Chapter 16: Chapter 14: My Younger Brother Should Be a Genius_1
Gu Mingyue could tell just how much Yang Caidie doted on Yang Chen.
Who in the Yang family didn't know about Yang Caidie's love for Yang Chen? Even a tiny scratch on Yang Chen's body could break her heart. Yang Chen had grown up under her protection since he was a child.
Take Yang Heng for example; he dared only mock Yang Chen verbally and compete with him in alchemy. If he dared to harm a single hair on Yang Chen's head, Yang Caidie would fight with Yang Heng's entire family. Even Yang Heng's father, who was more powerful than Yang Caidie, dared not provoke her because she was an unstoppable force when enraged.
In a nutshell, if anyone dared to hurt her brother, they would either take her life or she would take theirs.
Once Yang Caidie got angry, she could not be stopped even by nine bulls.
Gu Mingyue didn't know whether having such a valiant sister who loved him so much was a good thing or a bad thing for Yang Chen.
Yang Chen was now wholeheartedly dedicated to his cultivation in seclusion and had no idea what was happening in the outside world. He had already concocted the Gravity Pill, which he took early, and was now in the process of refining and integrating it into his body. Meanwhile, his martial arts cultivation continued to advance.
For Yang Chen, it was very easy to concoct the Gravity Pill.
As long as he had the materials, he could guarantee the success of the pill.
Unfortunately, there was only one Fire Red Fruit. If he could concoct more Gravity Pills, even if the effect of using one would be diminished, reaching the Third Layer of Body Refining Realm would not be a problem for him.
However, a single Gravity Pill could definitely help Yang Chen break through the First Layer of the Body Refining Realm and even show signs of impacting the Third Layer.
About an hour later, the color on Yang Chen's face gradually returned to normal. At that moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, and his Qi underwent a significant change compared to the past. It wasn't difficult to see that after the refining of the Gravity Pill, he had entered the Second Layer of the Body Refining Realm from the First Layer.
He now possessed a strength of more than 500 jin.
Body Refining Realm First Layer, 100 jin of strength.
Body Refining Realm Second Layer, 400 jin of strength.
From then on, each additional layer would add 300 jin of strength.
Now, Yang Chen was in the middle-to-late stage of the Second Layer of the Body Refining Realm. As long as he could break through the 700 jin threshold, he could enter the Third Layer.
"I've never had this kind of strength throughout my whole body in the past." Yang Chen sighed and lamented in his heart.
In his previous life, he was just an ordinary person. A strength of 100 jin was too difficult for him, let alone the current 500 jin.
What did 500 jin of strength represent?
It represented that his casual punch could shatter boulders.
Yang Chen muttered, "It's a pity that the materials for concocting Gravity Pills are limited. At most, I could only reach the Second Layer of the Body Refining Realm now. Moreover, my alchemy equipment is too crude. I lack a Strange Fire and an innate fire, and my pill furnace is the most ordinary kind. I don't even have a dedicated pill refining room."
Strange Fire and pill furnaces were valuable treasures that helped in alchemy.
Fire control was an important part. If one possessed a Strange Fire, it would be much more efficient, and a valuable pill furnace even more so.
These two things were not easily obtained, especially Strange Fire, which was rare. In his previous life, Yang Chen did have a Strange Fire called 'Taiyuan Gold Fire' - an unusual type among the Strange Fires, which he had spent a lot to acquire. In this life, he didn't know if he would have the chance to encounter Strange Fire again.
A super-grade alchemist needed Strange Fire as an indispensable tool. Moreover, Strange Fire was a symbol of an alchemist's status.
"These Strange Fires and pill furnaces are indispensable for alchemists. Unfortunately, it is impossible to obtain them in a short time. To reduce the burden of alchemy and make it more efficient, I can only use Elder Yang's Pill Refining Room." Yang Chen couldn't help but laugh.
With his alchemy level, the success rate of concocting Gravity Pills would certainly be 100%.
However, the advantages of a pill refining room were something every alchemist desired, as it could make the alchemy process easier.
"It seems I'll have to visit elder Yang again when I have the chance." Yang Chen thought to himself.
"Gurgle..."
"Uh, I'm a little hungry." Yang Chen showed an awkward expression on his face.
...
Although he had set foot on the martial path, only a master in the Spirit Martial Realm could avoid eating grains. As a cultivator at the Body Refining Realm like him, having daily meals was still essential. At most, he could hold out longer than ordinary people. But after not eating for three days, Yang Chen was starving.
At the dining table, Yang Caidie had prepared a stewed goose and a table full of side dishes that she and Gu Mingyue had made.
"Come on, eat quickly. You haven't eaten for three days; you must be starving," Yang Caidie said worriedly, her pretty face full of concern.
Gu Mingyue blinked her big eyes but didn't speak. However, her thoughts were similar to Yang Caidie's. Seeing that Yang Chen had been cultivating in his room for three consecutive days without stepping outside, they felt worried and uneasy. They knew that Yang Chen had never been so diligent before.
Yang Chen looked at the stewed goose in front of him and then at Yang Caidie and Gu Mingyue. A bittersweet feeling, like a trickle of water, flowed into his heart, making him sigh in his heart.
He looked quite presentable, but what about Yang Caidie? His sister's dress was dirty as if she had fought with someone, and the corner of it was torn. As for Gu Mingyue, ever since he had known her, she had changed her clothes very rarely.Yang Chen had met many women in his previous life, and it was natural for women to love beauty. Which woman doesn't like to dress herself up beautifully? But what about Yang Caidie and Gu Mingyue? Do they not love beauty? No, they left better conditions for themselves, dressed handsomely, but it was tough for both of them.
Observing these details, Yang Chen clenched his fists, his heart determined. If the women around him couldn't live a good life, what's the point of him being reborn? What's the significance of not being reborn?
With this in mind, Yang Chen already had a plan.
Just then, Yang Caidie, with a tiger's head and a careful tone, said, "Chen, sister has something to tell you."
"What is it?" Yang Chen was quite curious.
"Well, could you please stop cultivating martial arts? You've secluded yourself for three days, and your face doesn't look the same as before." Yang Caidie said with a heartache.
This made Yang Chen sigh: "Sister, you always advise me not to set foot on the martial arts path, but haven't you also come this far step by step through hardship?"
Yang Caidie shook her head like a rattle drum, earnestly saying: "Darling, our nature is different. I started practicing when I was little, and martial arts itself must begin with basic training at a young age. You're at this age now. If you practice again, it would be hard to catch up with your peers."
Yang Chen chuckled, "Sister, that's not necessarily true!"
"What's not certain?" Yang Caidie blinked her eyes.
"Actually, during these three days of seclusion, my cultivation has not been without gain." Yang Chen said with a smile.
Yang Caidie may be fierce, but she is not foolish. Upon hearing this, she understood and asked, "Can you achieve anything in just three days?"
It is important to know that laying a foundation is crucial for martial artists. Many children who start training at the age of four or five often need to reach their early teens to enter the first layer of the Body Refining Realm. If they can reach the second layer, they are geniuses.
The later stages are even more difficult. Generally, it takes about forty to fifty years of age to reach the Body Refining Realm's ninth layer or its peak. As for breaking through the Body Refining Realm to reach the Spirit Martial Realm, it depends largely on luck and opportunity. The Yang family, in fact, doesn't have many practitioners in the Spirit Martial Realm, which shows its rarity.
Although the Body Refining Realm is not as rare as the Spirit Martial Realm, a solid foundation and slow progress must be achieved from childhood. Yang Caidie couldn't understand what her brother could have achieved in these three days.
Yang Chen smiled softly, calm as ever: "Sister, Ming Yue, come with me to the courtyard."
As he spoke, Yang Chen laughed and strode into the courtyard.
Various weights of stones were placed in the courtyard. Martial artists referred to them as 'training stones,' which were commonly used for practice. Another function was to test the strength of someone in the Body Refining Realm. If a person can lift a 300 jin stone, it means they have reached the peak of the first level of the Refining Realm and are close to the second level.
The Yang family's "Coming of Age Ceremony" also relied on "training stones" to test the strength and achievements of the young generation in the clan. Geniuses like Yang Heng would most likely test themselves every day.
As a female genius of the Yang family, Yang Caidie naturally had some of these in her courtyard as well.
There were stones weighing from fifty jin to one thousand five hundred jin in the yard.
At this moment, Yang Chen stood in the courtyard with his hands on his back, "Sister, I'll use the training stones to test my current strength. Just watch."
Yang Caidie said worriedly, "Darling, don't push yourself too hard. Start with a fifty jin stone! Cultivating martial arts must be gradual and ongoing..."
She kept nagging, but it seemed like Yang Chen didn't hear a word, moving forward from the fifty jin stone, then to one hundred jin, one hundred fifty jin, two hundred jin...
"Young lady, Young master, he..." Gu Mingyue couldn't keep her composure.
Yang Caidie was dumbfounded, not knowing what Yang Chen was up to. In fact, if Yang Chen could lift a fifty jin stone, she would definitely be overjoyed because it meant that her brother was a genius who could almost enter the first layer of the Body Refining Realm in just three days.
However, her brother didn't even spare the fifty jin stone a glance.
What's going on?
Yang Chen finally stopped beside a 500 jin stone.
He did not rub his fists like everyone else, but simply patted his palms, embraced the huge stone, and then shouted, "Up!"
In an instant, the 500 jin stone seemed to no longer weigh 500 jin. Yang Chen effortlessly lifted it over his head, holding it high up.
The next moment, Yang Chen threw the gigantic stone down with a thud.
Five hundred jin, successfully lifted.
This left Gu Mingyue with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open, tempting and exceptional, "Miss...Miss, did you accidentally switch the placement of the fifty jin and five hundred jin stones again?"
"No, I didn't..." Yang Caidie confirmed that she had not misplaced it because the noise of the stone falling on the ground wasn't something a fifty jin stone could make.
Surprise didn't lack in her eyes compared to Gu Mingyue. At this moment, her chest heaved, those proud peaks provoking endless imagination.
Gu Mingyue didn't know what to do: "Then how did Young Master...how did he do it?"
Yang Caidie mumbled, continuing to mumble for a while before gulping down saliva, "My brother...might be a genius!"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone