Chapter 38: Another Fierce Cultivator Training at the Cold Pool!
The next morning.
Cao Youqian's internal clock woke him up early. By now, he was already used to a routine of three hours of rest and nine hours of cultivation each day.
As soon as he stepped outside, he ran into Xiao Chen.
"Good morning, Senior Brother."
"Morning, Junior Brother."
After returning the greeting, Xiao Chen asked, "Are you heading out to cultivate?"
Cao Youqian nodded. "That's right, Senior Brother. I've gotten completely used to this cultivation rhythm these days."
Xiao Chen smiled. "As expected. Once someone receives Master's guidance, they can't help but fall in love with cultivation."
"…"
Cao Youqian was stunned for a moment, but then realized—Senior Brother wasn't wrong at all.
Back then, his days were spent either chasing money or pleasure.
Only when he was tired of fooling around would he cultivate a little to balance things out.
But now? His mind was consumed by one thing—getting stronger.
"You're right, Senior Brother. I was too undisciplined before. But with a master like ours, there's no way I'd waste even a moment of cultivation time."
Xiao Chen patted him on the shoulder. "Keep it up, Junior Brother. I believe you won't disappoint Master."
"Mhm!"
Cao Youqian nodded, feeling energized from head to toe.
Millennium Cold Pool, here I come!
"Junior Brother Cao, wait a moment."
Just as Cao Youqian was about to leave, Xiao Chen called out and took a storage pouch from his sleeve.
"Inside this pouch is one hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones. I'll be leaving the Miscellaneous Dao Academy soon…"
"By then, I won't be around to guard you during cultivation. Take these stones—consider it my support."
Cao Youqian froze for a moment. He recognized that pouch—it was the one he'd lost to Senior Brother during their wager.
He quickly shook his head. "Senior Brother, I can't accept this."
Xiao Chen's face instantly turned stern. "What, you complete two rounds of Five Elements Body Tempering and suddenly stop listening to me?"
A warmth bloomed in Cao Youqian's chest. He accepted the pouch and said sincerely, "Thank you, Senior Brother."
As he watched Cao Youqian walk off, Xiao Chen murmured to himself, "With Junior Brother's side settled, I wonder how Junior Sister Liu is doing…"
"If she can't reach the True Fate Realm soon, I won't feel at ease leaving on my journey. I should visit her later."
Cao Youqian walked with a spring in his step and soon arrived at the Merit Hall.
It was still early, so the hall was fairly empty.
He entered and went straight to the deacon responsible for managing cultivation resources.
"Deacon Han, I want to train in the Millennium Cold Pool for three months. Is there any space available?"
As one of the top cultivation academies on the Xuantian Continent, Wendao Academy boasted not only an excellent faculty but also top-tier cultivation grounds.
When Deacon Han heard "Millennium Cold Pool," he instinctively assumed Cao Youqian was from the Body Tempering Academy.
After all, they were the only ones who regularly used such a place. Other academies rarely needed it.
"Are you from the inner academy or outer academy? And how large a pool do you need?"
At Wendao Academy, students from different divisions received different treatment.
"I'm an outer academy disciple. I need a ten-foot pool," said Cao Youqian.
"Ten-foot pool? That's ten merit points per day. Three months would be nine hundred points. Hand over your disciple token—I'll check if you've got enough merit."
Deacon Han spoke in an official, business-like tone.
Outer academy disciples could accept missions and earned merit points monthly to use for cultivation resources.
While most of Cao Youqian's money had been taken earlier, he still had his merit points.
He placed his identity token on the table.
The moment Deacon Han saw the name on it, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
He stared at the tall, energized young man in disbelief. "You're… really Cao Youqian?"
In his memory, Cao Youqian was nothing but a spoiled slacker. Whenever he came to the Merit Hall, it was always to sell or trade merit points.
And now, he wanted to cultivate—in the Millennium Cold Pool, no less?
Who the hell would believe that?
Cao Youqian knew his appearance had changed drastically. It wasn't just strangers—even old acquaintances might struggle to recognize him.
He grinned and said, "Deacon Han, you think anyone would dare impersonate me?"
That did it—Deacon Han suddenly felt it.
Yes. That tone, that arrogance—that was classic Cao Youqian.
Earlier, he'd been so polite that Deacon Han thought he had the wrong person.
"Cao-shizhi, how come you look like this now?"
"Since when is my business any of your concern? Just process the request."
Cao Youqian knew full well—being polite with these people got you nowhere. Only when he was brash and arrogant did they take him seriously.
"Of course, of course!"
Early the next morning.
Though Deacon Han had heard rumors about Cao Youqian's recent changes in the Alchemy Academy, he didn't want to make things difficult.
After all, if the Xuanhuo Alchemy King remembered this junior and decided to bring him back under his wing, Deacon Han would be in big trouble.
Soon, he handed a token to Cao Youqian.
"Junior Brother Cao, here's your cold pool token. Duration: three months."
"Got it."
Cao Youqian took the token and left without delay.
He picked up a few Fasting Pills along the way and headed straight toward the Millennium Cold Pool.
The Wendao Academy's Millennium Cold Pool was built atop a first-grade yin-vein.
The entire mountain radiated cold energy year-round.
Aside from the cold pool, the area also included multiple Ice Chambers and other sites suitable for training in ice and yin attributes.
Cao Youqian glanced at his token—his assigned pool was number ninety-nine.
These small-sized pools were open-air, without any pavilions or walls surrounding them.
Just a basic bamboo fence enclosed the space, so anyone nearby could clearly see who was cultivating.
Fortunately, he no longer needed to blast his clothes off during training. Cultivating in a simple green robe worked just as well now.
When he arrived, only two other body cultivators were training in nearby ten-foot cold pools.
He didn't greet them. Without hesitation, he stepped into his designated pool.
The moment he entered, a bone-piercing chill surged through him. If not for his prior Fire-Wood Tempering, forget staying for nine hours—he wouldn't have lasted two.
But now, with experience under his belt, he immediately activated his spiritual energy to circulate and use the cold to refine his body.
…
Time flew, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Cao Youqian's routine remained as strict as before—no different from when he was training at the Miscellaneous Dao Academy.
However, in the eyes of others, this was utterly terrifying.
Within just a few days—
A rumor spread like wildfire through the outer division of the Body Tempering Academy:
"Have you guys heard? There's a training maniac in the Millennium Cold Pool!"
"What's so surprising? Aren't we all training maniacs in the Body Tempering Academy?"
"But that guy's been submerged in the cold pool for fifteen straight days!"
"…You're kidding me, right?"
At first, everyone thought the maniac must be a senior from the inner academy.
But soon, someone stepped up to clarify—this monster didn't even wear inner academy robes!
Everyone collectively gasped.
The last outer academy competition had only ended less than a year ago.
And someone was already diving into hellish cultivation?
Many disciples, fueled by curiosity, began heading to the cold pool each morning to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.
For seven or eight days straight, they saw that same bald man sitting in the cold pool, perfectly still.
The craziest part?
Though his body was crusted with white frost, his expression remained completely calm—no pain, no strain.
A monster.
That guy was absolutely a monster.
First, we had Senior Brother Jin Chang, now we've got a new cold pool beast?
News spread fast in Wendao Academy. It started with the Body Tempering Academy, but within days, it swept across all seven major academies.
Not just the outer disciples—even the younger elites from other academies began paying attention to this new cold pool monster.
Eventually, the rumors reached both Xiao Chen and Chu Feng.
Chu Feng just laughed and brushed it off as amusing gossip.
But Xiao Chen was secretly thrilled for his junior brother.
That same day, he respectfully approached Chu Feng and said, "Master, this disciple is ready to descend the mountain for training."
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