Jaw-Dropping

11:00 AM.

Shi Fen said his goodbyes to Elder Qian, carrying bags of luggage as he boarded the "chartered" fighter jet heading home.

Inside the bags were Shi Fen's "personal achievements" from the past three months, along with some packed delicacies he intended to bring back for his family to taste.

A set of SS-grade combat gear, an SS-grade Blood Shadow War Blade, an SS-grade shield, 30 SS-grade throwing knives, the new Youquan Blade, and two throwing knives. These were weapons Shi Fen had forged himself using materials he bought with his own money. Beyond the weapons, there was also a backpack for outdoor combat, a communicator, and more.

In truth, Shi Fen could have used the SS-grade weapons meant for training whenever he liked; Elder Qian wouldn't have minded. But Shi Fen didn't do that. He would have felt ashamed to take things that belonged to Elder Qian.

There is no feeling quite like using one's own belongings.

Shi Fen returned this time as a registered martial artist. He was now a martial artist registered with the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, but because he hadn't submitted any records of monster materials, he was currently just the most ordinary of martial artists—not even a low-level warrior.

If Shi Fen wanted to raise his status, he could rely on his strength as a Spiritual Master to slaughter countless high-level lord-class monsters and earn the title of Invincible War God with extreme ease.

Given Shi Fen's current Spiritual Force strength, as long as he didn't run into swarms of king-class monsters, he could walk sideways through the Wilderness Area alone without a care in the world.

However, Shi Fen had no such plans.

First, Shi Fen did not want to affect Luo Feng.

Second, Shi Fen intended to use his seven days of rest to enter the Wilderness Area and use ordinary monsters and the most basic strength to hone his blade techniques and footwork. After years of training behind closed doors, his progress in martial arts had been as slow as a snail's crawl; it was time for real combat training.

Indeed.

After three months of experimentation, Shi Fen had finally chosen to practice the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade. He had successfully mastered the basics and now grasped the first layer of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade.

Actually, Shi Fen was most skilled with the hammer, but there were no top-tier secret manuals for hammer techniques. If he insisted on using the hammer, he would have to create his own, which was clearly not worth the effort. Shi Fen had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and chose blade techniques.

Initially, Shi Fen had narrowed it down to two choices: the sword or the blade.

The use of blades and swords was somewhat similar to the hammer techniques Shi Fen was already highly proficient in. Sword techniques leaned more toward agility and finesse, while blade techniques leaned more toward power and dominance.

After a moment of thought, Shi Fen chose the blade.

Blade technique realms are divided into four levels: Basic, Proficient, Perfection, and Artistic Conception.

Footwork realms are divided into four levels: Basic, Micro, Perfect, and Artistic Conception.

Shi Fen had spent three months fumbling around on his own; his footwork had reached the Micro level, and his blade technique had stepped onto the threshold of the Perfection level.

That he reached the threshold of the Perfection level in blade techniques was entirely due to his 18 years of experience playing with hammers. "Master one method, and you master all methods"—he had applied his hammer-wielding techniques to the blade, forcibly pushing himself onto the threshold of the Perfection level.

When it came to using a blade, Shi Fen was a complete "oddity."

The fighter jet landed steadily on the residential complex's landing pad.

Shi Fen carried his bags in both hands and trotted all the way home.

"Dad, Mom, Brother! I'm back!" Shi Fen shouted before he even reached the front door.

The three people waiting inside heard Shi Fen's voice and were overjoyed, rising to welcome him.

Li Ziyi opened the door and, seeing Shi Fen, immediately rushed over to fuss over him, checking for any changes and asking this and that, terrified that Shi Fen might have suffered some grievance.

Shi Tie noticed that Shi Fen's mental state had changed; he appeared extremely sharp and capable, completely different from before. Shi Tie's eyes lit up, and he rushed forward with Shi Tian, asking anxiously, "Son (Brother), how much has your forging technique improved?"

Seeing the reaction of her husband and eldest son, Li Ziyi snapped, "The whole family is reunited, and all you can think about is forging, ignoring everything else."

Shi Tie and Shi Tian immediately forced awkward laughs, not daring to speak further.

"Haha."

Seeing his mother lose her temper and scold his brother and father, Shi Fen couldn't help but chuckle to himself. His mother was the absolute apex of the family's "food chain"; he had seen scenes like this since he was a child.

"Mom, I brought back a lot of delicious food. It's almost mealtime, let's eat first, let's eat first." Shi Fen chuckled inwardly and hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

Li Ziyi's expression softened slightly, and she began to see to the meal.

Shi Fen placed the largest bag on the dining table. "Mom, the dishes are all in the insulated box inside the bag. They're ready to eat. I'm going upstairs to put some things away first."

The three people downstairs immediately busied themselves, taking the beautifully packaged delicacies out of the large insulated box and setting them on the table, diligently preparing for lunch.

Shi Fen dashed back to his bedroom, released his Spiritual Force to envelop the entire room, and confirmed there were no anomalies. He immediately drew the curtains, swept his hand through the bag, and stored all the weapons and equipment into his World Ring, leaving only the Youquan Blade and two throwing knives in the bag.

With so many eyes around, he had been cautious, only putting them into the World Ring now.

Shi Fen nodded in satisfaction, picked up the Spirit of Vegetation medicinal wine, and went downstairs to eat.

When Shi Fen went downstairs, his family was waiting quietly at the dining table for him to take his seat.

"Everything's ready, come and eat," Shi Tie urged with a smile.

Everyone enjoyed the meal immensely. To be precise, this was the first time the whole family had gathered for a formal meal in this villa.

After the meal.

Shi Fen smiled mysteriously, picked up three small teacups from the coffee table, unscrewed the cap of the medicinal wine, and poured three cups with extreme care. The amounts in the three cups were different; Shi Fen poured them with absolute precision, as his family members' strength happened to correspond exactly to the three levels of martial arts students: junior, intermediate, and senior.

If he wasn't precise and they drank too much, the supplement would be too strong, and that would be a disaster.

"Hehe."

Shi Fen smiled and respectfully handed over the three teacups. He had poured the most into the cup for Shi Tian, a medium amount for Shi Tie, and the least for Li Ziyi.

"Drink up. This is the best thing I've managed to get from my master."

Shi Tie noticed that Shi Tian had more wine than him, so he frowned slightly and said with some annoyance, "Do you look down on my tolerance? Giving me this little bit, are you feeding a cat?"

Shi Fen hurriedly explained with a smile, "Haha, Dad, this wine is a treasure that improves physical fitness. The amount in your bowl can increase your strength by at least 300 jin once consumed. Given your current physical condition, this is all you can handle."

Upon hearing this, the three of them were so shocked their jaws nearly hit the floor.

Shi Tie stood up abruptly and said in disbelief, "After drinking this little bit of wine, I'll be almost a quasi-martial artist?"

Shi Tian was slower to react, but upon hearing his father's words, he said in shock, "Doesn't that mean I'll be almost beyond a quasi-martial artist after drinking it?"

"Correct." Shi Fen nodded gently.

The three of them stared at Shi Fen with wide eyes, looking completely incredulous.

"Drink up quickly. If you don't, the medicinal efficacy will evaporate and go to waste," Shi Fen said, seeing that the three of them were unresponsive.

Hearing that the medicinal efficacy would be wasted, the three immediately scrambled to pick up their cups and downed the contents in one gulp.

"Good wine."

Shi Tie was a connoisseur of alcohol; as soon as the wine hit his throat, he immediately tasted the quality of the aged liquor and couldn't help but praise it. Shi Tian hadn't drunk much white spirit before and was overwhelmed by the spiciness of the high-concentration liquor. Li Ziyi often accompanied Shi Tie in drinking, so she didn't have any particular reaction, but among the three, she had the lowest strength, being only a junior martial arts hall student. After this cup of wine, her complexion immediately became much more rosy.

Li Ziyi was a thrifty person; she immediately poured plain water into her teacup, rinsed it, and drank the rinse water. Shi Tie and Shi Tian were no fools, so they immediately followed suit and drank the rinse water as well.

Shi Tie and Shi Tian closed their eyes, feeling the warm current within their bodies enhancing their physical fitness. The hidden injuries caused by forging were being soothed by the warm current, and those injuries were rapidly recovering.

Li Ziyi felt the warm current washing over every part of her body. She glanced at the wine pot beside Shi Fen and saw that he had only drunk a tiny bit of the wine in his cup, so she hurriedly asked, "Doesn't this wine mean you could create many famous martial artists? Why aren't you drinking it?"

"Of course, Mom, my strength is already sufficient. You all should finish this bottle over the next few days; it's troublesome to store once opened," Shi Fen replied respectfully.

"Sufficient to what degree?" Li Ziyi pressed.

"Advanced War God. Entering the Wilderness Area is like taking a stroll," Shi Fen answered honestly.

The eyes of the three immediately went round, and their mouths hung open so wide they were almost touching the floor.

"I'm telling the truth, otherwise why would I bring back such divine wine? By the way, keep this a secret for now; I don't want to scare my brothers." Seeing their expressions, Shi Fen sighed slightly. As he had guessed, this round of shock was unavoidable.

"Advanced War God?" the three stammered.

Shi Fen let out a deep sigh and told them the truth, recounting his experiences over the past three months.

"Brother Hong???!!!"

The three of them exploded!

"You aren't lying to me, are you?" the three asked in rapid succession.

Shi Fen rolled his eyes and retorted, "If I weren't an Advanced War God, would I have brought back medicinal wine that improves strength? If I weren't an Advanced War God, would I have this medicinal wine and not drink it myself?"

The three of them truly believed him now.

"Alright, stop letting your imaginations run wild. Calm your minds and let the medicinal power take effect. Later, I'll teach you how to practice Taiji Fist. Drink a little more tonight so your strength increases faster," Shi Fen suddenly changed his tone, becoming serious.

The three were overjoyed, and Shi Fen's change in demeanor had no effect on their mood.

"Sigh," Shi Fen felt that he was truly asking for trouble.

Shi Fen cleared his throat and said seriously once more, "Alright, alright, there will be plenty of this stuff in the future. Look at how happy you are."

Shi Tie widened his eyes and said in disbelief, "There will be more in the future?"

"This is a benefit for a Special Grade Forging Master at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. I am a future Special Grade Forging Master, so this medicinal wine is easy for me to obtain. By the way, keep my strength a secret for now."

Hearing this, the three immediately calmed down, nodded earnestly, and after exchanging glances, sat cross-legged on the sofa to digest the medicinal power.

In the afternoon, Shi Fen taught them how to practice the Soft Fist of Taiji to master their improved physical fitness. In his spare time, Shi Fen shared new forging experiences and techniques.

In the evening, Shi Fen poured the medicinal wine for his family again. This time, Li Ziyi, Shi Tie, and Shi Tian all rushed into the bathroom to wash off the impurities expelled from their pores.

Fortunately, there were many bathrooms in the villa, otherwise, the scene would have been...

The next morning, Shi Fen went to Luo Feng's house and improved the physical fitness of his godfather, godmother, and Luo Hua. Their strength increased by two or three hundred kilograms, and their overall state improved significantly.

"Hehe, when Luo Feng finds out, it will definitely give him a fright."

Shi Fen concealed a lot of information. He only told Luo Feng's family that he was participating in elite forging training and that this was a benefit provided for his family. Because his talent was so good, he had been given a little extra.

Luo Feng's family didn't ask too many questions; feeling the amazing effects of the medicine, their jaws had already hit the floor. Besides, if their godson could provide such good things, why would they ask unnecessary questions?

Shi Fen didn't give Luo Feng's family too much of the medicinal wine. In any case, Luo Feng would be able to earn it in the future, so there was no need to rush these few days. Improving their physical fitness a bit so they could live comfortably was enough. Shi Fen had great uses for this medicinal wine; no matter how good he was to Luo Feng's family, he couldn't disrupt his own plans.

That afternoon, Shi Fen helped his family improve their strength again.

This time there was one more person, and that person was Wei Wen.

"What university? I'll directly boost you to the level of a super quasi-martial artist. Learning to forge and becoming a martial artist is the real deal. You'll participate in the martial artist assessment next year." Shi Fen was extremely domineering in his treatment of Wei Wen.

Wei Wen was also stunned by Shi Fen's grand gesture.

After feeling the magical effects of the medicinal wine, Wei Wen didn't say a word, didn't ask about the source of the wine, and followed Shi Fen's arrangements wholeheartedly. Shi Fen's words were the direction for his life's progress. He had latched onto this "thigh" in a very stable, accurate, and ruthless manner.

For convenience, Wei Wen moved in temporarily.

In the few days since returning home, Shi Fen supervised everyone every day, ensuring they drank the medicinal wine on time and leading them in practicing Taiji Fist to master their own strength. The physical fitness of the four of them took off like a rocket!

With the addition of Wei Wen, the four grown men had even more enthusiasm for discussing forging!