Breaking the Skin, Flesh Strong as an Ox

Liang Qisheng's expression flickered with surprise, as if he could hardly believe it.

He rechecked the data in his mind.

"Name: Liang Qisheng Realm: Flesh Refining Lifespan: 67 years Technique: Black Tiger Fist 45%(+) Auxiliary: Hundred Herb Scripture! Merit: 0!"

"Burst through the membrane, flesh strong as an ox, second development of the body's potential."

"...This is leaving the realm of ordinary men—externally refining skin and muscle, condensing them into one, taking the first step onto the martial path."

At this moment, the shifting data in his mind clearly told Liang Qisheng exactly what transformation was taking place inside his body.

With the aid of thirteen merit points, the Black Tiger Fist stance underwent a new round of evolution.

At the same time, Liang Qisheng's realm had indeed reached the Flesh Refining stage.

This was the point after the body's limit, where potential was pushed to its maximum.

Squeezing out latent power once more, he finally stepped onto a new threshold.

Now, Liang Qisheng gasped heavily for air, but a surge of joy welled up in his heart.

His mind jolted awake—no wonder he felt his strength had exploded.

Moreover, the toughness of his skin had become harder; touching it felt like old tree bark. So he really had broken through.

Liang Qisheng walked out of the courtyard and picked a tree stump as thick as a thigh behind the house.

He steadied his stance and assumed the opening posture of the Black Tiger Fist.

Without warning, his right leg stepped forward, his body leaned in, borrowing momentum—a move, Black Tiger Probing Claw, and he suddenly punched forward.

Crack!

The thick tree stump, bound with hemp rope, snapped cleanly.

The deeply buried roots began to shake violently, and clumps of soil fell away.

"Clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger."

The might of a fierce tiger stirred up a cloud of dust.

"Truly the strength of one ox!"

Liang Qisheng stared at his fist in disbelief, wiped off the wood shavings, and found that not even his skin was broken.

He looked at the jagged break on the remaining half of the stump, the uneven fracture studded with splinters.

This finally convinced him that his Black Tiger Fist cultivation technique had ascended to another level—a qualitative transformation.

Though he had lived here for three years and had seen Old Man Zhao practice his fists, Liang Qisheng had still kept a rational mind.

This was due to certain influences from his previous life's understanding.

But now, when his fist gathered the strength of one ox—power clearly beyond the scope of an ordinary man—he finally recognized the might of the martial path.

It also shattered the barriers of his own perception.

From this point on, he was no longer the transmigrator Liang Yaozu, but a native martial cultivator of this world: Liang Qisheng.

Rip!

It was the same cleaver as before. Liang Qisheng gripped the handle.

This time, when the blade scraped across his skin, it didn't even cut the surface—only leaving a white mark.

When the icy, biting blade passed over his skin, he could still feel all the hairs on his arm stand on end.

His flesh tightened, the outer skin and muscle clinging together like a powerful adhesive, forming a huge elastic tension.

It was like a drumhead, actually resisting the sharp blade's penetration.

Though part of the reason was that he hadn't applied much force, this performance already surpassed the fragile limits of an ordinary human body.

"No wonder Old Zhao said: three years to refine skin, six years to refine flesh—only when skin and flesh unite can transformation occur."

"...Only by reaching Flesh Refining can one barely set half a foot onto the threshold of a true martial artist."

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a violent pang of hunger struck him.

Liang Qisheng felt his stomach churn, and a wave of immense hunger and exhaustion surged over him.

His vision went dark, and he felt as if he might collapse at any moment.

This was his lack of common sense.

After all, who would have thought that someone could suddenly, as if struck by enlightenment, have their technique rapidly evolve, simultaneously driving the transformation of their entire flesh, blood, sinews, and bones—producing such a massive qualitative change in the span of a few short moments?

When a martial artist breaks through to a higher realm, they need a massive amount of nutritional replenishment; otherwise, they risk blood and qi deficiency, hindering their subsequent cultivation.

Ordinary martial artists mostly prepare some meat, while martial arts families and major clans prepare precious medicinal pills.

As for Liang Qisheng, being alone and without anyone to remind him, he naturally wasn't too clear on these intricacies, and as a result, he nearly fainted from hunger.

"Just having become a Flesh Refining martial artist, if I end up starving to death because my body's transformation and martial power surged, word of that would probably make people die laughing."

Forcing himself to endure the deficiency of blood and qi in his body, Liang Qisheng only felt his stomach churning and twisting, unbearably agonizing.

"Hungry... I'm way too hungry..."

He turned and staggered back into the house, his vision blurry and his steps feeling unsteady.

He downed the leftover herbal decoction in one gulp.

Although this was an ordinary medicinal soup, as a herb gatherer, Liang Qisheng was never stingy with his ingredients.

It even contained several aged herbs that had grown for years, brimming with potent medicinal properties.

With these herbs as a foundation, Liang Qisheng also had the endurance to hold on and began preparing food for himself.

He chewed large mouthfuls of dried rations and jerky.

After the transformation of his skin and flesh, Liang Qisheng felt that even his teeth had become excellent.

His upper and lower rows of teeth were like diamond files, opening and closing, chewing and grinding, even crushing bones into powder that he swallowed directly into his stomach.

Eating big mouthfuls of food while gulping down water with a "glug glug glug," he finally felt his body ease a little.

Simply put, the intense craving and hunger emanating from his body were just too unbearable.

"Among the herbal formulas recorded in the Hundred Herb Scripture, there are several sets that strengthen bones and tendons, replenish blood and vitality. They contain the essence of various herbs, capable of sustaining a martial artist's nutritional needs for several days of cultivation."

"I need to prepare some when I have time; otherwise, if I undergo another transformation like today and can't prepare in time, starving to death would truly be a laughingstock."

After eating who knows how much, Liang Qisheng felt his stomach stuffed to the brim, his body rapidly digesting the nutrients from the food.

Only then did he let out a satisfied burp and relax.

The ingredients he had wolfed down in one go were enough to feed a family of five for an entire day, nearly clearing out all the stored food in his house.

Still, he wasn't worried.

With his increased strength, it also meant he could venture deeper into more dangerous areas in the future, searching for even rarer aged herbs.

Just one decades-old herb, like Red Flower Old Ginseng, would naturally see its price skyrocket and surge wildly.

After all, rarity makes things precious.

These aged herbs often cost several hundred taels of silver—nothing that a bit of food could compare to.

Finding a place to rest for a while, Liang Qisheng suddenly remembered something.

He checked the data in his mind again and sat up with a jolt.

"Lifespan... it actually increased by a year and a half."

"...That means as long as I don't encounter a serious illness or injury in the future, living peacefully and healthily, I can live an extra year and a half."

The reason Liang Qisheng was so excited wasn't because of this "year and a half" of lifespan, but because he understood one thing:

As his realm improved, his lifespan would also increase.

As long as he continued cultivating, both his lifespan and quality of life would far surpass that of ordinary people.