Third Bone Honing

Arriving at the martial arts training room, Lu Hao reached the center of the floor and began to center himself.

He didn't even take any medicinal pills to act as a cover this time; after all, his mother already had her suspicions, so taking them or not made little difference. Besides, every medicine has its side effects, and pills were of no real use to Lu Hao anyway.

He preferred to avoid pills whenever possible, though he naturally would have taken them to keep up appearances if he were out in public.

Bai Qiuyao watched as Lu Hao began preparing for his breakthrough without even taking a pill. She had initially wanted to call out a reminder, but then she reconsidered—Hao'er was a sensible person, he wouldn't forget, and it could only mean he didn't need them.

Did she and her husband have the ability to fend off all the covetous eyes? She could only hope that Hao'er would grow strong quickly.

Bai Qiuyao thought to herself, filled with worry.

Lu Hao had finished his preparations, pulled up his interface, and focused his mind.

[Spend 1000 Slaughter Points to increase Vitality cap by 1 point?]

Yes.

In an instant, Lu Hao felt a surge of majestic vitality erupt within his body. If he were to release this energy, even his mother might not be able to withstand it.

Fortunately, this was energy provided by the system; it wasn't wild or chaotic, but instead flowed along Lu Hao's meridians, slamming against the barrier of the Third Bone Tempering.

If the barrier of the Second Bone Tempering was like a stone gate that required a great deal of vitality to force open, then the barrier of the Third Bone Tempering was a true steel fortress, seemingly impossible to overcome.

If not for the help of the system, he likely would have ended up just like his predecessor, unable to even pass the Second Bone Tempering, let alone the third.

Lu Hao guided his vitality to strike the barrier while simultaneously circulating his Tempering Method.

The massive vitality surged against the barrier like a ferocious lion.

Once, twice, three times...

Lu Hao struck the barrier before him relentlessly. With his repeated assaults, the once-impenetrable wall began to show signs of damage.

Seeing hope, Lu Hao accelerated his strikes even further.

After an unknown number of attempts, the barrier on the other side finally shattered into pieces.

Lu Hao channeled all his vitality and charged at the barrier one last time.

Break for me!

As Lu Hao successfully breached the barrier with his vitality, his blood energy began to rise, his bones began to vibrate, and his flesh began to ripple.

The Third Bone Tempering had begun.

A look of joy appeared on Lu Hao's face; he had finally broken through after countless attempts.

With the Third Bone Tempering, Lu Hao's foundation was now second to none.

His body began to seep out foul blood, purging the impurities from within.

Lu Hao hurriedly began to practice his stance, hoping to make some progress.

Over the past week, Lu Hao had tried practicing his stance on a basin of water every night, but he hadn't succeeded once, ending up like a drowned rat every time.

Lu Hao didn't dare hope to reach the Void-Standing Realm directly, but he hoped that any insight he gained now would help him reach it sooner and save him from falling into the water so often.

Seeing the successful breakthrough, Bai Qiuyao felt a weight lift from her heart. The process had taken two hours, and she had feared he might fail.

Half an hour later, Lu Hao stood up, his entire body covered in foul blood.

Lu Hao wore a smile; the last half hour of stance training had given him several new ideas. Perhaps he would be able to break through to the Void-Standing Realm soon.

This realization thrilled him. After all, once he reached the Void-Standing Realm, he could borrow force from the air and stand in the void, placing him in an invincible position against anyone who hadn't reached that level.

Lu Hao focused his mind and opened his interface to take a look.

[Slaughter Point System]

[Host: Lu Hao]

[Vitality: 157/205 Cal+]

[Spirit: 131/289 Hz+]

[Storage Space: 1 cubic meter]

[Slaughter Points: 175]

His vitality had increased by 6 Cal, and his spiritual power by 10 Hz.

This was a significant increase, especially since every point of vitality becomes increasingly difficult to gain once you pass 200 Cal.

Lu Hao tested the cost for the next point of vitality and saw it would require 100 Slaughter Points. Fortunately, the cost didn't scale too aggressively. Once he reached the limit of the Third Bone Tempering, he could prepare to break through to become a formal Martial Artist.

After all, the Third Bone Tempering was the limit; his current physical body could not withstand a fourth, which would lead to his flesh disintegrating and death.

He waved at his mother to signal his successful breakthrough.

Lu Hao headed toward the washroom.

Half an hour later.

"Hao'er, how do you feel?"

Bai Qiuyao asked from her seat on the sofa.

"I feel fantastic, never better."

"Hao'er, remember, if anyone asks about the timing of your second and third bone honing, you must push the second honing time earlier and the third one later to leave a sufficient gap."

"Mm, don't worry, Mom, I know," Lu Hao promised. He knew his mother was worried he might accidentally let something slip.

"So, Hao'er, once you reach the limit, you'll be breaking through to a Rank-1 martial artist, right?"

Bai Qiuyao asked. She was genuinely afraid that Lu Hao might say he wanted to continue honing his bones for a fourth time. If he did, she would have to stop him; the physical limit for a non-martial artist was only three bone honings.

There had been people who attempted a fourth bone honing before, but their bodies couldn't withstand it, causing their flesh and blood to shatter and leaving them in a vegetative state.

Therefore, if Lu Hao really wanted to attempt that so-called fourth bone honing, she would definitely stop him.

"Mm, yes. Once I reach the limit, I will break through to a Rank-1 martial artist. Don't worry, I won't attempt a fourth bone honing; the body can't support that."

Lu Hao guessed the intent behind his mother's question and replied accordingly.

"Mm, mm, breaking through to become a martial artist is good. No matter how much a non-martial artist hones their bones, they are at most equal to a Rank-1 martial artist and definitely cannot defeat a Rank-2 martial artist. So, breaking through once you reach the limit is the right path."

"Once your realm is higher, you'll naturally be able to win. Just like I heard that Xie Lei from Magic Martial University insisted on three bone honings. He did succeed, but now his peers have already reached Rank-3, while he has only just broken through to Rank-2."

"That was completely not worth the loss."

"Mm, I know. Once I reach the limit, I will break through. I won't waste any time."

Lu Hao promised.

"I'll tell Li Siyuan in the next few days that you are preparing to break through to your third bone honing, so I won't let him come over. A few days later, I'll reveal the news that you've successfully completed your third bone honing."

Bai Qiuyao said. After all, if Li Siyuan were to provide combat guidance, he would inevitably notice the changes in Lu Hao's vitality and deduce that he had successfully completed his third bone honing. Although he wouldn't know the timing of the second honing, they still had to be cautious.

"Alright, I understand. I'll practice my combat techniques on my own these next few days."

Lu Hao didn't think his mother was being overly paranoid; after all, this kind of thing could not be leaked at all. Lu Hao remembered that in the original story, Fang Ping had spent two months going from his second to his third bone honing.

Lu Hao's actual interval was only half a month. If the outside world were to find out about that, even his father probably wouldn't be able to handle the pressure.