Rapid Progress

"This was a good thing, after all!"

Chen Xuan withdrew his thoughts and sheathed the dagger at his waist.

Now that Copper Skin had been achieved, even without Huajin force protecting his body, ordinary blades and swords would find it difficult to breach his defenses.

With protective force added to his Copper Skin defense—

He would truly be impervious to blades and spears, immune to water and fire.

The next few days passed without incident.

The Blood Wolf Gang did not send anyone else to cause trouble, and Qingshi Town returned to its former peace.

Apart from handling the branch office's affairs each day, Chen Xuan cultivated the Vajra Technique.

On the evening of his third day in Qingshi Town—

Having spent the Zhaoxi Value he had just obtained, Chen Xuan pushed the Vajra Technique up another level.

[Vajra Technique / Third Layer]

A line of text flashed before Chen Xuan's eyes.

A familiar sensation emerged. Visions of a year of arduous cultivation flooded into Chen Xuan's mind as force penetrated deep into his bones, striking and tempering them again and again.

Through repeated minute fractures and healing, his bones grew denser and harder.

"The third layer of the Vajra Technique—sinews and bones like black iron!"

Chen Xuan clenched his fist and could clearly feel the changes in his bones. Like refined steel hammered a thousand times, they were several times denser than an ordinary person's. With a casual punch, he made the air erupt with a dull boom.

His physical strength now far exceeded that of an ordinary Huajin martial artist. A swing of one arm carried more than two thousand jin of force.

Such strength could no longer be described as human.

It was superhuman.

"Next comes tempering my internal organs, then breaking through to the Zhuqi Realm."

Chen Xuan looked forward to it.

Chen Xuan completed his Copper Skin cultivation in one day, then achieved Iron Bones on the second and third days. Next, he only needed to temper his internal organs.

Once the Vajra Technique reached the fourth layer, the internal organs would be as robust as a furnace, capable of swallowing gold and melting stone, while qi and blood would course like great rivers.

According to the secret manual, most Vajra Sect disciples took around ten years to achieve Copper Skin, then another thirty years to cultivate Iron Bones. By then, forty years had passed, and after achieving Iron Bones, they were already over fifty, their qi and blood beginning to decline.

Yet under the acceleration of Zhaoxi Value, one day equaled one year of cultivation. Chen Xuan had taken only one day to achieve Copper Skin and reached Iron Bones on the second and third days. Tempering his internal organs would take no more than another three or four days.

In the blink of an eye—

Another three days passed.

It was Chen Xuan's sixth day in Qingshi Town.

At dusk, the sun set.

[Zhaoxi Value +1]

"Upgrade the Vajra Technique."

The moment he obtained Zhaoxi Value, Chen Xuan impatiently accelerated his Vajra Technique cultivation.

Visions of a year of arduous cultivation flooded into Chen Xuan's mind.

This time, the force no longer tempered his skin, flesh, sinews, and bones. Instead, it penetrated deep into his five viscera and six bowels.

His heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were repeatedly washed by the force, continuously strengthening and transforming.

Every heartbeat was like a war drum, while his qi and blood surged like great rivers.

[Vajra Technique / Fourth Layer]

Chen Xuan abruptly opened his eyes.

An invisible aura radiated from him, like a slumbering savage beast awakening.

Chen Xuan lowered his head and looked at his body. His skin had turned a deep bronze, hard as iron to the touch yet still flexible. He clenched his fist, and his bones rang like clashing gold and iron. Drawing a deep breath, his chest heaved violently like a bellows. The beat of his heart was plainly audible, each thump driving his qi and blood rushing through his body.

"This power..."

Chen Xuan rose to his feet and casually swung an arm, producing a sharp crack in the air.

He walked into the courtyard and lightly punched a bluestone boulder half a man tall.

Bang!

The bluestone shattered on impact, sending fragments flying.

This was pure brute force, without any force added to it. Chen Xuan's fist did not feel the slightest pain; it was as hard as iron.

According to the Vajra Technique's description, upon reaching the fourth layer, one's physical body would be strong enough to battle a martial artist who had just broken through to the Zhuqi Realm.

It seemed the manual had not exaggerated.

Elsewhere—

After six days of travel, the Blood Wolf Gang members arrived at the Blood Fiend Devil Sect.

In a secluded courtyard of the inner sect, a young man of twenty-five or twenty-six sat cross-legged in a training chamber, dense blood-colored true qi swirling around him.

His face was sinister, his brow bones prominent and cheekbones high. His triangular eyes were half-open, half-closed, carrying a chilling aura.

This man was Liu Feng, an inner sect disciple of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect with second-level Zhuqi Realm cultivation. He was also Liu Lie's elder brother.

"Senior Brother Liu, an urgent letter has arrived from Tiannan Prefecture!"

An outer sect disciple hurried into the courtyard, stopped outside the training chamber, and spoke respectfully.

Liu Feng opened his eyes. The blood-colored true qi slowly withdrew into his body as he said flatly, "Read it."

The outer sect disciple opened the letter and quickly scanned it. His expression changed slightly as he said in a trembling voice, "Senior Brother Liu... your younger brother, Liu Lie, was killed in Qingshi Town, Lianshan City, by Chen Xuan, an outer sect disciple of the Guiyuan Sect."

The temperature in the training chamber plummeted.

Liu Feng's expression did not change at all, but the surrounding air seemed to freeze. An invisible pressure spread from him, and the outer sect disciple standing in the courtyard felt an immense weight pressing down on him, making it difficult even to breathe.

"Chen Xuan?" Liu Feng's voice was terrifyingly calm. "What cultivation?"

"Steward Qin of Lianshan City guessed... Body Tempering eighth level."

The outer sect disciple answered.

"Heh, Body Tempering eighth level?" Liu Feng gave a cold laugh and could not help mocking himself. "My younger brother truly was a piece of trash. He strutted about in the outer sect by relying on my influence, acting high and mighty, only to get beaten to death the moment he left the sect."

The outer sect disciple shuddered and lowered his head, not daring to reply.

"But though my younger brother was trash, he was still my blood brother. Killing him was a slap to my face."

A glint of killing intent flashed through Liu Feng's eyes.

However, he was currently at a critical point in his cultivation. He was only one step away from breaking through from the second level of the Zhuqi Realm to the third. Leaving seclusion now would affect his cultivation progress.

Wasting ten days to half a month avenging a dead trash of a younger brother was not worth it.

For disciples of the devil sect, strength and benefit were what they believed in. Family affection was worth less than nothing.

Still, his own younger brother had been killed. For the sake of his face, he had to avenge him. If he did nothing, others would likewise laugh at him for being incompetent.

Creak!

The training chamber door opened. Liu Feng took a token from his robes and tossed it to the outer sect disciple. "Find Zhou Kang. Tell him to kill someone for me. Once it is done, I will owe him a favor."

"Zhou Kang?"

The outer sect disciple caught the token, his heart tightening.

He was one of the outer sect's seed disciples. A year ago, he had already reached the peak of Body Tempering ninth level Huajin and could break through to the Zhuqi Realm at any time.

"Yes, I'll go find Senior Brother Zhou at once."

The outer sect disciple replied and turned to leave the courtyard.

"Wait!" Liu Feng called after him. "Tell Zhou Kang to bring him back alive. I want to deal with him personally."

"Yes."

The outer sect disciple hurried away.