Zhao Xingtian, Bone Refining Subdivisions

Lu Changfeng woke up feeling refreshed.

He stretched and got up, then suddenly leaped to the rafters of the room!

Someone else was in the room!

"Do you have to be so tense? Would my Master become friends with someone like you?"

At the table in the room, pouring and drinking tea himself, was the Young Sect Master of the Xuanyuan Sword Sect, Zhao Xingtian!

"Don't you know how rude it is to enter someone's room without announcing yourself?" Lu Changfeng cursed inwardly.

"Hey, this is the Wang Family's Hall of Worship. Do you really think the Wang Family is yours to control?"

Zhao Xingtian replied, "I've already informed the head of the Wang Family. Upon learning I am my Master's disciple, he allowed me to stay with the Wang Family."

Lu Changfeng recovered and leaped down from the rafters.

Zhao Xingtian's cultivation seemed even more unfathomable, and he gave Lu Changfeng a special feeling.

This guy had likely entered the Bone Refining realm.

Lu Changfeng could vaguely see a hint of deep sorrow in Zhao Xingtian's eyes.

He pondered for a moment before asking, "Where's Old Luo?"

"Dead," Zhao Xingtian said the two words plainly.

A strange anger rose within Lu Changfeng.

"Are you crazy?" Lu Changfeng asked.

Zhao Xingtian suddenly looked up at Lu Changfeng, killing intent flashing in his eyes. After a few moments, Zhao Xingtian looked away, the killing intent dissipating.

"So the Sword Seed had already merged into Master's body."

"The inheritance of the Sword Seed requires paying the price of one's life."

"They all kept it from me."

"Master personally passed the Sword Seed to me in his final moments before death."

"He had already made preparations for the inheritance."

Zhao Xingtian finished speaking, his expression somewhat dazed.

He had previously thought that Old Luo had selfish motives, which was why he took the Moon Chasing Sword Seed.

The Sect Master had also guided him in that direction.

If that were truly the case, why would Master have returned?

The Sect Master had used him.

Master, on the other hand...

"How long do you plan to stay here?" Lu Changfeng interrupted Zhao Xingtian's mournful thoughts.

Zhao Xingtian glanced at Lu Changfeng. "I'm not sure either."

This guy was purely running away from home, or rather, running away from the sect, due to his confusion.

"Then where will you stay until you figure things out? Shall I take you to Old Luo's courtyard?"

"No need, I'll stay here with you."

"I see your courtyard has quite a few rooms."

Lu Changfeng rolled his eyes. He couldn't do anything about this guy.

This guy was powerful in martial arts, and he couldn't defeat him. Plus, he had Wang Shou's permission, so Lu Changfeng could only resign himself to it.

However, Lu Changfeng wasn't extremely bothered.

This guy had Grade A Upper Bone Structure. If he could keep him close, Lu Changfeng could replicate his Bone Structure, and the speed at which he fused it into Heroic Bone Structure would be even faster.

"Then do as you wish. I'm going to cultivate."

Lu Changfeng put on his training clothes and left the bedroom with his two-hundred-pound saber.

He first went to confirm Zhao Xingtian's situation with Wang Jin, the steward of the Hall of Worship.

The result was naturally that everything Zhao Xingtian had said was true.

He indeed had the right to reside in the Wang Family's Hall of Worship. In fact...

Lu Changfeng returned to his own courtyard and began to cultivate.

Zhao Xingtian, hearing the commotion, actually followed him out.

"Hey, don't you know it's rude to follow me like this?" Lu Changfeng turned and said.

Zhao Xingtian replied, "I grew up in the Sword Sect's mountain gate. When we practiced, we could see and critique each other."

Fine, so he was just a blank slate, untainted by the secular world. No wonder he was easily tricked into matricide.

In fact...

After Zhao Xingtian learned the truth, he went to confront the Sect Master.

The Sect Master, however, openly admitted his scheme, stating he didn't want the Moon Chasing Sword Seed to fall into the wrong hands.

In a fit of anger, Zhao Xingtian decided to leave the sect.

But being an orphan who grew up in the Xuanyuan Sword Sect, he had nowhere else to go.

A flash of inspiration struck him: the Wang Family in Fengcheng. Zhao Xingtian's backside made the decision for his head, and he rushed to Fengcheng.

The next day, he found Lu Changfeng's room.

Since he was Master's friend of a different generation...

He could also be considered half of my... elder? No, a friend.

Lu Changfeng ignored Zhao Xingtian and began cultivating the second layer of the Heavenly Body Tempering Blade Technique.

Switching to a 200-jin broadsword, coupled with the torment of the second layer of the body-tempering blade technique, Lu Changfeng's daily training sessions were reduced to twice.

After two sessions, his body reached its limit.

He had to rest for a night before resuming his training the next day.

Lu Changfeng estimated it would take him half a year to reach the third layer of cultivation.

After one training session was complete.

Lu Changfeng casually left the 200-jin iron broadsword on the ground and lay down himself, gasping for air.

"Your cultivation technique is quite interesting."

Zhao Xingtian unceremoniously stepped forward and crouched down, attempting to pick up the large broadsword Lu Changfeng had dropped.

"Huh?"

Zhao Xingtian exerted a bit more force before he could lift the large broadsword.

"This weight..."

"No wonder Master sought you out as a friend of a different generation; you possess such spirit."

Although Zhao Xingtian was a blank slate when it came to social graces, his attainments in martial arts were undeniable.

He could tell at a glance that Lu Changfeng was trying to break through to the sixth level of Blood Tempering.

"When you're alive, you should do something meaningful," Lu Changfeng said casually, his eyes rolling from exhaustion, as a perfunctory response.

Zhao Xingtian, however, thoughtfully put down the large broadsword.

"Have you entered the Bone Refining realm?" Lu Changfeng asked after regaining some breath.

With such a master two major realms above him, and someone who didn't seem particularly intelligent, it would be a waste not to ask for knowledge freely.

Zhao Xingtian nodded: "Yes, I have."

"You just entered the Bone Refining realm; don't you need to consolidate your cultivation?"

Zhao Xingtian replied: "The best way to consolidate the Bone Refining realm is to let time pass smoothly, allowing the bones within your body to transform into Jade Bones under the infusion of internal energy."

"How many stages are there in the Bone Refining realm?" Lu Changfeng asked again.

Zhao Xingtian came back to his senses: "Are you treating me like an encyclopedia?"

"So stingy. Master and I are friends of a different generation, you know," Lu Changfeng pouted.

Zhao Xingtian's breath hitched. After a moment, he said, "It's fine to tell you. The Bone Refining realm is divided into five stages: Jade Bone, Iron Bone, Silver Bone, Gold Bone, and Spirit Bone."

"The most dramatic increase in the Bone Refining realm is in strength; each breakthrough in a minor stage can increase strength severalfold."

"Martial artists in the Bone Refining realm can also be called Martial Ancestors."

"I am currently in the Jade Bone Martial Ancestor stage, though my bones have not yet fully transformed."

"In this stage, I only need to circulate my internal energy, and it will stimulate the evolution of my bones, naturally enhancing my strength."

"In this stage, it's best not to engage in combat, as doing so will interrupt the bone evolution process, which is not worth the loss."

"Once the bones have completely transformed into Spirit Bones, the internal energy within the body will turn into true qi, thus allowing one to enter the Fetal Transformation realm."

"Martial artists in the Muscle Tendon Transformation realm can live up to 120 years at most, those in the Bone Refining realm up to 150 years, and martial artists in the Fetal Transformation realm can live for two to three hundred years!"