Chapter 29 — Rank Two
'Now I can finally advance to Rank Two.'
Li Tianyu focused his attention inward.
Inside his aperture, crystal-green copper primeval essence surged violently.
He commanded it to crash toward the aperture walls.
Wave after wave of primeval essence slammed into the translucent barrier.
Then—
Crack!
A fine fracture appeared.
In the next instant, the entire aperture wall shattered.
Yet instead of collapsing...
The shattered fragments transformed into a mysterious energy that rapidly gathered together.
The broken aperture was reconstructed.
The new walls were stronger.
More resilient.
More stable.
Li Tianyu's eyes brightened.
Rank Two Initial Stage.
His breakthrough had succeeded.
He had finally stepped into Rank Two.
Li Tianyu didn't stop.
He immediately dispersed the crystal-green copper primeval essence remaining inside his aperture.
Ordinarily, doing this would leave a Gu Master temporarily depleted.
But Li Tianyu's primeval essence recovery speed was extraordinarily fast.
Within a single second...
His aperture was once again filled to the brim.
This time...
The primeval essence was light red steel.
Rank Two primeval essence.
Li Tianyu smiled faintly.
But he wasn't satisfied with merely reaching the Initial Stage.
Three Red Steel Relic Gu appeared before him.
He activated them one after another.
The first Red Steel Relic Gu activated.
Boom!
The aperture walls shattered.
Then rapidly reconstructed themselves.
His cultivation advanced.
Rank Two Middle Stage — Red Steel Primeval Essence.
The second Red Steel Relic Gu activated.
Boom!
Once again...
The aperture walls shattered and reforged.
Rank Two Upper Stage — Dark Red Steel Primeval Essence.
Then came the third.
The final Red Steel Relic Gu activated.
Boom!
The aperture walls shattered one final time.
They reformed into their strongest Rank Two state.
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Rank Two Peak Stage — Crystal Red Steel Primeval Essence.
Li Tianyu opened his eyes.
A smile appeared on his face.
He had advanced from Rank One Peak to Rank Two Peak almost consecutively.
For an ordinary Gu Master...
This would have been impossible.
Even if they possessed three Red Steel Relic Gu, repeatedly shattering and reconstructing their aperture in such a short period would place an enormous burden on their foundation.
Their aperture would likely collapse.
They could even die from the backlash.
But Li Tianyu was different.
The foundation of his Primordial Flame Physique was extraordinarily powerful.
His aperture could withstand the repeated destruction and reconstruction.
And his astonishing primeval essence recovery speed ensured that he could immediately recover after every breakthrough.
That was why he could force these breakthroughs one after another.
---
After stabilizing his cultivation...
Li Tianyu turned his attention toward his killer moves.
His Rank One killer moves had already become somewhat inadequate.
Now that he had reached Rank Two...
They needed to be upgraded.
He activated Burning Ember Gu.
Crimson flames enveloped the Gu worms he had prepared.
At the same time, Li Tianyu incorporated several complementary Rank Two Fire Path Gu worms he had previously saved.
The original killer move structures were reconstructed.
Their Gu combinations were adjusted.
Their power was increased.
One after another...
His killer moves were upgraded to Rank Two.
Fire Path Killer Move — Crimson Soul Snatch.
His primary offensive method.
Fire Path Killer Move — Blazing Sanctuary.
His defensive method.
Fire Path Killer Move — Flame Shadow Steps.
His movement and escape method.
Fire Path Killer Move — Ember Domain Perception.
His investigation method.
Fire Path Killer Move — Phoenix Rebirth Flame.
His healing method.
After completing the upgrades...
Li Tianyu's overall combat strength rose dramatically.
At this point...
He could dominate ordinary Rank Two Gu Masters.
Against a Rank Three Gu Master...
He could retreat safely.
But he still couldn't fight a Rank Three Gu Master head-on with his normal combat strength.
If he wanted to genuinely contend with Rank Three...
He needed to strengthen his body further.
Permanent enhancement-type Gu worms.
---
Li Tianyu left the inn.
He visited several shops throughout the city.
One after another...
He purchased Rank Two permanent enhancement-type Gu worms.
There were many different types.
Some strengthened his physical body.
Some strengthened his soul.
Some purified his soul.
Some strengthened his resistance to soul attacks.
Some enhanced his resistance to fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, ice, and other elemental attacks.
Some strengthened his elemental defenses.
Others improved his strength, speed, senses, recovery, durability, and other physical characteristics.
The quantity he purchased was enormous.
He also purchased the necessary food for the Gu worms.
He prepared enough to last approximately five months.
Of course...
Not every enhancement Gu required food.
Some were instant-use Gu worms whose effects were completely consumed when activated.
There was no need to feed those.
The five-month supply was mainly for the enhancement Gu whose effects required continuous cultivation.
Besides his Crimson Pouch Gu, Li Tianyu also possessed a Rank Three storage-type Gu.
He used the Rank Three storage Gu to store the enormous amount of Gu food he had purchased.
Five months was the minimum period he estimated he would need to finish utilizing all of them.
There were simply too many enhancement-type Gu worms.
Even with his extraordinary physique...
Some of them required considerable time before their effects could be completely integrated into his body.
---
But Li Tianyu wasn't finished.
He had one more purchase to make.
Emergency trump cards.
He entered another shop and purchased several Rank Four expendable Gu worms.
The prices were extremely high.
After all, Rank Four Gu worms were valuable even to many Gu Masters of higher cultivation.
But these Gu worms served a different purpose.
They weren't part of his normal combat strength.
They were reserved for emergencies.
If he encountered an opponent far stronger than himself...
Or found himself trapped in a situation where escape was impossible...
These expendable Gu could give him a chance to survive.
Their activation requirements were also considerably lower than those of ordinary Rank Four Gu worms.
Combined with Li Tianyu's absurd primeval essence recovery speed...
He could satisfy their activation conditions despite being only Rank Two.
He purchased the food required for the expendable Gu as well.
Everything was carefully stored inside his Rank Three storage Gu.
These Gu worms...
Would remain untouched unless absolutely necessary.
---
After finishing his purchases...
Li Tianyu returned to the inn.
He began with the instant-use enhancement Gu.
One after another...
He refined and activated them.
A Rank Two Iron Bone Gu strengthened his bones.
A Rank Two Stone Skin Gu strengthened his body's physical defense.
A Rank Two Bull Strength Gu increased his physical strength.
A Rank Two Swift Body Gu enhanced his movement speed.
A Rank Two Eagle Eye Gu strengthened his eyesight.
A Rank Two Clear Ear Gu enhanced his hearing.
A Rank Two Vitality Gu strengthened his body's recovery ability.
But these were only the most basic enhancements.
There were also Gu that strengthened aspects of the body that couldn't be seen from the outside.
A Rank Two Soul Strength Gu strengthened his soul.
A Rank Two Soul Purification Gu purified impurities within his soul, making it more stable and resilient.
A Rank Two Soul Guard Gu strengthened his resistance against soul attacks.
There were also elemental enhancement Gu.
A Rank Two Flame Heart Gu strengthened his affinity and resistance toward fire.
A Rank Two Water Vein Gu enhanced his resistance to water path methods.
A Rank Two Earth Marrow Gu strengthened his body's resistance against earth path attacks.
Other Gu similarly strengthened his resistance toward wind, lightning, ice, and other elemental forces.
Some didn't merely provide resistance.
They directly strengthened the body's ability to withstand elemental damage.
A Rank Two Flame Shield Gu strengthened resistance against fire.
A Rank Two Frost Guard Gu enhanced resistance against ice and extreme cold.
A Rank Two Lightning Guard Gu strengthened resistance against lightning.
A Rank Two Earth Guard Gu enhanced resistance against earth-based attacks.
Each Gu worm strengthened a different aspect of his foundation.
Li Tianyu carefully refined and activated them one by one.
The effects accumulated gradually.
His bones became stronger.
His muscles became denser.
His physical strength increased.
His movement speed improved.
His senses sharpened.
His soul became stronger and purer.
His resistance to soul attacks increased.
And his body gradually became more resistant to various elemental forces.
These changes weren't merely temporary boosts.
They were permanent enhancements to his foundation.
Even with his powerful foundation...
There was still a limit to how quickly his body could absorb so many different enhancements.
Thus...
The process took several days.
By the time he finished using all of the instant-use enhancement Gu...
His physical and spiritual foundation had already risen substantially.
But the remaining Gu worms were different.
They weren't instant.
Their effects required time.
Li Tianyu activated the first slow-acting enhancement Gu.
Then...
He began cultivating.
The Gu continuously transformed his body while he meditated.
A faint energy circulated through his muscles and bones.
Another stream slowly seeped into his soul.
Others gradually integrated elemental resistance into his body.
The process was slow.
But it was stable.
After a period of time...
One enhancement gradually reached completion.
Li Tianyu moved on to another.
Then another.
He continued this process patiently.
There was a limit to how much enhancement his body could absorb from these Gu in a single day.
Using them continuously would be wasteful and could even interfere with the integration of their effects.
Therefore...
Each Gu only needed to be activated and cultivated for several minutes every day.
Once its daily limit was reached, Li Tianyu would stop and move on to another Gu.
Day after day...
He repeated the process.
There was no need to rush.
Fang Yuan had told him that he would return in a month.
Until then...
Li Tianyu could simply remain in the city.
Cultivate.
Strengthen his body.
Strengthen his soul.
Increase his elemental resistances.
And wait.
As the days passed...
The effects of the permanent enhancement Gu slowly accumulated within him.
His physical foundation became stronger.
His strength increased.
His speed improved.
His soul became more powerful and pure.
His resistance to various elemental attacks continued to rise.
His body became increasingly difficult to injure.
And his overall combat strength continued to climb.
Li Tianyu quietly waited.
He knew...
By the time Fang Yuan returned...
He would be considerably stronger than he was now.