Start of the End

Ye Mo didn't die, but two of his ribs broke during the beating and he fell unconscious. The duo didn't even bother to check his state and just tossed him there.

When they left, Ye Mo opened his eyes and choked up with the earth in his mouth which made him wince in pain before he started crawling out of his grave. Each movement was interlaced with light grunts as they intensified the pain in his chest and he had to take deep breaths before grabbing forward and gradually leaving the pit.

Fortunately the hole wasn't deep and they made cheap work of burying him so, by mustering the little strength he had, Ye Mo managed to get out.

From this, it could be seen how little these guys thought of him.

However, Ye Mo was far from saved yet, he was miles away from the city and with broken bones and a malnourished body, he feared he wouldn't have the strength to return. Even if he was able to make his way back, it would take all the strength he had, his situation would be far from optimistic and he would likely die soon after.

Ye Mo pondered for a solution. His life was miserable, the pain was excruciating, he had nothing to look forward to upon his return, nonetheless, he didn't wish to die. Everything he went through shouldn't be for nothing, all he endured shouldn't end here far from everything, devoured by the crows.

He wanted to live.

While in thought, Ye Mo naturally lowered his head and noticed something on the side of his vision. When he looked at it, he saw a black tip sticking out of the hole he had just crawled out of.

Ye Mo made efforts to get back in and picked it up before wiping the dirt off, only to realize it was some kind of manual.

"Nine Revolutions Fiend Body." He muttered glancing at the cover.

He couldn't believe his eyes, it was one of the body refining techniques he had only heard about in tales the old man recounted from time to time.

Martial arts in the world were divided in three categories, cultivation techniques that supported the user and improved his foundation, battle skills which manipulated Qi to unleash various abilities and body refining techniques that greatly increased physical abilities.

Those were all classed based on their effect and profundities from the Yellow Class at the lowest, to the Star Class, the Earth Class and finally the Heaven Class at the highest level. In their class, they were all further divided as low, mid, high and peak-tier techniques.

From what he could see, the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body was a high-tier body refining technique of the esteemed Star Class! Ye Mo wasn't even sure there was a single peak-tier Yellow Class martial art in Azure Water City, a Star Class technique was simply unconceivable and to think one lay before him.

His hands trembled and the book suddenly seemed particularly heavy as realization dawned on him.

Without mentioning the class of this art, it must be known body refining techniques are rarer and more difficult to get your hands on than cultivation techniques or battle skills and it wasn't without reason.

Body refining techniques took a painstakingly long time to practice to completion, but also often required to be supplemented by various resources in their cultivation turning into a financial abyss. In addition, the method of body refining techniques were most of the time quite barbaric, only cultivators with a strong mental fortitude and a single-minded dedication could endure the torment to the end without faltering.

Opposite to body refining, cultivating Qi was rather mild and the basis of cultivation for any cultivator. It already took all their time and even after a lifetime of devotion, few would stop at the desired realm, so weighing the pros and cons, cultivating their body wasn't worth it.

With this view, body refining techniques became less used and with time, many were lost.

Ye Mo perused through the manual and discovered it was a demonic technique, although it could be cultivated with Qi, the progression would be very slow and the results far from the efforts furnished. It stated that even with determination, it could take a year to reach the first revolution and much more for the next ones, you might never see its end in your life.

No, the real method described in the black book was to harness the blood and life force of people and diffuse it in your body.

Moreover the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body, as its name implied, had nine levels and every time the user would break through, he would feel an excruciating pain that would kill anyone not mentally prepared. Most would actually kill themselves during the breakthrough, unable to endure it any longer.

It was an art that had to be practiced with caution and after building an unswerving confidence in your pain tolerance.

A cold glint shone in Ye Mo's dark eyes. He had no family, his parents died when he was young, the old man that took care of him joined them soon after, he was alone and he had nothing.

Nothing but one dream, becoming the strongest! Stronger than anyone else, until no beings in the world could stop him, a realm never reached before and for this dream he was ready to do anything!