"Is this the Fourth Level of Body Refinement? There wasn't any clear distinction between it and the Fifth Level!" Yang Ning had thought it would take him two months to reach the Fifth Level of Body Refinement.
Only after reaching the Fourth Level did he realize that the Fourth and Fifth Levels of Body Refinement were actually the same realm—indeed, even the Third Level was part of that same realm.
The Third Level of Body Refinement gave birth to the Qi and Blood Field, tempering one's qi and blood until the Qi and Blood Field spread throughout the entire body.
The Fourth and Fifth Levels involved using the Qi and Blood Field to temper the internal organs and the muscles of the limbs.
They were divided into the Fourth and Fifth Levels because the Fourth strengthened the internal organs, increasing one's appetite and digestive power, primarily boosting physique and strength.
The Fifth strengthened the muscles of the limbs, making punches swift as lightning and movement fleet as the wind, primarily boosting agility.
Others tempered their internal organs before their limbs because only powerful internal organs could support strong limbs.
Just like how Perfect World cultivated the Dao Palace before the Four Extremities—the principle was the same.
But Yang Ning was different. His Seven-Day Breathing Technique specifically strengthened his internal organs, and ever since stepping onto the path of cultivation, he had never slacked off. His internal organs already had a solid foundation.
Furthermore, with the Spirit Realm's monitoring, he could track his physical condition in real time and need not fear overworking his internal organs.
Therefore, he could cultivate the Fourth and Fifth Levels together, advancing physique, strength, and agility side by side!
"As a scientist, I need a healthier body to conduct better research. That's scientific, and perfectly reasonable, right?" Yang Ning watched Su Bai get beaten up in the image projected by Deep Blue, his face, forehead, and arms covered in wounds, yet his expression remained calm.
Wen Buqing appeared to be striking heavily, but he was actually exercising great restraint. Su Bai looked like a bloody mess, but his injuries were all superficial.
As for Wen Buqing's purpose in provoking trouble, it was naturally to make Su Bai focus on body techniques.
As long as that purpose remained, Su Bai would be fine.
Not to mention, Ning Rong had already arrived.
Wen Buqing and Su Bai were surrounded by people in a huge circle. They were all watching the excitement, occasionally letting out shouts.
From far away, Ning Rong shouted twice, but no one paid her any attention. She simply leaped onto a pillar, wrapped her legs around it, nocked an arrow, and fired fiercely!
The next instant, Wen Buqing was clutching his bleeding shoulder!
"Who dares wound people with a sneak attack?!" Wen Buqing had been watching his surroundings all along and had seen Ning Rong leap up. He had deliberately started this trouble, so naturally he recognized her.
He had even seen Ning Rong fire the arrow and tried to dodge, but he had not expected the arrow to be so fast. By the time he sensed something was wrong, his shoulder had already been pierced!
"Let go of Su Bai!" Ning Rong nocked another arrow and aimed it at Wen Buqing. Seeing Wen Buqing get hit, the onlooking students hurriedly opened up a path.
One student standing directly between them was badly startled. If her shot had gone astray just now, wouldn't I have been the one hit?
"The strength of the Fourth Level of Body Refinement? Impossible!" Seeing the arrow buried almost to its tip, Wen Buqing cried out. Then he remembered that Ning Rong had only enrolled two months ago. Reaching the Third Level of Body Refinement would already have been the utmost limit—how could she possibly have reached the Fourth Level?!
"Is it the bow in your hand?" Wen Buqing immediately noticed the extraordinary nature of Ning Rong's bow.
Unlike Ning Rong, who only looked at appearances, Wen Buqing was an Artifact Forging Master. He also noticed that the bow's materials were exceedingly extraordinary, whether its limbs or its string.
But even so, it should not have possessed such immense power. Was it because of that unusual shape?
"What an incredible bow!" Ning Rong was also startled by its power. She had not found Xun Hu and could only rush over in a hurry.
She had not been confident before, but now that she saw how effective the Pulley Bow was, confidence surged within her.
Still, the name Pulley Bow seemed a little too crude.
Hmm, this bow was pitch-black all over and shaped like a swallow. She would call it the Swallow Bow!
"I said, let go of Su Bai!" Ning Rong said viciously. "Otherwise, the next arrow will go straight through your glabella!"
"Hmph!" Wen Buqing removed his knee from where it had been pinning Su Bai down, then said coldly, "A grown man who needs a woman to save him—what shamelessness!"
"You..." Su Bai opened his mouth, but his swollen lips only brought him pain. He could not form a complete sentence at all.
His temperament was stubborn, however. He stared fixedly at Wen Buqing, determined to carve that face into his memory.
"What, you hate me?" Wen Buqing sneered. "No harm in telling you—this old man is Wen Buqing from the second year. If you want revenge, I'll be waiting anytime!"
Then he clenched the arrow's shaft and gave it a savage yank.
"Aaargh!" A miserable scream burst from his mouth. Forget Su Bai beside him—even Ning Rong in the distance jumped in fright!
"What is this?" Wen Buqing's face went pale as he looked at the arrow that had torn out a large chunk of flesh. "Barbs? So tiny? You put barbs on the arrow?"
"Huh? I didn't know!" Ning Rong froze, hurriedly took out an arrow, and found its surface incomparably smooth. Where were any barbs?
"No, wait!" Ning Rong sensed something unusual. She grabbed the arrow's tail and gave it a hard flick, only to see twelve sharp barbs suddenly emerge from the shaft, arranged in three rows along the arrow!
Ning Rong sucked in a sharp breath and understood at once.
The arrow was normally smooth, but the moment it stopped after moving at high speed, barbs would instantly spring out.
As a fellow Artifact Forging Master, Wen Buqing had to admit that it was an exquisite design. Whether a person or a Fierce Beast was struck by it, removing it would be extremely difficult. The only option would be to break off the arrow.
But he had just felt it himself—the arrow was made of refined steel. It would not be easy to break!
"Fine item, fine design!" It hurt terribly, but obtaining an arrow with such an outstanding design for free did not seem like a loss.
If he took it apart and studied it later, would he not gain another source of wealth?
Just as Wen Buqing began to entertain the thought, Ning Rong raised her bow again. "Put down the arrow!"
"You shot me, even added barbs to the arrow, and you still have the nerve to ask me for it?" Wen Buqing said coldly.
"You brought this on yourself!" Ning Rong's tone was icy. "You came to provoke us for no reason, bullied the weak by relying on your age and strength, and now that you've suffered a loss, you want to take something back with you. How could there be such a good deal in this world? I'm telling you, if you want to take that arrow away, you'll have to leave your life behind!"
"You!" Wen Buqing's face turned livid with rage, but there was nothing he could do.
He had thought this would be an easy job, so he had come alone. Who could have expected to be held at bay by a lower-year student?
He truly had no confidence in dodging the arrow in the girl's hand.
"If I can't get the arrow, memorizing this bow's construction isn't bad either!" Wen Buqing studied the bow in Ning Rong's hands for a long while before saying bitterly to Su Bai, "Little fatty, celebrate having a good teammate. You won't be so lucky next time!"
Then he set down the arrow and turned to leave.
Ning Rong hurried forward, first picking up the arrow and returning it to her quiver before helping Su Bai up. She quickly fed him a Blood Recovery Pill. "Su Bai, are you all right?!"
"I'm... fine." After swallowing the pill, Su Bai took two long breaths, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Only then did he feel able to speak. "You came alone?"
"Xun Hu wasn't around, and Yang Ning hasn't cultivated for two months, so he isn't strong enough. But he gave me a bow!" Ning Rong hurriedly displayed the Swallow Bow. "I used this to drive him off just now. He even wanted to steal this bow's secrets—dream on!"
"It was right that he didn't come!" Su Bai could not understand why Yang Ning had not cultivated for two months either. Perhaps Yang Ning truly loved ingenious crafts.
But the ingenious craft Yang Ning had made in two months could drive off a second-year student, while he had cultivated for two months only to get pinned down and beaten.
"Am I especially useless?" Su Bai asked.
"How could that be?" Ning Rong quickly said. "Don't talk here. I'll take you back!"
She sensed many eyes falling upon the bow on her back. There were many Artifact Forging Masters in the school, and after exposing it for even this short while, someone would surely imitate it.
But she had no choice. It was not as if she could refuse to use it.
She could only ask Yang Ning to think of a solution later.
Supporting Su Bai as he stood, the two slowly left.
Little did they know that a storm had already begun in the cafeteria and was spreading throughout the entire school.
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