Chapter 27: Core Formation Stage

The chamber glowed with ethereal light as Li Yao’s breakthrough continued through the night, spiritual energy condensing and swirling around her in luminous currents. When dawn finally broke, she exhaled deeply, wisps of colorful qi escaping her lips like sacred mist. Success. She had officially broken through to the Core Formation stage.

Despite this monumental achievement, a sigh escaped her lips. Just reaching Core Formation had consumed so much time and effort—how long would it take to advance to the Golden Core stage and truly help her senior brother? The road ahead seemed impossibly distant.

One had to note the absurdity of her frustration. Li Yao had accomplished in mere months what took others entire lifetimes to achieve. If cultivators heard her lamenting her “slow” progress, they would collapse from sheer indignation. If her pace was considered sluggish, weren’t ordinary cultivators essentially standing still in comparison?

The empress, sensing her vessel’s disappointment, observed with amusement that the struggles of a genius were truly peculiar. Still, she needed to provide motivation before Li Yao slipped back into her former laziness.

[It’s okay, you don’t have to break through to the Golden Core stage,] the empress’s voice resonated in Li Yao’s mind.

Li Yao’s head snapped up, eyes widening with surprise. “I don’t? But didn’t you say I needed to at least reach the Golden Core stage?” confusion evident in her voice.

[Well, that’s the requirement for a normal person,] the empress clarified. [To put it simply, you don’t need Golden Core stage cultivation—you need Golden Core stage combat power.]

The empress’s spectral form drifted closer as she elaborated, [With your level fifteen body refining combined with two perfect-level sword techniques, your combat power already approximates mid-stage Core Formation.]

Her ethereal fingers traced patterns in the air as she continued, [If you breakthrough to mid-stage Core Formation realm, your effective combat power will reach late-stage. Add sixteenth level body refining, and you’ll match peak Core Formation. Perfect a spell technique on top of that, and you’ll be capable of confronting early-stage Golden Core cultivators.]

Relief washed over Li Yao’s features as understanding dawned. This meant she wouldn’t need to wait until reaching Golden Core to help her senior brother after all. She merely needed to advance to mid-stage Core Formation—child’s play with her talent. Body refining might present challenges, but she could manage that too.

As for spells, she understood their significance implicitly. Spell techniques differed fundamentally from normal techniques, relying on spiritual energy rather than weapons and bodily strength. While Foundation Establishment cultivators could infuse their weapons with qi for enhanced damage, this method remained woefully inefficient—like using a precious gemstone as a common rock.

Only after breaking through to Core Formation could one truly manipulate qi for direct attacks. Learning proper spell techniques would maximize this capability.

Typically, new Core Formation cultivators reported to the sect to receive appropriate spell techniques, but Li Yao preferred keeping her advancement secret for now. Fortunately, the empress possessed techniques far superior to anything the sect could offer. Combined with Li Yao’s extraordinary comprehension ability, mastering them would be relatively straightforward.

Senior brother, just wait for me,

she thought with renewed determination.

I’ll definitely find the Rebirth Pill for you.

The empress watched with satisfaction as motivation rekindled in her chosen vessel. The fire had returned to those eyes—a blaze that would consume any obstacle in its path.

…

Golden rays of dawn painted the mountainside as Xiang Yu performed his morning ritual, the knife in his hand slicing through air with practiced precision. Following his established routine, he began the day with knife techniques, reserving sword practice for evening sessions. He had been training for barely an hour when an unexpected tremor disrupted his concentration.

The ground beneath his feet shuddered rhythmically, each vibration stronger than the last. Xiang Yu’s muscles tensed instinctively as he tightened his grip on his knife, adopting a defensive stance. His mind raced through possibilities, calculating threats and escape routes with practiced efficiency.

“Could it be that beast from the forest?” he wondered, eyes narrowing as he scanned the tree line. “But Li Yao said she killed it.” A surge of indignation rose within him as he prepared to face whatever emerged from the undergrowth. “Dammit! I’ve been scammed! I even went on a date where I nearly died—this is a total ripoff!” His internal complaints continued unabated. “If I survive this, I’m definitely suing for damages.”

The tremors intensified, foliage at the clearing’s edge rustling violently before parting to reveal… not a monstrous beast, but something equally astonishing: his junior sister, hauling an enormous boulder behind her.

Xiang Yu’s jaw dropped in stunned disbelief. What shocked him wasn’t merely the boulder’s immense size but that Li Yao pulled it using raw physical strength rather than spiritual energy. Cultivators beyond the Qi Gathering realm typically didn’t increase their physical power with each breakthrough1—they relied instead on qi enhancement for such feats. Yet here was Li Yao, dragging several tons of solid rock using nothing but muscle.

“She must be at least at the twelfth layer of Body Refining,” he calculated silently, eyes widening as he reassessed his junior sister’s capabilities.

Suddenly remembering the knife still poised in his hand, Xiang Yu hastily concealed it and approached her with casual nonchalance.

“Junior sister, what are you doing?” he inquired, striving for a conversational tone despite his amazement.

“I was thinking of practicing my Body Refining,” she replied cheerfully, “and decided to train here with senior brother to keep him company.”

A smile tugged at Xiang Yu’s lips, genuinely touched by her consideration. “How are you going to practice?” he asked, eyeing the massive boulder with curiosity.

“How else? I’ll just do some reps with this stone,” she explained matter-of-factly.

Xiang Yu’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Is there a scripture like that?” he questioned, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Why hadn’t he heard of such a straightforward method? If such an approach existed, he could have avoided those embarrassing movements entirely, simply lifting weights instead.

“Didn’t you know? Body Refining is all about refining the body,” Li Yao elaborated with the patience of explaining something obvious. “The scriptures just make the process easier. As long as you push your body to the limit, you will definitely advance.”

The revelation hit Xiang Yu like a physical blow. His legs buckled beneath him as he collapsed to the ground, mind reeling with implications. All those hours spent performing humiliating movements had been unnecessary? He could have just been lifting weights?

“Senior brother, what’s wrong?” Li Yao rushed to his side, concern evident in her voice.

Everything suddenly clicked into place in Xiang Yu’s mind—why knife technique experience transferred to the Mountain Heart Scripture. It wasn’t transferring at all! The physical exertion from knife practice was advancing his body directly, and the scripture progressed because his body improved.

“Just kill me,” he groaned, face contorted with defeat.

Li Yao hovered anxiously, never having seen her senior brother so utterly dejected. Realizing the source of his mortification, she attempted comfort.

“Don’t worry, senior brother, only the master and I saw you,” she reassured him, patting his back sympathetically. “And the master has probably already forgotten. I’m the only one with the memory crystal…”

Her voice trailed off as she realized her critical error. Xiang Yu’s head snapped up, eyes narrowing dangerously as he processed her words.

“Whatchu mean by that?”

…

Think of it this way; body refining isn’t a realm but a technique, after you enter the qi refining stage, you can still refine your body if you want. But if you just continue cultivating, you’ll just continue refining qi as you break through, just more qi and quality but your physical strength will never increase. But this doesn’t mean you are weak, you can still use qi to perform feats, even stronger than body refining, but if the qi is taken away, you’re cooked. In simple terms, body refining is working out and the other realms are all about upgrading your equipment, you’re strong with a bigger gun but powerless without it.

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