<em>I can’t afford to waste time when I only have one month to prepare for the fight. I can only stay here for three months, so I need to get as far as I can in that time, or I will never be able to take Xiang back from the Divine n’s young master.</em>


    The pressure also brought about the drive to improve.


    Xiang was still in Wu Guangyu’s clutches. He didn’t know how Xiang was being treated, so he felt pressured.


    When he thought about how much more he still had to do, he grit his teeth. He carefully controlled the celestial Qi to flow towards his left arm. That was where his muscles were densest, and they were more robust than his organs. He wanted to test out how painful it was first. If he wanted toplete the Seven Star Body, Long Chen ultimately had to use the celestial Qi to temper his heart and brain. Those were the most dangerous parts of the cultivation process.


    His left arm was the safest body part to use as a test.


    The Five Emperor Seals were in his right arm. One wrong move and they could be destroyed. It would result in a loss for him if that were to happen.


    The snarling celestial Qi slowly approached his arm. It hadn''t even touched him yet, but a sharp aura cut his arm like he was being shed by innumerable razors. His arm was burning up from that feeling.


    Long Chen paused slightly before he continued to channel the celestial Qi. At the same time, a lot of Seven Star Essence surged out of his Nine Martial meridians to protect his left arm.


    It was a long test. Long Chen was indeed brave, but he knew not to be rash. He proceeded very slowly and his control was very precise. But even though he felt slow, he was actually progressing much faster than others who attempted the same thing.The fastest person to finish the cultivation of the Seven Star Body in history took over forty days. A regr cultivator would take a year or two. Long Chen needed toplete it within a month!


    It was hard, but he had no choice but to fight for it if it meant winning his uing duel.


    <em>I still have a month, though there’s a lot of uncertainty. Situ Yu probably has a trump card, judging by his confidence. Situ Yao will most likely give Situ Yu a lot of good stuff. I cannot be careless. Situ Yu will likely have reached the Ninth Earthly Martial Realm by then.</em>


    Long Chen couldn''t afford to lose.


    So he gritted his teeth.


    The terrifying celestial Qi slowly approached his left arm, which was covered in Seven Star Essence. At thest moment, the tiny amount of celestial Qi suddenly pounced into his left arm like a beast!


    Without the Seven Star Essence, his left arm would’ve been torn to shreds. Long Chen felt an intense paining from his arm. Even so, he did not transform. He needed to temper his original body. The dragon scales would interrupt his cultivation.


    The celestial Qi and the Seven Star Essence merged together to start tempering his body. It wasn’t destroying his body, but the pain was excruciating. Long Chen’s face contorted as he held himself back from crying. The celestial Qi and the Seven Star Essence were now inside his left arm. Countless sharp razors cut through his muscles, and the resulting pain almost made him lose control over the rest of the celestial Qi that was still outside. He almost threw it all back towards the star.


    But Long Chen endured by thinking about the duel that would take ce in just a month. He had no choice but to endure. It was painful, but it wasn’t unbearable. Long Chen understood that the more he endured, the more he would grow.


    He could not dispel the celestial Qi regardless of how intense the pain was. He had to take control of it and slowly channel it into the other parts of his body. The celestial Qi would temper his body and merge into his flesh to form a solid body that emitted the same razor-sharp effect.


    Long Chen was certain that his entire body would be filled with celestial Qi once his cultivation of the Seven Star Body wasplete. By then, he would be a formidable foe.


    The Three Thousand Star Clusters was the most famous Divine Weapon owned by the Seven Star Lord. The Seven Star Body was his second most famous possession. Numerous Heavenly Martial Realm cultivators lost to the Seven Star Body in the past.


    The miniscule amount of celestial Qi was only enough for Long Chen to temper a small part of his left arm. But even so, it took him an hour to exhaust it. He endured it for the full hour before finally feeling that a small part of his left arm was emitting a hint of the purple celestial Qi. That particr part of his arm was also numerous times tougher than the other parts of his body.


    Long Chen hadn’t cultivated any Body Tempering Methods ever since he obtained the True Demon Martial Body before he advanced into the Earthly Martial Realm. The first trial of using the celestial Qi had sessfully strengthened the small part of his arm. His body would be unimaginably tough after he finished cultivating the Seven Star Body.


    The weakest technique of the Seven Star Lord’s inheritance, the Big Dipper Step, was already powerful enough to be Long Chen’s trump card.


    The pain was so monstrous that Long Chen shuddered when he thought back to it, but he could not give up if he wanted to be strong. He tried to convince himself that that degree of pain was normal. He could only call it sessful when he was numb to the pain of that caliber.


    <em>I cannot stop, nor can I think about it. I can only continue working hard!</em>


    There was still some time before dawn, so Long Chen continued cultivating. He expanded his senses towards the stars and felt where the celestial Qi was. It was easier this time since he already had just gained some experience. This time, he channeled down ten times more celestial Qi.


    This was a clear indication of Long Chen’s resolve!


    He could only channel the celestial Qi at night, but that didn’t mean the celestial Qi would disappear during the day. Long Chen was prepared to spend the entire day using up the celestial Qi he had gathered. He was going to merge all of it into his body.


    Therge cloud of purple Qi floated down from the skies. Under his control, it enveloped him in a sphere. Long Chen waspletely covered by it.


    Bain and Lei Ji were standing a distance away as they observed him cultivating. They were in the middle of talking and joking with each other, but they went silent when they saw the shocking amount of celestial Qi that Long Chen had called down.


    “He’s crazy! It took him an hour to use up that little bit of celestial Qi. I thought he would stop tonight due to the excruciating pain and continue tomorrow. Never did I think he would call down even more celestial Qi! Doesn’t he feel pain?” Lei Ji was confused.


    Bai Lan was also shocked. He had caught a glimpse of Long Chen’s eyes before the celestial Qi covered him. There was no fear in them, only determination.


    Lei Ji poked Bai Lan and asked excitedly, “Hey, old friend. How much of the celestial Qi do you think Long Chen will use up?”


    “What do you think?” Bai Lan threw back the question.


    “I think… Maybe a tenth of it? That was the amount he used just now. I think that’s his limit. I don’t think he will be able to endure any more than that,” Lei Ji responded confidently.


    Bai Lan smiled. “In that case, I will bet that he can use all of it.”


    Lei Ji was shocked. “You old coot. You are thinking too highly of him. Who could achieve that? I doubt even we could do that. I don’t think I’m brave enough to approach the celestial Qi.”


    Bai Lan said, “I love challenges that are deemed impossible. Since you think that he will use only a tenth of it, I bet that he will use all of it. Are you brave enough to wager something of value?”


    Lei Jiughed. “That’s impossible! Fine, I will bite. You win if Long Chen uses up half of the celestial Qi. I will win if he uses less than half of it. What do you say?”


    Bai Lan already knew what he needed to put on the line. “I know what your family has. Unfortunately, the things that I want are the treasures of your family. I doubt that you would give them to me. In that case, the loser will have to shout, ‘I, Lei Ji, am an idiot’ in the middle of the Heavenly Wood City at noon. What do you think?”


    Lei Ji punched Bai Lan. “You bastard. How could you be so childish at your age?”


    Bai Lan staggered a bit andughed. “Who said I’m childish? Do you ept the bet or not?”


    “Will you call yourself an idiot in front of the Demon n if you lose?” Lei Ji chuckled.


    “Why not?”


    “In that case, the bet is on. Prepare to call yourself an idiot at noon tomorrow. I doubt that he will be able to use half of it by then.”