Chapter 36: Born from Death

The white ape scratched his head and ears, instinctively wanting to check, but he ultimately suppressed the impulse. He began practicing the Ape King Stance to divert his attention, though he still kept a sliver of focus on Ning Qi.

Inside the room.

Ning Qi slowly opened his eyes, a fleeting trace of vicissitude and confusion flashing within them, though they quickly returned to a lively clarity.

"Nine Deaths of the Great Dream... every time the physical body dies, it is actually experiencing a cycle of life and death."

"It is not just a transformation of the physical body, but also brings certain benefits that I had not previously anticipated."

Ning Qi felt a sense of wonder in his heart.

Estimating the time, he knew seven days had passed. During these seven days, he had entered an extremely miraculous state.

Unaware, unfeeling, without sensation or light.

Yet, he felt neither fear nor loneliness. In that place, time seemed to lose its meaning; it appeared extremely slow, yet was actually extremely fast. He felt as though he had only just entered the state of physical death before waking up once again.

With a slight smile, the withered skin on his face pulled, immediately informing Ning Qi of his current physical condition.

But he did not panic.

With a thought from Ning Qi, the 'Light of Vitality' hidden deep within his body immediately began to throb again.

Invisibly, there seemed to be the humming sound of a fire reigniting. Waves of incredibly dense vitality surged from his limbs and bones. Not only that, but his internal energy merged all at once with this vitality, drilling deep into his physical body.

"Buzz!"

The withered body began to fill out at a speed visible to the naked eye, instantly taking on a translucent luster like jade.

His vitality was exuberant, and his aura was powerful.

The white ape, who was practicing the Ape King Stance in the courtyard, could not help but look over in shock, his face filled with reverence and joy.

But immediately after, this vitality gradually receded.

Ning Qi rose from his bed with a joyful smile on his face. He lightly clenched his fist, feeling that his physical body had once again strengthened by a significant margin.

Furthermore, after the original internal energy was absorbed into his body, it was now being reborn from the new physical form, improving in both quality and quantity.

"Born from death, the physical potential has been excavated to the extreme, doubling in strength!"

"This is something other stacking techniques can never hope to achieve."

"Not only that, but my internal energy is also more powerful. Although I am currently only in the Second Layer, I have already begun to possess a sense of 'substance.' Following this trend, perhaps I won't even need to reach Great Completion of Internal Essence before I can begin attaching attributes to my internal energy?"

The heaven-defying nature of the Nine Deaths of the Great Dream was beginning to reveal itself.

Ning Qi's foundation was somewhat exaggerated.

For others, stacking energy was a slow, grinding process; even after establishing a connection, the internal energy would transform bit by bit. However, by utilizing the rebirth from physical desolation, Ning Qi could transform all his internal energy in an instant, saving a massive amount of time.

Because his cultivation was fast, his condensed body and internal energy were also stronger.

The only drawback was perhaps the difficulty.

Even if this Nine Deaths of the Great Dream technique were placed before others, they wouldn't be able to understand it.

However, for Ning Qi, having experienced this physical rebirth, the subsequent steps would be much simpler.

Next would be continuous accumulation—constantly being born from death. At most, he would need to put in extra effort when breaking through the three major bottlenecks of Minor, Major, and Perfect Completion.

Ning Qi pushed the door open and walked out.

The white ape approached with visible joy. He had already begun to slowly abandon the walking, jumping, and rolling habits of a typical ape, looking more and more like a human.

Ning Qi smiled slightly.

"Normal cultivation... there might be a few more instances like this in the future. There is no need to worry."

The white ape nodded repeatedly.

He respectfully began practicing his stance to the side. Ning Qi watched calmly, nodding inwardly.

The white ape's body tempering progress was very fast, second only to his own.

His future strength would definitely not be weak; perhaps he might even surpass the other members of the Nine True Martial Disciples.

At the thought of that scene, Ning Qi couldn't help but smile.

"If Third Senior Sister one day finds out that the little monkey she brought back has surpassed her, I wonder what kind of expression she'll make. It would certainly be fun."

...

In the blink of an eye, the New Year arrived.

The entire True Martial Sect was incredibly lively.

"A pity Little Eight isn't here. Our Nine True Martial Disciples are missing one."

The seventh disciple, Song Cheng, let out a long sigh. He had entered the sect only a few years before Qin Yun; their ages were similar, and they were on very good terms.

The crowd fell into a brief silence.

Then, Ye Qinghe smiled and said

"Don't worry. Eighth Junior Brother has always been clever. He likely gained significant rewards from this mountain-descending training. We must also work hard; otherwise, it would be quite embarrassing if Eighth Junior Brother catches up to us in the future."

Luo Wentian waved his hand and said

"I actually hope you all surpass me. You should all look up to Fifth Junior Brother—especially you, Qinghe. Such great talent is being wasted, and you're even taking Ninth along to drink."

Everyone burst into laughter.

The corners of Ning Qi's mouth also curled upward.

Although he spent most of his time cultivating alone, his senior brothers and sisters loved him as always, granting his every request.

He very much liked the atmosphere of Mount True Martial.

A moment later, Luo Wentian bowed to Daoist Longshan on the high platform and shouted loudly

"I declare that this New Year Grand Competition officially begins!"

"It is divided into the Inner Sect Competition and the Outer Sect Competition. The top twenty participants will all receive rewards!"

The disciples, who had long been prepared, were eager to try.

The competition proceeded with great fervor.

First was the competition for the outer sect disciples, followed by the inner sect disciples.

The True Disciples watched from the side. Ning Qi chatted with his seniors from time to time, occasionally turning his attention to the matches. However, in his view, the battles of these disciples were like children playing house; only occasionally did a few people catch his eye.

Currently, although Ning Qi was only in the Second Layer, no one among the inner sect disciples was his match.

Even among the True Disciples, he estimated there were likely a few who would not be his match.

As for great masters like Luo Wentian and Jiang Baishan, who were at the Ninth Layer of the Internal Essence Realm, Ning Qi could not be entirely certain; he would have to fight them to know. However, it was clearly unnecessary.

The competition ended.

Luo Wentian presented rewards to the top-ranking disciples, after which several True Disciples shared their martial arts experiences, aiming to improve the strength of the outer and inner sect disciples in preparation for the upcoming Heavenly Man Ceremony.

"Little Nine, do you want to go up and try? Shall your Senior Brother give you a few pointers?"

The fifth disciple, Jiang Baishan, grinned as he leaned his arm on Ning Qi's shoulder.

The surrounding True Disciples all showed expressions of curiosity.

To this day, they still did not know exactly what realm Ning Qi's body tempering had reached.

But they weren't blind; they always felt that the aura emanating from Ning Qi was far from simple.

A mischievous glint appeared in Ye Qinghe's eyes.

*Careful, or you'll be blinded by the shock.*

But Ning Qi refused with complete seriousness

"I won't fight. I don't have a masochistic tendency. Wait another twenty years, and then I will come to seek your guidance, Senior Brother."

Everyone laughed loudly, though some felt a sense of regret.

Jiang Baishan gave a bitter smile

"You little rascal, so much grudge-holding. You're even planning to come and beat me up twenty years from now."

However, he didn't take it to heart.

Luo Wentian took the initiative and said

"Fifth Junior Brother, let us battle!"

"Fine!"

The fighting intent of the two soared to the heavens.

Having watched for so long, their hands were itching for action. They had originally intended to let the True Disciples show themselves to set an example and provide inspiration for the other disciples.

Now was the perfect opportunity.