"Big brother!"
"Ye Feng, danger!"
Xiao Xiao and Shen Yun Yao exclaimed almost simultaneously, both lunging forward to push the great white shark away. However, Ye Feng raised a hand to stop them.
"I'm fine, this guy can't hurt me yet!~"
Ye Feng waved his hand slightly, signaling the two girls to relax.
As Ye Feng had said, despite the more than two-meter-long great white shark's sharp teeth and considerable strength, it couldn't bite through Ye Feng's arm, no matter how hard it tried.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Ye Feng felt a slight pain in his arm. The skin where the great white shark had bitten turned slightly red.
However, Ye Feng's pain and the redness quickly disappeared as the arcane energy within him automatically converged.
"Bang!~"
Ye Feng struck the great white shark with his left hand, and the shark was instantly finished.
"Ye Feng, I really envy your physique..."
"For an ordinary person, being bitten by a great white shark like this would have shattered their bones... But you only have a few small red marks on your skin~"
Shen Yun Yao looked at Ye Feng's arm, which he had pulled out of the great white shark's mouth, with envy.
"Ye Feng, how exactly did you train?"
"I've never seen an Arcane Cultivator like you. Normally, Arcane Cultivators are physically weaker, which is why many choose to inject strengthening serum or take desperation potions."
"But you haven't injected strengthening serum or taken desperation potions either!"
Shen Yun Yao paused and then spoke again, her expression full of surprise.
"Uh... I'm not too sure about that either... My arcane energy seems to automatically temper my physical body and absorb arcane energy..."
Ye Feng scratched his head with a hint of frustration.
He genuinely didn't know what was happening. He couldn't possibly tell Shen Yun Yao that it might be related to the mysterious system he was bound to, could he?
"Uh, okay~"
...
The next day,
Around noon, the sun shone brightly.
"Bang!~"
With a crashing sound, a massive rock shattered. Ye Feng had just finished his morning training.
"It's really vexing... What am I missing... I still can't break through to Golden Fifth Rank!"
Sweating profusely, Ye Feng picked up a bottle of mineral water and gulped it down, muttering in frustration.
"Uh... Ye Feng, are you trying to break through to Golden Fifth Rank?"
At this moment, Shen Yun Yao, who was not far from Ye Feng, spoke up.
After breakfast, she had seen Ye Feng training and, out of curiosity, had begun to observe him. She noticed that although Ye Feng's movements were somewhat strange and awkward, they possessed a mysterious quality...
Unconsciously, she became engrossed in watching him...
"Yes!"
Ye Feng nodded at Shen Yun Yao. "I find it a bit strange... I feel like I'm always on the verge of breaking through... but something always feels missing..."
"Ye Feng, although your combat power should far exceed Golden Fifth Rank... your arcane energy fluctuations haven't reached Golden Fifth Rank yet. Perhaps, like most Arcane Cultivators, you're missing something!"
Shen Yun Yao frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.
"Missing something?"
Ye Feng looked at Shen Yun Yao with a questioning gaze.
"Yes!"
Shen Yun Yao nodded lightly. "Ye Feng, Golden Fifth Rank is a significant hurdle for Golden-level Arcane Cultivators. While not as challenging as the leap from Silver to Golden, it still stumps many Golden-level Arcane Cultivators!"
"Ye Feng, do you know what the course is in the City of Arcane Arts for breaking through to Golden Fifth Rank?"
At this point, Shen Yun Yao posed a rhetorical question.
"No!"
Ye Feng shook his head decisively.
"Embroidery!"
Shen Yun Yao smiled slightly and replied.
"Em... Embroidery? You mean like needlepoint, holding a fine needle and threading it?"
Ye Feng looked at Shen Yun Yao suspiciously.
"Exactly! I was just as surprised as you when I first heard it..."
"If you saw a burly man with a full beard in the City of Arcane Arts, struggling to thread a fine needle on the street... he's likely someone trying to break through to Golden Fifth Rank..."
Speaking of this, Shen Yun Yao also seemed a bit emotional.
"This embroidery... what does it have to do with breaking through to Golden Fifth Rank?"
Ye Feng thought for a moment, looking puzzled.
"It's about the fine control of arcane abilities!"
Shen Yun Yao let out a soft breath and continued, "The fine control of arcane energy. This is the biggest difference between Golden Fifth Rank and the Golden ranks below it!"
"Golden-level Arcane Cultivators have already reached a very high level in both the quality and quantity of their arcane energy!"
"Golden Fifth Rank takes it a step further, focusing on the precise control of powerful arcane energy!"
"For example, a Golden Fourth Rank Arcane Cultivator can condense a 30-meter-long arcane energy blade, which is undoubtedly powerful!"
"But when facing a Golden Fifth Rank cultivator, that 30-meter-long arcane energy blade becomes insignificant and might even be a liability!"
Shen Yun Yao quickly explained to Ye Feng.
"A liability?"
Ye Feng looked at Shen Yun Yao with surprise.
"That's right!"
Shen Yun Yao nodded. "Because a Golden Fifth Rank cultivator can compress and control that 30-meter-long arcane energy blade to the size of an ordinary long sword, and its power would be no less than the 30-meter version!"
"Moreover, the compressed arcane energy blade is more agile. When clashing with a large arcane energy blade, it can easily shatter it!"
"If the 30-meter-long arcane energy blade were compressed and controlled to the size of an embroidery needle, its destructive power would be terrifyingly immense!"
As she spoke, Shen Yun Yao's water-attribute arcane energy glowed intensely. Soon, a shimmering water arcane energy blade about seven to eight meters long was condensed.
Immediately, Shen Yun Yao's eyes narrowed. She gripped the hilt of the water arcane energy blade with both hands, controlling it to continuously shrink.
When the water arcane energy blade was compressed to about four to five meters, it suddenly became unstable and began to twist and turn.
Under Shen Yun Yao's slightly trembling hands, the large water arcane energy blade began to deform, quickly turning into a massive mace.
Finally, with a "crash," it completely dispersed!
"Hoo! Hoo!~"
Shen Yun Yao panted, sweat beading on her forehead, looking quite fatigued.
"Ye Feng, compressing and controlling arcane energy sounds simple, but it's actually very difficult!"
"Especially when there's more arcane energy, the more difficult it is to compress and control. It's very easy to lose control and disperse, just like I did just now!"
Shen Yun Yao's breathing slightly stabilized as she spoke to Ye Feng.
"Is that so... The condition for reaching Golden Fifth Rank... immense power used with extreme subtlety... it's a bit like... using an excavator to cook..."
After listening to Shen Yun Yao's explanation, Ye Feng began to understand.
"Using... using an excavator to cook?"
Hearing this, Shen Yun Yao was a little taken aback, as Ye Feng's summary was quite accurate.
Under Shen Yun Yao's gaze, Ye Feng's eyes narrowed, and the arcane energy light around him surged.
He extended his hands, and a large amount of arcane energy converged forward, quickly forming a 30-meter-long arcane energy blade.
...