Body-Tempering Secret Art

The fat man stared around in astonishment.

Then he fixed his gaze on Shen Yi's calm, unruffled expression.

Shen Yi had not even heard that silver-bell-like voice just now.

The fat man's heart jolted.

Was this... the secret voice transmission only those with profound inner power could master?

There was another expert concealed nearby!

Yet the fat man had no time to dwell on it.

Just as that woman had said.

If he did not speak up, he might still have a chance to escape—but the skinny man was undoubtedly doomed.

The two of them were not blood brothers.

But they had always fought side by side, closer than real brothers.

The fat man would never abandon the skinny man.

At once, he flung the iron pestle to the ground with a clang, dropped to one knee, and shouted:

"We surrender!"

"We beg Young Hero Shen to spare our lives!"

"As long as we live, we'll serve you like oxen and horses!"

No one answered.

Only a fierce wind howled toward them.

Death loomed before his eyes, yet the fat man remained standing in front of the skinny man without moving.

He had the air of comrades who had weathered hardship together: if you want to kill him, kill me first.

Clang!

Shen Yi's blade abruptly stopped barely an inch from the fat man's throat. The snow-bright edge gave off threads of icy chill, making the fat man's heart go cold.

Not... not dead...

Shen Yi's flat voice came over:

"You value loyalty and brotherhood quite highly."

"But you are Blade Catchers, and I am a wanted criminal. If I do not kill you, you will kill me."

Seeing that there was room for negotiation, the fat man immediately appealed to his emotions.

"Young Hero, my brother and I have always advanced and retreated together. This time, we failed to recognize Mount Tai and overestimated ourselves."

"So long as you spare our lives, we will never touch any bounty concerning you again."

"If you have any orders for us in the future—"

"Even ten thousand mountains will not stop us. We are willing to serve you like dogs and horses!"

Shen Yi slowly sheathed his blade.

He said lightly:

"I do not need you to serve me like oxen and horses."

"I only want one thing."

"In exchange for your lives."

The fat man's heart, which had just relaxed, tensed up once more. He swallowed and asked quietly:

"What... do you want?"

Shen Yi raised a finger and pointed at the skinny man, who was clutching his chest and coughing blood. The sight made the fat man's heart pound wildly, and he instinctively asked:

"You want him?"

The fat man's question nearly made the skinny man, already in unbearable pain, spit out another mouthful of blood. He said with difficulty:

"Brother, don't do me in..."

Shen Yi smiled.

"You misunderstand."

"I do not want him."

"What interests me is..."

"You were cut from midair into the ground by me just now, yet you emerged unscathed and rose to fight again."

"This man took one of my slashes squarely in the chest, yet he still has the strength to speak."

"There must be some unique secret technique."

The fat man's expression shifted slightly.

"You want this?"

Shen Yi nodded.

"This one."

The bitter look on the fat man's face instantly eased, and he smiled in relief. He cupped his hands slightly toward Shen Yi.

"In reply to you, young hero."

"My brother and I were once lay disciples of the Vajra Sect and were taught the Vajra Body Forging Art. But in the end, we never entered the inner sect, so what we received was only an introductory fragment. Still, as you have seen, even this fragment can strengthen the body and make one resistant to blades and swords."

"If you do not disdain it, young hero, we are willing to impart everything we know in exchange for the lives of us two brothers."

A body-tempering art of hard training, a secret Buddhist technique.

This was a martial secret art Shen Yi had never encountered before.

Once his body forging bore fruit and his flesh was tempered to iron, his ability to withstand blows and his endurance would surely rise to another level.

His path in martial arts would become more well-rounded as well.

He nodded.

"This deal can be made. I have my own way of determining whether a secret technique is genuine. If there are any errors or omissions, I will use you as sacrifices to my blade."

The fat man hurriedly replied.

"Wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare..."

With the threat to his life lifted, the fat man seemed to suddenly recall something. He lowered his voice in warning.

"Young hero, there is another expert nearby."

"That person was the one who reminded me to beg you for mercy just now..."

The fat man's words changed Shen Yi's gaze.

He immediately placed one hand on his sword hilt. The Array Breaker Art rose at his command, and he focused his senses to observe.

Suddenly.

A strange ripple of aura appeared atop a distant treetop. Then a crisp voice, bright as silver bells, rang out.

"Well, well, Fatty. I kindly warned you and saved your life, yet you turned around and tattled on me."

Shen Yi bent his knees and kicked off.

His body shot upward, leaping toward the treetop.

The blade rang out as Cold Night left its sheath once more.

"Hey, hey, you murderous brute—your killing intent is far too heavy."

"I was only here to watch the show."

"I'm off, I'm off."

That silver-bell voice sounded again. A white figure sprang from the treetop, her form ethereal, like a startled swan taking flight.

She was incredibly fast. At a speed Shen Yi could never hope to match, she flashed away like a streak of white rainbow.

Like a celestial being.

Cold Night was only halfway drawn, suspended in Shen Yi's hand.

The person had already fled, yet his blade had not even struck. Such a lightness technique was simply unbelievable.

Compared to it, his Grass Treading Flight, already at the perfected realm, was as slow as an old ox pulling a broken cart.

Shen Yi drifted lightly back to the ground.

Judging from that voice and that white figure just now—

It should have been a woman.

He thought over the women he knew.

Other than the girls in the brothel, there were only Axiu and Tao Tao, the beautiful young matron he had met not long ago.

Of them, only Tao Tao knew martial arts.

Yet neither the voice nor the figure matched.

Tao Tao's voice was magnetic and rich with mature charm, while her figure was curvaceous and exceptionally distinctive.

But that voice just now had been clear and bell-like, more like that of a lively young girl. Her figure had also been slender and light, like an immortal crane.

Shen Yi shook his head.

He stopped thinking about it.

Too many people were watching him now.

Perhaps she was a Blade Catcher as well.

But that person's stealth and lightness skill were so exceptional that he would have to be even more careful in his dealings from now on.

Shen Yi returned to the woods.

The fat man was treating the thin man's injuries.

He had been watching the commotion over there as well. Seeing Shen Yi return empty-handed, he too felt uneasy, unsure whether Shen Yi would take his anger out on them.

"Do you know that woman?"

Shen Yi asked.

The fat man shook his head.

That woman's lightness skill had been far too swift. He had caught only a fleeting glimpse of her and simply could not match her to any renowned martial artist in the martial world.

Shen Yi had not held out much hope anyway.

He said:

"This place is no longer safe."

"Let's change locations."

The fat man and thin man exchanged a glance, then nodded in agreement.

A quarter of an hour later.

The three of them found a nearby cave to rest in for the time being.

The fat man knew what Shen Yi wanted. Before Shen Yi could speak, he took the initiative and said:

"Young hero, there is no paper or brush here."

"I'll recite the Vajra Body Forging Art to you. If there is anything you do not understand, I will explain it to you sentence by sentence."

Shen Yi nodded.

The fat man then began to expound upon the essentials of the Vajra Body Forging Art.

As the fat man explained, Shen Yi gradually felt that he had struck gold. This was not some low-grade external cultivation like the Iron Cloth Shirt, which relied on beating and tempering the flesh.

Rather, it was a body-forging secret art passed down through the Vajra Sect for over a hundred years.

Not only did one need to understand the mental cultivation formulae and the crucial points of body forging, one also had to coordinate them with visualization techniques and even grasp a measure of Buddhist doctrine.

Fortunately, the fat man was a good teacher.

And he truly did as he said.

Without holding anything back, he imparted every key principle of the secret art.

And so, one explained while the other listened. Before they knew it, the sun had set in the west and night had fallen.