Inside the training room.
By the window in the corner, the coal fire beneath the stove burned fiercely, and a pot of iron sand and miscellaneous materials gave off billowing heat.
On the other side, Uncle Zheng had found some aged medicinal ingredients still in stock and was adding them to the iron pot.
"Young Master, it's ready."
"This old servant will go make preparations first."
Seeing Feng Xiu enter, Uncle Zheng cupped his hands, then took his leave.
Feng Xiu nodded. Ignoring the scalding iron sand, he reached in, curled his fingers, and tempered the Bone Refining Claw amid the iron grit.
With the train of thought from creating his own martial killing move just now, Feng Xiu used external objects to polish his hands.
Each time he stirred the iron sand, he used the method of circulating qi and blood from the Tyrant Fist dantian, mobilizing the qi and blood throughout his body and sending it surging toward his palms in the manner of the Five Forces.
The coarse grinding sensation between his bones instantly vanished, while strands of restless, violent qi and blood spread through both arms.
After an unknown amount of time, the light screen in Feng Xiu's mind suddenly flashed.
[Life: 20] [Spirit: 7] [Strength: 16] [Agility: 9] [Technique Record: None] [Recorded: Bone Refining Claw (Hall-Entering Realm, Strength +2, Life +3)] [Wind Chasing Step (Minor Accomplishment, Agility +2)] [Synthesis: Not yet at the realm of perfection (Unavailable)] [Supreme Attainment: Vajra Finger Blade] [Martial Killing Move: Vajra Bone-Breaking]
Immediately afterward, the sensation of qi and blood in his palms abruptly swelled, and the coarse grinding sensation between his bones vanished once more.
Strands of restless, violent qi and blood spread through both arms.
Feng Xiu's expression shifted. Sinking his mind into his senses, he tensed the muscles in both arms. The qi and blood driven up from his dantian by the Tyrant Fist seemed to have become even more condensed.
It was as though it had solidified, as if permanently frozen in place.
"Compression, eruption... This qi and blood seems to circulate somewhat sluggishly through Yangchi and Quchi of the Three Yin Meridians of the Hand?"
All at once, Feng Xiu recalled Xiang Geng saying that one should first drive qi and blood upward, letting it surge wherever it could.
Then construct blood gates at the corresponding acupoints. That step was difficult, but Feng Xiu thought of another approach.
"Use qi as locks, weave blood into a net. I can learn from a spider's web—first use qi to lock the flow of blood, then slowly fill it with blood until it becomes a blood gate and qi lock."
With that thought flashing through his mind, Feng Xiu once more gathered the qi and blood in both arms toward the two core acupoints.
At once, a heavy sensation descended upon him, as though both arms had been burdened with a thousand catties of force.
Feng Xiu tried it slowly. This step was not difficult, yet after the gathering was complete, the heaviness remained.
"Four blood gates... In other words, if I unleash my full strength, Vajra Bone-Breaking can become even more powerful?"
Feng Xiu pondered inwardly, then reached out and touched the acupoints beneath the skin of his arms. His bronze-colored skin appeared ordinary enough.
Yet with a light press, it gave a sensation both soft and firm, like a balloon, as though there were a layer of air beneath it.
Feng Xiu smiled. There was no need to test it—the terrifying impact of qi and blood released from the blood gates—
When added to a move, if he faced Feng Shouzhuo's Dragon Snake Combined Seal from yesterday again,
he was confident he could suppress it with a single arm!
"The Tyrant Fist concept has taken initial shape, but... hiss~"
The delight on Feng Xiu's face had yet to fade when an even more advanced martial variation, based on the changes in his own body, surfaced in his mind.
"Condense blood to gather force, gather blood to form force. Could the qualitative force above qi and blood be treated with blood gates and qi locks as force nodes?"
"As long as there are enough blood gates and qi locks, the more qi-and-blood force I can store?!"
"At its core, wouldn't that disperse the impurities in my qi and blood? Without dispersing my cultivation, I could perfectly cultivate several kinds of force at once?"
"I can completely try condensing a qi lock around my heart, using it as a connecting point before constructing other blood gates?"
If this line of thought worked, he could store force ahead of time while still in the Body Refining Realm.
Once he truly broke through to the Blood-Burning Realm, while others had one strand of force, he might have three, even five!
Feng Xiu's eyes gradually brightened. Just thinking about it made his entire body stir with excitement.
There was no distinction of early, middle, or late stages for Blood Burning force in martial arts, but overall, practical combat assessments were still based on the quality of one's force.
According to Xiang Geng, cultivating nine strands of force was the limit of the Blood-Burning Realm.
Because one had to continuously disperse cultivation and compress one's total qi and blood to forge new force.
Beyond that point, the skeleton would be the first to fail under the strain, while more and more qi-and-blood impurities would accumulate within the body.
Whether his body could withstand it was not something Feng Xiu considered.
At the very least, judging from the experiment just now, there was no problem with this idea.
Xiang Geng had advised Feng Xiu that the Tyrant Fist concept could indeed dominate the Body Refining Realm. Once the blood gates locking the qi and blood were released in an instant, almost no one could resist.
But in the end, blood gates would still obstruct the circulation of qi and blood, especially after reaching the Blood-Burning Realm.
The qi and blood within the body circulated on their own without being driven. Blocked by blood gates, impurities would inevitably accumulate over time.
Feng Xiu had indeed followed Xiang Geng's method, first refining his qi and blood to prepare for cultivating several kinds of force later.
But how could Xiang Geng have known that Feng Xiu was even more insane than he imagined, directly constructing a blood gate at his heart!
After all, the heart was the source of blood supply.
The heart's blood flowing from it was the purest. It had yet to circulate through the meridians, so impurities were not an issue.
Later, when Feng Xiu formed other blood gates, it would greatly alleviate the problem of impurities as well.
Of course, this idea still did not completely solve the accumulation problem of the Blood-Burning Realm.
It merely eliminated the hidden danger of the Tyrant Fist's blood gates accelerating the buildup of impurities.
After calming himself somewhat, Feng Xiu continued soaking in the medicinal solution. Once his palms had fully absorbed it,
he slowly concluded his training.
"Qi has reached Guanyuan, but it can still settle a little more," Feng Xiu muttered.
Even now, he had no intention of breaking through to the Blood-Burning Realm, even though the sensation of qi and blood within him had already reached its peak.
With the Tyrant Fist concept, he could completely use his boiling qi and blood to fill and cultivate new blood gates and qi locks.
"If it doesn't work, I'll destroy my foundation and condense my qi and blood anew!"
A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Feng Xiu's eyes. With the Lineage providing unlimited martial resources and the panel as his safety net,
he truly was not afraid of taking the wrong path. At worst, he would start over from the beginning.
If he could not gain what he wanted from martial arts, he would never be reconciled to it!
Knock, knock, knock~
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Young Master, the formal attire is ready," Uncle Zheng said in his aged voice.
"Alright, I'm coming."
Feng Xiu put aside his thoughts, rose to open the door, and followed Uncle Zheng to the bedroom.
At that moment, a pretty maid in the bedroom held a square brown wooden tray, upon which lay a set of robes.
Three more women stood nearby in attendance.
"Young Master, this servant will attend to you," one of the maids said softly.
This Heyang Elegant Banquet had been arranged by the younger generation of the Wu Clan, so naturally he could not be careless with his attire.
Feng Xiu spread his arms and let the maids behind him gently dress him in a dark azure robe.
The robe's material was exceptionally refined, made from cloud brocade produced in Shu Province. Its hidden patterns bore embroidered drifting clouds, while its slightly raised collar and cuffs were edged with pale golden gauze velvet.
The clasp on the rhinoceros-horn belt was a piece of warm white jade. By the time all his accompanying accessories had been put on, half a cup of tea had passed.
Afterward, Uncle Zheng looked him over from head to toe, his gaze full of satisfaction.
He gestured for Feng Xiu to stand before the floor-length bronze mirror. "Young Master, take a look yourself."
Feng Xiu raised his head and stared at the figure reflected in the mirror, momentarily stunned.
Is that me?
His complexion was vigorous and masculine, his features handsome, his waist and back straight. Beneath his brows, his eyes held a deepness that seemed to carry a sharp, imposing air.
The three maids beside him parted their lips slightly, their gazes fixed on him.
The young master usually either practiced martial arts or handled affairs, so they never had the chance to get close to him. Now that he had been dressed up, he looked as though he had stepped out of a painting.
Honestly, Feng Xiu had never paid much attention to his appearance. He even felt that he looked a little too rugged.
There was nothing to say about his height, but that restrained temperament of a martial man gave him a rather distinctive charm.
"Young Master, put this on as well."
At that moment, Uncle Zheng nodded with a smile, then picked up a pair of exquisitely crafted black gloves from a nearby table.
"What are these?" Feng Xiu asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Young Master, Master Black came by last night. He said these were what you had previously instructed him to find."
Feng Xiu suddenly understood.
He had long since forgotten about it—the conversation he had had with Master Black in the bamboo grove.
Feng Xiu's arrangement had merely been meant to use a small matter to show his willingness to cooperate with Master Black. He had not truly intended to obtain these things.
That was why, after Master Black agreed, he had immediately thrown out a piece of earth-shattering intelligence.
To be fair, given Master Black's attitude, Feng Xiu did not dislike him all that much.
Suppressing his thoughts, Feng Xiu slipped them on. The leather was soft and fit snugly against his palms, not hindering him in the slightest.
Several simple patterns were embroidered across the backs of the gloves with silver thread. He flexed his fingers slightly and was very satisfied.
"Prepare the horse. We're going to the Wu Clan Manor outside the city."
Before you continue