Learning the Mystic Tortoise, Refining Mercury Blood, Moving Like a Teng Snake, Forging Willow Tendons! Half a Month to Refine Blood Like Mercury and Enter the Nourishing Blood Threshold!

A genius?

You?

Duan Chenzhou could not help but laugh:

"Don't think that just because you entered Ten Steps, One Kill and mastered the Heavenly River Saber Technique within a month, you're a true prodigy."

"You should know."

"The noble military families of Profound Capital have worn official hats and tassels for generations. You haven't seen them, and neither have I, but I've heard that from the moment they are born, they receive Intent Threshold Empowerment and comprehend martial arts!"

"Although the path of the Secret Martial Path must be walked step by step on one's own."

"Just imagine it. Having been cultivated like that since childhood, how profound must their understanding of Martial Dao Concepts be?"

"This also destined their paths ahead to be smooth and unobstructed."

"Those people are the real prodigies!"

Looking Ji Xiu up and down, Duan Chenzhou stroked his chin.

"Back then, I spent seven days comprehending the first half of the Tortoise Snake Great Pillar before I could even take on its shape and use it to refine my blood."

"After a month, I could assume the Mystic Tortoise stance and exhale the Great Toad breath. Driven by qi and blood, it stretched over a zhang before dispersing. Only when it became as deep and profound as an abyssal sea could I be said to have entered the path, cultivate mercury blood, and begin forging my tendons."

"In less than a hundred days, I had mastered both halves and reached great completion in the Toughening Tendons Realm."

"Though I still wasn't among the very best, it was enough to make the path through the Strength Threshold smooth and clear, qualifying me to receive the Secret Martial Path of my lineage."

"With your background, entering the path in a month would already be quite good."

"Come, come. I'll teach you the breathing method and pile stance."

Duan Chenzhou had Ji Xiu sit at the stone table and spread out half a volume of the Tortoise Snake Great Pillar, telling him to read through it word by word, sentence by sentence.

He then walked to the Plum Blossom Stakes at one side, spread his stance, lowered his center of gravity, and braced a single palm against two plum blossom posts in a leaning support. His shoulders and hips were level, and as his chest and lungs rose and fell, it seemed as though true qi coiled within his abdomen.

From afar,

Ji Xiu even felt that Duan Chenzhou, at this moment, resembled an ancient Profound Tortoise lying dormant upon the earth, his aura deep as an abyss. He was like a mountain, steady as a boulder!

He held that stance for a full hour!

Only then did qi rise from his chest and lungs, connect through his five viscera, and erupt from his mouth in one long breath!

That breath of white mist lingered in the early morning courtyard for a long while before dispersing.

After exhaling that breath,

Duan Chenzhou's face was flushed red, and the wine had completely left his system.

At that moment, even without him saying anything,

Ji Xiu, watching from the side, felt that the qi and blood coursing through Duan Chenzhou's body had fully awakened in that instant. It flowed through his major tendons, bones, and flesh, tempered back and forth by threads of force and that special breathing method!

It was far, far stronger than the pile stances he had seen at Lu Manor!

"The human body is weak. From the very beginning, our ancestors imitated all kinds of strange beasts and living creatures, creating the most primitive methods of tempering the body."

"This lineage first contemplates the Azure Sea Profound Tortoise, then beholds the Black Water Teng Snake. By blending the intent of these tortoise and snake forms, one nourishes blood and tempers tendons, eventually glimpsing the Profound Martial Orthodoxy!"

"Though it is said that throughout the ages, among those who have stood in this stance, only a scant few have seen the true essence of the pile stance."

"Even so, grasping but one or two parts of its form and intent is enough to lay a foundation that will endure for ten thousand generations."

"The first time, you usually won't make much of it. First silently circulate the breathing method I taught you, then take the stance. Practice it a few more times and let me see. I'll correct you."

He withdrew his stance and calmed his qi and blood, returning to his usual unruffled appearance.

Then, seeing Ji Xiu obediently set down the Silk Book after listening to him, only to take out a Leopard Fetus Pill and swallow it in one gulp, he could not help but frown.

"This pill is made from the qi and blood of jackals and leopards, supplemented with Chinese yam and brewed into medicine. It can be counted as a ninth-grade ordinary-realm pill, and it is greatly beneficial for Sinew Tempering. If you master the pile stance before taking it, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort. Right now—"

He had only gotten halfway through his words

when he saw Ji Xiu swiftly imitate his posture. With a kick of his legs, he had already planted himself atop two plum blossom stakes of differing heights.

Seeing him take the stance after swallowing the pill, his face and neck red and thick, qi and blood surging as if about to burst forth, Duan Chenzhou could not help but laugh.

"You're far too impatient, boy. You don't understand the crucial points. You've only watched it once—how could it possibly be so easy to—"

Before he could say the words "master it,"

his voice abruptly froze.

For he saw—

at some unknown moment,

the youth, standing against the cool early morning wind in the form of a Mystic Tortoise, breathed in and out with a deep, unbroken flow. Without realizing it, he had already taken on its shape.

He truly bore several traces of that divine image: "From the azure sea arose the Profound Tortoise; the Profound Tortoise exhaled true qi!"

Duan Chenzhou had been holding a teacup and had just taken a sip when he suddenly fell silent.

Then, unconsciously,

he squeezed the teacup lightly.

It turned to powder.

Half a month later.

Lin Residence.

"Master, according to the reports, that Ji Xiu has indeed become a Saber-Wearing Retainer, and moreover—"

"In barely any time at all, after practicing the saber for only about a month, he entered the Blade Gate and comprehended Ten Steps, One Kill!"

Instructor Du leaned close and spoke in a low voice.

Lin Zhenhai narrowed his eyes. He had been eating, but suddenly fell silent.

"I didn't expect him to truly be someone remarkable."

"When that boy from Lu Manor took him away before, I thought Lu Chengfeng certainly wouldn't indulge him and let him do as he pleased, so I simply let it be. Looking at it now, I really misjudged him."

"Third."

He glanced at Lin Du, who was eating properly at the lower seat to his left. Raising his eyelids slightly, he said blandly:

"Before, you spread rumors and exaggerated matters. I thought you were merely standing up for the steward under your command, so I turned a blind eye."

"But now, the news from Lu Manor has spread."

"What you did was not acceptable."

"The weather has turned cold, and it is easy to fall ill. Lin Steward was whipped so badly half a month ago that he could not get out of bed, barely clinging to life. Go bring him a cup of warm wine. It will count as honoring the bond of master and servant you have shared for so many years."

"After dinner, go to the storeroom and fetch two doses of blood-strengthening pills and medicinal powder. Then set out a table of wine and be more respectful."

"I don't need to teach you what to do next, do I?"

Lin Du lowered his head. Upon hearing this, his heart gave a thump. After a long while, a drop of cold sweat slid down his face before he finally said with difficulty:

"Yes, Father."

At that moment,

the eldest young lady, Lin Ruxue, entered the hall after finishing her sword practice outside. She held a sword as thin as a cicada's wing, while the skin on her body gleamed with a jade-like luster.

The instant Lin Zhenhai looked at her, the coldness on his face turned into warm amiability.

"Finished practicing? Hurry, sit down and eat!"

"Your little sister says the mornings are cold and cannot get up. If she had even three-tenths of your diligence, she wouldn't be without even a little martial skill to protect herself—"

Lin Zhenhai was still lamenting when Lin Ruxue, who had set down her sword and answered with an "Mm," seemingly casually asked:

"Father, what were you discussing just now? What is Ten Steps, One Kill?"

Seeing his eldest daughter ask, Lin Zhenhai smiled broadly, without the slightest airs.

"It's nothing. Just one of our former stablehands. He practiced the saber for a little over a month, entered the Blade Gate, and I misjudged him. I let him go, and he entered the neighboring Fire Kiln Lu Estate."

"Lu Chengfeng is powerful, and he is also the local strongman. It is better to resolve enmity than to deepen it, so I'm preparing to have Third go soften his stance."

"It only takes a nod. There's no need to make such a big fuss."

"If it gets any bigger, what we lose won't just be this little bit of face."

"Eat, eat."

Ten Steps, One Kill, in one month?

A flicker of surprise passed through Lin Ruxue's eyes. Once she had taken her seat, she could not help but nod.

"If that is the case, he truly counts as someone remarkable."

Lu Manor.

The year's end was drawing near.

The autumn leaves had all withered away.

Though snow had yet to fall, the branches were already bare and stripped of all adornment.

Ji Xiu rose early in the courtyard. Like a Mystic Tortoise, he lay prone upon the ground. Every expansion of his chest stirred his qi and blood into a boil, tempering his physique and major tendons.

Only after a full hour had passed

did he exhale one long breath!

Then he rose, wiped away his sweat, and panted heavily. Yet a hint of a smile flashed through his eyes.

On closer inspection,

the youth's skin was scorching hot, as if steaming. His tendons and muscles swelled, as though beneath this "shackle" of flesh, a torrent of liquid like surging magma was about to burst through his skin like a silver bottle shattering, ready to leap forth!

His qi and blood felt as though fire burned within him. After half a month had passed, although his physique had not changed much,

his weight had somehow increased by dozens of jin!

This was what it meant to refine the blood until it sank like mercury, only then gaining the foundation to toughen bones and forge tendons!

Half a month.

Every morning, one hour!

He had stood the stance fifteen times without missing a single session.

Each meal was supplemented with meat, and he had consumed one ninth-grade Leopard Fetus Pill and one dose of ninth-grade Tiger Blood Powder.

He had already reached great completion in half the Tortoise Snake Great Pillar!

This also meant

that Ji Xiu had achieved success in Nourishing Blood within the second stage, the Toughening Tendons Realm.

Though he could not compare to those Saber-Wearing Retainers who had forged their tendons, ordinary retainers of Lu Manor, Fire Kiln stewards, and thugs

were only at this level!

Mystic Tortoise Great Toad Form: (16/30)!

Current: Great Completion (After the Soaring Serpent Chasing Cloud Form reaches "Great Completion," its trait can be comprehended)

Advance condition: Assume the Mystic Tortoise stance, send qi through the hundred meridians, and exhale in one breath. Thirty times in total will bring it to completion.

"If taking the stance once, together with the breathing method, did not bring me to my body's limit."

"I could finish the cost of this advance within a few days."

"However."

"Counting the one time I stood the stance in Master Duan's courtyard and repaid one instance, a total of sixteen stance sessions have already brought me to the realm of great completion."

"Along with the feedback from my qi and blood, remolding and transforming me, my body, tendons, muscles, and qi and blood have all been greatly strengthened."

"Now, my limit has also risen. Unless something unexpected happens, I should be able to stand for an hour both morning and evening from now on!"

"In other words, my progress afterward will greatly accelerate!"

Ji Xiu's face was flushed, his energy abundant, and his entire person brimming with vitality. He put on his outer robe, revealing the bulging muscles across his chest. Beads of sweat traced every inch of his skin.

Those were all proof of his hard work!

"Junior Brother, after looking for so long, I've finally found you a good job. You—"

Just then,

Lu Hongyu arrived with a smile, dressed in a goose-yellow gown and a shawl draped over her shoulders, like rosy clouds reflecting the sun.

She had only just begun to speak

when she saw this scene.

Beneath the thin morning mist,

the youth's powerful muscles were drawn taut, his qi and blood surging, his gaze bright and keen. He had only just put on his outer robe when he heard the sound and happened to look over.

Even though those who practiced martial arts were long accustomed to such sights,

somehow,

Lu Hongyu still could not help but avert her eyes slightly. Her pretty face reddened, and she did not dare look directly at him.