Muscle-Tendon Tempering

Two hours later.

Xie An sat in his room, gulping for air, drenched in sweat.

Although he had successfully implanted the second of the Five True Forms, Azure Deer Life-Attraction.

Xie An felt an inexplicable swelling in both his body and mind. In particular, White Tiger Sky-Roar and Azure Deer Life-Attraction still carried a degree of conflicting artistic conception.

"Ten Thousand Questions only handles the implantation. It doesn't handle digestion..."

"It's like eating. If you consume too many different foods at once, not only will your stomach feel stuffed, but the foods themselves may trigger adverse rejection reactions..."

"If I want to implant all Five True Forms at once, it looks like I'll still have to take it slowly."

Xie An swallowed a Vital Blood Pill. Once his blood and qi had fully recovered, he called for Qiu Lan. "Qiu Lan, has Zhou Ji arrived?"

Qiu Lan answered happily, "He came ages ago. He's waiting in the courtyard."

Xie An strode outside and exchanged moves with Zhou Ji.

Xie An opened with Mount Dai Descent from the Mountain-Taming Fist. His arms pressed downward as he struck at Zhou Ji like Mount Tai bearing down from above.

Zhou Ji had long since become intimately familiar with Xie An's martial arts style, so he did not take it too seriously. Raising a hand, he blocked Xie An's fist.

Yet the change in the next instant made Zhou Ji turn pale with shock.

Xie An suddenly changed moves. His hands curved into hooked claws, his five fingers exploding open as he punched. A powerful aura of a fierce tiger descending the mountain burst from his body.

Zhou Ji hastily raised his arms to block, but the blow sent him staggering back three steps before he could steady himself.

For one brief instant just now, Zhou Ji had truly thought he saw a ferocious tiger tearing toward him with fangs and claws bared. The instinctive fright raised goosebumps all over his body.

What an uncanny martial art!

Zhou Ji immediately dared not be careless. He used half his strength to resist, yet even so, he could not contain Xie An, nor could he predict Xie An's attack patterns.

After several dozen exchanges, Zhou Ji grew increasingly alarmed.

As a Bone Tempering martial artist, how could he fail to see it... Xie An's attacks had no foundational moves or patterns whatsoever.

Was this... the legendary artistic-conception martial art?

One had to know that even many Blood-Tempering Realm experts found it difficult to cultivate artistic-conception martial arts. Only martial artists who had stepped into Manifest Force and could grasp the inner force within their bodies could dabble in such martial arts.

If one forced oneself to practice it, it was easy to suffer a deviation and injure oneself.

How long had Young Master Mingxi been practicing martial arts? Yet he had already mastered artistic-conception martial arts?

They continued sparring until dusk before finally stopping.

Zhou Ji clasped his hands and said respectfully, "Young Master Mingxi has mastered artistic-conception martial arts while still in the Skin-Tempering Realm. You truly are a martial arts prodigy rarely seen in a hundred years!"

Previously, Zhou Ji had only admired Xie An for being able to endure hardship.

Now, he was genuinely won over by the other man's martial arts talent.

Xie An took the sweat towel Qiu Lan handed him and wiped away his perspiration, then went into the room to soak in Tiger-Skin Essence Decoction.

Zhou Ji and Qiu Lan both waited behind the screen.

Feeling the soothing comfort brought by the medicinal bath, Xie An said, "Zhou Ji, I recall that you're from Wuqiao Town?"

Zhou Ji cupped his hands. "You have an excellent memory, Young Master. My father was originally an escort master at the town's escort agency. Once, while escorting goods, he was careless and had his leg slashed by bandits. He has been recovering at home ever since. My mother makes a living by weaving cloth."

Xie An spoke as he pondered, "Qiu Lan, draw three hundred taels of silver from the estate treasury for Zhou Ji."

Zhou Ji was startled and hurriedly declined. "Young Master, you've already rewarded me more than enough..."

But Xie An continued, "Also, Qiu Lan, make a trip to the pharmacy and have Physician Li Yuqiao, the resident doctor, accompany Zhou Ji to Wuqiao Town to examine his father's leg injury. All expenses will come from the estate treasury."

Thump!

Zhou Ji dropped to his knees outside the screen. "Young Master, Physician Li is the finest doctor at Xie Clan Pharmacy, specially responsible for diagnosing illnesses at Xie Residence. How could you have Physician Li lower himself to visit my humble home in the countryside..."

Xie An said mildly, "Your father is elderly, and his leg has been injured. If it is not treated quickly, he may be left crippled, and the rest of his life will be ruined. By then, even if you wish to fulfill your filial duty, I'm afraid you won't be able to."

Bang!

Zhou Ji slammed his forehead against the ground. "I, Zhou Ji, will remember Young Master's great kindness for the rest of my life. In the future, I will surely serve Young Master like a dog or horse!"

Xie An looked through the screen at the figure prostrated on the ground and nodded in satisfaction. "I have something for you to do. From now on, ask around among the guards and find out when Uncle Shui will next go to Li Family Village. Secretly follow him and see clearly what happens. Just report back to me afterward."

Li Yunfeng's death in Li Family Village had left Xie An uneasy all this time.

Later, when Xie An asked Uncle Shui how the matter had been handled afterward, Uncle Shui had refused to say anything.

So Xie An had no choice but to find a way himself.

Zhou Ji knocked his head twice more. "Rest assured, Young Master. I will handle this matter properly. If I cannot learn Uncle Shui's movements, I'll keep watch outside Li Family Village."

Xie An waved a hand. "Very good."

Time never lingered, and the seasons flowed like water.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

By early October, bitter winter had already arrived.

Goose-feather snow drifted through the sky, and the cold was bone-piercing.

The West Courtyard of Xie Residence.

Xie An wore only a thin white inner garment as he stood in the snow, taking great strides while practicing the complete Five Animal True Form Diagram.

The third form, Black Bear Mountain-Tamer, focused on bone density. With a single punch, one's body weighed a thousand jun, carrying the might to shake mountains.

The fourth form, Scarlet Ape Heaven-Stealer, focused on movement techniques and killing moves. The waist acted as an axle, the arms as whips. One contracted the bones into a ball, then sprang forth. In a flash of lightning and spark of flint, it altered the attack trajectory, striking directly at gaps around the enemy's internal organs.

The fifth form, Mystic Crane Shadow-Scour, focused on lightness skill and movement. One stepped upon empty air, moving like a mystic crane as one skimmed the ground in swift flight.

Qiu Lan, standing nearby, was utterly dumbfounded.

Over the past half month, she had watched her young master stay indoors without stepping through the main gate or the second gate. He no longer visited brothels, gambling dens, theaters, or bathhouses, and instead practiced martial arts madly at home.

The current young master's body had clearly become much sturdier and stronger. His once fair, tender skin had gained a touch of wheat color, his cheeks had become more masculine, and the imposing aura around him had grown immensely heavy.

When Xie An stopped, Qiu Lan hurriedly offered him a sweat towel. "Young Master, you're far too diligent. You must look after your health."

Xie An took the towel and wiped the sweat from his face, an irrepressible smile at the corner of his lips.

After half a month of frantic grinding, he had completely mastered the Five Animal True Form Diagram.

It was an all-encompassing martial art, finally making up for his shortcomings in agility and lightness skill.

With the Five Animal True Form Diagram, Xie An could now attack and defend. He possessed recovery abilities, agility, and respectable lightness skill for preserving his life.

At last, he had stepped through the gates of martial arts in every respect.

Moreover, Uncle Shui had come a few days ago to ask about Xie An's martial progress, saying that Xie An had reached the threshold of Muscle-Tendon Tempering.

"Has the Tiger-Tendon Essence Decoction been prepared?"

Qiu Lan gave a curtsey. "Everything is ready."

Xie An tossed the sweat towel to Qiu Lan, strode into the medicinal-bath room, removed his clothes, and sat in the bath barrel.

The medicinal power seeped through his skin pores beneath the skin membrane. No longer lingering at the membrane itself, it entered the deeper muscle tendons, gathering there without dispersing as it continuously tempered them.

A tingling, numbing sensation spread through his entire body.

Tiger-Tendon Essence Decoction was an indispensable medicinal aid for breaking through Muscle-Tendon Tempering.

Xie An had switched to Tiger-Tendon Essence Decoction baths four days ago. Each day, the medicinal effects accumulated and intensified, carrying the momentum of fierce fire boiling oil.

He felt the Tiger-Tendon Essence Decoction constantly hammering and refining every major tendon in his body, and from time to time, he let out soft sighs of comfort.

"According to the martial world, once Muscle-Tendon Tempering succeeds, the major tendons throughout the body will snap taut when force is exerted, and one can even hear their hum. Strength will increase by more than double. By then, even with the same martial art, its power will surge along with the rise in realm."

Suddenly, for the first time, Xie An heard a hum from the major tendon in his right arm snapping taut.

Xie An's eyes flew open.

This was the sign of breaking through to Muscle-Tendon Tempering!