Flesh Refining! (Please Keep Reading)

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Supported by Xiao Ming, Zhang Lingshan stepped into the medicinal bath once more.

Xiao Ming said, "Why did you suddenly jump out? Have you been training too hard lately? How about we stop here today? Go home and rest for the afternoon."

"Alright."

Zhang Lingshan did not refuse Xiao Ming's kindness.

The changes brought by the Wind Stabilizing Posture breaking through to Minor Accomplishment had somewhat exceeded Zhang Lingshan's expectations.

This stance skill required more Energy Points to break through than the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture. Comparatively speaking, its grade was higher, and it was harder to train.

And after breaking through, the benefits it brought were naturally greater as well.

If I couldn't use Stat Points, I probably would have trained until my thirties and only reached Wu Zheng's level. No wonder Wu Zheng had passed the Wind Stabilizing Posture around so casually.

Zhang Lingshan thought to himself.

A Cultivation Method that was difficult to train and even harder to master was torture for ordinary martial practitioners.

After returning home.

Zhang Lingshan moved the stove into the courtyard. As he boiled medicine there, he practiced the Red Thread Fist and also took the chance to experience the changes in his legs.

He discovered that it was not only his legs that had grown stronger and more nimble; his entire body had been nourished as well.

A single hair moved, and the whole body was stirred.

Trying to use the Following the Wind and Swaying like a Willow bearing of the Wind Stabilizing Posture while performing the Red Thread Fist, Zhang Lingshan discovered that it carried an entirely different flavor.

Moves that once required him to gather force could now deal equal damage simply through a twist of his waist.

His combat strength had increased by more than double!

The Red Thread Fist has footwork too, but compared to the Wind Stabilizing Posture, which specifically trains leg techniques, it falls far short. Now that the two are combined, their power has multiplied. If I had gotten the Wind Stabilizing Posture to Entry Level back then, wouldn't beating Chen Hui have been child's play?

Zhang Lingshan thought, extremely satisfied with his current progress.

Once his body fully adapted in a few days, he could raise the Gale Wind Leg as well. Wouldn't Flesh Refining then be as certain as nails in a board?

Counting the Flesh Refining from when the Mountain Splitting Axe Technique reached Entry Level, this meant he had entered Flesh Refining twice in a row. His starting point was already a cut above everyone else's, and his strength went without saying.

"Right, where's Xiao Feng? Why haven't I seen him lately?"

When Zhang Lingshan took a break, he chatted idly with his mother and younger sister.

As Zhang Lingyu held the Righteous Yang Posture, she said, "He went back to the Jiang Family in the Inner City."

"When?" Zhang Lingshan asked in surprise.

Zhang Lingyu said speechlessly, "Several days ago. You're only asking now?"

"Several days ago? I didn't even notice. I've been so busy with Flesh Refining these days that I've completely lost my head." Zhang Lingshan sighed.

Zhang Lingyu said irritably, "You leave early and return late every day to train martial arts, so that's one thing. But that kid Zhang Lingfeng hides in his room every day reading Buddhist Scriptures, and he even goes out from time to time to buy more. He's obsessed. I don't know what there is to read in all that babbling nonsense in those Buddhist Scriptures."

"Reading Buddhist Scriptures?"

Zhang Lingshan was stunned.

He could neither understand it nor contain his shock.

Even if someone handed him Buddhist Scriptures, he would not understand a word. If he could avoid immediately falling asleep, that alone would count as a win.

Yet Xiao Feng was reading them with relish?

Could this be the spiritual root the Buddhist Sect spoke of?

"You two brothers, one loves martial arts and the other loves literature. I can't control either of you anymore, but I still hope you won't work yourselves too hard."

Zhang Mother said earnestly.

Zhang Lingyu curled her lips. "What love of literature? He loves Buddhism. I think he's gone mad with it. Who knows what kind of bewitching soup the Jiang Family in the Inner City fed him."

"The Jiang Family in the Inner City?"

Zhang Lingshan fell into slight thought.

When he had previously discussed the Four Great Families of the Inner City with Song Dazhuang, Song Dazhuang had mentioned that the Jiang Family's ancestor seemed to have been a disciple of the Buddhist Sect who returned to secular life and whose descendants had continued on to this day.

That was why the Jiang Family liked vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist Scriptures—it was their traditional practice. Extending that influence to a bookboy was only natural. The upper beam was crooked, so the lower beams followed.

Still, if his younger brother truly became obsessed with Buddhism, that would not be a good sign.

But with his current strength, he was in no position to interfere with the Jiang Family of the Inner City.

On the contrary, because Hong Zhengdao was injured, undercurrents were still surging through the Hong Clan Martial Hall. His foremost goal was to achieve Flesh Refining as quickly as possible; everything else could wait.

"Brother, how do you think my stance skill is coming along?"

Zhang Lingyu suddenly sprang over to Zhang Lingshan and asked with some confidence.

Zhang Lingshan had her perform the entire set once, then smiled. "Not bad. Much better than I was back then."

"Of course. Don't you know whose little sister I am?" Zhang Lingyu said proudly, praising both of them in one sentence.

Zhang Lingshan could not help laughing. You're doing well because, aside from your brother's excellent guidance, your living conditions have improved. Better nutrition has strengthened your constitution.

Without money, what martial arts could one possibly train?

"Train properly. Don't slack off. Once you're good enough, I'll teach you the Red Thread Fist."

"Yes, sir, big brother!"

Zhang Lingyu gave a mischievous smile.

In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.

Zhang Lingshan felt that his condition had reached a critical point. His legs could now withstand a full one hundred and twenty strikes from Xiao Ming's staff.

"Soon. Very soon."

Xiao Ming was astonished by Zhang Lingshan's progress. "You're only separated from Flesh Refining by a single layer of window paper. Once you poke through it, another world awaits. In fact, with your current physical strength, you already rival someone at Flesh Refining. What you lack is only that final transformation."

Zhang Lingshan asked, "Senior Brother Xiao, what exactly is the difference between Flesh Refining and Skin Grinding?"

Xiao Ming said, "As for the specifics, you'll have to experience them yourself.

"From my personal understanding, it is that the muscular layer throughout the entire body undergoes an indescribable change.

"This change not only strengthens the muscles and improves one's defense, but also enhances muscular power and recovery.

"Don't rush. I estimate that within the next day or two, you'll personally experience those changes. It truly is wondrous beyond words!"

Xiao Ming patted Zhang Lingshan on the shoulder, telling him to steady his mindset.

Zhang Lingshan nodded.

Then, in today's Red River Soup medicinal bath, he opened the Panel once more and added his points to the Gale Wind Leg.

This had long been planned. Everything fell into place as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

At once, images surfaced in his mind of himself training the Gale Wind Leg through heat and cold alike.

The so-called Gale Wind Sweeps Fallen Leaves—when the image finally froze, Zhang Lingshan's feet and the fallen leaves could both be seen hanging in midair.

Though the image was still, he could sense the wind force whirling beneath his feet.

Buzz!

All the experience and insights regarding the Gale Wind Leg flooded into Zhang Lingshan's body at that instant.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His calves seemed to have become a second heart. Their muscles pulsed like pumps, squeezing the blood flowing into his feet back toward his heart.

Thus, his heart and calf muscles both beat at Rapid Speed, sending his hot blood carrying the medicinal power of the Red River Soup in endless circulation throughout his body.

Zhang Lingshan felt his temples pounding as well. He could hear nothing inside his head, as though he had tinnitus; all he could hear was thump thump thump, or buzz buzz buzz.

The scene before his eyes spun without pause.

He did not know how long passed.

At last, the sounds vanished completely, and Zhang Lingshan regained clarity.

At that moment, he felt as though his vision had brightened. He could see things more clearly, and he even heard Pan Mingzhong muttering softly in the bath barrel on the other side.

"Huu—urrghghgh..."

So he was not muttering. He was snoring.

Zhang Lingshan was immensely astonished.

Pan Mingzhong had slept in the bath barrel before. After all, Red River Soup helped people recover, and sleep could awaken the body's own restorative abilities. Zhang Lingshan himself would sleep whenever he was exhausted.

But in the past, he had never been able to hear Pan Mingzhong's snores, because Xiao Ming's Blood Claw Hand practice in the courtyard drowned them out.

Today was the first time such a thing had happened.

Have both my eyesight and hearing become sharper? Is this the wondrous beyond words Senior Brother Xiao mentioned about breaking through to Flesh Refining?

A thought stirred in Zhang Lingshan's mind, and his ears twitched slightly.

It seemed that Flesh Refining had activated certain tiny muscles within his ears, thereby enhancing his hearing.

The same was true for his vision. For example, the ciliary muscles had been activated and improved through Body Refining, making the adjustment of his visual focus more sensitive and greatly improving his dynamic vision.

As he watched Xiao Ming practice the Blood Claw Hand now, Zhang Lingshan discovered that the moves he had once failed to see clearly due to their speed were now all plainly visible.

Only then did Zhang Lingshan finally understand the gap between before and after Flesh Refining!

Before Flesh Refining, no matter how great one's strength was, if one could not see the opponent's movements clearly, how could one fight? One would not even be able to touch a single hair on them.

After Flesh Refining, one's senses were enhanced. Only then did both sides stand on the same plane, with the ability to fight a Flesh Refining Martial Practitioner.

Sure enough, after Flesh Refining, it is another world.

A wave of delight surged through Zhang Lingshan's heart—the joy of sweetness after bitterness.

"Junior Brother Shan?"

Xiao Ming suddenly noticed that Zhang Lingshan had been staring at his movements. He looked over in surprise, then his eyes abruptly narrowed. "You broke through?"