Chapter 22: Consolidate! Consolidate!

A group of people arrived at Shenzhuang Snack Street near the west gate of the school. Lin Anan found a Sichuan restaurant and requested a private room.

This restaurant was quite popular. The food wasn’t expensive, tasted great, and offered generous portions. It was one of the hottest spots near Tianhai University.

When it was time to sit, Jiang Xincheng was naturally pushed by everyone to take the seat beside Lin Anan. Her face flushed slightly, but she didn’t refuse.

But just as Chen Dianming and the others were scrambling to sit near Xuanyuan Ningshuang, Xuanyuan Ningshuang walked straight over and sat right beside Jiang Xincheng on his other side. Lin Anan and Xuanyuan Ningshuang ended up sandwiching Jiang Xincheng between them.

One was Tianhai University’s undisputed School Belle; the other was the Goddess of the Finance Department. Jiang Xincheng had effectively monopolized both top beauties from their dorm. It was easy to imagine how bitterly Chen Dianming and the others stared at him.

So, naturally, Jiang Xincheng became the main target as Chen Dianming and the others kept urging him to drink. But facing Jiang Xincheng, who had mastered how to expel alcohol using Primordial Force, their fate was predictable.

“Jiang Xincheng,” Lin Anan, feeling quite drunk after more drinks, suddenly asked. “Can you tell us now? How strong are you really?”

The question silenced the previously noisy private room instantly. Everything that had happened earlier still felt utterly unreal to Chen Dianming and the others.

Jiang Xinchen, originally the weakest in their dorm—even called “the useless buddy” by many students in the College of Computer Science—had suddenly transformed into Heaven’s Pride, someone capable of facing off against a Primordial Warrior at the Peak Initial Stage of Tendon Training in direct combat. He had even defeated a talented sophomore with merely three moves, ascending to become one of the top freshmen fighters.

The shock in Chen Dianming and the others’ hearts was immense. Only the worry that this might involve Jiang Xincheng’s secret and Xuanyuan Ningshuang’s presence had stopped them from asking sooner.

They hadn’t expected the straightforward Lin Anan to be the one who asked Jiang Xincheng directly, especially in front of so many people.

Jiang Xincheng knew Lin Anan didn’t mean anything by it. If sober, she might have thought twice. But now, slightly drunk, her frank personality made her blurt it out.

Seeing all eyes fixed on him, Jiang Xincheng smiled faintly. “Peak Late Muscle-Tempering Stage. As for the reason, you guys already know. That Mutated Yuan Crystal was even more potent than any of you imagined. As for the exact extent of its effect, I won’t go into details.”

“You took a Mutated Yuan Crystal?” Lin Anan’s expression changed instantly.

Jiang Xincheng nodded.

Her face flushed red and her eyes drunken and blurry, Lin Anan thumped her fist against Jiang Xincheng’s chest. “You fool! Why didn’t you check carefully before swallowing that Yuan Crystal? What if that Mutated Yuan Crystal had been poisonous? It’s said out of a thousand Primordial Warriors who took Mutated Yuan Crystals by mistake, nine hundred and ninety-nine ended badly! Lightest case: serious injury. Worst case: exploding and dying! How could you be so stupid!”

Feeling her concern, Jiang Xincheng gently grasped her soft hand and smiled. “Don’t worry, Sister Anan. I won’t be so reckless in the future. Besides, this accident with the Mutated Yuan Crystal actually turned out well for me. If not, how could I have beaten Liu Yifeng?”

Xuanyuan Ningshuang and the others agreed after hearing Jiang Xincheng. While Mutated Yuan Crystals were dangerous, coming out unscathed after ingesting one almost always granted significant benefits.

There were dozens of recorded cases like this worldwide. Some Primordial Warriors had soared to become powerful Primordial Warriors precisely because of such unexpected fortune.

Jiang Xincheng’s ability, while only at the Late Muscle-Tempering Stage, to defeat someone at the Early Tendon Refining Stage, wouldn’t be surprising if it stemmed from the effects of a Mutated Yuan Crystal.

Still, on closer thought, Jiang Xincheng’s luck was truly enviable. Mutated Yuan Crystals were rare, and over ninety-nine percent were harmful. Most Primordial Warriors wouldn’t dare risk taking one even if they found it.

Jiang Xincheng not only found one but mistakenly ingested it. Most crucially, he didn’t die – he benefited greatly from it. Such immense fortune wasn’t something ordinary people encountered.

Chen Dianming and the others couldn’t even bring themselves to envy him. Even if they encountered a Mutated Yuan Crystal, they wouldn’t dare swallow it.

The Mutated Yuan Crystal was Jiang Xincheng’s cover story for his rapid advancement. It was the excuse needed to explain away many doubts people might have had. To make it believable, Jiang Xincheng had even meticulously crafted a convincing story about the whole “accidental ingestion” process.

Neither his Divine Grade Top-Level cultivation technique “Devouring the Cosmos,” his Origin Force Combat Skills, nor the Spiritual Elixirs were things he could reveal yet.

“The fault lies with the man guarding the jade,” as the saying goes. With over seventy years of life experience, Jiang Xincheng understood the danger of possessing treasures others coveted without the strength to protect them. He wasn’t naive.

Only when he possessed sufficient strength could he begin to gradually reveal such things. By then, even if others coveted them, they wouldn’t dare lay a finger on him.

After the meal, the six guys from Jiang Xincheng’s dorm first escorted Xuanyuan Ningshuang and her friends back to their dorm. Then, slightly wobbly themselves, they returned to their own dorm around midnight.

Deep into the night, Jiang Xincheng sat cross-legged on his bed, concentrating as he circulated “Devouring the Cosmos” to consolidate the Primordial Force within him.

To meet the challenge earlier that day, Jiang Xincheng had taken several Mortal Grade Low Tier “Earth Soil Pills” the day before. Normally used by Primordial Warriors at the Tendon Training level, these Spiritual Pills propelled Jiang Xincheng’s strength from the very start of the Late Muscle-Tempering Stage directly to its Peak Late Muscle-Tempering Stage. His power had surged dramatically, bringing him just a step away from the Tendon Training Realm itself.

However, this rapid surge had left his Cultivation Foundation unstable. He would need several days of consolidation before he could resume raising his strength, significantly impacting his overall progress.

Jiang Xincheng wouldn’t have resorted to such a drastic measure unless absolutely necessary. But Liu Yifeng had simply been too strong. Without pushing himself to the Peak Late Muscle-Tempering Stage, relying solely on the Mountain-Shaking Fist, defeating him would have been even harder.

Today, if Jiang Xincheng hadn’t first used his rich combat experience to drain Liu Yifeng of his Primordial Force, winning might have been very difficult.

After all, an entire stage separated them, not just a minor sub-level. The Mountain-Shaking Fist was only a Mortal Grade Low Tier Origin Force Combat Skill; it wasn’t capable of bridging the gap between major stages for a kill.

Sighing, Jiang Xincheng pushed these thoughts aside, focusing wholeheartedly on stabilizing his Cultivation Foundation. Time slipped away, bit by bit.

Not being able to cultivate Primordial Force didn’t mean he couldn’t train his Spiritual Sense. While consolidating his Primordial Force Foundation, Jiang Xincheng took and refined several Willow Essence Pills.

Harnessing the power of these pills, his Spiritual Sense rapidly advanced, reaching the peak of the early Soldier Realm. Encouraged, Jiang Xincheng then concocted another batch of ten Willow Essence Pills, aiming to breach the bottleneck to the Soldier Realm Middle Stage.

Sadly, repeated attempts failed. Careful examination revealed the main culprit: his unstable Primordial Force hindered his Spiritual Sense breakthrough.

Spiritual Sense is born from and intrinsically linked to Primordial Force. An unstable Primordial Force Foundation naturally affected his Spiritual Sense. This forced Jiang Xincheng to halt his attempt on the Soldier Realm Middle Stage bottleneck and dedicate himself entirely to consolidating his Cultivation Foundation.

Once his foundation was solid, however, he wouldn’t just be able to assault the Soldier Realm Middle Stage bottleneck – he could tackle the Tendon Training Stage bottleneck too.

Idleness ages youth’s head, wasted and grey. Vivid memories of his past regrets flashed before him. Jiang Xincheng dared not waste a single moment.

Furthermore, he’d now offended both Liu Ping and Liu Yifeng, whose backing included Primordial Warriors at the Bone Training Realm. To develop genuine self-preservation strength before such warriors targeted him, Jiang Xincheng needed to push his advancement relentlessly, without pause.