Eighth Stage of Body Tempering (Please Vote)

Chapter 50: Eighth Stage of Body Tempering (Please Vote~)

Looking at the crack across the breastplate of her armor, Shi Lan suddenly felt as if the armor weighing on her body had grown much heavier, making it hard for her to breathe.

"Phew..."

Shi Lan removed her helmet. As the smell of blood lingering at the tip of her nose slowly faded, she let out a long breath, her expression dazed.

After a long while, Shi Lan suddenly clenched the helmet in her hand. Her grip was so tight that her knuckles turned faintly white, and several shallow indentations appeared in the helmet, which had been forged from a hundred-refined black iron.

After quite some time, Shi Lan's expression gradually calmed. She would get used to it eventually...

Shi Lan went into the outer room. After taking off her armor, she sat down on a daybed and brought up the system panel.

The system's last mission, which had been to leave Tenglong City, had rewarded her with one lottery draw. She hadn't used it, saving it for later. With the reward from this mission, she now had two draws.

Now, she had no choice but to use them.

Looking at the familiar lottery panel before her, Shi Lan took a deep breath. "Draw!"

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a one-star item: one bottle of Bone-Strengthening Pills.]

Pills?

Shi Lan opened the system's storage and took out a jade bottle.

Before Shi Lan could ask, the system provided the Bone-Strengthening Pills' detailed information.

[Bone-Strengthening Pills: Nourish the body and strengthen the sinews and bones. Suitable for martial artists at the seventh level of Body Tempering Realm and above.]

Shi Lan breathed a sigh of relief. Since the pills could increase her strength, they were better than nothing.

There were ten Bone-Strengthening Pills in the jade bottle. Shi Lan didn't rush to test their effects, instead spinning the lottery wheel again.

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a two-star item: Cloudflying Boots.]

Shi Lan opened the system's storage and took out the Cloudflying Boots.

The Cloudflying Boots were a pair of dark teal, mid-calf boots, patterned with many pale moon-white clouds. Overall, they weren't particularly eye-catching.

Shi Lan cautiously slipped them on. The boot shafts weren't very tall, reaching only halfway up her calves.

After taking a couple of steps, Shi Lan immediately noticed the difference. The boots made her feel as light as a swallow, and their soft soles felt like treading on clouds—utterly comfortable.

The boots also gave Shi Lan a feeling somewhat like the White Crane Skirt. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but if she had to say, they simply didn't seem like ordinary objects.

Shi Lan cautiously took a step forward. In a single stride, she appeared three zhang away, nearly crashing into the wall.

After testing them carefully a few times, Shi Lan quickly reached a conclusion: these Cloudflying Boots increased her speed by at least twofold.

With Shi Lan's current cultivation, she could already run at full speed as fast as a thousand-mile horse. Now, with the Cloudflying Boots, if she ran with all her might, she would be as fast as an ordinary Xiantian Realm martial artist flying on a weapon.

The Cloudflying Boots would also help ease some of the burden of her armor, which was a great boon.

After cautiously taking a few more steps and gradually getting used to her new speed, Shi Lan sat back down on the daybed. She took out a Bone-Strengthening Pill and swallowed it.

As soon as the pill entered her stomach, it quickly dissolved into a powerful medicinal force that began flowing through Shi Lan's body.

Wherever the medicinal force passed, her muscles and bones grew firmer.

After absorbing the effects of this Bone-Strengthening Pill, Shi Lan finally touched the barrier to the eighth level of Body Tempering Realm.

Opening her eyes, Shi Lan sighed regretfully. Although the Bone-Strengthening Pills increased her cultivation fairly quickly, compared with spirit crystals, they were like heaven and earth.

"Right, Samsara, can you absorb the energy in these spirit crystals?" A thought flashed through Shi Lan's mind, and she hurriedly asked in silence.

"You'd better not think about replenishing my energy for now. Even if you had hundreds of thousands more energy crystals of this quality, it would be a drop in the ocean. The most important thing for you right now is to increase your strength."

Hearing this, Shi Lan felt a little disappointed.

Following the principle of saving the best for last, Shi Lan ultimately resisted the urge to use up her remaining two spirit crystals. She would wait until she had used up the Bone-Strengthening Pills before thinking about the spirit crystals.

After lamenting that it was easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go back, Shi Lan took another Bone-Strengthening Pill and sank into cultivation.

From nightfall to dawn, after Shi Lan swallowed three Bone-Strengthening Pills in succession, the barrier to the eighth level of Body Tempering Realm began to teeter.

The barrier to the eighth level of Body Tempering Realm couldn't hold Shi Lan back for long. It was soon smashed through by the medicinal force of the Bone-Strengthening Pills, and Shi Lan's cultivation advanced to the eighth level of Body Tempering Realm.

After steadying the energy in her body, Shi Lan slowly ended her cultivation. Ever since her Root Bone had risen to 8 points, breakthroughs had come much more easily than before, with almost no difficulty.

Shi Lan untied the cloth wrapped around her left arm. The wound, which had still shown signs of injury yesterday, had now vanished without a trace. Her skin had returned to normal, without even the slightest mark. This was clearly all thanks to the Jade Forging Art.

Shi Lan rose from the daybed, feeling sticky and uncomfortable. Ever since she had encountered that shapeshifting demon king up until now, she hadn't had a chance to bathe.

She frowned slightly, missing Shi Mansion once more. Home was a haven no matter how long you stayed, but once you went out, nothing went smoothly. Now, even taking a bath was incredibly difficult.

Shi Lan opened the door. The two maids from the day before were standing outside.

As soon as Shi Lan came out, the two maids promptly brought her a towel and clean water for washing up.

After Shi Lan finished washing, the two maids left for a while and then brought her breakfast. Their service was impeccable.

Shi Lan tactfully asked whether there was a place where she could bathe. The two maids led her to a private room with a wooden tub and soon brought in hot water.

After freshening up and changing clothes, Shi Lan finally felt much more comfortable. Her heavy mood had also eased considerably.

When Shi Lan returned to her room, she happened to run into Jiang Li, who had come to see her.

Jiang Li hadn't come alone. He had brought his wife and their son and daughter with him. Both children were quite young: the boy was around ten, and the girl was under eight.

After exchanging greetings, Jiang Li looked at the two children and said sternly,

"Jiang Qi, Jiang Ya, kneel before your benefactor!"

Shi Lan was stunned. Before she could stop them, the two children obediently knelt and kowtowed to her.

"Brother Jiang, what are you doing?" Shi Lan was at a loss. In her eyes, she had taken three spirit crystals from Jiang Li and given him a slot in return. It had been nothing more than a straightforward transaction. How could she have earned their gratitude?

Jiang Li shook his head. "Brother Shi, there's no need to say more. You ensured these two children wouldn't lose their mother. You deserve this bow."

Jiang Li's wife looked at Shi Lan with mixed feelings and quietly thanked her, though she didn't seem very happy.

Shi Lan helped the two children to their feet. "Let's go inside and talk."

After the two maids had set out the tea, they tactfully left the room and closed the door behind them.

"The Cloudsky Treasure Ship will arrive in Twin Moon City tomorrow morning and won't stay long, so I brought my wife here in advance to introduce you to each other. That way, we won't be caught in a flurry when the time comes."