Breakthrough in a Single Day

"Son-in-law, I placed a basin of ice beside your bed. It'll be cooler when you rest tonight. Please turn in early. If you need anything, just call for me—I'm sleeping next door."

After taking care of Song Ankang, Qiushi finally left. Watching the girl's light-footed figure depart, Song Ankang felt a faint warmth in his heart.

Only after confirming that Qiushi had fallen asleep did Song Ankang cautiously get out of bed, preparing to practice the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture once more.

Although it hurt terribly—just thinking about it made his heart quail—when he considered the dangers of this world and his current circumstances, Song Ankang still gritted his teeth and began the Skin Injury Fist.

Boom! Boom! Boom...

With his teeth clenched and his face twisted in agony, Song Ankang rapidly threw three Skin Injury Fists. It felt as though every inch of skin on his body was about to shatter. The pain made him pass out on the spot, collapsing beside the bed.

"You have used the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture. You have suffered the effects of the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture's side effects. The skin membranes throughout your body have been severely damaged... The Heavenly Book of Fate Defiance is taking effect, absorbing energy from the outside world. The side effects will soon be converted. Please wait!"

By then, Qiushi had already fallen asleep and did not hear the commotion. Otherwise, she would certainly have come over to check on him.

To be honest, Song Ankang had not expected that throwing three Skin Injury Fists in a row would hurt so much. Even though his spirit and will had improved considerably, the pain still knocked him unconscious.

Was it because his spirit and will had been weak back on Earth? Even if they had increased by a lot, the total was still limited. Next time, he should throw them one punch at a time.

Several hours later, the Heavenly Book of Fate Defiance began converting the side effects of the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture, rapidly strengthening the skin membranes throughout Song Ankang's body.

"The Heavenly Book of Fate Defiance has accumulated sufficient energy and is beginning to take effect... Your injuries have been healed. Your qi and blood are increasing. Your skin membranes are strengthening!"

In just a few minutes, Song Ankang's skin membranes had been raised to the peak of the Skin Tempering Stage. After pausing for a moment, they directly smashed through the bottleneck shackling the Skin Tempering Stage, advancing him into the Muscle Tempering Realm.

Even so, the side effects from those three Skin Injury Fists had not yet vanished. A portion still fed back into him, stabilizing Song Ankang's current realm.

In merely around two days, Song Ankang had traversed a path that other cultivators needed months, or even longer, to cross.

It was said that the greatest genius in human history had taken three days to break through from the Skin Tempering Stage to the Muscle Tempering Realm, yet Song Ankang had spent only two days.

No, to be precise, it had not even been two days. Only a dozen or so hours had passed since Song Ankang transmigrated here. If word of this got out, who knew what kind of waves it would stir up.

When he woke again, it was already five in the morning. Time on the Xuanhuang Continent was similar to Earth's: a day also had twenty-four hours. Strictly speaking, they should be called twenty-four time points, but Song Ankang was still used to calling them hours.

Qiushi next door had also gotten up and was sweeping the courtyard. Song Ankang climbed up from the floor, and the first thing he did was assess his current strength.

Surging Seven Injuries Qi and Blood flowed through his body. Once he circulated it, the skin membranes all over his body turned black, and even his muscles became more evenly defined.

This was the Muscle Tempering Realm!

Song Ankang was struck speechless. He had not expected the effects of three Skin Injury Fists to be so powerful. The resulting side effects had actually allowed him to charge straight to the peak of the Skin Tempering Stage and even advance into the Muscle Tempering Realm.

This physique was simply too strong. He had to do it again next time!

The pain from last night was instantly tossed to the back of Song Ankang's mind. Compared with the benefits he had gained, that little suffering seemed like nothing at all.

Besides, he had passed out at the time anyway, so he had not felt that much pain.

It really was irresistible!

Song Ankang tidied himself and the room, then happily headed to the Training Room, carefully savoring the feeling of his explosive increase in strength.

His strength, speed, reactions, and everything else had surpassed what he possessed on Earth by at least twice. If he were back on Earth, he could absolutely contend for championship titles in many Olympic events.

He had gained such enormous benefits merely by breaking through to the Muscle Tempering Realm. If he continued cultivating, who knew how far his strength could rise? He should be able to rival the Superman from movies.

Song Ankang should have no problem dealing with three or four burly men now. Knocking down a Tai Chi Master Ma, skilled in receiving, redirecting, and issuing force, with a single punch would also be effortless. Cultivation truly was a joyful thing.

After getting used to his vastly increased strength, Song Ankang heard Qiushi calling from outside. Only then did he leave and enjoy a lavish medicinal cuisine breakfast.

After eating, he began cultivating the second level of the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture's practice method, the Muscle Tempering Fist. As he performed each movement, Song Ankang could clearly feel the muscles throughout his body rapidly strengthening.

Correspondingly, the side effects fed back even more vigorous and condensed Seven Injuries Qi and Blood, along with a stronger spirit and will.

When cultivating the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture's practice method, the side effects were continuous. In the short term, they were not too severe, so the Heavenly Book of Fate Defiance could effectively absorb outside energy and convert the side effects into beneficial effects without any need to wait.

Song Ankang's overall strength was soaring, far beyond what any cultivator of the same realm could imagine. In only half an hour, the energy from the medicinal cuisine had been completely consumed, and the muscles throughout his body had become more evenly defined.

This feeling was better than anything he had ever experienced!

Looking at the beginnings of his muscle definition, Song Ankang nodded in satisfaction. A world where one could cultivate was truly wonderful. In such a short time, he could gain a physique that would take many years to train on Earth—or one that could never be trained even in a lifetime.

Heaven had treated him exceedingly well. He had to cherish this life properly and could not die so easily again.

For some reason, after others experienced the brink of life and death, they often became more open-minded. Yet after Song Ankang had gone through it once, he found that he feared death far more than before.

If he could return to Earth and make the choice again, he would never rush out to save that child.

To put it in an analogy, if Song Ankang's fear of death had once been a one, then it had now soared past ten—perhaps even reaching one hundred.

It turned out that not everyone who truly faced life and death became a warrior. Some might instead become cowards terrified of dying.

After adapting to his current strength, Song Ankang left the Training Room. He did not continue using the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture's combat practice to absorb side effects and raise his cultivation.

His strength had increased so much that he ought to relax a little. At the very least, he could stroll around the manor and visit the storeroom to see what Liu Yuanqing intended to do. That man actually dared withhold his monthly salary. The current Song Ankang was no longer afraid of any Brocade-Feathered Great Goose.

When Qiushi heard that Song Ankang wanted to go out for a walk, she was delighted as well. She followed him out of the small courtyard and wandered through the manor at his side.

Chaoyun Manor covered more than a thousand mu and was surrounded by stockade walls. It was one of several large manors owned by the Imperial Merchant Tang Family, mainly producing grain and some basic medicinal herbs.

More than a hundred Tenant Farmer households relied on Chaoyun Manor for their livelihood, with a total population exceeding a thousand. Song Ankang was the manor lord here, and in theory, he could manage everything in the manor.

The power he wielded far exceeded that of the general managers and chairmen of companies on Earth. He could essentially determine the fate of everyone in the manor.

However, because he had only just arrived, most of the people of Chaoyun Manor did not respect him, especially the manor's upper ranks. Some of them had connections to certain people in power within the Imperial Merchant Tang Family, making them somewhat troublesome to manage.

Liu Yuanqing was one such representative. As the person in charge of the storeroom, he held considerable authority in Chaoyun Manor and could basically rank among the top five. No wonder he dared to slight both Qiushi and Song Ankang.

The main crop grown in the manor was a strange plant called Red Wheat. It resembled Earth's wheat to some extent, but each stalk was as large as a small tree and covered in red wheat fruits.

The wheat fruits had not yet ripened. Each was only the size of an apricot now, but when mature, they would be roughly as large as an adult's fist. They contained considerable energy; one alone could fill an adult's stomach.

Many farmers were currently catching insects in the fields. They were all manor folk of Chaoyun Manor, relying on it for their livelihood.

Amid their busy farm work, murmurs of discussion drifted into Song Ankang and Qiushi's ears.