Thousand Pounds! Reforging! Tendon Tempering!

Thousand Pounds! Reforging! Tendon Tempering! [Ding! Fox Demon Corpse equipped!]

"Boom!!"

A warm current several times stronger than that of the Rat Demon Corpse instantly flooded Mu Yang's limbs and bones.

His muscles trembled, his tendons and bones rumbled, and his body, which had already reached Bone Tempering Perfection, surged in strength once more.

"A thousand pounds of additional strength. Sure enough, even among white traits, the boosts from a Second-Rank monster corpse and a First-Rank monster corpse are worlds apart."

The instant the Fox Demon Corpse was loaded, Mu Yang clearly felt his strength soaring.

His immense strength, which had already exceeded 3,500 pounds, abruptly rose to another tier, reaching 4,500 pounds!

This had already surpassed the limit of the Second-Rank Tendon-Bone Realm and reached the level of the Third-Stage Blood-Marrow Realm.

When he had chatted with Wu Cai before, he had heard him mention the Blood-Marrow Realm.

In the Blood-Marrow Realm, one had to send Blood Qi deep into the bone marrow to nourish the blood marrow. This realm was divided into four levels: Early Stage, Middle Stage, Late Stage, and Perfection.

With initial nourishment, one could gain a thousand pounds of strength. Once all the bones in the limbs had been nourished, one could gain another thousand pounds and step into the Middle Blood-Marrow Realm.

If one finished nourishing the bones of the torso, one would enter the Blood-Marrow Realm Late Stage and gain two thousand pounds of strength.

Once every bone in the body had been fully nourished, and tendons, bones, skin, and flesh throughout the body were fused into one, one could gain three thousand pounds of strength.

That would be Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection, with a single arm capable of wielding ten thousand pounds of force!

Yet Mu Yang was only in the Second-Rank Tendon and Bone Realm. With the enhancement of the Fox Demon Corpse, his single-arm strength had reached 4,500 pounds, greater even than that of an ordinary Early Blood-Marrow Realm martial artist.

And this was only one Fox Demon. If he got several more, perhaps he could stand shoulder to shoulder with—even surpass—Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection.

Sure enough, killing demons was the fastest way to improve!

Just as Mu Yang was thinking this, an even more majestic wave of scorching heat suddenly rose within his body.

The sensation was familiar to Mu Yang. It was the white trait, Qi-Blood Abundance, exerting its power again.

This was a far more massive Blood Qi enhancement than the Rat Demon Corpse had provided. If he had High-Grade Martial Arts on hand, breaking through to the Blood-Marrow Realm would probably be as easy as turning over his hand.

Unfortunately, it was already late, and the County Office had closed for the day.

Moreover, he had no Merit Points to spend. Even if he wanted to exchange for something, he lacked the means.

He could only let this immense Blood Qi seep into his bone marrow and nourish his blood marrow at half the result for twice the effort...

"Hmm?"

Just as Mu Yang regretted wasting this Blood Qi enhancement, he suddenly froze.

The Blood Qi that should have followed his meridians deep into his bone marrow to nourish his blood marrow did not do so.

Instead, just as it had when he equipped the Dragon-Subduing Blade Technique to nourish his tendons and bones during the day, it began to temper his tendons along the tendon channels.

"Twang~~!!"

A sound like a bowstring being drawn rang out from within Mu Yang's body.

His tendons and bones, which had already been tempered to completion, unexpectedly showed signs of being ground down and refined anew beneath the wash of that immense Blood Qi.

The process was much slower than it had been during the day, but Mu Yang could clearly feel his tendons becoming even tougher.

Even the surface of his skin took on an almost imperceptible metallic sheen.

At first, it appeared only faintly on his arms, but under the washing of the immense Blood Qi, that glimmer soon spread across the skin of his entire body.

Only after all the newly added Blood Qi was exhausted did Mu Yang's entire body shine with a faint silvery-white radiance.

Under the moonlight, it glittered brilliantly.

Fortunately, as the Blood Qi ran out, the glow over his body faded completely. Otherwise, Mu Yang would really have had to consider getting himself a full-coverage mask.

"My strength increased again?"

Mu Yang clenched his fist, then swung the Feather-Command Broadblade a few times.

A thousand pounds!

He had gained another thousand pounds of strength, bringing the power of a single arm to 5,500 pounds!

Comparable to a Middle Blood-Marrow Realm martial artist!

"So this is Second Tendon-Tempering?"

Mu Yang sheathed his blade and fell into thought.

Since Tendon Tempering could be repeated, could Bone Tempering be repeated as well?

The first Tendon Tempering had added 500 pounds of strength. The first Bone Tempering had added 1,500 pounds. The second Tendon Tempering had added 1,000 pounds. Then how much would the Second Bone-Tempering add?

2,000 pounds? Or 3,000 pounds?

And how many times, exactly, could this repeated Tendon Tempering and Bone Forging be performed?

For some reason, Mu Yang recalled the protagonist of an online novel he had read in his previous life, who seemed to have cultivated qi to a hundred thousand levels. It had been absurdly exaggerated.

Unfortunately, he had no monster corpses on hand. Tomorrow, he would go to the County Office and ask around, see where people had gone missing.

As he thought, Mu Yang entered the house and casually picked up two arm-thick strips of air-dried pork from beside the bed, stuffing them into the empty Equipment Slot.

The boost from air-dried pork was small, but however small a mosquito leg was, it was still meat. Rather than leave the Equipment Slot empty, he might as well make full use of it.

Drops of water wore through stone. Over time, it would still become a considerable improvement.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, early morning.

As he had the day before, Mu Yang carried the burlap sack containing the Fox Demon Corpse and arrived at the County Office on time to report for duty.

The moment he entered the Constabulary, he saw the broad-shouldered, thick-waisted Wu Cai approach with a smile. Wu Cai held a brand-new copper Squad Leader Waist Token in his hand. "Brother, congratulations! Starting today, you're the fifth squad leader of our Constabulary. This is your official token. Take it!"

This copper token looked much the same as the wooden one from yesterday, likewise bearing the characters for "Constabulary" and "Five."

However, compared with yesterday's temporary wooden token, this copper one was clearly of better quality. It felt cool in his hand and sat comfortably against his palm.

"Thank you, Brother Wu. Sorry to make you run around for this," Mu Yang said.

"What are you thanking me for? It was nothing!" Wu Cai patted him on the shoulder. Seeing the burlap sack in his hand, he continued, "Come on, I'll take you to Clerk Liu to exchange your Merit Points. While we're at it, I'll tell you about the ins and outs of the Tendon-Bone Realm."

Wu Cai had witnessed the state of that Fox Demon Corpse the night before. A Fox Demon that could conceal its features and assume human form was undoubtedly a Second-Rank monster.

Clearly, Mu Yang's talent far exceeded Wu Cai's imagination.

He had never expected that Mu Yang was not merely someone who had just entered the First Rank. More likely, Mu Yang had reached First Rank Perfection long ago, then used the Dragon-Subduing Blade Technique he received yesterday to break through into the Tendon-Bone Realm in one stroke and begin Tendon Tempering.

He had only realized this yesterday after sobering up and clearing his head.

Three months—from an ordinary person to the Second-Rank Tendon-Bone Realm. Such talent was simply outrageously unreasonable.

In the future, Mu Yang would surely be able to join the Demon Slayer Bureau and become a mighty, prestigious Demon-Seeking Captain.

"Then I'll trouble you, Brother Wu!"

Mu Yang naturally saw his former superior's attempt to build goodwill, but he did not mind.

Wu Cai was not only his superior, but also an old friend of his old man's. Wu Cai had taken good care of him before.

Wu Cai had even helped handle his old man's funeral arrangements.

Along the way, Wu Cai led Mu Yang toward Clerk Liu's workplace while explaining some precautions and tricks regarding the Tendon-Bone Realm.

For example, before Tendon Tempering, it was best to eat plenty of meat and ensure sufficient sleep. If one had medicinal herbs or pills that aided the generation of Blood Qi, that would be even better.

And each time one tempered the tendons, one should not be greedy. It had to be done little by little, or it would backfire; one might even suffer internal injuries.

Mu Yang, who had already cultivated to the Bone-Forging Stage and even undergone Second Tendon-Tempering, could naturally hear Wu Cai's sincere concern.

In truth, having consecutively cultivated two Mid-Grade Martial Arts to Perfection, he already knew every precaution involved in Tendon Tempering and Bone Tempering like the back of his hand.

The only thing that puzzled him was probably yesterday's inexplicable Second Tendon-Tempering.

Thinking of it, Mu Yang asked, "Brother Wu, when I went back last night and looked through the Dragon-Subduing Blade Technique, I saw a line recorded inside: 'After tendons and bones are cultivated to completion, repeatedly temper the tendons and forge the bones; vitality may be reborn, granting extraordinary strength.' What does that mean?"