A pungent odor spread through the classroom, and everyone inside was dumbfounded.
How could that waste's words have been so accurate?
Wasn't he just spouting nonsense? Wasn't he just being deliberately mysterious?
How was this possible?
Wooden Zither rushed over to Shen Lang's desk in just a few strides and picked up the piece of paper. On it were written three simple formulas.
"This works too?"
She grabbed a pen and began to calculate. The derivations branched out from each formula on the paper, and she quickly filled the entire sheet, leaving only a tiny bit of empty space.
GULP! She swallowed hard and stared at the paper in her hand, sucking in a cold breath. "It's that simple! Just three formulas clearly explain the entire process, solving all the problems with no flaws whatsoever... Moreover, if I follow this to refine the artifact, as long as I make no mistakes during the operation, this could very well turn out to be a Third Grade Spiritual Artifact! But... but I... I was only trying to refine a First Grade Spiritual Artifact before..."
"What!" The dozens of students who had just recovered from their shock stared with wide eyes.
After a long moment, Wooden Zither finally snapped back to her senses. She scanned the classroom and asked, "Where is that bastard Shen Lang?"
"He... he went out..." a boy at the side said timidly.
Wooden Zither exploded with rage. "He dares to skip my class? Who gave him the nerve!"
The students in the classroom were dead silent, not a single one daring to speak. Wooden Zither Tutor was normally very good-natured, but when she did lose her temper, she was like a lioness—absolutely terrifying.
With a cold snort, Wooden Zither picked up the paper and walked out, saying as she went, "Class dismissed. When that brat gets back, tell him to come see me! If he pisses me off, I'll throw him off Profound Ice Cliff to be blasted by the wind for seven days and seven nights!"
"Seven days and seven nights! Wouldn't he be frozen into a popsicle?" The students of the class all shivered.
There was no ice on Profound Ice Cliff, but the Gang Feng there was brutal. It was the place Tayun Academy used to punish students who broke the rules.
Normally, even for a mistake, being thrown onto Profound Ice Cliff for a few hours was a severe punishment. Three days was reserved for those on the verge of expulsion. As for seven days... aside from a lunatic who nearly killed a tutor years ago, almost no one had ever been that unlucky.
Anyone who actually stayed there for seven days was guaranteed to die!
"Hey, what do you guys think is going on?" the fat-headed, large-eared Hao Ran spoke up.
Several others around him got up from their seats and gathered around the class leader, Xu Qing. He was the one who had led the effort to ostracize Shen Lang earlier.
"Boss, what's the deal with that waste? He only got into Tayun Academy through the back door. For all these years since he arrived, he's done nothing but sleep through every class. I never thought he'd turn out to be an Artifact Refining genius..."
"Hmph!" Xu Qing snorted coldly. "Genius my ass! I say he's just a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse. A waste with a Celestial Vein Sacred Body who doesn't even have a Martial Soul. Him being alive is a waste of food."
"No way, right?" Hao Ran's eyes went wide, and he exclaimed, "But when he counted before walking out the door, he was perfectly accurate! And those formulas... even Wooden Zither Tutor was..."
SMACK!
Xu Qing slapped him right on the head. "When I say it's impossible, it's absolutely impossible! Even if he got it right this time, he must have just read a few more books, that's all! The talent required for an Artifact Refiner is much higher than for Martial Arts. The demands on one's Divine Thought alone bar more than ninety percent of aspiring Artifact Refiners. How could a waste who yawns three times for every step he takes possibly walk the Artifact Refining Dao?"
"Yes, yes, Boss is right!"
The crowd chimed in with their agreement, though their eyes flickered with varying emotions.
But even if some of them thought differently, they didn't dare show it.
In this class, anyone who dared to openly defy Xu Qing was tired of living.
"Hao Ran, go out and inform Boss Shen. Tell him that waste has gone out... Heh heh, the clueless fool. He actually dared to just walk out. Doesn't he know Boss Shen is watching him at all times? Does he really think that Little Witch, Xue Dangdang, can protect him forever?" Xu Qing said with a sinister laugh.
"Heh heh heh..." The people around him joined in with sinister laughter.
Some of the others who remained silent felt a pang of pity, but they were intimidated by Xu Qing's backing and didn't dare to speak up.
They could only pray that Shen Lang wouldn't be too unlucky.
Meanwhile, Shen Lang had climbed onto a giant boulder halfway up the mountain and was sitting there, trying to sort out his thoughts.
On his way to the academy this morning, he had passed through the back mountain and encountered an old fortune-teller. The old man had been muttering mysteriously, saying some nonsensical things.
He had ended by lightly tapping Shen Lang on the forehead. After that, Shen Lang had slept in the classroom until just now, had a bizarre dream, and inexplicably obtained the War Emperor's memories. 'If someone told me that old fortune-teller had nothing to do with this, not even a ghost would believe it.'
'This part of the back mountain is already seldom visited. Any further in is considered a forbidden area of Tayun Academy. So how did a fortune-teller wander in here? From what I've heard, some of the old-timers at Tayun Academy have reached the terrifying Xuanwu Realm. How could they possibly let such a strange person walk into the back mountain?'
But as soon as he thought of this, Shen Lang's mind immediately returned to the War Emperor's memories. Within these memories were countless powerful Cultivation Techniques, as well as all sorts of secrets regarding skills like Artifact Refining and Alchemy.
However, the memories seemed to bear traces of extensive artificial interference. Many details appeared to have been sealed or erased.
'What the hell? The memories are censored? I seem to recall that's something people from that little island nation are fond of doing,' Shen Lang thought, a little exasperated.
However, the information about Cultivation Techniques, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, and so on was perfectly clear, making Shen Lang feel as if he had just been practicing them yesterday.
But all these Cultivation Techniques were based on the premise that one could cultivate normally. And Shen Lang not only had a Celestial Vein Sacred Body, but he also lacked a Martial Soul.
Worst of all, even within the War Emperor's memories, there was no solution for the Celestial Vein Sacred Body.
He could only vaguely discern that Martial Artists with this kind of Physique needed to use various Secret Techniques or materials to stimulate their bodies and awaken the Celestial Vein Sacred Body.
Now, having obtained the memories of an expert like the War Emperor, Shen Lang felt like he had acquired a massive treasure vault.
But being unable to cultivate made it unbearably frustrating, like a eunuch visiting a brothel.
Shen Lang not only had the uncultivatable Celestial Vein Sacred Body, making him almost unable to sense the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, but, to make matters worse, he didn't have a Martial Soul!
That was why after ten years of effort, he was still only at the Power Martial Realm Second Heaven. He might not even be as strong as a porter or a street vendor.
The Martial Arts cultivation on the Star Continent was divided into many Realms: the Power Martial Realm, the Qi Martial Realm, the Spirit Martial Realm, the Xuanwu Realm, and so on...
Each of these Realms was further divided into Nine Heavens.
The Power Martial Realm was primarily focused on training strength. Although one could absorb Spiritual Qi to enhance their Cultivation, the main focus was on tempering the physical body.
Breaking rock walls with bare hands, tearing tigers and leopards apart limb from limb.
The Qi Martial Realm, on the other hand, was focused on training qi. A Qi Martial Realm Martial Artist could store all the Spiritual Qi they absorbed in their Pill Sea. The Spiritual Qi would liquefy, the Pill Sea would begin to form, and they could start to cast some large-scale Magic and use Spiritual Qi to refine their physical body.
Hearing ants battle, the Pill Sea solidifying.
The Spirit Martial Realm was a level above the Qi Martial Realm. One could release Spiritual Qi externally, condensing it into the shapes of dragons, tigers, fierce beasts, or even wings.
Walking on water, gliding through the air, traversing the void.
At the Xuanwu Realm, Spiritual Power solidifies into a core, and Spiritual Wings transform from ethereal to solid. One can ascend to the heavens or descend into the earth, causing mountains to collapse and the earth to split with a flip of their palm. The Protectors of many Sects were experts at this level of Cultivation.
...
The Power Martial Realm was mainly for Body Forging, while the Qi Martial Realm and above primarily relied on the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy to temper the body.
And this was Shen Lang's fatal flaw. He had the legendary Celestial Vein Sacred Body. This Physique, which was said to have been able to shake the heavens and move the earth in the Ancient Era, was now useless. There were no suitable Cultivation Techniques for it, and it was extremely difficult for him to absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.
This Physique was like that of the ancient Divine Demons, following the path of the "Saint of the Flesh." But becoming a Saint of the Flesh was something from the legends of the Mythical Era.
Even with the War Emperor's memories, Shen Lang couldn't find a Cultivation Technique suitable for the Celestial Vein Sacred Body.
He didn't even know the specific method to awaken this Celestial Vein Sacred Body.
As for the Martial Soul, it was an innate talent for the people of the Star Continent. A Martial Artist's achievements in Martial Arts were inextricably linked to their Martial Soul.
There were countless types of Martial Souls. There were natural Martial Souls, such as Flame, Ice Soul, Hurricane, and Lightning;
There were also weapon Martial Souls, like Saber, Spear, Sword, and Halberd;
There were also beast Martial Souls, such as the Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and so on;
There were even many powerful mutated Martial Souls, like the Dark Martial Soul and the Light Martial Soul;
A Martial Soul could continuously evolve and grow stronger as a Martial Artist's power increased. Most importantly, when reaching the Qi Martial Realm and condensing a Pill Sea in the Dantian, the assistance of a Martial Soul was crucial. Without a Martial Soul, it was impossible to form a Pill Sea at all.
Without a Pill Sea, how could one continue to cultivate?
If one broke through to the Qi Martial Realm, it meant they had stepped into the Innate realm. Not only would their strength soar, but their Pill Sea would form, allowing for faster and purer absorption of Spiritual Power, which would slowly begin to liquefy. They would become a target for recruitment by various powers.
But Shen Lang was a waste without a Martial Soul.
The Celestial Vein Sacred Body was already daunting enough. To not even have a Martial Soul on top of that... in the eyes of others, there was no one more useless than him.
'That human face, what was it? The War Emperor, Master of the War God Hall, was a supreme existence in the Human Realm. How could he have fallen so easily? And why is there no information about his death on the entire continent now? That bastard... he erased the memories of so many key moments...'
Shen Lang's brows were tightly furrowed. He tried to connect the various events from his memories, hoping to analyze them and figure things out.
However, the War Emperor, who claimed to be one with him, seemed to have anticipated this. He had apparently thought of all the possibilities and erased many crucial parts, leaving the memories fragmented and scattered.
The parts about Cultivation Techniques and the like, however, were perfectly intact.
But as for what happened to the War God Hall or what major events transpired in the Human Realm, the current Shen Lang was completely in the dark. All those memories were missing.
It was as if his War Emperor self was playing a joke on him, wanting him to guess the answers to these riddles on his own.
'According to legend, the War God Hall exists as a sacred land for the Human Race. It leads the Human Race, its status even above that of Legendary Powers, and it is shrouded in mystery. But as for where the War God Hall is actually located, few on the Star Continent know. Some say the War God Hall is hidden deep underground, rarely showing itself and not interfering in the affairs of the Human Realm. Others say the War God Hall roams through an Alternate Space, and without being a supreme expert and having the specific coordinates, it's impossible to find... Based on my analysis of the memories, the latter possibility seems more likely...'
'Ugh, my head's a mess. What am I doing researching the War God Hall right now? Even if I found it, could I really walk up to them and say, "I'm your old boss, the War Emperor?"'
WHOOSH! Shen Lang shot up from the stone, his eyes exceptionally bright. "I am Shen Lang, and my destiny will be my own to command! The War Emperor's fate will absolutely not happen to me again! I need to become stronger! I will reach the Martial Arts Peak of the entire Human Realm! I will surpass the War Emperor!"