Early the next morning, before the mao hour had even arrived.
Chen Lingxi had already roused himself from his breathing exercises.
After cultivating this breathing technique for over twenty days, he had completely replaced sleep with the inhalation of pure qi.
These twenty-odd days of practice had also thickened the spiritual qi in his dantian until it was as wide as two fingers pressed together.
As his spiritual qi grew stronger, his breathing expelled increasingly larger amounts of impure qi from his pores. After a night of cultivation, a foul-smelling sweat would often seep onto his skin, as though the dark impurities accumulated by his mortal body were being purged.
Beyond that, Chen Lingxi had noticed over the past few days that whenever he breathed in pure qi to cultivate, a remarkably faint, azure glow would ripple across his skin.
With the opening and closing of his pores, microscopic traces of spiritual matter cycled over the surface of his body—a truly wondrous sensation.
The thickening of his spiritual qi also vastly improved his efficiency in cultivating his blood and qi.
After washing up, he stepped into the courtyard and executed a set of the Seven Forms of Halting War, specifically the Mountain-Pulling Stance.
He keenly sensed that as he practiced the Mountain-Pulling Stance, his blood and qi permeated his skin, seemingly tempering his flesh, fascia, and bones.Even his internal organs were being refined by this vitality.
To begin tempering the internal organs means my Iron Body is already at major completion, only a step away from consummation.
Chen Lingxi stood firmly, his eyes bright and his breath long and steady.
It is about time. I should head to the Yin'an Courtyard and meet Jiang Yuan.
During the mao hour in winter, the darkness of night had yet to fully fade. The bare branches of the dead trees looked like ink lines painted against the pale gray sky, perfectly still, as though the very air had frozen solid.
Chen Lingxi crunched over the salt-like white frost as he made his way to the Yin'an Courtyard.
The Yin'an Courtyard served as the residence for the many guest ministers of the Baosu Marquis Residence.
While Jingji Province appeared prosperous and stable, the Great Li empire as a whole was already rife with chaos.
In recent years, the Daye Emperor of Great Li had imposed crushing taxes and relentlessly dug new canals.
Over the span of two years, forty-nine waterways had been excavated. Mountains were carved open, valleys were filled, dams were broken, and rivers were blocked. Countless bleached bones now lay exposed in the wilderness.
Across the realm of Great Li, nineteen rebel kings had raised armies in succession. Among them, none was stronger than Xiao Changlv, who styled himself the Heaven-Severing Evil King!
In such a chaotic climate, the imperial court naturally turned a blind eye to the noble clans and government offices around the capital hoarding guest ministers, martial artists, and retainers.
As long as no one privately raised more than five hundred armored soldiers, the Great Li court would not ask any questions.
Because of this, the trend of various clans and estates throughout the Jingji Circuit recruiting experts only grew more rampant.
Within the Yin'an Courtyard of the Baosu Marquis Residence alone, there were over a dozen renowned guest ministers.
Across the residence's several Martial Arts Courtyards, the number of martial artists reached into the hundreds.
In this Yuanjiang Prefecture, setting aside its exalted status, the Baosu Marquis Residence was a colossal force based purely on its martial strength.
The mao hour had just arrived when Chen Lingxi stepped into Jiang Yuan's private yard.
The first rays of morning light filtered through the gloom; the frigid frost had yet to dry.
Jiang Yuan's residence was located on the eastern side of the Yin'an Courtyard, occupying a secluded corner. The ground was paved with gray brick, and several old pine trees were planted around the perimeter. Their twisted branches were blanketed in snow, casting an air of solemn dignity.
Jiang Yuan was already standing in the courtyard.
He wore black martial attire. The muscular contours of his exposed arms resembled the tangled roots of an ancient tree. Though he stood perfectly still, he emanated the imposing presence of a towering mountain overlooking a deep abyss.
His hands rested behind his back, his breathing long and profound. A faint, silver-white halo swirled around him—a sign of his silver marrow blood and qi manifesting outwardly. However faint it was, it forced the surrounding winter chill to retreat.
Chen Lingxi bowed deeply, his hands folded. "Disciple Chen Lingxi greets you, Sir."
Jiang Yuan didn't turn around. He merely let out a soft grunt from the back of his throat in acknowledgment.
Yet, the instant Chen Lingxi straightened up, Jiang Yuan abruptly moved!
He kept one hand behind his back, but his other hand shot out like an eagle extending its talons. His five fingers curled slightly, producing a piercing shriek that tore through the wind and snow, snatching straight toward Chen Lingxi's right wrist!
His movements were unimaginably fast. This grab seemed casual, but it actually locked down every possible avenue of escape for Chen Lingxi—up, down, left, and right.
Furthermore, a formless yet mountain-heavy momentum crashed down alongside the claw's wind. It instantly froze the blood and qi circulating in Chen Lingxi's body, stifling his breath.
"Hm?"
Chen Lingxi's pupils shrank to pinpricks. The blood and qi inside him surged upward in immediate response. At the same time, his toes instinctively slid half a step backward, and his right arm tried to retract like a darting snake to evade the claw!
But... the gap between him and Jiang Yuan was simply too vast!
Jiang Yuan's hand seemed to shatter the limits of time itself. The exact moment the thought even formed in Chen Lingxi's mind, his right wrist was already clamped tight like it was caught in an iron band!
"Mr. Jiang!"
Chen Lingxi cried out!
Where their skin met, there was none of the icy hardness he had expected. Instead, the grip was warm and smooth as jade.
Yet in the very next moment, a terrifying, searingly hot force—like mercury spilling across the floor—pierced through Jiang Yuan's fingertips and drove straight into his body!
This force didn't crash into him violently. Instead, like countless microscopic silver needles, it rapidly swam through Chen Lingxi's meridians and blood vessels, instantly mapping out the bones of his four limbs and his internal organs.
Just as Chen Lingxi reeled in shock...
"Good!" Jiang Yuan suddenly gave a low shout, releasing his grip.
Surprise and delight mingled in his eyes.
"To think that a mere official bondservant, without the nourishment of delicacies or medicinal baths, could actually temper his flesh to such a degree!
"Your Iron Body is at major completion, and your five organs have begun to take on an iron nature. Reaching consummation is just around the corner.
"When that time comes, your blood and qi will become like lead and mercury, naturally generating a fiery nature. As it boils and churns, it will be like igniting the kindling beneath an alchemist's furnace. Passing from iron to bronze and stepping into the Bronze-Red Realm will happen as naturally as water flowing into a trench."
Chen Lingxi realized that Jiang Yuan was merely inspecting his cultivation.
Suppressing the lingering numbness in his wrist and the shock in his heart, he took the opportunity to cup his hands and ask, "Sir, your disciple is foolish. Might I ask what is so miraculous about the Bronze-Red Realm? Once the blood and qi generate this fire, how much power does it actually hold?"
Jiang Yuan clasped his hands behind his back and paced two steps away. He said slowly, "The Bronze-Red Realm, as the name implies, is the stage where one's blood and qi undergo a qualitative change.
"For those just entering the realm, their blood and qi give birth to a fiery nature. Like glowing red embers buried in charcoal, the heat is contained within.
"At small success, the blood and qi become scalding hot, capable of searing the meridians as they circulate. When channeled into a punch or kick and struck against an enemy, it doesn't just damage their tendons and bones. It invades their flesh with a blazing, fiery force, incinerating their own blood and qi to inflict continuous internal injuries. This is known as Bronze Slurry Qi."
He paused and extended a single finger. A wisp of crimson flame suddenly flared from the tip. Though it was barely an inch in length, it forced the surrounding winter chill back with a hissing sound, distorting the air.
"At major completion, the blood and qi ignite into a roaring, surging fire. Wherever your intent directs it, this blood and qi can vaporize out of your body and cling to your skin, condensing into something tangible. It acts as an invisible armor of qi that ordinary blades struggle to pierce, and it can even neutralize a portion of the force from incoming punches and kicks.
"This is the Bronze Fire Qi Armor."
Then, the flame at his fingertip abruptly shrank, condensing into a blindingly bright point of red, exactly like molten iron in a furnace.
"And at the consummation stage, one can compress this burning blood and qi to the absolute limit, hiding it deep within the meridians and acupoints. It remains hidden normally, but the moment it erupts against an enemy, it is like tearing the lid off a melting furnace. The raging flames spew forth, several times more ferocious and explosive than usual.
"Every movement of your hands and feet carries the power to melt gold and shatter stone. This is known as Opening the Bronze Furnace.
"The strength of this fiery blood, the subtlety of its circulation, and the timing of its eruption—these are the root causes of the massive disparities in combat strength between martial artists in the Bronze-Red Realm. It goes far beyond a simple increase in physical strength."
Chen Lingxi listened with rapt attention, feeling as though his mind had been cleared by sudden enlightenment. He bowed and said, "Your disciple has received your teachings."
"Hm." Jiang Yuan nodded, his gaze falling back onto Chen Lingxi. "What stance technique are you practicing?"
Chen Lingxi replied, "It is an incomplete manual called the Seven Forms of Halting War. I obtained it from the West Courtyard's Martial Arts Hall."
"Show it to me."
Chen Lingxi calmed his mind and steadied his breathing, performing the technique as instructed.
Opening his hands to embrace a giant mountain, turning his body to suppress a surging flood, arching his spine to carry the blue sky, sinking his knees like coiled roots... The nine variations of the first form poured out of him like flowing water.
Though he lacked the momentum to shatter mountains and crack the earth, his movements were precise and fluid. His physical force was contained, never leaking out, while the blood and qi circulating through him surged in time with his motions, faintly matching the rhythm of the technique. A metallic sheen rippled beneath his skin, revealing an incomparably solid foundation.
Jiang Yuan watched quietly. At first, his face was calm, but gradually, his brow arched. By the time Chen Lingxi finished his routine and stood tall, his breathing perfectly even, Jiang Yuan's eyes were filled with amazement.
"What a complex and profound martial art! This technique appears basic, but it actually smelts stance work, blood and qi circulation, muscle and bone stretching, and internal organ vibration all into a single furnace. It demands an extremely high level of control from the practitioner. It's easy to learn but difficult to master, and the slightest carelessness will result in self-injury.
"If an ordinary martial artist obtained this, they wouldn't even grasp the basics without three to five years of bitter effort, yet you..."
He looked Chen Lingxi up and down, as though re-evaluating a piece of unpolished jade hidden under dust. "With no one to guide you and a severe lack of resources, you not only learned the basics, but you've trained it to such a masterful level that you can draw upon your blood and qi to temper your internal organs... Such natural talent and comprehension are truly rare."
Jiang Yuan didn't hold back his praise, but inwardly, he still felt a sense of pity for Chen Lingxi.
If only he weren't an official bondservant, it would be perfect. What a shame...
He shook his head and walked over to an empty clearing in the yard.
"Since you have already used this art to forge the foundation of your Iron Body, and since it suits you so well, there is no need for you to waste time learning another method.
"Starting today, I will teach you the Mountain-Collapsing Force!"
Before his voice even faded, Jiang Yuan's stance abruptly sank, and his entire aura underwent a drastic transformation.
The imposing stillness of a deep abyss and towering mountain dissolved into the suppressed fury of a volcano on the verge of erupting.
Without any visible windup, his right fist slowly rose. The movement was incredibly heavy and sluggish, as though he were lifting a mountain of thirty thousand catties on his knuckles.
As his fist rose, the faint silver-white halo around him flared with blinding intensity. The faint sound of wind and thunder echoed from within his body—that was his silver marrow blood and qi roaring through his meridians.
"Watch closely!" Jiang Yuan let out a low roar. The fist that had slowly risen to his chest suddenly blurred into an indistinct shadow, striking through the empty air toward a waist-high, pitch-black training stone several steps away!
There was no physical contact. Only a formless, invisible, yet perfectly condensed surge of majestic power tore through the air.
The air itself was crushed and ripped apart, letting out a wail as though it could no longer bear the weight.
The next instant—
"BOOM!!!"
The training stone—a boulder harder than iron that had endured an unknown number of blows—did not shatter. Instead, as if smashed out of thin air by an invisible mountain, the entire stone violently shuddered. In the blink of an eye, a dense web of cracks spread across its surface. The dead center of the stone caved in, leaving a crystal-clear fist imprint several inches deep, with stone dust raining down from its edges.
A single punch through the air had reduced solid rock to powder!
This was the might of Silver Bone Consummation and the Mountain-Collapsing Force!
Jiang Yuan pulled back his fist and stood straight. The silver light surrounding him gradually faded away, and his breathing returned to normal, as if that earth-shattering blow hadn't come from him at all.
He turned back to the shell-shocked Chen Lingxi, his voice ringing out like clashing metal:
"The Mountain-Collapsing Force does not rely on complex forms, but on the simplicity of intent; it does not rely on scattering your strength, but on condensing your power.
"Condense all the blood, qi, and spirit of your entire body into a single punch. Your intent must be as heavy as a mountain, and your strike must be like an avalanche. It will shatter cities and tear down strongholds, crushing anyone who dares stand in your way.
"The foundation of your Iron Body is already established. Your physique is strong, and your blood and qi are continuous. This is the perfect time for you to practice this force.
"Today, I shall pass down the Mountain-Collapsing Force General Outline to you."
A bitter wind swept through the courtyard, sending the snow piled on the pine branches tumbling down in flurries.
Chen Lingxi took a deep breath. His eyes shone with clarity as he focused his entire mind on the lesson.