After Zhou Meng had been beaten into submission, Class A Courtyard Number One finally became peaceful. No one dared come looking for trouble anymore, and even those passing the courtyard gate had learned to tread more softly.
Li Yuan was glad for the peace and devoted himself entirely to cultivation. He had gotten his hands on the Copper Skin Technique from Class A Room some time ago. It was only a few thin pages, covered in greasy fingerprints from who knew how many people flipping through them.
This technique was far more profound than the Iron Body Technique. It focused on stirring the qi and blood to nourish the skin and membranes at a deeper level. Once mastered, it turned the skin a bronze color and made it as tough as old oxhide, able to withstand ordinary blades and swords. The bronze-colored skin of the hall master, Shi Lie Feng, was the mark of the technique's Great Accomplishment.
But after following its instructions for several days, Li Yuan still felt something was off.
The Copper Skin Technique had a more complicated route for circulating qi and blood, winding this way and that as if deliberately tracing an elaborate pattern inside the body. He tried guiding his Crimson Sun Qi and Blood along that route, but the scorching, pure qi and blood felt like a wild horse saddled with reins, stumbling awkwardly along. He couldn't bring even three-tenths of its power to bear, and the poor efficiency made him frown.
That night, he sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion in the quiet chamber. He hadn't lit a lamp; only moonlight filtered through the paper window, spilling a faint glow across the room. The Crimson Sun Qi and Blood circulated naturally within him, warm and soothing—far more comfortable than deliberately running the Copper Skin Technique.
He suddenly remembered the method he had used to temper his skin and membranes. Instead of following any fixed route, he had simply treated the Crimson Sun Qi and Blood as needles and driven them straight into his flesh. The results had been surprisingly good.
"If I can train my skin this way, what about my bones?" The thought sprang up and grew like wild grass.
The Iron Body Technique did indeed include a rudimentary method for the Iron Bone Technique. It said that only after the skin and membranes had reached Minor Accomplishment and one's qi and blood had grown sufficiently vigorous could one try using hidden force to shake the bones and temper them little by little. The process was slow, and one wrong move could easily injure the bones.
Li Yuan steeled himself. He couldn't wait that long.
He closed his eyes and sank his awareness into his body. His qi and blood surged like a great river, while the Crimson Sun hung in his sea of qi, steadily radiating light and heat. He tried to separate a wisp of Crimson Sun Qi finer than a strand of hair. Rather than follow those winding meridians, he sent it straight into the bones of his right hand.
A needlelike pain struck at once, sharper than when he had tempered his skin and membranes. Bone was too hard, too dense.
He steadied his mind and carefully controlled the wisp of qi and blood, like the most patient of craftsmen, using a low flame to roast it and coaxing it inward bit by bit. The scorching nature of the Crimson Sun Qi and Blood came into play. It wasn't merely battering the bone; it was more like "forging" the hard bone tissue.
At first, progress was glacial, and the stinging pain continued without pause. But gradually, a faint itch joined the pain, as if something inside the bone had been awakened and was reshaping itself. The small section of finger bone suffused with Crimson Sun Qi felt strangely warm and faintly fuller, as though its density were increasing.
It was working!
Li Yuan's spirits lifted, and he focused even harder. He didn't try to do too much. He stayed with that small section of finger bone, repeatedly suffusing and forging it with Crimson Sun Qi.
Before he knew it, dawn was almost upon him.
He slowly ended his cultivation and opened his eyes. The first thing he did was look at the index finger on his right hand. It showed no visible change and remained slender as ever. But when he bent it and lightly tapped the blue-brick floor beside him—
Tap.
A light sound rang out. It wasn't the crisp clack of bone hitting a hard object; instead, it carried a dull, solid resonance. The impact barely jolted his fingertip, yet a tiny white dot appeared on the surface of the blue brick.
Li Yuan's eyes lit up.
He had actually found a way into the Iron Bone Technique through this crude but clever method! He had only just glimpsed the gateway, and he was still far from having "iron bones," but this was the right direction. It was far more efficient than the orthodox method of shaking the bones with hidden force!
He got to his feet and loosened his muscles and bones. Fine crackles, like beans roasting in a pan, rippled through his body, leaving him feeling wonderfully refreshed. The solidity of that finger bone in his right hand gave him a deep sense of reassurance.
He pushed open the quiet chamber door. The cold morning air swept in, carrying the fresh scent of the plants and trees in the courtyard. He drew a deep breath and felt full of vigor.
His gaze swept over the pair of heavy stone locks in the corner of the courtyard. He walked over, but this time he didn't use his dominant right hand. Instead, he extended the index finger of his newly tempered left hand, hooked it beneath the handle of one stone lock, and gathered a little Crimson Sun Qi and Blood at his fingertip.
"Up."
With a low shout, the stone lock, weighing more than a hundred pounds, was lifted a few inches off the ground by the strength of a single finger! He felt his strength give out a moment later and had to set it down, but the dull thud as it hit the ground landed heavily in his heart.
One finger!
Li Yuan stared at the index finger on his left hand, breathing slightly faster. This was only the very beginning of tempering a tiny part of his bones. If he tempered his entire skeleton...
He could almost see a cultivation path unlike any other, one belonging to him alone, Li Yuan, slowly unfurling beneath his feet. The Copper Skin Technique, the fixed routes—all of them were merely references. He would have to use his own Crimson Sun Qi and Blood to blaze his own trail!
He clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked sharply.
He would temper these bones until they were harder than the Ironwood Stakes!
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