Lu Feng's answer made Lu Yan shake his head with a smile. "Heh, I see. It seems I was overthinking things."
In the eyes of outsiders, Lu Feng had only been an Eighth-Rank Martial Artist during the new constable selection trials. Only a few days had passed since then, so how could he possibly have broken through to the Martial Master Realm?
Naturally, Lu Yan didn't believe he could cultivate at such a terrifying speed.
"Since you've asked, I'll tell you about the Martial Realm." Lu Yan took a sip of tea and spoke slowly. "The Martial Artist Realm is only the first threshold for those of us who practice martial arts. Its main purpose is to temper the body and generate internal force. Put simply, it awakens the body's strength."
Lu Feng sat beside him and listened attentively. Lu Yan paused, then continued. "But awakening the body's strength has to follow a set order. Once the body has been tempered to a certain degree, its internal force can no longer grow. I'm at that stage now—the peak of the Ninth-Rank Martial Artist level."
"Once they reach this stage, Martial Artists have to develop parts of their bodies in order to continue improving. The first part to develop is the skin, a process known as Skin Refining!"
At this, Lu Feng looked puzzled. "Skin Refining? Lord Lu, what do you mean?"
Lu Yan nodded seriously. "That's right! Skin Refining! The reason you have to develop the body in order is that a peak Ninth-Rank Martial Artist's internal force has already reached the body's carrying limit. If it exceeds that limit, the human body will burst apart on the spot."
Lu Yan's explanation sent a chill down Lu Feng's spine. His internal force had already reached three thousand jin, a strength that had long surpassed what his body could withstand.
"Ahem, Lord Lu, if a Martial Artist's actual strength surpasses their realm, could their body burst apart?" Lu Feng asked hurriedly.
Lu Yan glanced at him and replied, "You're asking about those martial arts prodigies who can challenge people above their level, aren't you?"
"Right, right! Those martial arts prodigies!"
Lu Yan smiled and shook his head. "Heh. If they're martial arts prodigies, then their bodies' carrying limits are naturally higher than those of ordinary Martial Artists. It's just that such prodigies are rare. A backwater like Qinglu County is practically never going to produce one."
Lu Feng thought to himself, Heh, there's one sitting right in front of you now. Too bad you don't know it.
"Enough. Martial arts prodigies are a world away from us. Let's get back to Skin Refining," Lu Yan said. "I just mentioned that the skin is the first part of the body to be developed. Do you know why?"
Lu Feng shook his head. "I don't. Please enlighten me, sir."
"Because the body has to be developed from the outside in. If you start with the internal organs, even a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist's organs can't withstand the impact of internal force. One careless mistake could shatter them and cost you your life."
"The body has to be developed in this order: Skin Refining, Sinew Refining, Bone Refining, and Organ Refining. Once you've thoroughly tempered all the skin on your body, you can break through to the Martial Master Realm."
Lu Feng nodded. "Then how do you begin? And how can you tell whether Skin Refining is complete?"
"Good question! It's actually very simple. You use the internal force in your body to temper every inch of your skin!"
After saying this, Lu Yan took off his outer robe and exposed his arms. To the eye, the skin on them looked no different from an ordinary person's.
Just then, Lu Yan suddenly produced a small knife and slashed at his own arms.
Clang!
A sharp ring rang out, and the arm he had struck was completely unharmed.
"See that? That's what skin tempered with internal force looks like. Ordinary blades and swords can't hurt it in the slightest," Lu Yan said proudly.
The sight left Lu Feng stunned. He had thought that martial arts in this world were merely more destructive, but he hadn't expected that people could actually cultivate a defense that made them impervious to blades and spears.
Seeing his astonished expression, Lu Yan added, "Actually, this kind of skin can only withstand attacks from ordinary people wielding blades and swords. It still can't withstand a Martial Artist's attacks."
"I see." Lu Feng nodded slightly. "So, according to you, once your skin can withstand ordinary blades and swords, it's been tempered successfully?"
"Mm, that's right! Once all the skin on your body has been tempered, your internal force will increase dramatically, and your body's carrying limit will rise by a great deal. Your Martial Realm will naturally break through to the Martial Master Realm."
Lu Yan's explanation was clear and simple. Lu Feng now understood how a Martial Artist broke through to become a Martial Master.
But his situation was a little different from that of ordinary Martial Artists. He relied on the Proficiency Panel to rapidly improve his martial arts, which in turn allowed him to break through in the Martial Realm.
That meant he could skip the step of using internal force to temper all the skin on his body.
He couldn't tell whether his situation was good or bad. But he desperately needed to break through to the Martial Master Realm as quickly as possible, so even if something was wrong with it, he would break through first and worry about the rest later.
Seeing Lu Feng lower his head in thought, Lu Yan spoke again. "Lu Feng, although breaking through from Martial Artist to Martial Master sounds simple, tempering all the skin on your body isn't something you can do in a short time. Take me, for instance. Do you know how long I've been tempering my skin at this stage?"
"This subordinate doesn't know!"
"Heh. I've been at it for three whole years, and I still haven't finished tempering all the skin on my body."
Lu Feng looked shocked. He hadn't expected Lu Yan to have spent so long at this stage.
If he used Lu Yan's method, would he also have to wait several years before breaking through to the Martial Master Realm?
At that thought, Lu Feng immediately rejected this method of cultivation.
Once the discussion was over, he returned to his room. Looking at the panel, he saw that Cloud-Dispelling Palm needed only twenty more proficiency points to break through. He gritted his teeth and said,
"Forget it. I'll break through first and deal with the rest later."
With that, he began practicing Cloud-Dispelling Palm again.
A short while later, Cloud-Dispelling Palm's proficiency finally reached one thousand points.
Immediately afterward, two special notifications appeared on the panel.
[Your Cloud-Dispelling Palm proficiency has reached 1000. Its proficiency level has advanced from Perfection to Mastery Realm.] [Your Martial Realm has successfully advanced to First-Rank Martial Master.]
As the two notifications appeared, the skin all over Lu Feng's body instantly turned bright red.
At that moment, he felt as if every inch of his skin was being scorched by flames. The pain was unbearable.
"Ah!"
The intense pain made him cry out. At the same time, a flood of insights into using Cloud-Dispelling Palm surged through his mind.
For a moment, both his body and his consciousness were enduring different kinds of torment.
It continued like this for a full quarter of an hour before gradually easing.
His skin, which had been bright red, was now fair and smooth. His eyes also looked deeper and more resolute.
"Phew! So the pain of breaking through is this terrifying. It seems using a cheat to break through isn't entirely a good thing after all."
Before you continue