Ye Mo was sweating a lot, gritting his teeth as the Black Vortex revolved in his dantian.
He felt like a powerful hand was pressing against his body.
"It's fast but not enough!"
"Time is tight, before joining the institute delegation, I still have to reach the cave from Wei Leng's map. Many enemies might want to kill me, the Liu clan being a sure case, I can't leave the institute without preparations."
"Institutions protect their members using their strength and possible retaliation as deterrence, but they can't send instructors babysitting each one of them, following the members everywhere they go isn't possible. If I leave the institute, I'm on my own."
"In the end it all comes to strength!"
"Strength is the truth, strength rules the world!"
"Words are nothing, violence speaks louder!"
Ye Mo's body was in pain, but his mind held firm like a mountain. The difficulties of life had already forged in him an unwavering character.
Endure the pain, endure the hunger, endure the cold, endure the heat, endure living, endure dying.
Endure, endure, endure...
It has been hours since he started using the Black Vortex, but he was still cultivating furiously.
In this silent room, his eerie gaze reflected the demonic resolve to stamp on every obstacle standing in his path.
Ye Mo eventually reached into his pouch and took out a round white pill, which he swallowed.
This low-tier Spirit Qi pill immediately turned into liquid and flowed down his throat like a warm spring.
The liquid flowed straight towards his dantian. His whole body gave him a refreshing feeling like a cool breeze caressing his body during a hot day.
The Black Vortex in his dantian revolved even faster than before while new wisps of qi appeared at an unprecedented rate.
At this moment, Ye Mo's cultivation speed was faster than a rank 5 talent.
To influence the progress of your cultivation, first comes resources, then talent, and third hard work.
With the combination of his cultivation technique, the meridian purifying pill, and the intake of Spirit Qi pills, Ye Mo made full use of the first aspect and maximized his speed, surpassing the pace of an ordinary cultivator by leaps and bounds.
This was only possible since he joined the Tiger Martial Institute.
Ye Mo didn't slack off a single moment, and in the blink of an eye, three months passed by.
The door of the stone house creaked, and slowly, a teen walked out and looked at the scenery after a long time of seclusion.
Suprisingly, summer came to an end, and the days of autumn arrived.
The sultry atmosphere was replaced by strong winds and the trees were slowly being stripped of their adornment while leaves of gold and scarlet ride the air like gentle boats.
"I reached the peak of the 3rd layer, I just need a bit more time to break through the 4th layer of the Qi gathering Realm." Thought Ye Mo, standing shirtless in front of his house.
The upper garment of his martial suit was left hanging at his waist.
His hair grew much during this time, flowing with the wind like dark tentacles.
In the meantime, he also turned thirteen.
Ye Mo straightened two fingers and, gathering Qi inside, he cleanly cut locks of hair one by one.
Quickly he regained his short black spiky hair.
Ye Mo has never been fond of long hair.
They could be grabbed in a fight, giving the opponent the advantage. If they were too long, they could also impede your vision, resulting in the same consequences.
And as a whole they were just a hassle to take care of.
Of course you could attach them, but in a battle, where trees and rocks were pulverized by each attack, whatever you used to tie them up could easily be torn apart.
After dressing himself, Ye Mo left for the cafeteria. This dining establishment held many delicacies that any students could enjoy if they had the money required.
Ye Mo had some rations left in his pouch, but after all this time spent cultivating in his house, he wanted to breathe some fresh air and stroll around.
Most of all, he wanted to hear news of the city and learn whether anything happened during this period.
While walking, he heard various discussions from groups of students on the road.
"Shen Xue broke through the 8th layer just one month after the tournament. This guy is a monster."
"What did you expect of the Shen clan's young master? He met the requirements to go to the Raging Saber Sect just after joining the institute. We're not in the same league."
"I heard after breaking through he directly left to the third floor of the pagoda and crippled Lao Ting, then holed himself up in the room!"
"Stop joking. Lao Ting ranks in the top one hundred students of the institute and has cultivated for years inside, there is no way he would lose to a newcomer no matter how strong he is."
"I swear! There were many spectators at the time who saw it as well."
Their voices grew faint as they distanced themselves from Ye Mo.
He kept going until he reached the cafeteria and entered inside.
The dining hall was spacious with near a hundred long tables. Two long benches surrounded the sides of the rectangular tables.
The dishes of the cafeteria were very expensive, all of them costing at least one gold coin. An average family could live well for months with one but here it was barely enough to have the cheapest meals.
The reason was that these dishes were made with the meat of ferocious blood beasts and wild herbs that were beneficial to the body.
Clans and influential families paid a huge price each year to have such meals prepared for the promising younglings as they were very beneficial for their growth.
For healthy grown men and cultivators, however, the effects were minimal, and for a body-refining cultivator, the only reason to eat them would be the taste.
Ye Mo asked for one at random from the waitress and handed her two gold coins. Close to her was a middle-aged man taking orders from other students.
He picked a table devoid of people in the middle of the hall and sat down. Soon a plate and a jar of water were placed in front of him.
In the center of the plate was the large roasted leg of a boar surrounded by vegetables.
The rich fragrance assaulted Ye Mo's nostrils, yet he frowned deeply.
"My main weapon is the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body. As a high-tier Star Rank body refining technique it's the best advantage I have over my peers and each breakthrough would give me more power than these three months I passed in cultivation."
"Yet I'm stuck. I can't cultivate this martial art inside the institute and even if I left for the city, since I became a student, there would be too many eyes on me, not to mention those who wish me dead."
"I can't ask for the Liu clan to send a couple of their members to me either. If they came to my house to never be seen leaving, it would be too suspicious. Whether it's the Liu clan or members of the Tiger Martial Institute, they would easily find something is wrong. By this time deducing what happened wasn't difficult."
Ye Mo suffered for years before he had a chance at cultivation. He wasn't going to risk everything by being impatient.
It was easy to move in the dark. Far from others' attention, you could easily attack or retreat.
But in the light, with everyone's eyes set on you, you had to take into account the regulations set in place, or your downfall was only a matter of time.
However, Ye Mo didn't regret joining the institute. He had planned every crossroad in his cultivation journey, and the Tiger Martial Institute was a necessary step to take. Without qi and battle skills but just his body alone, he would be too limited.
Before everything else, he had to increase his strength as fast as possible until he could travel without risking his life at every corner. At this point, he would have a wide range of options. Only then can he leave the city and aim higher.
Ye Mo quickly devoured the meat and then moved on to the vegetables.
Tens of students were eating and talking loudly at separate tables, laughing at times, rendering the cafeteria noisy, but Ye Mo paid it no mind as he was deep in thought.
"Hey, Ye Mo!" Suddenly he heard someone shout his name.
Ye Mo frowned; his train of thought was broken.