Body Tempering Peak

The sudden, unheralded assassination in Taixi City left Shen Xiu profoundly shocked and bewildered.

In that dazed instant, he had not even understood what had happened.

It was not until he saw the somewhat familiar green robe on that fat man that he recalled the Azure Dragon Gang members who had been darting about the city earlier.

Then, thinking of the jade pendant Jian Shuhao had given him, everything gradually became clear.

Clearly, the Chen Family's promised reward of a thousand taels had quietly set the entire city's populace aflame, plucking at their heartstrings.

And the Azure Dragon Gang, a local gang, naturally could not remain above such temptations. The man before him was clearly one of its members.

With one of their members dying like this.

Things had become somewhat troublesome. He did not know whether there had been other gang members nearby, or witnesses outside the alley.

And lacking experience, he had acted too quickly and had not managed to ask anything.

As a gang with some influence in Taixi City, they likely would not act openly if they knew his identity, but privately, they surely would not let the matter rest.

Under such circumstances, Shen Xiu no longer had any mind to buy or sell pig bones. He hurriedly found a nearby restaurant to dispose of them, then immediately returned to the martial arts school.

The crystal-clear, emerald-green Chen Family jade pendant in Shen Xiu's hand was both a burden and a prized delicacy.

When Shen Xiu returned to the martial arts school, he had originally planned to return the jade pendant to Jian Shuhao. But after thinking it over, he felt it would be safer to hand it to Instructor Duan.

A windfall of a thousand taels of silver would undoubtedly draw countless jealous eyes.

"You brat, you want me to pass on this jade pendant because you're afraid of getting tangled up in trouble, aren't you?"

In the martial arts school's separate courtyard, Duan Hongfei looked at the youth before him with a half-smile.

Shen Xiu was quite forthright. "To be honest, Instructor Duan, I encountered people from the Azure Dragon Gang on the road who came to seize it. I killed one of them, and I'm afraid I'll run into further trouble."

Duan Hongfei nodded. "You were wearing casual clothes today, so the Azure Dragon Gang may not know your identity. But your concern is reasonable. Even if they know and fear the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School's prestige enough not to act openly, that does not mean they will not act in secret."

"I'll pass this jade pendant on for you. As for the half you said you would offer me, there is no need. For these next two months, stay peacefully at the martial arts school and train. I'll put in a word about the assignments. Once this disturbance involving the Chen Family has passed, you can go out again."

Shen Xiu nodded, having no objections to Instructor Duan's arrangements.

Over the following days, Azure Dragon Gang members frequently appeared around Willow Leaf Alley, frantically searching for something and leaving the nearby residents deeply unsettled.

Then an even bigger event drew the attention of the entire city.

The Chen Family's eldest young master, Chen Mo, had been found.

But what they found was a lifeless corpse. He had been discovered beside the Lishui River in the south of the city, drained dry without a drop of blood left.

After soaking in the river for who knew how many days, his body had turned a chilling white, like an evil ghost that had escaped from the underworld.

The children who happened to glimpse him by the riverbank were frightened into crying for three days and could not sleep at night.

The entire Chen Family donned mourning clothes, each one filled with righteous indignation and thunderous fury.

They practically dug through all of Taixi City three feet deep, yet they could not uncover the mastermind behind it.

Along the way, the Giant Whale Gang, unable to read the situation, tried to take advantage of the chaos and interfere with the Chen Family's ironware business, only to become the Chen Family's target for venting their rage.

The entire gang was wiped out cleanly by the Chen Family. This delighted the Azure Dragon Gang, the Giant Whale Gang's rival, as they gained a vast stretch of territory for nothing.

Shen Xiu, far from the center of the storm, had things much simpler. Thanks to the clue he had handed over and the word Instructor Duan had put in, he did not even need to complete the most basic assignments required of Formal Disciples during these two months.

He merely stayed peacefully at the martial arts school, cultivating and improving his strength.

At noon that day, in the separate courtyard for Formal Disciples of the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School.

Bare-chested, Shen Xiu practiced the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Thirteen Stances in the open space of the small courtyard, tempering his entire body.

This time, however, it differed from before. His movements were more meticulous and slower, as though the air around him had turned viscous.

Yet beneath those movements, the muscles on Shen Xiu's body trembled without cease. Countless sweat droplets the size of soybeans slid down the contours of his muscles.

They struck the dust on the ground, leaving behind one small sweat pit after another.

As he completed the final movement, the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art on the panel directly surged by two percent, filling the last of its proficiency.

[Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art: Fourth Level, Outstanding 0.1%]

At the same time, every muscle on Shen Xiu's body seemed to quiver, as though giant pythons were rolling beneath the muscles on his skin.

The circulating inner method Instructor Duan had later taught him to accompany the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Thirteen Stances caused a surge of force to arise naturally between his muscles and skin.

[Host: Shen Xiu]

[Cultivation: First Realm Body Tempering]

[Talent: Heaven Rewards Diligence]

[Techniques: ▼]

[Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art: Fourth Level, Outstanding 0.1%]

[Blood Battle Saber Technique: Second Level, Initial Insight 22.6%]

[Clone: Nine Transformations Golden Cicada (First Transformation, Satiety 38.3%)]

His body had undergone another layer of tempering. His aura was fierce and savage as he stepped into the First Realm Late Stage.

Shen Xiu controlled the force within his body and whipped out a leg, producing a sharp crack through the air. Even a casual strike now carried nearly a thousand catties of force.

After stopping to rest for a while, Shen Xiu went to see Instructor Duan.

"Looks like I was still holding back in my estimation."

In the separate courtyard, Duan Hongfei could not help mocking himself as he saw Shen Xiu approaching, his blood and vitality brimming.

With his current strength, he could naturally see that this was the manifestation of Shen Xiu reaching the Body Tempering Peak, his blood and vitality completely full.

Counting it all up, not even a year had passed since Shen Xiu began cultivating, yet he had already reached the peak of First Realm Body Tempering.

Even Lin Yuan, the school master's Personal Disciple, could not compare with such progress in cultivation.

Suddenly, he thought of something.

Now past forty, he had long since taken shape. He had remained at the initial stage of Third Realm Bone Marrow Cleansing for several years. He barely dared to dream of the Fourth Realm, while Fifth Realm Marrow Washing was even more distant, the extravagant hope of a lifetime.

If nothing unexpected happened.

His entire life would likely be spent circling among the lower five realms of martial cultivation.

With that brat's talent, he might not lack the chance in the future to shatter the shackles of the lower five realms and enter the world of the middle five realms.

Imagining the godlike martial cultivators of the middle five realms he had once seen, Duan Hongfei's heart could not help surging like rolling waves.

He immediately could not hold himself back.

"What do you feel?"

"Pain?"

"That's right. The first time always hurts more. Yours is a little thick, so I'll go slower. Do you feel anything else?"

"Mmm, it's also swollen."

In the separate courtyard, Duan Hongfei instructed Shen Xiu in the method of Muscle Tendon Training.

He kicked the inside of Shen Xiu's thigh, making him sink deeper into his horse stance, while his hand pinched a spot on Shen Xiu's upper right arm as if he intended to crush the arm apart.

"Swelling is right. Feel it more carefully."

The force in Duan Hongfei's hand did not ease in the slightest, and Shen Xiu's face reddened from holding back.

It was not merely swelling and pain!

It was also numb!

Yet amid that pain, the sensation grew increasingly distinct. He gradually felt as though a giant python were slithering through his arm, like a fierce dragon.

Was this a tendon?

Recalling the sensation Instructor Duan had described, he immediately said, "Instructor Duan, I can feel it moving."

Instructor Duan's expression remained unchanged as he nodded. "That is the tendon within your body. Remember this sensation well."

As he spoke, he added a little more force with his hand.

Shen Xiu felt as though the giant python moving through his entire arm was about to explode. In an instant, he was drenched in sweat.