The night was deep. In Fang Han's room, the oil lamp burned dimly.
Fang Han stared fixedly at the striking number on the System Panel.
[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 4x (Third-Level Amplification requires 1,000 taels of silver)]
"Fourfold?! It didn't just add another fold—it directly doubled the original twofold amplification?!"
Overwhelming joy exploded through his mind like a thunderclap, making his breath catch!
He had originally thought the second-level amplification would merely add another fold to his Root Bone Talent, bringing it to threefold.
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected the system to double the existing foundation directly, reaching a staggering fourfold!
"Twofold Root Bone Amplification already made my cultivation speed far surpass ordinary people's. What will Fourfold Root Bone Amplification be like?"
His heart hammered in his chest like a drum, and all of Fang Han's exhaustion was swept away.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, he immediately pushed open the door and silently entered the cold, quiet courtyard.
Moonlight spilled across the ground like mercury, and the chill cut to the bone, yet Fang Han felt not the slightest cold. His heart held only blazing heat.
He assumed the posture of the Crane Stance, calmed his mind, and instantly sank his awareness into his body.
"Exhale—inhale—"
With deep, rhythmic breaths, he began circulating his Stance Training.
The instant he did, an unprecedented torrent of Blood-Qi—so vast and mighty that it made even his soul tremble—erupted without warning from the deepest reaches of his limbs, bones, tendons, skin, and flesh.
The sheer abundance, blazing heat, and density of this Blood-Qi far surpassed what it had been under Twofold Root Bone Amplification.
"Gasp—!"
Fang Han could not help sucking in a sharp breath. His body shook violently, and he nearly failed to hold his stance.
Too immense! Too violent!
If the Blood-Qi from the previous twofold amplification had been a rushing stream, then what the fourfold amplification brought now was a vast, boundless, raging river.
The speed of his Blood-Qi circulation, its total volume, and the efficiency with which it scoured his body had undergone heaven-and-earth changes.
He could clearly "hear" the dense crackling of popping beans and an even deeper hum coming from the skin and flesh across his body as they were washed by that irresistible Blood-Qi River.
It was the sound of his flesh being madly tempered, nourished, and strengthened.
With every breath, he could feel his muscle fibers becoming tougher and more solid, while his sense of strength climbed higher and higher like bamboo shoots after spring rain.
If Twofold Root Bone Amplification had made him a minor genius, then Fourfold Root Bone Amplification had truly placed him among the ranks of geniuses!
The improvement it brought was no longer merely visible to the naked eye, but a tremendous leap across an entire gulf.
It was not until dawn that Fang Han finally ended his cultivation, still wanting more.
The feeling of his strength rising so rapidly was simply too wonderful.
"By the current pattern of multiplication, if I activate the Third-Level Amplification, won't the multiplier reach eightfold?"
After lying back down on his bed, Fang Han could not help thinking of the Third-Level Amplification.
If the third-level amplification truly worked as he expected, raising the multiplier to eightfold, then how exaggerated would his cultivation speed become?
Unfortunately, the third-level amplification required a full thousand taels of silver, something he could never gather in a short time.
Still, he could understand why it required such a staggering sum. After all, this sort of multiplication was simply too outrageous.
Time flew by amid Fang Han's absorbed cultivation.
Several days later, on the day before the Martial Hall holiday ended.
Fang Han was standing in the courtyard as usual. The terrifying Blood-Qi brought by Fourfold Root Bone Amplification surged endlessly, scouring his body again and again as though it would never cease.
Suddenly!
"Hum—!"
A low vibration like muffled thunder sounded from within his body!
The muscles throughout his body began trembling violently at an uncontrollable, high frequency, like countless powerful bowstrings being plucked at once.
A sense of power far stronger and more explosive than when he had broken through to the Flesh Refining Mid-Stage erupted inside him like a sleeping volcano.
Flesh Refining Late-Stage achieved!
"From the Flesh Refining Mid-Stage... to the Flesh Refining Late-Stage, it only took... half a month?!"
Astonishment and a trace of disbelief filled Fang Han's eyes.
From the Flesh Refining Early-Stage to the Flesh Refining Mid-Stage, he had spent over a month.
Yet from the Flesh Refining Mid-Stage to the Flesh Refining Late-Stage, he had spent only half a month.
Though he knew Fourfold Root Bone Amplification was heaven-defying, he had never expected his cultivation speed to be so fast, allowing him to rise from the Flesh Refining Mid-Stage to the Flesh Refining Late-Stage in barely half a month.
"Will cultivating too quickly... make people think something's wrong?"
After the excitement faded, wariness rose in Fang Han's heart. But after considering it carefully, he relaxed.
In this world of martial power, the human body was even more mysterious and unfathomable than in his previous life.
Some people recovered from grave injuries as though reborn from the flames, changing from mediocre talents into geniuses.
Some attained sudden enlightenment overnight, as though their apertures had opened, and both their comprehension and Root Bone Talent became exceptional.
Others performed ordinarily at first, only for their cultivation speed to grow faster and faster later on, until they finally transformed like carp turning into dragons and became supreme figures of their era.
With examples like these, at most others would think he had undergone Aperture Opening. He did not need to worry that the secret of the system within him would be discovered.
The next day, at the Inner Hall Martial Arts Arena.
When Fang Han appeared where the newly admitted Inner Hall disciples had gathered, the disciples who had been quietly chatting among themselves instantly fell several degrees quieter.
During the Martial Dao Stele Re-test at the end of last year, Fang Han had climbed five ranks in less than a month, leaping from the very bottom to fifty-fourth place and leaving behind all of them who had entered in the same batch.
That scene had left far too deep an impression on them.
Now, when they looked at Fang Han, the initial contempt and doubt were already gone, replaced by caution and a trace of unconcealed complexity.
Though they still held back their determination to catch up, they clearly understood that Fang Han was now an opponent they had to face seriously. They no longer dared underestimate him in the slightest.
Yet amid those wary gazes, one figure stood out as particularly different.
Fang Lin stood at the edge of the group with his arms folded, and the way he looked at Fang Han had once again taken on that lofty disdain.
The corners of his lips curved upward, carrying an undisguised arrogance.
The reason was simple: during the New Year holiday, he had not slacked off either.
He had finally broken through into the Flesh Refining Late-Stage. He believed he had once again pulled away from Fang Han and left him far behind.
Hmph, he's only at the Flesh Refining Mid-Stage. I'm already at the Flesh Refining Late-Stage!
I was merely slacking off before. Now that I'm serious, the gap between us will only grow larger and larger!
Fang Lin sneered inwardly, full of confidence in himself.
Just then, Elder Fang Yuan entered the Martial Arts Arena with several instructors whose auras were steady and composed.
The previously somewhat noisy Martial Arts Arena instantly became quiet enough to hear a needle drop. Everyone straightened their backs and respectfully turned their gazes toward the platform.
Elder Fang Yuan's gaze was as still as an ancient well as it slowly swept across the young faces below. His sharp eyes seemed capable of piercing through skin and flesh, seeing each person's past idleness and progress.
His voice was not loud, yet it carried a strange penetrating force, clearly reaching every person's ears.
"At the start of a new year, the old year has passed. Whether your past brought glory or disgrace, progress or retreat, it has all become settled."
"Standing in this Inner Hall today means that you still possess the qualification and opportunity to climb the path of martial arts."
He paused, then continued.
"I hope that in the new year, you will cultivate diligently without cease, advance bravely and vigorously, not fail your youth, and not fail yourselves. Now, begin cultivating!"
These brief yet weighty words instantly wiped the relaxed expressions from many disciples' faces, replacing them with solemnity and urgency.
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