Blood Refining Method

The authority of a squad leader, along with Zhou Han's explicit support, brought tangible benefits.

The fifty soldiers under Chen Qing's command were soon issued brand-new iron armor and fully supplied with powerful bows and sturdy crossbows. Their daily meat rations also became far more generous. Zhou Han even specially approved some basic body-tempering medicinal materials. Though they had little effect on Chen Qing, they were enough to let veteran soldiers like Old Niu and Sun Quezi, who had been stuck at the Skin Refining Realm for years, glimpse a sliver of hope for a breakthrough. They trained all the more desperately as a result.

Chen Qing himself gained even greater autonomy. He no longer needed to take part in routine patrols or miscellaneous duties, and only had to focus on drilling the men under his command, ready at any time to carry out assault missions directly assigned by Zhou Han.

He devoted more time to exploring and integrating his own strength.

His late-stage Bone Forging Realm cultivation, combined with the Slight Accomplishment Fierce Tiger Iron Body, had brought his physical strength to an astonishing level. Ordinary blades and swords could scarcely harm him, his stamina was deep and enduring, and his recovery ability was downright monstrous. But he could also clearly sense that the Fierce Tiger Iron Body's progress had slowed significantly.

The mixed Killing Intent and vitality he absorbed through battlefield slaughter might have been plentiful enough to fill him to the brim, but their quality varied wildly, and the efficiency of refining them was steadily declining. To swiftly break through to the "Mastery" realm, or even charge toward the Meridian Condensing Realm, he needed a purer and more immense source of energy.

His gaze fell upon the three Qi and Blood Condensing Pills he had never used, as well as a small bottle of Hundred Refinements Blood Pills Zhou Han had privately rewarded him with. The latter possessed even more tyrannical medicinal power and were pills commonly used by Meridian Condensing Realm martial artists.

"Perhaps... I can try that method."

Chen Qing recalled some fragmented pieces of information that had appeared in his mind after the Fierce Tiger Iron Body reached Slight Accomplishment. Among them was an exceptionally dangerous cultivation method—Blood Refining.

It was not as simple as swallowing pills. One used one's own body as a furnace and Killing Intent as the flames, refining several kinds of violent energy at once, seeking rebirth and breakthrough amid ultimate pain and destruction. This method was a narrow escape from death, but if it succeeded, the rewards would be enormous.

The night was deep.

Chen Qing set up a simple warning perimeter inside his squad leader's tent and sat cross-legged in the center. Before him lay three Hundred Refinements Blood Pills, each the size of a longan, dark crimson in color and nearly black, along with the three Qi and Blood Condensing Pills.

Without the slightest hesitation, he swallowed the three Qi and Blood Condensing Pills first.

A familiar scorching torrent exploded within his body, but instead of guiding it to slowly nourish his flesh as he had before, he violently activated the Fierce Tiger Iron Body!

Boom!

Killing Intent boiled at once, like oil set aflame! No longer did it coil around him gently; it transformed into countless fine, icy-black flames that frantically seared and tore at the surging medicinal power! Pain swept over him like a tsunami, far surpassing anything he had endured before!

Chen Qing's face instantly turned deathly pale. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his body trembled violently beyond his control. Yet he guarded his mind tightly, using an incomparably tenacious will to command the violent process.

When the medicinal power and Killing Intent had initially reached a dangerous equilibrium, a fierce glint flashed through his eyes. Without hesitation, he tossed all three Hundred Refinements Blood Pills into his mouth!

If the Qi and Blood Condensing Pills were a flood, then the Hundred Refinements Blood Pills were magma bursting through a shattered dam!

Even more violent, even more scorching energy erupted with a force that nearly blew him apart! Three streams of energy, different in nature yet equally tyrannical, clashed and collided madly within his body!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

The capillaries across his skin burst one after another. What seeped out was not bright red blood, but a viscous fluid carrying black-red Killing Intent! His muscles twisted and knotted, while his bones let out groans beneath an unbearable burden, as though they might collapse completely at any moment!

[Refining multiple violent energies simultaneously. Fierce Tiger Iron Body proficiency +100! Vitality violently clashes; meridians damaged!]

[Warning! Host is in an extremely dangerous state!]

The system notifications grew urgent.

An aura of destruction spread through the tent.

Chen Qing felt as if he had been thrown into the furnace of hell. Every inch of flesh and every fraction of his soul was being crushed and tempered over and over. The negative emotions contained within the Killing Intent were like the whispers of evil ghosts, frantically battering his consciousness and tempting him to give up, to embrace utter madness and destruction.

"Roar—!"

A suppressed, inhuman growl squeezed out from deep in his throat. His eyes were bloodshot, black-red light flashing wildly within his pupils as he nearly lost his reason.

At that moment, the Black Tiger Fist intent he had brought to mastery, along with the true intent of the Black Tiger Saber Technique that shared its origin, seemed to be stirred by something and began circulating on their own!

No longer were they specific moves, but a deeper kind of "intent"! The tyrannical will of the king of all beasts, looking down upon the world and suppressing all beneath heaven, became like a needle that steadied the sea, forcibly stabilizing his mind on the verge of collapse!

At the same time, at the great dragon of his spine, the nexus of vitality that linked his entire body began to vibrate at a mysterious frequency under the guidance of the Black Tiger True Intent! It was as though an invisible black giant tiger had awakened within him, opening its maw and devouring the colliding, rampaging energies!

Killing Intent and medicinal power began to be forcibly compressed, purified, and fused beneath the integration of that tyrannical true intent and the vibrations of the vitality in his spine!

The pain remained, even worsening, but it was no longer mere destruction. It now carried the tragic feeling of breaking before standing anew, of seeking life in the face of death!

The black-red fluid seeping from his body began to solidify, forming a dark crimson shell like a crust of dried blood that encased his entire body. Beneath that shell, earth-shaking changes were taking place within him.

The black-red patterns on his bones became deeper and more intricate, like natural runes. His skin and flesh became tougher, faintly gleaming with a metallic luster. Vitality surged through his meridians, no longer simply scorching hot, but carrying a trace of Killing Intent's icy savagery. Yet under the command of the Black Tiger True Intent, it maintained a strange balance.

No one knew how much time passed before the first faint ray of light before dawn shone through a gap in the tent.

Crack... crack...

Cracks appeared across the surface of that dark crimson shell, before it suddenly shattered and scattered into powder.

Chen Qing slowly opened his eyes.

Clarity had returned to his pupils, though the hint of dark red deep within them seemed even more concentrated. His aura was restrained, but the invisible pressure emanating from him was several times stronger than before!

He moved his body, and a muffled series of explosions like distant thunder came from within. With a casual clench of his fist, he squeezed the air until it let out a sonic boom. A boundless sense of strength filled him.

[Successfully completed Blood Refining. Fierce Tiger Iron Body proficiency +800! Vitality purity increased; Black Tiger True Intent further awakened!]

[Fierce Tiger Iron Body proficiency has reached 5000/5000. Realm advanced: Mastery (0/)!]

[Cultivation advanced: Bone Forging Realm (Peak)!]

Mastery! Peak Bone Forging Realm!

Feeling the utterly transformed power within his body, as well as the Killing Intent that now moved as readily as his own limbs, Chen Qing slowly exhaled a breath of foul air tinged with blood.

The Blood Refining method was indeed dangerous—and indeed effective!

He looked toward the system screen. Besides the advancement of his realm and the Fierce Tiger Iron Body, the Black Tiger Fist and Black Tiger Saber Technique now bore a small additional note—"(True Intent Initially Awakened)."

He understood that this gamble had brought more than a breakthrough in cultivation technique and realm. More importantly, he had truly touched upon the core of his ancestral Black Tiger martial arts—the true intent of tyrannical suppression! That true intent seemed to be the crucial rein holding the fierce beast that was the Fierce Tiger Iron Body.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the tent, followed by Zhao Tie's deliberately lowered voice.

"Squad Leader Chen! Urgent military intelligence! The Commandant has summoned all officers of squad leader rank and above to the central command tent for discussion immediately!"

A sharp gleam flashed in Chen Qing's eyes.

Was the storm finally coming?

He rose to his feet, changed into a clean military uniform, and hung his ring-pommel saber at his waist.

Perfect. He would use this newly born strength to meet the winds and waves of this chaotic age.