Thirtyfold Acceleration Begins

Compared to the Skin Tempering Realm, the Muscle Refinement Realm granted even greater strength. One's meridians became like ox sinews, difficult for ordinary blades and swords to wound.

In battle, one could also endure far longer. Strength flowed through the meridians and circulated throughout the body, ceaseless and unending. Stamina became profound; one could run for a full day and night without tiring.

However, one's lifespan remained no different from that of ordinary people. According to this world's martial path, only by cultivating inner qi and breaking through to Manifest Force could one gain a slight increase in lifespan.

Yet for ordinary people, cultivating to Manifest Force was as difficult as climbing to the heavens. Each stage of the martial path was harder than the last. The further one advanced, the longer a breakthrough required, and the harder it became to shatter one's bottlenecks.

Who knew how many people spent their entire lives stuck at the late Bone Tempering Realm, dying of old age without ever breaking through.

But Lin Fan was confident that with the Cultivation Effect Doubling Panel System, so long as he had enough silver, even the bottleneck of the Innate Realm would not be able to stop him.

Only by becoming strong himself could he better protect his younger sister. Only then could he uncover the injustice done to his lineage and make the true culprits pay with their lives.

Although Lin Fan had transmigrated here, he had inherited all the memories and body of the original owner. Lin Fan was still willing to take on this karma from his predecessor, considering it repayment for occupying someone else's body.

Big Ox had not gone out with the hunting team to sell the goods. After all, the hunting team was only transporting and selling cargo, so there was no need to bring many people.

If all the village's able-bodied young men were taken away and something happened, the consequences would be unthinkable. Thus, each time the hunting team went out, roughly half the men stayed behind in the village while the other half pushed wheelbarrows out to sell the game.

The main reason was that the road they took to sell the goods was not particularly dangerous. There were no wolf packs or large ferocious beasts nearby. Wild boars did not count, of course. Their staple food was not meat, so they rarely took the initiative to attack people.

These past few days, Big Ox had often come to watch Lin Fan cultivate, like a little fanboy. He asked Lin Fan whether there were any cultivation tricks that could help him quickly reach the Skin Tempering Realm as well.

Naturally, Lin Fan could not tell him about the system. After all, only he could use it; no one else could.

Lin Fan checked Big Ox's aptitude. Though it was not particularly precise, he could tell that Big Ox's aptitude was still within the Lower Three Grades.

If Big Ox persisted in cultivating eight hours a day, he should be able to enter the Skin Tempering Realm in five years.

Big Ox cultivated the Azure Cloud Method with Lin Fan for one day. On the second day, he followed Lin Fan for only half the day, then spent the rest of it propping up his chin as he sat on the earthen mound before the house, watching Lin Fan cultivate.

He seemed to have gradually accepted the truth that his aptitude was poor and that he had no talent for the martial path.

Of course, Lin Fan had also heard that some treasures could accelerate cultivation, even alter and improve a person's aptitude. But every one of those treasures was worth a fortune and monopolized by the great sects, martial forces, and the imperial court.

On the third day, Big Ox caught several fish in the stream beside the village. He gave two to Lin Fan, each weighing roughly two taels. One fish was snow-white from head to tail. Lin Fan did not know what kind it was, but it looked quite plump and delicious.

Looking at the fish, Lin Fan felt that he had never seen such a fish in his previous life. This world truly seemed to have some differences from his former one.

At noon on the fourth day, the hunting team returned. The moment Uncle Wang came back, he sought out Lin Fan and beamingly stuffed a bulging bundle and a sack of millet into his hands.

"Xiao Fan, here are sixteen taels of silver. This sale went very smoothly. Wealthy Master Su from the town bought everything, and because one of them was a ewe, he even paid an extra tael, saying he wanted to keep it for milk."

Then Uncle Wang took out another small bundle and mysteriously handed it to Lin Ruoruo.

Inside were all sorts of snacks—small candied hawthorns and some milk candies.

"Thank you, Uncle Wang."

Lin Fan accepted the bundle. He was in need of silver right now, so naturally he would not make empty courtesies over a single tael. Once his cultivation had advanced, he would be able to help the village even better.

After seeing Uncle Wang off, Lin Fan counted the silver. He had roughly seventeen taels left in total. He took out fifteen taels and silently recited,

"Recharge."

A flash of light vanished in an instant. The fifteen taels of silver turned into light and disappeared, while the balance on the pale-blue screen became fifteen.

"Consume three taels of silver. Activate thirtyfold cultivation effect acceleration for one day."

As Lin Fan began cultivating the Azure Cloud Method again, he sensed his body. Every movement he made seemed to strengthen every part of his body from the inside out, raising his cultivation.

His cultivation speed was much stronger than when his cultivation effect had been enhanced tenfold.

"Now, one day of my cultivation is roughly equivalent to a month of cultivation for others. Thirtyfold cultivation effect."

"The system truly is powerful. If others cultivate persistently for a year, I only need a dozen or so days. If others persist for a hundred years, I only need a few months."

"No wonder the martial path is so difficult. Even if others can keep cultivating, how many people can live to be a hundred?"

Lin Fan felt that if he kept this up, he would likely break through to the Muscle Refinement Realm again in less than two months.

Early the next morning, Lin Fan arrived at the hunting team's gathering place once more. Because of the mountain goats Lin Fan had caught, the hunting team had earned ten more pieces of silver when they went out to sell their goods, and each member of the team had received more than one piece on average.

That was even more than what they received from selling the game they had hunted themselves. Everyone treated Lin Fan very well. Some who had daughters of marriageable age even began sounding him out about his intentions regarding marriage.

Faced with everyone's enthusiasm, Lin Fan could only respond with a smile and vaguely decline.

Lin Fan knew that if all went smoothly and he maintained the thirtyfold cultivation effect enhancement, he would break through to the Muscle Refinement Realm within half a year, then advance again to the Bone Tempering Realm.

The Azure Cloud Method could no longer be cultivated after reaching the Bone Tempering Realm. By then, he would most likely leave the small mountain village and seek ways to earn more silver, as well as follow-up cultivation methods, elsewhere.

After gathering everyone, Uncle Wang, the hunting team captain, first led them to the wild boar trap they had previously dug.

They had not gone up the mountain for three days. This time, there would likely be plenty of prey in the traps.

Everyone was in high spirits. In the past, whenever they returned from selling game and went up the mountain to hunt on the first day, there were usually some animals in the traps.

When they were still some distance from the deep wild boar trap beside the oak grove they had dug last time, the group heard the anxious squeals of a wild boar from afar.

No one knew how many days it had been trapped inside. Fortunately, it had not yet dug through the trap and escaped.

Lin Fan and Uncle Wang rushed over together, while telling the other members of the hunting team to slowly retreat first. The others could not help much with hunting a wild boar trapped in a pit; getting close would only make them a burden. If the boar leaped out of the trap, those unable to dodge in time could be injured or killed.

Lin Fan tightened his grip around the hardwood spear in his hand. The blade of its metal spearhead glinted with a cold white light beneath the sun.