Breaking Through to the Ninth-Rank Realm

Three days later, at night.

After completing twenty-four sets of punches, the power of Su Xinghe's qi and blood gradually subsided. Feeling the hunger constantly rising from his stomach, he focused on the Fate Panel.

"Su Xinghe: White Ape Martial Academy (Outer Sect Disciple)"

"Martial Arts: Apprentice Grade (Inner Tempering 100%)"

"Fate: Diligence Makes Up for Dullness"

"Trait 1: Not a Drop Leaks Through, Unyielding"

"Trait 2: Grain by Grain Builds a Tower, Water Flows and the Channel Forms"

"Listening to Tides Art (Perfect Mastery) 5988/10000"

"Golden Ape Earth-Splitting Art (Perfect Mastery) 2332/10000"

"Ascending Dragon Stance (Hall-Entering) 566/1000"

"Incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi 0/10000"

...

"Inner Tempering is finally complete!"

"Then it's time to prepare for a breakthrough..."

With that thought, he turned and walked to the table.

A large basin of braised beef, already completely cold, sat on top. There were a full twenty pounds of it. Beside it was a large pot of tea. These had originally been prepared for after his breakthrough, but unexpectedly, they were needed ahead of time.

Before long, half the beef in the basin was gone.

After eating and drinking his fill, Su Xinghe rose to his feet, swallowed another Qi-Replenishing Pill, closed his eyes, and began waiting for his qi and blood to recover.

If anyone saw him eating Qi-Replenishing Pills like beans, their teeth would surely drop from shock.

Even Lower Ninth Rank Martial Warriors could only take two or three pills a day. And they had to space them out, otherwise pill toxins would build up and damage their internal organs.

However, Su Xinghe possessed fate traits. With the absorption and recovery of "Not a Drop Leaks Through, Unyielding," he could eat whenever he wanted.

Once the qi and blood within him began boiling once more, he assumed the stance of the Golden Ape Earth-Splitting Art.

At once, fist winds filled the room, shaking the window lattice until it trembled and making the candlelight flicker bright and dim.

From the very beginning of the fist art, Su Xinghe sensed something different.

The qi and blood that had originally churned and overflowed through his body suddenly began flowing back in streams along his limbs and countless channels. In the end, it gathered at his chest, forming a high-pressure ball of air that continuously compressed.

By his senses, it was about the size of a fist.

And as the fist art continued, it was still being hammered and condensed without pause.

Ten minutes later, the fist art reached its final move.

He knew this was the most crucial step.

The True Art Scroll stated it clearly: Lower Ninth Rank Martial Warriors tempered their skin and flesh, and could choose which body part to begin with according to their needs.

Some people feared death, so they would first temper vital areas such as the head, chest, and back.

Others were more traditional. They would proceed step by step from head to toe, or arrange it from the chest to the back.

But Su Xinghe had long since made his own plan.

He would first temper the skin and flesh of his limbs.

The advantage was that once his limbs were tempered, his strength and speed would rise noticeably. Whether attacking or blocking, he would be more flexible.

Otherwise, if someone threw a punch at him, and he had only tempered his head but not his limbs, could he really block it with his head?

So, when that mass of qi and blood condensed to the utmost limit, he blasted it along his arm toward the pad of his right thumb.

In an instant, his qi and blood transformed.

From scattered disorder, it became the qi and blood power unique to Martial Warriors.

Crackle!

A bruise the size of a fingernail appeared on the pad of his right thumb.

Su Xinghe only felt as though someone had viciously struck his thumb with a hammer.

Then came searing, stabbing pain.

He could no longer maintain his stance. Clutching his finger, cold sweat poured down his body.

"It hurts like hell. I wonder how everyone else endured this..."

Only after quite a while did he recover.

"Su Xinghe: White Ape Martial Academy (Outer Sect Disciple)"

"Martial Arts: Ninth Grade Realm (Body Tempering 1%)"

"Fate: Diligence Makes Up for Dullness"

"Trait 1: Not a Drop Leaks Through, Unyielding"

"Trait 2: Grain by Grain Builds a Tower, Water Flows and the Channel Forms"

"Listening to Tides Art (Perfect Mastery) 5988/10000"

"Golden Ape Earth-Splitting Art (Perfect Mastery) 2333/10000"

"Ascending Dragon Stance (Hall-Entering) 566/1000"

"Incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi 0/10000"

...

He had finally become a Martial Warrior.

Looking at the Fate Panel, the stone hanging over his heart finally fell to the ground.

He had broken through in one month.

More accurately, thirty-one days.

Su Xinghe hardly dared imagine that he could advance so quickly.

He remembered Elder Xie mentioning last time that Lu Xuanji, the Core Embrace Grandmaster of the Lu Family, had also spent half a year before breaking through to become a Martial Warrior. Even so, Lu Xuanji had been hailed as a genius Lin County saw only once in a century.

With talent like his,

If he told anyone, he would probably scare a whole crowd to death...

No!

The first one to die if he said it outright would probably be himself...

Not to mention the Peaceful Heaven Sect—even the Lu Family, which covered half the sky, would never allow a monster like him to appear within their territory.

He still had to keep a low profile and proceed step by step.

Tomorrow, he would reveal the strength of an Inner Tempering apprentice.

Putting those thoughts away, he quietly sensed the changes within himself.

The qi and blood in his body had become much denser. As it flowed through his veins, it was as heavy as mercury. Every beat of his heart was like a high-pressure water cannon, sending qi and blood to every corner of his body.

He raised his right hand and gently clenched it.

His thumb locked tightly against the web between his thumb and forefinger like a powerful vice.

As his arm slowly exerted force, the muscles in it instantly bulged. A feeling of solidity and tautness greater than before welled up within him.

Ninth Rank Martial Warriors possessed strength between one thousand and five thousand pounds.

Lower Ninth Rank Body Tempering was the stage where strength surged rapidly. Tempering the entire body could grant up to three thousand pounds of immense force.

Upper Ninth Rank Bone Forging enhanced the body's strength and resilience. Yet reforging every bone could still add another two thousand pounds of immense force.

Now that he had just entered the Ninth Rank, one thousand pounds was his baseline.

Su Xinghe felt that this was roughly what a thousand pounds of force was like.

If he threw this punch, he was afraid he could smash through a wall.

His thoughts gathered, and the Listening to Tides Art was activated in an instant. The qi and blood within him surged again, while every muscle in his body felt as though it were about to explode.

With the special-effect enhancement of the Perfect Mastery Listening to Tides Art, his punch now might well exceed two thousand pounds.

Crack!

A crisp sound came from beneath his feet.

Su Xinghe lowered his head to look.

He saw that a palm-sized depression had appeared in the previously neat solid-wood floorboards.

"I..."

Had his strength suddenly soared so much that he had lost control?

He dispersed the Listening to Tides Art, crouched down, and inspected it carefully. Fortunately, the wooden board had merely cracked open. If he pried at it, he could still put it back.

Su Xinghe reached out and gently pried with his index finger.

Crash!

A beam of candlelight appeared in the living room downstairs, and the hazy glow kept dancing across the walls.

"What the hell!"

He hurriedly found a cushion and covered the hole with it.

He would have his younger brother fix it tomorrow...

What excuse should he use?

He subconsciously clenched his fist. Without the terrifying enhancement of the Listening to Tides Art, his strength returned to around one thousand pounds.

He still had to train!

Su Xinghe changed locations and assumed his fist stance once more.

Before long, qi and blood power gathered in his chest again. Only, this time it seemed to be a circle smaller than before, merely the size of a teacup.

He would deal with that later. He forcefully blasted it toward the pad of his right index finger.

As a bruise appeared on the pad of his index finger, searing pain struck again.

After resting briefly, fist winds rose in the room once more.

To outsiders, this round of the Golden Ape Earth-Splitting Art looked exactly the same as before.

Only Su Xinghe knew that the qi and blood within him had become orderly and disciplined. It no longer rolled and boiled in its former scattered fashion, but had gathered into streams of qi and blood power.

Once...

Twice...

After three rounds, the qi and blood in his body was exhausted, and he could no longer gather even a trace of it.

It happened that the pain had become a little unbearable as well, so he walked back to the table and ate some late-night food to fill his stomach.

Ten minutes later.

After swallowing a Qi-Replenishing Pill, Su Xinghe assumed his fist stance again. Sleeping was impossible—unless he himself wanted to sleep.