Tendons Like Iron, Bones Like Steel!

The woods were terrifyingly quiet. Everyone stared at the gallant young man sitting motionless on his horse, calm as a mountain, and felt their hearts sink.

This kid was Blood Butcher Yama. He'd slaughtered his way here, and they hadn't seen a single survivor!

Those of them in the teams behind him hadn't even seen one enemy still standing. All they'd found were scout corpses without heads!

Even the two centurions were speechless.

The battle had only just begun, yet this kid had already earned enough merit to be made a centurion, putting him above them. Combined with Meng Tian and the general's attitude toward him, his future was limitless. How could the two centurions dare presume to treat Zhao Cheng as an equal?

After much deliberation, they stepped forward and saluted. "Brother, what should we do next? Do you have a plan?"

Zhao Cheng opened his eyes. In an instant, he seemed like a tiger awakening, his murderous aura flashing through his gaze and startling both centurions!

"Prepare to storm the stronghold!"

He looked over the elite assault cavalry gathered around him. There were about a hundred and sixty men. From what he'd observed, the defenders at the Southern Foothills of Fang City weren't numerous. There were around five hundred stationed on the walls, though he didn't know how many more were behind them.

"Leave the horses here. Follow me up there. We'll seize the Southern Foothills of Fang City, then, once reinforcements arrive, storm Fang City Pass and take Fang City from both sides."

Everyone swallowed, excitement and tension rising in their hearts at the same time.

If they pulled this off, it would be a great achievement. But the danger was self-evident. Even though they were all elite troops, they numbered only a little over a hundred and sixty, and they had no equipment for scaling the walls, not even ladders.

Fang City's walls might not be tall, but they were still easy to defend and hard to attack.

The danger was immense.

And where there was danger, there were naturally those unwilling to cooperate.

The long-faced centurion with the flat nose said, "This is far too risky. If the enemy spots us in advance, we'll be turned into pincushions before we even reach the walls."

"Brother, you've never had much experience in battle. You don't know how difficult it is to attack from below. The enemy has the high ground and a favorable position, and they outnumber us. We can't possibly take the city."

"Even if they don't spot us in advance, how many of us will make it up the walls? Once they realize what's happening, those above will be surrounded while those below are driven back. We'll be trapped between a rock and a hard place. That would be a crushing defeat!"

Someone else who didn't want to take the risk chimed in. "Exactly. Even if we somehow manage to seize the walls, we don't know how many men will die. We'll suffer heavy losses, and even a costly victory will get us punished."

The Qin Army enforced collective punishment. If a centurion made a mistake, every platoon leader under him was punished.

And once men reached the rank of platoon leader or centurion, their merit was no longer calculated simply by counting the enemy heads they'd taken themselves. Instead, it was based on the number of enemies killed by the team under their command, minus the number of their own men lost, with the remaining enemy heads determining whether they had earned a promotion in rank or noble title.

For example, a platoon leader in command of fifty men might hold the title of Zanniao and need his whole platoon to take thirty-three armored heads to earn a higher title.

If ten of his fifty men died in a battle, but his unit killed forty-three enemies, he could be granted the title of Bugeng, promoted to centurion, and given command of a hundred men.

But if thirty of his men died and they killed only thirty enemies, he would face severe punishment!

That was why, although the two centurions admired Zhao Cheng's bravery and were willing to respect him, they weren't so willing to take a risk when their own failure was on the line.

After all, killing enemies and earning merit was uncertain, but losses were guaranteed.

Seeing this, Zhao Cheng didn't insist. After all, in name, he was only a squad leader for now.

Meng Tian's order had been: When the opportunity arose, seize the Southern Foothills of Fang City.

Whether the opportunity had arisen now was a matter of opinion. There might be a better moment, but this chance was already rare and fleeting. They had to seize it.

He looked around. "We've rushed here, and I've killed every enemy scout and sentry along the way. But I can't be sure about those farther to the sides. They could pass word of our attack to the Southern Foothills of Fang City at any moment. This opportunity will vanish in the blink of an eye."

"I won't deny the risk. People will die. But this is a crucial opportunity. If we can seize the southern foothills before the cavalry in the rear arrives, we can storm Fang City Pass and link up with the main army from both sides, completely opening the eastern gateway to Nanyang!"

"The Five-Hundred Commander ordered me to lead the vanguard. I'll take responsibility and be the first to climb the walls and fight the enemy in a bloody battle! Those willing to charge with me, come to the front. Those who aren't can provide cover with their bows from below!"

His face was calm as a lake, yet his blazing gaze stirred everyone's hearts.

What extraordinary confidence! What a keen, razor-sharp edge!

Zhao Cheng took a few steps forward. Feng Quan and the other ten men followed close behind, as they always did. Then more and more men stepped forward, lining up behind Zhao Cheng.

Nearly a hundred men had joined him. The remaining sixty or seventy were still hesitating.

Of the two centurions, the one who hadn't spoken also stepped forward resolutely.

The long-faced centurion sighed. "Fine. I'll take my men to cover you from below the walls. This is dangerous, but I wish you all a triumphant return!"

They disagreed because one side was bold and the other cautious, but they were all brothers in arms. He sincerely hoped his comrades would come back alive.

Zhao Cheng dismounted and crept uphill like a wild leopard, making no sound.

Behind him, all were battle-hardened elites with rich experience. They, too, moved without a sound.

More than a hundred men swept uphill like ghosts.

As he moved, Zhao Cheng sank his mind into the system, preparing to invest a large amount of his lifespan in a simulation. This time, he would lead the charge up the walls. Even with Flesh Refining complete, he was still made of flesh and blood, and had no combat experience.

He could say with certainty that he had no confidence in this battle. Before they reached the walls, he had to improve his strength as much as possible and raise his chances of survival.

"System, invest five hundred years of lifespan to simulate the basic Body Refining Technique..."

[Beginning simulation of the basic Body Refining Technique using lifespan.]

[Year One: Following the movements in the Body Refining Technique, you constantly tempered the major tendons throughout your body. The sluggish tendons felt like shackles on your body. You began to realize that the sinews were the framework of strength!]

[Year Three: You finally found a hint of the right feeling. Every time you trained, a sharp, cramping pain ran through your body, as if the tendons in the area you were working were about to tear. You continued to make progress through the pain...]

[Year Ten: Your tendons grew more resilient. Your body could now channel explosive force through its sinews, bringing your strength together and sending it surging through your tendons, adding power to every punch and palm strike!]

[Year Thirty: With every movement, your tendons were like taut bowstrings, brimming with boundless strength. But by now, you'd keenly noticed that there were many small sinews in the hidden corners of your body that were difficult to train. Like iron chains stretched across key areas, they obstructed the flow of your strength. They also required strange, targeted poses to train. You began the arduous work of conditioning the small sinews in every corner of your body...]

[Year Fifty: You trained the small sinews all over your body without sleep or rest, pushing yourself desperately. At last, you had tempered every sinew. Your muscles and sinews crisscrossed throughout your body, gathering your strength into several powerful currents and unlocking most of your muscles' power...]

[Year One Hundred: Your tendons were like dragons, your strength coursing through your body, and your sinews grew ever more resilient.]

[Year One Hundred Thirty: Your sinews were as tough as interlinked iron chains. You felt that even the sharpest blades would struggle to cut through the parts of your body they covered.]

[Year One Hundred Fifty: Your sinews were flawless and incomparably resilient, your strength gathering in strands like a dragon. You broke through the Tendon Refining bottleneck and entered Bone Refining!]

At that moment, Zhao Cheng's whole body suddenly tensed. His hand, braced against a tree trunk, tightened, and half the trunk silently crumbled into wood powder!

His sinews twitched and writhed between layers of muscle, rapidly transforming and fusing with them. The tendons throughout his body were like interlinked iron chains.

In the end, his tendons were like steel cables, weaving through his tiger-like muscles and unleashing boundless strength. His body felt incomparably tough, and he was stronger than ever.

"With my sinews this tough, even without the light armor I'm wearing, the enemy's blades will have a hard time cutting through them and reaching my vital organs. Only a few gaps without sinew coverage, along with the major arteries beneath my skin, are truly vulnerable."

The transformation of his sinews filled him with a sense of security. "On top of that, even more of my strength has been unlocked, and I'm many times faster. My ability to fight and kill on the battlefield has improved greatly. Even if a tiger stood in front of me now, I could crush it with a single blow!"

"My bones don't seem quite up to the task, though." Zhao Cheng shook his hand and felt a faint ache in his finger bones.

Behind him, Feng Quan followed close, one hand on a tree trunk. Suddenly, something seemed off.

Why was part of this tree missing?

He looked down, and his eyes flew wide open.

There was a hand-shaped hole in the trunk, with the marks of five fingers clearly visible!

His gaze fell on Zhao Cheng's hand, covered in wood shavings, and he went completely dumbstruck.

Was that even a human hand?!

At that moment, the simulation was still continuing.

[Year One Hundred Fifty-One: You began to notice that, under the force of your powerful muscles, your bones were under too much strain and often sent out warnings in the form of pain. You began to nourish your bones.]

[Year One Hundred Sixty: You found nourishing your bones incredibly difficult. The basic Body Refining Technique really was too basic; none of its movements could directly train your bones. You could only cause slight damage to them through extreme exertion, then let them repair. It was painful and painfully slow, and you grew frustrated.]

[Year One Hundred Seventy: Your progress in Bone Refining was slow...]

[Year Two Hundred: Your bones had grown much stronger, but progress was still slow. During your long-term practice of the Body Refining Technique, you noticed the benefits of the breathing method used alongside it. You began to focus on the breathing method...]

[Year Two Hundred Thirty: You grasped the subtleties of the breathing method and learned to circulate your qi and blood through breathing. Your qi and blood were powerful, and using them to nourish and repair your bones doubled your results with half the effort.]

[Year Two Hundred Fifty: By nourishing them with your qi and blood, you made your bones increasingly sturdy. But you found that while your qi and blood were powerful, they were also quickly depleted. Qi and blood came from food, so you needed to eat meat at every meal—or even rare treasures of heaven and earth—to replenish them quickly. But you lacked the means, so you could only nourish your bones while slowly recovering your qi and blood.]

[Year Three Hundred: After steadily grinding away, your bones were finally tempered until they were like refined steel, fully capable of bearing the full force of your strength. With a full-force punch, you could flatten an iron ingot without damaging your muscles or bones. You broke through the Bone Refining bottleneck!]

At last, your tendons were forged like iron, and your bones were like refined steel!