Skin, Flesh, Tendons, Bones

To be honest, having been reborn, Liang Qisheng didn't care much about gold and silver wealth, but he was truly more afraid of death.

Between life and death lies great terror.

Only someone who has died once knows that a new life is like a lifeline, to be grasped with desperate strength.

He naturally wanted to live long, and in this world, only martial arts could grant longevity.

In the chaotic era of martial arts, strength was the most fundamental guarantee.

"Peak of Skin Tempering!"

Liang Qisheng marveled inwardly.

Back then, the Herb-Gathering Elder's strength was also at the Skin Tempering level, but due to old age and declining qi and blood, he hadn't reached the peak.

That meant Liang Qisheng's current realm was even above the Herb-Gathering Elder's.

"I remember the old man saying that reaching the Skin Tempering realm makes you a junior martial artist."

"Practicing martial arts is like pushing a millstone—bitterly training sinews, bones, and skin, with qi and blood flourishing like blazing fire, divided into four layers: 'Skin, Flesh, Sinew, Bone.' This is also a process of reforging the body."

Skin, Flesh, Sinew, Bone—four layers in total.

Each layer represented breaking the body's limits, shedding the mortal frame, and achieving what ordinary people could not.

At higher levels, qi and blood surged like beacon smoke, allowing one to fight ten or a hundred enemies alone, with immense strength to tear tigers and leopards apart.

Every transformation marked a new level.

Skin Tempering already counted as a minor figure; in remote places, one could gather followers and form a local power.

The Herb-Gathering Elder was said to have been quite prominent in his youth, but as he aged and enemies pressed him, he withdrew from the county town and made a living gathering herbs in the deep mountains.

It was precisely with this level of strength that he could roam the mountains freely.

Liang Qisheng's heart surged with excitement, but his sudden breakthrough came without warning. The qi and blood inside him churned like magma, still radiating waves of heat.

He clearly felt his skin being forcefully stretched by an invisible power, his body instantly tensing up.

It was as if a large net clung tightly to his skin, all the fascia in his body turning into a mesh that wrapped firmly around his flesh and blood. His skin contracted as if it had a life of its own.

"The old man said that practicing martial arts is like reforging the body. The Black Tiger Fist is fiercely unyielding, a hard-bridge, hard-horse style of training that shows results most easily in the early stages."

"He also said that at the peak of Skin Tempering, you can deflect force. Even if an ordinary person holds a sharp blade, they can't fully pierce your vitals—it can block a knife!"

Liang Qisheng had heard the Herb-Gathering Elder say this before, and now he truly felt the truth of that description.

At this moment, he felt his skin becoming as rough as cowhide, constantly transforming.

It was as if it had been sanded for a long time, becoming coarse yet stronger, with an invisible force pulling at his skin like a tightly stretched drumhead.

Gritting his teeth, Liang Qisheng took out a sharpened cleaver and drew it across his skin.

He was only testing, not trying to harm himself, so he cut lightly.

But the blade, which could easily slice through the throats of three ruffians, felt like it was cutting through tough cowhide when it touched his skin.

Although it drew blood and cut into the flesh, it was as if countless tough membranes blocked it, preventing deep penetration—only leaving a deep gash.

Moreover, the skin and flesh immediately tightened, and the bleeding stopped at once.

Though it still looked shocking, the flesh had already closed and stopped bleeding on its own, the damage not as severe as it appeared.

"Skin like cowhide, strikes like hitting worn leather, a great membrane wrapping the body, blades cannot enter—just as the old man said."

This experiment startled Liang Qisheng. In his past life, this would have sounded like utter madness.

Thinking back to how he had butchered those three ruffians like chopping vegetables, and looking at the gash that had probably already stopped bleeding completely—

Indeed, once you reached the level of a martial artist, you could no longer view things with an ordinary person's eyes.

Peak of Skin Tempering—Liang Qisheng now had a sliver of foundation for survival in this world.

The four realms of martial artists—Liang Qisheng had only just stepped through the door.

The higher one climbed, the narrower the path became, requiring more effort and resources to advance.

Compared to martial artists backed by wealthy, prestigious families with abundant resources, Liang Qisheng had no comparison at all—he could only rely on himself.

But looking at the data in his mind, Liang Qisheng had confidence.

Through his own efforts, he could reach even higher realms. The four martial artist realms were not his end point.

Because possessing merit gave Liang Qisheng the greatest confidence deep down.

That night, Liang Qisheng barely slept at all.

But his spirit was exceptionally sharp, as if he knew no fatigue.

Watching the hazy light rising in the east, he directly packed his gear, shouldered his herb basket, opened the courtyard gate, and headed toward the rising sun.

After the Herb-Gathering Elder died, and he himself had killed those three ruffians in the dead of night, Liang Qisheng hadn't left to avoid suspicion. Instead, he continued his work of gathering herbs up the mountain.

Now, his strength made him a notable figure in this small place, but in the county town, he wouldn't even rank.

If he rashly entered the county town and exposed his secrets, not only would it be hard to survive, but he would likely be devoured whole by those ruthless major powers, leaving not even a bone behind.

That was why Liang Qisheng insisted on his current way of life—he planned to seek further development only after his strength had improved.

The Herb-Gathering Elder had taught him the Black Tiger Fist stance for three years, laying a solid foundation, and Liang Qisheng had also picked up most of the old man's herb-gathering skills.

With both ability and martial arts, as well as knowledge of herbs and poisons, Liang Qisheng moved through the outer wilderness like a fish in water, gathering herbs several times more efficiently than his peers.

Over time, he had managed to accumulate a fair amount of wealth.

For the sake of longevity and establishing a foothold, practicing martial arts was what interested Liang Qisheng the most.

However, humans are social creatures; living in isolation without contact with others was hardly possible.

To exchange for cultivation resources, Liang Qisheng had to go to towns to sell medicinal herbs, while also picking up information about the powerful factions in those towns from the mouths of others.

He was cautious by nature and carried secrets, so he worked to avoid misjudgments.

The county town was called Shiwu County, a sizable one, with a permanent population of over a hundred thousand.

Adding in the scattered nine towns and village settlements around it, the total population numbered at least several hundred thousand.

Though such a population would be unremarkable in the cities of his previous life, it was no small feat under a feudal society.

In Shiwu County, the lines between the lawful and the underworld were blurred; the government handled matters out in the open, while gang forces dealt with the filth in the shadows. There were countless gangs of all sizes.

Among them, the most powerful were known as the "Three Great Families" and the Six Major Martial Arts Halls.

These major powers controlled the entire Shiwu County, with all other gangs large and small attached to them.

Of the Six Major Martial Arts Halls, each had a strong expert stationed there, while the Three Great Families were the Li, Zhang, and Shi families.

The strongest of the three was the Shi family—one could tell as much just from the county's name.

After gathering this information, Liang Qisheng had a clear assessment of his own strength.

He was considered a minor expert among ordinary gangs, but when placed among the major powers—or even just within the county—he was nothing to write home about.