Chapter 63: The Unpolished Jade
Chapter 63: The Unpolished Jade
In a distant, alternate world...
Beneath the ground, a temporary camp had been set up.
"With a month-long winter break, I'll have plenty of time to explore this place thoroughly... After breaking through to the Unpolished Jade realm, even without relying on my laser gun, my strength should be no weaker than a late Qi Refinement cultivator, or perhaps even a peak Qi Refinement cultivator!"
Fang Xing sat with his legs crossed, a pill bottle in front of him.
Opening it, a pill as white as jade appeared—the 'Xiantian Dan'!
"The quality of Qing Dan Fang's products is indeed trustworthy... and this bottle is still sealed."
He stood up and began practicing the Grand Dragon Stance and the Crouching Tiger Stance with meticulous precision.
Huff! Huff!
His breathing was like that of a dragon, and his movements were as swift as the wind. The secret chamber felt like it had an additional furnace, as the temperature steadily rose.
As he practiced his physical techniques, Fang Xing could feel his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones working in harmony...
In the martial arts of the Blue Star Federation, the first realm focused on flesh and the second on tendons and bones, and he had already mastered them both!
Now, his physique could be described as jade-like skin and mysterious flesh, with supple tendons and steel-like bones! It was the pinnacle of perfection for a martial artist of the first two realms.
He even had a vague premonition that even without taking any pills, as long as he persisted, he would be able to break through effortlessly within three to six months! This was the advantage of having a solid foundation.
"But I don't have that much time... Winter break is too precious, and I need to explore this new world thoroughly!"
"Moreover, in the martial world, he who takes a step ahead takes continuous steps ahead! I always prefer to be well-prepared and overwhelm my opponents with my realm!"
"What nonsense is this about martial spirit and punching towards the stronger opponent? Since ancient times, martial arts have been about victory and defeat. The winner stands, and the loser lies down. Only the one standing can speak with reason, and whatever they say is right. The loser's words, whatever they are, are wrong!"
With determined eyes, Fang Xing swallowed the 'Xiantian Dan'.
The sensation brought about by the 'Xiantian Dan' was completely different from that of other body-tempering pills.
As he activated the qi and blood in his stomach to actively digest the pill, Fang Xing felt a cool sensation spreading from his abdomen, gradually permeating his five viscera and six bowels...
The Unpolished Jade realm! Known as the Human Unpolished Jade, it was a state where internal qi was continuous and formed a perfect unity! In simpler terms, after tempering the flesh, tendons, and bones, one begins from the outside and moves inward. Once the external skills are perfected, internal qi is naturally generated!
Then, by transporting the internal qi, one refines the five viscera and six bowels!
When the five viscera and six bowels are perfected and the internal qi becomes a unified whole, one reaches the peak of the Unpolished Jade realm and achieves a perfect body. At this point, one can attempt to open the Niwan Palace and break through to the Bravery realm!
Huff... Puff...
Fang Xing's breath was long and steady as he felt the cool sensation spreading and being easily borne and digested by his robust body... It seemed as though something was 'sprouting' within his five viscera and six bowels.
That was... internal qi!
Or, as the martial artists of this world called it, innate true qi!
"As expected, it's as easy as turning my hand!"
He exhaled deeply and looked at his fingers.
Whoosh!
With a thought, a several-inch-long strand of innate true qi suddenly burst out from his fingertip.
It was incredibly flexible and carried a sharp intent.
"Previously, when I formed the blade and sword auras, I relied on A-grade martial arts to drive them. Now, with the internal qi circulating throughout my body, everything is under my control..."
Fang Xing murmured as he looked at his attributes:
Name: Fang Xing
Age: 17
Occupation: Martial Artist
Third Realm: Unpolished Jade (Viscera: 11/100)
Junti Quan Twelve Forms: 53/200 (Proficient)
Grand Dragon Stance: 5/400 (Master)
Crouching Tiger Stance: 69/200 (Proficient)
Ghost God Blade: 37/100 (Skilled)
Extreme Emotion Sword: 8/100 (Skilled)
Dragon Elephant Art: 5/100 (Introductory)
Gates of the Multiverse (Charging)
...
"The Xiantian Dan is quite effective. After opening up the viscera for cultivation, it even pushed my skill level up a bit..."
Glancing at his realm, Fang Xing couldn't help but show a satisfied smile. "A 17-year-old Unpolished Jade realm martial artist is considered a genius on Planet Chuniao, right? After all, Gu Yun is still struggling in the second realm..."
"This world is indeed full of treasures!"
Of course, he knew the root of his rapid progress in martial arts, and he intended to maximize this advantage even further.
"The cultivation of an Unpolished Jade martial artist involves continuously accumulating internal qi and refining the five viscera and six bowels... Once the five viscera and six bowels are perfected and unified, one can break through the four realms of martial arts!"
"In the markets, there are also pills suitable for Xiantian martial artists to consume... Although they are quite expensive and use the same raw materials as pills for enhancing the magic power of early Qi Refinement cultivators, they can indeed greatly increase innate true qi..."
Fang Xing's gaze shifted downward. He had already given up on the Junti Quan, but due to various martial arts and breakthroughs in realms, its proficiency had increased somewhat.
The Grand Dragon Stance and Crouching Tiger Stance were the basics of his daily diligent practice, but it was challenging to improve them.
There wasn't much to say about the Ghost God Blade and Extreme Emotion Sword; they just needed to be applied in more actual battles.
As for the Dragon Elephant Art?
"After achieving the Unpolished Jade body and possessing innate true qi, it seems to be beneficial to the Dragon Elephant Art as well?
Within Fang Xing's spirit, he envisioned the mighty Dragon-Elephant Vajra Power Bodhisattva. His qi and blood surged throughout his body, and countless innate true qi intertwined, weaving together layer upon layer of 'dragon scales'!
And on his skin, it was as if an invisible 'elephant armor' had appeared!
"So this is the Dragon Scales and Elephant Armor! After gaining insight into the Dragon-Elephant Art, my defensive capabilities have indeed increased significantly... As for the amplification of strength? I don't feel much difference at the moment, probably because my martial arts have been progressing rapidly, and my strength has been growing all along..."
"With these layers of dragon scales and elephant armor, I feel like I have an extra layer of iron armor on the outside, a thick layer of leather armor underneath, and only then my body. It's like having three layers of defense, yet it doesn't hinder my flexibility at all. It's as good as being naked!"
A cold light flashed, and Fang Xing drew a steel knife, casually slashing it at his body!
Bang!
The steel knife was actually bounced off!
"Sure enough, once you've entered the realm of an A-grade martial art, even without any armor, you're impervious to mundane iron!"
Clearing his throat, Fang Xing sheathed the steel knife and drew out the Ink-Patterned Sword.
This sword was extremely sharp, no less than a typical low-grade magical artifact.
He extended his sturdy and robust arm, the skin as translucent as jade, and placed the sword blade across it, pulling it gently!
Fang Xing could clearly feel the sharpness of the Ink-Patterned Sword as it sliced through the dragon scales and landed on the elephant hide, its force being continuously dissipated.
He silently increased the force, and the Ink-Patterned Sword struggled to cut through the elephant armor defense, only to meet the jade-like skin beneath.
After the force was dissipated again by the jade-like skin, what was originally a sword that could sever a Xiantian martial artist's arm now merely caused a slight break in the skin, leaving a thin bloodstain.
Moreover, under Fang Xing's formidable recuperative abilities, even this bloodstain was quickly fading and disappearing...
"Triple defense, and each layer dissipates the force of the attack? Not bad, not bad at all..."
Fang Xing was quite satisfied with this development: "It should be comparable to the physical constitution of those at the early stages of Qi Refinement."
A body cultivator at the early stages of Qi Refinement would never be able to block a low-grade magical artifact with their bare hands!
The more advanced the body cultivator, the more crucial it was to don spiritual armor to bolster their defense!
Fang Xing understood this principle well.
"A body cultivator at the early stages of Qi Refinement might be injured by a low-grade magical artifact, but it would be challenging to kill them with just a few strikes... If they don a spiritual armor, they become a humanoid killing machine, capable of charging into a group of Qi Refinement cultivators and withstanding bombardment from spells and magical artifacts... What sets apart a body cultivator at the early stages of Qi Refinement is their endurance! They can withstand the penetrating power and impact of low-grade magical artifacts and low-tier spells!"
Even for body cultivators, relying solely on their physical bodies to clash with enemies is foolish.
Therefore, if Fang Xing were to engage in a battle with a cultivator, his first course of action would be to don a nano-protective suit and even apply a few defensive talismans for extra protection.
'With these three layers of defense, coupled with the nano-protective suit and talismans... I'd dare to take a few direct hits from high-grade magical artifacts or even late-stage Qi Refinement spells!'
'I'll make sure that what I'm wearing can take it, even if my body can't!'
'Add to that my mental fortitude... Below the Foundation Establishment stage, there are hardly any opponents worth worrying about.'
Body cultivators do have their weaknesses, though. Their spiritual senses are fragile, and their consciousness sea defense is lacking.
However, for Blue Star martial artists, having weak mental fortitude means certain death or insanity! As such, Blue Star martial artists possess incredibly robust mental defenses!
Compared to body cultivators, they could be considered devoid of weaknesses!
Of course, Fang Xing had never encountered a second-stage body cultivator comparable to the Foundation Establishment stage, so he was unaware of how cultivators at higher stages performed.
But from what he had witnessed, this principle held true during the Qi Refinement stage.
"Unfortunately... the defensive capabilities of a standard nano-protective suit are only equivalent to the Primordial Jade realm... Higher-grade protection comes in the form of military exoskeletons and mechas... which are impossible to find even on the black market."
Fang Xing's heart was filled with complaints.
If given a choice, he would love to try piloting a mecha.
The thought of battling cultivators in a mecha was simply too enticing to imagine...
"Moreover, this isn't even my limit... Now that I've broken through to the Primordial Jade realm, I can cultivate S-grade martial arts!"
"That 'Great Vajra Prajna Divine Power' that Xia Long holds in such high regard must be extraordinary..."
"Furthermore, they can be fused together to form the 'Dragon-Elephant Vajra Unbreakable Divine Might'!"
"Divine Might... Just from the name, you know it's something extraordinary."
"Alright, I won't expect to attain Divine Might anytime soon, but if I cultivate the 'Great Vajra Prajna Divine Power,' perhaps I can challenge Foundation Establishment cultivators?"
"Alas, I must remain low-key... After all, there are Golden Core cultivators in the marketplace!"
"Just a glimpse from those unmanned drones was enough to deduce that Golden Core cultivators are incredibly dangerous, with capabilities rivaling military fighter jets..."
The military forces of the Blue Star Federation were prepared to go head-to-head with the minions of the Evil God!
Any piece of military-grade equipment represented immense power, far surpassing those of ancient models! They were rarely seen even on the black market!
Fang Xing made his way to the monitoring room to review the logs. It had been a while since he last visited, as he had been busy preparing for his final exams.
This time, he had returned after achieving his breakthrough.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed in concentration: "What's this about?"
(End of Chapter)
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