According to the information Xia Qi'an knew, martial artists in this world were divided into:
Blood Refining
Bone Forging
Spirit Condensation
Dragon Transformation
Tribulation Crossing
Immortality
Creation
These seven realms represented the pinnacle of martial arts in the world.
Each realm was further divided into three minor stages: early, middle, and late.
However, legends said that martial arts had a total of nine realms.
Yet by this day, the Age of Dharma Decline had arrived, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had drastically diminished.
Cultivators had nearly vanished, and it was already difficult for martial artists to reach the final two lost realms.
What Xia Qi'an had to do now was follow the circulation path of the Golden Body Technique and condense a wisp of blood qi within his body.
If he successfully refined a wisp of qi and blood, he could enter the early stage of the Blood Refining Realm, which meant he would officially cross the threshold of a martial artist.
The Golden Body Technique not only required internal cultivation, but external training as well.
External training involved borrowing external force to hammer the body, such as with heavy blows from an iron hammer, tempering the tendons, bones, and skin until one reached the realm of Bronze Skin and Iron Bones.
For the next several days, Xia Qi'an meditated and cultivated every night.
Relying on the mystical ability of his Crimson Pupils to see within himself, he took in every detail of his qi-and-blood circulation and the process of breaking through his acupoints. Whenever a problem appeared, he could immediately detect it and resolve it accordingly.
With the support of his Crimson Pupils, Xia Qi'an's martial cultivation would be as effortless as a fish in water, with no bottlenecks to speak of.
Even if he encountered a bottleneck that was difficult for him to break through on his own, as long as he could see through the root of the problem, he could use external forces to smash through the obstacle.
For example, he could seek out some heavenly treasures that greatly benefited a martial artist's cultivation of qi and blood...
During the day, he used the old elm tree in the courtyard as his capable training partner, relentlessly pounding its trunk with his fists.
Even when the flesh and bones of his knuckles became a bloody mess, he did not slacken in the slightest.
In just a few days, the old elm tree in the courtyard had become completely unrecognizable, covered in deep fist-shaped dents.
As the number of fist marks continued to grow, Xia Qi'an's fists gradually began to display a faint metallic sheen.
His cultivation of the Golden Body Technique had already begun to show results.
However, he was still far too distant from the realm of Bronze Skin and Iron Bones.
To reach that realm, merely tempering his fists would undoubtedly be a drop in the bucket. He also had to temper every inch of his skin, muscles, bones, meridians, and more.
Given Xia Qi'an's current condition, tempering the skin over his entire body was already somewhat difficult, let alone the muscles, bones, and everything else that came afterward. That was practically a fool's dream.
Therefore, Xia Qi'an's current plan was to first step through the gate of the Blood Refining Realm and join the Wei Dao Si.
Then, he would use the Wei Dao Si's resources to continue cultivating.
Although he might obtain even more powerful techniques after entering the Wei Dao Si, he would never give up cultivating the Golden Body Technique.
After all, he had discovered that he was particularly fond of techniques that tempered the physical body. Perhaps it was closely related to his personality; he greatly favored fierce and forceful martial arts techniques. If he encountered the opportunity in the future, he would certainly choose this type of technique to cultivate.
And so, time flowed on, day after day...
More than twenty days had passed since the deadline Chu Shiqing had given him.
That night, Xia Qi'an was sitting cross-legged as usual, practicing internal cultivation.
Suddenly, he felt a warm current gush out from his dantian. Like a runaway horse, it rapidly surged toward every corner of his body, circulating throughout him. The pain that followed was like being sliced by a thousand blades, splitting his heart and tearing his lungs, as if his very soul were being ripped apart.
"Ah!"
Unable to bear the agony, Xia Qi'an let out a muffled groan.
The muscles throughout Xia Qi'an's body writhed like horned dragons, while the sound of bones grinding and squeezing rang out from time to time, crisp as beans being stir-fried.
As his bones were compressed, black lines of blood were continuously squeezed out from various parts of his body like little snakes. The scene was eerie and horrifying.
The process was long and torturous, lasting throughout the entire night. After struggling to endure for several hours, Xia Qi'an finally could not hold on and fainted.
This process, like a phoenix rising from the ashes and being reborn from the womb, was precisely a sign that he was stepping into the Blood Refining Realm.
When Xia Qi'an woke again, sunlight had already filled the room. It was the morning of the next day.
He spent half an hour leisurely and meticulously washing up. Then he changed into the new clothes he had bought and came before the bronze mirror to examine himself.
In the mirror appeared a handsome young man with sword-shaped brows and starry eyes, a face like carved jade, sharply defined features, and a tall, sturdy build.
Having grown this old, Xia Qi'an had never once looked at his own appearance so seriously. Examining himself so carefully today, dressed in a well-fitting martial outfit, he truly could be called dignified and outstanding.
After tidying himself up, Xia Qi'an immediately hurried to the Wei Dao Si headquarters, hoping to meet Chu Shiqing as soon as possible and have him fulfill his promise.
He knew that Chu Shiqing could not possibly appear at a Wei Dao Si branch.
So he went straight to Chu Shiqing's residence.
After explaining his purpose to the servants of the Chu residence, Xia Qi'an waited at the entrance for several hours before finally receiving Chu Shiqing's summons.
At that moment, Chu Shiqing was leisurely eating breakfast with the help of his maids.
Seeing Xia Qi'an standing ramrod straight outside the side hall, Chu Shiqing teased him, "I have to say... after changing your clothes, you look a bit more like a person!"
Xia Qi'an cupped his hands. "You flatter me, my lord..."
Although he sounded extremely respectful, he was actually quite displeased by Chu Shiqing's attitude of not even looking him in the eye.
Still, he genuinely needed Chu Shiqing's help at that moment, and he was not someone who failed to understand propriety.
"Speak. Why did you come looking for me so early in the morning?"
Chu Shiqing picked up a pastry beside him, took only a small taste, and set it down. Then he used the cloth a maid handed him to wipe his fingers.
Xia Qi'an said solemnly, "My lord! By a stroke of luck, I entered the Blood Refining Realm yesterday, so I came to report to you!"
"Oh? It hasn't even been a month, and you've already entered the Blood Refining Realm?"
"Enough... I know. Go back and wait for news. Someone will notify you when there is news."
Chu Shiqing spoke absentmindedly.
It was clear that Chu Shiqing did not want Xia Qi'an to join the Wei Dao Si.
It was not that Chu Shiqing disliked Xia Qi'an. He simply did not care about Xia Qi'an as a person at all.
With Chu Shiqing's martial cultivation, he had long since seen that Xia Qi'an had entered the Blood Refining Realm.
He was clearly only pretending to be ignorant.
Xia Qi'an understood it as clearly as a mirror. He knew that if he turned and left now, he would likely miss his chance to join the Wei Dao Si forever.
He did not dare hesitate in the slightest. He hurriedly dropped to one knee, cupped his hands, and pleaded, "My lord... I harbor a heart of utmost sincerity toward joining the Wei Dao Si. I beg you to give me a chance..."
After hearing his words, Chu Shiqing set down the chopsticks in his hand and said with an embarrassed look, "It's not that I don't want to help you... It's just that the Wei Dao Si has its own rules for selecting talent. If I took it upon myself to add your name to the list, the Wei Dao Si would probably come to believe that you were one of my people."
"This is a favor greater than the heavens... Do you understand?"
Xia Qi'an took the hint. Chu Shiqing's words carried a hidden meaning. "This humble one is dull and does not understand such principles... I only know that if my lord ever needs my assistance in the future, I will certainly serve you with all my heart, like a dog or horse!"
Seeing how readily Xia Qi'an understood, Chu Shiqing smiled in satisfaction. "Very well! You really are a clever little fellow. Go back for now. Someone from the Snake Guard will naturally come looking for you later. After that, you only need to follow her instructions."
Having received Chu Shiqing's clear assurance, Xia Qi'an understood that his joining the Wei Dao Si was more than halfway settled.
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