[There was one hour left until the end of Valentine's Day, where were the monthly tickets... all subscriptions...]

Ye Tianchen finally struggled to rely solely on the power of his physical body to ascend thousands of meters into the sky. He thought that after more than three months of painstaking physical body forging, he would finally be able to step onto the white staircase and take the opportunity to break through the realm of his physical body. However, every time his hands barely touched the edge of the white staircase and he attempted to climb up, he would be struck down by a force of thunder and lightning, frustrating him to no end. It was as if someone was standing on the white staircase specifically to oppose him.

Getting up from the ground, Ye Tianchen was out of breath. He had tried more than ten times, each time being knocked back by the power of thunder and lightning descending from the white staircase. After dozens of such complicated attempts, Ye Tianchen was worn out, feeling his vision blur slightly. Here, he could only rely on the strength of his physical body, unable to sense even the slightest trace of Martial Arts True Qi. After dozens of tries and desperate efforts, he was indeed tired!

"No, I can't give up. I must find a way to break through the power of the physical body and make myself stronger, or I won't be able to protect my loved ones, or the things I cherish." Gritting his teeth, Ye Tianchen once again walked to the bottom of the white staircase, his eyes filled with a determination as sharp as a blade, sparking like electricity.

Swish!

Ye Tianchen once more charged towards the white staircase, thousands of meters high. As he approached, he furrowed his brows; he had already used a leveraging technique in mid-air before. However, at the moment of leveraging, Ye Tianchen untied his shoelaces. He had a thought and a plan, hoping for success.

Swoosh!

As soon as Ye Tianchen neared the white staircase, he threw his shoelaces onto it. Instantly, a formidable force of thunder and lightning flashed from the white staircase, knocking his shoelaces away. A smile appeared on Ye Tianchen's face; he knew his idea had succeeded, and his chance for success was right before him.

"Now's the time..."

Ye Tianchen shouted, and as he punched the white staircase with his right hand, he used the force to soar into the air, landing steadily on the staircase. No thunder and lightning force descended any longer from the white staircase. Ye Tianchen smiled with satisfaction.

It turned out that after dozens of jumps, Ye Tianchen had always been knocked away by the power of thunder and lightning descending from the white staircase. He concluded that as long as any object touched the white staircase, a force of thunder and lightning would strike to knock it away. This was an obstacle to the pure breakthrough of the physical body realm. Meanwhile, this force of thunder and lightning would only strike once, or would completely disappear if one stood firmly on the white staircase, no more knocking them away.

So, in this jump, Ye Tianchen deliberately untied his shoelaces, allowing them to serve as the "sacrificial pawn." Just as the force of thunder and lightning struck the shoelaces away, and before it could trigger a second strike, Ye Tianchen stood firmly on the white staircase. Any further thunder and lightning force would be futile. As it turns out, Ye Tianchen's guess was correct.

After all the hardship, Ye Tianchen finally stood on the white staircase. He was drenched in sweat, utterly out of breath. Such an achievement had not come easily, and he cherished it greatly. He glanced at the white staircase; it seemed like only a few steps, yet it was by no means easy to walk, for an impenetrable mist seemed to shroud its path. Who knew what awaited Ye Tianchen at the end, or whether there was even an end?

Ye Tianchen took a step forward, not daring to delay. Achieving this level only to encounter another unforeseen event would push him to the brink of collapse and waste even more time. He had spent nearly four months in the Flame Valley without contacting the outside world, sincerely worrying about the situation back in Desolate Stone Village.

Bang dong!

Unexpectedly, as Ye Tianchen lifted his left foot to step onto the second stone step of the white staircase, he felt an overwhelming resistance, as if a massive mountain stood in his way, and his left foot simply couldn't step up. He was utterly astonished because there was nothing visible blocking his way, so why did it feel like a mountain was obstructing him?

"It seems that breaking through the physical body's power alone is extremely challenging. No wonder no martial artist has chosen to break through the physical body purely. It's even harder than breaking through the martial arts cultivation realm. However, this is the martial arts path that belongs to me, and I will walk it!" Ye Tianchen said seriously, looking towards the front of the white staircase.

Bang!

The entire space trembled as Ye Tianchen took a step forward, unleashing all his physical power, thrusting his left foot forward as if trying to crash through the mountain before him. The resistance was frighteningly strong, and with every step, he felt he might be thrown back at any moment. His left foot was in immense pain, as if it were hitting a mountain, yet he forced himself to walk on. Soon, his left foot was bleeding profusely. The resistance was so heavy it was hard to breathe, but Ye Tianchen didn't stop, gritting his teeth and persevering. With great difficulty, he lifted his right foot to take another step.

Step by step, Ye Tianchen's journey was incredibly difficult, especially as his physical body was battered and covered in wounds and blood, as if he'd shattered his own body to resist the powerful forces. He persisted, moving towards the top of the white stone steps.

Exhaustion, pain, suffering, mental fatigue, worse than death — these words could describe Ye Tianchen's current mood and situation. He hadn't expected that choosing to break through the physical realm would be so challenging and painful. Even someone with his immense willpower found it hard to hold on. Simply breaking through the body's power was no trivial matter; it was exceedingly difficult, not a game!

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Tianchen felt his consciousness becoming somewhat blurry. The pain was too intense, the exhaustion overwhelming, yet he sustained his willpower, moving step by step towards the white staircase, like someone whose mind wasn't entirely clear, persisting only for the sake of moving forward, until he felt the powerful resistance vanish, and clarity returned. Looking at his body, he saw it was covered in wounds, not a single part unscathed, bleeding continuously. Ye Tianchen glanced ahead, sat down cross-legged, and began to heal his body.

Here, in this purely physical virtual world, using martial arts True Qi was impossible, so Ye Tianchen could only utilize the origin power of his body to heal himself. To his surprise, the speed of his body's recovery was indeed much faster. Without needing to deliberately channel power to heal the damaged areas, his body recovered quickly. Could this also be a result of cultivation?

Ye Tianchen didn't think too much about it. He focused on rapidly restoring his body. After more than half an hour, he felt his physical power was no longer a problem. He moved forward, realizing that on the white staircase, he had only taken a few steps but felt a sense of transformation, a rebirth of physical power. It was miraculous and wondrous. Approaching, Ye Tianchen found a wall like a mirror standing before him, and only by shattering this mirror could his physical power break through to the Late Stage Martial Saint realm.

Pang!

Without hesitation, Ye Tianchen struck with a punch against the transparent wall that looked like a mirror. To his surprise, when he hit it, the wall didn't move an inch, not the slightest reaction, leaving Ye Tianchen momentarily stunned. Having cultivated in such an environment for nearly half a year, his physical power had advanced qualitatively, incomparable to before. Yet, his punch left no mark, which was astonishing. Breaking through the barrier of physical power enhancement was yet another major challenge, a critical juncture?

Martial arts cultivation is extremely arduous. Not only must one endure loneliness and loss at any moment, face the risk of being obliterated by other martial artists, but breaking through the cultivation realm is even more difficult, along with the danger of being struck to ash by the Heavenly Punishment Thunder Tribulation. Hence, though ordinary people envy the martial artist's ability to fly and escape, seemingly omnipotent, some martial artists envy the free and easy life of ordinary people. It all depends on what one wants. Others may not always live better or happier than you, so there's no need to envy others' lives. Just live your own life well.

"Only by breaking it can I push my physical power to the Late Stage Martial Saint. This is the final barrier. I must persist, even unto death, I will not give up!" Ye Tianchen gritted his teeth, resolutely determined in his heart to break this barrier.

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