Great Accomplishment in Skin Tempering

The next day, the two half-men traveled another sixty li. After settling on the sheltered side beneath a massive mountain range, Xu Yunfan and Fang Mushan went hunting separately.

An hour later, Xu Yunfan returned carrying a large, elderly lone wolf over his shoulder, while Fang Mushan held a wild rabbit in his hand.

Seeing Li Haomiao and Fang Mushan staring at the old wolf on his shoulder, Xu Yunfan shrugged.

"I don't know either. I turned a corner and saw this old wolf that had been driven from its pack. It couldn't run very fast, so I shot it dead with one arrow."

After a while, Fang Mushan snorted. "Tomorrow, your luck definitely won't be this good."

Fang Mushan, who considered himself an expert hunter, naturally refused to accept this.

On the third day, both returned empty-handed. Fang Mushan found a little comfort in that, and his state of mind became somewhat more balanced.

On the fourth day, they returned empty-handed.

On the fifth day, they returned empty-handed.

Not until the sixth day, when they reached a Mountain Hollow along their route, did Xu Yunfan drag an enormous wild yak before Li Haomiao and Fang Mushan amid the gleaming white snow.

Looking at Xu Yunfan's radiant expression, Fang Mushan, whose hands were empty, fell silent.

Seeing Fang Mushan's desolate expression, Xu Yunfan could not help asking with concern, "What's wrong, Brother Fang?"

Fang Mushan shook his head slightly, his expression somewhat bleak. "Nothing. I just thought of some unforgettable things."

Li Haomiao watched with a smile but said nothing.

Xu Yunfan did not press him further. A little showing off was enough; he could not provoke him too much. Though Fang Mushan appeared fairly easygoing, he was stubborn as an ox beneath the surface.

If he provoked him too badly, Fang Mushan might go hunting out of spite and refuse to return without prey. Then, this fellow might hole up in the Eight Hundred Li Barren River and drag him along as a wild man until he caught prey heavier than Xu Yunfan's.

"With this wild yak weighing several hundred jin, its hide and fur are more than enough to make three sets of clothes warm enough to ward off the cold."

That night, after eating yak meat, Xu Yunfan swung the Iron Pickaxe. His mind was no longer on the tunnel before him, which was steadily being dug deeper, but fixed upon the notifications constantly appearing in his vision for the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art.

The Crimson Flame Copper Body Art was about to advance, entering the realm of Great Accomplishment.

'A flash of inspiration struck you. You discovered that the hardness of earth and stone varied at different times, and chose to mine when the earth and stone were at their least resilient. Your mining speed has increased.'

'On a whim, you wielded the Iron Pickaxe using the hammer technique of the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art. By carefully listening to the resonance frequency of the Iron Pickaxe in your hands and finding the right rhythm to swing it, the vibrational feedback became more stable. Your Crimson Flame Copper Body Art proficiency has increased.'

'...'

'Your Crimson Flame Copper Body Art proficiency is full. It has entered Great Accomplishment.'

'Crimson Flame Copper Body Art 0/5000 (Great Accomplishment)

Special Effects: Abundant vitality and blood, strength reaching throughout the body, skin as hard as iron, robust muscles and bones, resistant to sharp weapons, able to withstand massive stones, extraordinary physical strength, mastery of hammer techniques.'

As the words indicating the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art had reached Great Accomplishment appeared in his vision, countless warm currents surged into his limbs and bones like wild horses breaking free of their reins. His body seemed to inflate, his muscles swelling and knotting.

Even the flesh and skin of his body began to tighten and swell.

His bones cracked continuously, as though they were being reforged.

His muscles expanded rapidly as if inflated, every one of them bulging high with explosive power.

The color of his skin gradually deepened, as though cast from ancient bronze, gleaming with a metallic luster.

Even his vitality and blood surged like raging waves, endlessly churning through his flesh and blood. With every heartbeat, he could feel a powerful impact of strength. That pump-like contraction filled him with seemingly inexhaustible energy.

The rise in his realm had brought earthshaking changes from the inside out, as though he had been reborn.

A memory began flowing through his mind.

Within that memory, those days of cultivation flowing into his heart were as deeply etched as a brand.

In a daze, Xu Yunfan felt as though, before every dawn, he had already stood in the training ground, both hands tightly gripping a long-handled heavy hammer of refined steel.

Every time the heavy hammer fell, the core muscle groups throughout his body worked in concert, unleashing tremendous force.

His abdominal muscles tightened like steel, the muscles of his waist twisting sharply and driving the biceps and triceps of both arms to swing the heavy hammer with all their might. Every burst of force seemed capable of tearing apart the surrounding air.

During breaks in cultivation, he would soak his body, pushed to the very limit of what it could bear, in a bath barrel filled with all manner of rare secret medicines.

The secret medicines mixed together gave off a strange scent. The instant they touched his body, they felt like countless tiny flames burning across his skin and muscles, the stabbing pain spreading through his entire body in an instant.

Every day, he had to grit his teeth, veins bulging across his forehead as sweat seeped endlessly from his pores, yet he endured it all without making a single sound.

Before the medicinal effects faded, dozens of steel rods, wielded by others, would rain down upon his entire body.

The steel rods struck his flesh with dull thuds, each blow making the vitality and blood within him churn violently.

Day after day, he had never slackened in the slightest.

Finally, on a stormy day, lightning flashed and thunder roared through the sky, bolt after bolt tearing across the dark heavens like enormous dragons.

Xu Yunfan swung the heavy hammer as usual, but inadvertently discovered that it no longer seemed heavy in his hand. He tried swinging it faster, and the heavy hammer became as nimble as an embroidery needle in motion.

Every swing easily cut through the air with a piercing howl, while his skin shimmered with threads of bronze radiance amid the thunder dancing overhead.

"Great Accomplishment in Skin Tempering!"

Xu Yunfan was filled with emotion. These days, he had practically given up all leisure activities. Apart from necessary hunting and traveling, he had devoted almost all his time to cultivating the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art.

Even his mining was about to reach Great Accomplishment.

Hard work brought rewards.

Heaven rewarded diligence!

Xu Yunfan even felt his eyes growing a little moist.

These days, he had felt as though he was about to become a professional miner. Even his mining proficiency was nearing Great Accomplishment.

He lowered his head and looked at his body, covered in knotted muscles. Even the clothes he wore and the hems of his trousers had become several inches too short. Great Accomplishment in Skin Tempering had clearly made him a little taller.

The Crimson Flame Copper Body Art was not merely a martial art for wielding hammers; it was also a body-tempering technique. With his current physique, ordinary blades and swords could hardly harm him. That was why his skin now showed signs of a bronze sheen.

Clang! Clang!

With his vitality and blood roiling at an extreme level of activity, Xu Yunfan looked at the bronze sheen on his skin and tapped it with a finger, producing a crisp sound like gold and bronze.

When he climbed out of the underground tunnel, Fang Mushan sprang to his feet the instant he saw Xu Yunfan.

"How did you become so brawny?!"

Li Haomiao's eyes opened and closed, a sharp gleam shining within them.

"Great Accomplishment in Skin Tempering."

Though he tried his utmost to remain calm, his heart was already in turmoil. How long had it been since Xu Yunfan had truly begun practicing martial arts?

At most, it had been just over a month since he started mining?

Even if he had some foundation before, his rate of advancement should not have been this terrifying.

Fang Mushan came to his senses.

"True blood?!"