Free Web NovelChapter 35: The Bone Forging Techniques
When Ian opened the Cultivation Arts tab, there were exactly six available techniques shown by the system. Ian immediately looked at the first one on the list.
[1. Basic Bone Forging Technique]
[Description: Tempers the skeleton to become iron-like, allowing for greater physical resilience and power explosiveness.]
[Effect: None.]
[Drawback: None.]
[Cost: 90 Prosperity Points]
"So the second major level after Skin Cultivation is Bone Forging, huh?" Ian said, looking at the name. "Of course, the first one would just be a basic, standard cultivation technique. Even though it is cheap, I would not choose it. Now, let’s look at the real techniques." Ian continued scrolling down the blue screen.
[2. Iron-Marrow Rhino Bone Technique]
[Description: A direct follow-up to the Adamantine Ox Hide. This technique floods the skeleton with dense earth-attribute energy, turning the bones into dark, heavy iron.]
[Effect: Grants immense physical defense and physical strength. It also anchors the user’s center of gravity. They become almost impossible to knock down or throw.]
[Drawback: It makes the user noticeably heavier and slightly slower.]
[Cost: 100 Prosperity Points]
"This is not really suited for me. It needs people with large bodies to act as heavy tanks," Ian muttered. "Maybe Dennis is suited for this since he has a really large frame for his age." He quickly moved on to the third option.
[3. Hollow-Wing Falcon Bone Scripture]
[Description: Rather than making the bones heavier, this technique uses wind-attribute mana to carve microscopic hollow chambers inside the bones, mimicking the skeletal structure of a bird of prey.]
[Effect: Drastically reduces the cultivator’s body weight while maintaining high tensile strength. It allows for explosive bursts of speed and makes footwork techniques incredibly deadly.]
[Drawback: The bones are more brittle against blunt-force trauma compared to other methods. A direct hit from a heavy weapon is devastating.]
[Cost: 110 Prosperity Points]
"This is actually pretty good. It can drastically increase the user’s speed. It could be used by scouts or for assassination missions," Ian analyzed. "If not for the massive drawback of a direct heavy hit from especially a blunt weapon means certain death, I could have chosen this one." Ian then looked at the next option.
[4. Nine-Tribulation Lightning Spine Method]
[Description: A highly aggressive technique that focuses almost entirely on the spinal cord. The user absorbs lightning energy directly into their vertebrae.]
[Effect: The lightning marrow hyper-charges the nervous system, giving the user near-instantaneous reflexes and explosive, twitch-muscle power.]
[Drawback: It is the one of the most agonizing technique to train. If the user loses focus during cultivation, the volatile lightning energy can permanently paralyze them.]
[Cost: 130 Prosperity Points]
"Wow, this is a great technique, and it’s completely overpowered too!" Ian said in a very happy mood. "Although messing with the spinal cord and vertebrae is incredibly dangerous, I don’t cultivate normally. I only use system points! That means the drawback of being paralyzed from losing focus doesn’t even apply to me!"
Ian smiled widely. "Let me wait a bit, there are only two left. Maybe there is a technique even more powerful than this... but I doubt it, since this Lightning Spine technique costs exactly 130 points, which is all the points I have right now."
[5. Evergreen World-Tree Bone Refinement]
[Description: A wood-attribute technique that turns the bones into a living, pseudo-plant state akin to ancient ironwood.]
[Effect: The "living" marrow produces massive amounts of life-force. It grants the cultivator insane stamina and the ability to rapidly heal from broken bones or internal injuries.]
[Drawback: It lacks raw offensive power and requires the cultivator to consume massive amounts of rare herbs and mutant plant cores to manually progress.]
[Cost: 110 Prosperity Points]
"This is a great survival technique, but the huge turn-off is that it has no raw offensive power bonus. Maybe Emma can cultivate it. I don’t think she is into fighting that much anyway," Ian said, finally scrolling down to the last technique on the list.
[6. Abyssal Dragon Jaw Forging]
[Description: A tyrannical, high-tier technique. It mimics the bone density of a lesser dragon, starting the forging process from the skull and jaw down to the limbs.]
[Effect: Grants overwhelming physical strength and speed. The bones naturally emit a faint "Draconic Pressure" that can suppress lower-stage cultivators and terrify weak magical beasts.]
[Drawback: Takes a massive amount of time to cultivate, and it is extremely, extremely painful since the cultivator will be forcibly changing the bone density of a human to that of a dragon.]
[Cost: 180 Prosperity Points]
[System Note: IT IS HIGHLY ADVISABLE THAT THE HOST DOES NOT GIVE THIS CULTIVATION TECHNIQUE TO CLAN MEMBERS, AS IT CAN LEAD TO INSTANT DEATH DURING A SINGLE BREAKTHROUGH.]
"...?!"
Ian just stared at the blue screen, completely at a loss for words.
"Wow... what the hell is this technique? And there are two extremes meaning they are trying to say its really dangerous but is it more painful than soul assimilation" Ian said, his voice trembling with excitement. "If I had to pick, I would definitely choose this last one. Changing my bone density to that of a literal dragon!"
"In this world, dragons are the absolute pinnacle of magical beasts," Ian muttered to himself, searching through the original Ian’s memories. "It is practically impossible to encounter one in the wild. The only living dragon ever confirmed to exist is kept deep within the Magic Empire, controlled by the Grand Beast Master of the Beast Tower. They say the bones of a dragon never decay. They are used to forge the strongest magical artifacts and armor in existence. If someone was lucky enough to find even a single dragon bone, they would become rich beyond their wildest dreams—assuming they didn’t die trying to get it, that is."
He scrolled back up to look at the 180 Prosperity Points price tag.
"I can clearly see why this technique is so expensive. I can’t afford it right now, but I can wait. I’m not in an immediate rush to break through tonight," Ian reasoned. "Plus, if I save up extra points, I can buy different cultivation techniques tailored for the others. I don’t want everyone in the clan cultivating the exact same thing since different body types are suited for different combat roles. Sigh... but it all comes back to a severe lack of Prosperity Points. This really sucks." freewebnøvel.com
Ian collapsed backward onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"My system doesn’t give out free items or daily quests like the cheats in the novels back on Earth or even a system inventory to keep my items. It only rewards me with points for growing my clan. And from what I can see, the Prosperity Shop only sells pure knowledge—Cultivation Techniques, Martial Arts, and sub-class skills like Alchemy and Formations. I am going to need to figure out a massive source of points if I want to afford that Abyssal Dragon technique."
Ian sighed heavily and closed the blue system interface with a lazy wave of his hand.
"Well, there is no use thinking about it too much right now. I should get to bed anyway. Tomorrow, I will be leaving the estate."
