By the time Mu Yang returned to the small courtyard, the dim sky had already gone completely dark.
Mu Yang tossed the bound Rat Demon Corpse onto the ground and shut the courtyard gate behind him.
Silvery moonlight spilled down, casting mottled shadows across the ground.
Mu Yang did not hurry to light a lamp. Instead, he walked over to the rat demon's headless corpse by the moonlight.
"Equip Rat Demon Corpse!"
[Ding! Rat Demon Corpse equipped!]
White Trait · Sturdy Physique, loaded!
Single-arm strength +1,000 pounds!
Total strength reached 9,500 pounds!
At the same time, the White Trait · Qi-Blood Abundance sprang into action.
In an instant, a familiar warm current surged from every corner of his body.
Mu Yang closed his eyes and skillfully guided this newly generated Blood Qi toward his tendons, which had long since become as tough as steel, washing over them.
That was right. Mu Yang was preparing to attempt the Third Tendon-Tempering.
Although Wu Cai had only said that Tendon Tempering and Bone Forging could be performed twice, since there was a second time, there might not necessarily be no third time.
In any case, there was no harm in trying.
Very soon, under Mu Yang's guidance, the Blood Qi gradually enveloped his tendons and began attempting to temper them.
The good news was that a Third Tendon-Tempering really could be carried out.
The bad news was that the Blood Qi provided by a mere Second-Order Demon Corpse was a drop in the bucket compared to what the Third Tendon-Tempering required.
That vast Blood Qi, enough to let an ordinary warrior who had just entered the Tendon-Bone Realm break through directly into the Bone-Forging Stage, flowed into his tendons like a clay ox entering the sea, without even stirring a single ripple.
In just a few breaths, all the Blood Qi brought by the Rat Demon Corpse had been completely used up.
Clearly, the Third Tendon-Tempering required an absurd amount of Blood Qi.
If the total Blood Qi needed to complete the first Tendon Tempering and Bone Forging was one, and the total needed for the Second Tendon-Tempering and Bone Forging was three, then completing the Third Tendon-Tempering alone required no less than four.
The Third Bone-Tempering would require even more Blood Qi.
Relying on Second-Order Demon Corpses alone would likely be rather difficult.
After all, he only had three Equipment Slots. Even if he obtained two more Second-Order Demon Corpses, the total Blood Qi still would not be enough.
Unless he acquired a Third-Order Demon Corpse, or High-Grade Martial Arts!
With that thought, Mu Yang did not hesitate. He immediately took out the High-Grade Martial Arts Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique that he had kept close to his body.
[Equippable item: Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique (High-Grade Martial Arts)] [Rank: Third Rank] [Equipment effects: ① Perfection (White): Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique proficiency reaches the level of Perfection. ② Blade Technique Affinity (Blue): Slightly increases affinity for blade-type martial arts, accelerating the cultivation speed of blade-type martial arts.] [Permanent solidification condition: Equip this item for ten days, or while this item is equipped, kill any demon beast of Third Rank or above.]
The Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique did not have many traits, only two, and their effects were quite ordinary.
But Mu Yang did not care. What he needed was merely the Blood Qi boost brought by equipping this martial art.
"Equip Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique!"
[Ding! Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique equipped!]
Boom!!!
As insights into all manner of exquisite blade techniques surfaced in his mind, a scorching torrent far beyond anything before erupted from every corner of Mu Yang's body like a volcanic eruption.
This time, it was no longer a gentle trickle, but a surging river bursting through its banks!
It was several times more vigorous than the Blood Qi brought by the Dragon-Subduing Blade Technique and Iron Cloth Shirt combined.
Mu Yang did not delay at all and immediately began tempering his tendons with the Blood Qi.
If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!
Under the repeated tempering of the massive amount of Blood Qi, every inch of his tendons trembled, contracted, and stretched, becoming tougher and more elastic than before.
The tendons that had originally glimmered with a dark silver sheen also grew increasingly deep in color.
Then, a low sound like a great bow being drawn rang out. The dark silver completely faded away, and a faint gleam of dazzling gold suddenly emerged.
The Third Tendon-Tempering was complete!
Mu Yang slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and opened his eyes, delight flashing through his clear black-and-white pupils.
As expected of the Third Tendon-Tempering, completed only after consuming an enormous amount of Blood Qi. Its strength increase alone was double that of the Second Tendon-Tempering, adding a full 2,000 pounds!
Mu Yang's single-arm strength directly broke through the ten-thousand-pound mark, reaching 11,500 pounds!
His strength was even more formidable than that of a warrior at Third-Stage Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection!
He wondered how great the increase would be after completing the Third Bone-Tempering.
"The Third Tendon-Tempering alone required the Blood Qi boost from one High-Grade Martial Art and one Second-Order Demon Corpse. The Blood Qi required for the Third Bone-Tempering will only be greater!" Mu Yang secretly sighed.
The Blood Qi consumed by the Second Bone-Tempering was twice that of the Second Tendon-Tempering, so the Third Bone-Tempering would probably require twice as much as the Third Tendon-Tempering as well.
In other words, to complete the Third Bone-Tempering, he would need to prepare at least two High-Grade Martial Arts plus two Second-Order Demon Corpses, or two Mid-Grade Martial Arts.
No, considering that he only had three Equipment Slots, he should need three High-Grade Martial Arts, or three Third-Order Demon Corpses.
That was quite a huge demand!
"What a pity that the same martial art can't be equipped repeatedly." Mu Yang secretly lamented.
The same martial art—or rather, the same type of equipment—could not be equipped more than once.
This was something Mu Yang had only discovered last night.
After equipping the Fox Demon Corpse yesterday, he had a sudden idea and found time to copy out a second copy of the Dragon-Subduing Blade Technique.
He had thought he could exploit a loophole, but when he silently recited the command to equip it, there was no response at all.
Clearly, the same type of equipment—at least the same martial arts manual—could only be equipped once.
Though Mu Yang found this somewhat regrettable, he did not dwell on it.
They were only martial arts manuals. At worst, after exchanging his merits tomorrow, he could simply redeem more.
Setting those thoughts aside, Mu Yang took out the Hundred Shadow Flying Needles and equipped it.
Countless memories flooded into his mind: precautions for selecting flying needles, techniques for launching them, methods for concealing his aura before acting, and skills in scouting and tracking.
Together with the "Keen Sense of Smell" trait he had gained from equipping the Rat Demon Corpse, Mu Yang felt that even the slightest rustle within a hundred meters was entirely within his grasp.
If he returned to the entrance of Li Village, he would not need to wait for the rat demon to act at all. He could directly locate it and strike first.
At this point, all three of Mu Yang's Equipment Slots were filled. If he wanted to equip anything else, he would either have to kill Monsters or wait for time to pass.
"If only a Third Rank Monster would appear in my courtyard right now."
After putting away the rat demon's head, Mu Yang thought greedily.
Something that absurd was obviously impossible even to imagine.
Meanwhile.
Outside Qingxi County.
Within Yellow Wind Mountain, a hundred li away from Huang Village and Li Village.
Lush trees blanketed the hills, and at one cave entrance, a hundred-year-old ancient tree had taken root.
Strangely enough, although the ancient tree flourished, animal tracks were rarely seen in the surrounding area.
Under the cold moonlight, the verdant ancient tree appeared especially eerie.
If Mu Yang, with Keen Sense of Smell loaded, were here, he would certainly have smelled the dense, pungent stench of Monsters wafting from the cave.
This was the lair of Yellow Wind Mountain's ruler, the Yellow Wind King!
At that moment, several large figures resembling the two rat demons Mu Yang had killed were conversing at the cave entrance.
"Second Brother, it has already been two days and two nights, but there's still no news from Xiao Jiu."
"Lao Wu also seems to have been down the mountain for several days."
"Those two are so worry-free. Father King's birthday is coming up, yet they're still running around everywhere." The rat demon called Second Brother frowned slightly. "Forget it. I'll head down the mountain and ask around at the Wang Family. Those two fools have probably gotten addicted to fresh meat and forgotten to come home."
With that, he sank into the shadows and vanished into the darkness.
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