Into the Water Again

After chatting for a while, Liang Qu returned to his room to change, then went back to the Martial Arts Field.

"Senior Brother!"

Hu Qi apologized to the few people he was teaching, then led Liang Qu into a Quiet Room.

Inside the Quiet Room stood a wooden cabinet and a low table.

Hu Qi took out a key and opened the cabinet, feeling around for a slender stick of incense. He lit it and placed it in the incense burner on the low table. A strange, indescribable fragrance swiftly filled the room.

Hu Qi pulled several booklets from his robes. On top was a Human Body Atlas, extremely detailed, covering everything from Internal Organs and Blood Vessels to skin membranes. Beneath it lay several sheets of yellow paper covered in writing. Don't Know what they were.

"This Human Body Atlas can be taken back and studied carefully, Junior Brother. The remaining sheets are all medicinal formulas—the accompanying formulas for the Three Fists Technique.

"Master Yang's Dharma Gates encompass more than just the Three Fists Technique, but it is exceptionally good for laying one's foundation. Thus, unless there are special circumstances, we disciples generally practice the Three Fists Technique before reaching the Breaking Flesh Realm.

"Junior Brother Liang, you are highly suited to Ape Fist. You can continue practicing along this fist technique from here on.

"I know that you, Junior Brother Li, and Junior Brother Chen are fellow townsmen and close friends. But remember this well: this formula must not be passed on lightly.

"You may prepare medicine for them to take. There is another version on the back of the formula, with many useless ingredients and incorrect dosages added. It retains eighty percent of the effect, but under no circumstances can you leak the real formula."

Liang Qu straightened his upper body. "Senior Brother Hu, I understand."

"I could see that Junior Brother Liang is not someone who fails to grasp the weight of things. I was merely mentioning it."

Hu Qi tidied the atlas and stacked it on the low table before continuing.

"The key to the Breaking Skin Realm is to use the inner force of one's Qi and blood to stimulate the fascia and skin throughout the body, achieving the effect of Skin Refining. So-called Qi and blood is the breath that arises in your chest when you practice fist techniques. It is the condensed essence of the human body, the foundation of life itself.

"After Breaking Skin, your skin membranes may appear no different from those of ordinary people, but in truth they will be as tough as cowhide, greatly increasing your defense. If you activate your Qi and blood, you can rise to an even higher level."

"Then how does one use Qi and blood's inner force to stir the fascia and skin throughout the body?"

"It is hard to explain and even harder to do. I'll demonstrate it for you once, and you'll understand. Start practicing Ape Fist first."

Liang Qu did as instructed.

Around the end of the fourth stance, when he began the fifth, Hu Qi stepped forward and pressed a palm against Liang Qu's chest.

Liang Qu immediately felt a warm airflow seep in through his chest, directly merging with the Chest Qi within him. It swept up his Chest Qi and flowed toward his Four Limbs and Hundred Skeletons. When it finally reached his fascia and skin, it turned into a current of heat and vanished.

Gradually, Liang Qu's skin began to warm. At first it was manageable, but then it began to burn, until the heat became astonishing! Steam rose from his entire body as though he were a steaming cage!

Hu Qi said in a deep voice, "Don't let your breath leak. The heat is a normal reaction—it is your Qi and blood hammering your skin!"

Liang Qu nearly cried out in pain. Hearing this, he clenched his teeth and endured it.

He could feel his skin contracting and tightening in time with his heartbeat. Only after a quarter of an hour did the scalding sensation gradually fade, and his skin relaxed once more.

"Did you remember the feeling of guiding Qi?"

"Only half of it."

"It's fine. Let's do it again."

With the experience of the first time, Liang Qu was much calmer the second time.

Perhaps because his Chest Qi had been depleted in such a short period and had yet to recover, his skin did not feel much during the second attempt. Instead, Liang Qu better remembered how to spread his Qi out and blend it into his skin.

He vaguely grasped why one needed Qi and blood as thick as a little finger before breaking through.

"You felt it, didn't you? If your Qi and blood have not reached a certain level, using them to break through will have negligible results. Instead, continuous Skin Refining will consume your Qi and blood, preventing them from growing and leaving your body depleted.

"Back when Senior Brother Xu was still at the Martial Arts School, he taught this in advance a few times. Many people refused to accept failure and kept trying after leaving the school, only to ruin their bodies through training. That is why, unless your Qi and blood have reached the required level, the Martial Arts School generally will not teach you how to refine your skin.

"Try it once more and see whether you truly remembered it."

Liang Qu nodded. He closed his eyes and practiced Ape Fist. After activating another thread of Qi and blood, he followed the sensation Hu Qi had conveyed earlier. In an instant, he dispersed the Qi and blood within his body and slowly guided it into his fascia and skin.

As his blood Qi dissolved and seeped in, Liang Qu's skin grew faintly warm. One round of Skin Refining was complete. He opened his eyes. "Thank you, Senior Brother Hu. I have remembered it."

"That is good. What I lit just now was Spirit Concentration Incense. It will make it easier for you to guide your Qi and blood. Without Spirit Concentration Incense, the guidance may be somewhat sluggish.

"If food is plentiful, Junior Brother Liang should be able to break through within twenty days. Then you will be a true Martial Artist."

Twenty days was not long.

Liang Qu very much wanted to know what it would be like once he truly became a Martial Artist.

"Junior Brother, will you continue practicing here, or go back to practice? If you intend to return, take the Spirit Concentration Incense with you."

"Third Senior Brother asked me to visit his home tonight to look at the blueprints. I'll practice here. Going back and then returning would be too far."

"Fine. But let us eat first. It is time for a meal."

"Alright."

It had been past nine in the morning when he left the Yang Residence. He had bought a few things and practiced martial arts for a while, so it was indeed time to eat. Especially after consuming so much Qi and blood just now, Liang Qu's stomach was already completely empty.

As Personal Disciples, they ate differently from ordinary apprentices.

In a separate small room, a square table held a huge basin of braised beef, a huge basin of boiled mutton, and a huge basin of steamed vegetables, along with enough white rice. Every basin was as large as a washbasin, steaming fiercely.

Liang Qu was stunned. "The three of us are eating this much!?"

"What is so strange about that? Once Junior Brother Liang breaks through the Skin Barrier, you will know just how much you can eat. Come, sit down. No need to stand on ceremony—we are all our own people."

Xiang ChangSong lifted his robe hem and sat on the long bench. After handing out bowls and chopsticks, he filled a bowl with rice and began wolfing it down. Hu Qi did the same.

Liang Qu had only just picked up his bowl when Xiang ChangSong placed a huge piece of beef into it.

"Eat! Chef Liu's stewed beef is so tender, and fragrant besides. The mutton doesn't have a trace of gaminess either. Help yourself—I'm only putting food in your bowl this once."

"Alright."

Hu Qi swallowed a piece of beef. "Right, Junior Brother. I watched you fight Lu Tingcai and his group last night. Your Fighting Method was terrible. Your physical condition was clearly far superior to those seven, yet you still suffered quite a few injuries."

Liang Qu put down his chopsticks. "I have not learned any Fighting Method yet, and I rarely fight normally. Master mentioned this before."

"No need to put down your chopsticks. We are our own people; we do not care about that. Eat while we talk."

"Oh, alright."

"I know you have not learned it, which is why I am reminding you not to focus solely on Refining Methods. Martial Artists arose in the first place because there was a need to fight and kill others. Though great strength can smash through brickwork, technique still matters.

"You have learned Ape Fist well, and its Fighting Method emphasizes Dragon Shape Serpent Waist, Fish Scale Step, and Ground Like Slippery Ice. Its shuffling steps and Ground Lying Assault techniques are uniquely distinctive. Had you been able to use them last night, fighting while evading and keeping them tied down, you could have settled that melee at a far smaller cost."

"I'll remember that."

"Once you break through in a few days, I will teach you the Fighting Method. By then, even if the likes of Lu Tingcai doubled in Number of People, they would not be a problem.

"Don't be embarrassed. Speak up if you have something to say, and ask if you have questions. We senior and junior brothers all went through it this way.

"I was brought out by Senior Brother Xu, while Junior Brother Xiang was brought out by Senior Brother Cao. Now Master has entrusted you to me. It is all the same."

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother. I'll remember it."

After that, silence fell. Only the sounds of three grown men swallowing, along with chopsticks striking porcelain bowls, remained.

In just over a quarter of an hour.

The three huge basins of food had actually been wiped clean by the three of them. Of course, Liang Qu had only eaten a fraction before he was full.

So becoming a Martial Artist could also make one's appetite grow. If he had possessed such an appetite when he ate crabs, would his fusion level not already have been maxed out?

Liang Qu thought.

That afternoon, training continued.

After dinner, Liang Qu bid his two senior brothers farewell and followed the address Third Senior Brother had left him to find the residence with an Anvil at its entrance.

It was also a grand residence, but at a glance its style was utterly different from the Yang Residence. It covered a vast area and had an extremely rugged overall style.

Standing outside, he could see several enormous Chimneys inside the building, belching thick black smoke.

Liang Qu entered, and a wave of heat rushed at his face.

Several burly men were bare-chested as they hammered iron. Massive Iron Furnaces burned with roaring flames, and distorted Airflow could be seen everywhere. Not a trace of winter's bitter cold could be felt. Inside and outside seemed like two different worlds.

He also noticed that the bottom of one furnace was not burning charcoal, but some unknown Ore. Each piece was the size of a heart, definitely not charcoal. The black stones were covered in orange-red Patterns, as though magma flowed through them.

Lu Gang was the one using that furnace. Seeing Liang Qu, he turned around, took out a stack of blueprints, and beckoned. "Ninth Junior Brother! Perfect timing. Come look at the style for your long spear."

Liang Qu cared greatly about his long spear. With one, his Combat Power in the water could rise by a great deal. He hurried forward to inspect them.

The blueprints had been drawn with Charcoal Sticks, yet they were unexpectedly clear and neat.

Every blueprint was drawn to scale. Beside each were the dimensions, shape, and estimated weight of the long spear. There were more than ten in total. Liang Qu examined them one by one, until his gaze was suddenly drawn to a blueprint of a beautifully patterned spear.

The tiger head, turned into a cloud tiger, coiled around the spear neck. The twelve-inch blade protruding from its Tiger Jaws was like half a sharp sword.

Metal wrapped the shaft all the way down to nearly two feet five inches from its front end. This integrated spearhead made it resemble a shuo or a lance more closely, yet it suited Liang Qu's liking even better.

"Senior Brother, is this one possible?"

"If it were not possible, why would I have brought it out? Junior Brother, you certainly know how to pick. You chose the best one at a glance."

Lu Gang spoke neither quickly nor slowly, his manner steady and giving off an exceptionally reliable impression.

"The Tiger Head Spear is rather complex. It should take around twenty days. Come have a look then. If you think it is suitable, I will lacquer and glue it afterward."

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother Lu."

Lu Gang shook his head. "We are all senior and junior brothers. No need for courtesy. Look around as you please; I will return to work first."

Just as Liang Qu was preparing to take a look around, he suddenly froze. Then he immediately bade Senior Brother Xiang farewell.

Lu Gang nodded, assuming his shop was too dirty and hot, and merely reminded his junior brother to stay safe on the road.

Liang Qu apologized, hurriedly left the Blacksmith Shop, and ran toward Yi Xing City.

Damn, A Fei had discovered another Treasure Fish again!