Nine Astra Skies

The rest of the members looked down. In the clan, Ye Changxuan's words were final.

"The moment you lots walked in, you've been arguing non-stop to the point where even I forgot what I wanted to say. Now, for the big news. Little Chen has successfully passed Master Li's examination during the Grand Martial Tournament of the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun. Master Li finds Little Chen a talented candidate and as such, will be recommending him to Master Apothecary Xuanyi's sect to be his disciple. In twenty years, our clan will finally have an Apothecary!" Ye Changxuan was beaming and smiling with pride. Even he had butterflies in his stomach as he announced to the men.

The crowd was caught by surprise. An Apothecary? For a moment, they struggled to wrap their heads around the news. Throughout the billions of people and clans in the entire Xiwu Empire, Xuanyi was the only Apothecary they had known. If the clan were to see the birth of an Apothecary, that made it a moment to commemorate, right?

"Sixth Uncle, is this real?" Ye Zhanlong's throat was tensed, his voice shaking. Ye Zhanlong knew the significance of an Apothecary.

"Would I ever lie to you?" Ye Changxuan replied in a deadpan voice.

"That's not what I meant, Sixth Uncle…" Ye Zhanlong immediately apologized. Noticing Ye Changxuan's playful smile, he realized what the old man meant and burst out laughing too.

That explained all the medicinal pills that the elder chief had received. So, it seemed that the elder chief was Master Li's chosen one. The hall descended into a state of ecstasy.

"Alright, meeting adjourned! The clan will be celebrating in a day. The lords and the elder chiefs from the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun as well as Donglin County will be here. The rest of you should head back and make your preparations. In the meantime, I want security in the castle to be tightened." Ye Changxuan waved his hand.

All of them were wearing happy faces and running off to spread the good news. Soon, the entire clan was made known to the news of Ye Chen becoming Master Apothecary Xuanyi's disciple. The entire clan was truly elated. Many had even made their offerings to the ancestors. In the castle, things were far grander and louder than the day the Grand Ancestral Worshipping Ceremony took place.

"Little Chen, you've had a long day too. You should get some rest." Ye Changxuan patted his head lovingly.

"Yeah. You get some rest too, Granduncle." Ye Chen replied.

The crowd had dispersed. Those who were wounded returned to be nursed.

Ye Chen returned to his abode. He had learned so much from today's battle. His Celestial Chi had broken through the Seventh Level and was now effectively Eighth Level. He sat down and inspected the Celestial Chi in his body. The Celestial Chi in Ye Chen had reached the top of Eighth Level and soon, he might even reach the Ninth Level. Due to the unique circumstances of the Celestial Chi in him, even Ye Chen did not have a proper gauge of his powers. The fact that Yun Yixuan had a difficult time taking a strike from him made him wonder if his powers had reached mid Ninth Level just like his granduncle's.

The thought made Ye Chen tremble slightly. To him, granduncle and his father were godlike. Ye Chen would have never guessed that he would achieve the same power level as they did and that his powers would increase rapidly. It was all too much for him to take in.

Ye Chen looked at Little Tanuki who was on his shoulder. During the fight with Niu Er, Little Tanuki had overexerted its Illusions and tired out. Ye Chen transferred some of his Celestial Chi into it and soon, it began to feel better.

Ye Chen sat in a meditative posture and consolidated his cultivation base. In that fight with Niu Er, Ye Chen had gained a breakthrough in Crimson Cloud Searing Skies and advanced to True Adroitness. To proceed to True Arete required frequent rounds of trial and error and enlightenment. Regardless, Ye Chen had a firm grasp of Crimson Cloud Searing Skies. He turned to the second page of Palms Puncturing the Cosmos. A group of words caught his eye.

The second form of Palms Puncturing the Cosmos, Fury of Shattering Earth.

Fury of Shattering Earth was a Tier Seven martial arts technique with power far surpassing Crimson Cloud Searing Skies! Through a special method, the body's Celestial Chi was consolidated into steel and with a punch, as its name suggested, shattered and reduced everything in the surrounding to rubble.

Fury of Shattering Earth seemed like it was a metal elemental martial arts technique.

Ye Chen memorized the incantations to heart. He was delighted that he was able to grasp it so quickly in one reading.

Ye Chen found it difficult to understand why his father and the rest took two to three years to fully master a Tier Three martial arts technique. He found martial arts technique rather easy to cultivate. Take Fury of Shattering Earth for example. It seemed simple and in a couple of days, he would be able to perform it. What was all the talk about taking a lot of time?

If Ye Zhantian, Ye Changxuan, and the rest knew what Ye Chen was thinking, they would probably view themselves inferior.

Perhaps it was due to the Nine Astra Skies that Ye Chen's ability to grasp the techniques had increased by another level, which made it easier for him to learn the ropes of any martial arts technique.

Nightfall was setting in. The Ye Castle had returned to a state of peace. After what had happened earlier today, the guards in the castle were much more vigilant.

In his compound, Ye Chen sat on the grass to meditate and cultivate. A stream of raw Celestial Chi swirled around him like the stars that orbit around the planets. Little Tanuki took the opportunity to ingest all that Celestial Chi. There was a sheen to its coat and it gleamed brightly in the night. Its four tails would not stop wagging and there was an additional fluffy tail that grew out of it back but it was as short as a rabbit's tail.

As it continued to absorb Ye Chen's Celestial Chi, Little Tanuki's aura gradually meld into Ye Chen's.

Soon, Ye Chen had descended into another world. His Astral Body was floating around. A knight clad in golden armor manifested above his body. The knight was stronger than the one from before and Ye Chen knew that it was just a harmless specter. What made things interesting was during the Astral Externalization, the specter drifted along with him too.

Maybe after Astral Externalization, it would possess some form of physical power. If it did, then the Astral Body would be a great boon during combat. Thinking about how the sanguine wolf ran for its life at the sight of Ye Chen's Astral Body made him curious about Celestial Beasts. The wolf even talked about Astral Externalization and the Daemon King of Celestial Beast.

Ye Chen's Astral Body had also gained the better to roam a larger area. Now, he was able to travel up to three kilometers within his surroundings using the Astral Body. Staring into the horizons, he could forcibly make out the sight of the Yun Castle though it was faint. Ye Chen decided to recall his Astral Body after realizing it took a lot of out of him to stare in the far end. Meanwhile, Little Tanuki's body began to emit a red glow. The glow seemed to come from the deepest part of its Psyche, which made Ye Chen surprised. He could feel the red glow calling out to him like it was one of the same with his Astral Body. Even their auras were matching now. This was all a huge surprise.

Could Little Tanuki have developed its own Astral Body as it absorbed his Celestial Chi?

Now was not the time to ponder about that. Ye Chen continued his training and entered Dao Trance, the Celestial Chi in his body was growing at a rapid pace.

Time passed quickly. Around three in the morning, Ye Chen finally decided to call it a night. He slowly exhaled and his Celestial Chi had increased concentration once again. Ye Chen thought about reaching the Ninth Level. All this while, he had encountered Ninth Level combatants but none in Tenth Level. It was said a Tenth Level combatant could single-handedly wipe out Donglin County with devastating powers. He wondered what it would be like to be that level.

"I wonder when I would reach the Tenth Level," Ye Chen mumbled to himself. Then again, Rome was not built in a day.