Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Strength Skyrockets

"My strength... it’s at least doubled from what it was a moment ago!"

Li Yang clenched his fists, feeling the power course through him, his eyes filled with excitement.

After completing the first stage of tempering, his strength was five times that of an ordinary person. After the second, it was fifteen times. And now, with the third stage complete, his strength was at least fifty times that of an ordinary person!

A full-force punch from an ordinary person carries nearly two hundred jin of force. With fifty times that strength, Li Yang could unleash a punch with a force of ten thousand jin!

"I can now go toe-to-toe with a Celestial Level Cultivator!"

A broad smile spread across Li Yang’s face. He had expected it to take another ten days or so. He never thought he’d break through on a trip to Jing City!

According to Li Guohai, there were no more than fifty Celestial Level Cultivators in all of Hua Country—an incredibly small number!

Reaching this level meant one could truly be called a powerhouse!

’Is this the effect of cultivation herbs and Spirit Fruits?’

Li Yang looked at the fruit in his hand. It was now shriveled and dry, and he could no longer sense any energy within it.

A fervent glint appeared in Li Yang’s eyes. He hadn’t understood the power of these cultivation fruits before, but now he felt it completely. A single fruit had caused his strength to skyrocket!

If he had a few more, his strength might skyrocket again. He might even have a chance to reach the Peak of Heaven-level in a short amount of time!

’Now that I have Celestial Level strength, I wonder if I’ll get fruits like this as a reward for joining the Celestial Origin Palace?’ Li Yang thought expectantly.

Shao Jie had said that the stronger you were, the more lavish the rewards for joining the Celestial Origin Palace.

Li Yang had previously decided to wait until he reached Celestial Level before joining. Now that he had such strength, he was more than qualified!

As he was thinking, Li Yang’s phone rang.

He glanced at the message, and a smile touched the corners of his lips.

’The Anticancer Agent is almost mine!’

It was a message from the foundation. The paperwork for the Anticancer Agent was complete. Someone would be arriving soon to accompany him to Hu City to treat Li Guohai and Zhao Rou.

A trip to Jing City had yielded two doses of the Anticancer Agent and a breakthrough to Celestial Level. Li Yang’s gains were enormous!

After reading that message, Li Yang looked at another one. This one was from Zhou Yao.

"Li Yang, Zheng Yi’s family, the Zheng family, is much more powerful than the Zhao family. Many of the families here today came for them, to curry favor with them."

Zhou Yao didn’t know Li Yang knew about Cultivators, and it wasn’t an easy topic to broach. So she messaged him directly, telling him about the Zheng family’s power so he would know what he was up against.

’The Zheng family? The one the Zhao family has to suck up to?’

Seeing Zhou Yao’s message, a thought struck Li Yang.

’Could it be Zheng Qian’s family?’

The Zhao family was already one of the top wealthy families in Hua Country. A family they had to curry favor with was very likely a family of Cultivators.

Li Yang had actually suspected as much.

He thought about it, but he wasn’t particularly intimidated by the Zheng family right now.

King Level Cultivators couldn’t attack those beneath their level, and he had now broken through to the Celestial Level! What could the Zheng family possibly do to him?

Besides, even knowing who Zheng Yi was, there was no way he would hand over the Seven-Colored Orchid Fruit.

’I’ll grab the two doses of the Anticancer Agent and head straight back. Then I’ll talk to Mom and Dad about joining the Celestial Origin Palace,’ Li Yang thought to himself.

He stood up.

He clenched his fist slightly, and a terrifying power instantly surged forth! At this moment, Li Yang was now counted among the most powerful experts in all of Hua Country!

Pushing the door open, Li Yang walked out.

...

"Young Master, I’ve found Li Yang’s information."

Zheng Yi’s expression darkened as he waited.

He believed in being cautious. Making a foolish move that could backfire was out of the question, and he would not allow himself to provoke someone he shouldn’t.

He was still waiting when the middle-aged man finally returned and stood by his side.

"Oh, you found it?" Zheng Yi said. "Let me see."

He took the middle-aged man’s phone and looked at the files that had been sent over.

With the Zheng family’s resources, investigating someone was laughably easy. It didn’t even take ten minutes.

As he read the information, Zheng Yi’s expression slowly turned cold.

"Li Yang, son of Li Guohai and Zhao Rou. Eighteen years old, a student at Coastal City’s No. 1 High School. Failed his college entrance exams, found a Dragon Palace Noble Carrier Shell, then bought a fishing boat and caught a school of large yellow croakers and Bluefin Tuna..."

A smirk played on his lips. "So this Li Yang is Zhao Rou’s son."

He knew the story: years ago, his father had pursued Zhao Rou, but she had chosen Li Guohai instead.

After a moment of thought, Zheng Yi asked, "Does Li Yang have any powerful backing? Or any connection to Cultivators?"

Based on Li Yang’s earlier behavior, he seemed utterly fearless, which, paradoxically, made Zheng Yi a little wary.

"No, Young Master. I even checked with the Celestial Origin Palace and others. There’s no one named Li Yang. As for him having contact with Cultivators... the possibility is extremely low," the middle-aged man reported.

Hearing this, Zheng Yi chuckled. "So, you’re saying Li Yang has no backing whatsoever? And his behavior just means he’s a reckless fool?"

A reckless fool who fears nothing and thinks of nothing.

In Zheng Yi’s mind, this was the only explanation for Li Yang’s previous actions.

He read further down the file. Li Yang’s parents, Li Guohai and Zhao Rou, both had cancer. On this trip, Li Yang had won two doses of the Anticancer Agent at auction.

"Young Master, according to our investigation, Li Yang should have had enough money for one dose of the Anticancer Agent. We don’t know where the money for the second dose came from," the middle-aged man said.

It was a loose end in his investigation.

Hearing this, Zheng Yi said calmly, "At the end of the day, Li Yang’s mother, Zhao Rou, is still a member of the Zhao family. It would be perfectly normal for someone in the Zhao family to secretly transfer him the money."

The Zhao family was large. The possibility that someone close to Zhao Rou helped her buy the Anticancer Agent was very high.

"I don’t care about that. I just needed to know that Li Yang doesn’t have a Cultivator backing him."

As he spoke, a cold sneer suddenly twisted Zheng Yi’s lips.

"To think a reckless fool actually made me feel wary! I, Zheng Yi, have never failed to get what I want. Since this Li Yang dares to defy me, I’ll have some fun with him."

A venomous, snake-like look entered his eyes.

Li Yang’s earlier defiance had infuriated him!

He had been wary of some potential backer or powerful background, but it turned out there was nothing. It made him feel like a fool for being so cautious, for launching an investigation, for just standing by and watching as Li Yang walked away with the Seven-Colored Orchid Fruit.

For him, this was an absolute humiliation!

A mere commoner. In Zheng Yi’s eyes, he was like an ant, utterly worthless!

"Let’s go. Find Li Yang and get the Seven-Colored Orchid Fruit back!"

Now armed with this information about Li Yang, Zheng Yi stood up.

This time, knowing Li Yang’s true circumstances, he could act without any restraint.

"Yes, Young Master."

The middle-aged man nodded and followed beside Zheng Yi.

They had only taken two steps when they suddenly stopped. In the distance, Li Yang happened to be walking right toward them.