Six more days passed.
The dawns and dusks of this little courtyard in the Southern District were cleaved apart by a steady, unchanging sound.
"Rustle... rustle..."
It was the sound of Ye Qingxuan rolling through the sand-and-gravel pit in the corner of the courtyard.
From its initial rough, grating harshness, the sound had now become deep and rhythmic, like an old farmer turning a millstone—round and round, neither hurried nor slow.
Patrolling the streets had become a diversion for him between training sessions. The petty disputes in the Fengtian Division, his colleagues' complaints and flattery, Zhang Lingxiao's arrogance after gaining power—all of it had become wind by his ear. It blew past and scattered, unable to leave even the slightest ripple in his heart...
All his mind and spirit were focused on this tiny sand-and-gravel pit, and on the slowly unfurling scroll in his mind.
Day after day passed. The money pouch at his waist grew flat, then full, then flat again. The five hundred and fifty coins he had extorted from the Pan family had long since turned into streaky pork from the butcher's, white flour from the rice shop, and the food that supported his increasingly terrifying appetite and cultivation.
His flesh had also quietly transformed through this day-after-day tempering. The initial redness, swelling, and torn skin had long since vanished. Now, after each training session, only an even crimson remained across his body, as though he had been seared by a branding iron. Heat steamed from him, but not another bead of blood seeped out.
The pain remained, but it had long since become a deep, marrow-penetrating numb ache. He could now face it calmly, even savoring the surging of his qi and blood and the strengthening of his sinews and bones with every collision between his muscles and the gravel.
That night, the moon climbed to the middle of the sky.
Ye Qingxuan finished rolling through the final cycle and sat up in the pit. Sweat poured from him like slurry, and every inch of his muscles trembled faintly—a sign that his strength had been exhausted.
He panted heavily, his chest rising and falling violently.
Yet at that moment, the scroll in his mind suddenly blazed with unprecedented radiance.
Another point of light poured into it.
[Merit: +3]
In an instant, the number representing Merit began to jump wildly.
[Name: Ye Qingxuan] [Realm: Body Tempering First Layer Perfection] [Martial Art: Indestructible Vajra Body (Realm: Minor Mastery, Measurement: Two Inches, Merit: 45/45)]
It was complete.
After so many days of bitter work, everything had finally fallen into place that night.
Behind the words "45/45" on the scroll, two brand-new characters appeared, their radiance flowing yet held in reserve.
[Comprehend]
Ye Qingxuan did not hesitate in the slightest. With a thought, he acted.
"Comprehend!"
Boom!
A searing torrent beyond description surged violently from the scroll, sweeping through his four limbs and hundred bones, his five viscera and six bowels, in an instant!
His body shuddered, and his entire person sprang out of the sand-and-gravel pit before crashing heavily back down.
It was not pain.
It was a wild sensation, as though he had been thrown into a furnace and melted and reforged from the inside out—from his marrow to his skin!
His eyes were wide open, yet he could not see a thing. He could not hear any sound beside his ears, either.
His world held nothing but the torrent roaring through his body.
The countless cultivation methods of the Indestructible Vajra Body, the subtle changes in circulating qi and blood, and the secrets of exerting strength through muscle and sinew were no longer written diagrams that required contemplation. They had become his most primal instincts, deeply branded into his bodily memory.
His sinews and bones crackled, while his flesh writhed and burgeoned.
The barrier of the Body Tempering First Layer was like paper under the torrent's washing. It collapsed at the slightest touch.
A stronger, denser power burst forth from the depths of his flesh, breaking through the soil!
No one knew how much time passed. Perhaps it was only an instant; perhaps half an hour.
When Ye Qingxuan regained control of his body, he found that he was still sitting cross-legged in the sand-and-gravel pit.
The night wind blew past, carrying a trace of coolness.
He slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of stale air.
The breath was long and dense. When he expelled it into the air before him, it actually formed a visible white ribbon that lingered for a long time.
He lowered his head and inspected his body.
The crimson redness on his skin had long since faded, replaced by a bronze-like luster. The sheen was inconspicuous, but under the moonlight, it revealed a texture like metal and stone.
He slowly raised his hand, spreading his five fingers before suddenly clenching them.
"Pop!"
A faint explosion rang out. The air in his palm had actually been crushed apart by sheer force!
An unprecedented sense of power filled every corner of his body.
The scroll in his mind had already changed.
[Name: Ye Qingxuan] [Realm: Body Tempering Second Layer (Flesh Tempering)] [Martial Art: Indestructible Vajra Body (Realm: Great Mastery, Measurement: Three Inches, Merit: 0/135)]
The Body Tempering Second Layer—the realm of flesh tempering!
The Indestructible Vajra Body had also advanced from minor mastery to great mastery!
Rows of new, tiny words appeared beneath the scroll.
[Body Tempering Second Layer, Flesh Tempering Realm: Strength enters the flesh from the skin, becoming a unified whole, with the exterior and interior as one. Every movement can wield three hundred jin of tremendous force.] [Indestructible Vajra Body (Great Mastery): The skin and flesh throughout the body are tough, with strength contained within. Ordinary blades and swords can scarcely injure the surface, and the ability to divert force and transform impact has begun to emerge.] [Overall Assessment: Within the streets and alleys of the Southern District, he ranks among the top twenty.]
The top twenty!
Ye Qingxuan's gaze fell upon those final words.
The streets and alleys of the Southern District concealed dragons and crouching tigers. Apart from the gang experts who openly showed themselves, no one knew how many martial artists were hidden in the shadows. To rank among the top twenty out of several thousand people—such strength was enough to protect himself. He could even do some things he had once never dared to imagine, much less attempt.
He rose and walked out of the sand-and-gravel pit.
Three hundred jin of tremendous force.
The palm print Duan Tianbao had left on the table had also been made by someone at the Body Tempering Second Layer.
Ye Qingxuan walked to the stone mill in the courtyard. It had been left behind by the previous owner of the house and weighed at least two hundred jin.
He reached out with one hand and gripped the edge of the stone mill. Drawing a deep breath, he caused the muscles in his arm to rise slightly.
"Up!"
The heavy stone mill was lifted from the ground with one hand. The entire process showed not the slightest strain.
He raised the stone mill in his hand and weighed it, as casually as if he were holding an ordinary brick.
His strength far exceeded three hundred jin.
This was the additional boost to his physical realm granted by the great mastery of the Indestructible Vajra Body.
He set the stone mill down, his mind clear as glass.
If he faced Hu Jiudao of the Fierce Tiger Hall again now, he could probably decide life or death with a single move.
Even against Duan Tianbao, he might not be without the strength to fight.
The pent-up frustration that had been suppressed in his chest for so long had been exhaled along with that white ribbon, more than half of it swept away.
The words "Within a month, I'll make this Fierce Tiger Hall pay for breaking the rules for my sake" were no longer an empty oath.
He now had the capital to fulfill them.
He walked back to the edge of the sand-and-gravel pit, wanting to test just how far his body had advanced after reaching great mastery.
He lay down in the pit and began rolling again.
"Rustle..."
The gravel rolled across his body, but the sensation was entirely different.
If it had previously been like countless steel needles stabbing him, now it was merely like being brushed by a coarse-bristled brush.
There was friction and pressure, but no longer that marrow-deep pain.
His skin and flesh had already grown so tough that the sand and gravel could no longer stimulate them effectively.
He completed an entire cycle of training and sat up from the pit.
The scroll unfolded in his mind.
[Merit: +3]
His Merit continued to increase, but he knew very well that this efficiency was a drop in the bucket compared with the total requirement of one hundred and thirty-five points after reaching great mastery.
This method had to change.
His gaze fell upon the bluestones used to build the courtyard wall.
Cloth training, sand grinding, stone strikes, stick blows.
The cultivation of the Indestructible Vajra Body was inherently a domineering path of constantly tormenting oneself and continually surpassing one's limits.
The next stage was stone striking.
He stood and walked to the well, drew up a bucket of water, and poured it over his head.
The icy well water washed over his body, which gleamed with a bronze luster, droplets sliding down his solid muscles.
He raised his head and glanced at the sky.
It was almost time to report for duty.
He changed into a clean constable's uniform, and that surging power was completely concealed beneath the ordinary clothes.
From the outside, he still looked like that slender young man. Only his steps now carried an extra steadiness, as immovable as a deep pool or towering mountain.
He pushed open the courtyard gate. The sky was blue-gray and hazy.
The households that had risen early in the alley had already sent cooking smoke curling into the air.
In this world of turbid currents, a new day had begun once more.
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