Words

"Man, walk, dog, tree..."

In the backyard, Jiang Ding held a thread-bound book in his hands, occasionally murmuring under his breath.

Thousand Character Classic

Bored out of his mind, he went out for a stroll and got hold of a primer for young children, complete with simple illustrations, specifically to learn the writing of this world.

His progress was quite fast. They were both square-shaped characters, and with the pictures as reference, plus occasional trips to the front courtyard to ask Huang Deyou for guidance, learning was not difficult.

After thinking for a moment, he took out the Divine Firmament Hundred-Step Flying Sword Gong Caiyu had given him from his robes.

Over the past two days, he had easily gathered information about the founding patriarch of the Seven Profound Sect.

Legend had it that a thousand years ago, Seven Profound Master had been invincible throughout the martial world and founded an enormous legacy. Even changes to the imperial throne at the time required the crown prince to ascend Seven Profound Mountain and obtain permission before inheriting the great succession.

Seven Profound Master's most famous martial art had been the Hundred-Step Flying Sword. Rumor said that within a hundred steps, it could take a man's head at will; even Innate martial artists were no exception. Its fierce might was renowned far and wide.

Unfortunately, after Seven Profound Master, the Seven Profound Sect declined rapidly, and no one had ever mastered this sword art again.

"Actually practicing it is out of the question. Indigenous martial arts come with all sorts of risks and cut off one's future path."

Jiang Ding touched the grip of the pistol hidden in his sleeve. "But if I can master the Immortal Sect's Hundred-Step Flying Sword, my ability to protect myself will soar. I won't have to worry about exposing modern firearms and drawing unknown trouble."

This world was far from peaceful.

In the front courtyard, Huang Deyou was leading a group of temporarily hired workers in cleaning up and making new counters and such. The place rang with clanging and banging.

Then it suddenly fell quiet.

Huang Deyou jogged over, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, and lowered his voice. "Boss, people from the Wild Wolf Gang have arrived. They say they're here to collect monthly dues—the protection money."

"They're certainly well-informed." Jiang Ding smiled. "Just give it to them. It's nothing."

In this kind of feudal society, the government's ability to govern was extremely limited. Many power vacuums therefore existed, occupied by gangs, clans, and the like. It was unavoidable.

More sweat appeared on Huang Deyou's forehead. "Boss, it's not just that. Besides one or two taels of monthly dues, they want five taels as an opening fee, four times more than other shops in the same area. The key is, these wolf cubs can never be fed full. No matter how much you give them, it won't be enough."

Jiang Ding said calmly, "They've taken us for a soft persimmon. Invite them in."

Not long afterward, three burly men who had deliberately bared their muscular chests kicked the door open and entered.

The scar-faced brute in the lead said coldly, "Shopkeeper, what airs you put on. You made us brothers come see you? I, Liu Qi, can let it slide, but this is you not putting the Wild Wolf Gang in your eyes!"

The two men behind him chimed in, "You've got some damn nerve!"

Jiang Ding looked at these underworld types with mild curiosity.

A blue dragon tattooed on the left arm, a white tiger on the right, scars across their chests and arms, and long objects wrapped in black cloth tucked behind their waists—most likely sabers.

They reeked from head to toe of desperate fugitives. No wonder Huang Deyou had been unable to handle them.

Clang!

A streak of cold light slowly rose from its sheath.

Jiang Ding stood up. He had none of that pride about refusing to kill nameless opponents. He could kill the strong, and he did not disdain killing ants either.

The scar-faced brute Liu Qi's expression changed. His hand shot back to grip the hilt of his saber. His reaction was extremely quick; he clearly had rich combat experience.

"Come. Slash me once."

Jiang Ding said.

Liu Qi's gaze tightened, as though some fierce beast were staring at him.

The two men beside him stopped their stream of curses.

Huang Deyou secretly glanced over and discovered that the desperate aura around these men seemed to have suddenly vanished. They looked remarkably harmless.

"Young hero, we failed to recognize Mount Tai..."

After waiting for a while, the three men still did not move. Liu Qi squeezed out a smile.

For those who roamed the martial world, eyesight was the most important thing.

"I told you to slash me once."

The smile vanished from Jiang Ding's face, leaving it expressionless.

"Otherwise, I'll kill you."

Liu Qi's expression changed. He had an extremely clear premonition of something.

"Young hero, forgive my offense!"

Gritting his teeth, he chopped forward. The strike was steady, accurate, and fast. Its saber light whipped up a sharp wind enough to slice skin, the very technique that had earned him the name Wind-Shattering Saber within the Wild Wolf Gang.

Clang!

He saw a silver spark strike after yet arrive first, precisely tapping the weak point three inches above his saber hilt without the slightest error.

Then a tremendous force erupted without warning, smashing him into the wall behind him and making him vomit blood in great mouthfuls.

The two burly men who had been about to step forward to help planted their feet like roots, frozen where they stood and not daring to look ahead.

They were vicious beyond measure toward ordinary small merchants and peddlers, but their eyes were sharp. They knew that even if the two of them joined in, they would only be courting death.

"Convinced?"

Jiang Ding sheathed his sword and asked blandly.

"Convinced, convinced! Thank you, young hero! Thank you, young hero!"

Ignoring the blood all over his chest, the scar-faced brute repeatedly kowtowed with astonishing smoothness.

"I have matters to attend to here, so I won't keep you three for tea."

Jiang Ding sat back down and lowered his gaze to the book.

The three men scrambled away on all fours, wishing their parents had given them another pair of legs as they fled the backyard like flying smoke.

"Manager Huang."

"Boss, I'm here!" Huang Deyou jolted.

Jiang Ding said calmly, "Take one tael for the monthly dues and one tael for the opening fee to them. Tell them that if they dare not come collect the monthly dues next month, I'll break their legs."

"Yes, Boss!"

Huang Deyou quickly hurried after them.

Such small gangs might look insignificant, but any that could stand firm had protective umbrellas behind them. He did not want to stir up trouble.

Inside the high school cultivation room.

Sweat poured from Jiang Ding's entire body like a spring, soaking his clothes. After drinking down a bowl of Essence-Consolidating Bone-Strengthening Soup, he glanced at the pale blue little figure before him.

His straight yet slightly curved spine was like a dragon and snake. Most of it had already been tempered, with only thirteen vertebrae remaining at values such as 23% and 5%.

"That is to say, only us Immortal Sect students have the assistance of Array-Spirit Computers." Jiang Ding sighed. "For martial artists from other planes, being able to temper their sternum and lumbar vertebrae would already be impressive, and at most they could temper them to forty or fifty percent."

"Beyond that, it's impossible. Internal Energy Realm and even Innate Realm martial artists cannot observe it, much less temper it."

Flesh, bones, skin—he left not a trace untouched, tempering everything to the utmost limit.

The ultimate result was one of the Immortal Sect's important crystallizations of wisdom, a product that seemed miraculous to outsiders from beyond this world—an Artificial Dao-Body Prototype.

[Name: Jiang Ding]

[Student ID:]

[Realm: Peak Bone-Tempering Realm]

[Training Subject: <Eagle Hatchling Takes Flight Sword Art, Sixty-Eighth Set> (Proficient 99%)]

The proficiency on the panel flickered slightly, jumped to 100%, then blurred and changed.

Minor Mastery 1%!

Jiang Ding's mind went slightly blank. Countless days and nights of uninterrupted sword practice, the scenes of practicing swordsmanship ever since obtaining the Broken Sword Tip, and the scene of one man and one sword charging into bandits as flesh and blood flew everywhere.

Countless accumulations burst forth, breaking through some kind of bottleneck.

Something seemed to have been added to the sword art that had previously been impossible to advance further.

Clang!

Without realizing it, his sword left its sheath, and a bright silver, perfectly regular arc blossomed.

The arc was still an arc, still flawless. Even if measured with vernier calipers, not the slightest fault could be found, yet he could clearly feel that it had gained a hint of liveliness.

"So that's it."

An understanding arose in Jiang Ding's heart. "The utmost limit of proficiency is merely executing swordsmanship rigidly, stroke by stroke, like a machine program. Minor Mastery, however, means being able to make initial fine adjustments to the sword art, transforming another person's technique into one's own swordsmanship."

Sword light flashed, now on the left, now on the right, seeming to fill the entire cultivation room.

After completing one set of sword moves, Jiang Ding's face turned pale and sweat covered his entire body.

"No. The training efficiency of the Minor Mastery <Eagle Hatchling Takes Flight Sword Art, Sixty-Eighth Set> is too high. It taxes the body too severely. Forcing myself to continue would harm my body!"

"I need vitality-replenishing medicine!"

The Essence-Consolidating Bone-Strengthening Soup distributed by the school had to cover all students. It was simply not enough.

Jiang Ding returned his sword to its sheath. After resting for a long time, he finally showered, changed clothes, and returned to the classroom.

School ended.

Figures streaked into the sky one after another. Among the treetops, someone used the Wind-Riding Art to cross more than ten meters in a single step, while the two people on the ground kept their eyes straight ahead.

"Congratulations."

After examining him carefully for a moment, Jiang Ding said to Li Junhao, "You've broken through to the Flesh-Tempering Realm."

The three Body-Refining Realms did not really have any aura or the like, but they could be judged through characteristics such as stride length and skin luster. Especially since Li Junhao had only just broken through and could not perfectly control his strength, his walk was somewhat awkward.

"Haha!"

Li Junhao was in high spirits. "Old Jiang, it turns out I, Li Junhao, am also a martial arts genius—a late bloomer whose day has come!"

After laughing, he sighed. "I took your advice and thought you were right, so I trained extra these past few days. I didn't expect to break through all at once. I feel like I have much more energy than before."

"Academic subjects and cultivation subjects complement each other in the first place—one is theory, the other practice." Jiang Ding nodded. "Once we reach the Internal Energy Realm, our grades in academic subjects should also improve a little."

Though internal energy could not compare to dharma power, it was still a form of energy.

With that as a foundation, understanding talismans, cultivation methods, mountains and rivers, spiritual veins, and the like would naturally become easier.

After waving goodbye to Li Junhao, Jiang Ding boarded a bus, but he was not heading home. He was heading toward the central city library.

.