The owner of the annoying voice was a 13-year-old boy with an average appearance and a slightly noble bearing. Walking alongside him were his goons, all of whom were in the 3rd Layer Martial Apprentice Realm, just a single stage lower than the young master they were following.
"Chen Hao." Jin gently stroked his chin, recalling terrible memories of the haughty man sauntering toward him.
"What's with that look, trash? Are you underestimating me??" Chen Hao punched out at the slightest inconvenience, knocking the wind out of Jin.
"Kuk!" Jin coughed a bit but didn't cry or plead. He merely stared at the pompous young boy, inwardly thinking, 'This will be the first and last time you're ever able to touch me.'
[Your Comprehension is Against-Heaven's Understanding. By taking a punch from a 3rd Layer Martial Apprentice, you have comprehended the Cultivation Technique 'Extreme Body Refinement.']
A substantial amount of information entered Jin's mind. He learned everything there was to know about the 'Extreme Body Refinement' cultivation technique, instantly realizing that it was the superior version of the 'Prime Body Refinement' cultivation technique that most Outer Disciples of the Yang Sect practiced.
'Against-Heaven's Understanding is not as simple as merely having enhanced comprehension. I can quickly and most effectively improve upon what I see or experience, aiming to create superior versions.'
For rudimentary techniques like the 'Prime Body Refinement' cultivation technique, Jin didn't even need to spend more than a moment figuring out where improvements could be made. His Against-Heaven's Understanding did all the heavy lifting and tremendously enhanced the original Prime Body Refinement cultivation technique.
"That trash will probably die if you hit him again, Chen Hao," one of the goons snickered.
"Tsk, you're probably right," Chen Hao scowled. "I'll let you off the hook this time, you damn wastrel. However, for the Inner Disciple Advancement Competition tomorrow, there will be no mercy."
With cold indifference, Jin watched Chen Hao and his goons leave the vacant courtyard.
"The Inner Disciple Advancement Competition," Jin muttered, clenching his fists. "The original owner of this body trained day and night in the Prime Body Refinement cultivation technique for the purpose of succeeding in that competition."
"Yang Kai wanted to change his fate."
But unfortunately for him, he had very little talent in cultivation.
Unlike his father, who single-handedly defended the border of the Spearseer Kingdom until his death, Yang Kai was ordinary in every way.
"But now things are different," said Jin, already having begun to circulate the |Extreme Body Refinement| cultivation technique.
Extreme Body Refinement was over a dozen times more effective than Prime Body Refinement. Furthermore, Jin had directly reached the highest mastery level of the superior cultivation technique, making him dozens of times faster at cultivating than the likes of Chen Hao, who struggled in the Minor Completion stage of Prime Body Refinement.
While actively using the Spiritual Energy in the atmosphere to temper his physical body, Jin noticed something peculiar.
'All the Spiritual Energy that comes into contact with my body is suddenly redirected at the last second, preventing me from benefiting.'
If he wasn't sure of it before, then now there was no doubt in his mind.
"The Main Character template," he stated while staring at the ring looped around his neck on a string.
The ring was a reddish black and had unusual markings. One might think it to be special at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they'd realize that the ring possessed no spiritual fluctuations. This meant it was little more than a cool-looking ring, not a Spiritual Item.
Or so it would have one believe…
[Your Comprehension is Against-Heaven's Understanding. By staring at the special ring on your neck for prolonged periods of time, you have comprehended the Spirit Skill 'Phantasmal Lingering.']
[The Path to the Martial Master Realm has been partially revealed.]
[Your Comprehension is Against-Heaven's Understanding. By staring at the special ring on your neck for prolonged periods of time, you have touched upon 'Spiritual Enlightenment.']
[The Path to the Martial Grandmaster Realm has been revealed.]
[Your…]
A string of system notifications appeared in front of Jin, bringing about many qualitative changes to his existence.
In mere moments, he grasped the path forward, beginning with the Martial Apprentice Realm and ending with the Martial Saint Realm.
Every general concept. The specifics of each Realm. The mysteries of Huaxia's cultivation. He comprehended it all.
What would normally take others dozens if not hundreds of years to thoroughly and meticulously comprehend, Jin accomplished in the blink of an eye.
"This keepsake left behind by my mother, it houses a sort of powerhouse."
Opening his eyes, a mystical glow appeared within them. This glow signified his immense comprehensions into Spiritual Enlightenment, which was normally only something Martial Grandmasters and Martial Saints would concern themselves with understanding.
"Even though my Against-Heaven's Understanding saw through this powerhouse and gleaned all its most accessible secrets, the powerhouse was unable to detect my probing," Jin mused.
"I've benefited greatly."
If before he had no idea what to do after the Martial Master Realm, then now he understood everything as if it were second nature.
The Martial Apprentice and Martial Master Realms focused on the refinement of one's physical body through atmospheric Spiritual Energy. Martial Apprentice was for outer qualities like skin and bones, while Martial Master was for innards like organs and the various bodily systems.
Continuously tempering your physical body would eventually lead you to the 7th Layer of the Martial Master Realm.
Then there was the Martial Grandmaster Realm, which was to essentially take that large step forward and transcend 'Inner Strength' to 'Outer Strength,' allowing for energy attacks and the like.
The Martial Saint Realm further expanded upon the Martial Grandmaster Realm but made one far more potent when using 'Outer Strength' to grandly display Spiritual Energy attacks.