Body Tempering Art "Iron Ridge Art"!

Blacksmith Li stopped his work and chuckled, "You rarely visit without a reason. You even brought a jar of wine today. Tell me, what strange contraption do you want me to forge?"

Wei Fan's lips twitched, his face covered in dark lines. He had previously asked Blacksmith Li to forge a hidden weapon he had conceived, but the final products were always unsatisfactory.

It wasn't that Blacksmith Li's craftsmanship was poor. Rather, Wei Fan's understanding of 'hidden weapons' was purely imaginative; he didn't grasp the internal structure. Consequently, the finished products were utterly ineffective, serving only as decorations.

It seemed Blacksmith Li assumed Wei Fan was here to forge another hidden weapon today!

"Uncle Li, to be frank, I'm here to learn your Body Tempering Art!" Wei Fan stated directly.

"Learn Body Tempering Art?" Blacksmith Li's expression turned serious. He then shook his head and sighed, "Young Wei, it's not that I'm hoarding it. Body Tempering Arts must be cultivated in conjunction with medicinal baths. I have the cultivation manual, but the medicinal ingredients for the bath are gone. Even the pharmacies within the village's inner circle can't procure all the necessary herbs. Without the medicinal bath, it will cause irreparable damage to the body. In short, this art can no longer be cultivated!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Fan thought to himself that he had the system's attribute points and didn't need any medicinal baths. However, he maintained a calm facade, "Uncle Li, I've recently become interested in Body Tempering Arts. Would you allow me to study it? I won't practice it!"

"Study it? That's no problem!" Blacksmith Li relaxed. He walked into the inner room to search and emerged a moment later holding two earthenware bowls and a tattered manual.

"This Body Tempering Art was passed down from my ancestors, but it's only half complete. If you're interested, take it and study it. Just don't lose it!"

Blacksmith Li casually tossed the manual over. He picked up the wine jar, smashed the red clay seal on top, wiped away the dust with his large hand, and poured the clear wine into the bowls. The rich aroma of malt wafted through the air.

"Fragrant, hahaha!" Blacksmith Li let out a hearty laugh, draining a large bowl in one gulp. He sighed, "Living in troubled times, what use is martial arts? They can't fight Monstrosities, nor can they protect loved ones. Alas, boy, stop looking at it and drink with me!"

"You drink first, Uncle!" Wei Fan's attention was entirely on the manual. The cover read "Iron Ridge Art."

After flipping through the contents, the system had also recorded the cultivation art.

Wei Fan checked his status panel.

Name: Wei Fan

Cultivation Art: Tiger's Breath Art (True Intent Level)

[True Intent State: Special Effects - Infinite Strength, Tiger's Might.]

Iron Ridge Art (Not yet initiated)

Energy: 4

"It really works!" Wei Fan's face lit up with joy.

He closed the tattered manual and saw Blacksmith Li drunkenly passed out, clutching the wine jar.

"Aman, it was Father's fault. I knew he was a beast; I should have fought him. Father is useless!" Blacksmith Li sobbed, muttering incoherent confessions and curses.

Wei Fan remained silent beside him. 'Aman' was Blacksmith Li's daughter, forced to marry into the Zhu Family in the inner circle of the village, to become the wife of Zhu Linyi, the Zhu Family's third son.

It was fine at first, but half a month later, tragic news arrived: Aman had disappeared.

The Zhu Family claimed Aman was captured by a Monstrosity. But with the Monster Suppressing Stone in the inner circle, how could an ordinary Monstrosity appear there?

Wei Fan didn't believe a single word of the Zhu Family's nonsense. However, the Zhu Family was powerful and ruled the entire village. Blacksmith Li was alone and outnumbered. He could only swallow his anger, daring not to speak out of turn!

"Zhu Family!" Wei Fan looked towards the Monster Suppressing Stone in the center of the village, his expression darkening. He picked up his bowl of wine and drank it in one gulp.

Returning home, Wei Fan immediately summoned the system.

"System, add points!"

The Iron Ridge Art is a Body Tempering Art. When cultivated to mastery, the body's muscles become layered like cast iron, with skin like bronze and bones like iron, making it impervious to blades and swords.

"Iron Ridge Art, max it out."

"Ding, consuming four energy points, Iron Ridge Art has been upgraded to the third level!"

Boom!

A powerful surge of energy erupted within Wei Fan, continuously tempering his muscles, bones, skin, and membranes. His original height of 1.8 meters instantly increased to 2 meters, his muscles bulging, each one resembling finely forged steel.

"I wonder about its defensive capabilities!" Wei Fan took a cleaver and slashed at his right arm.

Clang!

Wei Fan's right arm was unharmed, but the cleaver's edge was chipped.

"Ordinary swords and blades cannot break my defense," Wei Fan murmured.

After reaching the third level of the Iron Ridge Art, Wei Fan felt his strength increase again. The exact amount remained to be tested!

With that thought, Wei Fan summoned his status panel again.

Name: Wei Fan

Cultivation Art: Tiger's Breath Art (True Intent Level)

[True Intent State: Special Effects - Infinite Strength, Tiger's Might.]

Iron Ridge Art (Third Level - Can be upgraded)

Energy: 0

Wei Fan looked at the words "Can be upgraded" and asked after a moment's thought, "Can the Iron Ridge Art be upgraded further?"

"Ding, insufficient energy, cannot continue upgrading!"

"Cannot continue upgrading? That means the Iron Ridge Art has more than three levels?" Wei Fan was pleasantly surprised.

Relatively speaking, the Iron Ridge Art required more energy to strengthen, which meant this cultivation art was even more powerful.

Time passed like a shed skin, and night had fallen in the blink of an eye.

Wei Yingying had already fallen asleep, but Wei Fan suddenly opened his eyes!

He saw a white shadow flash by the window!

"You damn thing, you actually dare to come?" Wei Fan sneered.