Invincible War God Shi Fen

Shi Fen clenched his fist once more.

This time, Shi Fen set his stance, employing a rigid and powerful fist technique. He mobilized his entire body's strength, utilizing the force-generation skills he had realized himself; the power rose from the ground, traveling through his soles, calves, thighs, waist, shoulders, and arms, finally transmitting into his fist.

Shi Fen exerted every ounce of his strength, swinging his fist heavily to smash it into the target.

"Bang!" A thunderous boom exploded within the underground Forging Room.

"65,128kg."

Exploding with his full power, Shi Fen possessed the strength of an entry-level War General!

The number on the display screen confirmed Shi Fen's own hypothesis.

After a brief mental calculation, Shi Fen muttered to himself with a hint of chagrin: "After researching fist techniques for so many years, I've only managed to increase my output by a little over 20 percent. Sigh, that's truly a bit pathetic."

"Let me test the power of my Spiritual Force." Shi Fen used his Spiritual Force to sweep up a chisel from the table nearby. He flipped the chisel so its tail faced forward, and under the full control of his Spiritual Force, the tail of the chisel slammed fiercely into the target.

A sound that would make an ordinary person's eardrums burst rang out, and a string of numbers appeared on the screen of the Punch Force Tester.

"199,235kg."

"Just shy of 200 tons." This number was normal; Shi Fen did not feel surprised.

Shi Fen's martial artist strength was that of a high-level War General. A Spiritual Master's strength is two levels higher than their martial artist strength, so naturally, his strength as a Spiritual Master was that of an intermediate War General. The power range for an intermediate War General is between 128,000kg and 256,000kg. Since his martial artist strength was slightly lower than an entry-level War General, his Spiritual Master strength was naturally slightly lower than a high-level War General—it stood to reason.

Shi Fen used his Spiritual Force to manipulate several chisels, sending them all to strike the target at once.

Shi Fen wanted to test his limits of control. He hadn't had the opportunity before, but now that he had top-tier equipment, he naturally began to experiment without restraint.

Before consuming the Dragon Blood, Shi Fen had tested this in his Inner World and found he could control at most 7 flying knives while attacking at full power.

At that time, his Spiritual Force amplitude was 7.

And now, his Spiritual Force amplitude.

After the target had been thoroughly tortured, Shi Fen was shocked by the results. He could actually use his Spiritual Force to control 15 weapons simultaneously while maintaining maximum power!

An intermediate War General Spiritual Master, yet his Spiritual Force amplitude was actually 15.

This was nothing short of a miracle.

After Luo Feng accepted the death mission and learned the 312 Basic Techniques of the Controller, his Spiritual Force amplitude at the 9th stage of the Apprentice level was 16. Shi Fen, at the 8th stage of the Apprentice level, was already approaching Luo Feng in terms of amplitude.

Shi Fen grew curious about whether his brain domain width was as high as Luo Feng's.

Compared to the strength of his Spiritual Force, Shi Fen's martial artist strength was embarrassingly "weak."

It wasn't that Shi Fen was "weak"; the ancient martial arts he had practiced before were merely imitations of the external forms. Shi Fen had only barely managed to touch upon the true "intent" of ancient martial arts.

Martial arts had transitioned from physical fitness to killing techniques. Without clear guidance from secret manuals, this would be a dark tunnel with no end in sight. Once you reached the end of the tunnel by feeling your way along the stones, you had to carve your own path forward, which was extremely difficult.

Ever since he unlocked his inheritance, all of Shi Fen's energy had been poured into forging. While he was quite diligent about physical training, he simply had no spare time to practice martial arts.

Shi Fen was no longer worried about his martial arts attainments not improving. With the many boxes of secret manuals given by Hong, he only needed to put in some effort. With his "genius-level talent," Shi Fen did not believe he couldn't become a grandmaster of martial arts.

Action followed thought.

Shi Fen selected the ancient martial arts manual for Taiji Fist from his collection and began to study it earnestly on the sofa in the lounge. Once he felt he understood it, Shi Fen immediately began to practice the fist techniques over and over in the living area of the training room.

Shi Fen focused on learning the "Yin Fist," the extremely soft and yielding aspect of Taiji Fist. This was what people often referred to as the "method of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds." This type of fist technique specifically tested one's control over body strength and was extremely applicable at this moment.

Practicing these fist techniques now was not for the sake of honing martial arts skills.

Shi Fen was doing this to master his surging power while simultaneously refining the residual medicinal energy within his body. If he were to consume the Jade Marrow and the Millennium Willow Heart directly, there was a high probability that this portion of the medicinal energy would be wasted.

Wasteful behavior was absolutely not allowed!

It wasn't until the third day, when Shi Fen felt his strength was no longer increasing rapidly, that he prepared to consume the Jade Marrow and the Millennium Willow Heart to continue boosting his power.

Jade Marrow is a milky-white liquid, with each portion consisting of only a single drop.

The Jade Marrow given by Hong was exactly one portion.

Jade Marrow is a special cultivation treasure, somewhat similar in function to Dragon Blood. It possesses the ability to improve physical fitness and cleanse the marrow, but unlike Dragon Blood, the effects of Jade Marrow are extremely mild. Although its effects are inferior to Dragon Blood, Jade Marrow can be used in conjunction with other treasures, and it works best when paired with a Spirit of Vegetation.

This drop of Jade Marrow was contained in a specially crafted syringe. The syringe was very, very small, and its unique design allowed this single drop of Jade Marrow to be squeezed out perfectly, without wasting a single bit.

Shi Fen exerted his Spiritual Force, causing the miniature syringe and the Millennium Willow Heart to hover in the air before him.

Shi Fen casually manipulated a small flat-headed hammer. He reached out to grab the handle, and the hammer streaked through the air like lightning, striking the very top of the Millennium Willow Heart with precision. With a "clink," the tough crystalline outer shell of the egg-shaped Millennium Willow Heart was cracked open under Shi Fen's precise strike.

The green liquid inside, filled with the aura of life—the essence of the Millennium Willow Heart—rippled slowly. The liquid did not spill a drop despite Shi Fen's strike. The control he had honed through years of forging was no mere boast; it was forged through real, hard work.

Even with his strength surging, Shi Fen's control remained steady.

The green essence of the Millennium Willow Heart was swept out of its "eggshell" by his Spiritual Force, forming a sphere hovering in the air. At the same time, his Spiritual Force pushed the syringe of Jade Marrow, injecting it into the sphere.

Once the two were mixed, the green liquid hovering in the air radiated an even more intense vitality.

"Hahaha. Come!"

Shi Fen opened his mouth slightly, and under the control of his Spiritual Force, the sphere containing the essence of the two treasures flew directly into his mouth.

He swallowed this small mouthful of treasure, and it instantly entered his body. A cool, refreshing sensation diffused throughout his entire being. While it wasn't as comfortable as the time he underwent life modification, it was not far off.

Shi Fen stretched comfortably.

"Compared to this, Dragon Blood is just trash. This is what you call a treasure; Dragon Blood is truly too much of a torment." Thinking of the difference in how the two were used, Shi Fen felt quite helpless. The memory of the experience of consuming Dragon Blood was still fresh in his mind.

Consuming the Dragon Blood had nearly killed him; had it not been for the changes occurring in his consciousness, Shi Fen would have certainly "hidden away."

Shi Fen sat cross-legged in the bathroom, feeling comfortable. The Jade Marrow would "cleanse the marrow and refine the essence," so filth would inevitably be expelled.

This time, Shi Fen had learned his lesson.

Shi Fen quietly sensed the changes in his body. He could clearly feel his strength rising rapidly. Unlike last time, he didn't have to endure agony, so Shi Fen whistled lightheartedly.

As his body thoroughly absorbed the essence within, the medicinal effects began to take full effect.

Shi Fen stopped whistling; if he kept going, he would end up swallowing the filth directly.

"This effect is truly miraculous." Shi Fen could see with his naked eye that the muscles and bones throughout his body were vibrating at a high frequency with small amplitudes, much like an ultrasonic cleaner. Under this magical cleansing effect, strands of black substance seeped out from his pores.

This ultrasonic-like cleansing sensation was surprisingly extremely comfortable, like drinking a glass of ice-cold soda in the sweltering heat of midsummer, leaving one feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Refreshing to the core!

Soon, this comfortable feeling vanished.

As the amplitude and frequency of the vibrations increased rapidly, his muscles, bones, fascia, cartilage, and blood vessels began to shift from their original positions under the high-frequency shaking. Shi Fen felt as if he had fallen into a spin dryer, his entire being on the verge of being shaken apart.

"Hiss." Shi Fen gasped in pain. He had never expected that what started as a pleasure would end in torture.

Shi Fen now resembled a human "pile driver," sitting in the bathroom and shaking incessantly. The level of vibration his body was producing made him look exactly like a twitching "mechanical dummy."

"I refuse to believe it. I survived the monstrous transformation of the Dragon Blood, so why should I fear you? Isn't it just Jade Marrow combined with a Millennium Willow Heart?" Shi Fen wanted to grit his teeth and persevere, but the constant clashing of his teeth made it unbearable, forcing him to keep his mouth half-open and endure.

Shi Fen's suffering was not in vain.

The ferocious life energy, like a herd of crazed wild bulls, rampaged through Shi Fen's body. As each bull crashed into cells throughout his body, those cells began a comprehensive evolution.

In an instant.

Countless cells in Shi Fen's body, having consumed the potent tonic, immediately began a leap-style evolution. Shi Fen's life genes were rapidly reorganized and evolved; fragmented gene shards were treated as trash, and the cells directly expelled this waste from his body.

The energy from the combination of the Millennium Willow Heart and the Jade Marrow was not wasted in the slightest, rapidly integrating into every part of his body.

At the genetic level, this life energy increased his level by approximately 0.03 times, pushing Shi Fen's life genes beyond the 1-fold mark. Under the fusion of the combined energy, Shi Fen's cellular activity and physical fitness soared.

The progress became faster and faster, and Shi Fen's pain grew more intense...

Shi Fen opened his mouth, letting out involuntary, painful "cough, cough, cough" sounds.

Compared to the evolution of his body, the evolution of his mind was infinitely easier.

A massive amount of life energy entered his mind and immediately transformed into golden mist. For the first time, liquid appeared in the ocean of golden mist; the mist condensed into crystalline golden droplets, forming a small golden lake at the center of his consciousness.

The nine golden spheres once again became bandits within his consciousness. This time, they had no interest in the golden mist; they dove into the golden lake and began gulping down the golden liquid.

As the golden spheres consumed the liquid formed from the golden mist, they became increasingly translucent, evolving toward the state of golden crystal spheres.

The Black Mirror helplessly discovered that the golden spheres were once again wreaking havoc in Shi Fen's consciousness, damaging the foundation of his Spiritual Force. Forced into action, it entered his mind and released a vast amount of cosmic energy to help convert the Spiritual Force into a liquid state.

The golden mist, mixed with strands of golden liquid, fed back into Shi Fen's body in large quantities. His body and mind underwent a dual evolution. Aided by the golden mist and liquid, his body felt as if it had divine assistance, and his physical speed skyrocketed.

At this moment, the increase in his strength no longer followed the standard progression for a Spirit Reader. Shi Fen's martial artist strength was gradually catching up to his Spirit Reader strength.

Shi Fen's physical fitness rose from the mid-level of an Advanced War General (raw punching power around 53,000 kg)... to the baseline of an Elementary War God (raw punching power around 64,000 kg)... to the peak of an Elementary War God (raw punching power approaching 128,000 kg)... to the baseline of an Intermediate War God (raw punching power 128,000 kg)... to the peak of an Intermediate War God (raw punching power approaching 256,000 kg)...

Step by step, it rose rapidly until it crossed the threshold of an Advanced War God!

As Shi Fen stepped into the threshold of an Advanced War God, the Black Mirror suddenly released a massive amount of cosmic energy, which completely covered the vast majority of Shi Fen's consciousness.

The endless golden mist was instantly converted into golden liquid.

The vast consciousness...

Mist swirled and billowed, and the ocean was boundless.

A sea of golden liquid suddenly appeared in his consciousness, surrounded by a large amount of golden mist, adding a touch of mystery to the golden ocean.

"Rumble..."

The surging golden liquid was swallowed in large quantities by the nine translucent golden crystals. With the appearance of the golden ocean, the nine golden crystals increased their suction. Nine massive whirlpools appeared in the golden ocean, churning the liquid until it roared like a stormy sea.

After the Black Mirror released the massive energy to create the golden ocean, its output dropped slightly, but it showed no signs of stopping, continuing to release cosmic energy to compensate for the consumption of the golden ocean.

At this moment, the Spiritual Force contained within the golden ocean was truly staggering.

Shi Fen's strength as a Spirit Reader had now definitely reached the level of an Invincible War God!

When the nine golden crystals became completely transparent and flawless, they immediately stopped their suction. The Black Mirror also ceased releasing energy, and the area of the golden ocean stabilized. The golden liquid ocean occupied the vast majority of the space in Shi Fen's consciousness.

The nine golden crystals became well-behaved again, rotating obediently around the center of the golden liquid ocean.

Shi Fen's strength increase was now finalized.

Martial artist strength: Advanced War God. Moreover, it had reached the average level of an Advanced War God; his power did not simply stop at the threshold of an Advanced War God.

Spirit Reader strength: Indisputably, an Invincible War God!