Boiling Blood Realm Achieved, Blade Song in the Morning Mist

"This really is difficult." Qin Meng understood that perfectly well.

When he'd cultivated Diamond Body before, the blood and qi he'd built up inside had been completely used up.

Without some special encounter or ample resources, practicing this method step by step and accumulating enough blood and qi to get its circulation running smoothly, then finally stirring it to a boil and entering the realm, would take even him—despite his current physical foundation—more than ten days of painstaking work.

But... I have a cheat, and I came prepared.

As the proficiency on the panel climbed, his understanding of the technique continued to deepen.

He picked up the pot of Demon Salamander heart stew warming on the stove and swallowed every last drop, meat and broth alike. The second-order Demon Salamander heart was a potent tonic, packed with blood-and-qi essence. Once it entered his stomach, it became a scorching torrent and burst open with a roar!

His blood boiled in an instant. His veins bulged slightly, his skin flushed red, and steam rose from his body!

Qin Meng immediately turned and hurried back to his room. He resumed the Bear-Grizzly Stance and circulated the breathing method of the Mystic Fiend Bear Demon Art with all his might.

At the same time, a thought stirred within him, drawing upon the Life Source stored in his body. It merged with the surging torrent of blood and qi, like oil poured onto a blazing fire.

"Hrrgh—!"

A low, muffled growl rose from Qin Meng's throat, and the veins at his temples stood out faintly. The blood in his body was no longer rushing; it was roaring.

Strands of blood and qi were furiously wrung out and refined into a rolling torrent. Following the technique's path, they charged toward his heart with unstoppable force.

His heart became the eye of the storm, a blazing furnace. The violent blood and qi rushing into it were hammered, compressed, and smelted again and again by its powerful beats, becoming ever purer.

The proficiency on the panel began to leap wildly.

[Mystic Fiend Bear Demon Art—Not Yet Initiated, 5/100...7/100...9/100...]

More than two hours passed in unbearable strain and intense concentration.

Outside the window, night lay deep.

Then, without warning—

"Thump!"

A heartbeat far heavier and louder than usual boomed from Qin Meng's chest, like a war drum.

In that final, most powerful contraction and tempering, all the blood-and-qi power that had flooded his heart was forged completely into one.

It slowly condensed into a strand of pure blood and qi, as thick as a chopstick, crimson with golden glints. It formed an exquisite, indescribable connection with his heart.

[Mystic Fiend Bear Demon Art—Boiling Blood (1/100)]

[Special Trait: Bear-Grizzly Stance (Newly Revealed)]

"Whoosh—" Qin Meng exhaled a breath of stale air and opened his eyes, a glint flashing in their depths. He could vaguely sense the changes in his body, but the first strand of blood and qi condensed by his heart left him stunned.

A strand of blood and qi in the Boiling Blood Realm was supposed to be as thin as a hair.

Mine's as thick as a chopstick. What the hell is this? Something's not right.

When Qin Meng came back to himself, his brows knitted tightly. He realized something was off. The unexpected result came from the strength of his foundation. Only with such a foundation could Boiling Blood and Blood Changing strengthen the body.

He needed to condense ninety-nine strands before reaching the bottleneck. That foundation far surpassed an ordinary martial artist's, but the difficulty of cultivation and the resources it consumed would also be beyond measure.

The benefits were plain to see. As Qin Meng felt the changes in himself, a new, explosive sense of power filled every limb and bone.

His muscles swelled, their lines grew sharper, and his flesh was taut as iron. His bones rang like metal striking metal.

Unlike the defense granted by Diamond Body, the Mystic Fiend Bear Demon Art brought the purest, most domineering increase in strength, along with a robust vitality drawn from the very source of life.

He felt surging with energy, as though he could go three days without sleep and never grow tired.

More striking still was the "presence" that now came naturally to him. He didn't need to try. Even standing at ease, he seemed like a deep pool and a towering mountain, his imposing bearing heavy and powerful, like an ancient bear-grizzly at rest—enough to inspire awe at a glance.

Hunger surged over him like a tide once more. He went into the kitchen and devoured the remaining cooked meat and Demon Salamander stew, his body efficiently absorbing every bit of nourishment.

Back in his room, he naturally resumed his cultivation. His feet seemed rooted to the ground, his waist and back held like a drawn bow, and his breathing alternated between long and short.

Within him, the pale-gold vortex at his Danzhong Acupoint rotated slowly, while the dark-gold essence blood at his heart pulsed steadily.

Two kinds of blood-and-qi power, born of the same source yet different in nature, flowed and circulated through his body, faintly complementing each other and nourishing his flesh until it grew ever stronger.

Meanwhile, on a level he couldn't sense, a strange aura—cold, heavy, ancient, and baleful—seemed to be drawn from the depths of some faraway void by an unseen connection within him...

In the next room, Shen Qiuyue had long since fallen asleep, utterly exhausted, yet a contented curve touched her lips. In the corner, Little Fox curled up and twitched an ear...

Dawn was only just breaking when Qin Meng got up. Though he'd slept for barely more than an hour, he was still bright-eyed and full of vigor.

His skin felt sticky and uncomfortable. Looking down, he saw a layer of black-red grime coating his wrists and neck, giving off a strange, bloody stench.

"Impurities expelled as the blood and qi tempered my body." Qin Meng understood. Last night, cultivating Diamond Body and the Mystic Fiend Bear Demon Art had not only strengthened his physique with pure blood and qi, but also purged deeper layers of accumulated impurities.

Without another word, he pushed open the door and sprinted to the well.

The early autumn wind was bitter, but he barely felt it. He stripped off his shirt in a few swift motions, revealing a strong upper body forged like iron. His muscles were sharply defined, his shoulders and back as broad as a bear's, and his bronze skin gleamed with a metallic sheen.

He drew well water and poured the icy stream over himself, raising wisps of white vapor. Then he used his Water Control talent. The water surged like a living thing, washing away the grime and sliding off him without a single drop clinging to his skin.

The water's ripples reflected Qin Meng's sharply chiseled face. His gaze was keen, and a hint of Killing Intent lingered between his brows.

Even standing still, he seemed like a deep pool and a towering mountain, like a bear-grizzly poised to pounce on its prey.

"What an overbearing technique. It's even changing my temperament." Qin Meng felt a chill in his heart. He was increasingly convinced that Elder Wang's identity was no simple matter.

A thought stirred, and the panel appeared before his eyes:

[Name: Qin Meng]

[Realm: Boiling Blood (Life Source: 191%)]

[Innate Talent: Divine Valor]

[Talents: Wild Instinct—Advanced (13%), Environmental Integration—Intermediate (16%), Self-Healing—Intermediate (19%), Iron Back—Intermediate (9%), Thick Skin and Fleshy—Intermediate (18%), Water Control—Low (2%), Blood Shadow—Low (3%)]

[Core Martial Arts: Mystic Fiend Bear Demon Art—Boiling Blood (3/100), Diamond Body—First Layer (5/100)]

[Martial Skills: Black Dragon Eighteen Hands—Minor Mastery, Evil-Slaying Blade-Breaking Saber—Proficient (478/500), Chain Arrow—Minor Mastery, Berserker Spear Technique—Minor Mastery]

Now that he had formally begun cultivating, the Life Source value had appeared.

One night of cultivation had consumed about twenty percent of his Life Source, converting it entirely into vital blood and qi to nourish his body. That was how he'd managed to break through so swiftly.

At that moment, two warm currents of blood and qi coursed through his meridians:

One dwelled in his heart, blazing and vigorous;

The other settled at his Danzhong Acupoint, steady and weighty.

With both feet planted on the ground, Qin Meng felt an endless stream of strength rising from the earth. Power surged through him; every gesture carried the force of ten thousand jin.

That was the strength he possessed now that he'd become a Body Forging Realm martial artist.

His delight had barely surfaced when a thunderous "Grrr" rumbled from his stomach, dragging him back to reality.

Tempering his blood and qi had consumed a tremendous amount of energy. The essence of the Demon Salamander heart he'd eaten last night had been drained dry.

Qin Meng strode into the kitchen and cut several thick slices from the hanging Demon Salamander meat. It was snowy white, with a faint light flowing through its grain.

He dipped it straight into a little soy sauce and stuffed it into his mouth. The meat was chewy yet exceptionally delicious. Once swallowed, it turned into a warm current, easing his hunger a little.

Then he rinsed the rice, washed the iron pot on the stove, and set a pot of fine rice to cook. While it steamed, Qin Meng took the Zhanma Dao and went into the courtyard.

The morning mist had yet to clear, and the distant mountains were dark blue.

He drew in a deep breath of crisp air and gripped the saber's handle, wrapped in black cord.

"Shing—"

The Zhanma Dao slid from its sheath. Its blade was dark as ink, a sliver of cold light flickering through the morning mist.

Qin Meng sank completely into the moment. After last night's life-and-death fight with the Demon Salamander and the ambush on the way back, he'd gained new insight into saber technique.

As the blade swung, Wild Instinct unfurled on its own. Changes in the surrounding air, the faint tremor of the ground, even the paths of the drifting mist—all were clearly reflected in his mind.

The mysteries of the Evil-Slaying Blade-Breaking Saber flowed through his thoughts.

"Kill!" he barked, and his saber stance shifted abruptly. A layer of interwoven black and crimson light surged over the Zhanma Dao, brighter and more solid than yesterday.

The blade's passage split the air with a shrill shriek. It cut the mist in the courtyard cleanly in two, leaving a clear gap that refused to close for a long time.

Qin Meng spun like a top, becoming a continuous blur of dark light. The ground hissed as the blade carved furrows an inch deep into it.

On the panel, his proficiency in the Evil-Slaying Blade-Breaking Saber leaped wildly:

[Proficient (479/500)(480/500)...]

Just as Qin Meng was practicing his saber, the clatter of hurried hooves shattered the morning's quiet. Several fast horses from Heishui City raced into Luming Fort.

Their riders wore iron-studded leather armor and carried crossbows and sabers, Killing Intent radiating from them. They didn't slow down, heading straight for the militia post inside the fort.