The first step of Second Realm Muscle Tendon Training was to first sense the existence of one's flesh and tendons; only then could one begin training them.
In ordinary martial halls, identifying the locations of the flesh and tendons was usually assisted by medicinal baths, kneading, patting, and other such methods.
Then one memorized the movements of the flesh and tendons, tempering and testing them repeatedly to grasp the techniques of exerting force, until every exertion of the body gradually became instinctive.
In the end, one achieved the effect of tendons snapping like thunderbolt strings.
But this method was relatively gentle and consumed no small amount of time.
Duan Hongfei had sensed Shen Xiu's flourishing vitality and blood, which was why he had moved this step forward.
After kneading his right arm came his left arm; after both arms came both legs; after the legs came his waist, back, shoulders, and neck.
At every step, Shen Xiu gritted his teeth.
With each knead from Duan Hongfei, the aura around Shen Xiu diminished by a fraction, until the fierce presence radiating from him had nearly vanished entirely.
He looked like an ordinary youth.
It was as though the aura emanating from his body and his abundant vitality and blood had, with every knead from Duan Hongfei, been worked into every strand of flesh and tendon.
The guidance finally came to an end.
Even Duan Hongfei, brimming with strength, could not help but let out a breath. As for Shen Xiu, his entire body looked as though it had been dredged from a river, soaked through from head to toe, sweat pouring down like rain.
Yet in stark contrast, winding veins bulged at the bends of the youth's arms and calves. His flesh and tendons were like giant pythons, writhing irregularly beneath his skin.
This rare sight lasted only a moment before gradually fading away, while Shen Xiu's aura became even more solid and condensed.
The exceedingly rare phenomenon made Duan Hongfei pause. Sensing the change in Shen Xiu's aura, he could not help but laugh soundlessly.
He had already stepped into Second Realm Muscle Tendon Training.
Though Shen Xiu was so exhausted he was nearly crawling on the ground, he could not help but feel delighted by this change.
"I was wondering why your cultivation had progressed so quickly. I never expected you to have trained the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art to such a level that you've already generated force qi."
Duan Hongfei looked at the youth before him, his eyes filled with satisfaction.
"Thank you for your guidance, Instructor."
Shen Xiu understood that Instructor Duan had likely expended no small amount of effort as well.
After Shen Xiu rested for a while, Duan Hongfei took out an envelope.
"This is the banknote the hall prepared for you. It has already been collected from the Chen Family."
Shen Xiu naturally accepted it, asked for guidance on several cultivation matters, then left.
Some time after Shen Xiu had departed, Duan Hongfei felt a little thirsty and lifted the teacup on the stone table, taking a sip.
Only when he set it down did he notice several Great Jing Bank banknotes lying on the table.
He picked them up and counted them, discovering there were five.
He immediately smiled. "This kid..."
At the Canteen, Shen Xiu downed four consecutive bowls of Monster Beast Tonic Soup and let out a satisfied burp.
Now that his cultivation had risen, his appetite had grown by multiples at a visible rate. Two bowls had once been enough, but now he needed four just to fill himself.
He had also discovered that as his cultivation and strength increased, the energy contained in Monster Beast Tonic Soup had become negligible to him.
It could truly only be treated as food to fill his stomach.
After eating, Shen Xiu headed straight for the External Affairs Hall.
On the way, he ran into Jian Shuhao and his father, who had come along and brought him a gift.
The general meaning was that Jian Shuhao's giving him the jade pendant had caused him trouble and nearly put him in danger.
They felt deeply apologetic about it, though his son had acted with good intentions.
In his father's eyes, Shen Xiu had shut himself away because of his son's matter. In a roundabout way, Shen Xiu had also blocked a calamity for his son.
No matter what, it counted as a life-saving favor to their family.
Being suddenly assassinated for no reason, even if Shen Xiu had not thought much of it, would still leave anyone somewhat displeased.
After all, no matter how one looked at it, this had been a calamity falling from the clear blue sky.
Yet that displeasure quietly dissipated in the face of Jian Shuhao's father's arrival and sincere apology.
Shen Xiu refused the gift, but Jian Shuhao's father was very much like Jian Shuhao in that regard. He simply left the item in Shen Xiu's courtyard and departed.
After Jian Shuhao and his father left, Shen Xiu opened the long wooden box. A gleam bright as a polished mirror entered his eyes—it was a shining three-foot saber.
The blade was slightly thick and looked rather sturdy.
Judging by the forging patterns and the mark left near the hilt, it was unmistakably the signature Hundred-Refined Saber of Hundred Refinements Hall.
Shen Xiu grabbed the Hundred-Refined Saber at once. The moment it entered his hand, he felt that it was much heavier than the broadsaber he had bought before.
Shing—
With a thought, Shen Xiu slashed out. Only an arc of light flashed through his field of vision.
Yet there was none of the trembling hum produced by his previous ordinary saber.
That trembling hum had been a sign that the old saber's material was inadequate and had exceeded its limit.
Shen Xiu tested the saber and found it extremely handy, leaving him quite satisfied.
He immediately began practicing a set of saber techniques. His slashes came in an unbroken chain, his movements flowing like drifting clouds and running water. In the blink of an eye, he hacked out a string of afterimages, their icy sharpness rushing straight at one's face.
Delighted by his new saber, Shen Xiu wielded it with even greater vigor. He practiced the Blood Battle Saber Technique for a full quarter of an hour before finally stopping.
Over the next few days, Shen Xiu searched the market district for places selling monster beast corpses.
The Golden Cicada loved monster beasts.
He also wanted to see what exactly its second talent was.
After spending over two hundred taels of silver, Shen Xiu obtained four genuine monster beast corpses from the market district. After the Golden Cicada ate for several days, its satiety rose by more than ten points.
Seeing such obvious results, Shen Xiu spent another two hundred-plus taels to buy four more. In the end, the Golden Cicada's satiety rose to 67.6%.
It was getting closer and closer to one hundred percent satiety, but the five hundred taels Shen Xiu had just received had once again been spent clean.
He still had to earn silver.
Shen Xiu let out a helpless sigh.
"An Azure Fox Demon has appeared outside Yunxi Town. Its strength is suspected to be that of a First-Order Monster Beast. It has already bewitched several men in the town to their deaths. Any willing person may swiftly eliminate it. Mission reward: twenty taels of silver."
"Young Master Li of Taixi City requires someone to spar with him for five hours. Martial Artists who have entered a realm are recommended. Mission reward: one tael of silver."
"The Wu Family Herb Garden in Taixi City has ripened. Wild beasts are watching it covetously, and people are needed for the harvest. Mission reward: one tael of silver."
At the External Affairs Hall, the mission plaques on the wall were constantly updated, countless available missions being hung up anew. Shen Xiu, standing below, had his eyes shining brightly.
Ever since he had brought the most expensive Yunji Osmanthus Cake from Taixi City into the External Affairs Hall, the required missions had become much simpler and more flexible.
Now, aside from completing the assigned missions of a Formal Disciple, he would come to the External Affairs Hall during his remaining time to accept and complete other missions.
"Looking for sparring partners, harvesting herbs, and the three after those—I'll take them all..."
Shen Xiu took out his disciple token and accepted five missions in one breath, leaving the crowd behind him dumbfounded.
Ordinary disciples considered it a lot to take on another two or three missions after completing their mandatory tasks. Five missions—was that even reasonable? They were all Formal Disciples; there was no need to push themselves this hard, was there?
"Stop staring. That guy's a bottomless pit. I saw him at the Canteen—four bowls of Monster Beast Tonic Soup in one meal—and he still said he was hungry..."
"Has he reached Muscle Tendon Training? Why does he need so much nourishment?"
Upon entering the Second Realm of Muscle Tendon Training, the meat and nutrition one needed to consume and replenish were several times greater than in the First Realm.
"Muscle Tendon Training, my ass! That guy was only in the First Realm before! How could he advance that fast?!"
"He does so many missions every day? Doesn't that mean he must be pretty rich..."
"Uh, probably. Why do you ask? Are you thinking..."
"Haha, no, no..."
"Even if you are, I'd advise you not to waste your time. A bottomless pit who eats this much every day won't have any spare money on him..."
Before you continue