Martial Scholar

The Wood Skin Inscription on Shi Yi's right arm was complete. He dispersed the blood essence in his arm, and the inscription on his skin vanished instantly. His skin recovered somewhat as well, no longer resembling dead, withered wood.

But compared with Shi Yi's left arm, it was no longer so fair and delicate!

This was the change in flesh and skin brought about after beginning Skin and Flesh Refinement.

Shi Yi lightly drew a kitchen knife across it again. His skin still did not break, but there was a faint sting of pain.

Its defensive power was not as strong as when he had just activated his blood essence.

"If I want to instantly raise my defensive power now, I still need to use a large amount of blood essence and activate the Wood Skin Inscription. Only then will the defensive effect be stronger."

"But once I complete the Wood Skin Inscription across my entire body and the inscriptions form a cycle, the blood essence consumption will decrease, and my skin will not look so noticeably different!"

"Furthermore, this increased defense is actually defense brought by the inscription. If I want to fundamentally strengthen my defensive capabilities, I can only continue practicing the complete Lesser Heavenly Cycle Strength Training Fist and tempering my skin and flesh. That is the cultivation of the Flesh and Blood Realm, and it can fundamentally raise the defensive power of my skin and flesh."

"Only by combining it with the Wood Skin Inscription can I unleash even greater combat power."

Shi Yi knew that this condition appearing on his body was the result of having only just broken through to become a Flesh and Blood Martial Student, without fully completing the Wood Skin Inscription.

What he needed to do next was practice the complete Lesser Heavenly Cycle Strength Training Fist.

Previously, cultivation in the Blood Essence Realm only required the first six moves. But from here on, cultivation required the entire set.

Although the latter six moves were the cultivation of the Flesh and Blood Realm, Lu Feng had told him that practicing the entire set of the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Strength Training Fist produced the best results. It was also preparation for practicing the Great Heavenly Cycle Body Tempering Fist later on. The final Heavenly Cycle Unification required both techniques to work together.

Practicing more now would help him in the future.

Shi Yi also understood clearly that his next stage of cultivation as a Flesh and Blood Martial Student required both inscriptions and Flesh and Blood Tempering to assist each other.

His gaze turned to the panel.

The technique section had not changed after he broke through to the Flesh and Blood Realm. It still read Lesser Heavenly Cycle Strength Training Fist (Proficient).

That was exactly as Shi Yi had expected. After all, it had only just displayed his breakthrough.

His divine abilities and state of mind were the same as before, with no changes. This dashed Shi Yi's hopes of unlocking a new Double Pupils Divine Ability!

The Anchor Points section, however, was just as he had anticipated. The value had indeed increased.

The Anchor Points had become 6, with two additional blank Anchor Points.

This also meant that Shi Yi could mark new teleportation points again.

Previously, he had marked his last remaining free Anchor Point inside the Hundred-Year Stone Milk cave on Mount Jiuhua, making it his first replenishment point for cultivation resources.

As for the remaining three, aside from the one at his home on Blue Star, which could not be moved for the time being, the other two Anchor Points could be changed at any time.

He had to leave one Anchor Point in each of the two worlds. These were fixed traversal points. Without them, he would traverse randomly, with no idea where he might end up.

Given a choice, Shi Yi had no desire to test such uncertainty.

As for the current rental house point and the corpse-dumping point beneath the large tree, they could be changed if necessary.

"With these two extra Anchor Points, I have more options again."

"I can also set up another teleportation point on Blue Star."

"Preferably overseas."

"Once my passport is ready, I'll prepare the documents needed to go abroad, take a trip overseas, and leave behind a suitable teleportation point while I'm there."

Shi Yi pondered the matter inwardly.

Some things were inconvenient to do within the country, but once he went abroad, there would be no such restrictions.

He had mentioned getting a passport to his mother, Qin Wanqing. However, it would take some time to process, especially since he was only sixteen and still a minor, meaning there were more procedures involved.

It was also because Shi Yi had moved out to live alone due to his Double Pupils, and Qin Wanqing had seen that he had no intention of going abroad. Otherwise, she would have gotten him a passport long ago!

For families with decent financial means, arranging trips abroad was perfectly normal.

"My strength has now risen to around six hundred jin. Breaking through to the Flesh and Blood Realm added more than a hundred jin on top of Blood Essence Realm perfection, which is somewhat more than breaking through to the Blood Essence Realm added."

"If I continue practicing the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Strength Training Fist to temper my skin and flesh, then completely finish the Wood Skin Inscription, I should gain another two hundred jin or so."

"Once the three rounds of inscriptions are complete and my Flesh and Blood Tempering reaches its limit, my strength should exceed twelve hundred jin."

Lu Feng had told him all these figures, and they were also recorded within the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Strength Training Fist technique.

Through normal cultivation, consuming all kinds of cultivation resources, and tempering the body to its utmost limit, one could reach such figures. To break beyond them, one either needed a special physique, a special bloodline, or extraordinarily precious Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to help the user shatter their limits.

Shi Yi had actually looked forward to this even before he began cultivating, but despite possessing Double Pupils, he currently had no great advantage in physical tempering.

Shi Yi commanded three great divine abilities, and they were of immense help to his cultivation, allowing his progress to advance at a tremendous pace. Yet none of them could help him break through the limits of his body.

The Hundred-Year Stone Milk had that effect, but it was not especially potent. It had to be consumed over time, day after day and month after month, before its effects would show.

Therefore, Shi Yi did not predict that his abilities as a Flesh and Blood Martial Student would exceed the limit of the Flesh and Blood Realm by much, unless he obtained even more precious Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures—treasures that could help break the restrictions of the physical body.

Or unless his Double Pupils continued to unlock and awakened a divine ability capable of breaking the limits of the physical body.

For now, neither of these possibilities was within Shi Yi's expectations.

Because Shi Yi knew very well that one should not hold expectations too high. Otherwise, when reality fell short of expectations, it would leave one in an extremely foul mood.

Being more rational could eliminate many unnecessary troubles at their root.

If the eventual result surpassed his expectations, then he would be delighted.

Putting shackles on oneself was a restriction.

"I need to be careful during cultivation over the next few days. For now, I can't reveal the abnormality on my right arm."

"I'll also apply some simple waterproof makeup to my right arm. As long as no one examines it from up close, there shouldn't be any problem."

Shi Yi usually wore long robes when cultivating.

When he cultivated in the back courtyard, he was alone most of the time. Thus, as long as he applied the makeup, he could proceed as usual.

Shi Yi's disguise skills were not bad. At the very least, no one had ever connected the blind beggar to the One-Eyed Wanderer.

The makeup techniques in Great Xia on Blue Star were also unparalleled.

Before and after makeup, one could look like two entirely different people. No one could tell they were the same person.

"At most, I'll wait one month for Zhao Cheng. If he still hasn't broken through to the Stone Skin Inscription realm by then, I won't wait for him any longer. I'll directly reveal my strength as a Flesh and Blood Martial Student and head to the Anhe Martial Arts School in Ninghe County to cultivate."

This time, Shi Yi still planned to hold back somewhat regarding his cultivation progress.

Because by normal reckoning, it had only taken him a little over twenty days in total to break through from a Blood Essence Realm Martial Disciple to a Flesh and Blood Martial Student. That speed was somewhat too fast.

Even among those great lineages, where abundant cultivation resources provided support, there were not many who could reach his level so quickly.

Such a performance was too monstrous. Therefore, Shi Yi planned to delay a little and merely present himself as a martial arts prodigy.