C15 Origin Power Pearl

Following the instructions on the bamboo board, Yu Yin closed his eyes and made an attempt.

Bang!

Ah!

A sudden explosive sound came from within his body, and Yu Yin let out a terrible scream. His face turned as pale as a sheet, and he trembled uncontrollably.

This same scene unfolded across the various pavilions of the four courtyards, leaving the bewildered students with an unforgettable setback.

In the White Courtyard's second pavilion, Zhuang Jiujing and her six companions experienced the same ordeal as Yu Yin, with Zhao Cai in so much pain that he collapsed to the floor.

A glint of amusement appeared in Huajun's eyes, yet she maintained a stern tone, "The sound you just heard is what we call 'Breaking of Tendons'. Each time a tendon breaks, it slightly increases your source energy."

"Do you now understand what I was saying earlier?" she asked with a light smile.

"It felt like a giant hammer shattering the heart. Who could possibly withstand such training?" Zhao Cai asked from the floor, his voice shaking.

"To become a cultivator naturally comes with its costs," Huajun stated matter-of-factly.

"Now tell me, who can endure up to 80%?" she inquired.

Dongmen Ai, looking as if he had just walked through the gates of hell and back, grimaced and said, "Just one attempt nearly cost me half my life, and with my heart force at 67, reaching 80% would require at least 53 attempts."

"I'd have to endure this agony at least 53 times a day in the future. Mentor, please have mercy on me."

"Do you realize how many people would jump at the chance to endure this pain and don't get the opportunity?" Huajun replied coolly.

"By the academy's standards, each student must achieve source energy 24 times daily to be considered up to par. However, since this is everyone's first day of cultivation, the Dean has lowered the requirement to just 10 times," Huajun explained.

"Ten times!" All seven students' eyes twitched at the thought.

Ignoring their looks of trepidation, Huajun reached beside her and lifted an elegant wooden box.

Upon opening the box, a layer of blue silk revealed two rows of twelve crystal beads.

The beads, clear and sparkling and the size of a fist, were handed out by Huajun, one to each person. She then picked up a bead and held it high, signaling for everyone to pay attention to her.

"This is a Source Energy Bead, which can be used to test the number of times a practitioner has trained their tendons in a day. Simply hold it in the palm of your hand for thirty breaths to check."

"Inside, there are two types of stars: blue and orange. Blue represents ten points, and orange represents one point. To know your daily training progress, just count the stars inside."

Upon hearing this, Dongmen Ai and the others instinctively did as Huajun instructed.

The thirty breaths passed quickly, and without exception, everyone's crystal ball showed only a tiny orange dot.

"Before we eat, I want everyone to have ten orange points. If not, you'll have to skip your meal," Huajun said, surveying the seven individuals before placing the crystal ball back into the wooden box.

"Master, what about Yu Yin?" Dongmen Ai inquired.

Huajun paused, then with a frown, replied, "I'll go look for him in a bit."

The Giant Tree Garden —

Yu Yin couldn't stop himself due to the pain of his bruises and the agony of training. Believing he had made a mistake in his practice, he stubbornly kept trying over and over.

An hour slipped away, and Yu Yin had cried out seventeen times, lying on the ground shivering as if struck by lightning.

After class, Huajun searched for Yu Yin. Just as she thought he might have left the academy in frustration, a harrowing scream reached her ears from the direction of the Giant Tree Garden.

Arriving at the base of the giant pine, she found Yu Yin propped against the flowerbed, eyes wide open. Her mouth twitched—she knew exactly what he had been doing.

"Are you dead, you little rascal?" she said, not too kindly, as she helped him to his feet.

"Instructor, I... I... I don't think I can cultivate," Yu Yin said weakly, leaning on Huajun, his face filled with despair, thinking the pain was his own fault.

Dealing with such a foolish boy left Huajun at a loss for words as she steadied him to sit upright.

"How many times?" she asked.

"Eighteen times!" Yu Yin's eyes reddened, his outlook on his future grim.

Huajun's face contorted with a bizarre expression as Yu Yin's eyes bulged in disbelief. It was noteworthy that the highest record set by the previous group of new students on their first cultivation attempt was a mere fifteen times.

"No, this won't do, absolutely not!" Yu Yin bolted upright, glaring defiantly. Unwilling to concede, he closed his eyes and assumed a cross-legged position once more.

Watching him, Huajun's lips twitched involuntarily. She was at a loss for words. Given the students' diligence, she, as their instructor, should be feeling proud.

Time slipped away...

Bang!

Ah!

A scream of agony echoed once again as Yu Yin's eyes rolled back and he collapsed backward.

Huajun quickly caught him, muttering under her breath, "What a freak!"

Gasping for air, Yu Yin's eyes fluttered open, tears unwittingly filling them.

He felt utterly alone, his dreams now in tatters, and he lacked even the courage to go on living.

Suddenly feeling moisture on her arm, Huajun looked on in astonishment.

She frowned, "Why are you crying?"

"Instructor, I'm in so much pain. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a cultivator," Yu Yin murmured, struggling to rise from her grasp despite the pain.

Realizing the root of his distress, Huajun was at a loss for words and gently began to explain.

Yu Yin listened in silence, his gaze vacant as time continued to pass.

"Let's get to the point. Do you understand what you did wrong?" Huajun asked. "No matter what happened, for a man to squabble with a woman like this, isn't it embarrassing?"

"If men and women are equal, why should I have to tolerate it?" Yu Yin retorted with a cold snort.

"Equality is about value, meaning that everyone deserves respect without discrimination, regardless of gender. But that doesn't mean women are physically the same as men. Can most women easily lift a hundred kilograms like the average man?"

"You, a strapping young man, picking on a girl like Zhuang Jiujing—do you feel proud of yourself?"

"Instructor, she's a year older than me. And it's not clear who's bullying whom," Yu Yin replied with a cold laugh.

As a gentle breeze played with her hair, Huajun fixed her gaze on him, eyes wide open.

Yu Yin remained unmoved, even as he breathed in her scent.

"Reasons!" Huajun exclaimed.

"A self-righteous woman doesn't deserve sympathy or deference," Yu Yin remarked.

"Alright, the instructor gets it."

Huajun handed over the prepared Origin Energy Ball and reiterated her earlier lesson. She was starting to get a read on Yu Yin's temperament.

As Huajun walked away, Yu Yin gazed at the crystal ball in his hands, which was beginning to transform.

Inside the crystal ball, a blue light the size of a soybean and nine orange lights the size of rice grains were evenly dispersed. He pondered their significance.

Zhuo Courtyard —

Screams intermittently pierced the air in the courtyard, with the students in each room experiencing eerily similar ordeals.

In Yu Yin's room, Zhao Cai and the other three looked visibly distressed. Describing their repeated tendon-breaking experiences as excruciating would be an understatement.

The door creaked open, and Yu Yin entered the room, startling the four on the beds awake.

"Yu Yin, where have you been?" Dongmen Ai asked, his voice quivering.

"I took a few laps around the Great Pine Garden."

"And how about your training?"

"I've never suffered as much in my entire life as I have with just 10% of this training," Dongmen Ai confessed, his face etched with hopelessness.

Yu Yin, unsure of how to offer comfort, simply shook his head and sat down on the floor beside the bed.

Noticing the dirt covering Yu Yin, Dongmen Ai was baffled.

"Why are you so filthy?"

"I took a bit of a tumble."

"Covered in mud like that? How did you fall?"

"I didn't feel much pain the first time, so I ended up falling a few more times."

The four of them were left speechless.