Bone Forging! Bone Forging! A Surge in Strength!

After returning the principal to Ye Quan, Lu Yun still had nine hundred origin stones left.

Five hundred of them came from Yang Shengrong's contribution, three hundred had been won, and the remaining hundred came from Know-it-all.

"Absorb."

He immediately began absorbing them.

[Remaining Lifespan +1, Remaining Lifespan +1...]

The lifespan on the panel began skyrocketing wildly, as though there were no limit to it.

Before long, all nine hundred origin stones had been completely absorbed.

His lifespan had increased by around seventy-four years. Adding the more than forty-three years from his last absorption and his original eight years, his total remaining lifespan now amounted to a full one hundred and twenty-five years.

For the first time, his lifespan had surpassed a hundred years, leaving Lu Yun quite delighted.

Without hesitation, he immediately pressed the deduction button behind [Primal Chaos Art].

Buzz...

His lifespan began burning away frantically as countless truths of martial arts surged into his mind like a flood, instantly plunging him into a state of ethereal clarity.

[Primal Chaos Art] was evolving toward a higher-level martial art.

[Remaining Lifespan -1, Remaining Lifespan -1...]

[Strength +100, Strength +100...]

His strength was also soaring rapidly.

Only when eighty years of lifespan had been consumed did it gradually come to a stop.

[The cultivation method has been upgraded to a high-grade martial art. Would you like to rename it?]

"The new cultivation method shall be named [Marrow Cleansing Art]."

Lu Yun settled on the new name for the cultivation method.

Since this was the Bone Forging realm, it would surely involve cultivating all the way into the deepest part of the bones—the bone marrow.

The name [Marrow Cleansing Art] fit perfectly.

With forty-five years of lifespan remaining, Lu Yun planned to upgrade his spear technique once first.

In battle, offense was the best defense. Once his spear technique was upgraded to high-grade, its boost to his attack power would be extremely obvious.

If the attack multiplier after fully mastering a mid-grade martial skill was 1.2, then the attack multiplier of a high-grade martial skill would be at least 1.4 or higher.

If his original strength was three thousand jin, then unleashing a high-grade martial skill with all his might would allow him to erupt with four thousand two hundred jin of force in an instant. That was the attack multiplier.

Of course, certain secret arts that burned one's vital energy and blood could also temporarily raise the attack multiplier.

Thus, at the martial artist level, realm did not represent everything. Martial skills and secret arts were also immensely important.

An increase of around twenty percent was already an enormous advantage among top-tier martial artists.

Lu Yun then gathered his thoughts and immediately tapped [Windbreaking Spear].

His consciousness seemed to enter a chaotic space where even time had frozen.

A figure rapidly wielded a long spear within that space, and countless insights into spear techniques came flooding in.

[Remaining Lifespan -1, Remaining Lifespan -1...]

When forty years of lifespan had been consumed, the insights abruptly came to an end.

[A new high-grade martial skill has been successfully deduced. Please name it.]

"Name it [Thunderbolt Spear]."

Opening the panel, a blue screen appeared before him.

Host: Lu Yun.

Age: 21.

Remaining Lifespan: 5 years.

Realm: Mid Bone Forging.

Cultivation Method: [Marrow Cleansing Art] (Minor Mastery) (High-grade)

Martial Skills: [Thunderbolt Spear] (Minor Mastery) (High-grade), [Shadow Following] (Perfected) (Mid-grade), [Copper Skin Iron Bones] (Perfected) (Mid-grade), [Bone-Shrinking Art] (Great Mastery), [Turtle Breath Art] (Great Mastery).

Strength: 4,000 jin.

Status: Good.

This round of improvements had brought an astonishing increase in his strength.

Not only had his realm risen to the mid Bone Forging stage, but his strength had also climbed to four thousand jin.

With the 1.4 multiplier from a high-grade spear technique at Minor Mastery added on top, his maximum burst of power was roughly five thousand six hundred jin.

Such strength was enough to rival some veteran Bone Forging realm experts at the perfected stage.

The main reason was that Lu Yun's foundation was simply too profound. Every bit of his strength had been earned through painstaking cultivation, without the slightest bit of dilution. He had never relied on pills to cultivate either, so his body contained no impurities.

From this day onward, Lu Yun could be considered a minor expert in Clear Distance City. He was no longer some insignificant lackey who could be crushed to death at will.

Among the millions of martial artists throughout the prefectural city, fewer than twenty percent could break through to Bone Forging. Many of them had only ground their way up there through sheer age.

With Lu Yun's current strength, he did not dare claim to be invincible at the Bone Forging realm, but he was not far from it.

As long as he steadily raised his realm to Bone Forging Perfection, then deduced his two skills into high-grade ones, it would all fall into place as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

That afternoon.

Lu Yun was resting in his room when an armored soldier suddenly entered.

"Lord Lu, Thousand Commander Qin requests your presence."

The man's tone was respectful.

Although Lu Yun was still only an ordinary soldier in rank, he had long heard of his reputation. It was set in stone that Lu Yun would become a Centurion, so naturally, he did not dare offend him.

"Lead the way."

Lu Yun smiled faintly and immediately rose to head outside.

He guessed it was probably related to the Centurion selection battle. It should be a good thing for him.

The two made their way through the bustling streets and arrived before a luxurious residence.

"This way."

The personal guard stepped aside.

Lu Yun strode inside, continuing onward until he reached a grand hall.

"Haha... so you're Lu Yun. Who would've thought that hidden dragons and crouching tigers lay beneath my command, and that I had a genius like you..."

Qin Jue laughed heartily as he walked out from inside.

His gaze remained fixed on Lu Yun, as though he were looking at some priceless treasure.

When he learned that Lu Yun had entered the Hidden Dragon Ranking, he had not dared believe it at first.

Only after repeatedly confirming the news with his subordinates did he become overjoyed, and he had eagerly summoned Lu Yun over at once.

No outstanding talents had emerged under his command these past few years, yet this year a fierce figure had suddenly appeared. Was this not the key to his turning things around?

"Greetings, Thousand Commander Qin."

Lu Yun clasped his fists in salute, smiling.

Judging from his appearance alone, this Thousand Commander Qin was a bold and forthright man. Lu Yun's first impression of him was fairly good.

"Why call me Thousand Commander? That's too distant. Just call me Brother Qin from now on."

Qin Jue slapped his chest hard with his right hand, his booming voice shaking the air.

"I didn't call you here for anything in particular today. I just wanted you to know the place. If you run into trouble in the future, just speak up."

"As long as you don't offend those big shots in the Red Flame Army, nothing else is worth calling a problem. If anyone dares use their seniority to bully you, Brother Qin will stand up for you and lead troops to flatten them..."

A genius under his command naturally had to be cared for like a treasure.

Besides, if there was something he could not handle, there was still the commandant above him. If even the commandant could not handle it, there was the commander...

Their faction was famously protective of its own.

"Thank you for looking after me, Brother Qin."

A trace of warmth appeared on Lu Yun's face.

He was someone with backing now. He had always heard stories of protagonists beating up the young only for the old to show up afterward. Now that it was his turn to experience it, there was only one word for it: Awesome.

In Guangning Prefecture from now on, while he could not quite act without restraint, he could still run rampant in his own corner.

If someone displeased him, he could deal with them. He had soldiers in his hands and people above him. What the hell was the Canal Gang?

"For this Centurion selection battle, if you can take first place, I'll give you an additional reward of one thousand origin stones."

Qin Jue smiled as he made the promise.

In his view, the hope of that was extremely slim. Xiao Longcheng's strength was among the very best even within the Bone Forging realm.

For Lu Yun, defeating this man would still be far too difficult.

Xiao Longcheng could likewise easily defeat Yang Shengrong.

"What are my chances of winning?"

Lu Yun's expression was calm as still water.

"Less than ten percent."

Qin Jue's face was grave.

"Xiao Longcheng broke through to Bone Forging a year ago. Several of his martial techniques are high-grade, and his mastery of them is not low either..."

"Honestly, I'd already be satisfied if you took second place."

Lu Yun smiled and cupped his hands. "Many thanks to Brother Qin for the information. I'll certainly give it everything I've got."

Though Xiao Longcheng's strength had taken him by surprise, he remained confident in himself.

At the bone-forging stage, he believed himself inferior to no one.

Since his martial techniques were still lacking a little, he would strive to improve them all over the remaining twenty-odd days.

Lu Yun intended to meet that battle in his absolute peak condition.

At that moment, battle intent surged within him. The stronger his opponent, the more excited he became. Constantly crushing weaklings instead gave him the lonely feeling of standing too high to withstand the cold.

"I hope Xiao Longcheng possesses the dominance the rumors claim he has. Otherwise, wouldn't the fight be far too dull?"

He thought to himself.

Afterward, the two spoke for a little while longer, and Lu Yun turned and left the residence.