Breaking Through to Become a Martial Artist!

The great sun hung high in the sky, its light warm and gentle.

Most of the snow on the mountain had already melted.

In front of the wooden cabin, Qin Ming stood with both legs on the stakes, his shoulders relaxed and elbows lowered, his chest held in and back stretched, his buttocks tucked and hips drawn in. Compared to before he went up the mountain, he had changed a great deal.

Before, he could only keep himself steady while standing on the stakes. His Qi and blood had been scattered, and after standing for a long time, his whole body would ache, forcing him to stop and rest. Now, the sinews and bones throughout his body had loosened, and his Qi and blood flowed through him along the stake stance, moving faster and faster!

He did not know how much time had passed, but the moment his Qi and blood flowed completely through the stance, Qin Ming's clothes billowed out as though inflated, and an invisible force sent all the dead leaves around him flying back.

"I did it!"

Qin Ming's face lit up with wild joy.

He could now clearly feel a stream of scalding Qi and blood surge from his dantian. After circulating once through his meridians, it poured into his limbs and bones. His once-stiff shoulders and hips grew supple, and his sinews and bones tingled as though currents of electricity were passing through them. His feet felt as if they had sprouted roots, holding him firmly on the stakes!

The skin all over his body also tightened abruptly. He reached out and pinched it, finding it as tough as cowhide.

And then there was his strength...

Qin Ming followed through with two punches, and a clear, piercing whistle rang out as they cut through the air.

He was considerably stronger than before!

"No wonder even experts in the Bone Refining Realm fight over lingzhi when they find it."

Qin Ming muttered to himself.

The lingzhi had helped him enormously in breaking through to the Skin Refining Realm ahead of time.

A single bite supplied him with enough Spiritual Qi to stand on the stakes for five shichen, equivalent to the effect of five bowls of Qi and blood soup. Not only that, after eating the lingzhi, the stake points he gained per shichen rose from one to two, greatly shortening his cultivation time.

After finishing the lingzhi, Qin Ming slaughtered the water deer, gaining ten points in the Pig-Slaying Saber Technique. The deer's blood was highly nourishing; though its Qi and blood were not as abundant as the lingzhi's, they were stronger than those of Qi and blood soup. The stake points, however, went back to increasing by one per shichen.

Qin Ming stewed the whole deer. Whenever he grew tired of standing, he ate, then resumed his stake practice. With ample Qi and blood, he did not feel fatigued. He cultivated for three days and nights straight, forcibly pushing up his stake skill points.

He looked at the panel again:

[Heaven rewards diligence, a hundred refinements forge steel]

[Host: Qin Ming]

[Innate martial art: Pig-Slaying Saber Technique (173/500), minor mastery]

[Ninth-grade martial art: Eight Trigrams Stake Skill (1/200), beginner]

[Ninth-grade martial art: Fire Sand Palm (65/100), not yet begun]

[Realm: Early Skin Refining Realm (strength: 240 jin)]

[Pig-Slaying Saber Technique bonus: While holding a pig-slaying saber, attack speed increased by 20%, force deflection by 10%]

"Where did the force deflection come from? Could it be because I reached the beginner level in the Eight Trigrams Stake Skill?"

Qin Ming fell into thought.

The Pig-Slaying Saber Technique was his innate martial art. He had originally thought it only gave him an attack speed bonus, but that was clearly not the case. It seemed that every martial art he learned would add a special bonus to the pig-slaying saber.

Enchantments!

A flash of inspiration struck Qin Ming, and he instantly grew excited.

If that were true, who in the same realm could stand against him once he learned a few more martial arts?

Gripping the pig-slaying saber, Qin Ming slashed rapidly, sending piercing whistles through the air. He grew faster and faster, pouring Qi and blood from his body into the blade, making each slash increasingly fierce.

Before he became a martial artist, the Pig-Slaying Saber Technique, though at minor mastery, had only given him a little extra strength and a twenty percent increase in attack speed. Now that he had broken through, Qin Ming quickly noticed a difference when he used it again.

Not only had the wrist holding his saber become more nimble, but a vague perception of creatures of flesh and blood also faintly surfaced in his mind. Qi and blood flowed from his waist and hips, through his elbow and wrist, and into the blade. With a peel and a flick, aided by a martial artist's Qi and blood, he could easily tear through a living creature's skin, flesh, and fascia.

Before, he had needed a quarter of an hour to butcher one big fat pig. Now, a quarter of an hour was enough to butcher several!

It was a qualitative leap!

At minor mastery, the Pig-Slaying Saber Technique no longer relied on brute force to hack through flesh, but peeled it away along the fascia. This was the first stage of the legendary Cook Ding carving an ox, and its killing power had soared!

Generally speaking, a Skin Refining Realm martial artist could master at most one martial art at the beginner level. Only Flesh Refining Realm martial artists had a chance of mastering one to the minor mastery level.

This was because martial artists spent most of their time cultivating internal skills and advancing their realms. Few settled down to study the moves of a martial art.

In the eyes of most martial artists, as long as their martial realm rose, even a beginner-level martial art could unleash terrifying power. Thus, many martial artists mastered only one or two martial arts. Only those whose Qi and blood were in decline and who had no hope of breaking through would settle down to study martial moves.

Qin Ming had only just stepped onto the martial path, but once he used the Pig-Slaying Saber Technique, few Skin Refining Realm martial artists could withstand his lethal slash.

"Time to head down the mountain. Embroiderer must be worried sick waiting for me."

Qin Ming packed his things and raced down the mountain.

After breaking through to the Skin Refining Realm, Qin Ming's dantian produced wisps of Qi and blood that traveled throughout his body, giving him far greater stamina than before. Without stopping, he hurried all the way to the shantytown.

When he saw what lay before him, Qin Ming felt as though he had been struck by five bolts of lightning.

The cozy little home he had shared with Embroiderer was in ruins. Its reinforced iron door had been forced open, and his Embroiderer was nowhere to be found!

"Embroiderer!"

Qin Ming let out a shout and rushed inside. It was completely empty. Everything had been carried away, leaving only unwanted scraps and rubbish.

"Who! Who did this?!"

Qin Ming roared. The power of his Qi and blood churned and surged within him like an erupting volcano, shaking the sheet-iron door so hard that it rattled like a sieve with a booming tremor.

Could the Wild Wolf Gang have taken Embroiderer?

They're courting death!

"Brother Qin..."

A faint voice came from outside the door.

"Xiaoxi."

Qin Ming spun around. His eyes were bloodshot, and his fierce expression made Wang Xiaoxi recoil several steps.

"B-Brother Qin, Sister Embroiderer was arrested by a few yamen runners this morning."

"Yamen runners?"

Qin Ming quickly calmed down.

Why would the people from the yamen arrest Embroiderer?

Embroiderer never even went outside. Those people must have come for him and taken her away because he was not there.

"Could it be that they found out I killed those people?"

Qin Ming's heart jolted.

That could not be right either. He had used the Pig-Slaying Saber Technique to separate those people's flesh from their bones. Even if wild beasts had not eaten the stripped flesh, it would all have rotted away. From the bare bones alone, they could not even identify the dead, much less arrest him.

"All right, I understand."

Qin Ming took a deep breath. Whatever the case, he had to bring Embroiderer back first.

"What happened to the wound on your head?"

Qin Ming's gaze fell on the strip of cloth wrapped around Wang Xiaoxi's forehead. Blood was faintly seeping through it.

"It was those people who came to steal things. I stood up to stop them, and they pushed me."

Wang Xiaoxi pouted, looking somewhat aggrieved.

Qin Ming's face was cold. He did not need to guess who had done it.

"When I get back, I'll get justice for you."

Qin Ming patted Wang Xiaoxi on the head and strode out the door.

Not far away, Wang Shun was leaning on a crutch outside his own door. When he saw Qin Ming come out, he hurriedly called out a warning. "Young Brother Qin, saving her comes first. Remember, commoners don't fight officials."

"I know."

Qin Ming nodded and quickly left.

Of course he knew that commoners did not fight officials, but there was another saying: when officials drive the people too far, the people rise in revolt!

Before, he had lacked strength. But now he was a martial artist. Whoever dared provoke him would pay a painful price!