Black Tiger Digging Heart Great Accomplishment

The dilapidated thatched cottage was filled with a pungent odor, thick black smoke billowing out continuously as if it were on fire.

Chen Luo crouched in front of the firewood stove, frantically fanning the flames with a palm-leaf fan. The acrid smoke mixed with the stench of medicinal herbs was so strong that even the dogs refused to come near.

The medicine in the pot was left behind by the original 'brain,' and Chen Luo had been using it ever since.

His martial arts training had achieved such good results precisely because of the assistance of these medicinal plasters. They weren't particularly rare ingredients anyway—he could buy a large batch with just a little money. The most important part was still the ratio of ingredients and the refining technique; that was the core skill.

After a moment, the medicinal plaster was ready.

Chen Luo used tongs to clamp the clay pot, lifted it off the stove, and set it aside. There, he had prepared cloths specifically for the plasters.

"This smell is way too strong."

Even though he had been using it for nearly a month, Chen Luo still couldn't get used to the odor. Every time he boiled the medicine, he wrapped a towel around his nose, but even that couldn't completely block it out. His eyes were often stung into tears by the fumes. Still, for the sake of improving his strength, he could endure this discomfort.

He waited a moment until the clay pot had cooled down, then picked up a bamboo strip beside him and stirred vigorously inside the pot.

One circle, two circles.

He kept stirring until the medicinal paste solidified into a paste-like consistency, then rolled it onto the plaster cloths.

After more than ten minutes, a batch of freshly made medicinal plasters was complete. After setting these plasters on a nearby rack to dry, Chen Luo immediately walked out of the yard and didn't relax until he reached the river, where he took deep breaths of fresh air.

"With one more cycle's worth of medicine, I should be able to break through."

Having caught his breath, Chen Luo sat on a rock, pondering the progress of the past three days.

Five days had passed since Third Uncle left.

A full week had also passed since the rebellion in Qingya County, and now the commotion there had died down considerably. According to news brought by traveling merchants, the rebellion in Qingya County had been suppressed, and many had died. The county town was now under military control, with entry and exit restricted.

Chen Luo's cultivation had also fully reached the perfection of Internal Refinement. With the enhancement of the Royal Family Brain, he could clearly sense that he was about to break through.

His rush to boil the medicine today was also to ensure a smoother breakthrough, with more medicinal power to support him.

Half an hour later, Chen Luo returned to the yard.

By now, the smell of the drying plasters had faded considerably. Chen Luo walked over, took down two sticky plasters, gritted his teeth, and stuck one on his lower abdomen and one on his back.

The force of the plasters spread instantly, bringing a wave of warmth to Chen Luo's body.

He quickly assumed a stance and began practicing his fists.

Once.

Twice.

Along with the execution of the Fierce Tiger Fist, his body grew hot, and the flow of his blood and qi accelerated. The method of circulating his energy unconsciously advanced to a higher level.

The Black Tiger Fist at its peak could reach Bone Forging.

Crippled Ma at his prime was at this realm. Back then, to deal with him, the Imperial Court had dispatched a general-level expert. Chen Luo was now touching this level as well.

'This is the feeling.'

Chen Luo immersed himself in this state, continuously practicing his fists. The circulation of Internal Qi within his body grew faster and faster. The originally thumb-thick Internal Qi imperceptibly became thicker and stronger. This change made Chen Luo's punches more powerful; each strike produced a sharp explosive sound as it broke the air.

Fists like thunder, fast as lightning.

Now, every move Chen Luo made was like a true fierce tiger, Sha Qi radiating outward. Vaguely, Chen Luo felt as if he had become a tiger leaping through the forest, with everything around him as his prey. The plasters on his abdomen and back had now all turned into energy, merging into his blood and qi, bringing him to the state of 'Internal and External as One.'

'Almost there.'

Chen Luo could feel that he had reached his limit.

Given his natural talent, breaking through was basically impossible. Crippled Ma had personally called him a 'waste,' and that wasn't just empty talk.

'Switch to the Royal Family Brain!'

Knowing that he was missing that spark of inspiration, Chen Luo decisively activated the 'External Brain.' He had only used these brains last night while sleeping; normally, they needed rest during the day as well. But at this moment, Chen Luo couldn't care about that. If he didn't break through now, he didn't know how many more days he would waste.

As the saying goes, 'Raise your spirits at the first attempt, they wane at the second, and are exhausted at the third'—that was the principle.

Roar!!

The moment he invoked the Royal Family Brain, Chen Luo immediately found the crux of the problem, locking onto the breakthrough point in an instant. Then, all the power within his body surged toward it.

With a crisp 'crack,' Chen Luo's entire aura shifted. The bones in his body visibly transformed. Clear, crisp sounds emanated from within him, his whole frame stretched half a foot taller, and his muscles condensed and compressed like rock, containing explosive power.

His entire being was reborn, entering the third realm of the Martial Dao.

Bone Forging!

With a single breakthrough, his momentum was like a rainbow.

Chen Luo couldn't help but let out a loud shout, his voice spreading like sound waves.

After all, the place he lived was remote, and there was hardly anyone around during the day. The Village Elder who rented him the house lived far away. The thatched cottage next door was occasionally inhabited by a few drifters, and wild dogs had made nests inside. But earlier, when Chen Luo was boiling the plasters, the smell had driven even the dogs away, so he had nothing to worry about letting loose now.

After the shout, the blood and qi in his body indeed flowed much more smoothly.

The sense of oppression brought on by the breakthrough lessened, and the energy inside him gradually subsided.

Standing in the yard, Chen Luo raised his hand and looked at it.

He could sense the energy flowing within. Compared to the Internal Refining level, the Internal Qi after Bone Forging was much more surging. Not only that, but his fist strength had also penetrated into his marrow, making his punches several times more powerful than before.

Calculating based on Junior Sister Apprentice He Min's strength...

It was already hard to calculate.

Speaking of Eunuch Wei, taking on fifty of him would be no problem.

After a moment of thought, Chen Luo walked over to the withered tree by the edge of the courtyard and stopped, channeling the Internal Qi inside his body. The power flowed like a stream of water, traveling through his meridians before converging into his fist.

Boom!!

With one punch, the withered tree in front of him snapped apart instantly, splintered wood shavings flying everywhere. The upper half of the trunk shot straight out, crashing into the stone mill behind it with a loud rumble.

Chen Luo stepped forward, reached out to push aside the broken tree, and probed the core of the trunk with his finger. He found that the interior had been completely pulverized into powder by the force of his punch.

Black Tiger Digging Heart.

It could be considered at great success.

"It's time to go back."

Withdrawing his power, Chen Luo Turned Around, his gaze fixed on the location of Qingya County.

He had fled in disgrace before because his strength wasn't enough. Now that his strength was sufficient, it was only natural to return and settle old scores.

First, to settle accounts with the Qingya County Magistrate, and second, to seek out more precious brains.

For ordinary people, chaotic places were to be avoided at all costs, but In Chen Luo's Eyes, the more chaotic a place, the better. Because chaos meant people would die, and once people died, there would be no shortage of 'brains.' With luck, he might even pick up a few Genius Brains comparable to the Royal Family Brain.

He was going to cultivate immortality in the future—if he wasn't talented enough, how could he even begin?