Three full days passed, and still, Lin Yun had not awoken. This made Little Ape anxious and restless. The impatient Little Ape stayed by Lin Yun’s side every day, letting out a few low growls from time to time in an attempt to wake him.

On the fourth day, Little Ape was still by Lin Yun’s side as usual. Just then, Lin Yun, who had been completely still, slowly opened his eyes.

"ROAR ROAR ROAR..." Seeing Lin Yun awake, Little Ape happily nuzzled his head against Lin Yun’s cheek.

Lin Yun, who was charred black from head to toe, revealed two rows of white teeth as Little Ape nuzzled him. He was also very happy to see Little Ape the moment he woke up.

Over the past three days, Lin Yun’s entire body had become covered in a layer of black, scab-like filth.

He moved his body slightly and found that he could move freely. It seemed all his injuries had fully recovered. Lin Yun got up happily, circulated the Elemental Power within him, and with a sudden jolt, shattered all the black filth covering his body.

With the black filth shattered, Lin Yun’s skin was revealed. It wasn’t fair-skinned, but rather a bronze color. However, his skin was now incredibly fine and smooth, even more delicate than many women’s.

With his handsome, toned muscles, it was no exaggeration to say that Lin Yun’s physique was the ideal male figure for countless women.

Taking a set of clothes out of his Space Ring, Lin Yun recalled the Celestial Punishment, a lingering fear still gripping his heart.

But fear aside, Lin Yun carefully inspected his own body. Soon, a wide smile spread across his face. The Celestial Punishment wasn’t just a punishment from the heavens; it was also a trial.

Those who could endure it earned the right to strive for a higher Realm. Those who couldn’t would simply die under the heavens’ wrath, turning to ash and dust.

The Celestial Punishment’s destructive power was astonishing, but its benefits were also obvious. Lin Yun didn’t know about others, but as for himself, the Celestial Punishment had brought immense progress to his Flawless Flesh Body. It was now on the verge of reaching the First Layer Peak.

And that wasn’t all. He had never heard of anyone undergoing Celestial Punishment while still in the Qi Sea Realm. After enduring it, the quality and quantity of the Elemental Power in Lin Yun’s body far surpassed that of an ordinary Martial Artist.

By Lin Yun’s estimation, the quality of his Elemental Power was now on par with that of a typical Martial Artist at the Seventh Layer of the Qi Sea Realm. As for the quantity, it was a staggering ten times that of a Martial Artist in the same Realm.

Imagine having ten times the Elemental Power of a Martial Artist in the same Realm. For example, even if Lin Yun’s Combat Power wasn’t high, he could defeat a Martial Artist of the same Realm through sheer attrition alone.

In future battles, Lin Yun would basically never have to worry about his Elemental Power consumption. His two Qi Seas were now truly like two vast oceans.

"The benefits are truly immense. As expected, the Rules of Heaven and Earth are the fairest of all," Lin Yun sighed happily, a smile playing on his lips.

Having discovered so many benefits, Lin Yun naturally wanted to test the current strength of his physical body.

Calling Little Ape over, Lin Yun found a large boulder not far from the tree hollow. It was a hard bluestone that even a Martial Artist at the Mid-Stage of the Qi Sea Realm would find difficult to shatter.

The bluestone was even taller than him. Lin Yun didn’t plan on using any Elemental Power; he wanted to test the raw strength of his physical body.

According to Lin Yun’s estimates, it would take a Martial Artist at the Ninth Layer of the Qi Sea Realm to shatter this bluestone with Physical Strength alone.

’Let’s see how much my body has grown after the Celestial Punishment.’ Taking a deep breath, Lin Yun adjusted his Essence, Qi, and Spirit to their Peak state.

His legs rooted to the ground like tree trunks, Lin Yun threw a punch relying purely on his Physical Strength, without using any Martial Skills or even a shred of Elemental Power.

The punch tore through the air with a sharp WHOSH. A faint, ferocious aura, like that of a Demon Beast, even began to emanate from Lin Yun’s body—a result of Refining his Body with Demon Beast Essence Blood.

BOOM! Lin Yun’s fist slammed into the bluestone. With the point of impact as the center, cracks rapidly spiderwebbed across the boulder that was taller than a man. A few seconds later, the entire bluestone completely shattered.

"So strong! In terms of my physical body alone, I’m practically invincible in the Qi Sea Realm now. Only a pure Body Refining Martial Artist could possibly contend with me physically," Lin Yun marveled.

The Celestial Punishment truly had a heaven-defying tempering effect on his physical body. Without it, Lin Yun estimated it would have taken him at least two more years to train his body to this level.

He was ecstatic. With such a formidable body, his Defense Power was naturally even greater. Lin Yun was now confident that anyone in the Early or Mid-Stages of the Qi Sea Realm was no match for him in a single blow. Only those in the Late Stage of the Qi Sea Realm were an exception.

’Time to check my Elemental Power.’ After testing his physical body, Lin Yun sat down cross-legged on the spot and began to acclimate to his vastly increased Elemental Power.

At first, Lin Yun was overjoyed. After all, both the quality and quantity of his Elemental Power had improved significantly. The quantity, in particular, had reached a level ten times that of a Martial Artist in the same Realm.

However, his brief happiness was quickly followed by the discovery of a problem. Or perhaps, it wasn’t a problem at all—because as long as he had enough resources, his situation wouldn’t be an issue.

The problem was, Lin Yun was all on his own. Where was he supposed to get resources? Every resource he had obtained so far, he had earned himself.

Of course, the methods he used to "earn" them—namely, robbing and stealing—were another matter. But he had only done so to his enemies. Take Tang Wushuang and his master, for example. He’d robbed them, and that was that. Even now, given the chance, Lin Yun wouldn’t hesitate to do it again and rob them blind.

Having ten times the Elemental Power of an ordinary person meant that Lin Yun needed at least ten times the resources to cultivate. Adding in his Flawless Flesh Body and two major Cultivation Techniques, every time he broke through to a new Realm, he would probably need a hundred times the resources of a normal person.

The resources for one person were enough for a hundred Martial Artists of the same Realm to break through. Just how immense was that amount?

A helpless, bitter smile appeared on his face. There was only one path before him now: resources. Without resources, there was no strength, and without strength, breaking through was impossible.

Money... His mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of money. It couldn’t be helped. To possess immense Combat Power, one had to pay a corresponding price.

’Damn, should I go pay the Monk and Daoist another visit? Maybe those two have made another fortune in the last few days.’ When he thought of money, the Monk and Daoist were the first people who came to his mind.

It couldn’t be helped. Those two made money far too easily. And for Lin Yun, getting money from them was even easier.

"ACHOO!" In the Capital City, the swindling duo, the Monk and Daoist, both sneezed at the exact same moment.

"Who is cursing this humble monk (this humble Daoist)?" they both said in unison.

If the two of them knew that Lin Yun was once again eyeing their wallets, they would probably be ready to fight him to the death. The guy was simply insatiable, and he seemed to have singled them out specifically.

A few more times like this, and the Monk and Daoist would become Lin Yun’s personal ATMs.

The great mountain named "Resources" weighed heavily on Lin Yun’s mind. Still, he had no regrets. There was always a way to get resources. If all else fails, he would just have to rob someone. In his eyes, trading resources for strength was never a losing bargain.