Body Tempering!

[ Ding! You have an Innate Martial Bone! Superb Comprehension! Five Animals Fist +11!]

[ Ding! You have an Innate Martial Bone! Superb Comprehension! Five Animals Fist +11!]

[ Ding! You have an Innate Martial Bone! Superb Comprehension! Five Animals Fist +11!]

The prompts on the panel flashed continuously, and Jiang Tian's eyes gradually grew feverish.

"At this rate..." He clenched his fist, feeling his qi and blood grow stronger with every punch.

"Maybe tomorrow, I'll get the Five Animals Fist to minor mastery and break through to the Body Tempering Realm in one fell swoop!"

And now, only three days had passed out of the three-month period set by the Martial Arts Hall.

"Good."

The next day, after breakfast, Jiang Tian headed to the Martial Arts Hall to continue practicing his punches.

Today, Zhou Mu and Li Batian arrived the latest.

When Zhou Mu walked into the courtyard, Jiang Tian almost didn't recognize him.

Just one night had passed, yet the country boy who had still looked honest and timid yesterday seemed like a different person.

He held his head high and his chest out, his steps steady, a faint smile playing on his lips. His eyes held more confidence—and a hint of arrogance.

He wasn't shy anymore around Tan Hongyu, the female disciple who had wiped his sweat yesterday.

"Junior Brother Zhou, you're really late today." Tan Hongyu came over, her voice soft and sweet, her manner coy.

Zhou Mu raised an eyebrow and reached out to catch the hand holding the handkerchief. His thumb gently brushed the back of her hand.

Tan Hongyu jolted, then said coyly, "Junior Brother, what are you doing?"

The corner of Zhou Mu's mouth curled into a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "Senior Sister wipes my sweat, and I massage your hand. Isn't that helping each other out?"

Tan Hongyu froze, then blushed and said coyly, "Let go, there are so many people around..."

There wasn't the slightest hint of refusal in her voice.

Zhou Mu didn't answer. He leaned in slightly and brought his mouth close to Tan Hongyu's ear, whispering something.

Jiang Tian's hearing had been enhanced last night, and it far surpassed that of ordinary people. Every word of their soft whispers drifted into his ears.

"Senior Sister, didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to go admire the lanterns by the river with me tonight? I'm free tonight."

After hearing a few words, Jiang Tian paid them no more attention.

Other people's affairs had nothing to do with him.

He took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distractions, sank his hips, and settled into his stance.

[ Ding! You have an Innate Martial Bone! Superb Comprehension! Five Animals Fist +10!]

[ Ding! You have an Innate Martial Bone! Superb Comprehension! Five Animals Fist +10!]

With every punch, his qi and blood grew stronger, like a pot of water nearing a boil, its temperature rising little by little.

Just then, Li Batian sauntered over and hooked an arm around Zhou Mu's shoulders, wearing the frivolous smile peculiar to a playboy. "Well, Junior Brother Zhou, after entertaining so many lovely ladies yesterday, you still have the energy to hit on Junior Sister Tan today? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Grade A Bone Structure really is something else. You've got energy to spare!"

A few of the lackeys nearby played along, letting out a low chuckle.

Not far away, Yuan Long took it all in.

His brows drew together slightly, and he shook his head to himself.

Grade A Bone Structure, and decent comprehension, too.

What a shame. His character was lacking.

He had known yesterday that Li Batian would certainly try to win Zhou Mu over.

As his master, all he could do was offer a few words of advice and let Zhou Mu know where to draw the line.

After all, practicing martial arts took a great deal of silver. The Martial Arts Hall provided pills to outstanding disciples, but it couldn't support them in every way. Sometimes, relying on a family was unavoidable.

The key was knowing where to draw the line and not letting yourself get caught up in it.

Clearly, Zhou Mu hadn't held firm.

In just one night, his attitude had undergone a complete upheaval.

Yuan Long let out a quiet sigh.

He had gotten his hopes up for nothing.

At this rate, Zhou Mu probably wouldn't achieve much.

He would try again and see if he could bring him back around.

With that thought, he beckoned to Zhou Mu. "Zhou Mu."

"Here!" Zhou Mu's expression turned solemn, and he hurried over, his manner respectful.

Yuan Long didn't beat around the bush. "You have Grade A Bone Structure and decent comprehension. But do you know what matters even more than bone structure and comprehension when practicing martial arts?"

"This disciple does not know."

"Character." Yuan Long's voice was deep, his gaze sharp as a torch.

"People often say that bone structure determines the lowest level you can reach in martial arts, while comprehension determines the highest."

"But I don't think so."

His gaze drifted over to Tan Hongyu and Li Batian nearby. After pausing meaningfully, he continued, "I think what determines how far a person can go on the path of martial arts is their character."

Zhou Mu's heart gave a thump, and the color drained from his face.

His eyes began to dart around, and he didn't dare meet Yuan Long's gaze.

Yuan Long had clearly said these things to him yesterday, but he...

Zhou Mu parted his lips, about to say something to prove his resolve, when a voice suddenly rang out from afar.

"Master! Master!"

Zhang Ergou came stumbling over, his eyes wide and his face as if he'd seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Though there were only a few steps to cover, he was so out of breath he could barely speak.

Yuan Long frowned, feeling somewhat displeased.

He was in the middle of teaching his disciple a lesson, and Zhang Ergou had barged in and interrupted him in such a fluster.

"Ergou! You're a grown man now. Why can't you ever keep your composure..."

Before he could finish, Zhang Ergou gasped and blurted out a single sentence, cutting off everything else he had to say.

"Master! Junior Brother Jiang has entered the Body Tempering Realm!"

"What did you say?!"

Yuan Long sprang up from his stool. His eyes flew wide, his pupils narrowing to pinpricks.

The entire courtyard fell abruptly silent.

Yuan Long had been reprimanding someone, so everyone's attention had been focused on him.

Zhang Ergou's shout had carried clearly into the ears of every disciple present.

"Junior Brother Jiang? You mean Jiang Tian, the one who only joined a few days ago? Doesn't he have Grade C Bone Structure?"

"Tsk, Senior Brother Zhang sure knows how to joke. He's only been here three days. How could he have entered the Body Tempering Realm?"

"Exactly. With Grade C Bone Structure, entering the Body Tempering Realm within three months would already be impressive."

Whispers rose and fell around the courtyard. Most faces were filled with disbelief.

Yuan Long paid no attention to them.

His eyes flickered, and without hesitation, he strode toward where Jiang Tian was.

Behind a large tree.

Jiang Tian sat cross-legged on the ground, white vapor billowing from his whole body, like a steamed bun fresh out of the steamer.

His face was flushed red, but his lips had gone pale. Veins stood out faintly on his forehead, as if he were enduring something.

Yuan Long crouched down and felt Jiang Tian's pulse. His pupils shrank sharply once more.

It was real.

His qi and blood were boiling, his bones and tendons were ringing in unison. These were the signs of someone stepping across the threshold into the Body Tempering Realm!

"Ergou!" Yuan Long ordered without turning around, his voice urgent.

"Go get the Blood Vitality Pills! Bring a bottle!"

"Okay!"

Zhang Ergou spun around and ran, his soles scraping against the bluestone slabs with a sharp screech.

After Jiang Tian had just cultivated the Five Animals Fist to minor mastery, the qi and blood in his body surged through that threshold, and he had entered the Body Tempering Realm.

But once he crossed that threshold, the qi and blood in his body seemed to catch fire, burning fiercely as they seared his bones, meridians, sinews, and organs... In just a few breaths, his body's qi and blood had been burned away completely.

Yet the flames showed no sign of stopping.

His body was like an engine running on empty, still spinning, still consuming its fuel.

Fortunately, Zhang Ergou was fast. In no time, a small white jade bottle was pressed into Yuan Long's hand.

Yuan Long unscrewed the cap, poured out a round, brown pill, and personally fed it to Jiang Tian.

One, two, three...

The moment each pill entered his stomach, waves of warmth burst forth from his dantian, turning into surging qi and blood that poured back into his parched meridians and continued to sustain the invisible blaze.

At last, the frown on Jiang Tian's face slowly eased.

Blackwater County, Drunken Wind Pavilion.

From the private room on the second floor, the faint sounds of strings and flutes seeped through the door, mingling with laughter and the clinking of cups.

By the window, a young man in a cotton robe embroidered with gold thread smiled broadly as he offered a toast to the person across from him. Seven or eight dishes were laid out on the table, and two wine jugs were already empty.

The young man in the golden-threaded cotton robe was Zhang Qingfeng.

Across from him sat a young man wearing the uniform of Kaishan Martial Hall, a mountain embroidered on his chest. He was broad-shouldered and thick-backed, clearly a martial artist.

"Brother Xiao." Zhang Qingfeng clasped his cup in both hands, grinning so broadly his eyes had nearly disappeared. "You're helping me out this time. How about I give you one Blood Vitality Pill?"

A Blood Vitality Pill could fetch thirty taels of silver in Blackwater County—nearly half a year's food for an ordinary household.

The young man addressed as "Brother Xiao" lifted his cup, took a sip, and scoffed. He set the cup down on the table with a deliberate clunk.

"One?"

He glanced sidelong at Zhang Qingfeng, his face full of contempt.

"Zhang Qingfeng, do you think you're tipping a beggar?"

"Never mind that the kid joined the Five Animals Martial Hall; his older brother is also a Squad Leader in the City Patrol Division! You think thirty taels of silver is enough to make me take on all this trouble?"

"Bah!"

He spat on the ground, held up his hand, and spread his five fingers in front of Zhang Qingfeng.

"Fine! Pay! Up!"