Chapter 21: An Astonishing Harvest

Not only did his physical abilities more than double, but even his spirit was strengthened by an equal measure—this completely surpassed Zhou Yi’s expectations.

His attribute panel was divided into three main categories: Spirit, Body, and Qi.

The Spirit represented the mind and the primordial soul.

The Body signified physical strength and agility.

Qi referred to inner energy.

Zhou Yi more or less understood how to increase both Body and Qi, but Spirit remained a mystery.

According to his deductions, Body could be improved through physical tempering techniques; practice would naturally enhance it. Qi would grow once inner strength was cultivated through internal arts. But as for Spirit, he had no clue how to enhance it.

It was obvious that all three—Spirit, Body, and Qi—were crucial. Knowing precisely how to strengthen each would be ideal.

Moreover, in Zhou Yi’s view, Spirit was perhaps even more important than the other two.

Yet, he’d never found a way to improve it, and so had left the matter aside.

Who would have thought—a flower planted with intent may never blossom, but a willow planted by chance brings unexpected shade! Following the established process, Zhou Yi merely initiated his first cellular metamorphosis, not expecting that unintentionally, he would double his Spirit attribute in the process.

This was an extraordinary and delightful surprise.

The benefits of an empowered Spirit hardly needed explanation: clarity of thought, ordered reasoning, and so forth.

And this was only a secondary gain. Though he had suffered greatly during the process, the rewards more than justified the hardship. Even if he had to do it all over again… yes, Zhou Yi realized he would do so willingly!

Some things, no matter how painful or difficult, would always be worth choosing, given the chance.

The enhancement of his Spirit was merely an unexpected boon; the true reward was the breakthrough in his cellular attributes and his innate talent.

Within his internal cellular space, Zhou Yi once again stood beneath the starry sky. Over a hundred awakened cells shone like stars above. Now, standing here, he truly felt as though he was under a vast, glittering firmament.

"After this cellular metamorphosis, the speed at which energy accumulates has increased dramatically. Compared to before, with the same actions and in the same time, I’m converting nearly ten times as much energy!" Watching the energy value on his attribute panel climb, and recalling how slowly it rose before, Zhou Yi quickly reached this conclusion.

Tenfold—the accumulation speed had increased tenfold after the transformation, and this was only the beginning. After this first metamorphosis, the upper limit for his cell count had risen to 999.

Energy accumulation depended both on the number of cells and on their quality.

Currently, he had only awakened a little over a hundred cells, still far from the new upper limit.

This meant that as his cell count increased, the rate at which energy could be converted would rise even further—a vast potential for growth yet to be realized!

He tested the new energy capacity of his transformed cells. Bit by bit, he directed energy into a cell: one point, two points, three… up to eight, nine, and finally ten.

When a cell contained ten points of energy, it finally felt saturated—no more could be absorbed.

"Just as I thought," Zhou Yi murmured. Not only had the upper limit on cell numbers increased dramatically, but so too had each cell’s capacity—tenfold, as he had speculated.

Now, each cell could hold ten energy points, and with the potential for up to 999 cells, his maximum energy reserve was 9,990 points.

From his prior tests, every ten points of energy increased his Body attribute by 0.001. So, a hundred points meant an increase of 0.01; a thousand points, 0.1; and ten thousand points, a full 1.0.

That meant that each time he maxed out his energy reserve, he could raise his Body attribute by an entire point!

Calculating all this, Zhou Yi was overwhelmed with joy—every hardship he had endured now felt worthwhile.

By his estimation, at his current state, he was gaining 0.1 energy points per second—about six points per minute.

And that was just while standing idle. If he pushed himself, endured the pain, and strove harder, that rate could increase geometrically.

His Body attribute now stood at 2.27. With effort and the right environment, he could accumulate energy rapidly, and perhaps, once he emerged from this trial, his physical strength would undergo a qualitative leap.

…

Outside, from the moment Zhou Yi recovered miraculously, whether it was Song Hai standing before him with concern or the crowd atop the cliff, all were completely stunned—if only they had glasses, they would have dropped them in shock!

How could this be possible?

Was this a dream?

Were their eyes playing tricks on them? Where were they—surely this must be a dream!

What was happening defied all reason, leaving only a single thought in everyone’s mind: was this reality, or were they dreaming?

These men had roamed the martial world for decades and thought they had seen it all, yet the scene unfolding before them shattered all expectations. Just moments ago, Zhou Yi was on the brink of death; the next instant, he was lively and vigorous, his very essence transformed.

"It seems we’ve underestimated this child. He must have his own extraordinary fortune," the sect master finally said, gazing down at Zhou Yi and slowly unclenching his hands.

"It looks like he no longer needs our help."

"He can pass this trial on his own," the big-bearded man beside him agreed. Who among them had not had some stroke of fortune in their youth?

"And by the looks of it, even this wind barrier can’t stop him," added a man in blue, his voice gentle as a spring breeze.

None of them, no matter how incredible Zhou Yi’s fortune appeared, considered seizing it for themselves. At their age, many youthful ambitions had faded; life’s trials had tempered their hearts, and they no longer clung to former obsessions.

No matter what Zhou Yi’s fortune truly was, as long as he entered their sect, he would be one of their own.

And for their own, not only would they never seek to take Zhou Yi’s fortune, but they would also do all they could to nurture his growth.

That is the meaning of a sect.

No sect with a legacy of a thousand years would be so shortsighted as to destroy a disciple of such talent for the sake of some fleeting opportunity. Compared to Zhou Yi’s fortune, they valued Zhou Yi himself far more.

Whether it was his talent or his destiny, what impressed them most was his will—a will as unyielding as steel.