A Month's Time

Time slowly passed.

Hunting in the mountains in the morning, relying on the bug-like ability of his Conceptual Ability, Chen Xuan, although sometimes for safety reasons he couldn't bring back food every time, could still bring back one or two prey every one or two days.

Especially as his Skin Refining continued and his strength gradually increased, the prey he could bring back also gradually became larger.

At first, he could only bring back some Mountain Chickens, sparrows, and at most Bamboo Rats. But later, he could even bring back larger prey like Sika Deer and goats.

With the addition of these prey, life in Chen Xuan's home also got better and better.

Zhang Chunhua no longer insisted on picking wild vegetables, but instead turned to collecting firewood for Chen Xuan and preparing medicinal baths.

Under these circumstances, a month gradually passed.

When the last bucket of medicinal bath gradually turned from milky white to transparent, Chen Xuan also knew that the Lotus Flower had been completely used up.

He stood up and put on his clothes.

At this moment, his body was undoubtedly much stronger than before.

At fourteen years old, due to long-term malnutrition, he looked only eight or nine years old.

But after these few months, with sufficient meat supply for every meal, his body had completely grown. Compared to three months ago, he was a section taller, truly looking like a fourteen-year-old, and his complexion had also reached a very rosy state.

Of course, the biggest change was not the external, but the internal change.

His strength had increased by almost three times compared to three months ago, and his skin was now as tough as cowhide. Even if a sharp arrow was used to scratch it, only a small white mark would appear.

Without any surprises, he had completed Skin Refining at this moment.

He had also truly stepped onto the Martial Path Road.

"Skin Refining!"

"I wonder what the next step of the Martial Path is?"

He murmured softly, looking up at the vast starry sky, Chen Xuan felt a little anticipation in his heart.

Possessing a system and knowing that this world had extraordinary power, Chen Xuan's gaze naturally couldn't stop at Skin Refining. Even though the Skin Refining realm was enough to allow everyone in his village to live a prosperous life, it was still not enough.

His heart stirred slightly.

The next moment, the text before his eyes flickered again.

Target: Obtain the cultivation method above Martial Path Skin Refining (To be determined)
Setting complete

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Path 1: Three hundred miles outside Green Mountain City is a Blood Demon Sect stronghold. Arrive at the Blood Demon Sect, successfully pass the Blood Demon Sect trial and join the Blood Demon Sect. Refine the body with blood. If you survive after six months, you will successfully enter the Martial Artist Blood Refining realm.

Path 2: Join the Overlord Blade Martial Hall, gain the favor of the Overlord Blade Hall Master, obtain secret medicine, and enter the Martial Path Blood Refining realm.

Path 3: Join the Fierce Mountain Hall, make great contributions, and the Fierce Mountain Hall will provide Blood Refining secret medicine, allowing you to step into the Martial Path Blood Refining realm.

New text appeared.

"Blood Refining!"

He muttered to himself, looking at these words. At this moment, Chen Xuan finally understood what realm lay above the Skin Refining realm.

—Blood Refining.

However, it was clear that the difficulty of achieving the Blood Refining realm was greater than that of the Skin Refining realm.

Of the three methods, he couldn't safely complete even one.

The first one needed no explanation. He hadn't dared to try it even when he had three months left to live, let alone now with a year.

As for the second and third, they were equally difficult.

Whether it was the secret medicine from the Overlord Blade Martial Hall or the Fierce Mountain Hall, anyone could figure out with a little thought that they weren't easy to obtain.

Not to mention going to Green Mountain City, he currently had no such plans.

Even though the city would undoubtedly be safer.

He would definitely have to enter the city in the future.

But not now.

As for the reason, it was also simple.

He had no money.

He remembered his father, Chen Sanshan, saying that every commoner entering Green Mountain City had to pay an entrance fee of one hundred copper coins. Moreover, Green Mountain City had a curfew. If you couldn't stay in Green Mountain City, you had to leave before nightfall. To stay in Green Mountain City, you needed money to stay in an inn or even buy a house.

This undoubtedly required money, and their family currently had none. Even though he had hunted many prey these past few days, it wasn't enough to go to Green Mountain City.

He had planned to wait until after this winter, when the hunted prey wouldn't spoil due to the weather and he could accumulate enough. Then, he would take the prey and go to the city with his mother and younger brother to buy a small house to live in. Clearly, it wasn't enough yet.

Shaking his head, his gaze couldn't help but fall back on the Conceptual Ability.

And his thoughts changed again at this moment.

Target: Reach the Blood Refining realm in the village (To be determined)

Setting complete

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"Method One: Three days later, the Green Mountain City Black Market will have Blood Refining secret manuals for sale. Take one hundred taels of silver to the Green Mountain City Black Market to purchase and return. On the Back Mountain, there are fierce beasts, tigers and leopards. Hunt one tiger and one leopard every three days. Use the tiger gall and leopard heart, along with thirty-year-old ginseng and thirty-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, boiled in three buckets of water until only one bucket remains. Soak in it every three days and cultivate with the Blood Refining secret manual. You can complete the Blood Refining realm in three years."

The text appeared. Looking at this text, Chen Xuan couldn't help but shake his head.

Clearly, his idea had fallen through.

Even though the Conceptual Ability was extremely buggy, it was clear that the lower his foundation and the higher the target he set, the greater the difficulty of the methods generated to complete it.

Completing the Blood Refining realm in the village was indeed possible, but gathering one hundred taels of silver within three days, purchasing the Blood Refining secret manual in the Black Market, and then hunting tigers and leopards on the Back Mountain every three days to obtain thirty-year-old ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum – every single one of these was extremely difficult.

With his current small arms and legs, the possibility of achieving this was close to zero, if not zero.

"It seems I still need to enter the city as soon as possible!"

He whispered softly, his gaze fixed on the distance under the starry sky.

At this moment, his original plan wavered slightly.

He had thought it would be wonderful before.

But would things really turn out as he imagined?

The terror in the river, the Giant Python in the mountains, and the monsters – these were all deadly dangers to the village.

Adding to that his Martial Path cultivation, even if he didn't know when he started cultivating the Martial Path, it was clear that since he had begun, he couldn't stop. Otherwise, one step behind would mean falling further and further behind.

This was something Chen Xuan absolutely could not accept.

He shook his head.

Chen Xuan temporarily suppressed the thought.

He tidied up the mess in front of him and then returned to his room.

The process, even though the thought had arisen and changed, Chen Xuan knew that this was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

The problems that existed before still existed now; they wouldn't change just because his thoughts changed.

The night gradually passed.

Stars dotted the sky, and Chen Xuan gradually fell into a deep sleep.