Urban Immortal Cultivation Supreme

Returning to the courtyard, Zhu Bufan could no longer maintain his composure, his face alight with ecstatic joy.

Surging Wave Palm, unmasterable by others, seemed tailor-made specifically for Zhu Bufan as oddly as it might sound.

The difficulty in cultivating Surging Wave Palm largely stemmed from its stringent demands on the body, especially the meridians, which ordinary people struggled to meet.

But for Zhu Bufan, who possessed the Hanhai Tide Skill, this was not an impossibility.

Surging Wave Palm, imperfect as it was, comprised only three layers; meaning the first layer would double the strength, the second layer would double that of the first, and the third layer would again double the strength of the second.

Thus, it wasn't merely an increase of once-, twice-, or thrice-fold, but rather two-, four-, and eight-fold increments; a terrifying amplification, enough to astonish everyone, which explained why the Zhu Family dispatched two innate-level experts to test its power.

"It seems I must accelerate my cultivation of the Hanhai Tide Skill!"

From that moment on, Zhu Bufan began a career of self-torment.

…

Two months swiftly passed, during which the Zhu Mansion remained relatively calm in its early stages.

The servants busied themselves with preparations for the new year, while the young masters and misses of the Zhu Family were wholeheartedly cultivating under their parents' supervision, hoping to pass the selection.

Huanxin Garden was still covered with over a foot of thick snow, untouched by any servant.

In the courtyard, Zhu Bufan sat cross-legged on the snowy ground.

Ever since studying the Water Element Strange Tales, Zhu Bufan began following its teachings to quietly experience the Water Element Form and shape, often staring blankly at snowflakes, and his usual cultivation involved sitting in the snowy ground.

Having cultivated the Cold Ice Technique to its Seventh Layer, Zhu Bufan no longer feared the harsh cold outside, with merely a thin garment sufficient to cover his body.

Sitting in the snow, Zhu Bufan's entire skin quivered at a barely visible, extremely rapid pace; with his body's tremors, wisps of heat slowly emerged from him, quickly forming a column of white mist rising steadily above his head.

Gurgling...

After the sound of flowing water, his tightly closed eyes slightly opened, revealing deep pupils filled with shocking blood vessels.

"Half an hour!"

Zhu Bufan uttered in a hoarse voice with a slight grin.

Over the past two months, Zhu Bufan had focused his cultivation on the Hanhai Tide Skill, starting from just two to three minutes and gradually increasing to now being able to persist for a full half-hour.

Smelling the faint foul odor on his body, Zhu Bufan cracked a slight smile; his arduous two months of cultivation were not in vain, as the impurities in his body diminished increasingly, nearly imperceptible now.

However, this didn't mean that Zhu Bufan's body was free of impurities, an impossibility, but rather it indicated that the current stage of his Hanhai Tide Skill could only accomplish so much.

Of course, Zhu Bufan wasn't worried about the capabilities of the Hanhai Tide Skill; after all, he had yet to even touch the edge of the First Layer of Mixed Refinement.

Entering the First Layer of Mixed Refinement, the most obvious sign would be Qi coursing through Zhu's body.

The "Qi" mentioned here refers to the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, and the saying "Qi infuses Zhu's body" means that the skin, flesh, and bones can autonomously absorb the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. It's like the Inner Breath that only innate experts possess, or the breathing state of an unborn baby in amniotic fluid.

It is not with the mouth, but through all the one hundred and eight thousand pores across the body.

However, to reach this realm, Zhu Bufan has a long way to go.

After two months of rigorous cultivation of the Hanhai Tide Skill, Zhu Bufan became much leaner than before. His skin improved significantly due to the expulsion of impurities and toxins.

At the same time, Zhu Bufan discovered that his appetite had become terrifyingly large, more than tripling what it used to be, with a particular craving for meat, especially half-cooked meat.

Zhu Bufan seldom went to the Zhu Family's dining hall anymore, usually heading to Drunk Immortal Tower whenever he had the time, where they always reserved Fierce Beast meat for him.

Over these two months, Zhu Bufan spent nearly ten thousand taels of silver at Drunk Immortal Tower and quickly grew closer to Zi Yu, the two youths with similar encounters became each other's first friend.

Since the sudden appearance of Essence Energy during his last attempt to break through the Seventh Rank bottleneck, Zhu Bufan had a vague hunch that it was contained in the Fierce Beast Meat he had been eating. And after these two months of verification, it proved his guess correct; it indeed contained Essence Energy.

However, Zhu Bufan also asked Zi Yu about the Fierce Beast Meat. Indeed, it did contain the Essence of the Fierce Beast, which is beneficial for martial artists' cultivation. But the benefits are visible, and the Essence that martial artists can refine and absorb is minuscule compared to the Primordial Core of the Fierce Beast, merely a drop in the ocean, hardly worth mentioning.

Perhaps martial artists enjoy eating Fierce Beast meat more for the psychological satisfaction.

After hearing Zi Yu's explanation, Zhu Bufan felt somewhat strange.

Why wasn't it the same for him? Just a few pieces of Fierce Beast Meat, the refined Essence is so substantial that it helped him confront the Seventh Rank bottleneck; over these two months, he hadn't focused primarily on cultivating Inner Qi, yet his Inner Qi strangely surged, reaching the late Seventh Rank unknowingly, and soon could hit the peak of the Late Stage.

While he couldn't figure out exactly what was happening to himself, Zhu Bufan was sure that the money spent on Fierce Beast Meat was absolutely worth it.

Extremely worth it!

"Dang dang dang…"

At this moment, the Zhu Mansion's Martial Arts Training Ground echoed with seven deep and distant bell rings.

"The selection is about to begin!"

Hearing the bell sounds, Zhu Bufan murmured with a flash in his eyes.

Then, Zhu Bufan took a quick wash, opened his wardrobe, and pulled out a brand-new robe, carefully grooming himself. As the saying goes, a man is defined by his clothes, and after this attire makeover, although Zhu Bufan wasn't originally very handsome, he exuded a different kind of charm.

"Today is the day I, Zhu Bufan, will turn my fortunes around!"

…

The Zhu Family's selection is incredibly strict, only those under the age of seventeen are eligible to participate.

Today was the big day of selection, and even before the bell sounds, most of the Zhu Family's descendants had already gathered at the Martial Arts Training Ground, Zhu Bufan being almost the last one to arrive there.

Observing the bustling crowd, Zhu Bufan quietly stood in an inconspicuous spot at the back, watching with squinted eyes and a cold gaze.

On the training ground, a podium had been erected at some point, with three seats on it, and in the center sat Zhu Zichu, with two other powerful figures beside him.

Not far from the podium, there was a raised platform about three or four lengths in diameter, towering more than ten meters above the ground, on which a black stone slab several meters in size stood erect, made of an unknown material that lacked the rough texture of stone, instead revealing a metallic luster.