Sinews Like Forged Iron, Bones Like Refined Steel!

The forest was deathly quiet. Everyone stared at the heroic youth sitting atop his horse, as still as a mountain, their hearts filled with shock.

This kid was a blood-drenched Yama; they hadn't seen a single living soul along the entire path they had traveled!

The troops trailing behind hadn't even caught sight of a single mobile enemy; all they saw were the headless corpses of scouts.

At this moment, even the two Centurions were left speechless.

The battle had only just begun, yet this kid's achievements were already enough to earn him the rank of Centurion, putting him on par with them. Combined with the attitude Meng Tian and the General held toward him, his future was limitless. How could these two Centurions dare to act superior toward Zhao Cheng?

Thinking it over, the two stepped forward and saluted, "Little brother, how shall we proceed? Do you have a plan?"

Zhao Cheng opened his eyes, instantly appearing like a tiger waking from its slumber. A murderous aura radiated from his gaze, causing both Centurions to startle!

"Prepare to assault the stronghold!"

He looked at the elite Assault Cavalry that had gathered, numbering about one hundred and sixty men. Based on his observations, the defenders at the Southern Foothills of Fang City were not numerous—roughly five hundred stationed on the walls, with an unknown number in the rear.

"Leave the horses here. Follow me to sneak up, occupy the Southern Foothills of Fang City, and wait for reinforcements to arrive. Then we strike the pass, attacking from both inside and out to take Fang City."

The men swallowed hard, a mix of excitement and nervousness rising in their hearts.

If this succeeded, it would be a great merit, but the danger involved was self-evident. Even though they were elites, there were only a little over one hundred and sixty of them, and they lacked siege equipment like scaling ladders.

Even if the walls of Fang City were not high, it was still a place easy to defend and hard to attack.

The danger was immense.

Where there is danger, there are naturally those who do not wish to cooperate.

The Centurion with the long face and flat nose said, "The risk of this move is simply too great. If the enemy discovers us early, we will be turned into beehives by arrows before we even reach the wall."

"Little brother, you lack combat experience after all. You don't understand the difficulty of attacking from a lower position. The enemy holds the high ground, occupies a favorable position, and has more men. It is impossible for us to take it."

"Even if they don't discover us early, how many of us can actually climb up? Once they react, those on top will be surrounded, and those below will be beaten back. We will be trapped in a dilemma—that is a crushing defeat!"

Others who didn't want to take the risk chimed in, "That's right. Even if we barely manage to occupy it, who knows how many will die? The losses will be heavy, and even a pyrrhic victory will lead to punishment."

The Qin military system practiced collective responsibility; if a Centurion made a mistake, the Platoon Leaders were also punished.

Once one reached the rank of Platoon Leader or Centurion, merit was no longer calculated simply by the number of heads one personally took. Instead, it was calculated by the number of enemies killed by the commanded unit, minus the losses sustained by that unit, to determine if the remaining enemy head count was sufficient for promotion in rank or title.

For example, a Platoon Leader commanding fifty men with the rank of Zanniao needed the entire platoon to take thirty-three armored heads to be promoted.

If, in a battle, ten of the fifty men he led died, but the unit killed forty-three enemies, he could be promoted to Bugeng and then to Centurion, commanding one hundred men.

But if thirty men died and the number of enemies killed was less than thirty, he would face severe punishment!

Precisely because of this, although the two Centurions admired Zhao Cheng's martial prowess and were willing to respect him, they were not so willing to take risks when it involved the danger of dereliction of duty.

After all, killing enemies to gain merit was uncertain, but losses were guaranteed.

Seeing this, Zhao Cheng did not force them; after all, in name, he was only a Squad Leader.

Meng Tian's order was: when the opportunity arises, ascend the Southern Foothills of Fang City.

Whether the opportunity was right now was a matter of opinion. There might be better situations, but this opportunity was rare and fleeting; it had to be seized.

He looked around, "We have made a forced march to get here. I have beheaded all the enemy scouts and sentries, but those further out may not have been dealt with. They could transmit news of our raid to the Southern Foothills of Fang City at any moment. The opportunity is fleeting."

"I cannot deny the risks, and death will certainly occur, but this is a critical turning point. If we can occupy the Southern Foothills before the cavalry in the rear arrives, we can strike the Fang City pass in one go, coordinate with the main army, and completely open the eastern gate of Nanyang!"

"The Five-Hundred Commander appointed me as the vanguard. I am duty-bound to lead the charge, be the first to climb the wall, and fight to the death! Those willing to charge with me, follow me to the front. Those who don't want to, provide cover with bows from below!"

His expression was as calm as a lake, but the fiery light in his eyes stirred the souls of everyone present.

What powerful confidence, what sharp brilliance!

Zhao Cheng took a few steps forward. Behind him, Feng Quan and the other nine men followed as closely as ever. Then, more and more men stepped forward to follow in Zhao Cheng's wake.

There were nearly a hundred men, while the remaining sixty or seventy hesitated.

Among the two Centurions, the one who hadn't spoken also stepped forward firmly.

The long-faced Centurion sighed, "Fine, I will lead the men to provide cover from below the wall. This is a dangerous move, but I wish you all a triumphant return!"

Their opinions differed—one side was aggressive, the other conservative—but they were all comrades-in-arms, and he truly hoped his brothers would return alive.

Zhao Cheng dismounted, his figure moving like a wild leopard as he crept upward, silent and soundless.

Behind him were elites who had been through hundreds of battles; they were experienced and equally silent.

Over a hundred men moved upward like ghosts.

Zhao Cheng sank his consciousness into the system, preparing to invest a large amount of lifespan into deduction. He was acting as the vanguard to scale the wall; even with his Flesh Refining at the Great Completion stage, he was still made of flesh and blood, and he lacked combat experience.

He could say he had no certainty of success in this battle, so he had to improve his strength as much as possible before scaling the wall to increase his chances of survival.

"System, invest five hundred years of lifespan to deduce the Basic Body Refining Technique..."

[Beginning to invest lifespan to deduce the Basic Body Refining Technique.]

[In the first year, you continuously tempered the tendons throughout your body according to the movements in the Body Refining Technique. The sluggish tendons felt like shackles on your physical form, and you began to realize that the fascia is the framework of power!]

[In the third year, you finally found a sense of it. Every time you exercised, a sharp, cramp-like pain would appear in your body, as if the tendons in the parts you were refining were about to tear. You continued to advance through the pain...]

[In the tenth year, your tendons became increasingly tough. Your body could now transmit explosive, unified power through the fascia, condensing the strength of your entire body to flow and roll within your tendons, stacking it onto every punch and palm strike!]

[Year 30: With every movement, your tendons are coiled like bowstrings, brimming with boundless power. However, you keenly perceive that the tiny fascia in many corners of your body are difficult to train. They act like iron chains stretched across critical areas, obstructing the transmission of your strength. Requiring highly eccentric postures for targeted training, you begin the arduous process of working these minute fascia throughout your body...]

[Year 50: You train tirelessly, day and night, to refine the tiny fascia throughout your body. Finally, you complete the tempering of all fascia. Your muscles and fascia integrate, weaving your entire body's strength into several major currents and unsealing the majority of your muscular potential...]

[Year 100: Your tendons are like dragons, your strength flows throughout your body, and your fascia grow increasingly resilient.]

[Year 130: Your fascia are as tough as interlocking iron chains. You feel that even the sharpest blades would struggle to cleave through the parts of your body covered by them.]

[Year 150: Your fascia are flawless and incredibly tough, your strength gathered like a dragon. You break through the Tendon Refining stage and step into the Bone Refining stage!]

At this moment, Zhao Cheng's entire body suddenly tenses. His hand, resting against a tree trunk, grips down, and half the trunk is silently crushed into wood powder!

His fascia twitch and shift rapidly beneath layers of muscle, transforming and binding with the muscle tissue until his tendons resemble interlocking iron cables.

Ultimately, his tendons become like steel cables, his muscles like those of a tiger, unsealing infinite power. He feels his physical body is not only incredibly tough but also possesses boundless strength.

"With the current strength of my fascia, even without my light armor, enemy blades would find it hard to cut through and damage my vitals. Only the gaps not covered by fascia and the major arteries beneath the skin remain relatively dangerous."

The transformation of his fascia fills him with a sense of security. "Coupled with the massive amount of strength I've unsealed and my speed increasing many times over, my lethality on the battlefield has surged. Even if a fierce tiger stood before me now, I could kill it with a casual strike!"

"It's just that my bones don't seem to be holding up." Zhao Cheng shakes his hand, feeling a dull ache in his finger bones.

Behind him, Feng Quan follows closely, hand on a tree trunk, when he suddenly feels something is wrong.

Why is there a chunk missing from this tree?

He looks down, and his eyes suddenly widen in shock.

There is a gap in the trunk where a hand had gripped it, the marks of five fingers clearly visible!

His gaze falls upon Zhao Cheng's palm, which is covered in wood shavings, and he is completely stunned.

Is this mother-f***ing human hand??

At this time, the simulation continues.

[Year 151: You begin to notice that under the immense muscular force, your bones are under too much pressure, frequently sending out signals of pain. You begin to nourish your bones.]

[Year 160: You find nourishing your bones to be incredibly difficult. The basic Body Refining Technique is truly too basic; there are no movements that can directly temper the bones. You can only cause micro-damage to the bones through extreme force and then repair them. It is painful and the progress is very slow, leaving you feeling somewhat troubled.]

[Year 170: Progress in Bone Refining is slow...]

[Year 200: Your bones have become much sturdier, but progress remains slow. Through long-term practice of the Body Refining Technique, you perceive the wonders of a breathing method that complements the physical training. You begin to focus on the breathing method...]

[Year 230: You grasp the mysteries of the breathing method and learn to circulate your blood-qi through respiration. Your blood-qi is potent, and using it to nourish and repair your bones yields twice the result with half the effort.]

[Year 250: Through nourishment by blood-qi, your bones become increasingly solid. However, you discover that although your blood-qi is strong, it is consumed rapidly. Blood-qi originates from food; you need to eat meat every meal, or even rare treasures, to replenish it quickly. Lacking the conditions, you can only nourish your bones while slowly recovering your blood-qi.]

[Year 300: Through persistent, grinding effort, your bones are finally tempered like refined steel, fully capable of bearing your extreme power. With a full-force punch, you can flatten an iron ingot without your tendons, muscles, or bones suffering the slightest damage. You break through the Bone Refining stage!]

Thus, tendons like iron, bones like refined steel!