Breaking Through to Flesh Refining, Cleverly Obtaining the Brocade Pouch

Night had fallen at Clinic No. 13.

"Little Doctor Shen, do you have something you wish to say to me?"

After taking the Blood-Activating Powder, Zhan Chaoyang asked, his arm gradually regaining sensation under Shen Han's treatment.

Shen Han nodded: "Guard Zhan truly has a sharp eye; I do indeed have a few things I am puzzled about."

"Ask away, Little Doctor Shen. I shall tell you everything I know."

"Against a force like the Black Dragon Gang, our clinic is essentially defenseless," Shen Han said. "Since that is the case, why doesn't Master Han spend a bit more money to hire someone with a higher cultivation level to guard the clinic? It's not as if the clinic lacks funds."

"It's not a matter of silver."

Zhan Chaoyang gave a bitter smile. "In truth, the truly formidable characters would never choose to be guards."

"Why?"

"No matter where you serve as a guard, the majority of your energy must be spent on watching over the premises. It does more harm than good to the advancement of one's martial path, so martial artists with ambition will never accept such a role."

As he spoke, Zhan Chaoyang pointed to himself. "Only those like me, who have no hope of reaching Flesh Refining, would come here."

Shen Han suddenly understood.

Practicing martial arts requires a massive amount of time; if one's mind is occupied by too many other matters, it will inevitably delay one's training, making it difficult to achieve further progress.

Fortunately, I practice through my clone.

The clone trains in the Bronze Mirror for twelve hours without interruption, requiring no input from me at all. I can do whatever I want outside the mirror, completely avoiding that particular problem.

"Little Doctor Shen, I suspect that this Black Dragon Gang will only become more aggressive."

"Three thousand six hundred taels a year isn't enough?" Shen Han asked, surprised.

"It's hard to say..."

Zhan Chaoyang sighed. "A dog can never be fed enough. Think about it: they have to fight the Green Garment Gang while also wanting to get their hands on the county town. How can they do that without enough experts?

And you absolutely cannot recruit powerful experts without money."

"So, you mean the money they demand will only increase, perhaps even bringing total ruin upon our clinic?"

Shen Han asked slowly.

Zhan Chaoyang replied: "The world is unpredictable. If that day ever comes, I hope Master Han can find a way to cope."

Hearing this, Shen Han pondered to himself.

Regardless of anything else, the clinic is the home I found after crossing over, and it has provided me with an excellent platform. I absolutely cannot stand by and watch it be destroyed.

Of course, the prerequisite for everything is having the ability to act.

Power, it all comes down to power!

I must find a way to become stronger as quickly as possible!

"Guard Zhan, try not to move your arm tonight. I will change your dressing first thing tomorrow morning, and then you should be able to move it."

"Many thanks, Little Doctor Shen."

"You are too polite, Guard Zhan. Let me see you back to the guard quarters."

That night.

Shen Han returned to his small courtyard, followed his routine to brew the Qi Condensing Powder for his clone to consume, and directed it to practice the Ancient Sun Technique.

"Wait, why is it suddenly so warm?"

Half an hour later, a scorching, warm current surged from his dantian.

"Could it be... am I breaking through?"

Having had the experience of breaking through the Skin Refining Realm before, he was instantly overjoyed.

"No time to lose!"

He immediately placed the Bronze Mirror in front of him and, mimicking the posture of his clone in the mirror, sat cross-legged on the ground beside the old well in the courtyard.

He saw the clone's body steaming as a layer of faint white mist rose up. Clearly, under the effects of the Qi Condensing Powder, the Ancient Yang True Qi within the clone was circulating too violently, forcing out sweat-mist from its skin.

The clone remained motionless in the mirror, continuously circulating its energy through the major meridians.

Whoosh!

Outside the Bronze Mirror, Shen Han felt a rush of exhilaration. That warm current seemed to be guiding the scattered True Qi within his own body, sending a thread of extremely pure energy to wash wildly through the blood vessels of his limbs.

In an instant, his Ren and Du meridians were widened by several degrees.

His bones emitted a series of faint, crisp cracks as if they were being tempered anew. At the same time, a feeling of fullness and abundant power surged forth like a tide from the depths of his bone marrow.

"The True Qi is becoming purer, and my five senses are becoming sharper."

This was Shen Han's clear perception; the trajectory of falling leaves drifting in the courtyard and the faint sound of insects crawling were all presented clearly to his eyes and ears.

"It's time to break through!"

The clone in the mirror gathered its strength, and the Ancient Sun Technique began to circulate at full power.

Every sensation was shared directly with Shen Han.

In an instant, the sea of qi in Shen Han's dantian surged like boiling water, and the Pure Yang True Qi rushed toward his skin and flesh like a torrent, tightening and relaxing by turns as every inch of his body trembled slightly.

Boom!

Unable to hold back any longer, he slammed both palms onto the ground.

Inside the Bronze Mirror, the final thread of qi broke through the barrier of the clone's skin, and a dazzling crimson-gold light erupted from the back of the clone's head—the unique Yang Flame of the Ancient Sun Technique.

"My strength has exceeded a thousand jin!"

Shen Han was drenched in sweat, his muscles knotted and blue veins coiling beneath his skin like dragons. A surge of power far beyond the Skin Refining Realm exploded outward, and that single palm strike sent dust flying into the air.

He hurriedly opened his panel to check.

Mirror Master: Shen Han

Cultivation: Flesh Refining

Technique: Ancient Sun Technique (Great Success)

Martial Arts: Angry Dragon Divine Fist (Perfected), Sky-Splitting Blade Technique (Great Success)

Skills: Medicine (Perfected)

His cultivation had indeed advanced from the Skin Refining Realm to the Flesh Refining Realm, a full tier higher!

Furthermore, the Ancient Sun Technique remained at Great Success.

This meant the technique had not yet reached its limit and could still be cultivated further; it would at least support him all the way to the Tendon Refining Realm without any issues!

"Let's test it out!"

Shen Han stood up and picked up the Heavy Iron Curved Blade.

With just this movement, he clearly felt the curved blade was lighter—this was the effect of his increased strength.

He hooked his toe under a stone lion.

This stone lion weighed over a thousand jin, and he had brought it back three days ago for training.

"Rise!"

The next moment, he flicked his foot upward.

The thousand-jin stone lion soared into the air.

Clang!

Without hesitation, he gripped the Heavy Iron Curved Blade with both hands and slashed at the stone lion.

Crack!

The blade light was sharp and the strike heavy, splitting the stone lion into two pieces.

Shen Han did not stop; he gathered his True Qi and unleashed a hard punch, slamming it into one half of the stone lion.

Angry Dragon Divine Fist · Boundless Eternal Night!

Crash!

The power of the Angry Dragon Divine Fist, bolstered by the Flesh Refining Realm, was terrifying, sending stone fragments flying everywhere.

"Now, I finally have the power to protect myself."

Shen Han slowly withdrew his stance and muttered to himself, "At the very least, there shouldn't be too many people in Three Rivers County with cultivation above the Flesh Refining Realm.

If I were to fight that Long Blade Sect hall master Kong Xuan again now, I should be able to hold my own!

Of course, it's still far from enough to deal with the Black Dragon Gang's right protector, Cai Long.

The clone, the medicinal diet, the cultivation—none of it can stop!"

Thud!

Just then, a very faint sound came from the direction of the house, completely different from the sound of falling stone debris.

Had his cultivation not improved, he would never have been able to distinguish this subtle difference.

He looked up.

It turned out that a black object had fallen from the roof tiles above Lu Yunyi's room.

"It must have been the stone fragments from earlier that loosened the tile..."

Shen Han walked over.

It was actually a silk pouch!

Sister Yunyi hadn't taken it with her when she left, which meant she didn't know about this pouch. Could it have been hidden by her brother, Doctor Lu?

The Iron Fist Martial Hall had captured Doctor Lu for interrogation, and Sister Yunyi had been pressured by the Qiankun Two Rats, all for the sake of some "brick." Could the secret of the brick be hidden inside this small pouch?

Shen Han's heart stirred.

He took the pouch into his room and opened it immediately.