Blood Tempering

Chen Sanshi and Zhao Qiao traveled back to Yanbian Village together.

They were almost treated like heroes along the way.

After all, with the Black Bear dead, hunting in the mountains or gathering herbs would be much safer.

Some villagers wanted to send their children to him as disciples.

Others wanted to offer their daughters as concubines.

A single bear was worth dozens of taels of Silver Flakes, which in these times was enough to buy the lives of many young women.

Chen Sanshi naturally declined them all.

He even pushed open his front door only to find two matchmakers walking out.

"Why are you all coming to my door?"

Chen Sanshi was speechless.

"Are you hurt?"

Gu Xinlan checked him over as always, and only relaxed after confirming he was unharmed. "How do you feel?"

"How do I feel about what?"

Chen Sanshi blinked, then realized she was talking about finding a concubine.

He quickly shook his head. "I want to focus on martial arts. I don't have the time for that."

"I thought so, so I already refused them for you."

Gu Xinlan helped him take off his bow and iron spear, saying softly, "If you ever want to find someone, Brother Shi, just tell me, and I'll help you pick a pretty one."

Chen Sanshi was slightly surprised.

It seemed Lan Jie'er didn't care about that aspect.

Well, ancient women had different ideas.

"Lan Jie'er, cook this for me. Just boil it in plain water, no salt."

Chen Sanshi didn't forget the main task and took out the bear heart, which weighed nearly two pounds. Even through the lotus leaf wrapping, he could feel the powerful life force contained within.

"Keep this silver. Buy anything we need for the house. And this bear meat, deal with it for me too. I plan to take some to the military camp in a couple of days."

With a woman managing the household, he didn't have to worry about almost anything.

Gu Xinlan started a fire in the kitchen.

Chen Sanshi went outside to practice his spear techniques.

After a few sets of spear forms, he was so hungry his head was spinning. He could clearly feel a sense of depletion within him. Fortunately, the food was ready not long after.

Bear meat, pork, rice, wild vegetable and egg soup, and the main dish – the bear heart.

Chen Sanshi picked up the bear heart and took a huge bite.

The bloody taste filled his mouth and then shot straight to his head. He almost gagged, covering his mouth as he forced himself to chew and swallow.

It was disgusting, but the effect was truly remarkable.

The moment the bear heart entered his stomach, Chen Sanshi felt a warmth spreading inside him, like a small flame burning. As his digestive system worked, the nutrients were quickly absorbed by his body, compensating for the depletion from practicing martial arts.

He no longer cared about the taste and stuffed more bear heart into his mouth.

After eating a third of the bear heart, Chen Sanshi felt like his whole body was on fire. He randomly ate some other food to fill his stomach and then rushed outside to continue his practice.

The bear heart was indeed a great tonic. He practiced until dark and didn't feel depleted again. If his muscles didn't need rest, he would have practiced all night.

Technique: Basic Soldier Spear Technique (Uninitiated) Progress: (67/100) Effect: None yet - Efficiency greatly increased!

Two-thirds of the bear heart remained. It would likely be within these two days that he would cultivate his first wisp of qi and blood.

After Chen Sanshi put away his spear and returned to the house, the potent effects of the bear heart were still active, leaving him full of energy.

Under the warm yellow candlelight, Gu Xinlan was bent over the table, working on clothes.

Since she no longer had to go out to work, her skin had become even fairer, and her fingers were no longer chapped. From a distance, she looked like she was carved from white jade.

To save money, Gu Xinlan didn't buy ready-made clothes but bought various fabrics to make them herself.

Chen Sanshi quietly walked behind her and suddenly whispered in her ear, "Wife, change into the red one. I'll be waiting for you in the room."

"Ah..."

Gu Xinlan hadn't heard his footsteps at all and jumped in surprise.

She patted her chest and looked up at the fabrics on the table.

The red one...

Her face instantly turned bright red.

It was a half-finished red bellyband.

Chen Sanshi stayed home for two days.

On the third day, he estimated it was about time and packed his things to head to the garrison.

Wearing cloth-faced armor and a red hat, carrying a bow and spear, he looked quite imposing.

The villagers kept looking his way.

"It looks like Shi Ge'er is about to become an officer!"

"Yeah, I have a relative in the garrison too, and they said Shi Ge'er is doing well."

"Tch! I don't think he'll be flaunting for much longer."

"Scabby Head, you really can't say anything good, can you!"

"Believe it or not."

Scabby Head raised his voice, as if afraid Shi Ge'er wouldn't hear him.

"Uncle Scabby."

Chen Sanshi approached: "Do you have something you want to tell me again?"

"You're quite sharp, kid!"

Scabby Head leaned in: "Guess what I saw recently?

"These past two days, I've often seen Qin Xiong's younger brother treating a fat official from the barracks to drinks. Guess what he's planning?"

A fat official?

Wang Zhi?

Chen Sanshi guessed.

Qin Feng has been treating Commander Wang to guests often recently?

He wasn't too worried.

Wang Zhi already knew about the feud between him and the people from Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy. If he intended to harm him, why would he bother teaching the Vast Exhalation Breathing Technique?

Besides, accepting treats didn't mean agreeing to help with favors.

He had experienced that himself.

Qin Feng would most likely be wasting his silver for nothing...

Of course, Chen Sanshi also had to guard against the possibility of Qin Feng making a desperate move.

He had specifically inquired about it these past two days.

He learned that Qin Feng had suddenly switched from an outer disciple to a True Disciple half a month ago. However, because he had only been a True Disciple for a short time, he had only just broken through to Proficient in Blood Tempering.

Chen Sanshi was only one step away from entering Blood Tempering.

At that point, it might not be impossible to fight.

The experience of hunting the Black Bear had taught him that being strong wasn't everything!

Thinking this, he felt full of drive.

At the entrance to the barracks, he encountered Wang Zhi returning on horseback.

He could smell the strong scent of alcohol from him from afar.

"Here!"

He tossed over a wine jar: "This is Deer Blood Wine, and this jar alone costs three taels of silver. It's good stuff, I bought it specifically for you!

"Who says I, Wang Zhi, am greedy for money and stingy? Don't listen to Old Liu and the others talking nonsense. If you follow me, you won't lack benefits!

"You also need to put in the effort and strive to cultivate your first wisp of Qi and Blood within ten days."

"Thank you, Commander Wang."

Chen Sanshi cupped his fists: "I've reached a bottleneck in practicing my spear techniques. I wonder if I could ask for your guidance to prevent any deviations?"

"A bottleneck? How can there be a bottleneck in the introductory stage? Wait..."

Wang Zhi sobered up halfway: "You, you're about to reach Blood Tempering?!"

On the training ground.

Chen Sanshi ate the last piece of Bear Heart and gulped down a few more mouthfuls of Deer Blood Wine. His body felt incredibly hot, and his strength seemed to be overflowing.

He seized the opportunity to pick up the Plum Blossom Spear and practice the Basic Soldier Spear Technique.

Posture training, spear techniques, breathing technique!

Under the triple boost, Chen Sanshi's body entered a state of full load. Coupled with the replenishment from the wine and meat, the spear in his hand moved faster and faster, without any feeling of fatigue or depletion.

His heart pounded wildly, as if something was about to burst out from within.

'Is this Qi and Blood?'

Chen Sanshi understood that this was the crucial moment to cultivate Qi and Blood. He dared not stop, continuously intensifying the strength of each move and each stance, madly consuming his stamina and pushing his heart to its limit.

Until his arms went numb and veins bulged all over his body, he let out a roar, and with the last ounce of his strength, he thrust his spear into a giant rock by the side of the training ground.

Finally.

A different kind of hot blood flowed from the heart.

Technique: Basic Soldier Spear Technique (Beginner)

Progress: (0/500)

Effect: Fierce spear momentum, astonishing endurance.