Chapter 40

: Physique Tempering Stage Level 1
Translator: 
Sparrow Translations 
 Editor: 
Sparrow Translations

Tang Meng, stop with your slanderous comments! Since when did I bully Lingyu?

As Xie Junyan thought of ways to win Ning Lingyu’s heart, he would never admit to Tangmeng’s accusation that he and Zhuang Meina had bullied Ning Lingyu that afternoon. Knowing that Xie Junyan would deny his actions, Tang Meng sneered and decided not to argue.

Hmph, so what if we bullied Ning Lingyu on purpose?
said Zhuang Meina.
 
Zhuang Meina wasn’t dumb, she knew that she was merely Xie Junyan’s girlfriend in name. In his eyes, she was just a substitute for Ning Lingyu. She felt ashamed and angry. Coupled with her jealousy, her temper exploded. Disregarding the people watching, she decided to challenge Tang Meng. Without giving a thought to Xie Junyan’s reputation, she dragged him down too.
 

No!
Ling Yun bellowed. He had been leaning on the railing this whole time. He stood up suddenly and slowly took a step forward. His face displayed no signs of anger but he wore a smirk that was as cold as ice. It only took one step for people to feel his dominating presence.
By now, the news of Ling Yun punching Gou Junfa had already spread throughout the whole school. Noticing that Ling Yun was turning angry, the students watching immediately took tentative steps back.
 
Based on Tang Meng and Ning Lingyu’s understanding of Ling Yun, any word from Zhuang Meina or Xie Junyan could easily trigger him and cause a fight to break out.
 
Seeing that Ling Yun was approaching, Zhuang Meina’s face started to turn pale but she stood her ground forcefully without backing away. Xie Junyan’s eyes narrowed and his pupils dilated, showing no signs of fear.

It’s fine, brother…
Ning Lingyu said as she extended her arm to grab Ling Yun’s shirt, giving it a few tugs.
Since they were right outside a classroom and the lesson was about to begin, Ning Lingyu did not want her brother to get into another fight because of her. He had caused enough trouble today already.
Looking at his sister, Ling Yun’s smile lit up and he nodded his head slightly.
 
Not turning his head back, he blurted coldly,
I am warning everyone. Anyone who dares to bully my sister or make her unhappy, I will make them pay regardless of their gender or identity!

 
With that, he smiled at his sister and gave a pat on her shoulder affectionately before leaving. After hearing Ling Yun’s warning, all the students, including Xie Junyan and Zhuang Meina, did not dare to breathe another word.
Seeing her brother leaving, a satisfied and happy smile broke out on Ning Lingyu’s face.

Fatty, why didn’t you teach him a lesson just now? If you did, we could have easily beaten him up!
Tang Meng followed Ling Yun down the stairs, recalling how Ling Yun had beaten up Tu Gang during dinner. He was puzzled by Ling Yun’s lack of action.
Ling Yun stopped walking. He frowned and asked,
How old are you this year?


Seventeen and a half, why?


Next time, call me brother. I will only say this once. If you don’t remember, I’ll beat you up!

Ling Yun was very satisfied with Tang Meng’s performance from before and started to accept him as a brother.
 
Tang Meng wasn’t thinking about the benefits calling Ling Yun ‘brother’ could bring. Instead, he thought about how he would have to call Ling Yun ‘brother-in-law’ should he get together with Ning Lingyu. Deciding that it was better to get used to this term, Tang Meng reluctantly said,
Fine, brother, why didn’t you beat him?

Ling Yun smiled bitterly, shaking his head while saying,
I know you wanted to fight but didn’t you see how Lingyu was holding my arm back?

 
After a moment of thought, he added,
Next time, if I’m not present, do not get into a fight with Xie Junyan.

 
Tang Meng had never regarded Xie Junyan as someone important and replied arrogantly,
Him? I can easily defeat three of him!

 
Ling Yun shook his head and said,
You’re wrong, it is more likely that he can easily defeat five of you.


What?!
Tang Meng stood there, appalled.
 
Comparing their height, muscles or even fighting experience, Tang Meng felt that Xie Junyan was below him. After hearing Ling Yun’s comment, he was absolutely shocked.
 

Trust me, he definitely has the ability to do so.

Noting Tang Meng’s look of disbelief, Ling Yun replied in a serious tone while patting Tang Meng’s shoulder.
 
Ling Yun recalled clearly that when he had stepped forward, Zhuang Meina’s stubbornness and the fear of losing her pride kept her standing there even though she was terrified.
However, Xie Junyan was different. When everyone had taken a step back, not only had he not backed off, his right foot even took a small step forward. At the same time, he had clenched his fists and went into an accurate fighting stance, showing that he was well practiced.
With just one glance, an expert would be able to see the abilities of a person. Ling Yun had taken a glance and knew that Xie Junyan had some knowledge of kung fu as the actions he made had a certain level of difficulty.
Hence, he wanted to remind Tang Meng nicely as he was afraid that Tang Meng would get beaten up if he remained unaware.

Are you sure? I’ve never heard about Xie Junyan practicing kung fu. Are you just trying to scare me, boss? Or perhaps, you saw wrongly?’
 
Tang Meng had always viewed Xie Junyan as a weakling and he felt that beating him up would be a piece of cake. However, after hearing that the opposite would happen, Tang Meng found it hard to accept.
Ling Yun decided not to argue further and smiled,
You heard me. Go do your own things, I will be going back to the hostel first since I’m busy tonight.’
Tang Meng felt that Ling Yun was being very mysterious today and wanted to follow him to understand the reason behind his drastic changes today. However, given that Ling Yun had asked him to leave, he no longer had an excuse to follow him.
Watching Ling Yun walk away, Tang Meng suddenly recalled and called out,
What about you? Are you able to beat him?

Ling Yun chuckled and replied,
What do you think?

Ling Yun wasn’t lying when he said that he was busy since he had important issues to attend to.
 
This afternoon, due to his crazy running regime, he had used up all the spiritual energy from the Shichiyou Herb that he had absorbed last night. What never crossed his mind was that Ning Lingyu had an innate spiritual body. Thus, whenever they were together, he could use his abilities to absorb the spiritual energy given off from her body.
This was also the reason behind him being so energetic even after running eleven rounds while carrying a sandbag.
If not, even though Ling Yun had undergone the cleansing of his immortal spiritual energy, his body had completely changed. He would have to handle the exhaustion caused by such strenuous exercise.
Since Ning Lingyu had not undergone any training, the amount of spiritual energy she gave out was not even a quarter of the Shichiyou Herb’s. However, she had been of great help to Ling Yun.
The amount of time Ling Yun and Ning Lingyu had spent together today was roughly two hours. However, his body had already absorbed enough spiritual energy. Thus, he needed to expand all of his energy before using the Shichiyou Herb in order to maximize his training. Therefore, all he had to do now was to repeat the same exercise that he had done that afternoon, which was to run while carrying a sandbag!
After leaving Tang Meng, Ling Yun returned to his hostel and tied two small sandbags to his calves. He then placed a sandbag of about 25 kilograms onto his shoulders before sprinting downstairs.
Recalling the impact caused by this afternoon’s run, Ling Yun decided not to run on the school’s track. Instead, he cut through the field and left the compound through the same way he came in the previous night.
The small alley at the back of the school was usually empty with the exception of a few student couples. As compared to the road in front of the school, this was considerably quieter. It was now 8.30pm and after getting his bearings right, Ling Yun started his dash.
After pushing past his body’s limits, Ling Yun was much stronger than he was in the afternoon. Previously, he had to run approximately 3 kilometers before the spiritual energy in his body started to circulate through his bones, muscles, and meridians.
This time, Ling Yun only had to sprint for half an hour, approximately 8 kilometers, before using up all of the spiritual energy in him. At 10 pm, he shouldered the sandbag and headed to the place where he had discovered the Shichiyou Herb the previous night.
Feeling worn out, he threw the sandbag on the ground upon reaching his destination. He sat down on the bag to catch his breath before approaching the Shichiyou Herb.
With the falling temperature in the night, crystal-like dewdrops formed on the underbrush beside the river. This made no difference to the drenched Ling Yun as he proceeded to sit cross-legged beside the Shichiyou Herb, beginning his first attempt.
Ling Yun’s physique tempering method, Dayan Great Stars Technique, only required one repetition before he was able to borrow the energy from the stars to repeatedly strengthen his body.
This method of training, at its peak, would allow one to use the power of the galaxy to strengthen oneself and cause one’s body to become extremely powerful. This was why even people in the Cultivation World were competing to master this training. To improve his skills, he would have to reach the peak of each level in his Physique Tempering Stage. Ling Yun still decided to use this method to train his body although it was a little too overwhelming.
When he sat down, he started to absorb the spiritual energy to restore his body to its peak condition. After doing so, he focused on his abilities and began to tackle the first level.
 
As his Yang Heel Meridian had not recovered yet, even the easiest level of physique tempering proved to be difficult for Ling Yun. Although he had the soul of the Tribulation Stage, he still needed three whole hours to complete the training.
At 1 am in the morning, he finally decided to stop. Seems like I overestimated myself. I barely reached the first level, yet I had assumed that I’d be able to reach the second peak in one try. I’ve yet to even reach the peak of level one!
Feeling that his strength had only improved slightly upon reaching the first level, Ling Yun was a little disappointed.
After all, this is not the Cultivation World…