Chapter 601 - 589: Showdown

Just doing a rough calculation of the resources needed to bring his Divine Demon Body cultivation progress to 100% was enough to make Lin Xinghai’s head spin.

Of course, high costs also meant high returns.

Although his Divine Demon Body cultivation had only reached 20% progress during this Marrow Tempering Realm stage, the strength of his arms had already reached two-thirds that of his legs.

By Lin Xinghai’s estimation, as long as he completed the first stage of the Divine Demon Body cultivation, the strength of his arms would become equal to his legs.

And moving forward, his arms and legs would likely be strengthened together, which would explain the massive resource consumption.

After noticing this change, Lin Xinghai was no longer so conflicted. He spent another moment sensing the changes in his body before opening his eyes.

He then saw Zuo Wenyao looking him up and down nonstop.

Lin Xinghai was only wearing a pair of underwear at the moment. Being stared at like this by another man instantly sent a chill down his spine.

"Ahem! Teacher, just to be clear, I’m a man, and I’m interested in women," Lin Xinghai said with a light cough.

Zuo Wenyao, who had been studying Lin Xinghai with a grave expression, instantly found it impossible to maintain his composure.

"Oh, get lost! Get dressed and come with me to the testing room. I feel like something is off with your condition," Zuo Wenyao snapped irritably. However, he couldn’t very well stay there any longer, so he turned and walked to the other side of the room.

Lin Xinghai also stood up and began to get dressed, saying, "Teacher, I don’t think we need to go. Your guess is right. My breakthrough this time was different from yours."

SWOOSH!

Zuo Wenyao, who had walked off to the side, reappeared in front of him in a flash. He asked with a heavy expression, "Did something go wrong with your breakthrough?"

"No." Lin Xinghai shook his head and looked at Zuo Wenyao seriously. "Nothing went wrong with me. It’s all of you who have been going wrong with your breakthroughs."

Zuo Wenyao: ???

However, seeing the look on Lin Xinghai’s face, which didn’t seem like he was joking at all, Zuo Wenyao suddenly had a premonition that something big was about to happen again.

Zuo Wenyao forcibly suppressed his urgency. He led Lin Xinghai to a coffee table in the corner and sat down, taking a deep breath before asking, "What exactly is going on? Did you discover something important? Tell me slowly and clearly."

"Yes." Lin Xinghai nodded, then activated his wrist-mounted computer, opening an image of a Divine Demon Body stone slate and projecting it into the air.

Seeing this, Zuo Wenyao was both confused and even more curious, but he didn’t ask anything, quietly waiting for Lin Xinghai’s explanation.

After gathering his thoughts for a moment, Lin Xinghai said slowly, "Teacher, have you ever considered that our past research was wrong?"

"What research are you referring to?" Zuo Wenyao immediately asked.

"Our theories about the Realms." Lin Xinghai pointed at the holographic projection in front of him.

"Based on these pictograms on the stone slates, we theorized that the Divine Demon Body inheritance has a total of eight Realms."

"And we always thought that the three pictograms in the first row represent the stage of the Optimized, and the three pictograms in the second row represent the Blood Qi Realm."

"But have you ever considered that in the ancient era when this inheritance was left behind, the ancestors who existed back then might have had such powerful Physiques that they didn’t even have a stage for the Optimized? That their Cultivation started directly from the Blood Qi Realm?" Lin Xinghai said slowly.

He didn’t state the answer outright. Instead, he proposed a possibility to give the other party time to think it through.

Hearing Lin Xinghai’s question, Zuo Wenyao couldn’t help but frown slightly. "According to your logic, the three pictograms in the first row represent the Blood Qi Realm, and the three in the second row represent the Body Shaping Realm?"

"But that’s not right! Look at the three pictograms in the second row. The figure depicted is still doing basic training, and the intensity of that training clearly doesn’t match the level of the Body Shaping Realm."

"In fact, the three pictograms in the third row look more like the Body Shaping Realm. So, I don’t think your theory holds up, unless..." Zuo Wenyao’s voice trailed off as he suddenly stopped.

A terrifying thought flashed through his mind.

If Lin Xinghai’s hypothesis was correct, then there was only one plausible explanation for the three pictograms in the second row: they belonged to a Realm unknown to them.

A Realm that existed between the Blood Qi Realm and the Body Shaping Realm.

If such a thought had crossed his mind before, he probably would have just laughed it off. After all, everyone has wild, far-fetched ideas from time to time.

But this time was different, because he had been paying close attention to Lin Xinghai’s breakthrough just now.

After Lin Xinghai had just completed his breakthrough, he hadn’t concealed his aura. Zuo Wenyao could clearly feel that the aura radiating from him was stronger than the Blood Qi Realm, yet it hadn’t reached the level of the Body Shaping Realm.

That was precisely why he had wanted Lin Xinghai to get a physical examination immediately, to see if something had gone wrong.

But now...

He stared blankly at Lin Xinghai.

Lin Xinghai gave him a firm nod, then slowly uttered three words: "Marrow Tempering Realm!"

CRACK!

Zuo Wenyao had crushed the armrest of his chair.

His eyes were fixed on Lin Xinghai. After a long moment, he slowly asked, "What kind of Realm is this Marrow Tempering Realm? And how did you achieve it?"

Lin Xinghai held nothing back and said directly, "The Marrow Tempering Realm is a stage primarily for strengthening the internal organs. It also allows the Blood Qi Power from the meridians and blood vessels to be stored within the organs, making it a Realm that can vastly increase one’s total amount of Blood Qi Power."

CRACK!

Hearing this, Zuo Wenyao crushed the other armrest as well.

One had to understand why humanity’s top powerhouses were always stuck at the Divine Demon Realm. It wasn’t that no one could meet the requirements for a breakthrough, but that no one could ever succeed in breaking through.

Ultimately, there was only one reason: their internal organs were too fragile.

When breaking through a bottleneck, one needed to make the Blood Qi Power in their body boil violently to assault the barrier, but the internal organs simply couldn’t withstand it.

They had always thought they were using the wrong method for breakthroughs, or that they needed some special item to assist them.

These problems had long plagued all Divine Demon Realm experts and a host of researchers. But they never expected to get the answer so easily from Lin Xinghai today.

It turned out they had skipped a crucial Realm in their Cultivation.

Zuo Wenyao took a deep breath before speaking again. "I’m fine. Continue. How did you break through to the Marrow Tempering Realm?"

"Because I have the inheritance of the Thunder Divine Body’s Cultivation Technique. By following the Cultivation Technique, I could directly break through to the Marrow Tempering Realm," Lin Xinghai said.

"Hmm?" Zuo Wenyao didn’t quite understand.

"The Divine Demon Body stone slates contain a true inheritance. It’s a method similar to a Memory Transmitter that can directly pour knowledge into one’s mind. That’s how I received the inheritance."

"However, after I received the inheritance, the stone slate that recorded the Thunder Divine Body cracked from the inside. It can’t be used anymore," Lin Xinghai explained.

Given his current status, revealing this matter wasn’t a big deal. Besides, compared to his other secrets, this one was truly nothing.

After understanding the full story, Zuo Wenyao didn’t say another word. He pulled Lin Xinghai along and headed to the third floor of the research building, to the room where the Divine Demon Body stone slates were kept.

He personally went to the stone slate of the Thunder Divine Body and inspected it carefully. He found that the slate indeed showed signs of cracking. More importantly, when he probed it with his Perception Power, there was no longer any reaction of rejection or affinity.

After confirming the truth of the matter, Zuo Wenyao immediately opened his wrist-mounted computer and pulled up his contact list. His gaze flickered over the names.

Soon, his eyes landed on the section for Military Department contacts. Finally, he reached out, about to tap on the name he had labeled "Commander."

However, just as his finger was about to make contact, he paused. He then scrolled down the contact list, and his gaze finally settled on a name: Chang Yudar.

Lin Xinghai could see a note next to the name: "Head of the Seed Plan Execution Department."