Third Bone Tempering!

March 25, 1996.

Demon City.

"Phew, I finally broke through."

Su Yi finished his standing meditation, not caring in the slightest about the blood that had dried on his body.

"Three rounds of Bone Tempering. If I nourish my qi and blood for a while longer, I'll be able to break through to become a martial artist."

Su Yi had no intention of attempting a fourth round of Bone Tempering. The more qi and blood a non-martial artist accumulated, the harder it became to improve.

If he still wanted to break through, he didn't know how much time and resources it would take.

Most importantly,

he didn't have enough energy to optimize the Tempering Method again.

The first optimization had cost 100 Energy Points, and the second had cost 1,000. The third would probably take tens of thousands!

In two years, he had only managed to accumulate a little over 1,200 Energy Points.

He might as well become a martial artist sooner and temper his lower limbs.

He didn't have a system as good as Fang Ping's, one that could add points to his qi, blood, and mental strength without worrying about the cost.

He was jealous.

Becoming a martial artist wasn't easy. Talent and resources were both crucial.

Perhaps because both of his parents had been martial artists, this body had decent talent. His parents' inheritance and compensation had also meant he didn't have to worry about the cost of resources.

Of course, the main reason he had managed to complete three rounds of Bone Tempering was the Book of Knowledge.

Though it was called a book, it looked like nothing more than a damaged piece of parchment. It had merged into Su Yi's mind and transformed into a library.

It had been tucked inside another book Su Yi bought from a street stall, and it had come with him to this world.

Or perhaps it had brought him to this world. Su Yi had all sorts of theories, but no matter what, getting a second chance at life was a good thing.

Because the Book of Knowledge was damaged, all that remained were Deduction, Optimization, Recording, and its core function, Conversion.

Conversion: The core function. It could convert other people's faith into energy.

Deduction: It could determine the direction and Battle Arts he needed for his own development. The more knowledge he understood, the less energy it consumed.

Optimization: It could optimize the knowledge he had mastered, making it better suited to him.

Recording: Recording knowledge helped repair the Book of Knowledge.

Name: Su Yi

Realm: Third Bone Tempering

Qi and Blood: 147 cal/205 cal

Spirit: 189 Hz/299 Hz

Knowledge: Basic Cultivation Method—Tempering Method {Optimization +2}; Horse Stance {Optimization +1}—Solid Stance Realm; Basic Fist Technique—Beginner;

Basic Leg Technique—Minor Achievement; Basic Sword Technique—Major Achievement {Optimization +1};

...

Energy: 51 points

Damage Status: 3.75%

The information recorded in his mind was the result of his efforts over the past three years.

He didn't have the simple, brute-force point allocation of the future Human King, nor could he replenish his qi, blood, and mental strength whenever he wanted.

Optimization merely reduced the loss of qi and blood, letting it temper his bones more efficiently and making breakthroughs easier. It also sped up the absorption of pills.

The two optimizations of the Tempering Method had cost 100 and 1,000 Energy Points. Including the optimizations of Horse Stance and Basic Sword Technique, he had spent 1,300 points in total.

And those Energy Points had taken him nearly three years to accumulate. He had only gathered enough for the second optimization of the Tempering Method two months ago, and even then, it had taken him two months to break through.

The third optimization would cost 10,000 points, which Su Yi simply couldn't afford.

Unfortunately, the optimized body-tempering method and Horse Stance weren't suitable for anyone else. If he could promote them worldwide, who knew how many Energy Points he would gain?

According to Su Yi's research, energy didn't necessarily require especially sincere faith. Any emotional response toward him could be absorbed and converted by the Book of Knowledge.

The conversion rates simply varied. Positive emotions were converted at roughly ten times the rate of negative ones.

Martial artists also gave off much stronger emotions than non-martial artists. In particular, when the Old Principal heard Su Yi wanted to apply to Magic Martial Academy, he gave him a full 10 Energy Points.

Based on his two years of studying the Book of Knowledge, energy accumulation might be related to fluctuations in mental strength.

Compared to ordinary people, martial artists had much more active mental strength.

But small changes could add up to a qualitative transformation.

Over the past three years, he had carefully cultivated the image he presented until everyone agreed on what he was: a genius, and mild-mannered.

It was exhausting, but Su Yi enjoyed it.

His spirit was what he took the most pride in. At 299 Hz, it was the kind of mental strength normally found in a Third-Rank martial artist. Perhaps the Book of Knowledge in his mind was the reason.

When Su Yi first had his mental strength tested, it had already been nearly 200 Hz. His powerful mental strength had greatly improved his ability to learn. He could even catch the slightest movements, including the twitching of muscles.

He let his consciousness sink into his mind. A vast library appeared before him, its densely packed bookshelves stretching beyond the horizon.

The shelves were empty. Only the ones at the very front held a dozen or so books on martial arts.

Only the extraordinary could be recorded.

The library could record only knowledge related to martial arts. Su Yi had once tried to add scientific knowledge as well.

But he had failed.

Those books had increased the repair percentage by only 0.01%.

The percentage on the Damage Status line represented the progress of the repair process.

Su Yi stepped up to the shelves and gently ran his right hand over the books. A faint smile curved his lips. "One day, I'll fill this place."

It wasn't only for the sake of repairing the Book of Knowledge. Deduction was immensely useful to Su Yi, too. Without enough knowledge and a thorough understanding of himself, he couldn't deduce the cultivation methods and Battle Arts best suited to him.

Optimization could certainly make a technique more suitable for him, but nothing would suit him better than something he created himself.

Su Yi stretched casually, washed up, then picked up his phone and made a call.

It was answered after only a few rings.

"Hello, Xiao Yi. Is something wrong?"

A steady voice came through, tinged with concern.

"Uncle Qin, I broke through. I completed three rounds of Bone Tempering!"

Su Yi made no attempt to hide his joy.

"Really? It's only been two months!"

Uncle Qin on the other end sounded stunned. Su Yi had broken through his bottleneck in just two months.

The further a non-martial artist progressed, the harder it was to increase their qi and blood, not to mention the limit imposed by Bone Tempering. Who knew how many people got stuck between the first and second rounds?

And the third round was even harder—especially in only two months.

Every year, only a handful of people across the country completed three rounds of Bone Tempering. Some years, not a single person did.

Given how huge the population was, that proved one thing: it was incredibly difficult.

"It's true, Uncle Qin. I just broke through while practicing the Tempering Method and stance work."

Su Yi's voice was sincere.

"Good, good. That's wonderful. I'm at Magic Martial Academy right now. I'll head back at once. Come over for dinner later. I'll have your aunt make a few extra dishes."

"Okay, Uncle Qin."

"Good. I'll hang up."

After ending the call, Uncle Qin paid no heed to the fact that he was still in the principal's office. He burst out laughing.

"Nansheng, Xiao Yi broke through?"

A Grandmaster's hearing was exceptionally sharp. The Old Principal smiled with narrowed eyes as he asked.

Qin Nansheng stopped laughing. His voice caught in his throat, and he replied with a sigh, "Yes. Three rounds of Bone Tempering. That boy's done us proud. Ever since Mingjie and Xiuyuan died, it was as if he'd become a different person. He trained so hard.

"I still remember the day we took Mingjie and his wife's belongings back. After seeing us off, Xiao Yi hid under the covers and sobbed quietly by himself. Hearing him broke my heart.

"For three days, he cried until he fell asleep, then woke up and started crying again. If he hadn't finally come out to find something to eat on the third day, I would have lost control and rushed in."

Qin Nansheng slumped into his chair and murmured as he recalled the past. "Mingjie and Xiuyuan once told me that if they had a choice, they'd rather Xiao Yi never became a martial artist. It was too hard on them.

"I didn't dare tell him the truth about their deaths. I could only say they'd died on a mission. But one day, his eyes swollen red, he knelt in front of me and begged me to tell him the truth. He said he wanted to become a martial artist, too.

"He was so resolute, so serious. Back then, I couldn't even bring myself to meet his eyes. I was afraid."

At that, Qin Nansheng gave a self-mocking chuckle. Who would have thought that the so-called Fatal Blade, Qin Nansheng, had ever been so afraid?

The Old Principal said nothing. His eyes half-closed, he listened in silence, as though remembering something.

"I didn't tell him why his parents died, but I agreed to teach him martial arts. I also made him promise that I wouldn't tell him everything until he reached Third Rank."

Qin Nansheng let out a long breath, bracing his arms behind him against the chair as he spoke slowly. "After all, I couldn't think of any reason to stop a child from seeking the truth about his parents' deaths. I couldn't talk him out of it. Even without me teaching him, he would have taken the path of a martial artist.

"When I look at him, I can't help thinking of Feng Qing. If I die in the Underground Cave one day, he might end up the same way."

"Nansheng, Magic Martial Academy has been around for more than forty years, and we've guarded the Demon City Underground Cave for just as long. I don't know how many children have died in the Underground Cave because of my decisions, nor how many, like Xiao Yi, have chosen this path."

The Old Principal rose unsteadily. His eyes glistened, and his gentle voice was slightly hoarse.

"One school suppressing one cave. It's so hard. We've weathered so many storms over the years, and I've had to leave so many students at Magic Martial Academy. Nansheng, do you hate me?"

"I do."

"Then why haven't you left?"

The Old Principal laughed heartily, not taking offense. He looked at Qin Nansheng and asked.

"Leave? Why would I? I was planning to join the Investigation Bureau, but you held on to every résumé I submitted and talked me into staying at the school.

"And now you want me to leave? No chance!"

Qin Nansheng answered nonchalantly.

Of course he hated him—but what he felt even more was respect.

He hadn't left back then, and he certainly wasn't going to leave now.

The Old Principal smiled and shook his head. That brat.

"All right, Teacher, I won't keep you any longer. I'll head back first. I've been in the Underground Cave for a long time, and it's been ages since I went home."

Martial artists rarely went home after returning from the Underground Cave.

Many of them lived there outright. They either came back to recuperate after breaking through or died in the Underground Cave.

Qin Nansheng spent most of his time training and fighting in the Underground Cave, only coming back now and then for a day or two.

He was going home to rest—and to let them know he was safe.

"All right."

The Old Principal was busy, too. The school's various affairs were handled by the Vice Principal and the deans, with the Martial Arts Club helping out, but there was still plenty for him to take care of.

There were files from the Ministry of Education, as well as all sorts of matters concerning Hope City.