Bone Refinement Completion

Next.

Ning Qi's life gradually settled into a steady rhythm.

Ever since moving to his new residence, being close to the Scripture Pavilion had made him feel like a fish returned to water.

He trained in martial arts every day, and spent the rest of his time immersed in the Scripture Pavilion, hungrily drawing nourishment from its books and turning it into his own foundation.

Thanks to this.

When Ning Qi contemplated the principles of martial arts, he felt as though he had Divine Aid, even more exaggerated than before.

Because of Dragon Mountain Daoist's instructions, his other senior brothers rarely came to disturb him. Ning Qi enjoyed this as well. He did not find it dull in the slightest; in this life, with Max Level Comprehension, the joy of cultivation had been infinitely magnified, leaving him unable to get enough.

He was quite satisfied with being alone.

It was far better than his previous life.

Besides, his master and senior brothers and sisters had not ignored him. They simply visited less often than before, so as not to disturb him.

Ye Qinghe still came the most often.

Whenever one of the senior brothers went down the mountain, he would inevitably bring Ning Qi some gifts, all delivered by her. However, the variety of those gifts gradually went from a dazzling array to something more uniform: books.

Everyone knew.

Their Junior Brother loved reading and often stayed in the Scripture Pavilion without coming downstairs.

However.

What made Ning Qi secretly sigh was that Eighth Senior Brother was no longer as close to him as before.

Qin Yun had come to Ning Qi's new residence once afterward, but he had only stayed briefly, exchanged a few words about cultivation, and left. He never came again after that.

They only saw each other whenever all the True Disciples gathered during festivals. Of course, Qin Yun still wore a smile whenever they met, and if he went down the mountain, he would bring Ning Qi some books. Yet inevitably, there was now a touch more distance between them.

Ning Qi roughly understood.

Eighth Senior Brother seemed somewhat jealous of him. He did not know whether it was because of his talent or because of his master's favoritism.

There was nothing he could do about that. No matter how talented he was, he could not control other people's thoughts.

He could only keep as low-profile as possible.

Most of his time was spent cultivating in the Scripture Pavilion and his own small courtyard.

Occasionally, he would observe the natural world alone.

Gradually, this ninth disciple of the True Martial Sect became increasingly mysterious in the eyes of the many outer and inner sect disciples.

In the blink of an eye.

Nearly a year had passed.

Ning Qi was four years old.

Within the Scripture Pavilion, a small figure in a white Daoist robe stood with his hands behind his back, browsing through the classics while muttering to himself.

"This Tiger Demon Fist is rather interesting. If one can grasp the intent of tiger balefulness, it can seize one's soul. It counts as an exquisite combat art."

Ning Qi's eyes showed faint admiration.

With a turn of thought, he had already comprehended the Tiger Demon Fist completely. He even extracted its essence and incorporated it into the True Martial Fist he had created.

Stake Skills were methods of Body Tempering, and they included combat techniques as well, but compared to martial arts specifically focused on offense, they still fell somewhat short.

Thus, in his spare time, Ning Qi also practiced some offensive arts. In the end, he created this True Martial Fist, which encompassed all things and was unmatched in slaughter. Within the Body Tempering Realm, it could be called invincible.

Though he sought the path of immortality.

He still needed arts to protect the path.

Otherwise, possessing only a realm of cultivation would leave him vulnerable to being beaten to death.

He had dabbled in fist techniques, movement techniques, and the arts of blades, swords, and other weapons. Several of his main disciplines had all reached a realm ordinary people could scarcely imagine.

Over this year, he had grown far too much.

Reading classics every day, he had gone through at least a tenth of the books in this Scripture Pavilion, all of which had become his foundation. In terms of breadth of martial knowledge, even Gang Yuan Realm experts might not match him.

Ning Qi returned the Tiger Demon Fist manual and stretched, his thoughts drifting far away.

"Over this year, I have reached Bone Refinement Completion. The Outer Four Realms of Body Tempering are now completely perfected. At present, a single arm of mine possesses five thousand jin of strength, making my foundation much firmer than those of my senior brothers. When they reached this realm back then, they only had three thousand jin of strength."

"But this is still not enough. This is not the perfect foundation I envisioned."

"I completed the Outer Four Realms in one year. To perfect the Inner Four Realms, then unite inner and outer and step into the Inner Yuan Realm, perhaps I will still need two more years. In other words, I will only enter the Inner Yuan Realm at six years old."

"Compared to ordinary people, this speed is already exceedingly fast. But I can be faster still."

Ning Qi looked beyond the pavilion.

In truth, he could have entered the Organ Refinement Realm a month ago, but he had not chosen to break through.

Sometimes, slowing down was meant to go faster.

"Over this year, aside from practicing martial arts, I have actually devoted much of my energy to creating a Stake Skill. Perhaps because I have touched upon the limit, creating this Stake Skill has been more difficult than I imagined. It has actually taken me so much time."

"Still, it is almost done. The essence of Stake Skills holds no secrets for me now. After comprehending more than a hundred Stake Skills, in a few more days, this Supreme Posture Technique will surely be complete!"

Ning Qi's eyes brimmed with anticipation.

In his conception, above Peerless Stake Skills lay Supreme Posture Techniques.

If he succeeded, he was confident that in one year, he could give birth to Inner Strength and step into the Inner Yuan Realm.

The difference would be enormous. This was why he had temporarily held off on breaking through to the Organ Refinement Realm. If he rushed to break through now, then later, when he used the Supreme Posture Technique to rebuild his foundation, he would need to spend even more time. But if he only rebuilt the Outer Four Realms, it would be much simpler.

"Observe the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth to gain inspiration. Though the True Dragon is supremely powerful, in the end, it is merely one of the myriad phenomena."

"Time—if I can save some, then it is better to save some."

Ning Qi turned around and picked up a book beside him.

"Snow Plum Manor Miscellany."

He gently stroked it without opening it.

He knew what was written inside.

It recorded the chivalrous deeds of Snow Plum Manor's founder, Lord Ye Ning Ye, and Plum Sword Jiang Xuemei.

At the end, however, there was only a brief sentence.

"Yongxin 27th Year: Snow Plum Manor was slaughtered by a mysterious force. Not a single survivor remained. Most regrettable."

Eldest Senior Brother had brought this back two years ago while traveling down the mountain and placed it in the Scripture Pavilion.

Ning Qi slowly exhaled.

"Lord Feng retreated back then because of Master, so his realm should not have been above the Core Formation Realm. Most likely, he was in the Jade Liquid Realm, the Second Realm of Gang Yuan."

"The Gang Yuan Realm grants a lifespan of four hundred years. I only hope you have not been killed by someone else."

If possible.

Ning Qi still wanted to do it personally.

He felt that once he reached the Gang Yuan Realm, swatting that man to death should not be much of a problem.

Setting down the miscellany, Ning Qi looked outside the pavilion.

Sure enough, a familiar lazy voice rang out.

"Little Nine, are you ready to set off?"

Ye Qinghe pushed the door open, wearing an expression that said she had known he would be here.

Just looking at the vast sea of books within the Scripture Pavilion made her head ache.

"We're leaving soon, yet you're still here reading. We might as well call you Bookworm!"

Ye Qinghe bent down and tapped Ning Qi's cheek with a slender, jade-like finger.

Out of habit, Ning Qi brushed her hand away and smiled.

"Hadn't you not arrived yet?"

"Let's go."

Ning Qi took the initiative and headed outside.

"It is rare for you to want to go out on your own, Little Nine. Today, this Senior Sister will have to show you around properly. Don't let yourself get cooped up." Ye Qinghe grew excited.

Ning Qi shook his head and laughed.

The Supreme Posture Technique he envisioned was connected to the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth. Ordinarily, he would at most watch clouds and admire snow, gaze at mountains and waters in safe areas of True Martial Mountain. Recently, he had felt that he needed an opportunity, so he wanted to venture around the outskirts of True Martial Mountain.

However, the outskirts of True Martial Mountain had not been cleared, and Exotic Beasts and the like were unavoidable within. For safety's sake, Ning Qi had called upon Ye Qinghe, this ready-made bodyguard.

He valued his life. He would not think that reaching Bone Refinement Completion made him invincible beneath heaven, free to run around alone everywhere. If he encountered a powerful Exotic Beast, he would be finished.

Yet he had not expected Ye Qinghe to be even more excited than he was.