Twelve Forms Boxing at Perfection—Could It Kill a Tempering Blood Realm Expert?

It was nearing noon, yet the sky was dark as ink, so oppressive that not a trace of brightness could be seen.

After days of heavy snow, the world had been draped in a thick layer of silver armor.

The blue stone road outside the courtyard had long since vanished beneath the accumulated snow.

Every step sank to the ankles and creaked loudly.

Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing walked side by side.

Chu Fan remained silent, and Zhao Tianxing said nothing either.

The cold wind swept across the withered branches outside the courtyard, producing wailing sounds as if someone were weeping softly in the darkness.

The swirling snow dust was bone-chillingly cold as it struck both their faces.

Bright light shone in Zhao Tianxing's eyes, and he could barely conceal his delight.

Chu Fan was not as excited as he was, but the corners of his lips had also lifted slightly, carrying a faint smile.

When he left the Chopping Wood Courtyard, he had already understood why Cao Shi had sent Zhao Tianxing to find him...

Early this morning, Tianxing had broken through to the Blood Nourishment Realm!

That was precisely why Cao Shi had summoned the two of them, intending to impart the method for Blood Refining.

Everything was within Chu Fan's expectations.

The two lifted their feet and entered the courtyard, only to see someone standing beneath the corridor. It was Cao Shi, who had clearly been waiting for quite some time.

Cao Feng had already been standing beneath the corridor, evidently having waited for a long while.

"Come!"

Cao Feng beamed as he waved repeatedly at them.

Seeing his face glowing red and a faint smell of alcohol about him, Chu Fan realized that Tianxing's breakthrough had prompted him to drink a few extra cups.

The two followed Cao Feng into the room.

Cao Feng sat down with imposing ease, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and said with a smile, "Tianxing's breakthrough this time came a few days late."

"You brat..."

His tone shifted, carrying a hint of reproach. "If you had stabilized your Blood Qi and not rushed to practice boxing, allowing your Blood Qi Force to remain at its peak, you might have broken through five or six days ago!"

After saying this, he waved his hand again. "But it doesn't matter. A few days earlier or later makes no great difference."

Zhao Tianxing smiled without speaking.

If he had not known that Chu Fan had broken through before him, he would probably have been so pleased with himself that he would have lost all restraint.

"Chu Fan, you needn't think too much about it either."

Cao Feng turned to Chu Fan and said slowly, "Before entering the Seven Star Gang, Tianxing's vigorous Blood Qi was already comparable to that of someone in the Blood Nourishment Realm. His breakthrough had a foundation to build upon from the beginning."

"Your talent for boxing is above his. As long as you continue working hard, it won't be long before you can break through to Blood Nourishment as well."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianxing put away the smile on his face and turned to silently look at Chu Fan, his eyes carrying a hint of complexity.

Chu Fan paid no attention to his gaze and merely nodded slightly toward Cao Shi.

"Take these."

As Cao Feng spoke, he pulled two palm-sized wooden boxes from his robes and handed them to Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing. He continued, "Each wooden box contains sixty Blood Refining Pills."

"Although Chu Fan hasn't broken through to Blood Nourishment yet, it's only a matter of time."

"I don't play favorites."

"As for the Blood Nourishing Medicinal Soup, continue drinking three bowls a day as before. It will greatly benefit the recovery of your Blood Qi, the strengthening of your foundation, and the consolidation and nourishment of your bodies."

Blood Refining Pills!

Sixty of them?!

Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing exchanged a glance, and both saw wild joy in the other's eyes.

A few days ago, they had still been calculating that once Tianxing broke through to Blood Nourishment, they would venture into the Misty Swamp.

They had never expected Cao Shi to be so generous!

Sixty Blood Refining Pills—after calculating carefully, they were probably worth thirty taels of silver!

As they were pondering this, Cao Feng continued, "You mustn't compare my Blood Refining Pills with those sold by the Seven Star Gang..."

"The quality of my Blood Refining Pills far surpasses those sold by the Seven Star Gang."

"Even if you have the silver, you might not be able to buy pills this good."

"When attempting to break through to Blood Refining, take one Blood Refining Pill in the morning and one in the evening. Don't take more!"

"Thank you, Cao Shi! We'll remember your teachings!" Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing bowed together in thanks.

"That's not enough." Cao Feng shook his head, his expression growing more solemn. "The difficulty of Blood Refining far surpasses that of Blood Nourishment."

"I have a prescription here. Take it..."

As he spoke, he took a yellowed sheet of paper from his sleeve and handed it over. "To break through to Blood Refining, besides diligently practicing Twelve Forms Boxing, you must also take two Blood Refining Pills every day. Then follow this prescription to purchase medicinal ingredients and use them for a Medicinal Bath."

"It's not that I can't afford the money for these ingredients, but I won't pay for them on your behalf."

"What I can provide is ultimately limited."

His gaze swept over the two of them, and his tone grew heavier. "A person must rely on himself!"

"Yes! We'll engrave it in our hearts!" Gratitude filled Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing's eyes.

Cao Feng continued, "I heard that the two of you plan to venture into the Mirage Dream Marsh once Tianxing breaks through to Blood Nourishment."

"Excellent. A young man should possess a sharp spirit..."

"Do not fear hardships and dangers. Only by venturing outside more can you broaden your horizons and increase your abilities."

"Tianxing was a hunter before this. Even before learning martial arts, he could already shoot and kill tigers and leopards. Now that he has broken through to Blood Nourishment and his archery has grown stronger, ordinary wolves, jackals, tigers, and leopards naturally pose no threat to him."

His tone shifted, and his expression grew stern again. "But the Misty Swamp is no ordinary place. It is filled with danger, with peril at every step."

"Tianxing, when you get there, you must take good care of Chu Fan!"

"Don't go together and have only one of you return!"

"..." After hearing this, Zhao Tianxing turned to look at Chu Fan again, his expression complex.

With this guy's abilities, when would he ever need me to take care of him?

Chu Fan's expression shifted, and he suddenly asked, "Cao Shi, Tianxing has now broken through to Blood Nourishment. If he reaches Major Accomplishment in Twelve Forms Boxing, could he kill a Tempering Blood Realm expert without using a bow and arrows?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianxing's eyes immediately widened. He was both shocked and baffled. Chu Fan's words made him sound far too confident in himself!

Major Accomplishment in Twelve Forms Boxing?

He had only barely reached Minor Accomplishment in Five Forms.

He was still worlds apart from Major Accomplishment in Twelve Forms!

"An expert in Blood Nourishment killing one in Tempering Blood? Easier said than done!"

Cao Feng shook his head and said slowly, "Major Accomplishment in Twelve Forms Boxing and Minor Accomplishment in Twelve Forms Boxing are indeed worlds apart..."

"Once Twelve Forms reaches Major Accomplishment, the practitioner's overall strength will undergo a heaven-shaking transformation... Whether in speed, strength, technique, or movement, everything will far surpass what it was before."

"But even so, relying on the Blood Nourishment Realm to kill a Tempering Blood Realm martial artist remains extraordinarily difficult."

"Even martial artists of the same realm can be superior or inferior to one another, let alone those fighting across realms?"

He paused, then added, "However, if you faced Tempering Blood Realm martial artists whose Twelve Forms Boxing had not yet reached Major Accomplishment—or Tempering Blood Realm martial artists whose other martial arts of the same level had not reached Major Accomplishment—you could still wrestle with them. You might not be without the power to fight."

Could he really wrestle with them?

A flash of bright light crossed Chu Fan's eyes as he began calculating silently.

Cao Feng continued, "A Blood Nourishment martial artist's strength, speed, and even Five Senses are all inferior to those of a Tempering Blood martial artist. That is the difference between realms."

"Yet the overall improvement brought by Major Accomplishment in Twelve Forms Boxing could make up for part of that gap."

"A Tempering Blood Realm martial artist would also find it far from easy to kill a Blood Nourishment Realm martial artist who had achieved Major Accomplishment in Twelve Forms Boxing."

"In the end, who could kill whom would ultimately vary from person to person."

Chu Fan immediately asked, "Then what if Tianxing's Twelve Forms Boxing reached Perfection? Could he kill a Tempering Blood Realm martial artist?"

"..." Zhao Tianxing blinked, feeling that something was not quite right.