Blood Qi Abundance (Blue)! Third Bone-Tempering! The Limit?

Old Feng returned home to find his courtyard in utter disarray, his eldest grandson nowhere to be seen. He immediately grabbed a lantern and hurried out to search.

After hearing the earth-shaking commotion from Mu Yang's courtyard, he somehow found his way over. Only after the sounds had faded did he force down the fear and unease in his heart and push open the courtyard gate.

Moonlight and lantern light illuminated the blood and severed limbs.

With just one glance, Old Feng saw his grandson's incomplete, mangled body.

He neither cried nor shouted. He merely carried his lantern and staggered forward step by trembling step. Squatting down, he gently stroked his grandson's face with his withered hands.

Mu Yang rose from beside the well.

He wanted to say something, yet found that at this moment, any words would be pale and powerless.

Old Feng had lost his wife in his youth, his son in middle age, and now, in his twilight years, even his only grandson was gone.

"Constable Mu, thank you for avenging my grandson..."

Old Feng did not look at Hui Er's corpse, beaten into a bloody pulp. He merely thanked Mu Yang.

His voice was dry and hoarse, just like his withered hands.

After speaking, Old Feng had no intention of talking with Mu Yang further. He simply took off his clothes, carefully wrapped up his grandson, and lifted him into his arms. Pressing his aged cheek against the bloodied little face, he murmured softly, "Xiao Bao, Grandpa has come to take you home..."

His hunched figure gradually vanished from the courtyard as he spoke.

Mu Yang stood where he was, silent for a long while.

Only after quite some time did he walk to the courtyard gate and raise a hand to close the not particularly heavy wooden door.

Under the moonlight, his gaze fell upon Hui Er's badly battered corpse.

He had thought the body he had smashed to pieces would be useless, but when he looked over, a translucent panel suffused with an ink-wash hue quietly appeared.

[Equippable Item: Rat Demon Corpse (Complete)]

[Rank: Third Rank]

[Equipment Effects: ① Sturdy Physique (White): Physique receives a slight improvement (physical strength, total stamina, and reaction speed all improve across the board).

② Blood Qi Abundance (Blue): Total Blood Qi receives a substantial increase.

③ Shadow Stealth (Blue): Blood Qi can be consumed to gain the ability to briefly conceal one's body within shadows. During Shadow Stealth, movement speed receives a substantial increase.]

[Permanent Solidification Condition: Equip this item for ten days, or while this item is equipped, kill any demon beast of Third Rank or above.]

"A blue Blood Qi Abundance trait?"

If Hui Er's corpse being usable was an unexpected delight, then the blue Blood Qi Abundance trait was delight upon delight.

If he had not just witnessed the Feng grandfather and grandson's tragic fate, Mu Yang might have been very happy.

There was no need to say much about Sturdy Physique. It was a standard trait for strengthening the body and boosting power.

Mu Yang had just witnessed the effects of Shadow Stealth as well.

Even when he had unleashed his full speed with Three-Breath Lightness, Hui Er had still been able to evade his vital points. Its effectiveness was plain to see.

He wondered just how fast Shadow Stealth would be when used in the Third Breath: Fullness state of Three-Breath Lightness.

Coming back to himself, Mu Yang walked over to Hui Er's corpse, placed his hand on the mangled body, and silently recited in his heart.

"Equip Rat Demon Corpse."

[Ding! Rat Demon Corpse equipped!]

Blood Qi surged through Mu Yang's body like an erupting volcano.

The Blood Qi brought by the blue-quality Blood Qi Abundance was far, far greater than Mu Yang had imagined.

The vast quantity of Blood Qi was so immense and so fierce that his body began to flush and heat up.

Threefold. The Blood Qi boost brought by this blue trait was a full three times that of High-Grade Martial Arts.

In other words, the Third Bone-Tempering that would originally have required three High-Grade Martial Arts manuals could be completed with merely this one Third-Order Demon Corpse.

"High-quality traits really are incredibly powerful!"

After quietly sighing in his heart, Mu Yang cleared away his distractions and began mobilizing his Blood Qi to hammer his bones.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

A series of dense, heavy sounds like clashing gold and iron rang out from within Mu Yang's body.

His bones, which had originally glimmered with pale gold, now completely transformed into brilliant, dazzling gold!

Third Bone-Tempering, complete!

One arm gained 6,000 jin of strength!

One had to know that ordinary Tendon-Bone Realm martial artists, even after completing both Tendon Tempering and Bone Forging, gained only 2,000 jin of strength.

The strength increase from the Third Bone-Tempering was directly three times that of an ordinary Tendon-Bone Realm martial artist!

And this was not yet Mu Yang's limit.

Do not forget that the Third-Order Rat Demon Corpse also had the white Sturdy Physique trait.

The Sturdy Physique trait from a First-Rank Rat Demon Corpse granted 300 jin of strength, roughly one-third the power of a martial artist at First-Rank Skin and Flesh Realm Perfection.

The Sturdy Physique trait from a Second-Rank Rat Demon Corpse granted 1,000 jin of strength, roughly one-third the power of a martial artist at Second-Rank Tendon-Bone Realm Perfection.

And the Sturdy Physique trait from a Third-Order Rat Demon Corpse likewise granted one-third the strength of a martial artist at Third-Stage Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection—an entire 3,000 jin!

In other words, the total strength in one of Mu Yang's arms had now reached 20,000 jin!

That was fully twice the strength of an ordinary martial artist at Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection.

And Mu Yang's current realm was merely the Second-Rank Tendon-Bone Realm.

"This is only the Third Tendon-Tempering and Bone Forging. If I could undergo a fourth or fifth time, then in terms of raw strength alone, I might even surpass Condensing Qi Realm martial artists!"

Thinking this, Mu Yang took out the two High-Grade Martial Arts manuals hidden against his chest.

He still had two empty Equipment Slots. This was the perfect chance to test the total amount of Blood Qi required for the fourth Tendon Tempering.

"Equip Bronze Skin Technique and Iron Sand Palm."

[Ding! Bronze Skin Technique and Iron Sand Palm equipped.]

Two currents of Blood Qi emerged from Mu Yang's body. Though their total amount was not small, compared to the blue-quality Blood Qi Abundance trait, they still fell short.

"Hm? I can't temper them?"

Feeling the changes in his tendons and bones, Mu Yang frowned slightly.

He discovered that his tendons, now turned brilliant gold, seemed to have reached some sort of limit. Like a bottle filled to the brim with water, unless the bottle itself grew larger, no more water could be poured in.

"Looks like the Third Tendon-Tempering and Bone Forging is the limit of the Tendon-Bone Realm."

Mu Yang secretly felt regret.

If Tendon Tempering and Bone Forging could continue without limit, he would not mind remaining in this realm a while longer.

Since he could not continue, then he could only break through!

With that thought, Mu Yang began circulating his Blood Qi according to the route for nourishing Blood Marrow in the Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique.

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