Iron Smelting, Collecting Rent, Watching the Grounds—They Were Only Temporary; What I Wanted to Learn Was a Skill for Life!

"How had it only been half a month, yet Junior Brother Ji's qi and blood seemed to have grown so much?"

Lu Hongyu had felt somewhat awkward at first, but after stealing a few more glances, she was suddenly startled within.

She had reached great completion in Sinew Tempering and had already become a capable hand in the Tempering Bones Realm.

Though she had only forged iron bones, with no path to silver bones or golden bones, and was still quite a distance from Force Entering Marrow and becoming Invulnerable to Blades,

she was, after all, someone who had been through it.

For martial artists in the Toughening Tendons Realm, it was the time to lay their foundations. They cultivated external arts, and there was no method to hide or disguise them.

So long as they stirred their qi and blood, a glance or two would reveal the truth and the telltale signs.

Especially since Ji Xiu had moved into Lu Manor, he and Lu Hongyu had spent much time together and met often, growing increasingly familiar.

Naturally, she knew perfectly well what he had been capable of when he first arrived.

As the old saying went,

three years to toughen the tendons, ten years to temper the bones, and a lifetime to refine the skin!

How could that be empty talk?

Under ordinary circumstances, after taking a ninth-grade ordinary pill or medicinal powder meant to assist with Nourishing Blood,

and refining it through Pile Stance, one could at most save a month of hard work—and too much would only be as useless as trying to chew more than one could swallow.

For an ordinary martial artist, taking three to five days to fully refine the medicinal properties of one pill was already quite good.

Even for practitioners who swallowed medicine every day and soaked in medicinal baths at every meal,

spending dozens or even hundreds of taels of snowflake silver each day,

it would likely still take two or three months to achieve great completion in Nourishing Blood and enter Forging Tendons.

The Saber-Wearing Retainers of Lu Manor received thirty taels a month, along with two kinds of pills suited for their current stage, whether for Nourishing Blood or Forging Tendons.

Only by pouring all their wages and resources into themselves, while cultivating tirelessly, could an ordinary person achieve success in Nourishing Blood within half a year to a year.

Yet Ji Xiu's qi and blood were swollen, as though volcanic magma were about to burst through his skin. One look told her that he had grasped his qi and blood and was already halfway there.

So long as he reached the stage of moving force and controlling blood, until it flowed like mercury and lead, and every step he took left a deep footprint in bluestone slabs,

he could begin Forging Tendons!

And in Lu Hongyu's eyes, given his current level of attainment,

how could that step still be far away?

That was what was abnormal!

For a moment, amid her shock, Lu Hongyu even forgot her shyness.

Unable to resist, she stepped forward a few paces. Her slender jade fingers curled unconsciously as she lightly poked Ji Xiu's muscles.

"Y-you, how did you cultivate?"

"You've already achieved success in Nourishing Blood?"

"From the look of it, another month of cultivation and you'll be able to begin Forging Tendons!"

"Unbelievable..."

Ji Xiu had cultivated his qi and blood until his body churned. He only felt a vigorous, restless flame slowly rising within him.

Seeing the woman before him shed her usual valiant bearing,

instead draping a shawl over her shoulders, her black hair tied up, her autumn eyes alluring, her fingertips soft to the touch, he narrowed his eyes and paused.

"It is all thanks to Great Manor Lord Lu's support. Without that Leopard Fetus Pill and Tiger Blood Powder to aid me, I would still have needed to spend much more effort to succeed in Nourishing Blood."

His sudden words startled Lu Hongyu out of her thoughts.

Coming back to herself, she felt the faint sensation at her fingertips—the searing heat of blood surging beneath the surface of his skin—and her heart began pounding wildly.

Having lived so many years, this was the first time she had ever done something so improper. She panicked for a moment.

As Ji Xiu spoke in an unhurried manner,

Lu Hongyu swiftly tucked both hands behind her back, as if she had been caught red-handed after doing something wrong. Her fingers twisted together where Ji Xiu could not see them, her gaze darting about as her mind wandered.

"They're only two ninth-grade pills. Every Saber-Wearing Retainer in the manor receives them as standard. Why did none of them show such talent when Nourishing Blood?"

"It is because you, Junior Brother, possess extraordinary aptitude and cultivate without cease. Without both of those advantages, you would not have succeeded in Nourishing Blood so quickly."

In the deep-autumn morning, dawn came late.

At this moment, day and night were just dividing.

Crimson fragments of light spilled from the horizon, shining upon Ji Xiu amid the hazy mist.

He brought two fingers together and fastened the buttons of his fitted clothes. His hair draped over his shoulders, white vapor steaming from his entire body, the lingering heat refusing to fade. His eyes shone like a lion's, only gradually calming and withdrawing inward after a long while.

The sight brought an additional flush to the fair jade neck beneath Lu Hongyu's furry collar.

Noticing Ji Xiu's gaze turn toward her,

she deliberately coughed twice and put on a stern expression.

"Cough, cough!"

"Still, Junior Brother, your talent on the martial path has made this period of delay and running all over the place on your Senior Sister's part worthwhile."

She deliberately emphasized those two words, making Ji Xiu take notice.

He realized that his peaceful days of drawing wages without doing any work had all been made possible by the care of this young mistress of the manor.

"Lu Manor's work all revolves around the sprawling Fire Kiln trade."

"There are hundreds upon hundreds of shops within the Fire Kiln. Some are businesses owned by our manor, while others are shops opened by wealthy households and merchants."

"This place supports over ten thousand households trying to make a living. If the shops themselves did not hire a few martial artists who had entered force to register as Fire Kiln stewards,"

"then with our manor's so-called three hundred retainers, we would be worked to death before we could possibly manage it all."

"They are effectively 'tenants' who pay Lu Manor money and rent."

"And Lu Manor represents the 'administrator' responsible for maintaining order throughout these vast streets and alleys."

"The retainers are the Guard Team."

"When something happens in the Fire Kiln trade, the authorities generally do not interfere. Everything is handed over to Lu Manor to handle."

"And those are the duties of ordinary retainers and Saber-Wearing Retainers."

"But these complicated trifles consume an enormous amount of time and delay cultivation."

"Moreover, most involve places connected to iron smelting, coal mines, weapon forging, and the like—filthy, ash-covered, and choking places where one simply cannot settle down to practice martial arts."

"But after running around for more than half a month, I finally found a suitable place for you!"

Her eyes lit up.

"At the easternmost edge of the Fire Kiln, there is a Medicine Lodge. Inside is an Alchemy Grandmaster who, I heard, once refined a Half-Step Qi Pill at the height of his powers!"

"Across the entire territory of Anning County, spanning five hundred li, he is considered a distinguished guest. He chose to settle here only because the Fire Kiln's location has abundant earthfire."

"Even so, my father had to bleed quite a bit for it."

"And the reason Lu Manor can provide ninth-grade pills to its Saber-Wearing Retainers every month is precisely because we have this highly sought-after Alchemy Grandmaster in the manor."

"A figure like him naturally needs retainers stationed around the Medicine Lodge to keep watch and prevent any accidents."

"I asked around. This master has a solitary temperament and rarely pays attention to others, so I secured this assignment for you."

"And when you go there during the day, you can enjoy some peace and quiet as well!"

An Alchemy Grandmaster?

Ji Xiu suppressed the restlessness in his heart, and his eyes suddenly stirred.

"Thank you, Senior Sister, and the Manor Lord, for thinking highly of me."

"Then can I learn alchemy from him?"

During this period,

ever since he began Nourishing Blood, Ji Xiu had deeply felt the importance of resources.

Even though he cultivated a superior Pile Stance and had the Primordial Dao Talisman's enhancement, allowing him to greatly accelerate his cultivation,

the reason his progress had surged today was that one Leopard Fetus Pill had helped him break through the Nourishing Blood bottleneck, while one dose of Tiger Blood Powder had helped him achieve success in Nourishing Blood. Neither contribution could be overlooked.

Previously, he had asked around. Even ordinary ninth-grade pills for Nourishing Blood cost twenty to thirty taels apiece, or per dose.

How could he afford them!

If he followed the hunters into the Five Hundred Li Mountain Road, setting aside whether he could find anything at all, the danger alone—and the cultivation progress delayed by the journey there and back—made him abandon the thought.

Now, hearing Lu Hongyu's words, his eyes flickered as his thoughts began to spread outward.

Lu Hongyu was immediately taken aback and frowned slightly.

"My father had entertained that thought before as well, but the apprentices he sent over could only watch him tend the fire and open the furnace, doing little odd jobs."

"That master had also written down quite a few notes, but they were chaotic and jumbled, impossible to understand clearly. He did not teach either, simply letting them do as they pleased. After sending three or four batches over, Father gradually gave up on the idea."

"In the way of alchemy, without a master guiding you for several years, you cannot become even an ordinary alchemist."

Ji Xiu fell thoughtful upon hearing that.

Was that so?

But just because others could not understand or learn it,

did not mean that he could not.

Thinking of the Primordial Dao Talisman, Ji Xiu's heart could not help burning hot.

This was his true foundation for survival—the reliance that allowed him to comprehend every path and master every art!

As for the Fire Kiln's businesses and work,

whether iron smelting, collecting rent, or watching the grounds, they were only temporary glory.

With attendants crowding around him and displaying his prestige before others, it might look good.

But—

could they help him soar along the broad road of martial arts, rise straight to the summit, and break through the thresholds of Tempering Bones, Skin Refinement, and even becoming a Qi Refining Expert?

They could not.

And what I wanted to learn, what I wanted to do,

was a skill for life!