Tendons Like Strings

While the Lian Clan was busy refining medicine, Yi Yun quietly made his way to the back mountain of the clan.

Bathed in the moonlight, Yi Yun stood on a large rock like a green pine.

Earlier, when Zhao Tiezhu was collecting medicinal ingredients, Yi Yun had seized the opportunity to absorb a large amount of their medicinal power using the Purple Crystal.

Now, this medicinal power surged within Yi Yun, rising and churning like a fiery cloud!

The best way to absorb this medicinal power was through cultivation, digesting it during the process and using it to temper his physical body!

Yi Yun slowly extended his left leg forward, grabbed his left ankle with his left hand, bent his right knee, and leaned his body to the side, his back arching like a bow.

This was the starting stance of "Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain." Yi Yun had secretly learned the first six moves of "Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist" during the day, and he executed them with a semblance of skill.

The most crucial aspect of "Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain" was to tense the tendons within the body. Yi Yun stretched himself until his body ached, then let out a loud shout and punched out!

"Crack!"

The small tree, about a bowl's width in diameter, in front of Yi Yun was directly smashed and broken by his punch!

However, this result did not satisfy Yi Yun. He didn't just want the power of his fist; he wanted to unleash the full potential of his tendon strength.

The five layers of the Mortal Blood Realm, the first three being Valiant, Long Breath, and Thunderous Sound, were merely indicators of a Martial Practitioner's physical fitness. By continuously refining the body, strengthening the internal organs, and pounding the tendons and bones, physical fitness would improve subtly, naturally leading to the Long Breath and Thunderous Sound realms. All of this was a natural progression and did not require deliberate pursuit.

Yi Yun understood that as long as he mastered "Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist," he could easily break through the five layers of the Mortal Blood Realm. According to Yao Yuan, "Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist" was a foundational technique that could still be quite effective even in the Purple Blood Realm.

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, Yi Yun broke another pine tree, as thick as his calf. His fist was slightly bruised, but it didn't matter. The medicinal power absorbed by the Purple Crystal was active within Yi Yun's body. This accumulated Blood Essence was slowly dissolved, and the medicinal power, through this process, completely integrated into Yi Yun's flesh and blood, becoming a part of his strength.

Yi Yun flexed his fist slightly, then punched again!

Yi Yun didn't know how many times he had practiced "Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain." His muscles were like seedlings nourished by spring rain, constantly growing and becoming stronger.

Yi Yun had come to the back mountain since midnight and practiced until dawn!

If not for this high-intensity training, with the Purple Crystal within him and the medicinal power of so many spiritual herbs absorbed, his mental state could be described as full of vigor. Even without sleep, Yi Yun would be energetic and not feel tired at all.

But with each "Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain," Yi Yun exerted his full strength, his muscles bulging, stretching to their limit every time!

Even Yi Yun found this high-intensity training almost unbearable.

His body was extremely sore. Amidst this soreness, the medicinal power he had absorbed was completely consumed. The essence of that energy, however, had been hammered and integrated into Yi Yun's flesh and blood. His tendons, repeatedly stretched, also gradually became incredibly resilient.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Yi Yun had lost count of how many punches he had thrown. Due to severe exhaustion, his vision was blurring. His perception of his surroundings faded away unconsciously. Only the pain of his fists striking and the throbbing sensation of his tendons stretching felt incredibly clear!

Yi Yun unconsciously entered a marvelous state, free from distractions, half-awake and half-dreaming.

He forgot everything. All he remembered were the tendons throughout his body. Subtly, Yi Yun felt a map of his meridians appear in his mind. It was a very strange sensation.

In this state of self-forgetfulness, Yi Yun actually "saw" his meridians.

Sweat poured down like rain, his fists bleeding.

Sweat blurred his eyes, and he vaguely heard the sound of wind whistling. Yi Yun felt as if a thick, heavy chaos lay before him, pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.

At that moment, Yi Yun didn't know where the strength came from. He let out a roar, his tendons stretching to their absolute limit, and punched out!

"Bang!"

The pine tree Yi Yun was practicing on was uprooted and smashed, wood chips flying everywhere!

And amidst the flying wood chips, a clear "snap!" sound came from within Yi Yun's body.

Although the sound was not loud, it was extremely crisp, like the plucking of a bowstring, exceptionally clear in the night sky.

Tendons like strings, this was what it meant for tendons to be like strings...

Yi Yun lay on the grass, spread out like a starfish, facing the sky.

That final punch had completely drained him!

Yi Yun gasped for air, his right fist bloody and mangled, but the pain in his hand made him incredibly excited!

He knew that his "Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain" had reached minor success!

Tonight was his first time practicing martial arts. He was practicing the Tai'a Divine Kingdom's top body-tempering technique – "Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist." This move, "Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain," according to Yao Yuan, generally required warriors at the third layer of the Mortal Blood Realm, who had cultivated Thunderous Sound throughout their bodies, to be able to vibrate their internal tendons and produce a sound like a bowstring.

But Yi Yun had achieved it. Although the sound was faint, he was only at the Valiant realm, and his body was only twelve years old in terms of bone age. Both his muscles and bones were far less robust than those of an adult.

This achievement was in no way comparable to any member of the Lian Clan's Warrior Reserve Camp, and it even far surpassed Lian Chengyu, who was also at the Valiant realm back then.

Yi Yun had not slept all night, and in the Lian Clan's large pharmacy, the old man and the strong man responsible for boiling the medicine had also stayed up all night!

One pot of medicine was boiled for an entire night, the stones supporting the pot turning red.

It wasn't until dawn that several strong men worked together to pour out the medicinal liquid, resulting in a large barrel of black juice.

This was the essence of the entire pot of medicine.

"Hmm... the first batch of these herbs has the best effect. We can still boil it three to five more times. Although the effect will be weaker, it's still very precious. Take it to cleanse your bodies. Also, save the remaining dregs; they will be distributed to the ordinary clansmen for use when smelting Savage Bones!"

The Lian Clan used their traditional method of boiling medicine, which could extract at most a little over twenty percent of the medicinal power, and that was the limit.

And with this twenty percent medicinal power used for Lian Chengyu's body cleansing, Lian Chengyu could only absorb about half of it.

In other words, Lian Chengyu's absorption rate for medicinal herbs was only ten percent.

This rate sounded low, but it was understandable. Ordinary people didn't have a high absorption rate for food, let alone various medicinal herbs that were hundreds of times harder to absorb than food.

This iron bucket of black medicinal liquid was sent to the secret chamber, which was precisely Lian Chengyu's secluded cultivation place.

Lian Chengyu had long heard that this pot of herbal medicine contained extremely precious Pill Fruits, Wild Ginseng, Black Lingzhi, and Five Spirit Grass!

Lian Chengyu's cultivation had reached the sprint stage, and he urgently needed good medicine for replenishment!

"Good! Good! It's come at just the right time!"

Lian Chengyu looked at the bucket of black medicinal liquid, his face filled with excitement.

He took off his clothes and, naked, jumped into the scalding medicinal liquid.

The temperature was around ninety degrees Celsius, enough to cook meat. Even Lian Chengyu, who was at the fifth level of the Mortal Blood Realm, felt pain all over his body while immersed in it.

However, this temperature was also the optimal temperature for absorbing the medicinal liquid. The scalding water would cause one's pores to open up, and the medicinal properties would slowly penetrate the body along the Warrior's pores.