Gal Martial Saint

On the desk, an exquisite jade bottle stood quietly, its surface flowing with a warm and moist luster under the candlelight.

Pulling out the stopper, specks of golden light spilled out.

This was the "Spirit Rhinoceros Bone Quenching Dew."

An Elder-level body-tempering spiritual medicine.

If this thing were put on the market outside, it would probably make those loose cultivators fight like dogs to get it.

Gu Chengming took a deep breath, adjusting his mindset.

He bathed and changed, burned incense, and washed his hands. Although he had a modern soul and didn't care much for these formalities, he was about to attempt to break through the Hundred Bones Resonance that had tormented him for a long time, so a sense of ritual was still necessary.

With everything ready, Gu Chengming slowly poured out the diluted spiritual liquid from the jade bottle.

The liquid presented a strange pale gold color, viscous like honey.

The moment the first drop of spiritual liquid touched his skin, Gu Chengming couldn't help but shudder.

Cold.

A bone-chilling cold.

It was like having a handful of crushed ice stuffed down the back of your neck on a hot summer day.

But immediately after, that coldness instantly transformed into a raging inferno!

"Hiss--"

Gu Chengming gasped, not daring to delay. He quickly smeared the spiritual liquid all over his body with his hands, especially along his spine. As the spiritual liquid seeped in, he felt as if his skin was being pierced by countless tiny needle tips.

Could it be worthy of being an Elder-level spiritual medicine?

Gu Chengming gritted his teeth, enduring the physical discomfort, and began to assume the cultivation stance for Hundred Bones Resonance.

He stood facing the East, the "Zhen" position, his feet apart, firmly planted on the "Kun" earth position.

His spine was held straight, reaching towards "Qian" heaven, and his cultivation technique circulated.

That familiar, tearing pain struck again, but this time, beneath that overbearing pain, there was a layer of warm and moist protective film—that was the medicinal power of the "Spirit Rhinoceros Bone Quenching Dew" taking effect.

Drawing from the Yongquan point on the earth, it ascended along the Du meridian.

Gu Chengming's consciousness sank, as if he could feel the heavy, cold, turbid energy from the depths of the earth being forcibly drawn out through the Yongquan acupoint at the soles of his feet. It traveled along the Du meridian, like a great dragon on his back, surging upwards.

Simultaneously, absorbing the Yang energy of the heavens from the Chonglou, it descended along the Ren meridian.

With each breath through his nose and mouth, the pure and spiritual energy wandering in the heavens and earth was inhaled into the Chonglou in his throat, transforming into a stream of pure Yang heat that rolled down along the Ren meridian on his chest.

One Yin, one Yang, one rising, one falling.

Two completely different auras finally met with a roar at the "Tanzhong" acupoint in his chest.

Focusing his intent on Tanzhong, he urged the Kan and Li energies like water and fire boiling mercury!

The pale golden spirit liquid smeared on his body seemed to come alive at this moment, transforming into countless golden threads that penetrated his meridians.

They were like the highest-grade catalysts, or the most solid coolants, forcefully kneading the originally violent Kan and Li energies together.

Inside his chest, it was as if a great cauldron was cooking.

Misty Resonant Qi, born!

A stream of energy unlike any he had felt before was born within the Tanzhong acupoint.

This was the core of the Hundred Bones Resonance—Resonant Qi.

Gu Chengming dared not be careless in the slightest. He immediately guided this newly born Resonant Qi, like a great whale sucking water, to forcefully pour into the Zhenshu acupoint at the back of his neck.

"Boom!"

A muffled roar seemed to echo in his mind.

The Dazhui acupoint was the convergence of all Yang meridians. As it was filled with Resonant Qi, intense pain surged.

Even with the spirit medicine protecting his body, the feeling of his bones about to explode made his face contort, and cold sweat poured down like rain.

His spinal joints emitted a bone-chilling "creak," as if unable to bear the burden.

When the resonant light in the Zhongshu acupoint accumulated to the point of bursting, the Resonant Qi exploded!

Finally, that force fiercely impacted his tailbone.

"Buzz—"

An extremely dull sound emanated from Gu Chengming's body, piercing through him.

This sound was not crisp like the clash of metal, but rather like a decaying bell that had slept for a thousand years, struck hard by a giant wooden club.

The shockwave rebounded through his entire body!

Following this "Bell Chime," a visible shockwave, centered on his tailbone, instantly swept through all two hundred and six bones in his body.

Gu Chengming trembled all over, his legs shaking uncontrollably, and he almost lost his balance.

The resonant sound was then planted in his Dantian.

Thus, the Tremor Bone Resonance Merit was complete!

"Hoo..."

Gu Chengming let out a long breath of stale air.

It was done.

As the "Resonant Seed" completely stabilized within his Dantian, the system's prompt arrived as expected.

[Congratulations! Cultivation of Hundred Bones Resonance has begun.]

[Constitution +1]

[Current Constitution: 4]

[Status: Essence Blood Depletion (Current HP cap permanently reduced by 30%, and continuously decaying daily, estimated remaining lifespan: 380 days)]

Looking at the surging lifespan, Gu Chengming was incredibly moved.

It wasn't easy. He had finally evolved from someone who could die at any moment to a "barely alive for a year" sub-healthy individual.

Immediately after, the system interface refreshed again, and a new line of text appeared.

[Target selected: Hundred Bones Resonance]

[Affinity: 5/Stranger]

[Hundred Bones Resonance slowly wakes up, looking at the unfamiliar ceiling, still a bit dazed. But after reacting, it was filled with ecstasy.]

[It's back! After so many years, buried in old papers and gathering dust, it has finally seen the light of day again and returned to the human world!]

Looking at the system's description, Gu Chengming felt an extremely strong sense of déjà vu.

This tone... these lines...

Why did the personality of Hundred Bones Resonance feel so damn familiar amidst the strangeness?

[Hundred Bones Resonance turns its attention to you, thinking, "Is this the disciple who has the fortune to cultivate me after so many years?"]

[It scrutinizes your Meridians and bones from top to bottom, its brows furrowing slightly.]

[This aptitude... is simply too poor.]

[Blocked Meridians, brittle bones, weak Qi and Blood, it's simply an eyesore.]

[It sighs, with a sense of disappointment that it cannot be made into something better.]

[Forget it, reborn into this world, it is ultimately living under someone else's roof. Let's first see what's special about you, Kid.]

[Hundred Bones Resonance attempts to take over your body control, to circulate the Twelve Heavenly Cycles on its own, to display its power.]

[Allow?]

[Yes/No]

"Holy crap..."

Looking at the semi-transparent option box that popped up before him, Gu Chengming was suddenly a little surprised.

This was the first time the system had provided specific option branches during an interaction, aside from basic operations like "Select Target."

As expected, a proper GALGAME has options!

After a moment of reflection, Gu Chengming chose without hesitation--

[No].

It wasn't for any other reason than that, as a seasoned GALGAME player, Master Gala's intuition told him that he had to take the initiative at times like these.

Although he hadn't fully figured out the personality of this new target yet, he was certain of one thing from their recent inner thoughts--

Hundred Bones Resonance was definitely the type of target who was more dominant and had a high opinion of themselves.

For this type of character, the worst thing you could do was to be completely obedient from the start.

If you acted meek and submissive, they would only treat you as a tool to be ordered around. Your Affinity might increase, but not by much, and it would be difficult to unlock the true core plot.

When facing such a target, you had to take the initiative and appropriately display "Indifferent" or "Ignorance" to attract their attention and stimulate their competitive spirit.

Colloquially known as--Playing Hard to Get.

[You rejected Hundred Bones Resonance's request.]

[Hundred Bones Resonance, seeing your rudeness, was amused and angered.]

[It thought to itself that this kid really didn't know what was good for him, but it didn't say much, only let out a cold snort and watched from the sidelines, arms crossed.]

Fine, if you don't want to be bothered, I'll leave you alone for now.

With nearly a year of Lifespan remaining, Gu Chengming felt much less pressure.

Then, over the next few days.

Gu Chengming completely ignored it, not even practicing Hundred Bones Resonance once.

Every day, without fail, he would take that worn Wooden Sword and practice the most basic Huiyuan Sword Art in the courtyard, grunting with effort.

"..."

It was during this time that, thanks to the boost from the You Yuyao incident and his diligent practice over the past few days, the Affinity for Huiyuan Sword Art soared, finally breaking the 90 mark.

[Huiyuan Sword Art Affinity: 90/Adoration]

[It no longer felt humble, because it knew that in your hands, it was the strongest.]

[It was willing to give everything for you, even if it meant overdrawing its own potential, just to make every one of your sword strikes flawless.]

Gu Chengming stood in the courtyard, holding a Wooden Sword, his breathing steady.

After these past few days of settling in, especially after his Affinity reached 90, he felt a wondrous connection had been established between himself and the sword in his hands.

It was no longer a simple act of swinging a sword, but a kind of... resonance.

He slowly raised his hand and delivered a sword strike.

This strike was plain and unremarkable, without any flashy movements, and not even fast.

But the moment the sword was drawn, the surrounding air seemed to freeze for an instant. The sword's edge traced a path that was natural, yet left no trace.

A stunning sword strike of pure, innate skill.

Although it was only for a moment, although it was the most basic sword move, the artistic conception was undeniably present.

And Hundred Bones Resonance, who had been watching with arms crossed, ready to mock, keenly noticed this.

[Hundred Bones Resonance was incredibly shocked. This Kid's aptitude was clearly ordinary, so why could he unleash such a stunning sword strike?]

[Had it misjudged him?]

[No, that's not right!]

[Hundred Bones Resonance suddenly had a flash of inspiration and concocted a shocking "truth".]

[It discovered that your attitude towards that sword art was excellent. You diligently polished the Wooden Sword daily and spoke of it with considerable care. The power displayed by that dilapidated sword art in your hands also far exceeded common sense.]

[Conversely, although it was a high-level Cultivation Method, because your attitude towards it was indifferent, even ignoring it for days, it was still stuck at the introductory stage.]

[A bold guess formed in its mind: could it be... that the degree of your fondness for a certain Cultivation Method directly affects the speed and power with which you cultivate it?]

[The more he liked that Cultivation Method, the stronger it would be in his hands; conversely, if he disliked it, it would be a piece of scrap paper in his hands?]