External Training Initiation, Martial Arts Gathering

"This Vajra Skill is no ordinary martial arts routine of the jianghu. It is a superior external training art that leads directly to the realm of inner strength!"

Zheng Shan introduced it in a solemn tone.

"Once you reach the entry level, your skin will be as tough as cowhide. At Minor Accomplishment, your sinews and bones will be strong enough to withstand blades and swords."

"At Major Accomplishment, your entire body will be like iron, and your qi and blood will naturally generate a rebounding force. If you can cultivate it to perfection, you may use this art to enter the realm of inner strength and condense the supremely hard, supremely yang Vajra Strength."

"Wherever its force reaches, nothing can withstand it—and its defensive power is even more astonishing!"

Wang Yuan accepted the Secret Manuals. It felt slightly heavy in his hands, and sensing the weight contained within, he could not help but feel delighted.

A superior external training art that led directly to the realm of inner strength!

This was precisely what he needed most right now.

Yet when Senior Disciple Brother Shi Long saw the Secret Manuals, his eyes nearly popped out. Unable to resist, he muttered in a sour voice:

"Master, you're being far too biased."

"When I wanted to practice external training back then, you found me common stuff like Iron Cloth Shirt and Golden Bell Shield, saying it was good enough."

"This Vajra Skill—I begged you for it so many times, but you never even let me take a look."

Hearing this, Zheng Shan shot Shi Long an irritated glare and scolded:

"You blockhead, and you still have the nerve to say that!"

"The Vajra Skill has an extremely high threshold for cultivation. Its demands on one's innate physique, comprehension, and qi and blood are exceedingly harsh!"

"With your talent and temperament, giving it to you would be a complete waste. You'd probably train until your beard turned white and still never touch the threshold of inner strength."

"If you can cultivate the Panshi Fist to perfection and use it to enter the realm of inner strength, it'll be because smoke is rising from your ancestors' graves."

"And you still want to reach for the stars? Get out there and practice your Panshi Fist!"

After being berated, Shi Long shrank his neck and did not dare speak again.

He could only stare enviously at the Vajra Skill in Wang Yuan's hands.

Seeing her Senior Disciple Brother's defeated expression, Zheng Ying finally could not hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

Like spring flowers blooming, her laughter dispelled some of the "resentment" in the courtyard.

Wang Yuan chuckled inwardly as well, while tightening his grip on the Vajra Skill.

He looked at Zheng Shan and gave him a deep bow.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this art upon me!"

"This disciple will certainly not disappoint Master's expectations. I will cultivate diligently!"

Zheng Shan waved a hand, his tone softening.

"Xiao Yuan, since you have made up your mind, there is no time to lose."

"To begin external training, one must use external force to hammer the sinews and bones, supplemented by medicinal infiltration to stimulate the qi and blood into nourishing the body in return. The process is quite painful."

"By good fortune, I obtained a batch of Vajra Powder in my early years, prepared specifically for initiating the Vajra Skill. I'll use it for you today."

As he spoke, he took out a jade jar.

After opening it, they saw a thick, dark-golden medicinal paste that gave off a pungent, strange herbal fragrance.

"Ying'er, help your Junior Brother apply the medicinal paste. Make sure it evenly covers the major areas of his sinews and bones."

Zheng Shan instructed.

"Yes, Father."

Zheng Ying stepped forward in reply and took the jade jar.

Though somewhat shy, her movements were not the least bit awkward. She gestured for Wang Yuan to remove his upper garments.

Children of the jianghu did not fuss over such trivialities.

Wang Yuan did as instructed, revealing his lean, powerful upper body.

The lines of his body were smooth, his muscles bulging without looking bulky, containing explosive strength.

He sat down cross-legged.

Zheng Ying dipped her fingers into the dark-golden Vajra Powder and carefully applied it to key areas such as his arms, chest, abdomen, and back.

When the paste touched his skin, it was initially ice-cold, but it swiftly transformed into a burning sensation.

It was as if countless tiny needlepoints were pricking him, bringing waves of stinging pain and numb itchiness.

Wang Yuan's brows drew together slightly, but his body remained as steady as a boulder as he silently endured it.

Just then, Senior Disciple Brother Shi Long, who had been watching the show from the side, brightened up. A wicked grin appeared on his face as he raised his booming voice and shouted outside:

"Hey! You two outside—get in here! Bring the training staffs, and make sure you're strong!"

Before long, two newly initiated disciples with burly builds and hardwood staffs in hand walked in, looking at Shi Long in confusion.

Shi Long pointed at Wang Yuan, who sat cross-legged on the ground while having the medicinal paste applied, and instructed the two disciples:

"Yes, your Junior Brother."

"Come, come, don't be shy. Aim for wherever he applied the medicine and strike hard!"

"Remember, use force—I want to hear it crack!"

"This is helping your junior brother temper his sinews and bones. It's a good thing!"

The two disciples looked at each other, then hesitantly turned to their master, Zheng Shan.

Zheng Shan glanced at Shi Long but did not stop him.

He merely said to Wang Yuan, "With a Body Refinement Technique, external pounding can indeed hasten the absorption of medicine and stimulate one's qi and blood."

"Your Senior Disciple Brother may be fooling around, but his method is not wrong."

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"Bear with it."

Wang Yuan looked at Senior Disciple Brother's "ill-intentioned" grin, then at the two sturdy hardwood clubs, and could not help feeling helpless.

But he also knew this was a path one had to take in body refinement. He drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Come on!"

"Your command!"

Shi Long chuckled and gestured for the two disciples to begin.

Seeing that their master had tacitly approved and their junior brother had agreed, the two disciples no longer hesitated.

They swung their hardwood clubs and began striking Wang Yuan's medicated back, arms, and other areas with heavy blows!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dull impacts rang out through the inner courtyard.

For an ordinary martial artist, even one who had undergone a Second Blood Change, if they did not circulate their qi and blood to protect their body, being struck at full force by such hardwood clubs would leave them in unbearable pain, their skin split and flesh torn.

But Wang Yuan's Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone was exceptionally tough!

When the clubs struck his body, they actually produced muffled booms like drums being beaten.

His skin merely reddened slightly; scarcely any swelling marks appeared.

Instead, the force of the strikes, mixed with the medicinal effects of Vajra Powder, continually stimulated his tendons, bones, and skin membrane as though hammer-forging refined iron.

Wang Yuan held his breath and focused, circulating the method of the Vajra Skill with all his might.

The mighty qi and blood from his Second Blood Change surged through his body toward the areas being struck.

Driven by his qi and blood and stimulated by the external blows, that scorching medicinal power

seeped into his skin membrane, fascia, and even deep into his bones at an astonishing speed.

He could clearly feel that his tendons and bones were undergoing some subtle yet resilient transformation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The blows continued without pause.

A full half hour passed.

The two disciples wielding the clubs were already sweating from their foreheads, their arms sore and numb as they inwardly groaned.

Was this junior brother's body forged from iron?

The rebounding force had numbed the webs between their thumbs and forefingers, yet the other party had barely furrowed his brow.

At first, Shi Long had merely been watching for amusement.

But as he watched Wang Yuan endure far beyond what an ordinary person could, and saw the faint pale-golden glow of qi and blood around him that matched the description of the Vajra Skill, the smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by astonishment.

"Th-this kid... what kind of monster is he?"

At one moment, when a stream of scorching qi and blood flowed into Wang Yuan's right arm and he forcibly endured a heavy club strike—

Buzz!

The qi and blood beneath the skin of his right arm suddenly condensed, as though coated in an exceedingly thin, nearly imperceptible golden sheen.

A sense of toughness, stability, and rebounding force naturally emerged.

At the same time, a tiny thread of qi and blood seemed to split off from the surging current within him.

It carried an aura entirely unlike the fierce and solid characteristics of Panshi Fist qi and blood, settling within the tendons and bones of his right arm.

Vajra Skill—Beginner!

Though it was only the rudiment of a thread of force, confined to his right arm, it marked that he had officially crossed the threshold of the Vajra Skill.

The sounds of striking stopped abruptly.

Everyone sensed the instantaneous change in Wang Yuan's aura.

The two staff-wielding disciples stood dumbstruck.

Strange light flickered repeatedly in Zheng Ying's beautiful eyes.

Shi Long's mouth fell wide enough to fit an egg inside. Pointing at Wang Yuan's right arm, he stammered:

"V-Vajra Skill qi and blood?"

"Junior Brother, you've... you've already gotten started? In just half a day?"

"When I first trained in Iron Cloth Shirt, it still took me three days just to get started!"

At last, Zheng Shan revealed an undisguised smile.

He glanced at Shi Long, who was so shocked he had lost the power of speech, and said lightly:

"Now do you understand why I wouldn't let you train the Vajra Skill?"

"You needed three days merely to get started in third-rate body-refinement techniques like Iron Cloth Shirt and Golden Bell Shield."

"Yet your Junior Brother possesses the Body Refinement Treasure Physique, and his qi and blood are far more vigorous than those of others at the same level."

"In only half a day, he has already condensed a thread of Vajra Skill qi and blood!"

"This is the difference."

Shi Long flushed scarlet at the rebuke. He scratched his bald head, speechless and awkward.

But when he looked at Wang Yuan again, there was only wholehearted conviction in his gaze, along with a trace of astonishment as though he were looking at a "monster."

Wang Yuan slowly opened his eyes. Feeling that faint yet genuinely existing thread of "Vajra qi and blood" in his right arm, the corners of his lips could not help but curl into a smile.