Innate Great Emperor

Chapter 12: Innate Divine Art

The ancient bronze statue was crude yet exquisite. Strange patterns dotted its surface. It was hollow inside.

Ye Jin's heart stirred. He tossed the scepter aside. He searched the statue's body for a mechanism.

Clang. The statue's outstretched arms lowered. A panel on its chest split open. A dark cavity was revealed.

Inside lay an ancient scroll. Ye Jin held his breath. He reached in and pulled it out gently. He began to read.

"Innate Divine Art: Mid-tier rank four internal cultivation method. Requirements: 60 Will, 65 Spirit. Before layer 6, cannot be cultivated alongside any other art except basic internal energy."

"Holy s**t! Mid-tier rank four!" Ye Jin sucked in a breath. "This art needs such strict Spirit and Will! No wonder it sat here in the dark so long. No one wants it. By the time you qualify, you're old. Past your prime."

"Yes! It must be a legendary manual! Hahaha! It finally sees daylight again in my hands!"

On Tianpan Shenzhou, all cultivation arts were split into lower, mid, and upper tiers. Each tier had four ranks. Mid-tier rank four was the peak of the mortal world. People killed for it.

Upper-tier arts didn't refine true qi. They tempered the spirit. Condensed a core. Survived inner demons. And formed a Heaven-Earth Dharma Idol.

Ye Jin held the manual in the quiet vault. He laughed wildly for a while. He thought for a moment.

Then he shoved the manual into his inventory. He picked out a dozen more precious jade items. His inventory was stuffed full. Satisfied, he walked out.

At the vault entrance, Piao Ling sat on a cushion in her tight black suit. Her eyes were closed. She said nothing.

"Piao Ling, this is for you." Ye Jin took out a black jade bracelet. He handed it to her generously.

"I don't need any rewards." Piao Ling didn't even look. Her face was expressionless.

"Suit yourself." Ye Jin awkwardly put it away. He retrieved the jade token from the door pillar.

The iron door groaned and slammed shut. He walked out of the long, dark tunnel. The sunlight stung his eyes.

At the entrance, the Ye estate's fat head steward stood waiting. He'd been there a while. His back was bent in a sycophantic bow.

The moment Ye Jin appeared, the steward bowed deeper. He shuffled over carefully. A sycophantic smile hung on his fat face.

Normally, the steward's smiles held contempt and cunning. Or he'd just look smug and two-faced.

But now? Ye Jin saw pure, genuine terror beneath that smile. Ye Jin looked at that naturally smiley fat face.

His own lips curled. He bared white teeth in a grin. It looked bright and sunny. But it made the steward's heart pound. His thick calves trembled.

"So you're scared of me now too? You sly old bastard." Ye Jin narrowed his eyes. The old man was always respectful on the surface. But he was a snake underneath.

The steward's fat face twitched. "Young Master, this... you see, hanging corpses rot. It affects the estate. If guests come... the Master... surely... you see..."

The steward was so terrified his lips fumbled. He couldn't string a sentence together.

"Did the Second Madam send you to test me?" A cold light flashed in Ye Jin's narrowed eyes. His voice stayed gentle.

"If so, sorry steward. You can join them for company." He pointed at the corpses swaying in the wind.

"No! Never! Absolutely not!" The steward's whole body shook. His legs gave out. He dropped to his knees. Beads of sweat rolled down his fat face.

"For the Second Madam, maybe I have some scruples. But for dogs like you who bully others with borrowed power? I don't mind making an example."

"Yes, yes! Whatever you arrange, Young Master... I'll do it."

"Hang these three corpses for a day. That's mandatory." Ye Jin's face was cold. "Tomorrow, flay them and stuff them with straw. Stand them in my courtyard."

"I will use them as a sign. Let everyone know the price of crossing me!"

"Hiss..." The steward sucked in a harsh breath. Too brutal! Too violent. The Ye Pack produced refined nobles. When did a thug appear?

After the orders, Ye Jin turned his gaze to the steward. "Remember my words. My orders are absolute. If you fail..."

Ye Jin grabbed the steward's collar. He stared into the fat face inches away. "I'll flay you and stuff you with straw."

The steward knelt on the ground. He nodded frantically. "Yes... Young Master!"

"Get lost!" Ye Jin flicked his sleeve. The steward fled like a rat, clutching his head.

In the east wing of the Ye estate, the hall was simple. In the inner bedroom, Ye Jin sat cross-legged on the stone bed. A faint blue light pulsed at his brow.

He faced his palms and soles upward. He began to cultivate the Innate Divine Art's meridian path. His talent was trash. He shouldn't be able to cultivate this.

But with those powerful Spirit and Will boosting accessories, his stats multiplied. He now met every requirement.

He was leaving soon. The humiliated Second Madam might send Wan experts to kill him. Thinking it over, Ye Jin chose the risky path. Any edge helped.

He didn't know much about internal energy. But he had powerful Spirit and rock-solid Will! His weak true qi raced along the Innate Divine Art's pathways.

At first, it was a thread. Thin as a hair. But time passed. It became a rushing river. It surged through his meridians. It pooled in his dantian.

Time passed. Ye Jin's body grew hot. His skin turned red. His blood boiled. He was a prawn in a steamer. Stinking, black-yellow sweat oozed from his pores.

The scorching heat rendered out his excess fat. It baked his bones into red-hot iron. Hotter and hotter. Sweat poured faster. Ye Jin's mouth went dry.

He was in a desert basin. Feet on burning sand. Molten iron poured into his head and limbs. His mind went hazy.

In the chaos, Ye Jin checked his stats. He jumped. His HP and Qi had dropped by half! Still dropping.

Ye Jin didn't hesitate. He pulled out a bottle of Great Healing Powder from his inventory. He popped the lid and downed it.

Cool, sweet medicine flowed down his throat. His HP and Qi rose. His sweat changed from stinking yellow to pale red. The stench faded. A faint sweet scent replaced it.

Under this hellish torment, despair sprouted. It grew like weeds. This wasn't the despair of a dark cell. This was the despair of facing an uncaring universe. Of feeling small and weak.

"No wonder... this art needs such strong Will..." Ye Jin gritted his teeth. He curled inward. His voice was strained.

The cold air returned. Then a freezing surge erupted from below. It swallowed him whole. The blazing sun became ice and snow.

Ye Jin's body seized. He was dropped into a freezing cellar. His teeth chattered. His skin turned blue-gray. He shivered violently.

"f**k! Is this cultivation or f*****g malaria? Oh right! Check my progress bar." Ye Jin thought of the status screen in his mind sea. It appeared before him.

He switched to the Internal Energy tab. The Innate Divine Art's progress showed: 91.55%.

"Good... almost done!" Ye Jin's spirit lifted. Only a little left. Hold on! Persistence is victory!

Hope returned. Ye Jin gritted his teeth and steadied his mind. He ignored the hot-cold cycles. He focused entirely on circulating his qi. He watched the progress inch toward 100%.

"100% Cultivation Successful!"