Half a month later, all thirty "geniuses" admitted to the academy through this year's martial arts examinations had arrived. The Immortal Seeking Academy had instructors who taught everyone the Bone Tempering method, and they prepared supplements and pills for each student according to their Root Bone and physique.
"Just as I thought—the difficulty has shot up!" For the following month, Li Ji'an devoted himself completely to training, almost reaching a state of self-forgetfulness. As expected, Bone Tempering was in a completely different league from Skin Grinding and Muscle Compaction.
The Bone Tempering method alone required him to circulate his qi and blood along 206 separate routes, with no room for error in either their order or the amount of energy used.
The qi and blood he had built up through the Golden Strength Technique had been more than enough for the first two stages; all he lacked there was time to nourish and cleanse his body.
But in the Bone Tempering stage, the qi and blood he cultivated through the Golden Strength Technique alone were no longer enough to nourish and stimulate his bones. The amount he built up in a day could nourish his bones for only three Greater Celestial Circuits... At this rate, even ten years might not be enough to finish tempering them!
"Insight and Root Bone are both indispensable! My Root Bone is still lacking. If I had the Dragon-Tiger Visage, the qi and blood I cultivated might be enough for at least five Greater Celestial Circuits."
"I'll do my best! With external supplements, I should be able to cut the time in half."
Once he had accepted reality, Li Ji'an didn't feel discouraged in the least.
After all, there were external supplements. The martial academy provided the necessary tonics and pills, and he also had a fortune of six thousand taels of silver to fund more potent medicinal supplements.
Even if, in the end, he failed to become an immortal seedling in this life, he would have gained experience and laid a foundation for the next.
"Junior Brother, come and try these! My mother sent me some new sweets." Having just finished her training, Ning Yutan held out a plate of delicate pastries.
Li Ji'an couldn't help smiling. That day, he had clearly refused to become a prize the two girls competed over.
Yet, unexpectedly, his refusal seemed to have only stirred their competitive spirits.
These days, Ning Yutan had become even more forward.
Even Ning Sujin had let down her guard a little.
"Li Ji'an, I've more or less mastered the Bone Tempering method. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."
Li Ji'an let things take their course.
Time revealed a horse's strength on a long journey, and a person's heart after long acquaintance. Time would tell how things developed between them. He only had to stay true to himself, be open and honest, not go against his conscience, deceive anyone, harbor ill intentions, or make an enemy of either of them.
"Third Young Lady, I appreciate the thought, but I feel my qi and blood are insufficient, so I asked someone to buy Spirit Beast meat for me. It should arrive soon. I'll pass on the sweets."
"Eldest Young Lady, to be honest, I was fortunate enough to fully comprehend all 206 routes of the Bone Tempering method two days ago."
Li Ji'an answered them one by one.
By now, the two girls' identities had become common knowledge at the martial academy, and everyone addressed them that way.
"Spirit Beast meat!" Ning Yutan's mouth fell open in a perfect O.
To win Li Ji'an over to her side, she had looked into his background: an orphan from a Daoist Temple in a small county.
Spirit Beast meat was rare and expensive. Even the cheapest kind cost over a hundred taels of silver. And if he wanted to replenish his qi and blood to the fullest, he had to drink its blood raw and eat its flesh uncooked... Just imagining that bloody, savage scene made chills crawl down her back.
Few apprentices supplemented their pills with Spirit Beast meat as well.
In an instant, her impression of Li Ji'an changed yet again.
"Such incredible insight? No wonder he placed second in the martial arts examinations despite having a weaker Root Bone than me." Ning Sujin's eyes widened as she stared at Li Ji'an in disbelief.
She had always been quick-witted, and it was her insight that had allowed her to keep pace in martial arts with Ning Yutan, whose Root Bone was better and who had taken a Marrow Cleansing Pill. But against Li Ji'an, she had been utterly outclassed.
In an instant, her feelings toward Li Ji'an shifted. At first, she had simply been trying to outdo Ning Yutan, but now something had quietly changed.
A young girl's admiration for the strong was only natural.
And now that she looked at him more carefully, she noticed that aside from his tall, lean figure and handsome features, Li Ji'an had a different sort of bearing: calm and detached, yet comforting to be around.
At the same time, Li Ji'an couldn't help admiring Ning Sujin's talent for insight. Even compared to his own, honed over four lifetimes, it wasn't far behind.
After finishing the day's training, Li Ji'an headed back to his Number One courtyard. From a distance, he spotted Xiao Wu carrying a sable with purple-gold fur.
The Purple Gold Sable was a first-tier Spirit Beast that greatly replenished qi and blood. It cost a steep two hundred taels of silver, and most people couldn't even get their hands on one. Fortunately, Xiao Wu was a constable, so Li Ji'an had been able to ask him to buy it.
Ning Yutan spotted them from afar and hurried after him. Though Li Ji'an had invited her, she only dared crane her neck to look from outside the door. When she saw him actually eating the meat raw and drinking the blood fresh, she covered her eyes, then her mouth, before finally fleeing with her heart pounding.
Wild, ruthless, and utterly resolute in his pursuit of immortality!
He was dangerous, yet he made her curious and filled her with awe.
"The effects are indeed good, but... my body can't quite handle it right now. Once every three months is the limit." Feeling the qi and blood surging through him, Li Ji'an was a little disappointed.
In the days that followed, the two girls' attitudes toward him quietly changed. The only thing that stayed the same was their open and covert rivalry—which grew even more intense.
Two years passed quietly amid Li Ji'an's sweat and the girls' fierce rivalry.
"Brother Li, I've finished Bone Tempering! I can start Blood Exchange now!"
That day, Ning Yutan came running over to Li Ji'an, beaming with excitement. She couldn't wait to share the good news with him.
Li Ji'an was secretly astonished. Two years had passed. Despite training day and night, taking pills, and eating Spirit Beast meat, he had only completed around seventy percent of Bone Tempering. By his conservative estimate, he still needed another year and a half to finish.
"What a monster!"
"Huh? I'm not a monster! Brother Li, say something nice about me." Ning Yutan blinked playfully.
She was two years older now, nearly seventeen, but around Li Ji'an she had become even more mischievous, often acting cute.
"A prodigy! A peerless prodigy!" Li Ji'an amended.
"Hehe, you flatter me, Brother Li. I'm still no match for the true prodigies in the imperial capital. My father said someone there finished Bone Tempering in just one year last year." As she spoke, Ning Yutan turned toward Ning Sujin and raised her voice several notches.
"Bang! I'm done training. Where did that fly come from?" Ning Sujin kicked over the stone roller in front of her and turned to leave, clearly stung.
Her Bone Tempering progress was slightly ahead of Li Ji'an's, at around eighty percent. At that rate, she would probably need another year to finish.
"She's jealous! Brother Li, she's jealous of me." Ning Yutan put on a wounded expression as she complained to Li Ji'an, though inwardly she was delighted.
As always, Li Ji'an smiled, shook his head, and turned to leave, refusing to get involved in their rivalry.
Back at his courtyard, a Young Servant delivered another two letters.
"Senior Brother's letters are getting more and more frequent." As people grew older, they became more nostalgic. A year ago, Liu Deshan had sent one letter every six months; now he sent one every three.
The concern in his letters had not lessened, and they were even more full of nagging.
In his previous life, Liu Deshan had been five years older than Li Ji'an. He was now fifty-four, already considered elderly in this world.
On top of that, he was far too overweight and had never practiced martial arts for body strengthening. Whether he would live to sixty was anyone's guess.
Qingyun's letters, by contrast, were perfunctory and disjointed from start to finish. Most likely, Liu Deshan had forced him to write them.
At seventeen or eighteen, boys were full of energy and eager to roam the world. They didn't yet understand separation, much less keep longing in their hearts—especially not someone as carefree as Qingyun.
After writing a heartfelt reply to his senior brother, Li Ji'an couldn't be bothered to waste ink on Qingyun. Instead, he simply mailed him the copy of the Dragon Locking Secret Technique manuscript that Xiao Wu had passed along.
Li Ji'an had chanced upon it in his previous life. Repeatedly circulating qi and blood through the perineum and keeping the essence gate closed, it nourished primal yang and prevented the loss of essence. Even ordinary people who had yet to cultivate qi and blood could benefit from its restorative effects.
In his previous life, he had passed it on to Xiao Wu. In this life, Xiao Wu had secretly passed it right back to him.
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