of his past life as the Azure Cloud Sovereign, Ye Chen could easily bridge the gaps, altering the chant to perfectly align with his Nine Heavens Monarch Scripture.
With a deep, stabilizing breath, Ye Chen gripped his basic iron sword, drew the cold steel from its scabbard, and laid it across his knees.
He didn’t need the weapon to fight an enemy tonight; he needed his own unyielding resolve to survive the battlefield within his own flesh.
*Primordial Asura Art, activate.*
The moment the chant resonated inside his mind, the silver river of Qi inside his dantian violently reversed its flow for the second time, but this time, it didn’t flow through his spirit roots.
Instead, the liquid silver energy exploded outward, shattering through the boundaries of his channels and flooding directly into his muscle tissues, his skin, and the very marrow of his bones.
Argh!
A muffled, guttural gasp of pure, unadulterated agony was forced from Ye Chen’s locked jaw.
His eyes snapped open, his pupils dilating as thin veins of dark crimson and liquid silver began to pulse violently beneath his skin, visible through his tearing moon-silk robes.
It felt as though his entire physical frame had been thrown into a cosmic furnace, his flesh being systematically ripped apart, molecule by molecule, by an invisible, raging hammer.
The Primordial Asura Art demanded a complete destruction of the mortal shell.
Every muscle fiber had to be torn to shreds, every bone fractured into microscopic splinters, so that the body could rebuild itself using the raw, destructive energy of the cosmos.
Frost began to form rapidly on the cave walls around him, reacting to the sheer density of the silver Qi escaping his pores.
Yet, inside his body, his blood was boiling like liquid magma. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Sweat mixed with thick, dark-black impurities began to ooze from his skin, forming a foul-smelling, heavy crust upon the stone floor.
A normal youth, even an inner sect genius at the Fifth or Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation, would have had their consciousness instantly obliterated by the sheer magnitude of the trauma, leading to a violent internal explosion that would turn their body into a spray of bloody mist.
But Ye Chen’s mind was an unyielding fortress of forged iron.
He had looked down upon the collapse of star systems; he had survived the betrayal of his closest companions.
This physical pain, no matter how suffocating, was merely a tool—a burning fire he would walk through to reach his throne.
*Circulate!
Break and rebuild!* his mind roared into the dark void of his consciousness.
Using his supreme soul control, he directed the silver Qi to seize the rampaging cosmic energy entering his body.
Like an expert smith hammering a white-hot piece of steel, he forced the energy to weave back into his torn muscles.
The silver strands of his Nine Heavens Monarch Scripture can wrap around his fracturing bones, binding them together, making them denser, heavier, and infused with a faint, metallic sheen.
One hour passed.
The air inside the cave grew so hot from his radiating body temperature that the frost on the walls melted into hissing steam, only to freeze again a moment later as his cold-attribute Qi flared.
By the third hour, the agonizing destruction finally reached its zenith.
Ye Chen’s breathing had slowed to a near-halt, his heart beating only once every thirty seconds.
He sat perfectly still, enveloped in a thick, cocoon-like vortex of dark crimson and silver light that vibrated with the deep, heavy hum of cosmic laws.
Boom.
A dull, echoing thud resonated from deep within his chest, sounding like the strike of an ancient war-drum.
The cocoon of energy violently shattered, sending a sharp shockwave of wind rushing through the cave, blowing the loose pebbles and dust out into the ravine.
Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes.
The dark cave was instantly illuminated by a brilliant, piercing flash of absolute silver light that erupted from his pupils before fading back into a deep, calm black.
He exhaled a long, heavy breath, the air leaving his lungs in a visible plume of white vapor that traveled ten feet before dissolving.
He stood up, the thick, dried crust of black impurities and blood cracking off his body like an old shell, crumbling onto the stone floor.
As he moved, his joints let out a series of sharp, rapid pops, sounding like a string of firecrackers exploding in sequence. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Ye Chen looked down at his hands.
His skin was no longer pale and fragile; it possessed a flawless, jade-like clarity that radiated a subtle, translucent silver sheen beneath the surface.
He felt incredibly heavy, his physical weight having doubled due to the sheer density of his bones, yet his movements felt lighter and more fluid than ever before.
He closed his fist, and without utilizing a single drop of his spiritual Qi, he punched the empty air in front of him.
WHIP!
A sharp, explosive sonic boom echoed through the cave as the sheer friction of his knuckles compressed the air, creating a visible ripple of distorted space that traveled three yards before slamming into a massive boulder, leaving a deep, fist-shaped indentation in the solid rock.
“The First Stage of the Asura Body—Iron Flesh,” Ye Chen whispered, a cold, triumphant smile forming on his lips.
“Without using any Qi, my raw physical body can now deflect common steel weapons and withstand the full-force strike of a Third Layer cultivator. Combined with my Second Layer silver Qi, I can systematically crush anyone below the Fifth Layer with my bare hands.”
He calmly picked up his basic iron sword, sliding it back into its scabbard with a crisp, satisfying click.
He walked out to the edge of the cave, looking down at the sprawling estate of the Lin Clan beneath the moonlit clouds.
Two weeks of his three-month deadline had passed.
He had repaired his roots, advanced his cultivation, and forged a physique that defied the laws of this lower realm.
The minor flies of the outer court were no longer worthy of his attention.
It was time to return to the sect, claim his place among the elite, and wait for the Third Elder’s faction to send their strongest warriors into his trap.
The stage for the blood-stained ascension was set, and Ye Chen was more than ready to play the executioner.
Author’s Note:
Ye Chen has completed the first stage of the Asura Body!
Now he’s physically as strong as he is spiritually.
But will the Third Elder’s faction sit back and watch?
🤔
Comment below: What should Ye Chen’s next move be?