Flesh Tempering Perfection Limit

"That won't do. If you don't recover properly, you might never be able to hold a saber again." The physician stroked his beard and pondered for a moment before speaking gravely.

"Alright." Zhang the Butcher immediately drooped his head, dejected.

He could only blame his bad luck for getting injured at this particular time.

The clinic applied trauma medicine to the big man and prescribed a few doses of herbs.

With a dejected expression, Zhang the Butcher walked out of the clinic.

Chu Feng had heard the entire conversation between the big man and the physician. His expression shifted, and he followed.

After leaving the clinic, Chu Feng, who had transformed into 'Chu Liu Xiang,' called out to Zhang the Butcher.

"Man ahead, are you the butcher?"

The big man turned around upon hearing the voice and said, "That's me! In Yong'an City, who doesn't know Zhang the Butcher?"

Chu Feng smiled slightly. "This isn't a place to talk. There's a teahouse ahead; shall we chat as we drink?"

"Okay!"

Zhang the Butcher hesitated for a moment but still agreed.

He was tall and strong, and the teahouse was on a busy street, so he naturally wasn't afraid of Chu Feng.

After their conversation, when Zhang the Butcher learned that Chu Feng wanted to help, he was overjoyed.

For the next three days, Chu Feng would go to Zhang the Butcher's home to earn some extra cash after finishing his work at the restaurant.

The Ghost Festival led to a significant increase in the public's meat consumption. He had to slaughter at least four to five large pigs daily to supply Zhang the Butcher's sales.

A white knife in, a red knife out. Five large pigs were dismembered by Chu Feng without them ever knowing.

[Killed five fat pigs, Plundered Lifespan +5 years!]

"Brother, you're truly skilled!" Zhang the Butcher, who was watching from the side, exclaimed in amazement.

An expert's touch was evident. Although it wasn't the first time he'd seen it, he was still astonished by Chu Feng's superb butchering skills.

Little did he know that this was merely the perfected Butcher Ding's Ox-Dissecting Saber Technique. Chu Feng hadn't upgraded it further only because he wanted to use his Lifespan where it mattered most.

"You flatter me, old brother. The meat processing is finished for today. I'll come again tomorrow." Chu Feng greeted him and prepared to leave.

"Ah, little brother, tomorrow is the end of the Ghost Festival, and the demand at the butcher shop won't be as high. My injuries are also almost healed, so you don't need to trouble yourself anymore." Zhang the Butcher rubbed his hands together, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Here is your payment for the three days." He then quickly took out ten taels of silver from his chest and handed it to Chu Feng.

"Alright, Brother Zhang, I bid farewell." Chu Feng took the silver, weighed it in his hand, and left without another word.

Chu Feng understood that Zhang the Butcher was being overly cautious, likely fearing that Chu Feng might learn the ins and outs of the butcher business and open his own shop to compete.

"Good."

Chu Feng smiled slightly and didn't say much.

Over these three days, he had accumulated quite a bit of Lifespan. Coupled with the fact that the public's demand for meat had indeed decreased, he didn't feel reluctant to leave.

Watching Chu Feng walk away, Zhang the Butcher breathed a sigh of relief.

In the rented courtyard.

After three consecutive days of consuming the Nourishing Body Soup, Chu Feng could clearly feel his body like an old machine that had been lubricated, moving with smooth, natural power, free from any stiffness.

Chu Feng checked his attributes.

[Name: Chu Feng]
[Cultivation: Late Stage Marrow Tempering]
[Plundered Lifespan: 15 years and 2 months]
[Cultivation Methods: Dark Gold Marrow Polishing Technique (Perfected), Breaking Edge Saber Technique (Perfected), Savage Ox Muscle Tempering Art (Perfected), Golden Toad Muscle Tempering Art (Great Success), Butcher Ding's Ox-Dissecting Saber Technique (Great Success)]

His efforts over these days had not been in vain. Combined with the Lifespan plundered from killing Fang Yun Hu and that horse three days prior, Chu Feng's account had become replenished.

Since his innate talent was lacking, he would make up for it with hard work!

Swallowing the prepared nourishing soup, Chu Feng inwardly commanded.

"Deduce for me with Lifespan!"

He pushed to his limits, leaving nothing behind.

[You cultivated diligently for five years, reaching the Perfected stage of the Golden Toad Muscle Tempering technique. You have tempered 599 muscles throughout your body, capable of unleashing 18,000 jin of immense strength!]

[You cultivated diligently for ten years. You integrated two cultivation methods and combined them with modern anatomical knowledge to successfully create a new Marrow Tempering Technique: Ox-Demon Golden Toad Muscle Tempering Art!]

[You cultivated the Ox-Demon Golden Toad Muscle Tempering Art for five years and two months. You have perfectly tempered 639 muscles throughout your body, with vital energy flowing through every limb and bone, capable of unleashing 30,000 jin of strength!]

Chu Feng lowered his stance, bending his knees until they were parallel to the ground. His head was held high like ox horns, resembling a golden toad clad in armor and bearing horns.

As his qi and blood circulated, a croaking sound was heard, and Chu Feng suddenly leaped three zhang into the air!

Vast quantities of qi and blood surged from his heart to his muscles, causing his entire body to tremble like waves.

Blood Essence surged forward like a triumphant song, spreading throughout his body. His muscles seemed to come alive, erupting with formidable power.

The moment he landed, the ground trembled, and dust billowed, filling the entire small courtyard. In the hazy shroud, a towering figure stood firm.

As the smoke and dust dispersed, Chu Feng's muscles were visibly bulging. The muscles on his back resembled a Vajra, with furrowed brows, bared fangs, ready to slay any evil foe!

Chu Feng's skin turned crimson, and the deeply hidden lightning patterns became clearly visible, forming a picture: a single-legged Kui Niu roaring to the heavens.

His bones crackled and popped, as if they could barely withstand the terrifying strength of his muscles.

He could feel that this punch could unleash a force far exceeding thirty thousand jin, capable of easily collapsing houses, comparable to a small missile. However, his own meridians and bones had not undergone tempering, and he feared it would backfire, causing fractures and torn tendons!

Chu Feng slowly exhaled. The peach tree before him swayed as if buffeted by a fierce wind, its leaves falling one after another.

His muscles contracted, and he transformed back into the frail and gaunt 'Chu Liu Xiang'.

He even meticulously gained a little weight, after all, with improved living conditions now, not gaining any weight at all would easily arouse suspicion.

Looking at the fallen leaves all over the ground, Chu Feng muttered to himself, "This Flesh Vajra is truly terrifying. I can now unleash thirty thousand jin of force without harming my body. No one in the Marrow Tempering realm can be my opponent!"

"As for those in the Muscle Tendon Realm, I'll have to fight them to find out!"

Chu Feng's Flesh Vajra could unleash thirty thousand jin of force, far exceeding Li Zhenshan's estimated twenty thousand. This was likely due to his tempering of the 'Kui Niu's Hide' combined with his special physique, 'Bronze Skin Iron Bones'.

Now, Chu Feng needed a suitable weapon. Gao Han had already begun to suspect him.

He could sense that the other party would make a move in the next few days, and he had to be prepared.

Chen's Blacksmith Shop.

The moment Chu Feng entered, he felt a wave of heat wash over him.

A burly man, busy at the forge, asked without stopping his work, "Customer, what kind of farming tools do you need? We have everything here."

Looking at the blacksmith shop, which mostly contained hoes and cleavers, Chu Feng said, "Shopkeeper, I need a weapon, the kind that can kill people!"

"I didn't realize you were a martial artist, young man?" The blacksmith stopped his work.

He glanced at Chu Feng's ordinary face and his worn-out clothes patched with cloth, thinking that a martial artist wouldn't be so impoverished.

A martial artist could easily find a position as a guard in a wealthy household, earning far more than an ordinary person, and shouldn't be dressed like this!

Chu Feng had been too busy these past few days to even bother with his appearance.

The Fang Family's great saber could fall at any moment, and he dared not slacken at all. He had desperately accumulated Lifespan, and only now, with Marrow Tempering perfected, did he finally breathe a slight sigh of relief.

"Here are twenty taels of silver. Is that enough to buy a top-grade long saber?"

"It's more than enough. This way, please, customer..." Seeing the gleaming silver, the blacksmith's face broke into a smile.

The blacksmith led Chu Feng to the inner room. The room was spacious and bright, like a hidden treasure trove. Various weapons hung on the walls – axes, battle-axes, sabers, swords – a dazzling array.

"This is a straight saber. Its shape is straight, weighing ten jin and six liang. It's very suitable for a young hero."

Chu Feng glanced at it and said directly, "Too light!"

"Too light?"

The blacksmith looked at Chu Feng's thin frame and said no more, directly fetching a ring-pommel saber.

"This Nine-Hole Ring-pommel Saber weighs sixty-two jin and three liang. What do you think?"

"Still too light. Do you have anything heavier?" Chu Feng asked, glancing at it as usual.

"Young man, you haven't even tried it, how can you say it's too light? Don't be overly ambitious. If a weapon is too heavy, you'll tire yourself out before you even strike the enemy!"

The blacksmith was getting a little angry. He suspected this kid was here to mess with him.

He had seen many conceited young martial artists who thought they were the protagonists of destiny and only wanted the best and heaviest weapons. When they actually tried to wield them, they became clowns, and quite a few had lost their lives because of it.

Chu Feng didn't say much at this point. He picked up the Nine-Hole Ring-pommel Saber. The sixty-jin weight felt like a toothpick in his hand. He danced with it like a nimble spirit, with ease and grace.

"As expected, still too light..."

Saying that, Chu Feng flicked his wrist, and the Nine-Hole Ring-pommel Saber was smoothly sheathed. He handled the weight as if it were nothing, as if it were weightless.

The blacksmith was startled. This saber technique had probably reached the realm of perfection.

Seeing this, he dared not be negligent. A bitter smile appeared on his face, "Young hero, this is just an ordinary blacksmith shop. This ring-pommel saber is already our heaviest weapon."

Although he coveted the twenty taels of silver, he truly had no heavier weapons.

At this moment, a young apprentice beside him suddenly whispered in the blacksmith's ear, "Master, don't we still have a saber blank? It weighs over three hundred and eighty jin. We can let this customer try it."

"But that saber blank is rough and unrefined, merely having the basic shape of a saber, without any edge. How can it be used?" the blacksmith hesitated.

"It doesn't matter, Master. Bring it out first, let me take a look..."

Chu Feng's curiosity was also piqued. What kind of saber blank weighed over three hundred jin!