Skin Tempering Great Accomplishment, Hundred Herbs Proficiency

In the early morning, a faint trace of pale blue had just appeared at the horizon, still some time before sunrise. Li Bufan, as if a precise hourglass were embedded within him, awoke punctually from deep slumber. The warmth and relaxation from the pleasant time spent with his younger brother yesterday still nourished his slightly tense mind like a gentle spring, soothing him after days of arduous cultivation.

He rose with extreme gentleness, careful not to disturb his brother, who remained immersed in sweet dreams. He washed quickly with icy cold water; the biting chill instantly dispelled the last remnants of drowsiness, leaving his mind clear and sharp.

Donning his clean, starched navy-blue training uniform—the insignia of a Lin Estate guard—and carefully tucking into his inner pocket the Hundred Herbs Primer gifted by Physician Liu and the precious Spirit Ape Muscle-Tempering Art bestowed by the young lady, he pushed open the door and stepped out into the biting pre-dawn wind and lingering darkness. He returned once more to the Lin Estate guard camp, to the vast training ground filled with the steam of sweat, thunderous shouts, and an atmosphere of iron-like resilience.

Life seemed to have returned to its regular, grueling routine: daily drills, extra practice, study... cycling over and over. But only Li Bufan himself knew that everything had changed drastically. The improvement in his strength, the shift in his treatment, and the broadening of his horizons gave every action he took a clearer goal and a stronger motivation.

During the morning group drills, he no longer simply went through the motions. Instead, he immersed his entire mind and spirit, meticulously refining every stance, every move, and even the subtle circulation of his qi and blood within the Mang Ox Fist to the utmost of his current ability. His qi and blood surged and roared with the momentum of his fists, like an invisible grindstone, continuously honing and tempering his skin membrane, which had already reached the peak of minor success, as he launched repeated assaults on the supreme threshold of "perfect completion."

From the high platform, Drill Instructor Qin Shi's gaze fell upon him with increasingly undisguised satisfaction. Occasionally, Qin would bellow out instructions, seemingly addressing all the guards, but with clear focus on key points about striking angles and instantaneous qi-blood bursts. These seemingly ordinary pointers, for Li Bufan who was stuck at a bottleneck, often cleared the clouds to reveal the sun, bringing new insights. These were invisible resources that other new guards could hardly obtain.

Sometimes, he would single-mindedly ponder the deeper striking techniques of the Mang Ox Fist, his concentration razor-sharp, pursuing the subtle realm of "will moves, qi arrives, condensed into a single point," experiencing every detail of qi and blood gathering, exploding, and retracting with the fist's momentum. Other times, he would carefully take out the Spirit Ape Muscle-Tempering Art, strictly following the young lady's warning never to dare practice the muscle-tempering internal cultivation method recorded within, lest he damage his yet-unperfected foundation. Instead, he would obsessively study and imitate the "Spirit Ape Three Leaps" footwork diagrams and movement techniques in the appendix.

He observed the divine essence of the spirit ape leaping and darting among mountain branches, and in the cramped confines of his dormitory or secluded corners, he practiced over and over the rapid shifts of footwork, the subtle adjustments of his center of gravity, and the instantaneous bursts and mid-air pauses, continuously improving his body's flexibility, coordination, and absolute control over his own center of gravity. This footwork practice, seemingly unrelated to skin tempering, greatly trained his fine control over his muscles, indirectly promoting the refinement of his skin membrane.

More importantly, he began to study the Hundred Herbs Primer with an almost voracious intensity. His [Heaven Rewards Diligence] destiny played an astonishing role in knowledge comprehension as well. Whenever the night grew deep and his brother was already asleep, or during the brief breaks in daytime training, he would immediately pull out the slightly worn booklet, and by the dim light of an oil lamp or the natural light from the window, he would cast aside all distractions and immerse himself entirely in reading and memorization.

The book recorded hundreds of medicinal herbs: the shapes, colors, and scents of their roots, stems, leaves, and flowers; the regions and environments where they grew; the optimal seasons for harvesting; their cold, hot, warm, and cool properties, and their ascending, descending, floating, and sinking natures; the changes in medicinal effects brought by different processing methods; and the complex relationships of mutual restraint, mutual need, mutual enhancement, and mutual aversion between herbs... A vast sea of tedious, monotonous information flooded into his mind.

For an ordinary person, this would have left them dizzy and unable to sort it out. But under the effect of the [Heaven Rewards Diligence] destiny, this knowledge was rapidly understood, categorized, absorbed, and integrated. Far from causing confusion, it cross-referenced with what he had seen and heard while working as a menial laborer at the Huichun Hall and with Physician Liu's occasional pointers, continuously stacking and gradually building a clear, practical, and ever-expanding system of herbal knowledge in his mind.

He could even clearly "see" the trajectory of his own progress:

[Heaven Rewards Diligence]:
Mang Ox Fist, Major Success (158/)
Hundred Herbs Primer, Proficient (385/1000)
Spirit Ape Three Leaps, Beginner (487/500)

The data was cold and objective, yet it most truthfully recorded every drop of sweat he shed and every bit of progress he made. The proficiency needed for the Mang Ox Fist to truly reach major success was immense; every step forward required thousands upon thousands of repetitions of tempering and grinding, progressing slowly but steadily. Meanwhile, his study of the Hundred Herbs Primer advanced rapidly, steadily marching toward the "Minor Success" realm. As for the "Spirit Ape Three Leaps" footwork, it had barely entered the beginner stage, just one step away from the "Proficient" level, and the improvement in his movement speed was already evident in practice.

Beyond his own relentless cultivation, the comprehensive treatment of the Lin Estate's new guards was truly beginning to show its immense value.

At lunch each day, he could now receive a specially prepared "medicinal meal" for the guards. Though still at the most basic tier, far from what the young lady or the instructors received, it was made from fine rice mixed with coarse grains, supplemented with a small amount of carefully proportioned herbs that nourished qi and blood and strengthened the sinews and bones, all meticulously cooked.

Every mouthful of the medicinal meal transformed into strands of warm, pure energy that rapidly merged into the qi and blood of his limbs and bones, slowly but continuously nourishing his physical body, effectively compensating for the massive consumption from high-intensity training, and steadily promoting the growth of his qi and blood.

This completely freed him from the stage of worrying about basic bodily energy, allowing him to devote all his energy, without any concerns, to frenzied cultivation. His efficiency was more than doubled compared to before!

Thus, day after day, he cultivated without cease. In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.

On this day, it was time for the ten-day distribution of medicinal bath packets. Li Bufan received a packet of deep-colored, aromatic herbs.

He did not choose to use it in the noisy, bustling public bathhouse of the guard camp, where people came and went constantly. Instead, he carefully tucked this precious packet of medicine close to his body, and as soon as his shift ended in the evening, he immediately set off for home.

Pushing open the door, a warm, damp wave of steam greeted him. His younger brother Li Ping'an was already obediently sitting on a small stool, watching over a large wooden bucket that was bubbling and steaming. His little face was flushed red from the heat, and his eyes sparkled with excitement and curiosity. He knew that today, his big brother was going to bathe with a very powerful "medicine"—something that, for them in the past, had been utterly out of reach.

"Big brother, I boiled the water a long time ago and kept the fire going!" Li Ping'an said, as if seeking praise.

"Good, little brother is so well-behaved, you've helped big brother a lot." Li Bufan smiled and vigorously ruffled his brother's soft hair, a warm current flowing through his heart. "You go to the inner room and review your lessons. Big brother needs to focus on cultivation for a while and can't be disturbed."

After sending his brother away, he carefully poured the precious medicinal bath packet into the scalding hot water. Instantly, the clear hot water visibly deepened, taking on a rich reddish-brown hue, like melted amber. A faint medicinal scent spread through the air, mixed with a barely perceptible fragrance of grass and wood.

Li Bufan stripped off his clothes, took a deep breath, and slowly stepped into the wooden bucket.

"Hiss—!"

Even though he had long prepared himself mentally, the moment the scalding water—hot enough to nearly burn his skin and carrying an overwhelmingly fierce medicinal force—touched his entire body, an indescribably intense shock still made him gasp sharply. It felt as if, in an instant, countless red-hot, needle-thin spikes pierced through his pores, stabbing viciously into every inch of his skin and membrane. Or like being simultaneously gnawed by a swarm of frenzied venomous ants.

His skin turned bright red in an instant, like a completely boiled shrimp, and the veins beneath his skin bulged slightly from the frenzied surging of his qi and blood.

He clenched his teeth, and dense beads of sweat immediately broke out on his forehead, mixing with the scalding medicinal liquid as they dripped down. He dared not slacken for a moment, immediately activating the breathing method of the Mang Ox Fist with all his might, desperately guiding the boiling qi and blood within him to adapt to this external, violent medicinal force. At the same time, he strained to open every pore on his body, greedily absorbing the essence energy within the medicinal liquid that was extremely beneficial for tempering his physique.

He knew that this extreme pain was the manifestation of the medicinal force forcibly penetrating, scouring, and hammering his entire skin membrane—a perfect opportunity to break through the current bottleneck and ascend to a higher level!

Time passed slowly amidst the extreme pain and concentration. The rich, reddish-brown color of the medicinal liquid in the bucket began to visibly fade. The intense burning and stinging sensation also started to recede, replaced by a deep, warm, and soothing comfort and a pleasant numbness, as if every exhausted cell was rejoicing, greedily breathing in and absorbing the final, most refined nourishment of the medicinal power.

After who knows how long, when the color of the liquid in the bucket had become nearly clear and transparent, and the water temperature had dropped to lukewarm—

Hum!

Li Bufan's body jolted violently. The qi and blood within him seemed to have broken through some invisible shackle, their circulation suddenly becoming smoother and more surging! The faint, ancient bronze luster on his flushed skin abruptly deepened, became richer, and more restrained, as if a layer of invisible, tough bronze skin had truly enveloped his entire body. The toughness, density, and defensive power of his skin had, in this moment, ascended to an entirely new level.

Skin Tempering Realm, Major Success!

At the same time, many insights regarding the Mang Ox Fist flooded into his mind like streams converging into a sea. Previously obscure points about power generation and qi-blood circulation suddenly became clear, deepening his understanding. On the [Heaven Rewards Diligence] panel, the proficiency of the Mang Ox Fist surged forward by a large margin!

Li Bufan's eyes snapped open. A sharp gleam of light flashed within them like lightning, vanishing in an instant, exceptionally bright in the dim little room. He carefully sensed the power within him, now clearly surging by more than a notch, and the indescribable toughness and density radiating from his entire body. An irrepressible joy and pride naturally welled up from the depths of his heart.

However, this emotion—enough to make most peers excited and even complacent—lasted only a brief moment in his heart before being forcibly suppressed by his powerful will, like ice water dousing a flame.

He slowly rose from the now-cooled medicinal liquid, carefully dried his body with a clean cloth, and changed into fresh clothes. Standing before the blurry bronze mirror, he looked at his own increasingly lean and sturdy figure, his steady gaze, and the faintly visible bronze luster. There was no pride in his heart. Instead, he silently and sternly admonished himself once more:

"Li Bufan, wake up! Just a mere Skin Tempering Major Success—what is that? Even if it's top-tier among the new guards, and perhaps comparable to some of the more experienced ordinary guards, when you look at the entire Lin Estate, or even the vast, boundless martial world where the strong are revered, what is this paltry achievement? It's not even worthy of being on the table!"

"If you truly want to secure a foothold, to protect this small warmth before you, to control your own destiny, this level of strength is still far, far too lacking! Above Skin Tempering, there are still the four major barriers of Muscle Tempering, Sinew Tempering, Bone Tempering, and Blood Tempering, and beyond that, the mysterious Qi Refining realm that can draw upon the world's primordial energy... The path of martial arts is long and arduous!"

This clear self-awareness and his thirst for higher realms instantly and completely washed away the tiny bit of self-satisfaction that had arisen from his breakthrough. His gaze, far from becoming arrogant due to the breakthrough, grew even calmer, more resolute, and deeper, like an unfathomable, icy pool.

At that moment, Li Ping'an, hearing that the commotion outside had stopped, cautiously poked his little head out from the inner room. Seeing that his big brother had already dressed, he immediately ran over, blinking his big, dark eyes as he looked Li Bufan up and down. With a hint of curiosity and uncertainty, he asked, "Big brother, are you done training? You seem... a little different?" He felt that his brother appeared more spirited and steady, and there was an inexplicably reassuring aura about him.