Volume One, Chapter Two: The Grand Gift Arrives

Ye Cheng emptied all his savings from his bank card, a total of fifty thousand yuan.

He purchased a low-grade strength nutrient solution at the Martial Arts Tower.

He was ready to risk everything, to make a full assault tonight on the shackles of strength.

Do or die!

Returning home, he first prepared himself a lavish dinner.

After eating, he meditated briefly, then took out the nutrient solution and swallowed it in one gulp.

His body began to warm; the medicine was taking effect!

Due to his limited talent, the effects wouldn’t last long.

For those martial artists with higher talent, their absorption efficiency was better and the duration longer.

Ye Cheng strode quickly to the backyard.

When his parents died, the government had not only provided him with compensation, but also gifted him a house with a backyard.

Don’t think the benefits are that good—a backyard and all. The main reason was that the location was terrible.

It was in the southwest corner of Cloud City, only twenty kilometers from the beast forest outside the city walls.

If a large-scale beast tide occurred, the savage beasts would break through here first.

Of course, the city defense forces would repel the beasts; usually, the residents had enough time to evacuate.

But who would want to live in such danger, to witness their hard-earned home destroyed?

So, those with means had moved away, leaving only poor families like Ye Cheng’s.

Most houses in the southwest district stood abandoned; no one would move in even if paid.

…

The backyard was filled with equipment mainly for strength training.

Dumbbells, barbells, pull-up bars, and the like.

These weren’t bought, but forged for him by Uncle Guan from scraps collected at the forge.

“Let’s begin!”

Ye Cheng stripped off his shirt, revealing a body sculpted with well-defined muscles.

His build wasn’t particularly bulky; he even seemed a bit lean.

But he belonged to those who look slim in clothes and muscular out of them, especially with his eight pronounced abdominal muscles.

Combined with his handsome features, he was certainly the school’s heartthrob.

With three hundred-pound dumbbells in each hand, he began training, taking full advantage of the medicine’s effects.

“Ten, eleven, twelve…”

“Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two…”

“Not enough, go again!”

---

The Body Tempering Realm wasn’t considered true martial artistry.

Mid-stage practitioners had about two hundred pounds of single-arm strength; the strong ones didn’t exceed three hundred.

Now Ye Cheng was lifting three hundred pounds with one arm and for so long, thanks to the nutrient solution’s key role.

Years of training had certainly helped.

Training with wild abandon, his stamina rapidly drained, sweat pouring, arms aching.

But he could clearly feel the shackles of strength loosening, now on the verge of breaking.

“Three years. All my money thrown in for this one shot. I’ll endure even if it kills me!”

Ye Cheng’s eyes widened, pushing himself to his limits, extracting every ounce of strength from his body.

If he missed this chance, who knew when such a state would return?

Adrenaline surged, sweat flew like rain, veins bulged, his whole body entering a berserk state.

“Fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-three…”

“Sixty!”

As if by fate, just as both hands completed the sixtieth repetition—

Crack!!

Finally, just as he was about to collapse, something inside him seemed to break; his body trembled.

His qi and blood surged, like a thousand-foot wave, continuously washing through his meridians.

The sensation was indescribable—pain mixed with joy.

After more than ten minutes, calm returned. Ye Cheng clenched his fists.

Boom!

A surge of powerful strength arose, nearly doubling his previous level; the three hundred-pound dumbbells no longer satisfied him, now reaching over five hundred pounds.

“Not only have I broken the shackles of strength, I’ve advanced to the late stage of Body Tempering! Hahaha, what a pleasant surprise!”

After a brief moment of shock, Ye Cheng was overjoyed.

“So this is the effect of breaking the shackles of strength? No wonder so many are obsessed with cultivation; this feeling is incredible!”

Ye Cheng savored the thrill of his breakthrough.

[Congratulations, host. After three years, you have finally broken the first layer of strength shackles, entering a new stage of martial arts.]

[It is proven—you possess extraordinary perseverance and determination, worthy of the system’s service!]

[Binding procedure initiated…]

[Binding complete. System interface updated, achievement list updated. Feel free to check anytime.]

[Binding gift pack awarded!]

[Would you like to open the gift pack now?]

“Open it!” Ye Cheng replied, excited.

---

At last, the prizes were his!

[Gift pack distributed. The Strength Talent Pill and the Xuantian Heavy Sword have been placed in the Infinite Space.]

With the system prompt, Ye Cheng saw in the system space a golden pill and a pure black heavy sword lying quietly.

[Detected matching cultivation method for the Xuantian Heavy Sword. Would you like it to be instantly transmitted to peak proficiency?]

“Transmit!”

Buzz!!

In an instant, countless bits of knowledge flooded his mind; the heavy sword cultivation method was transmitted completely.

“So the Xuantian Heavy Sword and its technique were treasures used by a martial prodigy surnamed Yang, who conquered many worlds!”

Reading the introduction to the heavy sword technique, Ye Cheng was briefly stunned.

He eagerly opened the description of the Xuantian Heavy Sword.

[Xuantian Heavy Sword]

[Description: One of the supreme treasures of martial arts, a divine weapon proudly wielded by a prodigy surnamed Yang. In his youth, he carried the heavy sword to slay his way through higher-dimensional realms, invincible and unmatched.]

[Upon ascending, for the sake of martial inheritance, the prodigy decided to pass on the Xuantian Heavy Sword, hoping a worthy successor would carry forward the martial arts.]

[Note: The Xuantian Heavy Sword is a divine artifact, impervious to water and fire, indestructible, its power defying the heavens. It is not suitable for the host at this stage. Therefore, the system has divided its power into fifty tiers; currently, it is at the lowest level, weighing ten thousand pounds.]

[As the host’s strength reaches the corresponding tiers, the system will automatically unlock the next level of power. Please strive forward.]

“The first tier is ten thousand pounds—how heavy must it be at the highest tier?”

Seeing the description, Ye Cheng couldn’t help but marvel.

“Let’s see it!”

His heart pounding, Ye Cheng eagerly retrieved the Xuantian Heavy Sword from the space.

But as soon as he touched the hilt, he thought, “Oh no.”

He forgot that his current single-arm strength was only five hundred pounds—he simply couldn’t manage it.

A wave of crushing force swept over him; with a clang, the Xuantian Heavy Sword slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

“That was rash, too rash!”

Ye Cheng laughed helplessly, crouching to examine the sword.

Its entire body was pitch black, but under close scrutiny, faint golden streams gleamed across its surface.

It was one and a half meters long, forty centimeters wide, and five centimeters thick.

The edges and tip were blunt, not resembling a sword at all—more like an unhewn block of black iron.

But anyone knowledgeable could see its material was exceedingly rare, certainly not found on Blue Star.

“Its sheer size is intimidating… But I’ll have to forge a lighter heavy sword to properly practice the technique.”

Ye Cheng sighed, then used his mind to return the Xuantian Heavy Sword to the system space.