Free Web NovelChapter 13: Chapter 13: Eight Extremes Bone Forging
Li Tong turned his head, a faint, unreadable smile on his face as he looked at Fu Juemin.
"What kind of opponent does the Young Master desire?"
"Someone who won’t go easy on me, who dares to be ruthless."
Fu Juemin replied. Then a sudden thought struck him. ’Heh, aren’t I just asking for trouble? Do I really need to get punched a couple of times to feel good?’
’I should probably squeeze every last drop of training value from the guards at home first.’
He quickly changed the subject. "Never mind. We can talk about finding an opponent later.
Uncle Tong, are there any shortcuts for the Bone Forging Realm, like there were for the Skin Grinding Realm? Tell me, quick..."
"The path the Young Master is currently on is already a shortcut."
Li Tong shook his head. "Soaking in Medicated Baths, being struck on the medicinal posts, supplemented by the ’Eight Extremes Bone Forging Skill’.
At the fastest, half a year. At the slowest, one year. You will certainly reach Great Success in Bone Forging."
"A month for Skin Polishing, half a year for Bone Forging... That speed really isn’t slow..."
Fu Juemin tapped his knuckles lightly on the tea table, his brow suddenly furrowed. "Seeking such speed... won’t it lead to an unstable foundation?"
Fu Juemin had "crammed" his way through the Skin Grinding Realm, and now he was taking a "shortcut" in the Bone Forging Realm. Although he wanted his Martial Dao strength to increase as quickly as possible, he couldn’t help but worry this would be like pulling on seedlings to help them grow.
If the price of rapid progress now was to stagnate at a certain level in the future, he would rather take it slow.
Li Tong lowered his head and blew on the tea foam in his cup. "What does the Young Master consider a solid foundation?"
"Using no medicine, or very little, advancing one step at a time, inch by inch."
Fu Juemin thought of the muscle-bound men from his past life, bulked up with steroids, his tone laced with apprehension.
"Inch by inch?" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Li Tong chuckled. "Does the Young Master think that only by being like Wang Shuisheng and Sun Youzhu—hugging stone locks every day until your palms are raw, punching trees until your knuckles fracture, for years on end—that this is what it means to advance one step at a time?
And you, using hundreds of portions of expensive skin-polishing cream over a month, being whipped with rattan canes tens of thousands of times—you don’t consider that a solid foundation, is that right?"
Fu Juemin was taken aback.
Li Tong continued, "Since ancient times, medicine and martial arts have been inseparable. Without the nourishment of medicinal stones and external aid, relying solely on the body to endure, hidden injuries will accumulate like anthills causing a dike to collapse. No matter how high your Talent, it would be difficult to achieve anything..." freewёbnoνel.com
Li Tong set his teacup down on the table with a soft THUD, looked at Fu Juemin, and said calmly, "In this business of practicing martial arts, the poor have their way of enduring, and the rich have their way of training. No matter how you look at it, having money is better than having none.
Does the Young Master know of Emperor Qianming?"
"The deposed emperor of the previous dynasty?"
Fu Juemin blurted out.
"Yes."
Li Tong said coolly, "He was an inept ruler, but he was a martial arts prodigy who stepped into the Heart Intent Realm before the age of thirty.
If he hadn’t ruled the four seas, with access to countless rare and precious medicines to aid his training, even someone with heaven-defying aptitude would have found it difficult to reach such heights...."
Fu Juemin listened with clicks of wonder and couldn’t help but ask, "Uncle Tong, what level is Heart Intent in the Martial Dao?"
Li Tong said, "If no Grandmaster appears, Heart Intent is supreme."
"How many realms away is that from Tongxuan?"
"Not many. One or two, perhaps."
’Grandmaster, Heart Intent...’
’There are still realms like these above Tongxuan, which can block bullets with the naked body?’
Fu Juemin was secretly dumbfounded. He thought he already had a high enough opinion of this world’s Martial Dao, but now he realized it far exceeded his expectations.
’If the Martial Dao is so strong, how on earth did the Westerners manage to invade?
Or was the main problem internal?’
Fu Juemin knew about the deposed emperor of the previous dynasty, Emperor Qianming. The middle school history books compiled by the Da Xin Republic said that Emperor Qianming was a fatuous and incompetent ruler. He not only allowed powerful eunuchs to throw the government into chaos and let the armaments of the Border Army fall into disrepair, but he also listened to the deceptions of Alchemists, becoming obsessed with the Alchemy Dao. One day, he took a few Eunuch Guards and plunged into Jiwei Mountain—a place rumored to be frequented by Immortals—in search of them, only to disappear without a trace. The previous dynasty collapsed as a result.
Only after hearing Li Tong today did he learn that Emperor Qianming had also been a supreme master of the martial arts world during his lifetime.
’Did he hit a dead end in his martial arts training and have no choice but to turn to Cultivation?’
As Fu Juemin’s mind raced with wild thoughts, he suddenly heard a soft CLICK as Li Tong gently placed the lid on his teacup. Li Tong then said leisurely, "The path the Young Master is walking now is the most grand and proper path of the Martial Dao.
Those Martial Artists who have no medicine to use are the ones who use their very lives as firewood, burning brightly for just a moment..."
Fu Juemin fell silent.
....
The night was as black as ink. Fu Juemin stood in the center of his third-floor bedroom, holding the Mixed Element Stance.
The night breeze blew in through the enamel window, rustling the curtains with a soft, "SHUSH SHUSH" sound.
He had been practicing this Pile Method for over a month. Even when he was enduring the beatings for his Skin Polishing, Li Tong had required him to maintain the Mixed Element Stance.
He had found the "stance sensation" long ago, but tonight’s session felt different from usual.
—
First came the familiar soreness, numbness, and aching pain, like ten thousand fine needles pricking him lightly.
Gradually, the feeling of being pricked by needles faded, replaced by a strange sensation of being "loose yet heavy."
It was as if every bone in his body had settled into its proper place, his tendons and meridians naturally taut like bowstrings, yet completely without effort.
Fu Juemin felt as if he were about to fall asleep standing up. After an unknown amount of time, his spine trembled slightly. Following that, a warm current of air seemed to rise silently from his back, spreading through his entire body in an instant. It washed away all his fatigue and soreness, bringing an indescribable feeling of joy and clarity....
"HUUUU—"
Fu Juemin let out a long breath and slowly relaxed his posture. The first thing he did after standing up was grab his pocket watch from the table to check it.
This stance session had far surpassed his previous record, lasting for a full fifty-four minutes.
’Did the [Mixed Element Stance] have a breakthrough?’
With this thought, Fu Juemin called up his character panel. A quick look confirmed it.
—
[Fu Juemin]
[Attack—7 Defense—4 Life—2 Mana—0]
[Cultivation Techniques: Mixed Element Stance (Mastery: Life +1), Ming Fist (Entry Level: Attack +1), Eight Extremes Bone Forging Skill (Entry Level: Attack +1, Defense +1)]
[Talent: ]
The "Mixed Element Stance" had advanced from "Entry Level" to "Mastery," adding an additional attribute of "Life +1."
Fu Juemin looked at his current character panel. His eyes flickered under the moonlight as he thought quietly.
After he reached Great Success in Skin Polishing, his [Attack] and [Defense] attributes each naturally increased by 1 point. After reaching Entry Level in the "Eight Extremes Bone Forging Skill" that Li Tong had taught him, he gained two more additional attributes. A few days ago, the blue energy slot under the panel had filled up, granting him a free attribute point that he immediately added to his Attack...
All in all, the numerical values of his panel attributes had nearly doubled compared to before.
His [Attack] attribute, in particular, was now a whopping 7 points!
This was also one of the main reasons why, despite having just entered the Bone Forging Realm, he could easily break the bones of Sun Youzhu, who was in the same realm.
’The panel’s values have shot up, but in reality, it’s not that exaggerated...’
This was because a portion of the 7 points in [Attack] and 4 points in [Defense] represented Fu Juemin’s skill in channeling force for his punches and defending against damage, not just his raw physical stats.
His current strength, speed, and nerve reactions were indeed stronger than those of an ordinary Martial Artist just entering the Bone Forging realm, but not absurdly so—perhaps about twice as strong.
Fu Juemin estimated that an average Martial Artist just entering the Bone Forging Realm would likely have an [Attack] between 3-4 points and a [Defense] between 2-3 points.
