Bone Tempering Realm

"It's watching me? Trying to devour my power?" Fang Gang's voice was like the cold, biting wind from the deepest abyss, his icy killing intent instantly filling the room.

He stared at the wriggling, ink-black yin line on his arm, its tip a red dot that seemed to "gaze" at him, and his internal Dragon-Elephant Qi and blood erupted with a roar!

The scorching Qi and blood furnace spun madly, the Savage Elephant Power bellowing! Veins bulged beneath his bronze skin, coiling like ancient dragons, radiating a burning, violent aura!

The ink-black yin line was violently impacted by this supremely strong and yang power. It writhed intensely, the red dot at its tip flickering erratically, letting out a silent shriek!

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

The Qi and blood clashed fiercely with the yin line, like a branding iron scorching ice! Agony struck, but Fang Gang's eyes were ferocious as a wounded beast, not retreating half a step!

"Brother! Don't force yourself! This yin line has merged the resentment of the Green Zombie and the Mirror Ghost, and it's already close to Malevolent Soul-level! Hurry back to the Bureau with me! The research institute might have a way to suppress it!"

Chen Tao shouted anxiously, his heart pounding as he watched the scene of black energy and scorching Qi and blood intertwining and steaming from Fang Gang's arm.

"Suppress it?" Fang Gang's head shot up, pure ferocity in his eyes. "I don't need suppression! I want it... dead!"

He hesitated no longer! 187 Evolution Points! This was his only resource to eliminate this leech!

"Add points! Constitution! All into Constitution!" Fang Gang roared in his mind! The core of the Bone Tempering Realm was refining the bones, and a stronger physique was the foundation for bearing power and breaking through!

[Ding! Consumed 187 Evolution Points! Constitution +187! Current Constitution: 17.5 → 204.5 (???!)!]

RUMBLE—!!!

An indescribably terrifying torrent of energy exploded within Fang Gang!

This time, it wasn't a warm current, but like billions of stars igniting simultaneously in the depths of his marrow! The resonating sound of his sinews and bones was no longer muffled thunder, but like heavenly lightning striking within him!

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

A dense, scalp-tingling sound of bones cracking erupted from every joint and inch of his marrow! It was as if countless invisible giant hammers were pounding and tempering his 206 bones at a frequency and power beyond the limit!

His body visibly grew taller!

His originally bulging muscles became denser and more restrained, yet their lines exuded an even more terrifying sense of power!

The bronze color of his skin instantly faded, replaced by a strange luster, as warm and lustrous as jade, yet as hard as refined steel!

A heavy, solid, and magnificent sense of power, as if it could bear mountains, erupted from his spine, which stood tall and straight as a spear!

[Ding! Constitution has broken through the limit! Triggering Sinew and Bone Metamorphosis!]

[Realm Breakthrough: Bone Tempering Realm (Initial)!]

[Bone Tempering Realm Characteristics: Bone density, strength, and toughness greatly increased! Power transmission efficiency doubled! Qi and blood quantity and quality surged! Rebound force enhanced!]

[Strength +100! Agility +15! Qi and Blood Furnace (Scorching)! Restraint against yin and evil greatly increased!]

The system panel refreshed instantly:

[Host: Fang Gang] Realm: Bone Tempering Realm (Initial)! Strength: 24.5 → 124.5 (Savage Elephant Stomp) Constitution: 204.5 (Jade Bone Initial Success) Agility: 5.9 → 20.9 (Chasing Wind, Catching Lightning) Spirit: 1.1 (Resilient) Cultivation Method: True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Great Accomplishment 0/1000) Available Evolution Points: 0 Status: Unknown Yin Energy Erosion (B+ Rank)

Strength quadrupled! Constitution broke through two hundred! Agility doubled! Bone Tempering initial success!

"ROAR—!!!" Fang Gang threw his head back and let out a bestial roar!

The terrifying sound wave, mixed with a scorching, lava-like Qi and blood shockwave, violently spread outwards!

The decaying furniture in the room, the glass shards scattered on the floor, and even the dust on the walls were fiercely blown away by this violent wave of energy! The entire old dormitory building seemed to shake!

"Holy crap!!" Chen Tao and the team members behind him were sent staggering back by the shockwave, slamming into the corridor walls, their faces filled with horror, as if they had seen a ghost! No, it was more terrifying than seeing a ghost!

They watched with their own eyes as Fang Gang's body grew taller, his skin emitting a jade-like glow, his aura like a humanoid fierce beast awakening!

And the ink-black yin line on Fang Gang's arm, under the terrifying impact of Fang Gang's breakthrough and the momentary explosion of his Qi and blood furnace to the "Scorching" state, let out an extremely piercing, silent wail!

Hiss—!!!

Like a red-hot branding iron pressed against ice!

Thick, viscous black energy madly escaped from the yin line! The ink-black yin line became thinner and dimmer at a visible rate!

The nascent, dark red "resentful eye" prototype at its tip, which had just formed with a sense of peeping, was like a snowball thrown into a furnace, instantly distorting, melting, and disintegrating!

"No!!!" A venomous shriek, as if from the deepest abyss, echoed in Fang Gang's soul!

[Ding! Detected high-intensity yang-qi blood impact! Unknown Yin Energy Core (Resentful Eye Prototype) forcibly annihilated!]

[Unknown Yin Energy Erosion strength greatly weakened! Threat level reduced to C+ (Fierce Ghost-level)!]

[Remaining Yin Line Imprint (Unconscious Residue)!]

The dark, inky lines on his forearm, which had writhed like living things, were now just faint, grey marks resembling old scars. The terrifying red dot at the end had completely vanished! Although a trace of chill remained, it had lost its vitality and was no longer a threat!

Finished!

Fang Gang slowly lowered his arm, feeling the terrifying power surging within him, as vast as the Yangtze River and as heavy as mountains!

Bone Tempering Realm, just completed! Jade Bone gleaming! The Savage Elephant Power flowed through his muscles and bones; a slight movement caused the air to explode with the sound of it being overloaded!

The defense and vitality granted by his physique made him feel like a human fortress! His agility gifted him ghost-like speed!

He casually clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking like popping air! He looked at his arm, marked by the faint grey trace, his eyes holding a cold, all-conquering gaze.

"The source? The Red Wedding Dress? The comb?" Fang Gang turned, his gaze like a materialized blade stabbing into the still-shaken Chen Tao, "Where is it?"

Chen Tao flinched under his stare and instinctively replied, "I... I don't know! Uncle Wang only reported it was on the lowest level of the morgue... the exact location is unknown! That place is a forbidden zone, the energy readings are chaotic, our people can't get in..."

Fang Gang narrowed his eyes. The lowest level of the morgue... it seemed he had to make another trip. But before that...

With a thought, he brought up the system store. His evolution points were zero, but the delivery for the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art should be arriving soon.

"Brother! You... did you just... break through?"

Chen Tao finally found his voice, looking at Fang Gang's jade-like skin and terrifying aura, his voice trembling, "Bone Tempering? You... you're a Body Refiner?! And... you broke through?!"

Body Refiner? In the Special Affairs Bureau's files, that was a term for thankless work with a low ceiling!

But this bald, muscular man before him, who punched a Green Zombie to death, roared and shattered a Mirror Ghost, and instantly broke through his realm to push back a Fierce Ghost-level yin line... what kind of low ceiling was that, damn it? This was clearly a human tyrannosaur!

"Body refining is very strong," Fang Gang said succinctly, his tone carrying unquestionable confidence.

He strode outwards, his steps steady, each one causing the ground to groan dully, as if unable to bear his weight.

"Wait! Brother!"

Chen Tao quickly caught up, his gaze completely changed now, filled with reverence and enthusiasm, "Brother Fang Gang! I was blind not to recognize your greatness before! On behalf of the Linjiang City Special Affairs Bureau's Field Operations team, I officially invite you to join! Special consultant! Freedom of movement! Priority resources! As long as you can deal with these ghosts, you name the conditions!"

Fang Gang's footsteps didn't stop, his voice cold, "No time."

"Don't!"

Chen Tao was anxious and jogged to keep up, "Brother! No matter how strong you are alone, your intel is limited! Our bureau has the most complete archives of anomalous incidents! We have the latest analyses from the research institute! And... compensation! There are bonuses for killing ghosts! The more you kill, the higher the bonus! All cash! Or do you want rare metals, special medicinal herbs... anything the bureau has, we can discuss!"

Fang Gang's steps paused slightly. Intelligence? Bonuses? Rare resources? This was somewhat interesting.

He needed evolution points, which meant he needed to constantly hunt powerful evil spirits, and intelligence was indeed crucial. Money and resources could also improve his life and allow him to purchase more "secret manuals."

Seeing Fang Gang pause, Chen Tao's eyes lit up, knowing he had a chance. He quickly seized the opportunity, pulling out a specially made black metal badge and a thick mobile phone: "This is a temporary consultant badge and an encrypted satellite phone! The permissions have already been activated! You can access our internal incident sharing platform! Take it for now! Consider it! It's okay if you don't join, just think of it as making a friend! We can share intel and cooperate in ghost hunting! The bonuses will still be calculated!"

Fang Gang glanced at the badge and phone, pondered for a moment, and reached out to take them. Intelligence and money, why not take advantage of it?

"If you have any news about the 'Red Wedding Dress,' notify me immediately," he said, leaving no room for argument. He didn't stop, his figure flickering as he exploded in speed, disappearing around the stairwell corner like a ghost, leaving a group of stunned Special Affairs Bureau members behind.

Chen Tao watched in the direction Fang Gang had disappeared, then looked down at Uncle Wang's corpse on the ground and the blood-stained wooden comb. He let out a long sigh, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and then his face broke into ecstatic joy.

"Jackpot! I've truly struck gold this time! A Body Refiner at the Bone Tempering Realm! Punched a Green Zombie to death! Roared and shattered a Mirror Ghost! A human beast! Report this! Report it to headquarters immediately! Codename... codename will be 'Ming Wang'! Yes! Bald Ming Wang!"

He excitedly picked up the encrypted phone, about to dial, when his personal cell phone in his pocket vibrated.

It was a text message notification:

[Rookie Station] Hello! Your online order for "Vajra Indestructible Divine Art (Revised Illustrated Edition)" has been picked up. Thank you for using our service! Nine dollars and ninety cents with free shipping, wishing you great success in your cultivation!

Chen Tao: "????" Vajra Indestructible? This fierce brother... bought cultivation manuals online??? For nine dollars and ninety cents???

Fang Gang's figure streaked through the pre-dawn streets like lightning.

He rubbed the Special Affairs Bureau badge and phone in his pocket, feeling the surging power of his completed Bone Tempering realm.

On his arm, the grey mark still held a trace of chill, a reminder of the threat lurking deep within the morgue.

"The Red Wedding Dress... the mirror for combing hair..." Cold light flashed in Fang Gang's eyes, "You just wait."

His pace quickened, his target clear—the rental apartment! The delivery for the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art should be waiting at his door!

[Ding! Detected that the host is about to encounter a new cultivation technique: "Vajra Indestructible Divine Art" (Pirated Edition), proceed with conversion?]