"I've successfully refined my strength... I can now be considered a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist!"
After a long while, Su Mu slowly opened his eyes. Having advanced to Ninth-Rank Qi Refining, his eyes shone with brilliance, and his entire bearing seemed renewed, as though he had been reborn.
Refining Strength into Force was the first threshold for a Ranked Martial Artist. This realm required years of tempering the body and gradually increasing one's strength, until at last force could flow through every acupoint.
For an ordinary person, this process took at least several years and sometimes more than a decade. More than ninety percent of those who practiced martial arts never crossed this threshold in their entire lives.
That was because breaking through to Qi Refining was no sure thing. One had to build up one's qi and blood to the limits of an ordinary body while nurturing force to a certain level before attempting the breakthrough. If the attempt failed, both qi and blood and force would be damaged to varying degrees. In the worst cases, one had to start nurturing force all over again.
And each failure made the next attempt even more difficult.
Su Mu had no idea that people like him, who succeeded on their very first attempt, were rare. The Tiger Subduing Fist manual simply hadn't mentioned any of this.
The chance of successfully refining force depended entirely on a martial artist's natural constitution, comprehension, and accumulated foundations.
His success on the first attempt was due not only to mastering the Five Animal Frolics, but also to the extraordinary comprehension he had gained after his panel improved. Moreover, the Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup he had taken every day for the past few months had subtly improved his constitution, building up a deep enough foundation for him to succeed in one fell swoop!
"Let's test out true refined strength!"
After his breakthrough, Su Mu sensed that the wisps of force in his body, once as fine as strands of hair, had now become a flowing stream. His force ran like a gentle current through his limbs and veins.
Roar!
Su Mu took up his stance and began practicing the Tiger Subduing Fist on the spot. The moment he threw a punch, his eyes lit up. It was as if a door had opened onto a whole new world; everything suddenly felt different.
Tiger Subduing Stance.
Fierce Tiger Pounce.
Vajra Tiger Subduing!
His fists tore through the air, accompanied by the muffled roar of a tiger. Afterimages trailed behind them, and his powerful fist wind sent the surrounding branches and leaves swaying.
A single resounding blow was worth a thousand gold!
Su Mu looked down at his fist, scarcely able to believe it. After advancing to Ninth-Rank Qi Refining, even a casual punch was several times more powerful than before.
Before, his force had been like loose sand, impossible to gather into a single rope. Now, Su Mu could do so with ease. And once he could draw all the force in his body together whenever he wished, the power of his fists and kicks naturally entered an entirely new realm.
"Let's see how powerful it is!"
Su Mu hurried to a tree thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around. He took a deep breath and stirred the qi and blood in his body, while force surged toward his right arm.
The next moment, Su Mu used the Tiger Subduing Fist and punched.
Bang!
His flesh-and-blood fist struck the trunk with an explosive crack. Wood chips flew, and the tree, thick enough for a person to encircle with their arms, swayed wildly as if caught in a violent storm.
Leaves fluttered down from the branches, which shuddered in every direction. Through the falling leaves, he could see a spiderweb of cracks around the point of impact, with the fist-shaped dent sunk three inches into the trunk.
Seeing the punch mark driven deep into the wood, Su Mu couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath. He startled himself; it was hard to imagine how horrifying the blow would have been if it had struck a person instead of a tree.
"The book didn't lie. A Qi Refining Martial Artist really can shatter rock with a bare fist without injuring himself... There's a chasm between Ranked and unranked martial artists!"
Su Mu looked down at his fist again, his face filled with amazement. After delivering a punch that sank three inches into the wood, his fist was completely unharmed—not even a scratch.
The world was vast, and full of wonders. Su Mu believed there were people born with divine strength who could drive a fist three inches into wood without ever practicing martial arts. But strength was a double-edged sword. Without force to protect them, such natural strength would inevitably rebound on their bodies, leaving them with torn flesh at best and broken bones at worst. The difference was plain to see.
"After advancing to Ninth-Rank Qi Refining, my strength and speed have improved as well as my force... by about thirty percent."
Su Mu's eyes shone. A thirty-percent increase was no small matter. Nurturing force meant gradually approaching the limits of an ordinary body; this thirty percent came from breaking through those limits!
After testing his gains from the breakthrough, the young man wore a satisfied smile. Nearly a year had passed since he had crossed into this world, and at last he had stepped onto the path of a martial artist.
As far as Su Mu knew, the Qi Refining Martial Artists in all of Qingshui Town could be counted on one hand. He now had at least some ability to protect himself.
He took a deep breath to calm his excitement, then brought up his current attribute panel.
[Name: Su Mu (14 years old)] [Lifespan: 52 years] [Skills: Five Animal Frolics (Mastered 76%), Forging (Mastered 41%), Tiger Subduing Fist (Mastered 1%), Alchemy (Beginner 51%)] [Comprehension: 9 (Modest Potential)]
"My lifespan has increased by a full five years this time."
"After mastering the Tiger Subduing Fist, my comprehension also went up by two points in one go... Ten points of comprehension should be the next breakthrough threshold."
Su Mu had sensed it when he advanced just now: once his comprehension reached ten points, he would break through his current limits and reach a higher level.
Su Mu studied his attribute panel carefully. After the Five Animal Frolics and Forging reached mastery, their proficiency began increasing more slowly.
That was easy to understand. It was easy to begin, but hard to master. The closer anything came to its limits, the harder each further step became; the time and effort required grew accordingly.
Su Mu narrowed his eyes slightly. Half a year had passed, and the person in charge would soon return. It would still take some time for the Five Animal Frolics to reach perfection.
"Now that I'm a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist, perhaps I should visit the Black Market. Tomorrow is the twenty-sixth, after all."
Once the person in charge returned, Su Mu would be watched again. He didn't want to miss this opportunity, so he planned to visit the Black Market and buy a Ninth-Rank martial art to practice.
He figured it would be easier to master a Ninth-Rank martial art than to bring the Five Animal Frolics to perfection, and it would take less time as well.
Sizzle, sizzle!
In the forge, Su Mu used iron tongs to lift a long sword from a bucket. As it emerged, a cold glint flashed along its smooth, mirror-like blade. Su Mu flicked the metal with his finger.
Clang!
First came a clear, pleasant metallic ring, followed by a fine, continuous hum. After inspecting it closely, Su Mu looked satisfied.
"This is the third Ten Refinements Weapon Blacksmith Su has forged this month, isn't it? Truly, the waves of the Yangtze River push the ones before them aside. The young are formidable!"
Watching this, one of the blacksmiths couldn't help sighing. He was still hammering the billet for his second Ten Refinements Weapon, while Su Mu had already finished his third—and every one of Su Mu's weapons was of excellent quality.
"Ah, I guess I'm getting old and useless... Comparing myself to others really is enough to make a person die of frustration!"
Many of the blacksmiths lamented that they were no longer up to the task, feeling thoroughly outdone by Su Mu.
After finishing a day's forging, Su Mu went to the shop owner, Li Tie, and asked for a day off. Li Tie readily agreed. Su Mu had already forged three Ten Refinements Weapons that month, all of excellent quality. Lately, quite a few customers had specifically requested that Su Mu do their forging.
It wouldn't matter even if Su Mu didn't come to work for the rest of the month.
"Is one day off enough?" Li Tie asked with a smile. He thought more and more highly of Su Mu. His own son, Li Xiaohu, probably wouldn't be able to take over the shop. Perhaps Su Mu would have to inherit it one day.
"Shop owner, one day is enough."
"All right, I approve your leave."
At dusk the following day, beneath the setting sun, a visitor came from the east. Wearing a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat, with a white fox mask covering his face, the man arrived at the woods behind Black Stone Village.
When night fell, a waning crescent moon hung high overhead. Its dim light fell over the barren hills. A mountain breeze blew through, and the swaying trees cast sinister shadows like ghosts.
The man, who had been waiting with his eyes closed, rose and strode into the barren hills.
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