Full of Vigor and Vitality

Early in the morning, Li Feng crawled out of bed. He had slept extremely soundly the previous night, leaving him feeling fully refreshed and brimming with energy.

However, the moment his feet touched the floor, Li Feng caught a strange scent. Looking down, he saw that his trousers were sticky.

Old Li Feng's face instantly burned with embarrassment.

Breaking through to the Qi-Blood Second Level really did make one full of vigor and vitality, with his inner fire blazing far too intensely.

He glanced guiltily toward the door. After confirming that his sister-in-law was not outside, he hurriedly scrambled to his feet, stripped off his trousers, bundled them up, and stuffed them beneath the bed, intending to secretly wash them tonight after getting off duty.

Once he finished, he sat on the edge of the bed while a powerful wave of shame and self-reproach surged in his heart.

Considering he was a time-traveler who had lived two lives, logic dictated that his state of mind should be sufficiently mature and steady. Yet here he was, acting like a greenhorn and making a mess like this early in the morning.

What made him most mortified was that the absurd figure in his dream last night had actually been his sister-in-law!

His sister-in-law treated him so well, yet he had actually harbored such filthy thoughts toward her-this was truly worse than an animal!

If she ever found out one day, what face would he have left to stay in this household?

Cough... It's all the fault of this Qi-Blood Second Level; a martial artist's qi and blood are simply too potent. Coupled with the fact that my sister-in-law got a bit too close yesterday, it's only natural for this young and fiery body to fail to hold out. It's entirely a physiological reflex of the body-it's definitely not because my mind is crooked, I can't be blamed!

Li Feng desperately searched for excuses in his mind, trying to brainwash himself in order to banish his sense of guilt.

No, it seems that not cultivating over the past few days has led to an excess of pent-up energy. If I can manage to get some gravel tonight, I must temper myself ruthlessly and vent all this redundant qi, blood, and energy into Martial Dao. I must never let my mind wander again!

Putting on a fresh pair of clean trousers, Li Feng let out a long breath. After making sure there was nothing amiss with his appearance, he walked out the door with a nonchalant air.

After a simple wash and a few bowls of congee, he set out early.

Li Feng did not head straight to the City Guard Office, instead walking over to the home of Uncle Li, an old neighbor not far away.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"Who is it?"

A crisp voice drifted from inside.

Before long, the sound of footsteps echoed in the courtyard, followed by the front door swinging open as a small head poked out.

The newcomer was a young girl of about twelve or thirteen. She blinked her large eyes and timidly glanced at the official uniform Li Feng wore.

The two exchanged a look, and the little girl asked timidly, "Officer... who are you looking for?"

Li Feng tried his best to keep his tone calm and gentle as he said, "Little girl, don't be afraid. I'm Li Feng, who lives just down the street. Is Uncle Li at home?"

Hearing that he was a neighbor, the little girl instantly let out a sigh of relief. She shook her head and whispered, "Grandpa went out to work right as dawn broke, and he won't be back until dusk. Big Brother Li, do you need something from Grandpa?"

Li Feng continued, "It's nothing major. Didn't your family renovate the house a few days ago? Do you still need that leftover gravel? If you aren't using it, I'd like to take some. When your grandpa comes back this evening, could you please mention it to him?"

The little girl nodded to show she understood, promising, "Mm, I'll remember. I'll tell Grandpa as soon as he gets back."

"Alright, thank you so much. Hurry back and lock the door."

Li Feng offered a grateful smile. Watching the little girl close the courtyard gate once more, he turned and walked toward the City Guard Office.

After finishing his shift, Li Feng returned home, planning to change his clothes before heading over to Uncle Li's place to ask about the gravel again.

Just as he finished changing, a voice rang out from outside the courtyard.

"Li boy, open up! I've brought you your gravel."

"Coming, coming."

Li Feng opened the courtyard gate and found an old man with dark, weather-beaten skin standing outside-none other than Uncle Li.

At that moment, Uncle Li was carrying two baskets slung over his shoulders, one on each end, and the loads inside were precisely the gravel Li Feng had been longing for.

"Come right in, Uncle Li."

Li Feng warmly welcomed the old man into the courtyard.

"Little Li, I heard from the lass at home that you needed some gravel here. So once I finished my work, I shouldered some right over for you. Where do you want this gravel dumped?"

Entering the courtyard, Uncle Li looked around and asked.

"Right over in that corner will be fine."

With a smile, Li Feng pointed to a corner of the courtyard.

"You got it!"

Uncle Li acknowledged the request, walked over to the spot Li Feng indicated, set the baskets down, and slowly tipped the gravel out onto the ground.

Li Feng leaned in for a closer look. Both baskets had been only half-filled with gravel, and judging by the volume that spilled onto the ground, it was clearly not enough.

To use this gravel for Skin Grinding, he needed to strip off his clothes and roll around continuously in the gravel, letting his body maintain constant contact and friction with it to thoroughly temper his shoulders, chest, back, arms, legs, and other areas.

Furthermore, if this level of tempering proved insufficient, he would need to repeatedly hurl himself into the gravel to generate greater impact and resistance.

Under such circumstances, this tiny bit of gravel would not be nearly enough for him to toss himself around with.

"Uncle Li, this gravel might not be quite enough. Do you have any more spare?" Li Feng asked aloud.

"I do! There was a whole bunch left over from when we renovated the house. I've got plenty of it!" Uncle Li replied heartily.

"I'll probably need about four or five baskets like these bamboo ones-though filled to the brim this time," Li Feng said.

"Do you have any spare bamboo baskets over there? If you do, I'll go with you so you don't have to make repeated trips. I'm the one asking a favor of you after all; making you run back and forth would be entirely unreasonable."

"No trouble at all, we're all neighbors. There are still a few baskets left at home, so come along with me," Uncle Li said with a smile.

Back when Lin Yanqiu served as a constable, the neighbors here had all benefited from her kindness to varying degrees. Thus, seeing that this pile of temporarily unused gravel could help Li Feng, Uncle Li was quite happy to assist.

Following that, the two of them walked together to Uncle Li's house.

There was an open space in Uncle Li's courtyard, and a sizable pile of gravel indeed sat stacked there.

During the previous renovations, Uncle Li had worried they might run short, so he had prepared extra. He never expected it would come in handy right now.

Li Feng did not hesitate. He picked up a shovel and directly stuffed both baskets until they were packed to the absolute brim.

Watching from the side, Uncle Li quickly spoke up to warn him, "Little Li, don't look at this gravel as just loose bits and pieces; filling these baskets up makes them quite heavy. I think it's better to only fill them halfway, lest you strain your body."

Li Feng smiled and waved a hand. "It's fine, Uncle Li. Don't let my lean appearance fool you-I actually have massive strength. The reason I want this gravel is because cultivation methods have been handed down in the City Guard Office, and I need to use this gravel to temper my skin and flesh."

Back when he was at the Qi-Blood First Stage, his two hands could already lift three hundred catties of heavy objects, let alone now that he had reached the Qi-Blood Second Level. Lifting the two baskets before him was no big deal; even if there were four baskets together along with Uncle Li thrown in for good measure, it would still be a piece of cake.

"So that's how it is!" Uncle Li's expression instantly turned to one of sudden realization, and he continued, "Well then, give it a try. If you can't lift them, we'll just dump some out."

Although Uncle Li said he believed him with his words, in his heart he clearly did not believe it at all.

Having spent years hauling sand himself, he possessed a fair share of brute strength, yet he never dared to fill the baskets to the brim when carrying those two loads of gravel, otherwise he wouldn't be able to budge them at all. Baskets of gravel packed this full would test the limits of even a grown, robust laborer who hauled sand for a living-let alone the thin, half-grown lad standing before him.

As for what the young fellow said about practicing martial arts and having great strength, Uncle Li simply dismissed it as a joke.

Just how long had this young Little Li been in the City Guard Office? If his memory served right, it had only been about half a year. What kind of mastery could anyone possibly cultivate in half a year? Years ago, he himself had considered practicing martial arts, but when he went to inquire at a martial arts hall, not only was the master-admission fee terrifyingly high, but ordinary people also had to train for several years just to achieve a glimmer of success.

This boy is still a youth at heart, after all. He cares far too much about saving face. Uncle Li shook his head inwardly.

However, he had no intention of exposing him; it was normal for youngsters to care about face. Once the boy failed to lift the load a moment later, he would simply claim his family's baskets were too large and smoothly give him a way out.

Li Feng said no more. He stepped up to the bamboo baskets, gripped the shoulder pole with both hands, exerted strength, and effortlessly hoisted the two fully packed baskets of gravel into the air.

Uncle Li followed suit by hoisting his own two baskets, and the pair began walking out together.

"Well, now... he really does have some genuine skill."

Watching from behind as Li Feng strode forward with swift and vigorous steps without even panting, Old Zhang was utterly dumbfounded. How is this kid carrying more than me and walking faster than me too!

"As expected of someone serving in the City Guard Office and eating the imperial government's rice-he truly is out of the ordinary! The welfare and benefits must be fantastic; the martial arts cultivation method they issued is probably several tiers better than those in ordinary martial arts halls. Otherwise, how could this Li Feng possibly reach such a level after practicing martial arts for only half a year..."

Following behind, Old Zhang muttered to himself as he walked: "If my granddaughter could find someone whose background is reliable in a few years-preferably marrying a constable from the City Guard Office-that would indeed be an exceptionally fine destination..."

Walking in front, Li Feng heard this remark completely out of the blue, causing his foot to stumble and nearly sending him and his baskets crashing to the ground.