Eighth Rank

After gaining a preliminary understanding of mental martial arts, Li Beichen found himself needing to cultivate three different techniques simultaneously.

[Giant Elephant Fist]

[Shuriken]

[White Bone Spirit Refining Observation]

He could have spent all day practicing each one of them.

However, he was only one man and could not be in multiple places at once.

He had to allocate his time properly.

After constant adjustments, he dedicated his daylight hours to [Giant Elephant Fist] and [Shuriken], split in an eight-to-two ratio.

As for his nighttime, he reserved it entirely for [White Bone Spirit Refining Observation].

He had enough Exotic Beast Meat, enough silver, and enough techniques.

Everything was ready; all that remained was to grind.

Li Beichen entered a state of madness.

Apart from three or four hours of sleep and the necessities of life, he poured almost every remaining moment into his cultivation.

Half a month later, the [White Bone Spirit Refining Observation], which had the lowest level of mastery, was the first to break through.

[Technique: White Bone Spirit Refining Observation - Fragment (Preliminary Understanding)]

[Progress: (0/200)]

[Trait: Spirit Fortification]

[Spirit Fortification: Significantly increases mental strength]

The moment the panel prompted him, a cool sensation surged from the void into Li Beichen's mind. Instantly, his spirit cleared and his vision sharpened; all mental fatigue vanished, leaving his gaze piercing and his eyes brimming with vitality.

This was a sign of a massive increase in mental power.

Li Beichen immediately realized that this mental boost should provide positive feedback to his [Shuriken] and [Giant Elephant Fist].

He took a small blade from his sword pouch and aimed at the bullseye.

He felt that, beyond the eyesight granted by the [Sharp] trait, he now possessed a vague, intuitive sense.

Li Beichen closed his eyes.

Relying on his intuition.

He channeled his strength and threw.

Swish! The refined iron blade struck the dead center of the target!

Even though Li Beichen had not opened his eyes, he knew he had hit the mark.

It was a powerful intuition.

He slowly opened his eyes, looked at the refined iron blade firmly embedded in the bullseye, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Immediately after, Li Beichen began to practice the [Giant Elephant Fist].

Although his level of mastery was still at [Slightly Accomplished], after the surge in mental power, his fist techniques gained a hint of nuance.

They became more natural.

The next day, Li Beichen spent the same amount of time on [Shuriken] and [Giant Elephant Fist].

Compared to yesterday, the progress of both these techniques had increased by a point.

"It is just as I thought. The stronger the mental cultivation realm, the faster one learns and practices other martial arts!"

"It truly deserves its reputation as the most mysterious and unpredictable path of cultivation in the martial world."

Time flew by in the blink of an eye.

Autumn leaves withered and turned yellow, and the cold wind began to rise.

It was already December.

Within the [Like-Elephant Martial Hall], most inner-court disciples were in Ram City.

Only Yuan Dazong had left in early November, claiming he had business to attend to with the Tea Guild, and he had yet to return.

Meanwhile, in the outer court, He Keji's progress had leaped to become the highest among all outer-court disciples.

In Li Beichen's view, his [Giant Elephant Fist] progress had been polished deeply within the [Just Entered the Threshold] realm.

He would soon be able to strike with a sound, becoming the eighth inner-court disciple.

As for Li Beichen, aside from [Shuriken], which was still some distance away from the [Mastery] realm, both [Giant Elephant Fist] and [White Bone Spirit Refining Observation] were closing in on their next levels.

Among them, although the White Bone Spirit Refining Observation had only broken through from "First Glimpse of the Path" to "Entering the Threshold," its progress was much slower than the Giant Elephant Fist.

Li Beichen did not know how the technique levels for spiritual martial arts and external body-refining martial arts were distinguished.

However, he was certain that the level of the White Bone Spirit Refining Observation must be very high.

Even with his talent, his progress was merely average.

But Li Beichen did not know that this speed was among the top tier even in super-sects that possessed inherited spiritual martial arts.

On the bone fragment, the description of the Ninth Grade Nourishing Spirit realm of Spirit Refining consisted of only seven characters.

"Spirit Fortification, Heart Peace, and Soul Illumination."

Li Beichen's current understanding of the meaning of these words was more or less figured out.

It meant that the spirit and soul were fortified, the mind was at peace, and one could perceive the location of one's own spirit and soul.

Reaching this level meant one had attained the Ninth Grade Nourishing Spirit realm.

Li Beichen could currently barely manage the first half, but he had yet to perceive his own spirit and soul.

He estimated that once the White Bone Spirit Refining Observation broke through to the "First Glimpse of the Path" realm, he would reach the Ninth Grade Spirit Refining realm.

As for the Giant Elephant Fist.

Li Beichen moved his mind, opened the panel, and looked at the progress.

[Progress: (999/1000)]

"I should be able to break through to the Mastery realm after practicing one more time."

He calmed his heart and cast aside all distracting thoughts.

Immersing himself in the rhythm of the breathing technique, he began to practice the fist techniques earnestly and focusedly.

Giant Elephant Stomp, Ivory Thrust...

A quarter of an hour later, Li Beichen slowly exhaled, finishing a complete practice session of the Giant Elephant Fist.

A few lines of small text appeared before his eyes.

[Technique: Giant Elephant Fist (Mastery)]

[Progress: (0/2000)]

[Traits: Bright Force, Elephant Breath, Thousand Echoes, Hidden Force]

[Bright Force: Body and strength unite, fist exceeds a thousand catties.]

[Elephant Breath: Breath is long and steady, stamina increased, explosive power increased.]

[Thousand Echoes: Muscle strength significantly increased, tendon and bone strength significantly increased, capable of continuously unleashing Bright Force a thousand times.]

[Hidden Force: Force hidden within, strength and tendons unite, silent and formless, force unleashed is a thousand catties.]

In an instant, a scorching torrent surged out of thin air into Li Beichen's entire body of muscles and fascia. In the blink of an eye, his muscles grew and strengthened, and his fascia thickened and reinforced.

Even his bones began to become dense and solid.

His overall physique did not change much, but his weight suddenly soared by twenty catties.

Li Beichen felt his strength increase dramatically, and his stamina was greatly enhanced.

He tested it out; with every gesture, it was not just his muscles exploding with power, but his entire body's tendons contracting and stretching with strength, producing explosive power together.

Moreover, due to the strengthening of his fascia, his speed had also increased significantly. He could achieve the transition from extreme motion to extreme stillness and perform sudden turns while running at high speeds.

This ability would tear the tendons of an ordinary person if not for the massive strengthening of the fascia.

After testing the first three traits, Li Beichen looked at the last newly unlocked trait, Hidden Force.

Meng Juxiang had once told him.

Generally speaking, if the Giant Elephant Fist was practiced to the Mastery realm, one could continuously strike out ten echoes, after which one could comprehend a clever force. Through this clever force, one could permeate the body's tendons to carry out the practice of the Eighth Grade Tendon Refining realm.

The advancement of the fist technique not only brought these new traits but also represented that Li Beichen's understanding and insight into the Giant Elephant Fist had further deepened.

He guessed that the clever force Meng Juxiang spoke of was this Hidden Force trait, or perhaps merely the prototype of Hidden Force.

Because Li Beichen could not only use Hidden Force to permeate his entire body's tendons to practice his fascia.

He could also unleash it externally.

He took out a pebble he had previously used as a Locust Stone, covered it with his right hand, and made no large movements.

He simply gave his palm a slight shake.

Moving his palm away, the pebble had already shattered into small pieces.