"Originally, Nolan thought he was kicking an iron plate, but it turned out to be a superalloy steel plate. When he finds out that your cultivation level has reached the Energy Cultivation Realm, I bet his head will be buzzing."

Watching Zyaire reveling in schadenfreude, Dong Tianyu didn’t say much. Only after Zyaire’s excitement had passed did he smile and say to Dong Tianyu, "I’m sorry, I got a little too excited just now.

You were asking what an Awakener is, right? I’ll introduce you to the concept of Awakeners now."

After finishing his words, Zyaire stretched out his palm, and a shadow of a boxing glove slowly emerged in the center of it.

There were no fancy patterns on the exterior of this boxing glove; it looked similar to the solid-colored gloves worn by boxers before the calamity.

"I am actually an Awakener. At first, there were no Awakeners until the Imperial Court revealed the Martial Arts for the Body Tempering Realm and the Inner Breath Realm. Everyone began to cultivate then.

You understand Martial Arts: although the Body Tempering Realm cultivation method published by the Imperial Court is very simple and all people could potentially cultivate to the Body Tempering Realm as long as they ensured sufficient nutrition during their practice,

when it comes to the peak of the Body Tempering Realm, even though the Imperial Court also disclosed the cultivation methods for the Inner Breath Realm, due to differences in innate talent, for those with good talent, the breakthrough is as natural as water flowing into a channel, very simple.

But for someone with average talent like me, I’ve attempted several times without success in breaking through." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

I had already given up, but somehow, many people found mystical objects in the wild. You know what mystical objects are, right?"

Hearing Zyaire’s question, Dong Tianyu nodded, "I know about them."

Knowing that Dong Tianyu understood mystical objects, Zyaire continued, "Knowing what mystical objects are makes it easier for you to understand the next part.

Like that lucky person who inadvertently discovered the functions of mystical objects, there was another fortunate individual who, while using a mystical object, stumbled upon a method that could infuse mystical objects into the body, like the Magical Weapons described in fantasy novels.

When a mystical object is refined into the body, to utilize its powers, there’s no need for a specific method anymore. The powers of the mystical object seem to blend into the body, becoming an instinct.

As the mystical object is refined it transforms from a solid to a shadow and merges into the Awakener’s organs — each organ can contain the shadow of one mystical object, leading to Awakeners gaining the abilities of more than a dozen mystical objects.

However, according to information from Kyoto, after a mystical object resides inside the body, it’s like there’s an additional organ, and this organ adds to the body’s strain."

This burden isn’t just a simple matter. Imagine a person suddenly having an additional heart; while two hearts would allow the person’s metabolism to be faster — that is, enhanced physical strength,

having two hearts also means higher wear and tear on the body, effectively reducing the normal lifespan.

Mystical objects are the same; with each additional object refined into the body, the physical strain increases accordingly.

According to tests from Kyoto, a Martial Artist in the Body Tempering Realm can only merge with up to three mystical objects."

Hearing Zyaire’s explanation, Dong Tianyu instinctively felt there was more to it and consequently asked, "Besides these, are there any other side effects?"

Hearing Dong Tianyu directly ask the crucial question, Zyaire didn’t think of hiding anything and forthrightly spoke about the downsides of incorporating mystical objects into the body: "Actually, when a mystical object is refined into the body, its originally fixed effect will gradually become stronger.

The cost of this enhancement is the absorption of the host’s internal energy — to put it more simply, Inner Breath or qi.

In the Body Tempering Realm, since there’s no Inner Breath in the body, mystical objects are very dormant. Of course, without absorbing energy, even if they reside in the host’s body, the mystic powers are unlikely to strengthen much."

And when merged into the bodies of martial artists who are at the Inner Breath Realm or the Energy Refining Realm, no matter how many mystical objects there are within the body, these objects will crazily suck up all the energy until there is nothing left.

Although the mystical objects’ innate abilities become stronger after absorbing the energy, no matter when, as soon as a trace of energy is cultivated within the body, it will be absorbed by these mystical objects.

Over time, no matter how high the previous cultivation level of the host was, once they refine the mystical objects and let them reside in the body, their realm would soon drop to the Body Tempering Realm.

You might not believe it, but this is the conclusion drawn after many tests by Kyoto. So after the Imperial Court announced this news, some people like me, mediocre in martial path cultivation, simply found a mystical object with rather practical abilities to refine and merge into our bodies.

In this way, it’s like bypassing obstacles caused by insufficient talent through another method and successfully gaining greater strength."

Listening to Zyaire’s story, Dong Tianyu was somewhat still intrigued and subconsciously asked Zyaire, "Is that all?"

Hearing Dong Tianyu’s inquiry, Zyaire’s initially excited expression suddenly turned a bit disheartened. Before Dong Tianyu could voice any comfort, Zyaire took a deep breath and then spoke with a tone of disappointment, "As martial artists’ cultivation levels rise, their physical constitution becomes stronger and their lifespan longer.

"Awakeners, on the other hand, are different. Because refining mystical objects into their bodies increases bodily strain, and this strain is irreversible.

"While continuing to cultivate can enhance the abilities obtained from the refined mystical objects, it does not improve their physical constitution; on the contrary, it even reduces their lifespan.

"Moreover, the more mystical objects refined into the body, the heavier the burden on the body, and unless one is wealthy enough to constantly consume medicine, it’s dificult for an Awakener’s lifespan to exceed ninety years.

"Don’t think living to ninety is impressive. For someone with the cultivation level of the Body Tempering Realm, it’s quite common for their lifespan to surpass a hundred years.

"So, once someone becomes an Awakener, each mystical object they refine into their body is tantamount to reducing their lifespan, and this reduction is irreversible."

"Not to mention that once a mystical object is refined into an organ, it cannot be separated. Even if there were a way to do so, it would actually be of no use. After all, the moment the refining is successful, the refiner’s maximum lifespan begins to decrease."

After hearing Zyaire’s explanation, Dong Tianyu gained a deeper understanding of Awakeners.

Knowing that mystical objects can be taken into the body just like Magical Weapons, Dong Tianyu felt that these objects were like Magical Weapons, or perhaps they could be regarded as the rudiments of Magical Weapons.

Normal Magical Weapons also need to consume the cultivator’s mana when nourished within the body, just not as thoroughly as the mystical objects do.

Thinking about this and through Zyaire’s description, Dong Tianyu felt more and more that these objects were akin to semi-finished Magical Weapons.

Whether it’s from the effects of the mystical objects themselves or the situation after being taken into the body, they were almost no different from ordinary Magical Weapons.

Thinking this, Dong Tianyu directly asked Zyaire, "Can mystical objects be bought at the camp?"

Zyaire, as if anticipating Dong Tianyu’s question, replied without hesitation as soon as Dong Tianyu asked, "You should understand the situation with mystical objects. Those whose usage and effects are 100% certain are very expensive.

"If you’re confident in your own judgment, then I recommend you try your luck at the Quirky Hut when the Trade Market reopens tomorrow.

"Everything there is suspected to be mystical objects. With some luck, you can actually buy a mystical object without spending too much.

"However, I think you’re not buying mystical objects for your own use, right? After all, you have already cultivated to the Energy Refining Realm. If you refine mystical objects into your body and become an Awakener, your Martial Realm will plummet rapidly.

"I advise you not to think you’re the protagonist of a novel where refining mystical objects into your body will result in a different outcome from others."