Breakthrough Stone Skin Realm, Take a Master!

"I've finally sensed my qi and blood."

Li Changsheng was thrilled. After cultivating for so long, he had finally entered the most crucial phase of the Skin Polishing Stage. As long as one could sense qi and blood, one would surely become a Stone Skin Realm martial artist in the future—it was merely a matter of time.

Whether one could sense qi and blood was the key to breaking through and becoming a Stone Skin Realm martial artist. If one's aptitude was poor, it would be difficult to comprehend qi and blood even in a lifetime.

At this moment, Li Changsheng had sensed the qi and blood in his hands, but he could only mobilize the faintest trace of it. He could use that tiny strand of qi and blood to temper the skin of his hands, gradually making it stronger.

This kind of tempering improved him countless times faster than cultivating through Iron Sand Skin Grinding. This was true Skin Polishing cultivation; everything before had merely been laying the foundation.

Li Changsheng tried using that faint trace of qi and blood to temper his skin. His skin hurt a little and itched a little as well, but as it absorbed the power of qi and blood, it gradually grew stronger.

This method of tempering consumed a great deal of qi and blood, which had to be replenished promptly. Otherwise, the depletion would be severe.

After tempering himself for only a short while, he was already exhausted. This was due to the consumption of qi and blood.

So, he ate some food, and his qi and blood slowly recovered.

Afterward, he purchased Azure Origin Secret Medicine from the martial hall and applied it to his hands before beginning to cultivate the Azure Steel Hand Skin Polishing Martial Art.

Sure enough, with the aid of the Azure Origin Secret Medicine, the effects of using qi and blood to temper his skin soared, and the Azure Steel Hand Skin Polishing Martial Art steadily improved as well.

But with this kind of cultivation, the consumption of Azure Origin Secret Medicine was far from small. He would need quite a bit of it to help his skin complete its transformation and become a Stone Skin Realm martial artist.

At a rate of one portion of Azure Origin Secret Medicine per day, Li Changsheng cultivated with such frenzy for a month and a half. At last, he felt that his hands were about to complete their transformation.

That day.

Under the tempering of qi and blood, Li Changsheng's hands madly devoured the power of qi and blood, causing his skin to transform. At that moment, he suddenly felt ravenous. He immediately took out a portion of Azure Origin Secret Medicine and applied it to his hands, but he was still somewhat hungry.

Fortunately, he had anticipated this situation long ago and had prepared a large quantity of meat pastries. He wolfed them down mouthful after mouthful, gradually making up for his body's energy demands.

Several more hours passed, and Li Changsheng's hands had completely finished transforming. His physical constitution had also skyrocketed.

"What tremendous strength!"

Li Changsheng picked up a pebble and clenched it with his right hand, crushing it outright.

Then, he picked up a blade and slashed it against his left hand. It only left a white mark and failed to break through his defenses at all. This was the defense of a Stone Skin Realm martial artist.

However, only his hands had reached the Stone Skin level. The rest of his body merely possessed stronger defenses than an ordinary person's; it was still far from reaching the Stone Skin Realm.

"Now that I've become a Stone Skin Realm martial artist, I qualify to join Azure Steel Martial Hall and obtain more profound martial arts. I should let Instructor Du know."

He immediately went to find Instructor Du Hai.

Before long, he met Instructor Du Hai and said, "Instructor Du, I've already broken through to the Stone Skin Realm!"

"Mobilize your qi and blood and gather it in your hands!" Du Hai said.

"Yes!"

Li Changsheng mobilized his qi and blood and gathered it in his hands. A faint white glow appeared on both hands—clearly the sign of Stone Skin Initial Accomplishment.

"Very good. You are now a Stone Skin Realm martial artist. I'll take you to see my master, the Hall Master."

Du Hai said.

The instructors of Azure Steel Martial Hall were actually all official disciples of the hall, as well as ordinary disciples of the Hall Master. Their status was not particularly high. The ones who truly received the Hall Master's attention were the Core Disciples.

Before long.

Li Changsheng met the Hall Master of Azure Steel Martial Hall, Xu He. Xu He looked to be around fifty years old. He was powerfully built and carried an imposing air.

"Li Changsheng, you are quite good. You broke through to the Stone Skin Realm in just over half a year. Are you willing to become my disciple?" Xu He asked.

Li Changsheng immediately said respectfully, "Disciple Li Changsheng greets Master!"

"Good. From today onward, you are an official disciple of Azure Steel Martial Hall." Xu He casually handed a manual to Li Changsheng. "This is the true Azure Steel Hand martial art of our Azure Steel Martial Hall. The Azure Steel Hand martial art you learned before was merely a simplified version. Once you break through to the Stone Skin Realm, it becomes useless."

"Thank you, Master!"

Li Changsheng said gratefully.

"If you have any doubts regarding martial arts in the future, you may consult your senior brothers," Xu He said.

"Yes!"

Li Changsheng had no complaints about Xu He's attitude. He knew that the aptitude he had displayed so far was not particularly good. His ability to break through to the Stone Skin Realm had also relied on a large amount of Azure Origin Secret Medicine.

As the Hall Master, Xu He surely knew this. He had only accepted Li Changsheng as a disciple in accordance with the rules; he would not place much importance on him.

After Xu He left, Li Changsheng began consulting Du Hai.

"Senior Brother Du, I've only just broken through to the Stone Skin Realm and don't understand much about cultivation yet. May I ask you a few questions about common knowledge?" Li Changsheng asked.

"What do you wish to ask? If Senior Brother knows the answer, I will naturally tell you." Du Hai had a fairly good impression of Li Changsheng. Moreover, this Junior Brother was a blacksmith with a strong ability to earn money, making him worth befriending. He would not brush Li Changsheng off.

"Senior Brother Du, after becoming a Stone Skin Realm martial artist, how should one cultivate? Do you just keep tempering the skin?" Li Changsheng asked.

Du Hai said, "The Stone Skin Realm is the first realm of the Martial Dao. You have only just broken through and are at Stone Skin Initial Accomplishment. After that come Stone Skin Minor Accomplishment, Stone Skin Major Accomplishment, and Stone Skin Perfection. Upon reaching the Perfection Realm of Stone Skin, you may choose to attempt a breakthrough into the Bone Refining Realm above the Stone Skin Realm, or you may continue tempering your skin and allow it to transform once again, becoming the Iron Skin Realm! Under normal circumstances, the chance of breaking into the Bone Refining Realm from the Stone Skin Realm is one percent. From the Iron Skin Realm, it is ten percent. From the Bronze Skin Realm, it is fifty percent. And if one attempts the Bone Refining Realm from the Silver Skin Realm, the success rate is one hundred percent!"

"Stone Skin Initial Accomplishment, Stone Skin Minor Accomplishment, Stone Skin Major Accomplishment, Stone Skin Perfection, Bronze Skin, Iron Skin, Silver Skin, Bone Refining..."

Li Changsheng learned so much common knowledge about the Martial Dao at once, and he could now be considered to have a preliminary understanding of it.

Then, he continued asking, "Senior Brother Du, the martial arts of our Azure Steel Martial Hall temper both hands, while I hear that the martial artists of the Iron Leg Gang rely on a pair of legs. Could it be that different martial arts temper different areas of skin? Then is it possible to turn the skin of one's entire body into Stone Skin, Iron Skin, or even Bronze Skin?"

"Of course it is possible!" Du Hai said with a smile. "But you spent so much time cultivating Azure Steel Hand just to break through to the Stone Skin Realm. If you cultivated many other Skin Polishing Martial Arts, such as the Iron Leg Skill, and transformed the skin across your entire body into Stone Skin, how much time would that take? Ten years? Twenty years before your whole body becomes Stone Skin? Even if your whole body were Stone Skin, could you defeat an Iron Skin Realm martial artist? Could you defeat a Silver Skin Realm martial artist? By the time the skin over your entire body becomes Stone Skin, those your age would already be in the Bone Refining Realm and could suppress and kill you with one hand. It simply isn't worth it!"

"There is another point. Gathering enough martial arts to turn your entire body into Stone Skin is no easy task either. At any rate, I cannot gather that many martial arts. Every family's martial arts will not be casually passed on to outsiders, and the Skin Polishing Martial Arts sold in the Black Market all have more or less some problems. Who would dare cultivate them?"

"Of course, it is said that certain Ultimate Skill-level Stone Skin martial arts can temper the entire body, but that is only legend. As far as I know, even High-grade Martial Arts cannot achieve full-body tempering."

"High-grade Martial Arts? Ultimate Skills?"

Li Changsheng asked, "Senior Brother Du, are High-grade Martial Arts and Ultimate Skills classifications of martial arts?"