Frenzied Cultivation

Li Yuan walked along the streets of Jiujiang Commandery. Teahouses, pawnshops, workshops, and taverns lined both sides, while plenty of peddlers occupied the open spaces, hawking their wares. The whole place was bustling with life.

He rarely strolled idly through the streets. Now that he was walking through Jiujiang Commandery, he actually felt a rare trace of relaxation.

Usually, Li Yuan was either cultivating or going out on missions, his nerves stretched taut the entire time. Now, that string in his heart had loosened slightly. As he walked down the street, he looked like a young master out for a leisurely stroll.

This was the most prosperous city in Jiujiang Commandery, with a population of over a hundred thousand. Li Yuan slowed his pace, taking in the sights and sounds of mortal life.

The warmth of human life was what soothed an ordinary heart most.

Even if the road was rough, every day still brought people home.

After crossing several streets, Li Yuan arrived at a blacksmith's shop. Seeing a customer enter, the shop assistant immediately came over to greet him.

"Welcome, sir. What would you like to buy?"

"Of course. I'd like to buy some ironware."

"Very well. Please follow me."

The blacksmith's assistant led Li Yuan to a wooden rack nearby. "All the ironware here is for sale. Take a look and see what you need."

Li Yuan took a wrist-thick iron rod from the rack and weighed it in his hand. It felt fairly substantial, but it was a little too long.

He planned to use the iron rod to beat himself. If it was too long, he wouldn't be able to swing it properly, making it inconvenient to use. Besides, iron rods seemed to lack sufficient strength.

Li Yuan gripped the iron rod with both hands and twisted hard. The rod let out a teeth-grating creak, then folded in half under his strength, right before the shop assistant's stupefied eyes.

"Iron still isn't quite good enough. It doesn't hold up."

"Do you have steel?"

The assistant wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly nodded. "We do, we do. This way, sir."

The assistant had initially thought Li Yuan looked young and tender-faced, like some wealthy young master's pampered son. He had never expected him to be a martial artist with terrifying strength, capable of twisting an iron rod like a towel. His attitude became even more respectful.

Steel tools were considerably more expensive than iron ones. After making his selections, Li Yuan chose a thick, short steel rod, then picked out a large hammer whose head was even bigger than his own.

Those two would be enough for blunt weapons. Besides that, he also needed some sharp weapons.

After another round of choosing, Li Yuan selected a thick-backed saber. It was a formidable weapon in its own right—the back of the blade alone was two fingers thick, and it was so heavy that holding it felt like carrying an axe.

These things were not finely crafted tools. Every one of them was bulky, crude, and pitch-black, made only to be heavy and hard. They were not worth much. Li Yuan bought the lot for half a tael of silver.

The assistant found some rope and tied the items together. Li Yuan hefted the bundle in one hand and walked out of the blacksmith's shop.

After returning to his residence, Li Yuan eagerly began cultivating.

He closed the courtyard gate, drew out the steel rod, and sent it crashing heavily into his own stomach, the veins on his arm bulging.

The thick, heavy steel rod was far more powerful than wood. Its hardness and weight both far exceeded those of a wooden rod. One blow from it felt even more satisfying than ten strikes with wood!

Thus, the cultivation effect was also ten times greater than with a wooden rod!

Li Yuan repeatedly smashed the steel rod into various parts of his body, and a continuous chorus of dull impacts rang out!

If an ordinary person witnessed such a savage scene, it would definitely scare them senseless.

This was also why Li Yuan no longer allowed Dong Yuezhen to help him cultivate Iron Body Skill. His cultivation progress was simply too fast. Under the continuous beating, the muscles, bones, flesh, and skin throughout Li Yuan's body were growing stronger at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Moreover, the speed of this improvement was still accelerating!

Such an unreasonable scene would inevitably arouse suspicion in others, so he could only cultivate on his own from then on.

As Li Yuan continued striking various parts of his body with the steel rod, he also circulated the breathing method of Iron Body Skill. His chest was like a massive bellows, each breath producing a deep and prolonged sound.

Time passed by second by second. After half an hour, Li Yuan's Iron Body Skill had reached the major accomplishment stage!

Iron Body Force surged violently within him. A vast amount of Iron Body Force gushed forth from nowhere, several times greater than before!

Even the quality of Iron Body Force had risen a level. It had become tougher and more condensed!

After Iron Body Skill reached major accomplishment, Li Yuan's body continued growing stronger. Drastic changes were taking place deep within him. His bones became denser and tougher, his muscles thicker and more powerful, and his skin and flesh harder and more resilient. A faint metallic sheen even seemed to radiate from him!

The bodies of experts who cultivated external hard techniques would inevitably undergo obvious changes. Merely standing there, their physiques brimming with violence, was enough to make others feel immense pressure.

After beating himself with the steel rod for so long in one go, Li Yuan was somewhat tired despite not being injured. He also discovered that he was hungry again.

Li Yuan's body was constantly growing stronger. This transformation required not only the support of his cultivation realm, but also external nourishment.

Now, every cell in Li Yuan's body was transmitting a signal of hunger!

Li Yuan tossed aside the steel rod and went to sit at the stone table. Some of the food from lunch remained, so he began eating again.

The food on the stone table was quickly swept clean by Li Yuan. The hunger in his stomach had only receded by two or three parts, and he still felt hungry.

He continued eating!

Li Yuan left the courtyard and went to a restaurant, urging the waiter to bring out the dishes.

The improvement of his body was not merely an increase in strength. It was an all-around transformation. Even the digestive and absorptive abilities of his organs had improved greatly. The scene of Li Yuan eating left the restaurant's serving boys dumbfounded.

The serving boys discovered that even their speed of bringing out dishes could not keep up with Li Yuan's speed of eating!

A plate had barely been placed on the table before Li Yuan would wolf it down in a few huffs and puffs. Before long, a tall stack of empty plates had formed on the table.

Because Li Yuan had chosen a private room, there were no other diners watching. Otherwise, it would certainly have caused quite a commotion.

The vast amount of food was rapidly digested and absorbed by Li Yuan's powerful organs, transformed into qi, blood, and nourishment, then continuously supplied to every cell in his body. Those cells greedily devoured the nourishment and grew stronger and stronger!

As he ate, Li Yuan pondered the matter.

He cultivated Iron Body Skill extremely quickly, reaching the major accomplishment stage of this external hard technique in little more than half a day.

Other martial artists would struggle to reach such a realm even after decades of painstaking cultivation. Li Yuan knew very well that, at most, he needed another day to cultivate this technique all the way to perfection!

Now, every time he advanced to another realm, he needed vast amounts of nourishment to support his body's growth. He was eating more and more, and had even begun running into supply problems.

The food at the restaurant consisted of nothing more than ordinary vegetables and meat. Its quality could not be called high, and the nourishment it could provide was ultimately limited. He now needed something better to replenish his body!

Li Yuan quickly thought of a solution.

Tonic medicine!

He would go to an apothecary to find highly nourishing medicinal herbs and eat medicine as though it were food. Only then could he keep up with the speed of his body's improvement.

After eating his fill at the restaurant and paying the bill, Li Yuan hurried out and quickly headed toward the apothecary.