The Tendon Phase Realm

His handiwork skills had skyrocketed!

That was another benefit Qin Dongcheng had gained. He had once been unable to sew so much as a simple patch, but now he had become a master in the field.

If he returned to his previous life, he could become a world-class tailor in minutes.

He could make world-class clothes without any tools, and do it at incredible speed.

After all, how could he be slow when he could work with three hundred needles at once?

Now, if he took a menial job making clothes, he could quickly become an apprentice and use his skill to become an Artifact Refiner.

But Alchemy had already consumed a great deal of Qin Dongcheng's time and energy. He wasn't planning to learn a second trade—not for now, at least.

He'd better focus on Alchemy and cultivation instead of thinking too much about anything else.

After consolidating and adjusting to his gains, Qin Dongcheng's cultivation returned to its usual track.

A few days later, he headed to the Bamboo Forest Black Market with a batch of pills and some silver.

It was the beginning of another month. He wondered whether that person from before was still selling Strange Treasures.

With a measure of anticipation, Qin Dongcheng arrived at the Bamboo Forest Black Market. First, he sold the Sun Flame Liquid he'd refined over the past few days, earning several hundred taels of silver.

He also asked around at several pill shops, but, as usual, there was no news of any Strange Treasures.

Qin Dongcheng bought some herbs, ready to continue refining the pills he needed. After all these days of practice, his success rate with Pure Blood Pills had risen to around twenty percent.

His success rate with Blood-Benefiting Pills was around ten percent. He could break even on both now, without worrying about losing money.

Once he refined one more kind of Intermediate pill, Qin Dongcheng would become an Intermediate Alchemist. If he went to take the assessment, he could become an Inner Sect Disciple in no time, and then he'd be eligible to exchange for techniques from the Sixth and Seventh Martial Realms.

If he wanted to exchange for the techniques beyond those, he'd need to be a True Inheritance Disciple. But generally speaking, anyone who reached the Seventh Martial Realm would be a well-known figure throughout Luo Cloud Prefecture.

The head of the Dong Family was only a powerhouse of the Sixth Martial Realm. It was said that the Lineage also had people in the Seventh and even Eighth Martial Realms, though no one knew if that was true.

"Blood Flame Grass in exchange for Sun Flame Liquid. Only thirty bottles needed!"

To Qin Dongcheng's surprise, after waiting for several hours, he ran into the person who had sold Blood Flame Grass before. The other party had more than one stalk this time.

Unfortunately, Sun Flame Liquid was still in desperately short supply. It was a scarce commodity, with each bottle now priced at over thirty taels of silver—and even then, it was hard to find.

Qin Dongcheng had prepared plenty of Sun Flame Liquid for this very day. The moment he heard the person calling out, he concealed his identity and approached. "I have thirty bottles of Sun Flame Liquid. Would you like to take a look?"

"I do." The other person's eyes lit up. He hurriedly inspected the bottles, and, after confirming there were no problems, handed the Blood Flame Grass to Qin Dongcheng.

Qin Dongcheng carefully put away the Blood Flame Grass, then asked, still unwilling to give up, "Do you have any more Blood Flame Grass? If you do, I have more Sun Flame Liquid."

"No, this is the only stalk left. If we find more later, we'll sell it here again." The other person shook his head, hesitated, then asked, "You bought that stalk of Blood Flame Grass last month too, didn't you? Your voice is different now, but it still sounds a little familiar."

Qin Dongcheng didn't deny it. He had disguised himself last month, too, so he nodded. "That's right. I urgently need Strange Treasures to improve my cultivation. I came here today specifically to wait for you. If you have more Blood Flame Grass or other Strange Treasures, you can trade them to me."

"Besides Sun Flame Liquid, I also have some century-old Fleeceflower Root. I've left it at a pill shop. You can exchange for it directly, or for other pills."

"Fine." The other person nodded. He was still wearing a cloak and had no intention of revealing his identity to Qin Dongcheng. Qin Dongcheng felt the same way.

They made a simple agreement: if either of them found more Strange Treasures to trade, they could arrange the deal through one of the three pill shops where Qin Dongcheng had left his century-old Fleeceflower Root.

At last, the other person left a name: Bao Lai. It sounded like an alias. Qin Dongcheng thought for a moment, then left a name of his own: Yanzu.

That was the name he'd left at the three pill shops. It was easy on the ears and easy to remember.

Once their agreement was settled, Qin Dongcheng wandered around for a while, shook off several people who were following him, then returned to Osmanthus Garden without a care and began to bring his mind and body into balance.

Once he'd adjusted himself and felt that his cultivation foundation was stable, he began consuming the Blood Flame Grass.

A surging wave of medicinal power soon rolled through him, rapidly boosting his Blood Qi and tempering his muscles.

In a mere few dozen minutes, he had reached the peak of the Flesh Phase Realm. After briefly consolidating his gains, the contents of the Tide-Rising Muscle-Refining Fist surfaced in his mind.

He had already mastered this technique, and now it was just what he needed.

He then began to guide the immense medicinal power deeper into his muscles.

Under the double assault of his Blood Qi and the Blood Flame Grass's medicinal power, the bottleneck dam leading to the Tendon Phase Realm quickly began to teeter.

The Blood Flame Grass and the Evergreen Muscle Refining Fist produced a strange chemical reaction. One was wood and the other fire; together, they created a special tempering effect that warmed his whole body.

This also helped him break through his bottleneck.

Soon, the bottleneck dam had been scorched through, leaving a hole that widened into a crack.

When cracks spread across the entire dam, he was on the verge of breaking through.

RUMBLE...

The bottleneck dam soon collapsed, and Qin Dongcheng's cultivation reached a new level. His Blood Qi grew even more powerful and pure.

Threads of it flowed into every tendon, tempering and strengthening them at an astonishing rate, making each one harder and more resilient.

Some of the Blood Flame Grass's medicinal power remained, so Qin Dongcheng continued absorbing it to consolidate his cultivation. Only after he'd done enough did he use the rest to improve his strength.

He would waste some of the medicinal power, but compared to his cultivation foundation, it was nothing.

Besides, it couldn't really be called a waste. He was using it to strengthen his cultivation foundation, not for some other purpose; he simply wasn't using it to improve his cultivation realm.

By the time he had absorbed all the Blood Flame Grass's medicinal power, Qin Dongcheng's cultivation had not only stabilized in the Tendon Phase Realm, but had advanced a little further.

The Fourth Martial Realm!

He had reached it at last!

It had been only about ten months since he acquired the Heaven Rewards Diligence System, and Qin Dongcheng had climbed all the way from an ordinary person to this point. If word got out, it would surely cause an uproar.

For an ordinary Martial Artist, reaching this level of cultivation would take decades of hard work. But Qin Dongcheng had done it in less than a year. It was simply unbelievable.

His overall strength had risen dramatically.