Chapter 260: Time Passes, Martial Arts Progress

Chapter 260: Time Passes, Martial Arts Progress

By the charcoal stove.

"Do you want to touch it?"

At these words, Jiang Ning was momentarily stunned.

Lin Qingyi smiled gently, "Just teasing you!"

As she spoke, she lifted the hem of her skirt, covering the exposed part of her fair thigh.

Jiang Ning: "..."

He looked at Lin Qingyi speechlessly.

His eyes seemed to say, "Is teasing me fun?"

Seeing Jiang Ning's speechless expression, Lin Qingyi's body suddenly twitched, obviously unable to hold back her laughter.

After a few breaths.

She rubbed her stomach.

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore!"

"Let's talk about something serious!"

Jiang Ning said, "Please tell me, Sister Lin."

"How about I help you find a virtuous and motherly woman for you?" Lin Qingyi suggested, "My original choice wasn't Shiqi, but another gentle and virtuous lady named Li Mujin, a Marquis' daughter."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no!!

Then he continued, "Sister Lin, you're giving me too much credit! A Marquis' daughter, that's a whole different level. It's like a county-level official trying to pursue a deputy national-level official's daughter; it's asking for humiliation!"

Not long after.

Jiang Ning bid farewell to Lin Qingyi, closed the door, and heaved a sigh of relief.

Lin Qingyi always wanted to find him a wife, and he felt overwhelmed.

It was either a princess or a Marquis' daughter.

Putting aside the question of his preferences.

The difference in status between the two was enough to make anyone's head spin.

But now, with Shiqi as a buffer, he didn't have to worry about this matter anymore.

Who would dare to discuss lifelong matters with him when he had an agreement with the current princess?

On the other side.

In a world wrapped in silver.

A carriage traveled through the snow.

The large wheels, pulled by four purebred dragon horses standing over ten feet tall, plowed through the thirty-centimeter deep snow with ease.

"Little Shiqi, have you really taken a liking to that boy?" Ji Minghao's voice came from inside the carriage.

"I have!" Ji Mingyue's voice followed.

"But you've only met him once!"

"One meeting is enough!" Ji Mingyue said, "Some people only need one meeting to make a decision, while others might drift apart even after ten years together."

"Little Shiqi's words are quite profound!" Ji Minghao's voice echoed from the carriage, gradually fading in the wind.

Eastern Courtyard.

Source Energy Points: 195.58

Skills: Five Animal Fist (Second Limit Break 431/3000) (Characteristics: Viscera Essence Storage, Five Elements Spirit)



For him now, the Source Energy Points were about to break two hundred, thanks to the diluted Imperial Flowing Jelly he had consumed in the wine a few days ago.

From his conversation with Ji Minghao, he learned that the black stone he had found at the bottom of the lake was extraordinary.

Soaking in liquid, it could produce diluted Imperial Flowing Jelly.

Thus, calling this object the Yin Yin Stone was not an exaggeration.

After all, according to ancient legends, the Imperial Flowing Jelly was the essence of moonlight.

Looking at the Source Energy Points about to reach 200, he felt no excitement.

For him now, 200 Source Energy Points were useless.

Because currently, any skill's limit break required more than 200 Source Energy Points.

After glancing at the Source Energy Points and Skills, Jiang Ning's gaze moved up.

Divinity: 0

Authority: Flesh Regeneration (Deficiency 82.33%)



As time passed, he could clearly see the percentage progress of the Flesh Regeneration authority slowly increasing.

In just a few days, the progress had increased by a mere 0.1%.

Although it wasn't much, it was still growing.

"But to maximize efficiency, I need to find a divine statue that has condensed divinity!"

"I wonder where the Worshipping God Sect's headquarters is and what their strength and status are!"

Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

To make this authority grow rapidly, there was no doubt that he needed to absorb divinity.

And as far as he knew, the only divine statues that contained divinity were those of the Worshipping God Sect.

So, to absorb divinity, he had to cause trouble for the Worshipping God Sect.

After closing the panel.

Jiang Ning closed his eyes and focused inward, visualizing his entire body.

All two hundred and six bones in his body appeared in his vision.

After these days of bone forging, all his bones were now covered in fine black lines.

The silvery bones were laced with intricate black threads, creating a divine sight.

This was the result of his tireless practice of fist techniques and bone forging over the past few days.

After thoroughly tempering all 206 bones in his body, he gradually began the Mystic Bone Transformation.

"At this rate, in about another half a month, I'll be able to enter the second stage of Bone Forging and achieve Mystic Bones!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

After forging his entire skeletal system, he also discovered that forging Mystic Bones was several times more difficult than forging Iron Bones.

The efficiency gap between the two was significant.

However, he had already mentally prepared for this.

The further one advanced on the Martial Dao path, the more challenging it became.

Afterwards, he set up in the courtyard and continued practicing his fist techniques.

As for the Inspection Bureau, he wouldn't need to go there for nearly a month.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, the Inspection Bureau gave everyone a half-month early vacation.

He received this notification on the morning he sent off Ji Mingyue.

This made him abandon the idea of following Ji Minghao's suggestion to seek a promotion.

The early vacation at the Inspection Bureau was a result of his achievements, as he had successfully located and eliminated the most important base of the Worshipping God Sect in this area, and also found that divine statue.

With only about twenty days until the Lunar New Year, they were given a half-month early vacation, much earlier than originally planned.

Of course, the salary would still be paid as usual.

If it were his previous life, he would have laughed at this.

But in this life, he couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.

For his position as Deputy Commander, the early vacation had no impact on him.

He could go to the Inspection Bureau whenever he wanted, or not go at all.

This early vacation left him with over ten thousand unused contribution points.

Originally, he had planned to follow Ji Minghao's suggestion and seek a promotion.

But due to the early vacation at the Inspection Bureau, he had to put this idea on hold for now.

In the blink of an eye, another week had passed.

During this time, the weather was still unfavorable, with either snow or rain.

However, it never completely cleared up, and the sky remained overcast.

At this moment, Jiang Ning looked towards the distant lake where a large red sun was rising.

"Finally, the weather will clear up today!"

"My Inner Core Cultivation can finally take a small step forward!"

[Skills]: Inner Core Cultivation (Minor Mastery 991/5000)



He glanced at the Inner Core Cultivation skill column and then closed it.

Then, he looked at the Five Animal Fist skill column.

During these days, he had found a very suitable rhythm. Every time he finished practicing a set of fist techniques, he would also complete a Bone Forging.

By advancing in both areas, he reaped significant benefits.

[Skills]: Five Animal Fist (Second Limit Break 2233/3000) (Characteristics: Five Viscera Storing Essence, Five Elements Spirit)



The Five Animal Fist was more than two-thirds of the way to the experience requirement for the third Limit Break.

It only lacked a few hundred experience points.

With his current efficiency, it wouldn't take much time to gain these few hundred experience points; just a few days would suffice.

At the same time, he also took a look inside his body.

The 206 bones in his body were already vastly different from a week ago.

A week ago, his skeleton glowed with a silvery sheen, but it was only slightly covered with thin black silk threads.

That was the progress of the Mystic Bone Transformation.

Now, more than half of the 206 bones had turned black.

The black parts of the skeleton were full of luster, resembling the gloss of obsidian.

It looked extraordinary.

This was the process of forging Mystic Iron Bones, also known as Mystic Bones.

Once the Mystic Bones were completely forged, he would enter the second stage of Bone Forging, and his physical body would become even harder.

His bones would possess a toughness surpassing that of ordinary thousand-forged fine iron.

At this level, it would be extremely difficult to kill a martial artist.

It was known that the human body was surrounded by large and small bones.

Even the heart was protected by the ribcage.

Under such circumstances, even if weapons pierced the flesh, they would be blocked by the internal bones.

Being unable to injure the bones meant it was difficult to cause fatal damage to martial artists of this level.

Moreover, martial artists who had reached this stage possessed extraordinary qualities, and their vitality was extremely robust.

Even if the heart was destroyed, they could rely on their powerful vitality and control over their physical body to stay alive for half an incense stick's worth of time.

Just like the Worshipping God Sect martial artist who attacked him that night.

Even though his heart was pierced by Jiang Ning's arrow, he did not die. Instead, he completed the Divine Descendant Transformation and restored his destroyed heart.

This showed how formidable the vitality of a sixth-rank martial artist was.

As long as it wasn't a fatal injury, it was just a superficial wound for martial artists of this level.

No matter how many superficial injuries they sustained, it was difficult to take the life of a martial artist with such robust vitality.

After a moment, Jiang Ning slowly opened his eyes.

After scanning his body, he realized that after a night, his bones had absorbed the essence of the Mystic Bone Pill's Mystic Iron Marrow and were undergoing a further transformation towards Mystic Bones.

"It's almost there!"

"At my current rate, in about another week, I'll be able to successfully forge Mystic Bones!"

Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

Then he continued practicing his fist technique, tempering his bones, and waiting for the high noon sun to rise.

On this winter day, he finally got a chance to see the sun shining brightly.

Only under the clear sky, with the clouds not blocking the blazing sun above, could he absorb the essence of the Great Sun and gain experience in his Inner Core Cultivation Art.

Such an opportunity was precious, and he naturally cherished it.

Moreover, during this time, he had been tirelessly practicing his fist technique day and night while also forging his bones.

The Five Animal Fist, after the second limit break, could draw upon the Five Elements Spirit into his body during practice, strengthening his foundation in the Five Viscera and Six Bowels.

Through absorbing the Five Elements Spirit in recent days, he felt that his foundation in the Five Viscera and Six Bowels had become much stronger, and his foundation was extraordinary.

He also wanted to see how his Five Viscera and Six Bowels would change with the current foundation when absorbing the essence of the Great Sun.

It was common knowledge that drawing upon the Five Elements Spirit into the body was a cultivation method that transcended the scope of martial arts.

Although Jiang Ning acknowledged the strength of martial arts in this world, it still had its limitations and limited development.

Looking back eight hundred years, there had only been one Martial Sage.

However, in ancient times, it was an era when immortals and deities coexisted.

According to some ancient records, the immortals and deities of that time were incredibly powerful.

The mightiest among them could devour the sun and moon, cover the sky, and reverse heaven and earth.

Such power was far beyond what martial arts could achieve in the present.

That Martial Sage had records of slaying immortals and exterminating deities, but they all carried the words "remnant immortal" and "remnant deity."

In his opinion, just like the Bloodgod Elephant of the Worshipping God Sect, they could be called divine beings, possessing extraordinary power.

While ordinary warriors underwent bizarre transformations, they also had near-superhuman regenerative and healing abilities.

But in terms of strength, the Bloodgod Elephant's power might not be enough to instill despair in others.

If it were powerful enough, the Worshipping God Sect wouldn't be just a small sect.

How could it be so easily hunted down by the Inspection Bureau of a county town, fleeing in panic without the power to fight back?

Therefore, even though that Martial Sage had records of slaying immortals and exterminating deities, he was probably not as powerful as the immortals and deities.

At the same time, the Inner Core Cultivation Art, which originated from the ancient era's immortal cultivation methods and evolved into an Internal Strengthening Art, was still considered a supreme cultivation method.

Even so, the Inner Core Cultivation Art was already at the level of an ultimate skill.

This demonstrated the power of this cultivation method.

It could be seen that the immortal cultivation methods of ancient times were even more powerful.

The foundation of immortal cultivation methods was undoubtedly stronger than the martial cultivation methods of the present.

Jiang Ning didn't know why the present era had become an age of martial prosperity.

He had been curious about it before, but from the remaining books, he couldn't find the answers he sought.

He only knew that one day, the sun, moon, and stars all disappeared simultaneously, and heaven and earth turned into silence.

This state lasted for several days, and after those days, the ancient era ended, and the environment of heaven and earth underwent a significant change, ushering in the age of martial prosperity.

Compared to immortal and divine cultivation methods, martial arts relied more on oneself and had a lower dependence on external environmental factors.

But it wasn't as powerful as immortal cultivation methods.

At least, that was the case for now.

Therefore, after the second limit break of the Five Animal Fist, such a transformation occurred, and during practice, he could absorb the Five Elements Spirit from heaven and earth into his body, strengthening his foundation in the Five Viscera and nurturing them.

Many days had passed since then.

Jiang Ning also wanted to see how his Five Viscera had changed compared to before and if it would make his absorption of the Great Sun's essence more efficient.

In recent days, as he absorbed the Five Elements Spirit into his Five Viscera, he could feel that even without absorbing the essence of the Great Sun to temper his Five Viscera, they had become stronger.

This strength wasn't something acquired through postnatal tempering.

It was like some people who, despite being born weak and never exercising, still possessed immense strength beyond ordinary people.

While some people's strength came from tirelessly training their bodies.

There was a fundamental difference between the two.

The former's innate strength was powerful, and with a little postnatal training, they could surpass the latter with a much higher upper limit.

In his previous life, countless athletes had pushed themselves to their limits in training.

But some people, with just a little effort, became unreachable figures.

Like that yellow lightning bolt on the track, leaving countless short-distance runners in despair.

This was the difference between postnatal and innate strengths.

The strengthening of his Five Viscera in recent days came from an innate-like power.

Not from his previous postnatal method of absorbing the Great Sun's essence to temper his Five Viscera and enhance them.

There was a fundamental difference between the two.

Thus, he also understood the concept of that characteristic.

【Five Elements Spirit】: Absorb the spirits of the Five Elements, temper the viscera with the Five Elements, and break through the viscera's limits.

Breaking through the viscera's limits.

Humans.

Humans have innate limits.

But with the means of absorbing the Five Elements Spirit, he could break through these innate limits.

Breaking through limits represented that his future viscera strength could surpass that of ordinary people.

His inner breath and vastness could also surpass that of others.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end