Damn, that was cool! Quin looked at the rubble that remained from the block of dark gold with excitement. It was so easy to smash it, I wonder what will happen to the others? With that, he grabbed another block that was made out of emerald clay and put it before him.

He took a deep breath, then smashed down on the block and a creaking sound echoed out as his fist came into contact with the emerald clay. The reaction it had was strangely different to the dark gold, as it did not explode, but transformed into a fine green colored powder.

Hm, I guess that means I’m strong enough to pulverize emerald clay as well! Seeing his strength made him feel rather happy. Alright, then let’s see the violet diamond!

Quin stood before the small block of violet diamond and did the same as what he did with the other blocks. However, this time the result was only a dent on its side. Hm, finally something stronger. Still, I wasn’t hitting it with my full strength, so let’s see what happens if I give it my all!

Quin breathed in and out slowly a few times to focus his mind and then struck down again, this time with all of his might. He felt as if all of his cells started to burn more and more energy of what was currently inside of him, so that they would be able to give the maximum amount of power they could. Quin thought that it was a wonderful feeling, and it made it seem like he was filled with power that wanted to do nothing but explode outward.

BOOM!

An ear piercing sound resounded as Quin’s fist broke the violet diamond into two. I knew that I could do it! He went wild with joy.

Then, another shocking thing happened just a few seconds after his punch. From one moment to next, the two pieces of violet diamonds ignited, but it was not just a small flicker of flame. The entirety of the both of them was completely engulfed in flames, and then burnt to ash in just a matter of seconds.

What the heck was that? He was astonished as he looked down on the remnants of the violet diamond, with his mouth agape. Damn, that’s... A lot of money thrown out of the window. Well, I’ve got more than enough money so I shouldn’t worry about things like this. The more important thing here is that even the violet diamond can’t match my strength! He was so happy that he could not stop laughing with joy for a few minutes.

I’m so strong! Finally, I broke through! It took more than a year and a lot of hellish experiences, but I’m finally back to where I had been. No, not only am I back, I’m even stronger than before! His eyes were shining with excitement.

Even being able to pierce normal diamond requires one to be usually at the first level of the Qi Culmination sub-stage, not to speak of the violet diamond which is a lot more resilient material. From what I had previously read, it takes someone in the second or sometimes the third level of the Qi Culmination sub-stage to do it. Yet, I didn’t only pierce through it, I completely destroyed it! To be honest, I reckon that I’m at least comparable to someone who’s at the the third level of Qi Culmination! People usually only reach that around when they are fifty years old! Haha, I wonder what kind of face my schoolmates -- especially those ones -- would have after realizing that not only did I get my strength back, but I’m stronger than I’d have probably been even after decades with my old cultivation!

Damn, I really have to test out my exact power. But how? Hm, maybe I can ask the local soldiers for sparring, again? Last time they told me that I was just a kid and should go away. He sighed. Well, it’s worth a try.

He did not go to the local barracks right away though, and decided to try how much weight he could lift. Quin was shocked to find out that the five tons of weight he had was not enough for even one of his hands.

After a short trip to the shop, he bought the more weights and tried again. In the end, it turned out that his limit increased from one thousand and eight hundred kilograms to a shocking fourteen tons.

It’s nearly a ten times of an increase! This day gets better and better! Though it’s a bit strange how everyone looks at me on the streets... I guess it’s because the word spread that I was able to enter the lake? Well, maybe if it reached the soldiers of the city, then maybe this time they won’t refuse? Alright, it’s time to check it out!

He put away his things and then started walking toward the barracks.

The soldiers indeed acted differently, and Quin thought that they even looked a bit excited to test out their strengths against him. Though he knew that he definitely was no Spirit Forming cultivator and that there was no way for him to be one, -- he still clearly remembered what Nyra said during his coma -- he decided to not tell them. First of all, he thought it was better if they considered him someone stronger, but more importantly, it would have been quite hard to explain that he was not one even though he could take a bath in the lake.

There were only six people currently in the barracks, three of which were at the first level of Qi Culmination, two in the second level and only one in the third level. Although they were older than him and some of them had more experience, it did not take Quin a lot of time or difficulty to defeat the five weaker ones.

His last opponent was a middle-aged man in his seventies, the local commander, who was at the peak of the third level of Qi Culmination. This was just a practise bout, and thus neither of them used their weapons, only their true strengths.

As the fight began, the man merged with his element right away and went on the offensive, not wasting any time.

Hm, what kind of element is this? It looks similar to water, but it’s definitely not that simple. Quin wondered.

The man’s punch did not look extraordinary, it actually looked just like a simple hook. Quin bent his body the other way and then threw out a straight punch at the soldier’s face. The man almost completely evaded his strike, and thus it only managed to graze his face.

It’s definitely not a simple water element! It’s a lot more elastic than that, my fist felt like it had just bumped back.

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a sudden grab at the back of his neck and then he was shoved forward. Damn, they have their qi and the ability to merge. I didn’t really anticipate anything special as I’ve been mostly just fighting various beasts, not to mention that the other soldiers were too weak to even do anything against me.

Although he had quickly realized his mistake, he was already falling toward the floor with great speed. Quin just barely managed to avoid face-planting the ground and then pushed himself to the opposite side of the man, jumping back to his feet.

“Even if I’m in the Qi Culmination, I suggest that you don’t take me lightly and merge with your element,” said the man calmly.

“Don’t worry about that,” he replied and waited for his next attack.

They exchanged a couple of blows in just a few moments and now, Quin had a better idea of the man’s capabilities.

So, he’s extremely elastic and can easily stretch his limbs when merged with his element. My punches are a lot less effective against these kinds of opponents, but what if it’s a piercing attack, more like a jab than a blunt punch?

The only problem was that actually hitting his sparring partner was not that easy. The man was quite strong and it was obvious that he had a lot more experience than Quin, thus he saw through a lot of his attacks. Furthermore, Quin had no special ability, in contrast with the Qi Cultivators, and could only rely on the strength of his body.

On the bright side, he found it virtually impossible to lose, as his body was shockingly resilient and his whole body was filled with the healing energy which granted him unseen stamina.

They continued their spar and gradually Quin started to notice a pattern in the man’s attacks. First, he tried to punch or kick from the side, and although Quin could dodge it most of the time, the man was able to grab him from behind by stretching his arm or leg. Next, he always tried to pull him closer, sometimes trying to shove him face first to the ground, and at other times to swiftly reposition himself at Quin’s back. It also occurred to him that when the man grabbed him, his body returned to its original state.

When he’s merged with his element he can stretch himself and become quite elastic, but I assume that it’s not that strong. So, to actually exert some strength he has to change back!

Quin was prepared the next time when the soldier tried to follow the same pattern with his attacks. He was right in front of Quin and threw out a right hook, which Quin dodged, but by the time the soldier tried to grab him from the left side with his right arm after it missed its target, Quin was already moving in to attack. He planted his right foot a step forward to stabilize himself. Then, turning his upper body, he borrowed the strength of his whole body and made a quick jab at the man’s stomach.

The soldier managed to remerge with his element just at the last moment, but had no time evade Quin’s attack. A part of the jab’s power was reduced by the man’s elastic body, but each of Quin’s strikes possessed an incredible strength. Furthermore, it was a clear hit and thus the man was knocked back a few meters, spitting out blood.

“Damn, I gotta say that you’re not pulling your punches!” he said, heaving for air.

Quin became a bit worried and went to the man asking, “Sorry, are you alright?”

“Haha, what are you talking about?” he said with a laugh. “We’re sparring, aren’t we? I know that you had no intention of seriously injuring me but as I said, we’re sparring. That means that there’s a high chance that one of us will be injured, but so what?” He snickered. Seeing his reaction Quin calmed down. “Anyways, we should stop now. I had great fun but I’m almost out of qi and without that I’d be no match for you! Still, I gotta ask you boy, how come you’re so strong? I didn’t see you merging with your element, nor did I see any kind of stuff those other Spirit Forming expert do...”

“Well, long story short, I’m a body cultivator,” he replied simply.

The middle-aged man measured him up for a few moments, suspiciously and asked, “Are you telling the truth? I’ve met a few people who focused on body cultivation, but compared to your’s, their bodies’ were as weak as ants!”

“I’m telling the truth,” he answered. “To put it simply, I had a few unfortunate circumstances that I turned into opportunities.” He smiled.

“Alright, I won’t question you, I was just a bit surprised,” he said with a hearty laugh. “Name’s Pei.” He stretched out his hand, which Quin then shook.

“Quin,” he replied.

“You know, you’ve got great intuition, but clearly lack experience, so how about this: you can come here to spar with me and the boys each day for some time. There’s not much opportunity for us to fight here, especially not with somebody who’s stronger than us. On the other hand, I think you would also learn a lot, so I think it’d be a win-win situation.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” he said with a smile.