Bone Refining Late, Iron Bones Take Shape

Nineteenth Chapter: Bone Refining Late, Iron Bones Take Shape

The corpse plague in Linshan County had temporarily come to an end with the Iron Corpse destroyed and the Evil Cultivator fled. The Xuntian Guard experts who arrived afterward thoroughly searched the cave. Aside from traces of evil energy and some crude tools used for corpse refinement, they found no further clues. The Evil Cultivator had clearly been extremely cautious and had moved all his important belongings long ago.

As the person in charge of the mission, Li Yifan gave a detailed report on what had happened. The mission evaluation came down quickly. The Seventh Squad had successfully found and destroyed the source of the corpse plague—the Iron Corpse and its lair—preventing even greater casualties and driving off a powerful Evil Cultivator. Their contribution was significant.

According to the Xuntian Guard's mission rankings:

Grade C missions (Lower, Middle, Upper): Suitable for Body Tempering martial artists. The usual reward was 100–1,000 contribution points.

Grade B missions (Lower, Middle, Upper): Suitable for Meridian Opening martial artists. The usual reward was 1,000–5,000 contribution points.

Grade A missions (Lower, Middle, Upper): Suitable for Innate Realm martial artists. The usual reward was 5,000– points.

(Note: Special circumstances and emergency missions were exceptions.)

The Linshan corpse-plague mission had been rated Grade C Upper. The Evil Cultivator's strength had exceeded expectations, reaching the peak of the Bone Refining Realm, or perhaps even higher, but his primary method of wrongdoing—the Corpse Puppet—and the scope of the incident had remained within manageable bounds. This was the highest difficulty level among Grade C missions, and the contribution-point reward was issued at the maximum amount.

In the end, the Seventh Squad shared a reward of 1,000 contribution points. As the squad leader, main combatant, and decision-maker, Li Yifan had made the greatest contribution and received 500 points on his own. Zhao Xiong and Qian Xiaoliu received 120 points each, Chen Feng and Zhang Tie received 80 each, and even the gravely wounded Sun Shi received 100 points as consolation. The Xuntian Guard and the local authorities would jointly cover compensation for the village soldiers who had died.

Adding the 70 points he had left from before, Li Yifan now had a total of 570 contribution points! It was a tremendous fortune.

When he returned to the Xuntian Guard headquarters in Qingzhou Prefecture, Commander Wang praised Li Yifan's performance on the mission.

"You kept your composure in a crisis, gave clear orders, defeated an Iron Corpse with your Bone Refining Mid cultivation, and drove off an Evil Cultivator. That's no small feat. The Evil Cultivator was cunning and stronger than expected for a Grade C Upper mission. His escape wasn't your fault alone." Commander Wang changed his tone, his voice turning grave. "But since that Evil Cultivator holds a grudge against you, you may have trouble down the road. Your priority now is to raise your strength as quickly as possible."

Li Yifan deeply agreed. "Understood, sir. I was just planning to use the contribution points from this mission to exchange for some resources and speed up my cultivation."

After leaving Commander Wang, Li Yifan headed straight to the Martial Merit Hall. He carefully browsed the exchange list, already knowing what he wanted.

First, he spent 150 points on three bottles of Bone Tempering Pills, 50 points per bottle. These pills could speed up bone tempering and were ideal for cultivation in the Bone Refining Realm. Then he turned his attention to the cultivation techniques. He knew his defenses were lacking and urgently needed a body-protection technique. After comparing several options, he chose a Yellow Grade Low body-protection technique called the Iron Bone Technique. It focused on training the muscles and bones. Though its grade was low, it suited the Bone Refining Realm perfectly and could steadily strengthen his body. It cost 400 contribution points.

"The Iron Bone Technique may be low-grade, but it suits my current realm and will shore up my defensive weakness as quickly as possible. High-grade body-protection techniques cost thousands of points. I can't afford to wait for help that's too far off." Li Yifan pondered for a moment, then made up his mind. After paying 400 points, he had only 20 contribution points left, but he felt it was worth it.

Once he had made his exchanges, Li Yifan immediately returned to his small courtyard and began half a month of closed-door cultivation.

He took Bone Tempering Pills daily and refined their medicinal power with the Nine Yang Burning Heaven Technique. His sun-like true qi nourished and tempered every bone in his body, steadily raising his cultivation. At the same time, he began training in the Iron Bone Technique. It required special striking methods and medicinal baths; the herbs he had bought with contribution points were included in the exchange. The early progress was slow and agonizing, but Li Yifan was steadfast and gritted his teeth through it.

[You took a Bone Tempering Pill and accelerated your cultivation. The Proficiency of the Nine Yang Burning Heaven Technique has increased!]

[Through diligent cultivation of the Iron Bone Technique, the strength of your muscles and bones has increased significantly. Proficiency is steadily rising.]

Ten days later, the humming of his bones had grown denser and louder, and his muscles and bones had become much stronger. He had mastered the Iron Bone Technique. When he activated it, a faint metallic sheen appeared on his skin, and its defensive power was beginning to show.

Five more days passed. When he had fully refined the medicinal power of the third bottle of Bone Tempering Pills, the qi and blood in his body suddenly boiled. The bones throughout his body cracked in a dense series of sounds like popping beans, and a surge of strength far greater than before filled him from head to toe!

[With everything in place, you have broken through the bottleneck! Realm increased to: Body Tempering · Bone Refining (Late: 400/500)!]

[You have diligently trained in the Iron Bone Technique without pause. Your muscles and bones are like iron, and your defenses have greatly increased. Proficiency increased to: Minor Accomplishment (50/1000)!]

Late Bone Refining, and Minor Accomplishment in the Iron Bone Technique! On the day he emerged from seclusion, Li Yifan's eyes flashed with a faint gleam as they opened and closed. His aura was deep and weighty, and every gesture brimmed with strength. His defensive power was in another league entirely. Li Yifan felt that even an ordinary martial artist at the peak of Bone Refining wouldn't be his match. As for someone in the Tendon Refining Realm, he'd have to fight one to find out.

Commander Wang sensed the change in him, and approval flashed in his eyes. "Not bad. Half a month of hard cultivation, and you've made such progress. Looks like you're ready to take on a new challenge."

"Please give me my orders, sir!"

"Three hundred miles southwest of the prefectural city, on the edge of the Black Swamp, lies Fishery Salt Town. For nearly half a month, robust men have been disappearing there one after another during the night. Traces of evil energy remain at the scenes, suggesting an Evil Cultivator is at work. The mission is rated Grade C Upper, and you'll lead the investigation. The reward is 800–1,000 contribution points. The Black Swamp is dangerous, shrouded in poisonous miasma, and the Swamp Witch Clan is active there. Be extremely cautious."

"This subordinate accepts the mission!"

Li Yifan immediately gathered the Seventh Squad. Seeing how drastically his aura had changed in half a month, everyone was encouraged. Once they were ready, the Seventh Squad set out again at dawn the following day, heading straight for the Black Swamp in the southwest.