Invincible Beyond Heavens: Cultivating With A Broken EXP System

“Young Master Li, this will be your room,” Su Wan said as they stopped in front of a quiet doorway.

“Thank you, Miss Su,” Li Yun replied with polite sincerity.

“Hmph,” Su Lan snorted, clearly still displeased, before turning away and leaving on her own.

Su Wan watched her go and smiled faintly. “I doubt she will stay angry for long.”

Li Yun only shrugged. It made little difference to him either way.

“Please thank your Master for allowing me to stay here for a week,” Li Yun added.

“There is no need to think too deeply about it,” Su Wan said gently. “Master would not mind at all. You are our guest, after all, and you came on behalf of one of his old friends.”

“Alright. I will see you in a week,” Li Yun said as he opened the door and stepped inside.

The courtyard beyond was simple and unadorned, no different from the standard courtyards found in most inns. Li Yun did not spare it more than a passing glance. He closed the door behind him, sat down, and immediately focused inward as he checked his status.

—

[Ding! Quest Completed: “Learn Alchemy from Elder Shin”]

[Reward: 500 low grade spirit stones, 2000 EXP.]

—-

“Good,” Li Yun nodded to himself. “Raising the Golden Battle Body to the third stage should be easy with the Obsidian Marrow Root. Only mastering top grade wind and flame cultivation arts to the ninth layer will take more time.”

With that thought settled, he took out the tattered book Elder Lin had given him and began reading from the very first page.

The contents were vast and intricate. The book covered alchemy principles, rare spirit herbs, poisons and their antidotes, detailed personal experiences, and many other matters tied to the alchemical path. It even included notes on first grade and second grade pills, along with their formulas and refining insights. Every page carried weight.

Li Yun immersed himself completely, reading with unwavering focus. By the time he finally finished, an entire day had passed.

Normally, he could memorize a martial technique after a single glance, yet this book alone required a full day to absorb. That fact spoke volumes.

“So Elder Lin truly was not exaggerating when he said this contained his lifetime of experience,” Li Yun murmured, his gratitude genuine.

Simply understanding the contents allowed him to see every flaw in his previous approach to alchemy and clearly recognize where improvement was needed.

“Now that I finally understand the direction of my alchemical path, it is time to learn the Double Dragon Flames Art.”

He turned to the section describing the flame control technique and began reading carefully. According to the text, the practitioner would guide flames with both hands, shaping them like twin dragons, each responding to precise intent. The concept was elegant, but the practice required to reach such mastery was immense.

“I only have five days to reach the Advanced Stage if I want to use this properly to refine perfect grade Body Tempering Pills,” Li Yun muttered as he clearly grasped the pressure of time.

He wanted to refine perfect grade Body Tempering Pills for one reason above all else. By consuming them, he could push his cultivation directly from the sixth level to the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm. Doing so would greatly increase his chances of entering the Martial Ascension Gate.

Li Yun had no idea what kind of geniuses he would face during the disciple selection assessment of one of the four great sects of the Southern Martial Domain. Because of that uncertainty, he wanted to prepare as thoroughly as possible, and preparation meant strength.

At the moment, the fastest and most reliable way to increase his strength lay in perfect grade Body Tempering Pills. With his Supreme Foundation, he could absorb them without any drawbacks and advance straight to the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm.

As for breaking into the half step Xiantian Realm, Li Yun did not think that far ahead. His current goal was simple and absolute. He would reach the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm first, and only then would he consider his next step.

“It is time to practice,” Li Yun said quietly as he took a deep breath and began cultivating the Double Dragon Flames Art.

Five days passed in what felt like a blink.

It was now the sixth day since Li Yun had arrived in Pill Flame City.

He sat before the alchemy cauldron, calm and focused. One by one, he placed all the prepared ingredients inside before raising his hands and activating the Double Dragon Flames Art.

As he had promised himself, he had reached the Advanced Stage in just five days. Only Li Yun knew how brutal those five days had been. He practiced the same technique repeatedly, enduring exhaustion and mental strain, refining his control again and again until he finally broke through on the morning of the fifth day.

Now, as flames flowed from his hands and gathered beneath the cauldron, the difference was unmistakable. Compared to what he had done five days earlier during his competition with Su Lan, his former flame control felt crude and clumsy.

The Double Dragon Flames Art elevated his control to an entirely different level.

Li Yun could sense every fluctuation in temperature inside the cauldron with astonishing clarity. Each change responded instantly to his will, steady and obedient. Using the art in actual refinement felt completely different from mere practice, and the sensation filled him with quiet excitement.

Li Yun devoted his entire focus to the Double Dragon Flames Art, guiding the flames beneath the cauldron with unwavering precision. At the same time, he kept recalling the insights recorded in the tattered book Elder Lin had given him. Those pages carried years of experience and hard-earned lessons, and Li Yun applied every detail he had absorbed from them.

Time slipped by without him noticing. One hour passed, then another, until five full hours were gone.

This was far longer than when he had refined a set of excellent grade Body Tempering Pills during his competition with Su Lan. Li Yun was aware of the difference, yet he remained calm and did not let it disturb his concentration.

Only when the sixth hour arrived did the cauldron begin to tremble, signaling that the refinement was complete.

Li Yun slowly lifted the lid, already holding a bottle in his other hand. In the next instant, pills shot into the air. He caught them smoothly and guided them into the bottle without missing a single one.

“The fragrance is completely different from excellent grade Body Tempering Pills,” Li Yun murmured. His hand trembled slightly as he prepared to inspect the result.

He opened the bottle and took out a single pill, examining it with care. After a moment, a broad smile spread across his face.

“I did it. I truly did it. I finally refined perfect grade Body Tempering Pills.”

Almost as if responding to his joy, the system’s notification appeared before his eyes, confirming his success.

—-

[Ding! Quest Completed: “Refine a perfect grade Body Tempering Pill”]

– Reward: [5000 gold coins, 1000 experience points]

—-

“Nice.”

Li Yun collapsed onto the floor the moment the confirmation appeared. The past five days spent poring over Elder Lin’s experiences and enduring the grueling practice of the Double Dragon Flames Art had finally paid off.

After a short rest, he quickly sat upright. “Now, to achieve a one hundred percent success rate, I still need more practice today. The pills I refine will all be used to push my cultivation to the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm.”

With his resolve set, Li Yun immediately began refining another set of perfect grade Body Tempering Pills. He had already examined the first batch and discovered that several pills were only of excellent grade, which meant his success rate was not yet perfect. That imperfection bothered him deeply, and he refused to accept anything less than absolute consistency.

Once again, he immersed himself in relentless pill refinement. Time flowed by unnoticed, and another entire day passed before he realized it.

On the morning of the seventh day, a knock sounded at his door.

“Young Master Li, Master is calling for you,” Su Wan’s voice came from outside.

“I am coming,” Li Yun replied as he opened the door. He had not yet put on his upper garments, and his well-trained body was fully exposed.

“Young Master Li, please put on some clothes,” Su Wan said quickly, her face flushing red at the sight.

“I just finished training,” Li Yun said with an easy smile as he slipped into his robe and stepped outside.

Su Wan looked at him closely, sensing something unusual. Her eyes widened in disbelief a moment later.

“Young Master Li, your cultivation!” She exclaimed. “How did you advance from the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm to the ninth level in less than a week?”

Li Yun smiled faintly at her astonishment. “It is a secret.”

He understood her reaction perfectly. Even with abundant resources, ordinary martial artists could never advance their cultivation the way he had. Advancing too quickly often led to an unstable foundation, and without an exceptional physique suited for cultivation or good cultivation talent, raising one’s realm by several levels in such a short time was simply impossible.

That was precisely why Su Wan was so shaken. She could sense no instability in Li Yun’s aura at all. Despite advancing from the sixth level to the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm, his foundation remained solid and refined, without the slightest hint of imbalance.

This realization shocked her more deeply than his ability to refine excellent grade Body Tempering Pills. It meant that Li Yun’s talent in cultivation was no weaker than his talent in alchemy, and perhaps it was even greater.