Chapter 8: Xu Yan's Bone Tempering
Chapter 8: Xu Yan's Bone Tempering
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The sky was tinged with the first light of dawn as a ray of morning sun pierced through the narrow passageways of the village, illuminating Xu Yan's figure as he cultivated.
As always, Xu Yan had risen before the sun to begin his training. At this moment, his heart was filled with excitement. As he circulated his qi and blood, his skin suddenly tightened, emitting a popping sound like a taut steel string.
His skin instantly felt round and seamless.
His strength had increased, and his qi and blood had also improved.
"I've finally perfected skin tempering! It took me twenty days, and although I'm still far from the ancient geniuses, I can now be considered a genius myself!"
"Once I refine my bones, I will definitely not be inferior to the ancient geniuses!"
Xu Yan was thrilled. He clenched his fists, feeling the power coursing through him.
Even unarmed, he felt unafraid of swords and knives. He could take on a hundred opponents without breaking a sweat!
And this was just the most basic stage of the Foundation Realm—skin tempering!
"I'll take today to consolidate my progress, and tomorrow I'll start bone tempering!"
Xu Yan stopped his cultivation and picked up his hoe to tend to his vegetables and feed his chickens, taking a moment to relax and prepare for tomorrow's bone tempering.
He kept his master's teachings in mind—the importance of balancing work and rest, and the need to remain calm and patient.
Li Xuan woke up, washed, and stepped out of the house, surprised to find that Xu Yan was not cultivating.
This was the first time since Xu Yan became his disciple that he hadn't been training early in the morning.
"What's going on? Did he give up?"
"That's impossible. He was cultivating diligently yesterday, so why would he suddenly give up?"
Based on his observations of Xu Yan these past few days, Li Xuan knew that he was a single-minded person who didn't seem very bright, so it didn't make sense for him to suddenly give up.
Li Xuan went to check on the chickens and saw that they had already been fed. From a distance, he spotted Xu Yan weeding the vegetable garden.
He walked over.
"Master," Xu Yan greeted respectfully.
"Hmm, good. You're able to calm your mind and tend to the garden with such care..."
Li Xuan glanced at the vegetable garden, surprised to see that the weeds had been removed and the vegetables were thriving, looking even better than the ones he grew himself.
"It's all thanks to your guidance, Master," Xu Yan said with a silly smile.
"Why are you weeding the garden so early today?" Li Xuan asked, curious about why Xu Yan hadn't started cultivating in the morning as usual.
From what he could see, Xu Yan didn't seem to have given up.
"Disciple is following your teachings, Master, balancing work and rest. I'm taking some time to consolidate my progress before continuing my diligent cultivation," Xu Yan replied respectfully.
Li Xuan let out a sigh of relief. So, Xu Yan hadn't given up; he was just taking a break to relax and prepare for further cultivation, focusing on sensing his qi and blood.
Someone as single-minded as Xu Yan wouldn't give up easily.
A smile of relief appeared on Li Xuan's face as he said, "It's good that you have this awareness. I'm pleased."
Xu Yan's heart raced with excitement. "As I thought, taking a break after completing skin tempering and relaxing my tense mind is the right way to cultivate!"
"Maintain a good mindset, neither arrogant nor impatient, and you will surely succeed," Li Xuan encouraged before turning to leave.
Li Xuan walked around the village. Since the last villager had passed away, the houses had fallen into disrepair.
He had converted a few of the houses into chicken coops, but the rest were now overgrown with weeds.
"How did Xu Yan make it through the Evil Forest? Was it just luck that he managed to avoid the fierce tigers and beasts?"
"I can't stay trapped in this village forever. I need to find a way to leave, and the key to that lies with Xu Yan..."
Li Xuan pondered.
"Being a time traveler is tough. I can't even get out of this beginner village!"
Li Xuan sighed.
...
The next day, before dawn, Xu Yan woke up and began his cultivation.
"Infuse qi and blood into the bones, tempering them... It's slightly different from skin tempering, but the general idea is the same. My goal is golden bones, and only by achieving that can I compare to the ancient geniuses."
Xu Yan's gaze was resolute.
"Although Master doesn't say it, I know he hopes that I can refine my bones to match the ancient geniuses and be worthy of being his disciple!"
"As for jade bones, Master said it's not just about perseverance and talent... I'll do my best, and if I can achieve jade bones, I will surpass the ancient geniuses!"
Jade bones were too difficult, and it wasn't just a matter of talent and perseverance, so Xu Yan's primary goal was to refine golden bones!
Xu Yan circulated his qi and blood, infusing them into his bones. At first, it was very slow, and then he felt an ant-biting sensation all over his bones—a tingling feeling that was somewhat uncomfortable!
"The qi and blood have entered my bones and are being tempered. I didn't expect to feel this way!"
Xu Yan gritted his teeth and persevered.
"No wonder Master said that refining golden bones requires talent, perseverance, and willpower. I'm just starting bone tempering, and it's already like this. When I reach the stage of golden bones and the qi and blood seep into my bone marrow, it will definitely be even more uncomfortable!"
His entire skeletal system felt tingly, as if ants were crawling all over him. Xu Yan's forehead broke out in a sweat, but he gritted his teeth and persevered, his gaze unwavering. No matter how uncomfortable he felt, he would not give up.
Fortunately, as he continued to infuse his qi and blood, he got past the initial stage, and the tingling, ant-crawling sensation began to fade.
Then, he felt as if his bones were being tempered, similar to the skin tempering process but much more challenging.
The progress of infusing his qi and blood into his bones for tempering was very slow, and it only stayed on the surface of the bones without penetrating deeper.
At this moment, Xu Yan realized that the difficulty of bone tempering far exceeded his imagination.
No wonder so few people achieved golden bones.
Li Xuan stepped out of the house and saw Xu Yan cultivating. He nodded in approval. Indeed, someone as single-minded as Xu Yan wouldn't give up easily.
Xu Yan had maintained a good attitude.
Xu Yan caught his master's nod out of the corner of his eye, and his heart was instantly uplifted.
"Master must be acknowledging my perseverance through the pain of bone tempering!"
"Persevere! Persevere! No matter how great the pain, I must endure and never give up!"
Xu Yan encouraged himself silently.
He continued to temper his bones, infusing more and more qi and blood, which coated his bones and underwent constant tempering. The ant-crawling sensation disappeared, but a new feeling emerged—as if sand was rubbing against his bones.
Xu Yan's forehead beaded with sweat, but he clenched his teeth and continued without a sound.
Time passed, and the sensation of sand rubbing against his bones became more and more intense. Xu Yan felt like he was reaching his limit.
Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Li Xuan, lying on a chair under the tree, looked up at the time and then at Xu Yan.
"It's almost lunchtime. Why hasn't this disciple prepared the meal yet? Has he forgotten the time?"
So, Li Xuan spoke up. "Alright, it's time to cook. The day is getting late."
Xu Yan's heart skipped a beat at his master's words, and he began to retract his cultivation, the feeling of sand against his bones gradually fading.
He was deeply touched. "Master must have realized that I've reached my limit and wanted me to take a break."
"Yes, Master," Xu Yan replied respectfully.
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(End of Chapter)
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