Martial Foundation, Comprehension Metamorphosis!

The owner of the smithy outside the forging room, Li Tie, silently took in the scene. His face showed a mixture of admiration, relief, and struggle.

At that very moment, a thought suddenly arose in Li Tie's heart.

His smithy couldn't keep this esteemed guest, Su Mu.

It wasn't that Li Tie wanted to drive Su Mu away, but rather that Su Mu's displayed forging talent was simply too astonishing. Li Tie had initially thought Su Mu was a promising prospect, then wanted to train Su Mu to take over. Now, Li Tie's thoughts had shifted again.

He couldn't help but wonder if a genius like Su Mu should be in a broader place, rather than staying in this small shop in Qingshui Town.

"Perhaps in the future, our shop will produce a true... Forging Master!"

"Instead of an ordinary, skilled blacksmith..."

Forging Master!

This was a respectful title for a blacksmith capable of forging Ranked Weapons. Ranked Weapons were above Hundred Refinements Weapons.

A look of reminiscence and longing appeared in Li Tie's eyes. This had once been his dream in his youth, but unfortunately, his talent was limited. Now, he saw that hope in Su Mu.

If an apprentice from his smithy could become a Forging Master, one of the regrets of Li Tie's life would be rectified.

"Hmm, I can't be too selfish... I should let this kid go to a bigger world."

Li Tie sighed softly, no longer dwelling on it. He turned and walked towards his bedroom. After a long while, he wrote a letter of recommendation and planned to entrust it to someone to deliver to Qingyun County town.

Qingyun County town had a renowned Wu Family Armory. The armory's scale was more than ten times that of the blacksmith shop. The current owner of the armory, Wu Lie, shared the same master as Li Tie and owed Li Tie a favor from years ago.

"This is all I can do."

Rock Shattering Fist, a Ninth Rank fist technique, was a martial art passed down among the border troops of Great Yan. Legend had it that a certain drillmaster in the Great Yan border army created it to counter the heavily armored Barbarians.

It focused on direct, powerful strikes, with Fist Force like a heavy hammer splitting mountains. When cultivated to great mastery, it could penetrate armor and injure opponents. Combined with Hidden Force, it had considerable lethality against armored individuals.

Hidden Force!

After carefully reading through the manual and closing it, Su Mu's eyes gleamed.

What he sought everywhere without success had now come effortlessly!

During the day, Su Mu had been struggling to figure out that subtle, gentle force on his own. Now, he had finally found the correct answer.

That subtle, gentle force was called Hidden Force!

This Rock Shattering Fist was created based on Hidden Force. Su Mu also learned for the first time that the first Qi Refining was merely the beginning of the process, and that there were subsequent stages like the second Qi Refining, third Qi Refining, and so on.

According to the descriptions in the Rock Shattering Fist manual, for a Qi Refining Martial Artist to advance to Bone Forging, they needed to complete at least two stages of Qi Refining. However, the second Qi Refining was far from the limit of Qi Refining.

Force was one of the foundations of a martial artist's path. Whether it was Ninth Rank Qi Refining, or the subsequent Eighth Rank Bone Forging, or even Seventh Rank Muscle Tendon Transformation, all required the use of Force for tempering. The more solid and powerful the Force, the more astonishing the future cultivation speed would be, and even breaking through bottlenecks would become much easier.

However, most people in the world were ordinary. Ordinary martial artists were constrained by their aptitude. Over ninety percent of Qi Refining Martial Artists would choose to attempt Bone Forging after two stages of Qi Refining, and would not spend much more time researching Force thereafter.

The more fundamental something was, the harder it was to make progress after reaching a certain level. Ordinary people could not accept spending time on tempering Force, thus "wasting their time."

"This Force is actually equivalent to the... inner strength in those martial arts novels from my past life?"

Su Mu mused thoughtfully.

According to the manual's description, the first Qi Refining was Manifest Force, which was fierce and powerful.

The second Qi Refining was Hidden Force, which was subtle and could penetrate armor to injure opponents.

The third Qi Refining was Transforming Force. Transforming Force did not directly enhance the power of martial arts but was used to deflect attacks during combat. With this Force, one could deflect the opponent's offensive moves. It was said that Qi Refining Martial Artists who reached Transforming Force could even fight against Bone Forging Martial Artists of a higher rank.

The manual did not mention any further Qi Refining realms. Perhaps the border army drillmaster who created the fist technique had not reached those subsequent realms either.

"Manifest Force... Hidden Force... Transforming Force!"

Su Mu's eyes lit up. His guess was indeed correct. The Black Bear Scoundrel he had killed that day was likely someone on the verge of their second Qi Refining.

Gulp, gulp!

After draining a large bowl of Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup, the young man began practicing Rock Shattering Fist under the night sky. He took a deep breath, lowered his stance, and thrust his fists forward in a spiral from his waist, channeling power to their tips.

Mountain Splitting Stance.

Avalanche Stance.

Armor Breaker Stance.

Rock Shattering Fist (Novice 1%)

Another night passed, and as the roosters crowed, Rock Shattering Fist also appeared on Su Mu's status panel.

Su Mu wiped the sweat from his forehead, a look of joy on his face. He truly enjoyed this feeling of getting stronger, which made him feel secure.

After returning from the Black Market with two manuals and learning about the subsequent path of Qi Refining, Su Mu was filled with motivation, and his life once again became fulfilling.

When one dedicates their entire being to a single endeavor, time seems to accelerate. In the blink of an eye, the cicadas began to buzz loudly.

Early summer turned into peak summer, and a month passed.

In the early morning, after a heavy rain the previous night, the woods behind Dongbian Village were lush and green. The muddy forest exuded the fragrance of the earth.

Suddenly.

Birds in the forest stirred and flew high.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Within a single breath, a figure leaped three consecutive times through the dense woods. Each leap easily covered ten yards. This figure was so fast that ordinary people could barely track it with their eyes, like a swift sparrow in the mountains.

A gust of wind brushed past the sides of his cheeks, and a look of intoxication appeared on the young man's face.

Looking back, he had already covered over thirty yards in a single breath.

"Three consecutive leaps are my current limit, but this is not the limit of this technique..."

Su Mu whispered. Thanks to the scoundrel's generosity, Su Mu had been taking medicinal soups constantly this past month. He also ate plenty of meat to replenish his qi and blood. After a month, Su Mu had become noticeably sturdier. The muscles in his legs had changed dramatically, becoming a circumference thicker than before, with lines of muscle exuding a sense of power.

Rock Shattering Fist (Minor Completion 1%)

Startled Sparrow Steps (Minor Completion 1%)

The moment Startled Sparrow Steps advanced to Minor Completion...

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

A hot, scorching warm current generated in Su Mu's abdomen. This warm current flowed through his limbs, meridians, and acupoints, making Su Mu feel as if he were immersed in a hot spring.

Following this, his bones and muscles chimed in unison.

Accompanied by cracking sounds, Su Mu's body slowly grew taller.

Then, the warm current surged upward into his brow. This time, the reaction was unprecedentedly strong, and Su Mu's mind became exceptionally clear.

In an instant, Su Mu's already keen senses, which far surpassed those of ordinary people, leaped another level. The world before his eyes became even clearer and brighter.

At a hundred paces away, the veins on the leaves of a poplar tree, rustling in the mountain wind, were clearly visible.

Su Mu suddenly recalled the divine archers from history books in his past life who could shoot a willow leaf at a hundred paces. Su Mu had always thought it was an exaggeration, but now, he felt that if he practiced archery in this life, he would definitely be able to achieve it!

At this moment, Su Mu's mind was exceptionally clear. He knew very well that this was because the potential of both Rock Shattering Fist and Startled Sparrow Steps reaching Minor Completion had finally reached the limit of his current comprehension, thereby breaking through the shackles of his current comprehension.

Quantity had finally led to the ultimate qualitative change.

After more than half a year, his comprehension had broken through again!