Chapter 3: Dan Realm

Chapter 3: Dan Realm

Approaching midnight.

In a stone house located on the far left side of the stone fortress, a faint light could still be seen through the window.

The interior of the stone house was barely furnished, showcasing the coarse style of the Keter minotaurs. Apart from a stone table, stone stools, and a massive stone bed against the side, the place was nearly bare.

At this moment, in the center of the stone house, a massive bronze cauldron was placed on an open space. It was about half a person’s height and wide enough for several people to encircle.

The bonfire underneath was burning, causing the boiling bronze cauldron to emit steam and heat. A potent medicinal aroma permeated the entire stone house. In the boiling cauldron, a milky broth could be seen, along with a whole sheep skeleton and various medicinal herbs. There were herbs resembling ginseng as thick as a club, nearly formed fo-ti, turtle shells, and all kinds of unusual herb roots...

At this time, a seemingly not-so-tall figure was sitting next to the bronze cauldron, gorging himself. One hand held a sheep skeleton, gnawing away, while the other hand occasionally picked out various herbs like ginseng and fo-ti from the cauldron, popping them into his mouth. Not minding the bitter taste, he chewed a couple of times before swallowing them.

"Pant!"

His eating speed was extraordinarily fast. It was as if he wasn't eating for pleasure but rather to meet some energy requirement, constantly replenishing.

It was hard to imagine how such a lean figure could fit so much food.

Soon, a third of the medicinal food in the cauldron was gone.

"That should suffice. I’ll finish the remainder in a few days," Ye Han said with satisfaction, muttering to himself, "This pot of 'Dragon-Tiger Nine Turns Bone Strengthening Soup' contains three golden ginseng roots over two centuries old, two nearly formed fo-ti, three jin of tiger bones, ironline snake gallbladders, and so many other precious herbs. It should be enough to sustain the internal martial arts training for the next two days. Fortunately, this is in another world. Even if I had been wealthy in my previous life, it would have been impossible to find such precious herbs with these years of age!"

The saying goes, "The poor study, the rich practice martial arts." In ancient times, the only way for children from poor families to rise to prominence was through diligent study. Only children from wealthy families had the conditions to practice martial arts because it required the development of human potential. Adequate nutrition was essential, and the lack of any of the four necessities—methods, wealth, companions, and location—would make it impossible to practice. Above all, wealth was needed to purchase large quantities of food and medicinal herbs to replenish the body and prevent it from deteriorating during training.

There were many who practiced Iron Sand Palm in ancient times. The palm gradually deformed with thick calluses and twisted bones due to long-term grinding in heated iron sand. The deeper they practiced, the more deformed their hands became. Those who truly understood would soak their hands in medicinal water and apply special ointments after each practice to nourish the palms. Only when the palms were soft and boneless was the practice considered complete. Otherwise, it was easy to ruin the hands. However, these medicinal liquids and ointments were made from extremely precious herbs, and the older the herbs, the higher the potency and the more exorbitant the price. An ordinary person might be able to afford them once or twice, but practicing martial arts required long-term use, which became an unimaginably large expense.

In his previous life, Ye Han was a surgeon. He exchanged a few bows for an internal martial arts manual that had not been passed down for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, living in the modern era of the dwindling martial arts world, it was the sorrow of all martial practitioners that no matter how strong the body was, it could not withstand bullets and guns. Yet, Ye Han was still obsessed with it and even changed careers to become a Xingyiquan coach.

At the age of thirty, Ye Han finally broke through from the Ming Jin realm to the An Jin realm. In the ancient martial world, this made him an internal martial arts expert. However, due to the severe destruction of resources in the modern era, he could not advance further.

Then, due to an accident, he was reborn into this era, unexpectedly becoming a minotaur of a minotaur tribe.

As the saying goes, "Misfortune may be an actual blessing." Although he died once, this world was a paradise for Ye Han, who was obsessed with internal martial arts. Not only was the heaven and earth vitality abundant, but the various herbs over a hundred years old were also readily available in the mountains and forests. With these herbs replenishing his body's deficiencies, and with the experience of two lifetimes, especially after his bones had set and his training entered a high-speed phase, coupled with the fact that the physical quality of the minotaurs in this world was ten times stronger than humans in his previous life, Ye Han quickly surpassed his previous internal martial arts realm at a speed that would astonish all martial practitioners from his previous life.

A few days ago, while practicing Xingyiquan in the Evergreen Mountains, under the pine forest, he finally reached the realm he had dreamed of in his previous life. From the 'light as a feather' realm of An Jin, he entered the Dan realm, where the qi and blood of the entire body returned to one.

The wind had not moved, yet the cicada sensed it first. The qi and blood surged as if filling the universe. In the Dan realm, every movement and stillness almost reached the limit of the human body in the previous world. When moving, it was like a rabbit, and when running, it was like a fierce horse. In ancient times, this was referred to as a "terrestrial immortal."

Although he had only recently entered the Dan realm, Ye Han had already experienced its benefits. Stimulating potential was secondary. The most important thing was that he had sensed a trace of qi in his heart. This qi was different from the combat strength passed down in the Beamon Empire. It usually remained hidden but was extraordinarily miraculous. Once unleashed, its power was terrifying even to Ye Han.

Ye Han had once tried to trigger the trace of qi in his heart. The power that erupted instantly was more than three times his full strength, though it could only be sustained for a moment, resulting in severe physical exhaustion. He couldn't even move his little finger for a day and night.

However, this was already terrifying. In a duel, if he could unleash three times his power in an instant, it would be enough to annihilate any opponent of the same level or even higher.

Moreover, this qi was miraculous, exponentially enhancing Ye Han's senses. The world seemed to slow down in his eyes and ears. He could see ants crawling dozens of meters away, hear the flapping of mosquito wings, and even during battle, the opponent's flaws would be magnified in his eyes.

Of course, Ye Han would not abandon the combat strength practiced by the Beamon Empire’s orcs, also known as battle qi in this world. This was an extremely terrifying power. In the more than ten years since he came to this world, Ye Han had learned that some of the most powerful individuals in this world could shatter the sky and knock down stars from the heavens.

Not to mention, Ye Han had once witnessed Commander Hunter, a level nine warrior, unleash his full combat strength and punch a massive wild elephant to pieces.

This event had completely shocked Ye Han, making him realize that he had underestimated this world from the beginning.

However, this does not mean that Ye Han believes the power of martial qi or combat energy is necessarily superior to the profound levels of the internal martial art, Xingyiquan, from his previous life.

In his opinion, it's like comparing high-level martial arts with low-level martial arts. The Xingyiquan from his previous life placed emphasis on "intent," focusing more on the exploration of human potential. The human body is a microcosm, harboring numerous mysteries and wonders. Internal martial arts act as keys to unlock these mysteries. The martial qi and combat energy of this world, owing to the abundant elemental energy, allow for easier access to great power, but they are less refined in controlling the body and mind.

In short, these are two distinct systems.

Ye Han cultivated the "Earth Combat Strength," a unique practice of the Ironhoof Tribe. It was a highly practical combat technique.

Moreover, due to his special status, he was not allowed to practice the "Minotaur Totem Pole" combat technique, a skill exclusively passed down within the royal family of the tribe. This was because he was not a pure Keter but a human-minotaur hybrid. His mother was reportedly a human slave who died giving birth to him.

Since the Ironhoof Tribe was far from conflicts, he did not face discrimination. This became even more apparent when he taught some refined Xingyiquan techniques to the tribespeople, after which no one regarded him as an outsider anymore.

Perhaps because he was considered to have brought misfortune by causing his mother’s death at birth, or perhaps simply because of his lineage, Ye Han’s relationship with Reilly, the chief of the Ironhoof Tribe and his biological father, was not very close. They only met once a year during the tribe’s major festivals. Otherwise, Reilly generally took a hands-off approach with Ye Han.

This suited Ye Han just fine. As an adult with an independent personality from his past life, he couldn’t treat this newly appeared father with a normal mindset.

Besides, with many secrets surrounding him, from Xingyiquan to habits differing from those of ordinary tribespeople, he was not used to being the center of attention, which suited him perfectly.

Because of this, after becoming independent, Ye Han insisted on changing his name to Ye Han Keter, despite opposition, to ensure he would not forget his past.