The Bone Forging Art in Hand

"The Joyous Union Sect's Soul-Enthralling Powder! Take it, and you'll be dying of pleasure!"

"The Tang Sect's peerless hidden weapons! Your best companions for killing and looting, robbing and murdering! Don't miss out as you pass by!"

"The Body Tempering Art! Just a hundred taels to fulfill your dream of becoming a martial artist!"

"A rare, deadly poison, the unrivaled choice for wiping out entire households! Are you seething over being bullied? Just one drop will send your enemy's whole family to hell!"

"..."

Goods banned by the imperial court were being openly sold here. It was utterly lawless.

Lin Fan also noticed quite a few young men and women locked in cages, being sold as merchandise. This place had gone completely mad.

Naturally, Lin Fan wasn't going to have a saintly fit and rescue those people. He was still just a nobody who could barely protect himself.

Lin Fan walked up to the stall selling the Body Tempering Art. Numerous martial arts manuals were laid out there, and he actually spotted the Gale Leg and Gang-Breaking Fist.

"The Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall doesn't do anything about this?" Lin Fan was stunned. The Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall was, after all, a force backed by a sixth-grade expert, one of the top powers in Qingshan County. It actually tolerated others openly selling its martial techniques?

"Or does it not dare interfere?" A thought rose in Lin Fan's mind, deepening his understanding of the black market's backing.

Lin Fan spotted the Bone Forging Art he had been longing for. He didn't rush to ask the price, since he couldn't verify its authenticity.

He picked up the Gang-Breaking Fist and quickly flipped through it, soon confirming that it was genuine.

Then he quickly scanned the Gale Leg. It was genuine as well, giving him a basic degree of trust in this stall.

He picked up the Bone Forging Art and leafed through it. The very first line of its formula made him feel that this Bone Forging Art was probably genuine.

"What is bone forging? It is forging with blood Qi as the fuel, muscles and sinews as the hammer, and bones as the weapon."

He closed the book. "How much for this Bone Forging Art?" he asked the stallholder.

"One thousand taels. No bargaining. It's the same price throughout the black market," the stallholder said unhurriedly.

Lin Fan didn't hesitate much. Suppressing his heartache, he took out his money pouch and opened it. The gold leaves shone with a dazzling brilliance under the lamplight, drawing many gazes.

Lin Fan counted out ten leaves and handed them to the stallholder, then picked up the Bone Forging Art and tucked it into his robes.

Lin Fan didn't linger. With his goal achieved, he left straightaway, and quite a few people followed him. An inscrutable smile curled at the corners of his mouth. The fish had taken the bait.

Lin Fan had barely stepped into the wasteland when five or six people surrounded him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lin Fan demanded coldly, keeping his voice aged.

"Kid, stop pretending. Your hands are so soft, yet you're trying to pass yourself off as an old man?" one of them mocked.

The others also wore mocking smiles, looking at Lin Fan as though he were an idiot.

Lin Fan fell silent. He had indeed overlooked that. His experience in the martial world was clearly lacking.

"Enough talk. Kill him, and whoever gets the gold leaves keeps them." A burly man lost patience and swung his saber at Lin Fan.

"Remember to be a good person in your next life." Lin Fan's indifferent voice reached their ears. The robbers laughed even louder, but soon they could laugh no more.

A streak of Gang Qi rapidly expanded in their vision, moving faster than they could react.

Bang, bang, bang...

Bloody flowers bloomed, and six headless corpses fell to the ground.

Soon, Lin Fan had six more money pouches in his hands. He passed through the wasteland without trouble, and no one else blind enough to block his path appeared.

When Lin Fan returned to the martial arts hall's entrance, one disciple's pupils contracted, revealing unmistakable shock and a momentary daze.

Lin Fan noticed this and narrowed his eyes, committing the disciple's face to memory.

Looks like this is the fellow who tipped off Zhang Yu. I'll have to find a chance to kill him, he thought.

He strode into the martial arts hall and returned to his dormitory, then eagerly took out the Bone Forging Art to practice.

The Bone Forging Art had thirty-six forms in total. They fully mobilized every inch of the body's muscles and sinews to temper the bones, while coordinated breathing scoured the bones, continuously increasing their strength.

At the entry level of the Bone Forging Art, blood Qi merged into the bones, making them comparable to ordinary iron, known as blood bone; at minor accomplishment, the bones became like refined steel, known as leopard bone; at major accomplishment, the bones became comparable to hundred-year-old dark iron, known as tiger bone; at perfection, the bones became comparable to thousand-year-old cold iron, known as dragon bone.

Those below Body Tempering major accomplishment could not temper their bones. Only upon reaching the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound realm would they have the foundation needed to practice the Bone Forging Art.

The blood bone and leopard bone realms could be reached simply by putting in the time. But reaching the tiger bone realm required strength exceeding thirty thousand jin during Body Tempering, while forging dragon bone required reaching the Dragon Roar and Tiger Howl realm during Body Tempering.

The importance of Body Tempering as a foundational realm became apparent here. One step behind meant falling behind at every step.

Lin Fan finally understood why Yang Kuan was already at Body Tempering major accomplishment but was unwilling to begin Bone Forging. Presumably, he wanted to keep increasing his strength, meet the conditions for forging tiger bone, and build a firmer foundation.

Lin Fan twisted his body, regulated his breathing, and began practicing the first form.

"Aooo..."

"Roar..."

The sounds of dragon roars and tiger howls came from his body. His muscles and sinews trembled, continuously tempering his bones, while the blood Qi in his meridians continuously washed over them.

With no one to guide him, Lin Fan had to figure everything out himself, so his progress was slow. Each form took around a quarter of an hour of adjustments before he could get the posture right and bring the amplitude and force of his muscles' and sinews' vibrations up to the required level.

He practiced until midnight, barely reaching the twelfth form before becoming utterly exhausted. He could only rest for now.

The next morning, Lin Fan told Yang Kuan that he had already reached the entry level of the Body Tempering Art and didn't want to take up any more of his time. He could practice on his own. Yang Kuan readily agreed, as he needed to seize every moment to continue tempering his body anyway.

Lin Fan continued studying the Bone Forging Art in the training room until noon, finally figuring out all thirty-six forms.

The Bone Forging Art's progress also appeared on the Fate Panel right on time.

Bone Forging Art (Entry level 10/2000).

"Even entry level needs 2,000 progress points. How many days will it take to get there?" Lin Fan grumbled.

Had anyone heard that, they would certainly have been unable to resist hacking him to death. Who didn't measure the time needed to reach the entry level of the Bone Forging Art in months? What normal person dared measure it in days?

During lunch, Yang Kuan brought Lin Fan some news.

"Hu Gao's sentence has been decided. His martial arts will be crippled, and then he'll be sent to a mine held by the martial arts hall to dig until he dies."

Hearing this, Lin Fan raised his thumb in approval of the Law Enforcement Court.

Recalling how Hu Gao had favored Li Feng and casually hurled abuse at him and his roommates, Lin Fan felt that this punishment was exactly what he deserved.

Remember not to offend me in your next life. Lin Fan smiled inwardly.

The thought of having crushed Zhang Yu to death last night made him feel even more delighted.

Now only Li Feng remained. He swore that he would send Li Feng down to reunite with Zhang Yu as soon as possible.

That afternoon, Young Master Tang arrived on time, only this time he had come to bid Lin Fan a temporary farewell.

"Brother Lin, we probably won't be able to see each other for a while. My father said the Green Snake Bandits have set their sights on our family. Until they're dealt with, I'm not allowed out." Young Master Tang's voice was filled with resentment and helplessness.

"The Green Snake Bandits..." Lin Fan rolled the words on his tongue. Of course he hadn't forgotten the Green Snake Bandits. On both the first and second nights, he had nearly been killed by their mountain bandits. He would never forget that feeling of almost dying.

"Young Master Tang, don't worry. You'll be able to go out again soon," he said meaningfully.

"???"

Young Master Tang looked utterly baffled.