The Terror of Ultimate Perfection!

At that moment, Qian Jingming jogged anxiously all the way to a high-grade private training ground deep within the Martial Arts Academy. The spiritual energy here was far denser than outside, and its facilities were far beyond anything in the ordinary students' area.

As soon as he approached the edge of the training ground, he heard a series of dull impacts like the beating of war drums, along with stifled grunts!

Qian Jingming's pupils contracted sharply, and he cautiously poked his head out to look.

In the center of the training ground, Senior Shi, whose imposing figure stood like an iron tower, was fighting fiercely with her bare hands against no fewer than three male students whose auras had clearly reached the Bone Forging Realm!

The three Bone Forging Realm students worked together seamlessly, their attacks fierce. Their punches and kicks whipped up wind, and the force they unleashed howled through the air!

Yet Senior Shi showed no fear! She stood her ground, her footwork steady as a mountain. As she swung her fists, she carried an overbearing momentum that could split mountains and shatter rocks! Every punch seemed capable of blasting the air apart, producing a muffled explosion!

Facing the three men's combined assault, she wasn't at a disadvantage in the slightest! She even seemed on the verge of crushing them!

"Hiss-!!" Qian Jingming sucked in a breath of cold air, his mind reeling!

"One against three! And they're all senior students in the Bone Forging Realm! Senior Shi... she's clearly only in the Flesh Refining Realm!"

A storm of shock rose in his heart!

"No, wait!" Qian Jingming suddenly realized. "Perfecting either a martial art or a cultivation technique can grant terrifying combat strength capable of fighting above one's level! Senior Shi's fist technique... it's incomparably fierce and forceful, with broad, sweeping movements. It must be an extremely powerful fist technique, and she's already cultivated it to perfection!"

"And her qi and blood are condensed like mercury, circulating without the slightest hindrance. This clearly means... she's also reached perfection in the Flesh Refining Realm!"

A perfected cultivation technique! A perfected martial art! Double perfection!

Just as Qian Jingming stood there in shock!

The situation on the field suddenly changed!

Senior Shi seized an opening and let out a low shout, thrusting both fists forward!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three tremendous, muffled impacts rang out almost simultaneously! As if struck head-on by a battering ram, the three Bone Forging Realm seniors screamed and flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground. They couldn't get up for a long while!

Like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood!

The fight was over!

Qian Jingming stared, dumbstruck, with only one thought in his mind: With that kind of strength... Senior Shi is definitely a member of the seed class! Even in the seed class, she must be among the very best!

Senior Shi slowly lowered her fists, and the overbearing aura around her gradually subsided, though she still gave off an intensely oppressive presence. She turned her head, her gaze sharp as a blade as it fell on Qian Jingming in the corner.

"Was it delivered?" Her voice was low, without a word of unnecessary talk.

"Y-yes, it was!" Her gaze made Qian Jingming's scalp tingle. He hurried forward and respectfully presented the brocade box containing the technique-transmitting jade slip with both hands. "Dongfang Yueming has accepted the cultivation technique and agreed to the gathering in a week!"

Senior Shi took the brocade box and casually opened it for a glance. After confirming that the jade slip was correct, she nodded and said nothing more.

Qian Jingming stood to one side with his head lowered, but his heart was full of questions.

Someone like Senior Shi has both strength and backing... why would she suddenly take an interest in a new student like Dongfang Yueming?

Could it... really be just because that kid is handsome? That seems unlikely, doesn't it? Senior Shi doesn't seem like someone who cares about such things...

He simply couldn't figure out what lay behind it.

As if sensing Qian Jingming's thoughts, Senior Shi swept her icy gaze over him again.

"There are some things you shouldn't ask about, so don't go prying into them." Her tone was even, but it carried an unmistakable warning. "Take care of your own business."

Qian Jingming's heart jolted! It was as if a basin of ice water had been poured over him, bringing him to his senses in an instant! He hurriedly bowed his head low, his attitude even more respectful:

"Yes! Yes! You're right to scold me, Senior! I spoke out of turn! I spoke out of turn!"

Cold sweat silently soaked his back once again. Senior Shi's strength was terrifying, and her perception seemed frighteningly keen as well!

After Qian Jingming left.

Inside the high-grade private training ground, Senior Shi slowly calmed the qi and blood still surging through her body. The sparring match with the three Bone Forging Realm seniors had been a good warm-up for her as well.

She felt the power of her physical body at the perfection of the Flesh Refining Realm. Every inch of muscle seemed to contain explosive strength, yet she felt little pride. Instead, a trace of sober realization filled her heart.

Flesh Refining Perfection is also divided into three levels: Mighty Bull's Strength, Dragon Elephant's Force, and the Heaven-Splitting Body, Senior Shi mused silently. Though I was fortunate enough to touch the utmost limit of this realm—the Heaven-Splitting Body—that doesn't mean I can reach the very peak of every major hurdle to come: Bone Tempering, Tendon Transformation, Marrow Cleansing, and Blood Replacement.

She knew very well that the path of body tempering was unfathomably difficult.

Reaching ultimate perfection at any stage, such as the Jade of Skin Tempering, the Heaven-Splitting of Flesh Refining, or the Glazed Glass of Bone Forging... is enough to earn the title of "heavenly genius" and qualify directly for the seed class's most intensive training! One would receive an unimaginable share of resources!

But to hone every one of the Six Stages of Body Tempering to the legendary "perfect realm"... what kind of heaven-defying talent, fortuitous encounters, and perseverance would that take? How many people throughout history have managed it? It's an ultimate ideal that countless heavenly geniuses can only yearn for!

Her own attainment of the utmost limit of the Flesh Refining Realm was already the result of tremendous fortune and hard work. She didn't dare hope to do the same in every realm.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the academy.

Zhang Meng mustered his courage and stepped in front of Li Yue, who had just finished cultivating and was preparing to leave. He forced what he believed to be his most sincere smile onto his face. "Li Yue, are you free tonight? I know a newly opened restaurant with really good food..."

But Li Yue merely gave him a cold glance, her tone blunt. "I'm not free."

With that, she brushed straight past him without even pausing, leaving Zhang Meng standing there alone, frozen.

Her undisguised aloofness and indifference were like a resounding slap across Zhang Meng's face! His smile vanished instantly, replaced by a twisted, vicious expression and overwhelming hatred!

Bitch! he cursed viciously in his heart. She must have fallen for that pretty boy named Dongfang Yueming! So what if he's a little better-looking? What's so great about that?

He had lost face yesterday, and today he had been rejected so mercilessly. New grudges and old hatred combined, causing the darkness in Zhang Meng's heart to erupt completely!

He hesitated for a moment, a flicker of struggle in his eyes. Going after a newcomer to the patrol team seemed a bit like making a mountain out of a molehill, and if he were discovered...

But then the humiliation and jealousy drowned out all reason!

Dongfang Yueming! This is all because of you! He placed all his resentment on Dongfang Yueming. If I can't have it easy, don't think you will either!

His gaze turned sinister, and he turned and strode toward an area outside the academy where dragons and snakes mingled.