Inside the large vat, Xu Guang could only feel extreme heat.
The sand’s thermal conductivity was incredibly high. The heat practically swallowed him whole. He involuntarily twisted his body, which caused the sand and gravel to roll. Every single movement felt like death by a thousand cuts. Xu Guang gritted his teeth and held on. For eight years, he had held a breath of determination in his chest. He didn’t have the destiny of a protagonist, nor a protagonist’s good luck. He had no money, no power, and no background. The only person he could rely on was himself. He didn’t just want to prove a point; he wanted to prove that he harbored an unyielding spirit in his chest, a spirit that refused to bow to fate.
For eight years—he had worked hard for eight long years. He didn’t do it to prove how amazing he could become, but merely to ensure that the tragic sight from a few months ago—his father dying a violent death right before his eyes—would never happen again.
The three drops of Essence Blood accumulated in his Blood Eye quivered constantly. His shattered skin would heal, only to be destroyed once more by the rolling, abrasive sand. Over and over, the cycle repeated. Xu Guang’s consciousness gradually blurred, leaving only that unyielding spirit in his chest.
The Essence Blood was being consumed at a drastic rate. Involuntarily, the Golden Willow Skill, which he had memorized flawlessly, surged into his mind. As he closed his eyes, he imagined himself transforming into a Jin Liu, while the sand and gravel became a fierce gale. The Jin Liu swayed with the wind, yet remained completely unscathed.
The gale raged. The leaves of the Jin Liu curled and unfurled. A heavy rain fell, and the Jin Liu borrowed strength from the raindrops. Day after day, year after year, Xu Guang unknowingly entered a sort of half-asleep Cultivation state. Meanwhile, the Essence Blood depleted even faster.
BANG!
Zhao Yong and Xu Sanduo, who were casually chatting, immediately turned completely serious. The large vat, supported by eight wooden logs set up by the two, suddenly exploded. A figure in tattered clothes stepped onto the wooden frame and landed smoothly on the ground. Looking over, the two saw Xu Guang with blood-red skin, not looking the least bit disheveled.
"Xu Guang, you..." Xu Sanduo was left speechless.
They were utterly shocked. His skin was completely unharmed by the Fire Refinement. They wondered if this was Skin Grinding Mastery, and how it was possible for him to achieve Great Success directly on his first Fire Refinement. They couldn’t help but wonder if Xu Guang had a massive amount of hidden potential inside his body. A person like this was bound to awaken their Bloodline Power, yet to them, Xu Guang looked like nothing more than an ordinary man.
Xu Guang stood where he was, an unprecedented sense of power welling up in his heart. It was a comprehensive strength, a transformative kind of power. As if remembering something, he ignored the two and hurried over to the table where they had been eating braised meat. He picked up the small carving knife, extended his arm, and gave it a light slash.
The sensation of cutting into tough cowhide emerged, similar to what he felt that day when butchering the Exotic Yellow Pig. "Was this... Skin Polishing?" he thought. A skin that could not only resist sharp Weapons but also provide a certain buffer against heavy blows—this was definitely Skin Grinding Mastery.
Seeing this, the two behind him couldn’t help but shrink their pupils. "Xu Guang, you achieved Skin Grinding Mastery on your very first Fire Refinement?"
Xu Guang simply smiled. "There’s no rule saying Skin Polishing requires multiple sessions of Fire Refinement, is there?"
In fact, the only requirement for Skin Grinding Mastery was remaining unharmed in the fire vat. There were no statistics on how many attempts it usually took. Some people constantly built a solid foundation and achieved Skin Grinding Mastery after only two or three sessions of Fire Refinement. But Xu Sanduo and Zhao Yong knew that although Xu Guang entered the vat frequently, his foundation couldn’t be considered profound in their eyes. Xu Guang just kept smiling.
Xu Sanduo had brought quite a bit of braised meat. That night, the three of them ate a lot, and the leftovers were divided equally between Xu Guang and Zhao Yong to take home.
The next morning.
Xu Guang sat in his room, the white cloth wrapped around his forehead now removed. His expression was solemn, tinged with a bit of surprise. After he reached Skin Grinding Mastery, his Blood Eye had also undergone some changes. Looking in the mirror, he could clearly feel that his face had become extremely imposing. This was especially true for the unopened Blood Eye; it was as if a savage, Invincible beast was incubating inside it, ready to emerge and devour someone at any moment.
"Interesting. Does this count as... ocular intimidation?" he wondered. Xu Guang chuckled inwardly, quite satisfied with this ability of the Blood Eye. He thought about it; if he suddenly lifted the white cloth during a battle, his enemies would instantly be struck with fear. In a life-and-death struggle, showing even a fraction of cowardice was simply being irresponsible with one’s own Life.
He got up, went to Mrs. Xu’s room to take out the chamber pot, and then served her a meal.
"This braised meat is quite good. I see you brought back a lot. Take some over to Chun later," Mrs. Xu said with a beaming smile as she chewed on the food Xu Guang had brought back.
Over the past few months, Xu Guang’s earning ability had been recognized, and the family no longer worried about food or clothing. Moreover, judging from what Xu Guang’s two fellow apprentices had said a few days ago, his Cultivation progress was also going very well. In Mrs. Xu’s heart, this was the mark of a successful son. Naturally, she was satisfied. The elderly were always like this—as long as the younger generation succeeded, their hearts found solace, and they smiled much more.
Mrs. Xu had never been very willing to visit her son-in-law’s home. In her own words, since she had a son, what would it look like if she spent all day at her son-in-law’s house? Xu Chun had tried to persuade her a few times to no avail, so she eventually stopped trying.
Xu Guang took the braised meat and headed to Wang Ming’s home. Wang Wen was studying at home. When he saw Xu Guang, he rushed straight out, completely ignoring Maid Cai’s attempts to stop him.
"Uncle Guang, you’re here! Are you going to take me out to play?"
Xu Guang lifted the package in his hand. "Once you finish your homework today. I brought you something delicious."
Wang Wen took a look and saw it was braised pig offal again. He couldn’t help but curl his lips. "Why is it this again?" Pausing for a moment, he pouted heavily. "Uncle Guang, I want to eat fish." He somewhat missed the days when Xu Guang would bring him fish bladders to play with.
Xu Guang’s expression froze as dead memories began to assault his mind. "Eating fish is a secret code, isn’t it?" he thought.
"Wang Wen! Have you finished your homework?" Xu Chun’s roar finally made Wang Wen shrink back resentfully. Xu Guang simply smiled, not minding at all, but he didn’t stop Xu Chun from lecturing her son, even though he didn’t think this kind of high-pressure education was good for a child.
"Brother Guang, you’re here. Come here, let me tell you something."
Xu Guang quickly walked over. Lately, Mrs. Xu had largely been relying on Xu Chun for care.
"Go ahead, Chun."
"In a few days, Wang Ming will have his day off. Let him take you out for a stroll. Now that you’re a Cultivator, it’s time he introduced you to some connections," Xu Chun said softly, a strange look flashing in her eyes.
Xu Guang didn’t notice this detail and simply nodded. He didn’t really like contradicting Chun.
"Then it’s settled. I heard from Mother that you’ve made quite a bit of money recently. Seeing as the weather is getting cold, I’ll have someone make a few new clothes for you later."
"Alright, just arrange it as you see fit, Chun."
As the two were talking, Wang Ming walked in from outside, clad in his military uniform. The main gate was open. Before Wang Ming entered, Xu Guang could clearly sense a fierce aura radiating from him. However, the moment he stepped through the door, that fierce aura abruptly vanished. Wang Ming didn’t want to bring his hostility into the house; Xu Guang knew this very well.
"Erlang, you brat! Did you know someone sent me wine today? You must have followed the smell!" Wang Ming spoke loudly, his voice booming and somewhat boisterous.
Xu Guang chuckled.
Xu Chun wasn’t pleased. "What are you talking about? Brother Guang came to bring us food."
Wang Ming smiled sheepishly. As he walked closer to Xu Guang, he suddenly frowned and asked in confusion, "Erlang, what stage have you reached in your Cultivation?" For some reason, he actually felt... pressure coming from Xu Guang. After all, he was currently in the Bone Forging Realm!
Xu Guang’s expression stiffened slightly in surprise. Was Wang Ming really this perceptive? He didn’t answer. Seeing Xu Chun walk into the house, he asked a question instead. "Wang Ming, how did that matter I asked you to look into go? Is there anyone named Qian Cheng in the Ya Bang?"
As someone from the Government Office who managed the streets, Wang Ming dealt with people from all walks of life. His information was naturally much more well-informed than Xu Guang’s. Besides Wang Ming, Xu Guang had also asked the equally well-informed Xu Sanduo for help.
Wang Ming shook his head as he spoke. "The Ya Bang you’re talking about is entirely different from the current Yazi. Five years ago, the Ya Bang did something huge and was entirely wiped out. The current Ya Bang was just newly established by another group of human traffickers. They kept the name ’Ya Bang’ merely to let people know what kind of business they run." Then, as if remembering something, he added, "By the way, Erlang, have you offended anyone recently? I heard some people asking about your whereabouts on the streets."