Fifth Level of the Acquired Realm, Copper Skin Iron Bones

"Could this be a body-tempering technique?"

Seeing the name on the cover, Zhou Qing's heart stirred slightly, but his hands did not stop. He turned the pages and began reading carefully.

Just as he had guessed.

The Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique was indeed a body-tempering technique.

In this world, most internal arts focused on accumulating internal force, with strengthening the body merely being a byproduct of cultivating internal force. Yet a small number of techniques pursued the body's ultimate limits, strengthening it as a whole from within and without.

The Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique in Zhou Qing's hands belonged to the latter. The internal force cultivated through it deeply nourished the bones, organs, meridians, flesh, and skin, forging the entire body as though it had been made from refined gold tempered a hundred times.

Strength, endurance, recovery, defense, and more would all rise across the board. It fused solidity with toughness, creating a physical body so powerful it was indestructible.

Moreover, cultivating the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique would expand and reinforce the Twelve Regular Meridians, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and the dantian, increasing them to roughly ten times their initial state.

The strength of one's meridians determined the intensity of internal force circulating through them.

Thus, the stronger the meridians, the more internal force one could unleash in an instant, and the better they could withstand internal force rushing through at high speed.

Expanding and reinforcing the dantian, meanwhile, allowed it to contain more internal force.

The Spring Return Technique was a health-preserving art, and only a third-rate internal art at that. At most, it could strengthen the Twelve Regular Meridians by twice their original capacity. Other third-rate and second-rate internal arts generally strengthened and expanded the meridians and dantian by around three times.

But the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique could strengthen them tenfold.

Simply put, after cultivating the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique, the internal force one's meridians and dantian could contain—as well as the amount one could erupt with in battle—would be more than three times that of martial artists at the same level.

Furthermore, since the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique was a body-tempering technique, it did not prevent a martial artist from cultivating other internal arts alongside it.

According to the manual, the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique had nine layers, corresponding to the nine levels of the Acquired Realm. If one consumed medicinal supplements every day while cultivating, merely reaching the first layer would cost over a thousand taels of silver. Every subsequent layer would require twice the resources of the previous one.

To cultivate to the seventh layer and become a First-rate Martial Artist, the total resources required would reach the terrifying sum of one hundred thousand taels.

Without resources to aid cultivation, relying solely on bitter training would make progress extremely slow. It would take at least six or seven years just to reach the first layer.

The time required for every later layer would double. Without resources to assist cultivation, one would basically remain a Third-rate Martial Artist for life.

But for Zhou Qing, this was not a problem.

Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique / Not Initiated

After Zhou Qing carefully read the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique manual from beginning to end, this body-tempering technique also appeared on the panel.

As long as it appeared on the panel, he could use Dao Source to improve it.

"The technique is fine."

Zhou Qing nodded, handed the remaining three hundred taels of silver to the masked man, then put away the manual and turned to leave.

"This man spent five hundred taels on a manual. He must have more silver on him."

"Even if he has no silver, we can still get the manual by killing him."

"Come on, follow him and keep a close watch. The moment he leaves the Black Market, we strike."

"..."

Zhou Qing had asked about manuals at five stalls in succession, drawing the attention of several martial artists long ago. Hidden gazes converged upon him from the shadows.

Having reached the Fourth Level of the Acquired Realm, Zhou Qing's five senses were sharp. Naturally, he noticed those hidden stares and knew he was being watched.

Being targeted was a common occurrence in the Black Market.

Zhou Qing gave nothing away. Rather than leaving the Black Market immediately, he began wandering about idly as a panel appeared before his eyes.

Name: Zhou Qing

Realm: Fourth Level of the Acquired Realm (Second-rate Martial Artist)

Mastered Martial Arts: Spring Return Technique / Tenth Layer (Traits: enhanced internal-force healing, extends lifespan by thirty years, poison resistance increased by 300%, improves innate constitution)

Traceless Blade Technique / Mastery (Traits: blade speed burst 300%, strength burst 200%)

Swallow Dips Water / Mastery (Traits: light as a swallow, can borrow force in midair, speed burst 200%)

Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique / Not Initiated

Talent: Nine Breaths Assimilation (As long as he breathes and circulates his breath for nine breaths, an inexplicable divine power blesses him, automatically refining the power of heaven, earth, and the Great Dao into Dao Source. He automatically gains 1 Dao Source Point each day. Each Dao Source Point is equivalent to one year of bitter cultivation.)

Dao Source: 18

All Dao Source, enhance the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique!

Zhou Qing silently commanded in his heart.

When he escaped from the Black Stone County prison, he had possessed thirteen Dao Source Points. Five days had passed since then, bringing his Dao Source Points to eighteen. He used them all at once to enhance the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique.

Buzz—

Zhou Qing's consciousness entered a profound and mysterious space.

Within that mysterious space, he cultivated the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique day after day, year after year, never knowing fatigue.

Countless insights poured into his mind.

After one year of bitter cultivation, your Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique breaks through to the first layer. Your flesh, skin, and bones become tougher, and your strength increases by fifty percent over its original foundation.

After another two years of bitter cultivation, the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique you cultivate breaks through to the second layer. Your skin becomes tough as a drumhead and your bones hard as a fierce tiger's. Your strength reaches three thousand jin, and with bare fists, you can slay savage beasts.

You continue your bitter cultivation...

After eighteen years of day-and-night bitter cultivation, the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique breaks through to the fifth layer. Your skin becomes as tough as copper hide, and your bones as hard as iron.

The bitter cultivation ended, and Zhou Qing clearly felt the changes in himself.

Only an instant had passed in the outside world, but within that mysterious space, Zhou Qing had cultivated bitterly for eighteen years.

Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique / Fifth Layer (Traits: Copper Skin Iron Bones, Blood Qi strengthened by 400%, 50% rebound)

Zhou Qing looked at the panel.

With the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique at the fifth layer, he had cultivated Copper Skin Iron Bones. He could clearly feel the changes in his body: muscles knotted like coiling dragons, brimming with explosive power. His Blood Qi was so vigorous that it seemed ready to burst through his skin at any moment and transform into Blood Qi Wolf Smoke.

The more vigorous one's Blood Qi, the faster one's internal force recovered.

After all, the power cultivated by Acquired Realm martial artists came from circulating the Blood Qi within their bodies.

It could be said that Blood Qi was the foundation of martial arts.

Zhou Qing's dantian sea of qi had also expanded considerably. If it had previously been a water well, it was now a small pond. His Twelve Regular Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians had likewise been expanded and reinforced.

With a single thought, internal force could instantly flood into every limb and bone. The speed at which he circulated internal force had increased dramatically compared to before.

Beyond that, upon reaching the fifth layer of the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique, Zhou Qing also gained the ability to rebound force. Once an enemy attacked him, this power would act like a spring, bouncing the attack back and making the enemy reap what they had sown.

This rebounding force amounted to fifty percent of the force of the attack he endured.

In other words, if Zhou Qing's body suffered a strike of ten thousand jin, it would trigger a rebounding force of five thousand jin.