Chen Tie and Mo Hong exchanged a few more pleasantries. Seeing weariness on his master's face, he bowed and took his leave.
Chen Tie carefully tucked the Fierce Tiger Internal Refining Chapter against his chest, picked up his younger sister, and headed home.
After shutting the door, he eagerly sat down at the desk and gently spread open the handwritten manual.
The yellowed pages bore diagrams of Qi circulating through the five viscera, along with illustrations of a fierce tiger crouching low, gathering its strength as it growled.
He concentrated on the opening outline and soon spotted a crucial passage: to cultivate this Fierce Tiger Internal Refining Chapter, one must first attain perfection in Bone Forging, stabilize bone force, and root one's Qi and blood. Only then could one circulate the Qi mechanisms of the five viscera and condense internal breath.
Those who forcibly practiced it before attaining perfection in Bone Forging would easily injure their viscera and destroy their own foundations.
Chen Tie froze. His joy had been for nothing.
His breakthrough into Bone Forging had only barely brought him across the threshold. His bone force was still shallow, and the bones throughout his body had yet to be fully tempered. He was nowhere near perfection.
But with such a precious internal refining method before him, how could he not read it?
Brimming with excitement, he read every word from beginning to end, turning through the entire manual.
The book detailed methods for imitating a fierce tiger lying in wait and launching a charge, tempering the five viscera, and drawing in and releasing Qi, as well as Qi circulation routes, breathing rhythms, and the techniques for exerting force corresponding to each of the five viscera. When he reached the passage on condensing Inner Qi in the dantian, his mind trembled, as though he had already glimpsed the tremendous power of the Inner Qi Realm.
Still hungry for more, Chen Tie closed the Fierce Tiger Internal Refining Compilation and carefully sealed it away in a wooden box.
"I've read through the whole book, but my cultivation isn't mature enough. I can't rashly start practicing," Chen Tie murmured. "Since the method requires perfection in Bone Forging, I'll keep training. Once I've truly perfected Bone Forging, I'll begin internal refining and nurture Inner Qi."
For several days in a row, Chen Tie trained tirelessly, day and night.
Each day, he rose before dawn to practice his stance, driving his Qi and blood to wash through his limbs and every bone. Bone force circulated within his bones, consolidating his Bone Forging Realm again and again.
He had thought that after breaking through to Bone Forging, the pace at which he tempered his body would slow somewhat. Yet after several days of practice, he keenly noticed something unusual.
His marrow's ability to produce blood was strong, providing an endless supply of Qi and blood. His endurance far surpassed what it had been, and with abundant Qi and blood continually nourishing his bones, his progress in Bone Forging was faster than before his breakthrough.
Before his breakthrough, his Fierce Tiger Stance Art and fist art had gained eight points a day, but now they gained nine. His bone force grew increasingly dense and contained, circulated much more smoothly, and his bones became denser with each passing day.
Besides consolidating his Bone Forging foundation, he had not neglected the Supple Bone Palm Art or the White Crane Fist Art.
Previously, his attempts to dissipate force during practice had always been stiff, making it difficult to channel and disperse force layer by layer.
Now that his bone force had taken root and his sinews and bones worked as one, his ability to sense the flow of force had greatly improved. He practiced repeatedly, experiencing again and again the techniques of dissipating, guiding, and neutralizing force.
After several days of honing, his Supple Bone Palm Art finally reached greater mastery.
[Fierce Tiger Fist Greater Mastery (290/300)] [Fierce Tiger Stance Art Perfection (46/400)] [Resounding Viscera Blood Scripture Third Layer (60/300)] [Supple Bone Palm Greater Mastery (13/300)] [White Crane Stance Art Lesser Mastery (60/200)] [White Crane Fist Art Entry (21/100)]
Chen Tie guessed it was because his sinews and bones had entered the Bone Forging Realm.
With his sinews and bones united, the upper limit of force his body could bear had risen sharply. Not only had his bone tempering accelerated, but his efficiency in practicing martial techniques and comprehending the paths of force had also risen like boats on a rising tide.
Festive lanterns hung high at the Xu Family residence.
Today was Xu Da's joyous wedding day.
Guests streamed into the Xu Family residence without end. Neighbors and martial artists on friendly terms took their seats one after another, with dozens of wooden tables arranged neatly across the courtyard.
Chen Tie gathered with his fellow disciples, and they cupped their hands to congratulate Xu Da, who was dressed in wedding robes. Firecrackers crackled, festive music rang out, and the newlyweds performed their wedding bows amid cheers from the entire hall.
Slightly tipsy, Xu Da clinked bowls with his junior brothers one by one.
"Junior brothers, you work hard at the martial hall every day. Today, eat and drink to your hearts' content. Keep cultivating diligently from now on, and don't neglect either your martial path or your family affairs."
The whole ceremony was lively, and the guests did not disperse until very late.
At the banquet, Chen Tie also met the three Flesh Refining Realm senior brothers who had gone out to gain experience: Zhou Hu, Li Shan, and Yu Shi. They had just returned to lend their presence to the upcoming Martial Hall Grand Competition.
Still travel-worn, the three had put down their luggage and changed into cloth garments. Since they had arrived just in time for the wedding feast, they came together to offer their congratulations.
Chen Tie met them briefly as well, and his first impression of all three was good.
Early the next morning, Chen Tie took Chen Xi to the White Crane Martial Arts Hall.
Usually, however, the streets and alleys outside the martial hall were filled mostly with ordinary people and traveling vendors. Martial artists were rarely seen.
Yet along the way today, the atmosphere was distinctly different. There were noticeably more martial practitioners on the streets than before.
Puzzled, Chen Tie entered the Azure Moon Teahouse, the busiest teahouse along the street.
In any era, teahouses were places where news flowed freely. Those who could still come out for tea in troubled times were certain to know even more.
The teahouse buzzed with voices. The fragrance of tea mingled with all manner of unidentified smells throughout the room, and quite a few unfamiliar martial artists sat scattered around the main hall, chatting quietly.
Chen Tie found an empty seat by the window and raised a hand to summon a passing waiter.
"Waiter, a pot of plain tea."
"Right away! Please wait a moment, sir!" the waiter answered briskly. Soon, he brought over a teapot and filled the cup.
Feigning casual conversation, Chen Tie smiled and asked, "I've noticed a lot of martial practitioners coming into the city these past few days. You can see them everywhere. Have fellow practitioners from all over heard that Duchang City's Martial Hall Grand Competition is approaching and come early to watch and exchange pointers?"
Wiping the edge of the table, the waiter glanced around, lowered his voice, and shook his head. "No, sir. The Martial Hall Grand Competition doesn't cause that much of a stir. It couldn't draw so many skilled fighters from elsewhere."
Chen Tie raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then why are so many martial artists pouring into Duchang City?"
"Things outside the city have grown chaotic lately," the waiter said quietly. "Quite a few major families' caravans and freight convoys have been robbed on the roads one after another. Their goods were stolen, and casualties aren't uncommon either. To protect their trade routes, the families are all hiring more guards, and they're willing to pay handsomely."
"Most of these outside martial artists are rogue cultivators from nearby. They heard the news and came into the city specifically to try their luck. Those strong enough can get hired by the great families as guards. Even those who don't get hired want to see whether they can find some other way to make a living."
Chen Tie gently rubbed the side of his cup with his fingertips and asked further, "Even shipments handled by escort agencies get robbed? Their guards are all martial artists. They should be more secure, shouldn't they?
"What security is there anymore!" The waiter sighed, lowering his voice still further. "Not long ago, the Mountain-Shaking Escort Agency took on a shipment. When the convoy reached a mountain road outside the city, it ran into a band of robbers halfway through the journey. There were a lot of them, and they were ruthless. The escort guards fought desperately to stop them, but they still couldn't hold them off. The entire shipment was plundered, and the losses were devastating."
Chen Qing nodded lightly, pondering to himself.
On the surface, it was merely bandits causing trouble outside the city, with repeated caravan robberies drawing large numbers of martial artists into the city to seek guard work. But on closer consideration, things were probably not that simple.
With so many unaffiliated martial artists pouring into the city, fish and dragons mingled together, and conflicts could erupt at a touch. The slightest carelessness could easily drag one into a dispute.
"My most pressing task is still to condense martial Dao true intent."