The System responded immediately, lines of text forming on the interface:
[Primordial Chaos Body Refinement Technique – First Part]
Forge the body into a vessel of chaos—the source of creation and destruction.
Upon reaching the First Stage – Chaos Seed Baptism, the user’s body can freely break down and reconstruct itself, allowing it to absorb all forms of energy.
Note: The pain of each refinement may shatter the mind. Failure means body collapse and certain death.
Grade: Unspecified! (Incomplete!)
Bai Zihan’s eyes widened as he read the description. His heart pounded faster, and excitement flickered in his eyes.
“Freely break down and reconstruct the body… absorb all forms of energy?”
He muttered, his voice a mix of awe and exhilaration.
Even the first part was beyond his imagination, not to mention the perks of being able to absorb all forms of energy.
( Can I also absorb other people’s attacks? )
After all, those attacks also contained Qi, so it wasn’t unreasonable to do so.
Anyway, that needs to be tested after attaining the first stage of Primordial Chaos Body Refinement Technique which doesn’t seem easy.
“But… certain death if I fail?”
Although failure could lead to death yet his excitement refused to die down.
A cultivation technique that could defy all limitations—one that could turn his very body into a conduit for power. But the cost…
“Failure means body collapse and death.”
It was a terrifying result for failure.
However, thinking about his current situation, it didn’t seem like he could escape death unless he became stronger.
Bai Zihan’s expression hardened.
“If I’m to survive in this world, I can’t afford to be weak. The Primordial Chaos Body Refinement Technique… it’s risky, but the benefit…”
Mastering this technique could potentially change his fate.
Although the grade was unspecified due to the technique being just the first part, the description alone was enough to suggest that it was at least comparable to a Saint-Grade technique.
Techniques were categorized as Yellow, Profound, Earth, Heaven, Saint, and beyond.
Even Heaven-Grade techniques were extremely difficult to obtain.
Despite being the strongest clan in the Desolate Heaven Empire, the Bai Clan possessed only three such techniques, none of them were for body refinement though.
As for Saint-Grade techniques, they were practically nonexistent in the Desolate Heaven Empire—or at least, Bai Zihan wasn’t aware of any powerhouse possessing them.
Maybe those protagonist-like bastards were cultivating them, but he wouldn’t know.
In any case, this was certainly superior to the Earth-Grade Body Refinement technique Bai Zihan had been cultivating in the Bai Clan.
The Bai Clan’s refinement technique had made Bai Zihan’s body incomparably stronger than normal people, allowing him to withstand sword cuts.
However, it wasn’t as powerful as the Primordial Chaos Body Refinement Technique.
Additionally, the Primordial Chaos Body Refinement Technique allowed the body to absorb all forms of energy, which would greatly enhance his cultivation.
Of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to start practicing the technique blindly.
He needed to research more to increase his chances of success and determine whether this was truly the best path for him.
After all, his primary objective was survival.
He wasn’t just going to jump from the pot into the fire.
Perhaps he wouldn’t need to take this risk at all.
Anyway, he could finally see some hope in his hopeless situation.
“System, claim all the rewards!”
Bai Zihan commanded.
[Claiming Rewards…] [Qi Refining Achievement: 10x Cultivation Speed Card (3 Days)] [Foundation Establishment Achievement: Martial Arts Enlightenment Card (1 Hour)] [Core Formation Achievement: Primordial Chaos Body Refinement Technique (First Part)] [Defeated Bai Lei: +1000 Points] …
[ Total Points Earned: 27,270 ]
A golden glow enveloped Zihan, knowledge and power flooding into his soul.
His lips curled into a determined smirk.
“Now… let’s see how fate fares against me!”
***
For the rest of the day, Bai Zihan organized his thoughts and decided on what to do going forward.
With the acquired points, there was a lot he could buy, but he wasn’t going to make any hasty purchases.
As for weapons and protective gear, being a direct heir of the Bai Clan meant that his current arsenal of artifacts was more than sufficient.
Most of his artifacts, including weapons and armor, were already Earth-grade and could be considered overgeared.
Of course, the System had far superior artifacts, but he wasn’t foolish enough to waste precious points on them at this stage.
Moreover, wielding higher-grade artifacts required a much larger pool of Qi. With his cultivation, he could properly only use Earth-Grade artifacts.
Perhaps he could wield a Heaven-Grade artifact once or twice, but that was it.
So, there wasn’t much reason to purchase higher-grade weapons at his current cultivation level.
He could reconsider once he broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
He didn’t buy any martial art either for the same reason.
His clan’s martial arts techniques were already Earth-Grade, and rather than purchasing higher-grade techniques, it was better to master what he had already been taught.
Although he wasn’t particularly interested in fighting techniques, there was one category he was deeply concerned about—
Cultivation Techniques!
Among all types of techniques—martial arts, body refinement, and movement arts—one reigned supreme in importance:
Cultivation Techniques—the foundation of power.
Unlike martial techniques, which dictated how one fought, or body refinement techniques, which tempered the flesh, cultivation techniques determined how one absorbed, refined, and utilized Qi.
A good cultivation technique could mean the difference between a powerful expert and a forgotten nobody.
It affected Qi quality, recovery speed, breakthrough probability, and even longevity.
His current cultivation technique, the Bai Clan’s Earth-Grade [Azure Dragon Breathing Method], was respectable.
It provided him with a strong foundation, but it was far from enough.
Even with an Earth-Grade technique, Zihan’s cultivation speed was only average. But what truly worried him was something else—
Potential Bottlenecks.
Many cultivators hit an invisible wall at higher realms—Nascent Soul, Soul Formation, or Ascension—because their foundation was flawed.
A low-grade cultivation technique often caused impurities in their Qi, making breakthroughs increasingly difficult and dangerous.
“If I rely solely on my Bai Clan technique, my path to Nascent Soul or beyond will be a dead end.”
Bai Zihan muttered.
Of course, that wouldn’t be a big problem if he was truly talented, but he wasn’t.
With his current talent, the highest he could realistically achieve was the Nascent Soul Realm.
While that was considered impressive, it wasn’t nearly enough to survive in this villainous clan.
Perhaps purchasing a powerful bloodline or constitution could help, but it was beyond his budget.
Bai Zihan would need at least ten times more points to afford a bloodline strong enough to make a real difference.
So, the more realistic option was to buy a high-level Heaven-Grade Cultivation Technique.
He opened the System Store, his gaze flickering to the Cultivation Techniques section.
Bai Zihan scrolled through the vast arsenal of cultivation techniques, his eyes sweeping over countless methods.
Some drew from the stars, others from the sun, and a few even from the abyss itself.
But in the end, his gaze settled on one.
***********
[Myriad Breathing Technique: Heaven-Grade]
Description: A cultivation technique that refines the essence of the world, allowing the user to absorb and utilize Qi. Absorption Efficiency: 200% increased Qi absorption.
***********
Bai Zihan’s fists clenched in excitement.
Compared to his current technique, [Azure Dragon Breathing Method], this new method was on a completely different level.
It offered at least twice the Qi absorption efficiency.
That meant his cultivation speed could potentially double—provided there was sufficient Qi to absorb.
But with all the resources available to him from the Bai Clan, that wouldn’t be a problem.
Bai Zihan had stockpiled a large number of pills, gifted to him by both the clan and his mother.
He had been lazy before, but now he understood—
If he continued down that path, he would die.