Hardening Tendons, Bones, and Skin

According to the information Xia Qi'an possessed, martial artists in this world were divided into seven major realms:

Blood Refining

Bone Forging

Spirit Condensation

Dragon Transformation

Tribulation Crossing

Immortal

Creation

These seven realms represented the pinnacle of martial arts in the world.

Each realm was further divided into early, middle, and late stages.

However, legends spoke of a total of nine major realms in martial arts.

But in this era of declining magic, with the sharp decrease in spiritual energy, cultivators had all but vanished. It was difficult for anyone to even touch upon the last two lost realms of martial arts.

What Xia Qi'an needed to do now was to follow the circulation path of the Golden Body Technique and condense a trace of Blood Essence within his body.

If he could successfully refine even a trace of Blood Essence, he would step into the early stage of the Blood Refining realm, officially marking his entry into the threshold of martial artists.

The Golden Body Technique required not only internal cultivation but also external training.

The external training method involved using external force for striking, such as heavy hammer blows, to temper the tendons, bones, and skin until the realm of Bronze Skin and Iron Bones was achieved.

For the next few days, Xia Qi'an meditated and cultivated every night.

With the miraculous ability of his Crimson Pupils to perceive internally, he could clearly observe the circulation of his Blood Essence and the process of opening acupoints. Once any issues arose, he could detect them immediately and address them accordingly.

With the enhancement of his Crimson Pupils, Xia Qi'an's martial arts cultivation would be smooth sailing, with no bottlenecks to speak of.

Even if he encountered bottlenecks that were difficult to break through on his own, as long as he could discern the root cause of the problem, he could use external forces to overcome the obstacles.

For instance, by finding some rare heavenly treasures that were highly beneficial for martial artists cultivating Blood Essence...

During the day, he used the old elm tree in the courtyard as a capable training partner, relentlessly striking its trunk with his fists.

Even when the flesh and blood of his knuckles were torn, he did not slacken in the slightest.

In just a few days, the old elm tree in the courtyard had become unrecognizable, covered in deep, indented fist marks.

As the fist marks continued to increase, Xia Qi'an's fists gradually began to exhibit a faint metallic sheen.

The cultivation of the Golden Body Technique had begun to show results.

However, this was still a long way from the realm of Bronze Skin and Iron Bones.

To reach that state, merely tempering his fists was like trying to quench a cartload of burning chariots with a cup of water. He needed to temper every inch of his skin, muscles, bones, and meridians.

Given Xia Qi'an's current condition, tempering his entire body's skin would be difficult, let alone his muscles and bones afterward. That would be nothing short of a fool's dream.

Therefore, Xia Qi'an's current plan was to first enter the realm of Blood Refining and join the Wei Dao Si.

Then, he would utilize the resources of the Wei Dao Si for his subsequent cultivation.

Although he might obtain more powerful techniques after entering the Wei Dao Si, he would never give up on cultivating the Golden Body Technique.

After all, he found himself particularly fond of this type of body-tempering technique. Perhaps it was closely related to his personality; he had a strong preference for forceful martial arts techniques. If the opportunity arose in the future, he would definitely choose to cultivate such techniques.

And so, time flowed by, day after day...

More than twenty days had passed since the deadline given by Chu Shiqing.

One evening, Xia Qi'an sat cross-legged as usual, engaging in internal cultivation.

Suddenly, he felt a surge of warmth erupt from his dantian, rushing like a wild horse to all corners of his body, circulating within him. This was followed by excruciating pain, as if his soul were being torn apart, like a thousand knives cutting him.

"Ah!"

Xia Qi'an could not bear the intense pain and let out a muffled groan.

His muscles writhed like coiled dragons, and the sound of bones grinding against each other, crisp as popping beans, could be heard intermittently.

Accompanying the grinding of his bones, black bloodlines, like small snakes, were squeezed out from various parts of his body. The scene was bizarre and horrifying.

This process was long and agonizing, lasting the entire night. After enduring for several hours, Xia Qi'an finally couldn't hold on and fainted.

This process, akin to a phoenix's rebirth and a complete transformation, was the sign of entering the Blood Refining realm.

When Xia Qi'an woke up again, sunlight was already filling the room. It was already the next morning.

He meticulously took half an hour to wash up, then changed into his newly bought clothes and examined himself in the bronze mirror.

In the mirror, a heroic young man with sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, a jade-like face, well-defined features, and a tall, sturdy build appeared.

Xia Qi'an had never looked at his own appearance so seriously in his life. Examining himself so carefully today, coupled with his well-fitting martial attire, he could indeed be described as handsome and distinguished.

After tidying himself up, Xia Qi'an immediately rushed to the headquarters of the Wei Dao Si, hoping to see Chu Shiqing as soon as possible to fulfill his promise.

He knew that Chu Shiqing would not be found at a branch of the Wei Dao Si.

So, he headed straight for Chu Shiqing's home.

After explaining his purpose to the servants at the Chu residence, Xia Qi'an waited at the entrance for several hours before Chu Shiqing summoned him.

At this moment, Chu Shiqing was leisurely eating breakfast, attended by a maid.

Seeing Xia Qi'an standing ramrod straight outside the side hall, Chu Shiqing teased, "Well, I must say... you actually look like a person with that new outfit, kid!"

Xia Qi'an cupped his hands. "You flatter me, sir..."

Although his words were respectful, he felt quite displeased by Chu Shiqing's dismissive attitude.

However, he was in a position where he needed a favor, and he wasn't someone who lacked discretion.

"Speak! What business do you have with me so early in the morning?"

Chu Shiqing picked up a pastry from the table, took a shallow bite, then put it down. He then used a cloth offered by the maid to wipe his fingers.

Xia Qi'an said with a serious expression, "Reporting to you, sir! I was fortunate enough to step into the Blood Refining realm yesterday, so I've come to report to you!"

"Oh? Less than a month, and you've already reached the Blood Refining realm?"

"Alright... I get it. Go back and wait for news! Someone will notify you when there's news!"

Chu Shiqing said nonchalantly.

It was evident that Chu Shiqing was unwilling to let Xia Qi'an join the Wei Dao Si.

It wasn't that Chu Shiqing disliked Xia Qi'an, but rather that he simply didn't care about him as a person.

With Chu Shiqing's martial arts cultivation, he had already seen that Xia Qi'an had entered the Blood Refining realm.

He was merely pretending to be oblivious.

Xia Qi'an understood the situation perfectly. He knew that if he turned and left now, he would likely miss the golden opportunity to join the Wei Dao Si forever.

He didn't dare to hesitate for a moment and quickly knelt on one knee, cupping his hands in entreaty. "Sir... I am filled with sincere devotion to join the Wei Dao Si. I implore you to give me a chance..."

Hearing his words, Chu Shiqing put down his chopsticks and said with a troubled expression, "It's not that I don't want to help you... but the Wei Dao Si has its own rules for selecting talent. If I were to arbitrarily add your name to the list, the Wei Dao Si might later consider you to be one of my people, Chu Shiqing."

"This would be a favor greater than the heavens... do you understand?"

Xia Qi'an understood the implied meaning in Chu Shiqing's words. "I am ignorant! I don't understand these matters... I only know that if you ever need my assistance in the future, sir, I will gladly serve you with all my might!"

Seeing that Xia Qi'an was so perceptive, Chu Shiqing smiled with satisfaction. "Very well! You're quite a clever kid. Go back for now! Someone from the Snake Guard will find you later. You just need to follow her instructions afterward."

With Chu Shiqing's clear affirmation, Xia Qi'an knew that joining the Wei Dao Si was now more than half accomplished.