Nine Revolutions of Blood Burning

Island No. 701, where Nanxi's capital was located, lay several vast stretches of sea away from here, in a remote region.

As a result, none of the martial artists here knew Shi Yang. They even knew little about Nanxi's military families.

"So strong!"

He Tie, Zhang Erdan, and the others had no real concept of just how strong Shi Yang was. They had only watched from afar as Shi Yang killed the Dragon Whale, and knew that this man might be far stronger than their own Master.

After all, when their Master saw the Dragon Whale, all he could do was flee in panic.

Wang Yu thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Master, Body Tempering Sixth Level is the great completion of the Body Tempering Realm. By then, the physical body has exhausted its potential, tempered a thousand times over until it reaches the pinnacle.

"Are there martial artists stronger than those who have cultivated to Body Tempering Sixth Level?"

Sun Chengshan's eyes burned as he watched Shi Yang's figure. Slowly, he said, "Of course there are. Isn't that one right there?"

Sun Chengshan's words confirmed Wang Yu's suspicions.

Shi Yang had slain the enormous Dragon Whale all by himself, proving that his combat strength had unquestionably surpassed the scope of the Body Tempering Realm.

"Beyond Body Tempering lies Blood Burning!"

Sun Chengshan rarely took the initiative to speak of such things to his disciples. Mainly, he feared that these disciples, who had only recently entered the martial path, would aim too high and grow restless at heart.

It would do more harm than good. Besides, most disciples might not come into contact with higher realms of cultivation even if they spent their entire lives trying, so there was no point in telling them.

He only explained it in such detail today because Wang Yu had asked. Otherwise, he would not have bothered.

According to him, the six levels of Body Tempering mainly involved honing the body and physique, excavating deeply buried potential, and thereby enhancing one's overall physical strength, power, agility, reflexes, and other abilities.

The great completion of the Sixth Level was regarded as the limit of this realm.

In this remote Island Town, even if one stopped there and could advance no further, one would still count as an absolute powerhouse in the region.

Only a very small number of people, such as the local garrison commander and captains, could reliably keep you beneath them.

Reaching that point already meant success in the eyes of other martial artists.

But if one wished to go farther along the martial path, one had to forge a new path and break through the body's inherent limits.

That was Blood Burning!

By cultivating the Blood Burning Method, one changed the energy composition within the blood, causing the body's functions to undergo a transformation toward a stronger form.

There was a saying Sun Chengshan knew.

Body Tempering Sixth Level, Nine Revolutions of Blood Burning.

It referred to the nine subdivisions of Blood Burning, categorized by the number of Blood Transformation evolutions.

The more times one underwent Blood Transformation, the stronger a martial artist naturally became.

"Garrison Commander Lu Pan is in the Blood Burning Realm, and Captain Lu Feng is also in the Blood Burning Realm. They are currently the two known Blood Burning Realm powerhouses in town. With two mighty forces joining hands, they possess the overwhelming strength to suppress the entire martial world of Island Town!"

The longing in Sun Chengshan's words was unmistakable.

He too hoped that one day, he would step into that level.

Shi Yang, who had appeared here, and Guan Yunwu, who had come with him, were undoubtedly Blood Burning martial artists as well.

"It is said that Blood Burning martial artists have long lifespans. Every Blood Transformation evolution can extend one's life by twenty years!

"Ordinary people can live at most a little over a hundred years, but among those of Blood Burning, the long-lived can exceed three hundred years!" Sun Chengshan sighed.

Among certain great families, these Blood Burning martial artists were not uncommon. Many Old Ancestors had lived so long that each seemed like an otherworldly old immortal.

They were the guarantee that a family would stand unshaken, revered by the people of their region.

This was Wang Yu's first time hearing of such things.

Before this, he had only known that ordinary people in this world could generally live past a hundred as long as they suffered no disasters or illnesses.

Some long-lived people in villages and towns could even reach one hundred thirty or one hundred forty years old.

That already far exceeded the average lifespan in the world of his previous life.

Yet now he learned that powerful martial artists could even break through the lifespan limits of their species and live for centuries!

It shook him to the core.

In truth, these secrets concerning Blood Burning had long spread through the higher levels of the martial world. They were not particularly secret.

Otherwise, Sun Chengshan could not have known of them.

Wang Yu's heart grew somewhat restless.

Humanity's pursuit of longevity had remained unchanged since ancient times.

From antiquity to the present, people of every world yearned for eternal life and obsessed over eternity.

Wang Yu was no exception!

Blood Burning Realm... Wang Yu murmured inwardly.

On the other side, the successful hunt of a Dragon Whale was undoubtedly huge news.

After all, it was treasure-grade meat and materials weighing the equivalent of more than a hundred tons!

The total value of such a Dragon Whale was simply unimaginable.

Now that the danger had passed, many martial artists outside the town began to entertain ideas, moving closer to where the Dragon Whale's corpse lay.

They wanted a share of the spoils. Their eyes brimmed with greed and fervor as they gathered like packs of jackals, hoping to tear a few bites of meat from the Dragon Whale's carcass.

Unfortunately, faced with such immense profits, their heated minds refused to consider one thing: how could someone capable of killing such a gigantic sea beast be easy to provoke?

Guan Yunwu stood before the Dragon Whale with his sword held crosswise, his gaze sharp and no longer as gentle as before.

"I advise you all not to do anything foolish."

The standard-issue Nanxi military armor he wore finally sobered these martial artists somewhat, filling their hearts with misgivings.

The man before them was with the military. No matter what, he was not someone they could afford to offend.

Some martial artists immediately stopped, already thinking of retreating.

But quite a few were unwilling to leave empty-handed like this.

Such an enormous Giant Whale—even if they could take away a small piece, several dozen or a hundred jin of whale meat, they would still make a fortune.

This was treasure-grade meat from a Blood Burning creature!

"We also took part in hunting this sea beast. It isn't too much to ask for a share of the benefits, is it?" A martial artist in his thirties, with a cloth scarf tied around his head, suddenly shouted.

At once, the other martial artists with ulterior motives began echoing him.

"Exactly! Without us drawing this sea beast's attention, could you have killed it?"

"My good brothers died, crushed into meat paste! Don't they deserve at least some burial expenses as compensation?"

"Just because you're the military, you think you can cover the sky with one hand and swallow up all the benefits?"

The crowd shouted louder and louder, as though they were the righteous side—the oppressed masses being exploited.

Guan Yunwu frowned deeply. These people were becoming more and more outrageous. He wanted to suppress them by force, but feared that doing so would be too aggressive and damage the military's image behind him.

Seeing the hesitation on Guan Yunwu's face, the group was instantly delighted.

"Charge over! We'll take what belongs to us!"

One person seized the chance to shout encouragement.

The momentum rose, and everyone was about to force their way through Guan Yunwu's blockade.

Just then, a figure suddenly dropped from above. With one heavy, powerful kick, he sent several martial artists at the very front—the ones shouting the loudest—flying more than ten meters away, where they rolled into a heap on the ground.

With a reach of his hand, he grabbed another man and smashed his head directly into the sand, planting him upside down like a spring onion.

That move startled the other martial artists, and they no longer dared to advance.

"Young Master." Guan Yunwu had not expected Shi Yang to act the moment he said so.

"Old Guan, you're never soft-handed when carrying out missions and exterminating enemies. Why are you shrinking back and hesitating now?" Shi Yang said slowly.

His tone was calm, carrying a trace of dissatisfaction beneath its lazy ease.

In Shi Yang's view, Guan Yunwu was good in every way, except that he was sometimes too prone to looking before and after, not decisive enough.