Being forced to grow like a pig? But I'm immune to the consequences!

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he realized how absurd it was. What could a fully developed adult possibly grow?

But then I thought, this world has martial arts, strange beasts, evolution—anything is possible.

So what's impossible about something growing in his spine?

Unfortunately, the original core panel could not be displayed either, so he had to suppress his curiosity for the time being.

In short, breaking through the seventh level of body tempering is a good thing.

From now on, he no longer needs to be afraid of Xu Wenbo.

"However, breaking through to the Martial Artist level is really not easy..." He looked at the progress bar of "1/2000" on the panel and clicked his tongue in amazement.

Given the current resource supply, even if we advance 60 points every day, it would still take more than a month—which is even longer than the total time it would take to break through all previous realms.

But the more this is the case, the more it demonstrates the true value of a martial artist.

Wu Sheng took a deep breath to calm his blood and returned to the training ground.

……

He had just stepped into the training field when he heard some news.

"Iris has broken through to the fifth level of Body Tempering!"

"How did you break through so quickly?"

"My family also has a share of exotic beast meat, and I supplement it every day, but I still can't break through this quickly..."

"So it really is a difference in talent?"

Inside the training ground, the crowd was buzzing with discussion, their faces showing envy and jealousy—but what they dared to express was only envy and admiration.

Within the small circle of the top eight, Ellis stands out from the crowd, surrounded by everyone else like a star.

Liu Zhen and his companions were also dimmed at this moment, and could only serve as foils, offering insincere compliments.

Many girls tried to approach Iris, but Ning Yi held onto Iris's arm tightly, as if to say, "I've already got him."

This scene made the other male trainees extremely envious.

Especially Xu Fei's little circle—Xu Fei, Shen Zitong, and Zhou Wei—they all acted as if they'd swallowed fly droppings.

Ning Yi, whom they usually revered as a goddess, whom they fawned over every day, whom they were proud to play with—at this moment, she nestled in Iris's arms like a little woman.

This is worse than killing them.

However, Liu Zhi seemed completely unconcerned, as if he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

"I'll be able to break through to the fifth level of Body Tempering soon too," Xu Fei muttered to himself, as if trying to prove something.

Unfortunately, nobody paid any attention to him.

Compared to Ellis, he now seems too ordinary. Even Liu Zhi, who used to fawn over him every day, isn't so obsequious anymore.

Xu Fei keenly sensed this, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The group of people from the outer city also looked at Iris with envy.

The same applies to Zhao Dele and his group.

It would be a lie to say I'm not envious. It would probably take them another ten days to half a month to break through to the fifth level of Body Tempering. Suoguli might break through sooner, since he has an extra supply of exotic beast meat.

Only Wu Sheng remained calm.

He wasn't surprised that people like Iris had broken through to the fifth level of Body Tempering.

Logically speaking, since their family could provide extra beast meat, they should also be able to use the potential-enhancing potions. Having only broken through to the fifth level, Wu Sheng even felt it was a bit slow.

If I'm not mistaken, these guys probably didn't use potential-enhancing potions much in the early stages—or rather, only occasionally—and mostly relied on the meat of exotic beasts. That's why their cultivation progress was only about half as fast as those from the outer city.

This speculation is based on the fact that the pronucleus can display the vitality data of others.

In his view, the vitality of these inner-city dwellers—especially the top eight—was generally about three points higher than that of the outer-city dwellers. This was the normal vitality data.

This means that their life potential was damaged far less than that of the outsiders.

"Sigh, it's true what they say, comparisons are odious," Zhao Dele sighed, his tone tinged with self-deprecation. "Being born into the right family is a real skill. Some people are born in the inner city, while others have to drain the energy of their entire family before they have a chance to squeeze in after paying a certain price."

Although his tone was deliberately relaxed, even somewhat cheerful, it was merely a facade. The bitterness in his heart was something only he knew.

The group from Suoguli also sighed inwardly—the difference in starting points had such a huge impact. Those of them who came from the outer city might have to pay an unimaginable price just to have a chance to catch up with these guys from the inner city.

"Wu Sheng, what do you think?" Zhao Dele asked Wu Sheng.

This question was not only asking about Wu Sheng's thoughts, but also a probe—he wanted to know how Wu Sheng's body tempering progressed and whether it was possible for him to break through the fifth level of body tempering soon.

Wu Sheng smiled.

I once heard a saying...

"What did you say?" the group asked.

"Being born into poverty is not a disgrace; true men are those who can bend and stretch," Wu Sheng said slowly. "The future is long. Water doesn't compete for the lead, it competes for its continuous flow. Who can be sure that in the future, they will definitely do better than us?"

Upon hearing this, the heavy feeling in Zhao Dele and the others dissipated considerably.

"I never expected that you, Mr. Wu, would be even more open-minded than me," Zhao Dele remarked.

"That's right, there's a long road ahead. Who can say who will do better than whom?"

"The fact that we were able to enter the inner city already puts us ahead of many others."

The group in Suoguli nodded.

What they didn't know was that Wu Sheng was able to say those words because—

He has already reached the seventh level of Body Tempering.

……

There are three days left until the next assessment.

These past few days, everyone in the training ground has been working like clockwork, training with all their might. Everyone wants to achieve a good result in the next assessment—after all, making it into the top eight guarantees a daily share of exotic beast meat. This reward is simply too good to pass up. .

The people in Liu Zhen's circle are all incredibly hardworking.

Although they appear to be a close-knit group, addressing each other as brothers, they are actually wary of one another. The top four and the top eight are ultimately different. Which of those ranked seventh or eighth doesn't covet a spot in the top four? In a sense, they are also competitors. Everyone fears being squeezed out of their position.

Especially that guy named Xue Yufeng.

During each training session, his gaze would be fixed intently on Wu Sheng, as if he wanted to chew Wu Sheng up and swallow him whole.

He had made up his mind—in the next arena match, he would utterly defeat Wu Sheng, preferably crippling him. In front of everyone, he would show him the consequences of offending him.

The others also had their own agendas.

Iris and Ning Yi have been inseparable these days, clearly deeply in love.

Iris, naturally, was constantly scheming how to completely win over Ning Yi, this beautiful woman.