Chapter 97: Martial Dao's Ninth Stage, New Attributes

Chapter 97: Martial Dao's Ninth Stage, New Attributes

In the blink of an eye, nine days had passed.

【Name】: Jiang Ning

【Essence Energy】: 50.3

【Skills】:

Five Beasts Fist (Great Success 957/1000)



Inner Alchemy Vitality Technique (Proficiency 255/2000)



Unyielding Body Technique (Entry 98/100)



Chop Wood Sword Technique + (Third Limit Break 3000/3000) (Attributes: Broad Learning, Swift Blade)



"It's time for another harvest!"

The moment he woke up, Jiang Ning looked at his panel and a pleased smile appeared on his face.

Today was his day of harvest.

His Essence Energy points had reached an astonishing fifty points, and there was a plus sign behind the Chop Wood Sword Technique.

50 points of Essence Energy was all it took for the Chop Wood Sword Technique to reach its second limit break, and now, with the plus sign, the third limit break would only require 50 points of Essence Energy, provided the experience points were sufficient.

10 points, 20 points, 50 points.

This seemed to correspond to the experience points required for each previous breakthrough of the Chop Wood Sword Technique.

Therefore, it wasn't hard to guess that the fourth limit break would require 100 points of Essence Energy.

Moreover, the experience points for the Unyielding Body Technique had reached 98, just two points away from officially entering the technique.

At the moment of entry, he would refine his skin membrane and officially step into the Ninth Stage of Martial Dao.

At this moment, seeing the various changes on his panel, Jiang Ning no longer hesitated.

With a thought, his Essence Energy points rapidly decreased.

In an instant, he felt a stream of information flow into his mind.

Jiang Ning closed his eyes.

In his mind, countless figures appeared, each one a reflection of himself, all holding a sword and chopping wood.

One swing after another, as if tireless, as if time had no meaning.

Each strike was powerful and heavy, swift as thunder.

After an unknown number of swings.

Jiang Ning slowly opened his eyes.

The next moment, he leaped several zhang away and landed beneath a tree.

Then, he picked up the Black Wood Longsword that was leaning against the tree.

Clang—

He drew the sword with a crisp and clean sound.

Immediately.

He held the sword in his right hand and swung it down.

Whoosh—

The longsword instantly sliced through the air and struck the tree, twenty centimeters thick, beside him.

Crack—

After the strike, the tree slowly tilted and collapsed, revealing a clear and smooth cut where the sword had just sliced through.

After the strike, Jiang Ning sheathed his sword and nodded slightly.

Then, he clenched his fist, feeling the power within his arm.

Jiang Ning muttered to himself, "And the strength in my arm has increased slightly! With my current strength, if I were to face Hong Chengtao again, I might be able to kill him with a single strike!"

Feeling the changes within himself, Jiang Ning was extremely satisfied.

Not to mention anything else, just the enhancement of this strike's power made him feel that the 50 points of Essence Energy were worth it.

After all, the Essence Energy points, strictly speaking, were just his extra gains and didn't require any additional effort on his part.

As long as he continued his daily energy intake, his Essence Energy points would increase.

Especially with the consumption of drugs that contained vast amounts of energy, his daily Essence Energy point gain was even higher.

So, for Jiang Ning at this moment, accumulating fifty points of Essence Energy wouldn't take too long.

Perhaps just over ten or twenty days, it wasn't difficult.

Subsequently, Jiang Ning opened his panel again. He wanted to see what new attributes he had gained after the third limit break of the Chop Wood Sword Technique.

【Skills】: Chop Wood Sword Technique (Third Limit Break 697/4000)



【Sword Handling Like a Deity】: Enhances affinity with the sword, improves innate talent in swordsmanship.

"A supporting effect? Not bad!" Jiang Ning nodded slightly.

Then, looking at the three attributes on the panel, he showed a thoughtful expression.

"These three attributes seem to be on par with each other, as if they're all at the same level."

He glanced at another section of the panel.

【Skills】: Five Beasts Fist (997/1000)



"The Five Beasts Fist will probably reach perfection tomorrow! After perfection, I'll accumulate a thousand experience points to break the limit."

"In terms of rank, the Five Beasts Fist should be higher than the Chop Wood Sword Technique. I wonder if the attributes gained after breaking the limit will be stronger?"

"Logically, they should be stronger!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

Subsequently, he closed the panel, removed his clothes in a few quick moves.

Then, he took out a box of Skin Refinement Sand.

【Skills】: Unyielding Body Technique (Entry 98/100)



He was just two experience points away from refining his skin membrane and officially entering the Ninth Stage of Martial Dao.

At this moment, Jiang Ning could no longer wait.

He endured the pain and rubbed the Skin Refinement Sand all over his body.

Until his skin turned red and blood oozed out.

Only then did he stop.

The next moment, he immediately assumed the first pose of the Unyielding Body Technique.

Circulating his energy, he refined his skin, tempering it.

After this process, Jiang Ning closed his eyes and his consciousness sank into his body.

With the aid of his psychic energy's inner vision, he witnessed a myriad of red silk threads beneath his skin, intricately woven into a net that enveloped every piece of his flesh and blood. These threads continued to multiply, intertwining and overlapping, gradually forming a membrane that was about to cover his entire body.

As he completed the first movement, Jiang Ning proceeded to the second, and then the third.

Upon finishing the third movement, a prompt appeared:

【Unyielding Body Technique Experience +5】

The panel underwent a significant transformation as the prompt appeared, with the Unyielding Body Technique instantly advancing from the entry level to the beginner level.

【Skill】: Unyielding Body Technique (Beginner 3/1000)



The instant the Unyielding Body Technique reached the beginner level, Jiang Ning felt an intense itching and pain beneath his skin, as if countless ants were crawling and biting within. His body temperature also rose sharply.

Gritting his teeth, he focused his mental energy inward.

Using his psychic energy's inner vision, he observed the membrane beneath his skin rapidly expanding, spreading, and coalescing. Any weak spots on the membrane quickly thickened as it grew.

After just a dozen breaths, this dramatic transformation concluded.

Through his inner vision, Jiang Ning witnessed the complete formation of a membrane beneath his skin, enveloping his entire body. One side of the membrane connected to his skin, while the other side connected to his flesh and blood, linking his entire body together.

After a moment of inner observation, Jiang Ning opened his eyes.

He clenched his fist, feeling a substantial increase in his strength and a sense of immense power. He also had the illusion that nothing could withstand his might.

Taking two deep breaths, Jiang Ning suppressed his surging confidence. He understood that this was a psychological boost from his rapid progress in a short time.

In reality, his strength was still weak compared to the world around him, and not as powerful as he felt.

Calming down, Jiang Ning broke off a branch from a nearby tree. The broken end of the branch was incredibly sharp, resembling a blade.

"Let's test the defensive capabilities of my skin now!" he thought to himself.

He grabbed the branch and stabbed it into his arm. The skin on his arm indented deeply, but there was no bleeding.

"Not bad!" Jiang Ning nodded in satisfaction, observing the indentation on his arm.

If he had done this before forming the membrane, his arm would have been pierced, and blood would have oozed out. Now, there was only a slight tingling sensation, and the outer layer of his skin remained intact, let alone the membrane beneath.

This indicated a significant improvement in his ability to withstand strikes.

Next, Jiang Ning dragged the branch down his arm. The sharp branch scraped his skin, causing some pain, and he frowned slightly.

However, as he looked at the white mark on his arm, he couldn't help but smile.

"It's truly different now! Even a sharp branch like this can't break through the outer layer of the skin, let alone damage the membrane beneath!"

"I've officially entered the ranks of the Ninth Stage Martial Dao!" Jiang Ning felt a surge of exhilaration.

At this moment, he had finally achieved the Ninth Stage Martial Dao.

With this accomplishment, he had earned the qualifications to join the Inspection Bureau.

However, according to Wang Jin, he had about one and a half months left of the three-month period.

Within this time, he could still improve his strength further.

With this additional progress, passing the bureau's entrance examination would be a certainty.

With this thought, Jiang Ning's worries dissipated, and his spirits lifted, feeling like the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.

Afterward, Jiang Ning jumped into the pond.

In the cold water, he rubbed his skin, cleaning the blood scabs from his body.

After drying off, he reapplied the healing ointment for external injuries.

Then, he continued practicing his martial arts in the forest.

The Five Beasts Fist was just one step away from perfection.

At his current rate of progress, he would officially break through and achieve perfection tomorrow.

Therefore, Jiang Ning decided to return to the city the next day.

After all, he had been away for ten days.

During these ten days, he had almost finished the wild ginseng he brought with him.

Now, he only had one root left, which he had managed to save by controlling his consumption over the past few days.

Once he finished this root, to maintain his rate of progress, he would have to return to the city.

Only then would the over two thousand silver taels he had be of use, allowing him to continue taking medicinal supplements and practicing martial arts, efficiently increasing his Essence Energy points.

These necessary items were unavailable in the remote wilderness.

Moreover, after entering the Ninth Stage Martial Dao, Jiang Ning felt his strength had reached a thousand jin.

Combined with his other skills, regardless of what choices Cao Bin made due to the deaths of Xu Yunfeng and Hong Chengtao, Jiang Ning was confident.

With this newfound confidence, he was no longer afraid of encountering trouble upon returning to Luoshui County!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end