Handing Over the Tempering Method

A month after practicing the Tempering Method?

During his pre-martial artist days?

Could it be that he had tempered his bones so quickly and reached Third Bone Tempering because he had altered the Tempering Method himself?

How had he dared? How old had he been then—fifteen? Sixteen?

No, only someone that age would have that kind of nerve. A newborn calf fears not the tiger.

What would a youth have to fear!

Then how had he modified the Tempering Method?

Entirely by instinct?

And he had modified it four times!

With a face full of existential doubt, Lyu Zhen asked again.

Su Yi had long prepared his answer. Brimming with confidence, he said, "I was already in my first year of high school then, and I had memorized the professional coursework long ago.

I knew the circulatory system of the blood and every meridian and bone in the body by heart. Back then, I wondered—why could the Tempering Method only travel through the main meridians? Weren't there still so many other meridians?"

"That was for the sake of universal education, so it couldn't involve too much."

Lyu Zhen pulled out a new folder and began taking notes as he listened. When he heard Su Yi mention the main meridians, he could not help speaking up.

The Tempering Method was a foundational cultivation technique, so naturally it had to be simple. Otherwise, why would it have been chosen as the technique to be universally taught?

It was not that more profound foundational Tempering Methods had not been developed. They were simply too difficult, with too poor a cost-performance ratio, so they had been sealed away.

"Mm, I only learned that later."

"Go on!"

"What I thought then was, besides the Twelve Regular Meridians among the main meridians, couldn't one travel through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians as well? And the Twelve Divergent Meridians, Twelve Sinew Meridians, and Twelve Cutaneous Regions attached to the Twelve Meridians, along with the fifteen collateral vessels, superficial collaterals, minute collaterals, and so on.

Why cling so rigidly to the main meridians? That was the idea behind my first modification. After that, I relied on instinct to optimize the new Tempering Method.

The second time was when I got stuck at Second Bone Tempering. I was stuck for nearly two whole months! So I went back to study it again and optimized it once more before breaking through to Third Bone Tempering."

"Stop! You think being stuck for two months before breaking through to Third Bone Tempering is a long time?"

Lyu Zhen asked, his entire worldview crumbling. He had advanced as a martial artist at Second Bone Tempering, having been stuck there for half a year without success before choosing to break through and become a martial artist.

Kids these days thought two months was a long time?

Su Yi gave a bashful smile and said somewhat embarrassedly, "At the time, I really did think it was a bit long."

Lyu Zhen had no strength to argue. How could he argue with a teenager?

"What about the third time?"

"The third time..."

Su Yi seemed somewhat dejected. In a low voice, he said, "The third time was after I broke through to martial artist. I wanted to break through to Third-Rank faster, so I could learn certain things."

Break through to Third-Rank faster?

Could it be...?

Lyu Zhen hurriedly changed the subject. "Then what were you thinking this time?"

"I want to break through to Grandmaster faster and take revenge."

Su Yi's gaze was resolute, a flicker of killing intent gleaming in his eyes.

Grandmaster? Revenge?

This child... sigh!

Lyu Zhen shook his head. When would these days ever end?

Destroying the Underground Cave was too difficult. Technological weapons could not be used underground, and the development of energy cannons had reached another deadlock. The energy cannons they had now consumed far too much.

But could Su Yi's Tempering Method truly not be popularized?

"Su Yi, could you write down your Tempering Method? It isn't that we want to pry into your privacy. It's simply that this matter is truly too important."

Lyu Zhen said with some difficulty. This was the first time since breaking through to Grandmaster that he had asked a junior for something. Though he was not doing it for himself, but for all of Huaxia—even the entire world.

Still, no matter what, it was Su Yi's own secret. He hurriedly added, "Based on your Tempering Method, I'll apply for more..."

"Sure!"

Su Yi agreed directly, without the slightest hesitation.

Su Yi's ready agreement left Lyu Zhen somewhat stunned, and he did not even mind being interrupted.

He looked up at Su Yi. Those determined eyes were clear and sincere.

Lyu Zhen's feelings were complicated. As expected, he was a good child. How could he care about rewards? Lyu Zhen had narrowly underestimated Su Yi.

What followed was joy. With such juniors around, the path I walk is not lonely!

Before long, Su Yi had finished writing out four sheets detailing the Tempering Methods from his four optimizations.

Having just set down his pen, Su Yi tentatively asked, "Master, if there's a Tempering Method that can be widely popularized, should I write it down?"

Lyu Zhen did not take it seriously, assuming he was merely speaking casually. He replied offhandedly, "Of course that would be best. We're only studying your Tempering Method as a reference. There's no guarantee we'll be able to develop a cultivation method suitable for widespread use."

"Actually, I really did try creating a new Tempering Method before."

"And? Did you succeed or fail?"

Lyu Zhen's voice grew somewhat hurried.

"I succeeded!"

"And how effective is it? How does it compare to the original?"

"It uses a little less Blood Qi, Bone Tempering is a little faster, and I'm not sure about anything else. It should also be somewhat easier to break through in Bone Tempering."

Lyu Zhen forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Write it down first. Let me take a look."

If it really could be popularized, reducing Blood Qi consumption and speeding up Bone Tempering alone would already be extraordinary, not to mention making breakthroughs in Bone Tempering easier.

It might not increase combat strength in the short term, but looking further ahead, once the base numbers multiplied, the terrifying nature of this Tempering Method would become apparent.

Before long, Lyu Zhen was examining the popularized version of the Tempering Method Su Yi had written down.

It was a little more difficult than the original Tempering Method, but that was not a major issue. As long as one memorized the Meridians, it would be manageable.

The method of compressing Blood Qi was also rather ingenious.

Whether it could truly reduce Blood Qi consumption, accelerate Bone Tempering, and make Bone Tempering breakthroughs easier would have to be tested first.

This was no joking matter. If the Tempering Method truly needed to be changed, it would have to be promoted across the entire nation and even throughout the world.

Lyu Zhen looked at Su Yi with delight. Though he had modified the cultivation method entirely by instinct, that instinct was terrifyingly accurate. Wasn't this the very mold of a born researcher?

What researchers feared most was a lack of inspiration. Intuition might sound rather far-fetched, but if one had intuition as strong as Su Yi's, that would work too.

Lyu Zhen began explaining his thoughts.

Su Yi repeatedly shook his head. He was not suited to research, and besides, it would consume Energy Points.

It took quite some effort before he finally dispelled Lyu Zhen's idea.

"Fine. I won't force you if you're unwilling. I'll find a group of people to test this Tempering Method later. If it works, I'll report it directly to the central authorities.

"I'll also apply for your reward. Don't refuse! You need resources for cultivation too."

After thinking for a moment, Lyu Zhen continued, "What about the attribution? Do you want to put your name on it, or hide it for now and reveal it once you have enough strength?"

"Put my name on it! Once I become a martial artist, I believe I can bear both the responsibility and the honor."

Su Yi's tone was exceptionally resolute and confident.

If his name was not attached, where would his Energy Points come from?

Wasn't this the very reason he had deduced the Tempering Method?

"Very well!" Lyu Zhen did not try to persuade him further. Young people were always keen on making a name for themselves.

Still, he offered one warning. "Be careful of the Cult! Gifted young prodigies with great fame always draw attention."

Su Yi might have already been quite famous before, but once this matter was announced, it would be an entirely different matter.

The Cult would definitely set its sights on him.

Su Yi nodded to show he understood. Let the Cult come if they wanted; he could not possibly give up this chance to make a name for himself.

"Then I'll take you around the research institute. Do you want to see the Underground Cave Humans?"

Lyu Zhen asked with a smile.

Su Yi was tempted. He was indeed curious, since he had never gone down into the underground caves.

It would be good to take a look, so he nodded. "I do!"

Lyu Zhen spread out his Spiritual Power and opened the door first. Su Yi hurriedly followed.

When Lyu Fengrou and Wu Kuishan outside finally saw the door open, they looked at Lyu Zhen in confusion.

What could be so secretive that it required Spiritual Power to seal off the room?

Lyu Zhen said softly, "You'll find out after some time. Don't ask, and don't ask Su Yi either."

The Tempering Method had not yet begun testing, so it was best to keep it confidential at this stage.

Though they received no answer, Wu Kuishan and Lyu Fengrou nodded in tacit understanding.

They understood the laboratory's rules. They would naturally learn what they were meant to know when the time came; there was no need to dig to the root and pry into everything.

"Now, I'm planning to take Su Yi around the laboratory."

After saying that, he ignored them, gestured for Su Yi to follow, then turned and left.

"This is the Energy Laboratory. It mainly researches Energy Stones. Energy Stones generally come in three types.

"Those for daily use, those for cultivation, and Raw Ore. In truth, the only difference is purity. Refining Energy Stones is currently far too cumbersome. From fifty grams of basic Energy Stone, one might not even refine a single gram of Energy Stone suitable for martial artists to cultivate with.

"If the purity is insufficient and there are too many impurities, it cannot be used for cultivation. When you cultivated in Magic Martial Academy's Energy Room before, that Energy Room was actually powered by lower-purity Energy Stones releasing energy.

"But the impact is minimal. In the Energy Room, one mainly relies on one's own recovery, and does not absorb many impurities."

You'll be heading down into the Catacombs soon. Study up on Catacomb knowledge at school, especially the pricing of Energy Stones.

Energy Stones have a wide range of uses. They can be used directly, used like those in an Energy Room, or applied to scientific research, weapon manufacturing, and the like."

"Over here is pill research, along with some medicinal herbs from the Catacombs. This is a Luosheng Fruit, the primary ingredient in Body-Tempering Pills. For Middle Three Grades martial artists, three kinds of pills are the most important: Body-Tempering Pills, Organ Protection Pills, and Eleven Pills."

"Eleven Pills?"

"They're actually pills used to temper the Five Viscera and Six Bowels. Aren't there eleven major internal organs in the Five Viscera and Six Bowels?

And these pills happen to contain eleven ingredients, hence the name Eleven Pill. Body-Tempering Pills mainly temper the body, while Eleven Pills focus on the inside.

Tempering both within and without—the goal of Middle Three Grades martial artists is to temper themselves from head to toe to the utmost limit."

Su Yi saw a bright-red fruit, roughly the size of a cherry tomato.

"That's a Blue Leaf Fruit. Though the fruit is red, the plant that bears it has leaves that are blue all over, which is why it's called a Blue Leaf Fruit.

It's one of the primary ingredients in Eleven Pills.

Come on. Next is the dissection room. I'll let you get a good look at the Underground Cave Humans."

Lyu Zhen led the way. Before long, he stopped outside a laboratory beside a hall.

"Just look from outside!"

Su Yi glanced through the transparent glass window.

Sure enough, they looked exactly like humans. There was absolutely no way to tell the difference by appearance alone.

Lyu Zhen explained, "Humans and Underground Cave Humans are difficult to distinguish by appearance, but humans give off Blood Qi fluctuations, while Underground Cave Humans give off energy fluctuations. That's the main method of telling them apart."