Skin-and-Flesh Realm

That morning, Lin Qing spent more than an hour bringing his remaining basic martial arts to the perfected realm.

As expected, when Lin Qing cultivated the Basic Saber Art to perfection, the Basic Spear Art automatically reached the perfected state as well.

And it was not just the Basic Spear Art. Several techniques he had never practiced before also appeared in his mind—whip techniques, hammer techniques, even halberd and axe techniques, everything one could want.

He opened the panel.

[Host: Lin Qing]

Realm: Mortal (Breakthrough Time: 19 days)

Fused Cultivation Arts: Mountain-Suppressing Stance Art, Coiling Dragon Stance Art (Expand)

Recorded Cultivation Arts:

Body Control Rating: Mortal Tier Limit

Recorded Martial Arts:

All the basic martial arts on the panel had vanished. He had already mastered and integrated every basic technique.

Now, the various Life-Nourishing Arts and stance arts operated automatically, while he no longer needed to learn any ordinary martial arts. For the time being, he had nothing to do.

Thus, over the following days, Lin Qing lived leisurely in Azure Sun County, passing this stretch of idle time.

First, he sought out several of the best-reviewed restaurants in the county town that he had never visited before, tasting the local specialties one by one, from fragrant, richly flavored braised beef to soft and glutinous osmanthus cakes.

Sometimes, he strolled along the lake at the eastern end of town, watching the sunlight glitter on its surface and the weeping willows swaying along its banks. Occasionally, he found a quiet tea stall, ordered a pot of coarse tea, and sat there for an entire afternoon, savoring the rare tranquility.

Whenever the mood struck, he wandered through the old-goods market west of town, looking over all sorts of miscellaneous trinkets, listening to vendors hawk their wares and passersby chat, feeling the living warmth of the mortal world.

Even while enjoying himself, Lin Qing did not forget to replenish his cultivation resources. Midway through, he went to the Black Market again and bought ten jin of ferocious beast meat, with no mishaps occurring.

And so, those peaceful, comfortable days slipped by in the blink of an eye, and more than ten days quietly passed.

One morning, Lin Qing had just awakened from sleep when he sensed something strange happening to his body. A great amount of black, viscous filth seeped from every pore, giving off a pungent stench. At the same time, his tendons and bones emitted a faint series of crackling sounds, while Qi and Blood Realm far more vast and vigorous than before surged ceaselessly through his body.

He had broken through!

There were no heaven-shaking, earth-shattering phenomena, no powerful aura leaking out. The barrier of a First-Tier Martial Artist had been crossed in complete silence.

Delighted, Lin Qing immediately rose and strode to the well in the courtyard. He drew several buckets of water and thoroughly washed himself from head to toe, cleansing away every trace of grime.

After changing into clean clothes, Lin Qing walked before the bronze mirror. As he looked at his reflection, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.

In a single night, he had grown nearly half a head taller. His once somewhat youthful face had entirely shed its immaturity, its contours becoming increasingly sharp and rugged. He now looked like a young man of eighteen or nineteen.

His Qi and blood surged like tides, and his entire body brimmed with inexhaustible strength. Compared with before his breakthrough, the force in his body had increased severalfold, while his skin had become ever tougher.

Lin Qing immediately focused his mind and summoned the system panel.

[Host: Lin Qing]

Realm: Skin-and-Flesh Realm (Breakthrough Time: 360 days)

Fused Cultivation Arts: Mountain-Suppressing Stance Art, Coiling Dragon Stance Art (Expand)

Recorded Cultivation Arts:

Body Control Rating: Mortal Tier Limit

Recorded Martial Arts:

The realm section of the panel clearly displayed "Skin-and-Flesh Realm," and the breakthrough time had changed to 360 days.

The stance arts Lin Qing cultivated had originally been First-Tier Cultivation Arts, so he was not surprised that they could continue carrying him through further breakthroughs.

The breakthrough time also far exceeded this kingdom's records. Summer Kingdom had never seen a martial artist advance from the First Tier to the Second Tier within two years. Those who broke through comparatively quickly had done so only because they had begun cultivating Second-Tier Cultivation Arts in advance.

Within Summer Kingdom, martial artists had no specific realm names, but there certainly were such names beyond this stretch of the Ten-Thousand Mountains. He still remembered Sun Shaoping mentioning the Fourth-Tier Viscera Realm and the Fifth-Tier Meridian-Opening Realm. It now seemed that a First-Tier Martial Artist was the Skin-and-Flesh Realm.

Having broken through to the First Tier, Lin Qing could finally put his plan to head for the prefectural city on the agenda.

Azure Sun County was merely a small county town. Though he was an unnoticed nobody here, he had still come into contact with people from places such as Bedrock Martial Academy and Hundred Herbs Hall. After joining the Martial Suppression Office, he would inevitably have to leave on missions. If he encountered acquaintances, it would give rise to countless troubles.

Therefore, leaving Azure Sun County and going directly to the prefectural city to join the Martial Suppression Office was the safer choice.

Having made up his mind, Lin Qing immediately began to act.

First, he thoroughly cleaned the small courtyard he rented, inside and out. Then he packed all his belongings: six hundred taels in banknotes, several dozen taels of loose silver, a refined iron dagger, and a white jade bottle. As for miscellaneous things such as pots, bowls, and ladles, he left them for the next person fate brought there.

Afterward, Lin Qing went to the brokerage to complete the procedures for ending his lease on the courtyard, then visited a clothing shop and bought two sets of coarse linen clothes. His old clothes had become somewhat ill-fitting after his breakthrough.

Once all the trivial matters had been dealt with, Lin Qing found an inn and stayed there. After night fell, he went to the Black Market once more.

This time, Lin Qing did not buy raw meat. Instead, he specifically purchased dried Second-Tier ferocious beast meat. However, this dried meat was only half as effective as freshly stewed ferocious beast meat, yet its price was nearly the same as fresh meat. Its sole advantage was that it was easy to carry; even without a sealed iron box, it would not give off an overly rich Qi and blood aura.

Dried ferocious beast meat was scarce in the Black Market. Lin Qing visited several shops in succession before he finally managed to scrape together twenty jin.

After resting for the night, Lin Qing packed his luggage at the first faint light of dawn the next day, checked out, and left the inn.

He wore plain coarse linen clothes, with a waterskin full of fresh water hanging from his waist and a small bundle on his back. Inside were a change of clothes and twenty jin of dried ferocious beast meat. He was dressed inconspicuously, no different from an ordinary traveler on the road. As for his money and the white jade bottle, they were naturally kept close to his body.

By then, quite a few people had gathered outside the northern gate of the county town. All had simple luggage, their expressions carrying equal measures of anticipation and caution. Without exception, they were travelers preparing to head for the prefectural city of Cloudmist Prefecture.

Although no large bands of mountain bandits occupied the official road leading to the prefectural city, reckless criminals and Rogue Cultivators often roamed along it, committing crimes. Traveling alone carried enormous risks. Over time, everyone had formed an unspoken understanding: they would gather at the city gate every morning and travel together, so they could look out for one another along the way.

There were two reasons no mountain bandits had settled here.

First, Cloudmist Prefecture and the neighboring prefectures were broadly flat and open. Only Azure Sun Mountain could be considered a major mountain range; all the rest were short, isolated hills, offering no terrain for mountain bandits to hide in and maneuver through;

Second, Cloudmist Prefecture lay in the central region of Summer Kingdom, not far from the Imperial City. Naturally, the Martial Suppression Office would not allow mountain bandits to exist in this region.

Before long, the sound of hoofbeats and rolling wheels came from within the city. A merchant caravan of around fifty people slowly emerged from the gate.

The caravan had six horse-drawn carriages in total. Three were loaded with wooden crates, presumably containing various goods, while the other three were more spacious and were likely used by caravan personnel and for valuable items.

The carriages were built from thick, sturdy materials, their wheels wrapped in iron. At a glance, they looked exceptionally solid. Every accompanying guard was strong and sturdy, with a saber at his waist and sharp eyes.

Seeing this, the people gathered at the gate all lit up with delight and hurried forward, hoping to travel alongside the caravan.

Before anyone could speak, a middle-aged man at the head of the caravan rode forward, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.

He appeared to be around forty. His face was resolute, several faint scars marking his bronze-colored skin. His muscular body was wrapped in a black fitted outfit, broad-shouldered and wide-backed, every line of muscle taut. A thick-backed saber hung at his waist, his hands were covered in calluses, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's. His sweeping gaze carried an unquestionable authority—he was clearly the captain of the guards.

"Everyone, I am Wang Hu, captain of the Wang Family Merchant Caravan's guards. Those willing to travel with the Wang Family Merchant Caravan may follow us. But let me put the ugly words first: if we truly encounter unavoidable dangers on the road, such as rampaging criminals or ferocious beast attacks, our caravan will protect only our own goods and personnel. The rest of you can only pray for your own fortunes!"

Wang Hu's voice was loud and carried a killing air. Once he finished speaking, he said no more, leading the caravan slowly toward the prefectural city.

The crowd gathered at the city gate did not dare hesitate and hurried after them. Lin Qing also blended into the crowd, setting off behind the caravan on the road to the prefectural city of Cloudmist Prefecture.