Inner Tempering of Dragon and Tiger

Lu Hong moved quickly.

The very next day, he had someone deliver a pile of medicinal paste and other cultivation resources.

The medicinal paste was all for his use, while the other resources were distributed among the many youths, as well as Wang Chuan and Zhang Yuan.

The two of them still had a good chance of breaking through to internal force.

Once the village had two more internal force martial artists, even without Zhao Yang stepping in, they would be able to handle any unexpected incidents.

"Continue maintaining the first stage of Stele-Splitting Hand training. The second stage relies on wooden stakes."

"Wrap a sheet of thin paper around one. You must be able to crack the stake without tearing the paper, and tear the paper without leaving a mark on the stake."

Zhao Hong's expression turned incomparably solemn as he listened.

The difficulty was obvious just from hearing it. His mind did not even dare admit that he understood it.

"Besides Stele-Splitting Hand, I can teach you Mighty Vajra Finger, Cloud-Breaking Flash, and Six Harmonies Saber Art. These three are all foundational arts passed down by my master."

"Mighty Vajra Finger and Stele-Splitting Hand share similar principles. Once you master Stele-Splitting Hand, Mighty Vajra Finger will be easy to begin."

"The difficult ones are Cloud-Breaking Flash and Six Harmonies Saber Art."

"The former contains some of the core essence of Mountain-Leaning Stake and Eight-Step Exploding Fist. It strikes with extreme speed, like thunder, with the force of collapsing mountains and surging seas. Once mastered, you can cross dozens of yards in an instant, shatter clouds and split the sky, and blast enemies apart until not even a whole corpse remains."

"Six Harmonies Saber Art consists of the inner three harmonies: heart with intent, intent with qi, qi with strength. The outer three harmonies are body with hands, hands with feet, and feet with hips. Combined, they are the six harmonies."

Zhao Hong focused with all his might, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

With the medicinal paste aiding him, he recovered extremely quickly, allowing him to train even harder.

At only sixteen, if he wanted to cry about hardship and exhaustion, there would be plenty of time for that once he lay in a coffin.

After half a month, he had gained an entry-level grasp of Stele-Splitting Hand.

Only seven days later, he gained an entry-level grasp of Mighty Vajra Finger.

He trained Cloud-Breaking Flash and Six Harmonies Saber Art together.

After half a month of grueling practice, his execution looked like a combination of Mountain-Leaning Stake's charge and Eight-Step Exploding Fist. It appeared quite powerful, but he had not truly entered the gate. It was an ungainly mishmash.

Zhao Hong could do nothing about it.

The difficulty was simply too great.

It required time, an opportunity, and sufficient strength to support the technique.

Six Harmonies Saber Art was somewhat better.

It was extraordinarily profound, with its inner three harmonies and outer three harmonies, and rather complex.

Yet perhaps because of Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bones, after these ten days of hard training, he had already made minor gains in both the inner and outer three harmonies.

"Six Harmonies Saber Art is no easier than Cloud-Breaking Flash, especially the inner three harmonies. The harmony of intent, qi, and heart places tremendous demands on comprehension. I never expected you to find it so natural. Perhaps it is because of your innate talent."

Zhao Yang was quite surprised. Meaningfully, he said, "You must carefully hone the intent and momentum of Six Harmonies Saber Art. It will greatly benefit your future condensation of the Mystic Embryo."

Zhao Hong fell into thought.

This Six Harmonies Saber Art was no simple technique in the martial school Uncle Yang had joined.

"Uncle, I'm heading into the mountains to hunt first."

"Go."

Zhao Yang gave a slight wave of his hand.

Zhao Hong left the courtyard and headed straight for the wilderness.

The two-month deadline was approaching.

He knew he would be leaving soon, so after training, he would head into the mountains to hunt.

He had no use for the prey, but others did.

Time passed quietly.

At dusk one day, deep in the mountains.

Zhao Hong sat cross-legged atop a huge boulder, facing the afterglow of the setting sun. His face was flushed, while his flesh and skin trembled and quivered without end.

A violent aura kept building within him.

At a certain moment.

Boom!

A wave of air swept through the surroundings, and a dazzling bloody glow burst forth.

A vast, mighty force surged up.

"Blood Refinement complete."

"Inner sight."

Zhao Hong's entire body shook.

Though his eyes remained tightly shut, he suddenly beheld the vast network of flesh and blood within himself. Tendons, bones, and internal organs lay clearly defined yet tightly intertwined, hidden amid the rushing blood and qi throughout his body. The sight was especially shocking.

He calmed his thoughts and examined the hundred bones of his body from within.

At last, he fixed his attention on his tendons and bones.

His blood and qi steamed like fire clinging to them.

"Is this my Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bones? It does not seem particularly special."

Murmuring, Zhao Hong clenched his fists and abruptly gathered his blood and qi, suppressing it inside his body as it boiled like a raging torrent.

Boom!

His astonishing blood and qi all drew inward, transforming into wave after wave that tightly enveloped his tendons and bones.

His tendons and bones rumbled.

Just then.

Zhao Hong saw faint specks of extremely dim golden light emerging within his tendons and bones.

That familiar sensation surfaced again.

When Zhao Yang's intimidation had provoked him, he had exploded madly between life and death, as though he possessed Dragon-Tiger Divine Strength.

Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bones accumulated Dragon-Tiger Divine Strength and nurtured righteous qi.

"Dragon and tiger..."

Zhao Hong muttered, his mind churning as he abruptly intensified the tumult of his blood and qi, shaking his tendons and bones.

Boom!

Roar!

In a daze, it seemed as if dragons and tigers were roaring.

Around his tendons and bones, the surging, churning blood and qi vaguely formed two indistinct outlines.

A dragon and a tiger!

Zhao Hong was both shocked and delighted. He forcefully restrained his emotions and visualized the dragon and tiger.

Buzz!

The ripples around his body gradually faded.

Even his flesh and skin calmed along with them.

All the aura around him drew inward, gradually becoming still.

Within his visualization, the indistinct dragon and tiger slowly emerged like points of spiritual light.

Half an hour later.

Zhao Hong suddenly opened his eyes, divine light flashing from them like lightning.

Whoosh!

He sprang up, crossing three yards in a single leap. His body twisted, and he spun down before a row of ancient trees.

Bang!

The instant he landed, the force within his body erupted. Blood-colored radiance surged forth, and two intertwined, indistinct outlines could faintly be seen within it.

The eruption was like a furious flood and raging waves toppling mountains and overturning seas, shattering mountains and breaking oceans.

He stood three feet away from the ancient trees.

Yet that violent force blasted an entire row of six ancient trees into fragments.

Boom!

Splinters flew in every direction like scattered flowers from a celestial maiden.

Even the ground was shaken open by a huge crack.

"Good heavens."

"Even this half-baked Cloud-Breaking Flash that hasn't entered the gate yet is this powerful with such reinforcement."

Zhao Hong was overjoyed, but his thoughts immediately turned to the dragon-and-tiger visualization within.

During that half hour of inner observation, he had unexpectedly discovered an enormous benefit.

Relying on the extraordinary talent of Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bones, he could accumulate power through inner observation. His blood and qi became tightly entangled, continuously steaming and refining, while also storing divine strength.

Once it erupted, it was unstoppable.

"Inner Tempering of Dragon and Tiger!"

Zhao Hong slowly exhaled.

By now, he could be certain that possessing the talent of Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bones was not something achieved overnight. Its power needed to be unearthed through step-by-step cultivation.

"I only discovered such profundity after completing Blood Refinement. It is somewhat late. Otherwise, after several months of internal tempering, my strength would have increased by several more degrees."

"But only after completing Blood Refinement can I achieve inner sight. Even if I had learned earlier, there would have been nothing I could do."

It was not too late. With Blood Refinement complete, he could build up internal tempering. Once he reached internal force, the power throughout his body would surely be terrifying.

Zhao Hong nodded in satisfaction. After checking the sky, he prepared to descend the mountain.

Suddenly.

His feet paused. He spun like lightning and leaped down from the treetops.

"Who's there?"

Whoosh!

A pebble shot out explosively, carrying unusually violent force as it slammed into the wilderness more than twenty yards away.

Bang!

A person who had seemed to be crouching in the grass abruptly sprang up and raced toward the other side of the mountain.

The figure was agile, moving like a leopard. After a few rises and falls, he had already darted far away.

Zhao Hong only chased for a dozen yards before decisively stopping. He was exceedingly cautious. Who knew whether there were others, or whether it was a trap?

"Not slow. At the very least, he is in the late stage of internal force."

"There is no human habitation for dozens of miles around here. Who exactly was that?"

His brows furrowed tightly. After a brief moment of thought, he quickly returned, gathered his prey, and left at speed.