After successfully passing the first round, Lin Yun’s life returned to a cycle of endless cultivation. The Third Leader alone had been enough to make Lin Yun feel the pressure.

After all, someone as strong as the Third Leader was merely a candidate for the Yanhuang List. A considerable gap still remained between him and the true top ten geniuses of the Yanhuang List.

The second round would be against candidates for the Yanhuang List. According to Wangcai and the others, anyone who was actually on the Yanhuang List possessed enough Combat Power to sweep away ten of those candidates.

"If only I could break through to the Mid-Stage of the Qi Sea Realm, the Yanhuang List would be much easier," Lin Yun sighed, opening his eyes.

His current weakness was his low Cultivation. To use an analogy, Cultivation was the container, and Combat Power was the water inside it.

For Lin Yun, both his container and the water inside far surpassed those of other Martial Artists at the same Realm. However, as one’s Cultivation rose, the container grew larger. If your container was smaller than another’s, you were naturally at a disadvantage.

’I must try to break through to Tier Two of the Qi Sea Realm before the official Yanhuang List challenge.’

Breaking through two Small Realms consecutively was no easy task for Lin Yun. His Qi Sea, which was ten times larger than that of a Martial Artist at the same Realm, made breakthroughs incredibly difficult.

The only silver lining was that, thanks to his two major Cultivation Techniques and the aftermath of the Celestial Punishment, his cultivation speed was much faster than an ordinary person’s. This saved him a great deal of time.

Every day, Lin Yun immersed himself in cultivation. His schedule was packed: he cultivated the War God Technique and Demon Emperor Technique in the morning, spent two hours in the afternoon comprehending Inch Step and the Qingfeng Body Technique, used the rest of the time for Refining his Body with Demon Beast Essence Blood, and then absorbed Heaven and Earth Primordial Power at night to advance his Cultivation.

For a whole week, Lin Yun’s resources were being consumed at a rapid rate. This was especially true for Qi Essence Pills; the number he went through each day was simply terrifying.

For Lin Yun, ten Qi Essence Pills were only equivalent to one, and his maximum daily absorption capacity was a hundred pills.

In just one week, Lin Yun had consumed seven hundred Qi Essence Pills.

This number would make even a Primordial Ocean Realm expert’s jaw drop in astonishment, because it was impossible for even them to refine seven hundred Qi Essence Pills in seven days.

With such terrifying consumption, Lin Yun was almost out of Qi Essence Pills. Not only was he refining them daily, but Little Ape also needed them—and the amount was not small, reaching fifty pills a day.

After a session of cultivating the War God Technique and Demon Emperor Technique, Lin Yun glanced at his nearly depleted supply of Qi Essence Pills and Demon Beast Essence Blood. ’I have to go out and buy some resources today,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, what’s left won’t be enough for my cultivation.’

He didn’t have many Primordial Stones on him either, just a little over ten thousand. During his Crossing of the Celestial Punishment, he had consumed tens of thousands of Primordial Stones. Lin Yun couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret just thinking about it now.

It couldn’t be helped. He had to have resources. Without their support, a breakthrough would be a lifetime away.

After letting Wangcai and the others know, Lin Yun left the Wang Family residence alone. First, he went to a pharmacy called Hundred Herbs Hall.

Lin Yun had no plans to visit the Demon Beast Essence Blood Shop. A single drop of Tier Two Demon Beast Essence Blood cost five thousand Primordial Stones. With only a little over ten thousand Primordial Stones on him, it was nowhere near enough.

’I’d better restock on some Qi Essence Pills first.’

Hundred Herbs Hall. In the Capital City, this pharmacy could be called a miracle. In just a short year, it had become the largest seller of Elixirs and Spirit Grass in the entire Capital City. No one knew the background of Hundred Herbs Hall; they only knew that at Hundred Herbs Hall, there was nothing you couldn’t find, only things you couldn’t afford.

The strongest Alchemist in all of Yanhuang Country was only at Earth Level Six-Stars, yet in Hundred Herbs Hall, as long as you had the money, you could even find Earth Level Nine-Stars Elixirs. The prices, however, were absurdly high.

Lin Yun arrived at a branch of Hundred Herbs Hall in the Capital City. Hundred Herbs Hall had a total of eight branches in the Capital City, one for each of its eight districts.

"Do you need Spirit Grass or Elixirs, sir?" a young woman, no older than twenty, asked in a sweet voice as she approached Lin Yun after he entered Hundred Herbs Hall.

"Elixirs," Lin Yun replied.

Hearing Lin Yun was there for Elixirs, the young woman led him to the elixir section. Upon further inquiry, she learned he wanted to buy Qi Essence Pills. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"And what star-level of Qi Essence Pill would you like, sir?" the young woman asked.

Lin Yun was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected a pharmacy in Yanhuang Country to know that Qi Essence Pills were graded by Level. Back at Yanhuang Academy, he had asked other students, and none of them knew Qi Essence Pills had different Levels. The Academy itself only sold one type.

Based on their refinement method, Qi Essence Pills were divided into three Levels, from One-Star to Three-Stars.

One-Star Qi Essence Pills were the lowest grade, only sufficient for a Martial Artist’s cultivation in the Qi Sea Realm. Two-Stars and Three-Stars pills, however, could support a Martial Artist all the way to the Primordial Ocean Realm.

A single Two-Stars Qi Essence Pill was equivalent to ten One-Star Qi Essence Pills, and a single Three-Stars Qi Essence Pill was equivalent to ten Two-Stars Qi Essence Pills.

This was all knowledge Lin Yun possessed from his time in the Divine Realm. Of course, in the Divine Realm, both One-Star and Three-Stars Qi Essence Pills were considered utter trash. In the War God Palace, Three-Stars Qi Essence Pills were fed to livestock; even the servants wouldn’t give them a second glance.

He never expected a small place like Hundred Herbs Hall to actually have Three-Stars Qi Essence Pills. Lin Yun’s opinion of the pharmacy rose considerably. ’It seems this Hundred Herbs Hall isn’t a local power from Yanhuang Country,’ he surmised. ’It’s likely backed by some major power from the Eastern Domain.’

He looked at the prices. Naturally, the Three-Stars Qi Essence Pill was the best choice. Not only did it provide purer and more abundant Elemental Power, but he would only need one a day, making it optimal for his cultivation.

However, after asking about the price, Lin Yun instantly gave up on the idea. Ten thousand Low Grade Primordial Stones for a single pill. He couldn’t afford it at all.

Since he couldn’t afford the Three-Stars Qi Essence Pill, he could only check the Two-Stars version. But its price wasn’t low either: three thousand Primordial Stones per pill.

With just over ten thousand Primordial Stones on him, he could buy five at most, which wasn’t even enough for a single day of cultivation.

At that moment, Lin Yun truly felt the pain of being without resources. It was great to have immense Combat Power, but that didn’t matter when you were broke.

Normally, over ten thousand Primordial Stones would be enough for an ordinary practitioner at the First Layer of the Qi Sea Realm to cultivate for a very long time. In Lin Yun’s hands, however, it wasn’t even enough Cultivation Resources for a single day. That was the difference.

’This is enough to turn a saint into a sinner, damn it,’ Lin Yun cursed inwardly.

He looked helplessly at the One-Star Qi Essence Pills, all the fight gone out of him. ’Am I really going to have to buy One-Star Qi Essence Pills to cultivate again?’

Although the price of One-Star Qi Essence Pills was very low—only one hundred Primordial Stones each—Lin Yun knew they contained too many Elemental Power impurities. Before, he’d had no choice. But now that he knew Hundred Herbs Hall carried Two-Stars and Three-Stars Qi Essence Pills, he found himself repulsed by the very idea of using the One-Star version.

(We’re at 200 Chapters without me even noticing! Let’s go, brothers! Hit me with your collections, tips, and recommendations!!)