Gal Martial Saint

Although the Huiyuan Sword Art was progressing smoothly, the Affinity that could be gained from practicing it daily was limited. He couldn't possibly practice it for twenty-four hours a day.

As for the Clear Heart Art, there was no clear strategy for it yet. He could only occasionally trigger Affinity prompts through daily actions, which was extremely inefficient.

Therefore, having another cultivation technique that could be used to gain Affinity was particularly important.

Gu Chengming didn't delay. He took his Token and headed straight for the sect's Library.

The Library was located on the Main Peak of the Wenjian Sect, a grand and magnificent tower.

Gu Chengming arrived at the first floor of the Library. The Female Disciple responsible for managing the exchange of cultivation techniques was also here.

She sat behind the counter, organizing scrolls of Jade Slips with a focused expression.

Gu Chengming walked up and placed the Token Yu Wenqiu had given him on the counter.

The Female Disciple heard the movement and looked up. When she saw the Token engraved with the character "Qiu," she clearly froze for a moment.

"Is this... Elder Yu's Token?"

She asked somewhat hesitantly, her tone carrying a hint of uncertainty.

Gu Chengming nodded in response.

The Female Disciple couldn't help but re-examine Gu Chengming before her.

She scanned him up and down, her gaze lingering for a moment on his First Realm Level Three cultivation. Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

A good-for-nothing at First Realm Level Three.

But... he was quite good-looking. His features were delicate and clean, and although his cultivation was low, his face was indeed very attractive.

A thought, uncontrollable, popped into her mind.

Could this person... be that Male Companion kept by Elder Yu?

She had heard that Elder Yu was usually extremely lazy and arrogant, relying on her exceptional talent to often disregard the sect's Rules. She had already been criticized by some Elders before.

And now, it had gotten worse, and she had started keeping a Male Companion within the sect?

This Female Disciple didn't know that the rumors circulating privately due to some people in the sect's dissatisfaction with Yu Wenqiu had caused a great misunderstanding of the Elder Yu she had never met.

Of course, she, a mere managing disciple, couldn't get involved in the disputes between these Elders. She wisely didn't ask any more questions. She subtly took half a step back, creating a little distance between herself and Gu Chengming, and then asked in a business-like tone:

"Elder Yu... wishes to exchange for what kind of cultivation technique?"

Gu Chengming pondered for a moment.

In fact, he had already decided on the way here. He wanted to exchange for a Body Refining Technique.

He chose a Body Refining Technique after careful consideration.

He had discovered that when the Affinity of a cultivation technique increased, the fixed attribute points rewarded were often closely related to the technique's own characteristics.

Just like the Huiyuan Sword Art. As a sword technique, it rewarded the "Strength" attribute.

Therefore, if he were to cultivate another Body Refining Technique, following this logic, it was highly probable that the technique would bring him "Constitution" attribute points as a reward when its Affinity increased.

This way, perhaps he could solve the problem of his current Constitution attribute being too low, which caused him to continuously lose health?

Moreover, Body Refining Techniques generally did not have high requirements for the cultivator's Realm. They tested the cultivator's willpower and the body's endurance more. It was the most suitable cultivation technique for a disciple of his low Realm at the moment.

Thus, he stated his requirements:

"I want a Body Refining Technique, preferably one that doesn't have high Realm requirements, and can temper the muscles and bones, strengthening the physique."

The Female Disciple listened to his request and nodded. She turned and walked to the bookshelf behind her, skillfully searching through rows of Jade Slips.

Soon, she returned with a crimson Jade Slip.

"This Hundred Bones Art might be suitable for you."

She placed the Jade Slip on the counter and began to explain.

"This technique was obtained by the sect from an ancient ruin in its early years. It is a purely external Body Refining method and does not involve any Spiritual Power circulation, so it has no requirements for the cultivator's Realm."

"Cultivating this technique can cause the deep bones and muscles to resonate. Upon reaching great mastery, it can cause the form and spirit to resonate, drawing the rhythm of heaven and earth into one's body."

"However..."

"This technique also has a characteristic."

The Female Disciple paused and patiently explained:

"When cultivating this technique, it consumes a large amount of the cultivator's Qi and Blood and vital essence. Therefore, cultivators of this technique must supplement their consumption with abundant spiritual medicines and blood food. Otherwise, not only will the physique not be strengthened, but due to the depletion of Qi and Blood, the origin will be damaged, and there is even a risk of shortening Lifespan."

"Overall, this is a... resource-intensive technique. Although it has no Realm requirements, not many disciples in the sect choose to cultivate it."

This Female Disciple had clearly seen that Gu Chengming was choosing the technique for himself. After hesitating for a moment, she recommended such a technique.

Although it was resource-intensive, as Elder Yu's Male Companion, he shouldn't be lacking in resources, right?

Gu Chengming's eyes lit up after hearing her explanation.

"This one it is!"

Seeing his decisiveness, the Female Disciple was stunned again.

After all, Gu Chengming's high Charm value of twenty-five points was quite useful.

It's just... sigh, what a shame.

Her cultivation is so low, and she's even become someone's male companion.

If only I were a High Realm Cultivator too...

The female disciple thought this, but not a trace of it showed on her face.

She simply nodded, then quickly processed the cultivation technique exchange for Gu Chengming, handing him the rubbings of Hundred Bones Art.

Throughout the entire process, she maintained a polite and distant demeanor, as if afraid of getting involved with Gu Chengming and offending the legendary, capricious Elder Yu.

Chapter 9: As Planned

Holding the rubbings of the Hundred Bones Art cultivation technique, Gu Chengming returned to his courtyard.

He placed the various bottles and jars he'd collected from the Sword Repository Pavilion on the stone table, then eagerly opened Hundred Bones Art.

The content of the cultivation technique, as the female disciple had said, was simple and brutal.

There were no profound meridian circulation diagrams, nor any esoteric incantations. The entire text explained how to stimulate, beat, and temper every inch of the body's bones and muscles through various extreme methods.

For example, the first level, "Iron Skin," required the cultivator to repeatedly strike their skin with a hard wooden stick, following a specific sequence and force, until a fine layer of blood beads appeared on the surface. Then, they would soak the skin with a specially formulated medicinal liquid to repair the damage, repeating this cycle.

Gu Chengming looked at the training methods, which could be described as self-torture, on the cultivation technique. Instead of feeling fear, he excitedly rubbed his hands together.

He first found a bottle of "Blood Replenishing Pills" from the pile of elixirs, poured out two, and swallowed them. He felt a warm current spread through his abdomen before taking a deep breath and finding an arm-thick hardwood stick from the corner of the courtyard.

"Alright, let's begin!"

Following the diagrams for the first level of Hundred Bones Art, "Iron Skin," he took off his shirt, revealing a slightly thin but well-proportioned upper body.

Then, he raised the wooden stick, aimed at his left arm, and brought it down fiercely.

"Thud!"

A dull sound.

Intense pain instantly shot up his arm, making Gu Chengming gasp.

But he didn't stop. Gritting his teeth, enduring the pain, he continued to swing the stick.

"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"

The dull thudding sounds echoed in the quiet courtyard.

He followed the sequence recorded in the cultivation technique, from his arms to his chest, then to his back, not sparing a single inch of skin.

Soon, terrifying red swelling and bruises appeared on his skin.

After he had beaten his entire body, he looked as if he had been fished out of water, covered in sweat, his face pale, his lips trembling slightly.

He forced himself to stand and walked to the stone table, pouring a bottle of brown liquid into the wooden bucket, then soaking himself in it.

"Hiss--"

The moment the liquid touched his wounds, an indescribable stinging pain surged, making him grit his teeth again.

But after this stinging, a cool and refreshing sensation followed, as if countless tiny hands were gently massaging his injured muscles and skin.

Gu Chengming soaked in the medicine bucket for a full hour.

When he emerged from the wooden bucket, the red swelling and bruises on his body had receded by more than half, replaced by an unprecedented sense of ease and comfort.

He could clearly feel that his skin seemed to have become tougher than before.

However, when he opened his status panel, wanting to check the affinity of Hundred Bones Art, he found the panel was completely blank.

No affinity displayed.

This meant he hadn't even begun to learn it.

"No way..." Gu Chengming was dumbfounded.

He had followed the requirements of the technique, completing the first round of cultivation without a single deviation. He had endured the pain, used the medicine, and still hadn't even started?

He refused to believe it.

For the next few days, Gu Chengming seemed to be locked in a battle with Hundred Bones Art.

Every day, he repeated the same self-abusive training. Beating, soaking in medicine, beating again, soaking in medicine again...

The "Blood Replenishing Pills" and Body Refining Potions he had obtained from the Sword Repository Pavilion were being consumed at a visible rate.

However, three days passed.

Apart from making him live in a cycle of "pain and pleasure" every day, and making his skin increasingly resemble old cowhide, Hundred Bones Art still showed no sign of affinity.

He still hadn't begun to learn it.

It was only then that Gu Chengming belatedly remembered something.

Although this technique had no realm restrictions, his own aptitude was truly too poor.

This body was already weak from the start, with mediocre aptitude.

The difficulty of forcefully starting a Body Refining Technique that placed extremely high demands on the physical body through such self-abusive methods could be imagined.

I miscalculated.

Gu Chengming slumped to the ground, looking at his brand new bruises, wanting to cry but having no tears.

If he had known this would happen, he might as well have chosen a common cultivation technique that didn't have such high aptitude requirements.

Now, he had spent a lot of resources and suffered a lot, yet he hadn't even grasped the basics.

While Gu Chengming was agonizing over the entry problem for Hundred Bones Art, he didn't notice that because of his "transfer affection and fall in love with another" over the past few days, "someone" on the other side had already begun to be displeased.

[Huiyuan Sword Art has discovered that you haven't touched it for three consecutive days.]

[Is it true that you forget your old love when you find a new one?]

Looking at the lines that suddenly popped up on the panel, Gu Chengming couldn't help but be stunned.

Isn't this the most common love-triangle plot in a GALGAME?!

While he was struggling with the entry problem for his new love, his old love began to throw a tantrum.

However, before he could figure out how to appease this "resentful woman," Clear Heart Art on the other side also suddenly chimed in.

[Clear Heart Art is watching everything that is happening with great interest. It finds it very amusing.]

Gu Chengming: "..."

He finally understood what kind of love interest Clear Heart Art was.

So it was purely a troublemaker?

However, as a seasoned GALGAME master, how could such a small love triangle stump him?

Gu Chengming reacted extremely quickly. The moment those self-pitying words from Huiyuan Sword Art popped up, he immediately put away the expression on his face and replaced it with one of regret and pity.

He stood up, walked to the wooden sword hanging on the wall, and gently stroked its body with a gaze full of longing and reluctance.

"Sigh..."

He let out a long sigh, his tone filled with helplessness: