Realm Advancement, Muscle Tempering!

After confirming the battlefield was cleared, Li Bufan dared not delay a single moment. He turned at once and sprinted toward the Tiger Bear fight site at his fastest speed.

The cold wind whipped snowflakes against his face, still warm from the earlier battle, bringing a biting chill that only sharpened his mind. His heart pounded steadily—not from fear, but from the exhilaration of surviving and turning the tables, and from the hunger for the abundant resources that would soon be his, enough to change his martial path.

Soon, the chaotic battlefield came into view. The massive corpses of the tiger and Black Bear lay still in the snow, blood already frozen, staining the white ground a dark red. The air was thick with the heavy stench of gore.

Such a strong smell would inevitably draw other Fierce Beasts—or worse—before long!

Li Bufan's eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he quickly shed all his weights, keeping only the newly acquired, sharper short-handled axe and his own hunting knife. He took a deep breath, flexed his arms—sore from the earlier burst of exertion and tension—and began the most grueling "butchering" he had ever done in this world.

Time was tight. He couldn't take the entire Tiger Bear; he had to pick and choose.

He targeted the most valuable parts first.

"Bones are the most precious, especially the spine and the large limb bones—they hold the richest blood energy!" Li Bufan recalled the knowledge from Doctor Liu and the Herbal Compendium. With a precise strike, he cut along the joints. Crack! Crack! The grating sound of snapping bones echoed through the forest. Fortunately, at Perfection of Skin Refining, his strength surpassed an ordinary man's. It was taxing, but manageable.

He carefully extracted each thick tiger bone, laying them on a spread-out bear hide. Next came the bear gall, a treasure worth a fortune. He carefully peeled it free with his knife and stored it in a leather waterskin. Then the two massive bear paws and four tiger paws—all great tonics, excellent for a Warrior tempering his body.

Next, he cut out the prime meat, focusing on the tiger's back and the bear's spine—areas with thick muscle fibers and abundant blood energy. Dark red slabs of lean meat were sliced off, each one heavy, as if packed with immense power.

He didn't overlook the internal organs—tiger penis, bear heart—wrapping them separately in a piece of hide.

Throughout the process, Li Bufan's focus was razor-sharp. He moved as fast and precisely as possible. The freezing air seemed to heat up from his boiling blood energy and rapid breaths. Sweat beaded on his forehead, only to be frozen by the cold wind.

It took nearly half an hour to finish cutting out the best parts of the two giant beasts. He regretted leaving the massive carcasses and heads behind, but there was nothing he could do. He bundled all the spoils into two large packs, tightly bound with tough bear hide and vines. One pack was extremely heavy—mostly tiger bones and bear meat—while the other was lighter but still bulging.

He tested the weight and winced. It was far heavier than he'd expected. But his gaze was firm; he had no intention of giving up.

"I have to take it all! This is my foundation for breaking through to Muscle Tempering! The cornerstone of a stronger path!"

He hoisted the heavier pack onto his back, securing it with vines, and used a thick branch as a carrying pole for the other, slung over his shoulder. The immense weight made his back bend slightly, and his feet sank deep into the snow.

"Hah!" He grunted, blood energy surging through his body. The strength of Perfection of Skin Refining supported him as he took a step forward.

The return to the cave was grueling. He'd come light and fast; now he was burdened like a mountain. Every step left deep footprints in the snow. His muscles ached and protested, and his blood energy drained rapidly. He had to frequently employ the techniques of the Spirit Monkey Three Leaps—not to speed up, but to distribute his strength more efficiently, adjust his center of gravity, and keep moving under the crushing load.

The forest was silent, broken only by his heavy breathing and the crunch of snow underfoot. He avoided a straight path, deliberately taking a detour, using the complex terrain and old snow tracks to confuse any possible pursuit.

Luckily, perhaps because the weather grew darker and colder, or because the lingering aura from his fight with the gray-clad man scared off other creatures, he encountered no trouble along the way.

At some point, fine snow began to fall, then grew heavier, turning into thick, swirling flakes. The snow drifted down, quickly painting the forest a pure white.

Li Bufan looked up at the sky. Instead of frowning, he showed a hint of relief.

"Good snow! Heaven truly rewards diligence!"

This heavy snow would cover the trail he'd left dragging the heavy loads and quickly bury the blood and traces at both battlefields—the Tiger Bear site and the fight site. That Wu Ershijiu probably wouldn't be found until the snow melted next spring.

The snow also made travel harder, but Li Bufan gritted his teeth. Relying on his enhanced stamina and willpower after the breakthrough, he trudged step by step toward the cave in his memory.

When the familiar cave finally came into view, Li Bufan was nearly collapsing from exhaustion. He dragged the two massive, heavy bundles, stumbling into the cave on sheer willpower.

Thud!

He dropped his burdens with a dull thud and collapsed to the ground, leaning against the cold stone wall, gasping for breath. His white exhalations were thick as clouds. Outside, the heavy snow had sealed the mountain, turning the world into a vast white expanse, erasing all traces of his return.

After resting for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Li Bufan felt his breath return. The cave was warmer than outside, but still cold. He quickly started a fire to maintain his body heat and roast some Tiger Bear meat.

He struggled to his feet, first blocking the cave entrance with stones to make it hard to spot from outside. Then he lit the fire and began to tally his gains.

Looking at the two bloody packs on the ground, bursting with abundant blood energy—especially the pile of thick tiger bones—Li Bufan's eyes gleamed with excitement and anticipation.

"With this... it's enough to train the Spirit Ape Muscle Tempering Technique! Maybe even go a step further!"

He didn't hesitate. The priority was to turn these resources into real strength! Only by breaking through to Muscle Tempering could he better protect himself in these woods and face potential threats!

He picked up his hunting knife and cut off a large piece of the darkest, finest-grained meat from the tiger's hind leg, along with a bear paw.

He set them over the fire to roast. When they were nearly done, he sliced the meat into pieces, took a deep breath, and put them into his mouth to chew.

The strong gamey taste he'd expected wasn't fully there. Instead, a faint, strange warmth spread through his mouth as he chewed, and the meat even had a slight sweetness. After swallowing, a noticeable heat soon radiated from his stomach through his limbs, warming his whole body until it felt almost hot!

"Such powerful blood energy!" Li Bufan was both surprised and delighted. He quickly ate it all. The heat from this batch was even more intense.

After downing several pounds of Tiger Bear meat, he felt like a furnace was burning in his belly. The surging blood energy rampaged through his body, turning his skin red, filling him with inexhaustible strength, and even making him restless.

"Now!"

Li Bufan wasted no time. He moved to the center of the cave, where it was more spacious, and assumed the starting stance of the Spirit Ape Muscle Tempering Technique.

This Muscle Tempering technique, obtained from Eldest Miss Lin, centered on imitating the movements of a spirit ape—stretching, leaping, pouncing, and playing. Through specific motions, it pulled, compressed, and tempered the muscles, while a unique breathing method guided blood energy deep into the muscle fibers for thorough refinement and nourishment. This would dramatically improve muscle strength, toughness, explosive power, and blood energy capacity.

"Breathe in... breathe out..."

Li Bufan regulated his breathing, sinking his mind into his body. He guided the surging, hot blood energy from the Tiger Bear flesh and began to move slowly according to the diagrams of the Spirit Ape Muscle Tempering Technique.

First move: Spirit Ape Stretches Arms. He slowly extended his arms to both sides, like an ape stretching its limbs, feeling the pull in his back and shoulder muscles. Blood energy flowed to these areas, bringing a slight ache and burning sensation.

Second move: Fierce Ape Shakes Tree. Mimicking an ape's forceful charge, he tilted his body and suddenly thrust his shoulder forward. Blood energy instantly gathered in his shoulder and chest muscles, causing a slight tremor.

Third move: Spirit Ape Tumbles. He twisted and folded his body with flexibility, training his core abdominal muscles...

Fourth move...

At first, his movements were stiff, and his guidance of blood energy was clumsy. Under the dual stimulation of blood energy and motion, his muscles sent signals of soreness, numbness, swelling, and pain—far more profound and complex than the simple blood energy washing over his skin during Skin Refining.

But the [Heaven Rewards Diligence] fate activated silently once more. Insights and understanding of the Spirit Ape Muscle Tempering Technique flooded his mind, cross-referencing and merging with his physical sensations.

His movements grew smoother and more natural. His control over blood energy became more precise, efficiently channeling the endless heat from his belly into the muscle groups that needed tempering.

His entire body's muscles seemed to come alive, writhing and trembling faintly under the infusion of blood and qi, undergoing a deep-level strengthening and transformation. Beneath the skin, the contours of the muscles grew clearer and tighter.

Outside the cave, heavy snow fell and a bitter wind howled. Inside, Li Bufan was drenched in sweat, steam rising from his body. Every movement stirred the air, and the hum of blood and qi circulating was faintly audible.

He trained tirelessly, cutting off pieces of Tiger Bear meat to roast when hungry, grabbing handfuls of clean snow to quench his thirst when parched. When exhaustion overwhelmed him, he leaned against the cave wall for a brief rest, then plunged back into cultivation as soon as his energy recovered.

He cracked open the Tiger Bear's bones with stones to suck out the fragrant marrow, and swallowed the bear gall in portions, his face twisting from the bitterness—but a powerful, clear current soon merged into his blood and qi...

Time flew by in a frenzy of training.

One day, two days...

He could clearly feel his strength steadily increasing, his body growing lighter and more agile, his control over his muscles reaching a new level. Every muscle fiber became tougher, and the total amount of blood and qi within him had nearly doubled!

By the evening of the third day, he finished the last piece of Tiger Bear heart and drained the marrow from the final bone.

He sensed that his blood and qi had reached a critical saturation point. His entire body's muscles ached and burned, as if every fiber craved a complete transformation and release!

A sharp light flashed in Li Bufan's eyes. He knew the time had come!

He once again assumed the stance of the Spirit Ape Muscle Tempering Technique, but this time, his movements were no longer slow and deliberate—they became fierce and explosive! Like a true ferocious ape roaring and rampaging through the forest!

Blood and qi surged and roared within him, violently battering the deep barriers of his muscles!

"Boom!"

It was as if an invisible barrier had been completely shattered!

A surge of power, far greater than before, flooded his entire body like a tidal wave! Muscles trembled violently, contracted, expanded, growing denser and tougher! His bones emitted faint crackling sounds, as if they could now bear greater force.

The blood and qi in his body rumbled loudly, then gradually calmed, becoming more vigorous, dense, and heavy—like mercury or thick paste, deeply stored within every tempered muscle.

An unprecedented sense of fullness and strength filled his body and mind.

Li Bufan slowly withdrew his stance and let out a long breath of turbid air. The breath shot out like an arrow for over a foot before dissipating.

He clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within. With a casual punch, the air let out a faint explosive crack!

"Muscle Tempering, achieved!"

[Heaven Rewards Diligence]

Spirit Ape Muscle Tempering Technique, Beginner, (12/500)

Moreover, thanks to the nourishment from the Tiger Bear's flesh, blood, bones, and gall, he had directly stabilized his realm and even taken a small step forward in Muscle Tempering!

He walked to the cave entrance and pushed aside the covering rocks. The heavy snow had stopped at some point. Outside, the world was clad in silver, silent and still. The cold, crisp air filled his lungs with the freshness of freshly fallen snow.

Li Bufan looked at his fist—still pale but brimming with terrifying power—his gaze sharp as an eagle's.

This trip into the mountains could be considered a small success.