After completing "Second Blood Muscle Refining," Su Que discovered while bathing that the definition of the muscles all over his body had become far more distinct. His arms had nearly grown a full size larger, while his shoulders and back had become broader and thicker.
To keep others from noticing anything unusual, he could only visit the shops in the city and buy looser scholar's robes to conceal his increasingly robust physique.
Long periods of martial arts training had also made him a little taller.
Fortunately, he was still young.
Growing taller at this age would not strike anyone as strange.
Before he knew it, two months had passed. Su Que taught during the day and practiced martial arts in the mornings and evenings. His life was steady and peaceful.
During this time, the Jade Water City yamen, martial arts schools, and gangs fought several battles with the White Lotus Sect, becoming a topic of conversation throughout Jade Water City's streets and alleys.
It was said that Jade Water City had asked the prefectural city for reinforcements several times. Unable to refuse any longer, the prefectural city sent down a constable whose martial arts realm had reached "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening."
Yet three days after this constable arrived in Jade Water City, he vanished without a trace, as though he had evaporated from the face of the earth.
Only two or three days later did the yamen runners leak the news that the constable had been brutally murdered by White Lotus Disciples.
When Jade Water City's people heard that even the constable sent by the prefectural city had died so quickly, an atmosphere of terror immediately blanketed the city.
The White Lotus Sect suddenly became incomparably powerful in their hearts.
Seeing the White Lotus Sect's overwhelming momentum, some people even took the initiative to seek out patrolling White Lotus Monks and ask to join the White Lotus Sect.
None of this had anything to do with Su Que. He was merely an honest schoolteacher.
Whenever he saw wandering heroes challenging White Lotus Monks, he always watched from far away.
Whenever he encountered White Lotus Disciples, he avoided them.
There was simply no chance that he would cross paths with those fanatical White Lotus fiends.
After returning home, he often reminded his older sister, Su Jing, to go out less in ordinary times. If she had to go out, she should not join in any excitement, lest the White Lotus Sect injure her by mistake.
At night, after Su Que finished eating, he went to the cave.
After drinking his medicine, he began cultivating.
Ever since he had crossed into the realm of "Second Blood Muscle Refining" that night, he had continued cultivating "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening."
"Third Blood Tendon Strengthening" meant using one's qi and blood and muscles to temper and stretch the tendons.
Once the tendons became tougher and more flexible, he could perform many movements that had once been impossible for him.
Furthermore, tempering the tendons would further enhance his strength, speed, and reactions.
However, Su Que discovered that his cultivation speed in "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening" was no longer as rapid as it had been for "First Blood Skin Refining" and "Second Blood Muscle Refining."
Therefore, he shifted the focus of his cultivation back to the Wedding Dress Divine Skill.
Once the true qi of the Wedding Dress Divine Skill became more abundant and more domineering, his progress in "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening" would also accelerate accordingly.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month passed.
Name: Su Que (17 years old) Lifespan: 93 Talent Value: 16 Martial Arts: Seven Injuries Fist (Peak Mastery 15%), Five Animal Frolics (Initial Glimpse 1%) Internal Art: Wedding Dress Divine Skill (Entry Level 9%)
After more than a month of cultivation, his Wedding Dress Divine Skill rose by another realm.
Because the backlash of the Wedding Dress Divine Skill had reversed, his flesh, blood, and meridians were strengthened.
Compared with more than a month ago, his lifespan had increased by ten years.
His Talent Value had increased by three points.
When he had first begun practicing the Wedding Dress Divine Skill, there had been only a single wisp of true qi within his body, merely a faint warmth.
Now, his true qi had grown much stronger, nearly as thick as three fingers.
Because true qi could merge with fist force, his strength now could no longer be mentioned in the same breath as before.
As Su Que cultivated the Wedding Dress Divine Skill, a wisp of steam rose from the Baihui Acupoint atop his head.
Faint wisps of steam also sprayed from before his nose with every exhale and curled back with every inhale.
"Let's try using qi and blood to strengthen my tendons again!"
With that thought, Su Que immediately circulated his qi and blood and moved his muscles to temper and stretch his tendons.
At once, every tendon in his muscles and bones gave rise to sensations of numb itchiness and pain.
The skin and muscles beneath his clothes bulged at times and sank in at others. His tendons were stretching back and forth.
"Sure enough, now that the Wedding Dress Divine Skill has progressed, my cultivation speed in the martial arts realms has increased again!"
Internal arts could aid the advancement of martial arts realms, while advancing martial arts realms could also aid the cultivation of internal arts.
The two had always complemented each other.
Moreover, because the backlash of the Wedding Dress Divine Skill had reversed, his muscles had become even tougher and tighter upon the foundation of completing "Second Blood Muscle Refining."
And "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening" relied precisely on qi and blood and muscles.
Now that his muscles had become stronger, it was hardly strange that Su Que's cultivation speed had increased.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed. Su Que sat cross-legged on his bed as a series of crackling sounds like exploding beans rang out from his body.
"My martial arts realm has broken through!"
He began advancing from the state of "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening" into the state of "Fourth Blood Bone Forging."
He leaped down from the bed, then suddenly raised his leg in an upward kick. His right foot shot almost straight toward the sky.
His right and left legs immediately formed a straight line.
This was the state of a martial artist after undergoing "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening."
The tendons and muscles throughout the body became supple and flexible.
Splits, full leg splits, and similar movements could all be performed with great ease.
Su Que lowered his leg, then suddenly bent backward. He effortlessly performed an iron bridge.
After undergoing "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening," his physical strength had become even greater, and his body had become even more agile.
Not only could he attack from tricky angles, he could also evade others' attacks with unimaginable movements.
Furthermore, after "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening," the lines of his body became more pronounced, and he had grown another two inches taller.
If he bared his upper body before others, any knowledgeable martial artist would certainly be able to tell that he was a trained fighter.
After undergoing "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening," the shape of the muscles all over his body became more natural and fluid. It could be said that his muscles had turned from "dead" to "alive."
Ordinary people could never train such muscles merely by exerting brute force to death.
Su Que's thoughts stirred, and four lines of tiny black text appeared before him.
Name: Su Que (17 years old) Lifespan: 108 Talent Value: 19 Martial Arts: Seven Injuries Fist (Peak Mastery 15%), Five Animal Frolics (Initial Glimpse 1%) Internal Art: Wedding Dress Divine Skill (Entry Level 9%)
He had heard some martial artists say, "When tendons grow an inch, lifespan grows ten years." Though this saying was not entirely accurate, it at least truly described how strengthening the tendons could extend one's lifespan.
After "Third Blood Tendon Strengthening," his lifespan had actually increased by sixteen years!
And his Talent Value had increased by three points.
Su Que's heart surged with excitement, and he hurried back onto the bed to cultivate the Wedding Dress Divine Skill.
Because his Talent Value had increased, his cultivation speed for the Wedding Dress Divine Skill accelerated once more.
In the blink of an eye, another two months passed.
At night, within the forest outside the city.
Su Que's thoughts stirred, and he summoned five lines of tiny black text.
Name: Su Que (18 years old) Lifespan: 120 Talent Value: 22 Martial Arts: Seven Injuries Fist (Peak Mastery 15%), Five Animal Frolics (Initial Glimpse 1%) Internal Art: Wedding Dress Divine Skill (Outstanding 2%)
The Wedding Dress Divine Skill had risen by another realm.
After this internal art reached Outstanding, its cultivation speed slowed greatly.
When he had cultivated the Seven Injuries Fist, its progress had likewise noticeably slowed upon reaching Outstanding.
Perhaps all martial arts reached a bottleneck once they attained Outstanding.
The slow advancement of his internal art directly caused the progress of Fourth Blood Bone Forging to slow as well.
Thus, Su Que shifted the focus of his cultivation to the Seven Injuries Fist.
After practicing the Seven Injuries Fist for one shichen, he discovered that its progress had actually increased by 2%.
At this rate, it would take only around ten days for the Seven Injuries Fist to advance by another realm.
His cultivation speed was far faster than before he had obtained the Wedding Dress Divine Skill!
Su Que immediately began pondering the reason.
"First, after gaining internal force, it helps the advancement of martial arts."
"Second, cultivating the Wedding Dress Divine Skill extended my lifespan and increased my Talent Value, so my cultivation speed for the Seven Injuries Fist accelerated accordingly!"
At this thought, the idea that had previously been somewhat vague in his mind gradually became clear.
—When an evil art reached a bottleneck, he would first stop, then find another evil art to cultivate!
Because his current Talent Value was not low, if he started cultivating a new evil art from scratch, he could rapidly train it from Initial Glimpse to Outstanding.
Cultivating a new evil art would extend his lifespan, thereby increasing his Talent Value.
Although extending his lifespan had already become difficult now, so long as he cultivated several evil arts to Outstanding.
His lifespan would certainly increase considerably, and his Talent Value would rise along with it.
Once his Talent Value had increased to a certain degree, he could then cultivate the evil art that had reached its bottleneck.
Because of the increase in Talent Value, that evil art at its bottleneck would surely make progress as well!
By repeating this cycle, he could continuously accumulate Talent Value and continuously extend his lifespan!
At this rate, attaining immortality would not be impossible!
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