"Half a month ago, when I used up those two batches of ointment, I was only half a step from Entry...
If I'd had a third batch then, I would definitely have reached Entry within seven days!"
Unfortunately.
He had run out of money.
Half a month of hard training, with meat supplied every day, had long since eaten through most of his remaining three taels of silver.
There was nothing he could do.
He could only grind away slowly, like water wearing down stone.
Fortunately, the first two batches of ointment had laid a foundation. His blood and qi had surged, greatly increasing the speed of his skin refinement.
Coupled with his diligent cultivation, another half month of steady effort had finally brought him across the threshold!
"Come on, let me see your limits! Dao Origin, add points!"
Hum!
The Talent Panel shook violently, and new changes suddenly emerged-
[Year one: You brought the Ox Demon Skin Refinement Method to Entry and began repeatedly tempering your skin using its unique skin-refining practice, "Ox Demon Skin Circulation."] [Year two: You tempered one percent of the skin covering your body.] [Your root bone was too poor, slowing your cultivation... With enough ointment to support you, perhaps you could have avoided some detours.] [But you would rather break than bend. The rich relied on technology, the poor on mutation, but before the endless ages, both were trash.] [Thus, you began focusing exclusively on the Savage Bull Fist, frantically condensing your blood and qi.] [Year nine: Your understanding of the Savage Bull Fist deepened, and you comprehended its characteristic skill: Ox Demon! The density of your blood and qi rivaled the first refinement.] [Year ten: You resumed tempering your skin. Your blood and qi moved with your breathing, rushing like magma, repeatedly scouring your skin and making it tear and heal over and over under the intense heat.] [Year thirteen: You completed the first round of tempering your body. The surge in strength and improvement in physique utterly intoxicated you, and you continued throwing yourself into cultivation.] [Year twenty: Your body completed its second tempering. Your skin grew thick and solid, and your understanding of the Skin Refinement Method deepened.] [Year twenty-nine: You reached perfection in the second refinement and began pushing toward the third refinement.] [Year thirty: You faintly touched the level beyond the second refinement. You knew this was the threshold of the third refinement.]
Thirty years of cultivation memories flooded into Wei Sheng's mind like a tide.
In that instant.
Steam swirled around his entire body, his skin glowing red like a branding iron. It seemed to undergo countless rounds of tempering in an instant, expanding and contracting ceaselessly before finally becoming incredibly compact, rough, and tough!
His cultivation rose from Entry in the Skin Refinement Method to the first refinement, then the Second Refinement, until it approached the Third Refinement!
His strength also increased by seventeen hundred jin in an instant!
With his original three hundred jin, the strength of a single arm officially crossed the two-thousand-jin mark!
Wei Sheng exhaled a long breath of stale air and murmured, "Second refinement. I've done it!"
But the next instant, a familiar hunger swept through his entire body, and he hurried into the kitchen.
Thanks to his experience cultivating the Savage Bull Fist, he had deliberately prepared a large amount of food before cultivating this time.
Under normal circumstances, it would have fed the two brothers for three days.
But now...
The moment the food entered his stomach, it was rapidly digested, condensed into blood and qi, and distributed throughout his body.
Even after eating all three days' worth of food, he was still so hungry his belly felt stuck to his spine. He could only ask Wei He to get more food.
A day later, Wei Sheng finally recovered and adjusted to the changes in his body.
[Name: Wei Sheng] [Martial arts mastered: Savage Bull Fist (perfection, characteristic: Ox Demon), Ox Demon Skin Refinement Method (second refinement)] [Talent: Nine-Breath Qi Ingestion] [Dao Origin: 0 points]
"I never expected Dao Origin points to have the additional use of deduction and simulation once they reached ten..."
"Thirty years of bitter cultivation, and the Ox Demon Skin Refinement Method only reached the second refinement. My physical aptitude is terrible!"
His only slight consolation was that the Savage Bull Fist had developed a characteristic-Ox Demon!
"Ox Demon Fist!"
Wei Sheng punched through the air. A black, savage bull seemed to charge from his knuckles, brutal and ferocious, its bellow shaking the heavens and bearing down with tremendous pressure!
The punch burst the very air, producing a deep, explosive boom!
Wei Sheng's eyes lit up!
The power of this punch had already surpassed the Second Refinement level. Even an ordinary Third Refinement practitioner would not dare take it head-on!
"With my current strength, I'm already qualified to enter the Five Tiger Generals selection, but I'm still far from strong enough to stand out!"
Still, Wei Sheng was in no hurry. The selection was still a long way off. He had time!
"Second Brother, what happened?"
Wei He hurried out holding a broom, staring around uneasily.
"Xiao He, what's wrong?"
"Didn't you hear that strange bull bellow? It sounded terrifying!"
"Ahem... That was the sound of me practicing. It's nothing."
In the Fire Ox Courtyard.
When Wei Sheng arrived.
Neither Niu Yong nor Che Zhenzhong was there. Only Xiao Ran was cultivating.
Wei Sheng said nothing and simply watched quietly for a while.
Watching Xiao Ran cultivate in the past had been like glimpsing a leopard through a narrow tube. He had known what happened, but not why.
Now that he had also reached the peak of the second refinement, watching Xiao Ran cultivate was like examining the lines on his palm. Nothing remained hidden, and he even spotted two errors.
But he did not speak.
After cultivating in the courtyard for a month, he was closest to Che Zhenzhong, followed by Niu Yong, with Xiao Ran last.
Besides, Xiao Ran was arrogant and extremely conceited, while he himself was a newcomer who had yet to reach the first refinement. Even if he said anything, Xiao Ran would not believe him and would instead think he was being insulted.
Turning around, Wei Sheng spotted the stone strength-testing weights in the corner.
He was still debating whether to try them when Niu Yong emerged from the rear courtyard. Seeing Wei Sheng, he immediately said, "Wei Sheng, you're just in time. My brother-in-law is looking for you."
Looking for me again?
Could he be giving me more benefits?
Come to think of it, Fire Ox had not met him alone since giving him silver last time. Judging by the time that had passed, it was indeed payday.
"Come with me!"
"All right!"
Watching Wei Sheng walk into the rear courtyard, Xiao Ran frowned.
He had been in the outer courtyard for a month, yet Brother Fire Ox had never summoned him alone.
This fellow had not even reached the first refinement, but he had already been summoned twice. Why him?!
"...Brother Fire Ox!"
The moment Wei Sheng saw Fire Ox in the rear courtyard, he knew Fire Ox was not here to give him benefits.
Fire Ox looked displeased. Upon seeing Wei Sheng, he demanded sternly, "Have you missed the last two days at the Gaoliu Branch Hall?"
"Brother-in-law, Wei Sheng took leave for something urgent two days ago..." Niu Yong explained from beside him.
Fire Ox did not dwell on that and said directly:
"Something has happened at the Gaoliu Branch Hall!
A small gang called the Golden Goose Gang has sprung up there. Its leader, Zhang Yan, used to be a disciple of our gang, but he broke the rules and was expelled. Now, who knows where he found the confidence, but he's assembled a group and keeps opposing our branch hall at every turn. He's even injured quite a few people... Go deal with him!"
"Yes!"
Wei Sheng answered.
This was the first assignment Fire Ox had given him, and it concerned the Gaoliu Branch Hall's territory. He could not shirk his responsibility.
Besides,
There was no money left at home!
His breakthrough to the second refinement had eaten through everything they had. He needed to earn money.
Since Zhang Yan could assemble a group, he must have some wealth. Hopefully, he had not squandered all his silver yet.
"Good. Don't be careless. Although Zhang Yan hasn't reached the first refinement, he has plenty of combat experience. He's nothing like Cao Defa and his ilk..."
Not long after Wei Sheng left.
Che Zhenzhong rushed into the rear courtyard and said urgently:
"Brother Fire Ox, I heard you sent Wei Sheng to Gaoliu Street to deal with Zhang Yan? You mustn't! Zhang Yan has been hiding his strength. He's at the first refinement!"
"What? Zhang Yan reached the first refinement? Is that information reliable?"
"A friend of mine from the Escort Agency fought him two days ago. There's absolutely no doubt!"
Hearing this, Fire Ox's expression darkened.
He had sent Wei Sheng to deal with Zhang Yan because their strength was similar, making it a good opportunity to temper Wei Sheng.
He had never expected Zhang Yan to have kept something up his sleeve.
With Wei Sheng's current strength, facing Zhang Yan would mean far more danger than hope!
"Yong, call Xiao Ran in!" Fire Ox said.
Soon, Xiao Ran entered. "Brother Fire Ox, you wanted me?"
"Xiao Ran, Che Zhenzhong, head to Gaoliu Street at once. You must save Wei Sheng!"
"Xiao Ran, hurry up! If we're late, Wei Sheng will be in danger!"
Outside the Fire Ox Gate, Che Zhenzhong grew anxious at Xiao Ran's unhurried pace and urged him on.
"What's the rush? Wei Sheng has been gone so long that even if we raced there, we wouldn't make it in time. Zhang Yan might have already injured him by now..."
Before he could finish, Che Zhenzhong cut him off coldly. "What do you mean by that? Are you going to disobey Brother Fire Ox's orders?"
"I'm not! Aren't I heading to Gaoliu Street right now?" Xiao Ran said indifferently.
Seeing that Xiao Ran remained just as unhurried, Che Zhenzhong's face turned livid with anger. He gave Xiao Ran a cold look, then ignored him and ran toward Gaoliu Street.
All the while, he prayed over and over:
Wei Sheng, you have to hold on!
Before you continue