Body Refining Mastery!

Time passed slowly. In the blink of an eye, a month went by.

At that moment, inside the training room,

five sturdy guards, every bit as formidable as Han Che, stood holding identical steel blades. After exchanging stern looks,

they turned their gazes toward the center of the room, where Feng Xiu was rolling his wrists, battle intent blazing in his eyes.

Feng Xiu was bare-chested. His bronzed skin stretched over smooth, powerful muscles, and the bones in his hands were unusually thick. His entire body brimmed with vigor, like a pure-yang tiger!

"What are you standing around for? Are you coming or not?"

Feng Xiu hadn't picked up a weapon. He called out to the five in a booming voice, looking rather puzzled.

"One hundred taels for every scratch. You don't want free money?"

Seeing them still hesitate, Feng Xiu upped the stakes again, not taking their gleaming steel blades seriously in the least.

"In that case, young master, forgive us!"

Han Che gritted his teeth. Blades had no mercy, and since Feng Xiu had said as much, Han Che wouldn't hold back.

He charged forward first, stepping in and sweeping his blade across in an unremarkable horizontal slash. The blade hummed, its momentum swift as lightning!

Feng Xiu's eyes narrowed. Instead of retreating, he advanced.

His Eight Trigrams Steps shifted beneath him. He turned aside to let the blade pass, then shot out his right hand like a nimble snake, aiming straight for Han Che's sword wrist. His speed was astonishing.

Han Che's expression changed. Before his attack had run its course, he changed moves and turned his blade to block.

But Feng Xiu's hand flipped aside, avoiding the blade. His fingers hooked around the Neiguan acupoint on Han Che's wrist with pinpoint accuracy.

A surge of force pierced the acupoint. Half of Han Che's arm went numb, and the steel blade slipped from his grip. He immediately swung his left fist, but Feng Xiu easily deflected it.

"Thump!"

Feng Xiu moved right along with him, casually slapping Han Che on the shoulder and sending him stumbling back three steps.

His movements were clean and fluid, all in one breath.

"Good!"

The dozen or so family guards watching from the side cheered in unison.

Han Che steadied himself and immediately looked up at Feng Xiu.

A month ago, Feng Xiu had been a beginner who couldn't even perform the Five Force Fist properly. But in that instant just now,

Feng Xiu's gaze, technique, and footwork had all flowed together as if born of nature, without a trace of awkwardness.

"Together." Feng Xiu paid little heed to Han Che's shock.

He beckoned to the remaining four. "Don't just stand there!"

The four exchanged glances, then charged at once!

Their sharp steel blades came down from different angles, weaving a net of flashing light around Feng Xiu.

Feng Xiu smiled.

This was exactly what he wanted.

In an instant, he moved nimbly among the flashing blades, staying close to their shadows and evading every lethal strike. His hands darted like swimming dragons through the gaps in the cold gleam, seizing wrists, controlling elbows, twisting arms, and locking shoulders.

Every move was a vicious grappling technique.

In just a dozen breaths, the steel blades had clattered to the ground.

One man was held by the wrist, unable to move. Another cried out in pain as his arm was twisted behind him. A third was forced to one knee with his shoulder joint locked.

But Feng Xiu still wasn't satisfied.

He let go, stepped back, and smiled at them. "Pick them up. Keep going."

The men stared at one another.

Han Che stood off to the side, his right hand still numb and not yet recovered.

Watching Feng Xiu in the middle of the room, bare-chested and radiating heat, he couldn't help feeling dazed.

After witnessing such astonishing growth firsthand, he found it even harder to believe.

In the corner of the room, Uncle Zheng sat at a wooden desk, absorbed in his work. He dipped his brush and traced Feng Xiu's movements as he struck.

"Uncle Zheng, can you really see every move Big Brother makes?"

Beside him, Feng Shouzhuo held a towel in one hand and watched Feng Xiu standing confidently on the floor.

He tilted his head slightly. Uncle Zheng had already sketched out most of a volume of fist techniques, which piqued his curiosity.

"The eldest young master has exceptional talent and insight. His Five Force Fist already bears the air of a grandmaster. Of course, I must record it."

Uncle Zheng rubbed his wrist, then held the manual in both hands and gently blew on the still-damp ink.

He looked at Feng Shouzhuo and spoke with a smile.

At that, Feng Shouzhuo couldn't help curling his lip and snorting. "If you ask me, what's the point of practicing all this? Going out and enjoying yourself is far more fun."

For the past month, Feng Ao had handed all the family affairs over to Feng Xiu.

And Feng Xiu had not only confined him to the estate, but also cut off his contact with his good-for-nothing friends outside. Every few days, he would test Feng Shouzhuo on his studies, leaving him groaning in misery.

Uncle Zheng had long known what Feng Shouzhuo was like, but even so, he couldn't help shaking his head.

"Let's wait and see." His gaze returned to the center of the room.

After those words, at that moment—

"I'll take him!" Han Che drew a deep breath, tamping down his thoughts as he tightened his grip on his steel blade.

"Work together with me!" He turned to the men armed with blades and spoke sternly.

His gaze briefly met that of one of them. The man grinned, then closed in with a sneer, as did the one beside him.

"Brother Han, you're not playing fair."

Feng Xiu laughed at that. Han Che and the others were really starting to treat him like an opponent.

In an instant, Han Che charged ahead once more, his blade coming at Feng Xiu's throat with deadly force.

The other four attacked at the same time. Two blades blocked Feng Xiu's retreat, while the other two slashed toward his waist and ribs!

This time, the five had learned their lesson. They no longer fought separately. Instead, each strike flowed into the next, their attacks unrelenting and giving Feng Xiu no chance to catch his breath.

Feng Xiu's eyes sharpened, and delight rose in his heart. This was exactly what he wanted—a fight to the death.

"Come on!"

The next second, Feng Xiu darted into Han Che's embrace like a ghost!

Han Che's pupils contracted. His blade missed completely as Feng Xiu's right hand shot out, fingers hooked, straight for the wrist holding Han Che's blade!

"Why is he using grappling techniques again?"

Han Che gritted his teeth and desperately tried to pull back his blade to defend himself, but Feng Xiu's hand was too fast.

His fingers caught the blade and clamped down hard.

"Creeeak!"

The harsh sound of tearing metal rang out. The Hundred-Refined Blade, forged from refined steel, had been left with five shallow finger marks by Feng Xiu's bare hand!

Han Che stumbled back in shock, forgetting to react for a moment.

The other four were stunned as well.

What the hell was he, if not human?

But Feng Xiu gave them no time to stand there dumbfounded.

He spun and lunged at the nearest man. The man swung his blade in a panic, but Feng Xiu didn't even dodge.

His left hand met the blade head-on. With a sideways chop of his palm, he aimed straight for the man's throat!

The man's heart tightened, and he started to retreat. But Feng Xiu swiftly changed moves, caught him by the shoulder blade, and twisted hard.

Crack!

The sound of a dislocated shoulder rang clear. The man screamed and fell face-first to the ground.

Feng Xiu didn't even glance at him. He turned and lunged at the next man.

"Young master, your might is awe-inspiring. We concede."

The remaining three were also shaken by what they had seen. None dared meet him head-on.

They exchanged glances, gave bitter smiles, dropped their blades, and cupped their fists in surrender.

Feng Xiu waved a hand, still wanting more. He walked over to the man with the dislocated shoulder and placed a hand on his arm.

With a little force, he set the shoulder back into place. The man's pale face finally regained some color, and the two men beside him stepped forward to help him up.

Then Feng Xiu went over to Han Che, who was still standing there in a daze, and waved a hand in front of his face.

Han Che remained motionless.

"Once in a million..." he muttered. "I was still underselling it like hell."

"Brother Xiao Han, what are you thinking about?" Feng Xiu asked with a smile.

"Xiao Han?"

Hearing that nickname, Han Che couldn't help giving a bitter smile.

"Yeah. You've been dazed for ages." Feng Xiu didn't see anything wrong with calling him that and answered as though it were only natural.

Back then, you were stronger than me, so I called you Brother Han to show my respect.

But now you're weaker than me. As for age, Feng Xiu had never cared about that.

"What do you think? Are you hurt?"

"No. Your grappling skills are flawless, and you held back. I admit I'm no match for you."

Han Che shook his head, unable to resist offering a compliment.

Was this still the Five Force Fist?

He had refined and reinvented it until it seemed to have become a school of its own. There was hardly any trace of the Five Force Fist left.

In the eyes of the escort guards, this had been a fight to the death. But to Feng Xiu, it had been nothing more than a spar.

It seemed that only grappling could subdue an opponent and win without taking their life.

Feng Xiu smiled at that.

He wasn't especially surprised to have beaten Han Che and the others.

Instead, he felt that his combat skills and ability to fight still needed more polishing.

So far, the only strange creature he had encountered was that bizarre fish.

The owner of Tang Reservoir still hadn't shown up. The more experience he gained, the better his chances of staying safe.

Feng Xiu didn't dare make any rash assumptions about it. But from the perspective of martial arts—

If such a being could supposedly live a hundred meters below the surface of Tang Reservoir and ignore the crushing pressure of the water, just how terrifying would its physical strength be?

Of course, Feng Xiu hoped he was wrong about the kind of enemy he would face. But in the end, strength came first!

As his thoughts flashed by, a panel appeared before his eyes.

[Life: 17]

[Spirit: 7]

[Strength: 12]

[Agility: 7]

[Technique Record: Eight Sections Vajra Skill (Mastered: Life +2, Spirit +2) Cannot be upgraded]

[Five Force Fist (Mastered: Strength +5, Life +5, Spirit +2)]

[Eight Trigrams Stance Skill: (Mastered: Agility +5)]

[Synthesis: Mastered (Can be synthesized)]