Chapter 18: Advancing to Martial Warrior


    “This cave seems to be the den of some beast, but judging from its condition, it appears that no beast has been here for a long time. The beast that used to live here is probably dead. It should be safe to cultivate here for the time being,” Ye Tian assessed.


    With that, he began his cultivation with ease. After drinking arge mouthful of low-level beast blood, Ye Tian started practicing his body cultivation technique. With an ample supply of low-level beast blood, he cultivated in the cave for a full five days, during which his strength broke through once more, reaching 900 jin.


    However, after reaching 900 jin of strength, increasing it further became somewhat difficult; the effectiveness of the low-level beast blood was diminishing. Ye Tian had anticipated this situation. His case was rtively good; although progress was slow, he was still advancing. In contrast, Martial Disciples with lower talents found it almost impossible to progress beyond 900 jin. They needed to spend more time and effort to incrementally increase their strength and eventually break through the bottleneck.


    After exhausting his supply of beast blood, Ye Tian hunted beasts in Xiao Qing Mountain. Each time he killed a beast, he returned to the cave to cultivate. As for his regr meals, they were entirely reced by beast meat. The nutrition and energy provided by beast meat far surpassed that of ordinary food, which also contributed to an extent to Ye Tian’s increasing strength.


    Hunt, cultivate, then hunt again…


    In this manner, a month passed.


    In the cave, Ye Tian finished his cultivation for the day and sensed the power within his body.


    “I’m close to 1000 jin of strength now. However, starting from yesterday, my strength hasn’t increased. I must have reached the threshold of a Martial Disciple and am now in a bottleneck. Once I break through this bottleneck, I can advance to the level of a Martial Warrior,” Ye Tian muttered to himself.


    As for how to break through the bottleneck, he didn’t ponder it. Instead, he began to practice his de techniques. Over the past month, he had asionally practiced his de techniques. Although the time spent was limited, he had a medium-level talent for de techniques, so his progress wasn’t slow.


    Now, his bronze-level de technique, Shadow Strike, had reached the peak of the minorpletion stage. However, advancing it to the majorpletion stage was extremely difficult.


    “ording to the secret manual, it’s hard to cultivate a bronze-level de technique to the majorpletion stage without reaching the de Momentum realm. My de Form is already perfect; I’m just a step away from de Momentum. It’s time toprehend de Momentum,” Ye Tian decided.


    de Momentum involves releasing one’s understanding of the de, forming a unique momentum. Only those with sufficientprehension of de techniques can grasp de Momentum.


    Not knowing how toprehend de Momentum, Ye Tian continued to practice his de techniques. One strike after another, he kept contemting the mysteries contained within the de techniques. When tired, he would drink some beast blood and practice his body cultivation technique.


    In this manner, another half-month passed.


    On this day, Ye Tian had a sudden insight. Numerous understandings of the de surged into his mind, and he involuntarily closed his eyes.


    Gradually, his aura changed, bing oppressive like a de, making the air around him seem thick.


    Boom!


    de Momentum erupted. Invisible de qi impacted the stone walls around him, causing countless particles of stone to fall from the walls.


    “de Momentum, achieved!”


    Ye Tian smiled faintly.


    Suddenly, he felt as if some kind of shackles within his body had broken.


    “Could it be…”


    Ye Tian thought of a possibility and quickly gulped down several mouthfuls of beast blood, beginning his body cultivation practice.


    Waves of energy from the beast blood filled his entire body, refining every part of him. Unlike before, Ye Tian clearly sensed a surge of immense power throughout his body, elerating the refinement of his flesh and making him increasingly stronger. He knew he had broken through, advancing from the level of a Martial Disciple to that of a Martial Warrior.


    After an indeterminate amount of time, the transformation of his body wasplete.


    “Whew,” Ye Tian exhaled a turbid breath, then clenched his fists, sensing the immense power contained within his body. He was overjoyed.


    “I’m much stronger than before, definitely breaking the limit of 1000 jin. I’ve indeed advanced to the level of a Martial Warrior!”


    Ye Tian had achieved his goal foring to the wilderness. However, he didn’t n to return just yet; he intended to cultivate his Shadow Strike technique to the majorpletion stage before going back.


    Havingprehended de Momentum, Ye Tian’s understanding of de techniques deepened. In just three days, he fullyprehended Shadow Strike to the majorpletion stage. The speed of his Shadow Strike at this stage was extremely fast; even ate-stage Martial Warrior would find it difficult to dodge if caught off guard.


    “In terms of strength, I estimate that I can contend with a mid-stage Martial Warrior. However, I still fall short whenpared tote-stage Martial Warriors. Their strength is too formidable, and they have elemental protection. Even if my Shadow Strike is powerful, it’s useless if it can’t break their defense,” Ye Tian thought to himself.


    Additionally, Ye Tian found that his body cultivation technique could no longer help him enhance his strength. It was said that Martial Warriors could absorb elemental energy to improve their strength, but he didn’t know how to refine it. Therefore, he needed to return to Linhai Base to continue improving his strength.


    “It’s time to go back.”


    Ye Tian packed up his belongings, wrapped up the beast materials he had acquired during this period, and left the cave, heading in the direction of Linhai Base.


    …


    Linhai Base, East City Gate.


    After a month away, Ye Tian’s clothes were tattered, his face dirty, and he even emitted a strange odor. However, the gatekeeping soldiers didn’t dare to look down on him, casting envious and respectful nces instead. They knew Ye Tian was a Martial Warrior, and one who had stayed in the wilderness for a long time at that. Such Martial Warriors were not to be trifled with.


    Upon entering Linhai Base, Ye Tian didn’t go home immediately. Instead, he found a nearby inn to stay in, took a bath, and changed into a new set of clothes before returning home. When he saw his sister Ye Yu studying at home, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had been genuinely worried that something might have happened to Ye Yu during the month he was away. Thankfully, everything was normal.


    The next morning, Ye Tian left early. He was heading to the Martial Warrior ck Market.


    The Martial Warrior ck Market was located underground and was a frequent haunt for Martial Warriors. Martial Disciples and ordinary people were not qualified to enter; only Martial Warriors could.


    Ye Tian had heard of the Martial Warrior ck Market before but had never been inside. He was extremely curious about everything within it. Now that he had finally advanced to the level of a Martial Warrior, he naturally wanted to take a look.


    More importantly, he needed to purchase some items he required from the Martial Warrior ck Market.