Volume One: First Signs of Brilliance Chapter Twelve: The Whole Family Benefits!

Compared to the last time, the dead skin peeling from Wang Jue’s body this time was much more extensive. Along with it came filth that was so red it was almost black, emitting an unusually foul stench everywhere. This grime was constantly being forced out through his pores by the starlight energy within him. As his cells renewed themselves, his tissues became denser, more vibrant, even emanating a faint, luminous glow—though this was hidden beneath the layer of filth on his skin.

If a martial artist had witnessed these changes, they would have immediately recognized them as the result of perfectly tempering the skin.

Buzz!

About half an hour later, Wang Jue opened his eyes, feeling his cultivation had returned to the first level of Body Tempering. Excitement lit his gaze. Without any pause, he closed his eyes again, determined to continue his cultivation.

Given how rare such an ideal environment for cultivation was, he naturally wanted to seize the opportunity to push his cultivation further.

After mending his leaks and tempering his skin, the starlight energy within him was nearly depleted. Wang Jue wasn’t certain he could complete the tempering of his flesh and blood, but all he could do was race against time to enhance his abilities.

The tempering of flesh and blood wasn’t a separate process—it happened alongside the skin. Compared to the skin, however, it was far more difficult and consumed much more starlight energy.

Wang Jue’s rapid progress in tempering his skin was largely due to his previous innate improvement; after all, more than half of his skin had already been refined. Even if he had to start over, it was simply retracing familiar steps.

But with the flesh and blood, it was different—it was like forging a path through a barren mountain, a hardship and danger only those who have experienced it could understand.

Typically, those in the Body Tempering stage would have instructors to guide them, to prevent mistakes that could harm their bodies.

Clearly, Wang Jue, who had taken over nine years to break through, had never enjoyed such guidance. This left him, now breaking through, as blind as a man groping his way across a river, relying entirely on his own intuition.

Martial cultivation was precisely what Wang Jue lacked most. His breakthrough to Body Tempering was likely the result of long, gradual accumulation. Had he not been too agitated and died, or if he had managed to consult with teachers before dying, he wouldn’t have found himself in such a ‘miserable’ state after transmigrating.

As if sensing the lack of starlight energy within him, the Stellar Soul Codex began to operate automatically before Wang Jue had even realized it.

In an instant, violent starlight energy once more converged around him, absorbed by the art circulating within his body, immediately resolving his predicament.

This fresh influx of energy was a timely salvation, allowing Wang Jue to focus wholly on his cultivation.

For Wang Jue, bathing was now irrelevant—improving his cultivation was all that mattered.

Time slipped by.

Filth continued to ooze from his pores, at first a thin layer, then gradually thickening until it covered him entirely.

As more and more filth was expelled, Wang Jue’s aura steadily increased, reaching the peak of the first Body Tempering stage—only a step, or even half a step, away from the second stage.

Wang Jue was keenly aware of his progress, unable to suppress his excitement: “Excellent, I’m about to break through to the second Body Tempering stage!”

Despite his elation, Wang Jue didn’t choose to break through—not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t.

He wasn’t sure how other martial artists experienced breakthrough, but he could clearly feel that the amount of starlight energy he required was immense. The energy he had absorbed would likely have been enough for other Body Tempering martial artists to break through one or even two stages.

Yet, to his surprise, even after absorbing so much energy, his cultivation had only just reached the verge of the second stage.

His body was like a bottomless pit, ravenously absorbing starlight energy, which unsettled him.

He didn’t know if this was unique to him or common to all martial artists.

If it was the former, he could blame it on poor talent; if the latter, he would simply have to accept his fate.

After all, if everyone experienced breakthroughs the same way, there was no point in overanalyzing it.

But Wang Jue’s instincts told him he belonged to the former category.

Though the realization came suddenly and hadn’t been confirmed, Wang Jue trusted his gut.

After all, he possessed a ‘golden finger’ now—if his body underwent some astonishing changes, it wouldn’t be hard to accept.

The more he thought, the more chaotic his mind became. Wang Jue had to suppress his wild thoughts and refocus on his cultivation.

An hour later—

Buzz!

Immersed in cultivation, Wang Jue’s body suddenly quivered, his breakthrough complete—he had entered the second level of Body Tempering. With the transformation, layers of dead skin and thick black-red filth fell away, revealing delicate, fair skin beneath.

“I’ve broken through—second stage Body Tempering!”

Feeling the breakthrough, Wang Jue was jolted from his meditative state, his eyes shining with joy. He was about to stop cultivating, but then noticed that his newly transformed blood and flesh cells were like a desert parched for years, and starlight energy was the rain.

The cells devoured the starlight pouring into his body, growing stronger with every second.

At the same time, Wang Jue noticed that his demand for starlight energy was now even greater than before—how many times greater, he couldn’t say.

To him, it didn’t matter how much—so long as he could keep breaking through.

At this moment, a bold idea flashed through Wang Jue’s mind.

For a martial artist, the key to breakthroughs was having enough starlight energy—something he now had in abundance.

Especially with the Stellar Soul Codex, he had no fear of lacking energy.

The effects of the codex were plain to see—even after his breakthrough, the art continued to operate, absorbing energy from the surroundings without pause.

If a martial artist had wandered into Wang Jue’s apartment complex, they would have noticed the starlight energy was two or three times denser than usual, while the surrounding neighborhoods were nearly devoid of energy.

Fortunately, the area was populated by ordinary people—no high-level martial artists would choose to live there. At most, there might be some children or teenagers in the Body Tempering stage.

Even they would feel the change in starlight energy, but would never suspect it was the work of another martial artist.

By now, a faint mist had filled Wang Jue’s bathroom.

This was not water vapor, but a result of starlight energy accumulating. Even though Wang Jue’s body absorbed energy like a black hole, the influx didn’t abate—if anything, it grew denser.

If, before, there was only a thin veil of mist, now the air was thick and opaque.

Enveloped in starlight, Wang Jue’s entire figure became ethereal, almost otherworldly.

Astonishingly, the energy in the bathroom was so dense it began to seep through the door cracks, soon spreading to every room in the apartment.

It was truly a case of “when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer as well.”

Of course, starlight energy is essential for martial artists, but that doesn’t mean it has no effect on ordinary people.

On the contrary, though the benefits for normal people are less pronounced, starlight energy can enhance bodily functions, and even extend lifespan.

The effect is mild, but it exists.

As Wang Jue reveled in his breakthrough, the living room, kitchen, his parents’ bedroom, his sister Wang Xiaoyu’s room, and even the empty guest room were all filled with starlight energy.

In the empty rooms, the energy remained static, like a cup brimming with water.

But in his parents’ and sister’s rooms, the energy gradually diminished, unconsciously absorbed by the three sleeping occupants, subtly improving their health.

With this transformation, Wang Jue’s parents’ skin slowly expelled impurities through their pores, their graying hair gradually turning black again, and the wrinkles on their weathered faces smoothing out.

If, before, their real age was just over forty but they looked over fifty, now with dark hair and smooth faces, they appeared at least ten years younger than their true age.

And that was actual age, not just appearance—before the transformation, they looked over fifty; now, they looked barely thirty, perhaps even younger.

In the blink of an eye, they had regained twenty or thirty years of youth.

Perhaps because they were ordinary people, the transformation soon halted.

Meanwhile, in Wang Xiaoyu’s room—

The little girl was only six, a year away from her talent assessment. Fast asleep, she was unaware of the changes as starlight energy improved her body.

Strangely, though she had never trained in cultivation, her body instinctively absorbed the starlight energy around her.

Yet, there was no visible change—as if the energy vanished without effect.

But in truth, the energy in her room was visibly diminishing, swallowed by her body.

It was as if a cup with a crack allowed water to leak out until the water level matched the crack—only then would the leaking stop.

Of course, her instinctive absorption couldn’t match Wang Jue’s speed in gathering energy. Whenever the energy dissipated, more surged in through the door, keeping her room perpetually saturated.