'This is ridiculous!' Xi Meili cried inwardly as she desperately defended herself against Li Jinxi's endless assault.

It'd only been several minutes since they started their spar, yet she was already pushed into a corner. Xi Meili had never anticipated that someone other than Yuan could possess such outrageous talents.

"Wow... Li Jinxi's growth has been tremendous lately. What kind of training did she undergo in seclusion?" Chu Liuxiang muttered, her voice filled with awe. Despite having trained for the same amount of time, Li Jinxi's progress had far outstripped her own.

"Her experience doesn't match her age, but I can say the same thing about Yuan and many other geniuses out there," Kelan said. "In this world, there are three types of talent. Those who are gifted just enough to be above the average, those who stand above the majority as true geniuses, and then we have monsters that defy logic."

"Li Jinxi's talent would enter the monster category. As for Yuan… I believe he is a separate kind of monster—the type that dominates over other monsters."

Many minutes later, Li Jinxi barely secured her victory against Xi Meili.

"You're very strong. Other than two other people, you're the third person ever to push me this far…" Li Jinxi said afterward, her body soaked in sweat.

"Besides Yuan, who is the other individual?" Xi Meili asked as she lay on the arena with a dazed look on her face.

"She's my—our mentor." Li Jinxi said as she turned to look at Meixiu and Chu Liuxiang.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Xi Meili released a deep sigh and said, "I admit defeat. You're definitely better than me when it comes to fighting experience. I apologize for looking down on you."

Li Jinxi extended her hand and smiled, "It's okay."

Xi Meili accepted the hand and was pulled back to her feet.

"We will begin our training tomorrow," Kelan said to them before dismissing them a moment later.

Everyone returned to their own living quarter, which was provided by the Grand Mystic Sect.

Meixiu logged off Cultivation Online after returning to her room.

The first thing she did was look for Yuan's note, and sure enough, there was one by the bed.

Her eyes widened with surprise after reading it.

"Half a year just to visit someone who may or may not know how to leave the Primal Expanse?" Meixiu knew it would take a while, but she hadn't anticipated it would be to this extent.

Once she finished reading, Meixiu began writing her own note. She mentioned their meeting with Senior Bai and Xu Jiaqi and their training sessions with Kelan and suggested scheduling a meeting to discuss their experiences in more detail in a few weeks during the Eternal Lotuses boot camp.

The following day, Meixiu began her training with Kelan.

"I see, so he won't be back for at least half a year. That will be more than enough time to transform you guys."

"Now… in order to wield a bow properly, you must first build a foundation and strengthen your body, so we'll begin with tempering your body."

Kelan retrieved a spatial pouch and handed it to her.

"You will use these when you're not training with me to temper your body. It will be very painful, but it's the fastest and most effective way to temper your body."

"I also grabbed a few body-tempering techniques for you. You can choose the one you like the most. Since you're not trying to become a Body Refiner like myself, you don't need any crazy body-tempering technique."

Meixiu spent the next hour reading the techniques before choosing one.

"Good. Then, we'll focus on your technique today. We will begin your training next week."

Kelan spent the entire day helping Meixiu comprehend the technique. At the end of the day, Meixiu returned to her living quarters and began her body-tempering process.

Inside the spatial pouch provided by Kelan contained all sorts of medicine that could only be found in the upper heavens. While they were not priceless treasures, it wasn't something that could be obtained easily.

This wasn't Meixiu's first time tempering her body since she would occasionally temper her real body. In fact, every member of the Demon Sealing Faction tempered their body to a certain extent. Not only did it strengthen their bodies, but it also helped them with Liya's spartan-like training.

After following Kelan's instructions inside a jade slip, Meixiu tossed a specific medicine into the bathtub.

After waiting for half an hour, she entered the hot water.

The moment the tip of her toes touched the water, intense pain coursed through her entire body. "Ah!?" Meixiu exclaimed, immediately jumping back and staring at the bathtub with wide eyes. She had endured many painful moments in the past—from her first body-tempering experience to training with Liya—but none compared to the excruciating pain she had just experienced.

However, she could already feel her body strengthening just from that slight touch.

Meixiu silently stood there, staring at the bathtub with a nervous gaze.

Eventually, she clenched her teeth and entered the bathtub again, sticking an entire foot inside the water.

"Mmh!?!?" Meixiu nearly lost consciousness from the pain but managed to endure it.

Many minutes later, once she felt like she could endure more, she submerged her other foot into the water.

An hour later, she submerged the rest of her body in the water, which increased the pain substantially.

Meixiu couldn't handle the pain for long and jumped out of the bath a minute later to catch a breath.

Over the next several hours, Meixiu repeated this process, slowly increasing the time she could remain submerged in the water.

The medicine was so potent that even after an entire day, the water retained its full strength, as effective as when it was first prepared.

As for Meixiu's condition, she felt better than ever before, her body brimming with energy.

Although the experience was incredibly painful, the rewards were significant enough to motivate her to continue.