Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Blood Refining
Five members of the Nursing Home, led by Wang Shuisheng and Sun Youzhu, came forward, each carrying an Iron Ruler, and surrounded Fu Juemin.
They were called Iron Rulers, but they weren’t made of solid iron. The core was a hardwood rod, simply wrapped in a thick layer of wrought iron.
Seeing that everyone was in position, Fu Juemin assumed the Mixed Element Stance.
He took a deep breath, the firm, sleek muscles all over his body tensing slightly. In a low voice, he uttered a single word: "Come."
Wang Shuisheng and the others exchanged a look. Without wasting words, they struck.
WHACK—
An Iron Ruler struck Fu Juemin’s back, neither too lightly nor too heavily, leaving a faint red mark.
Fu Juemin couldn’t help but frown. "Harder," he said, his tone flat.
Wang Shuisheng gritted his teeth and immediately put more force into his strike, lashing out viciously at Fu Juemin’s body.
The blow made Fu Juemin’s body sway slightly, but his eyes drifted shut.
"Continue."
Seeing that Wang Shuisheng’s strike had met with Fu Juemin’s approval, the others followed suit, all increasing the force of their blows.
They were all veterans who had been training with Fu Juemin for a long time. They had developed a high degree of rapport and knew exactly how and where to strike to best aid their Young Master’s training without causing him undue suffering.
For a time, the only sound in the large training hall was the crisp rhythm of the strikes.
The repeated blows of the Iron Rulers reminded Fu Juemin of the time he was undergoing Skin Polishing, enduring the lashes from Li Tong’s rattan cane.
He followed the Living Stake training method of the Mixed Element Stance, along with the breathing and force-absorbing techniques of the Iron Armor Technique, constantly adjusting his posture and contracting and relaxing his muscles.
Gradually, Fu Juemin felt the Qi Blood throughout his body begin to subtly "boil."
The areas struck by the Iron Rulers grew fiery hot, the marks burning on his skin.
As this sensation grew more and more intense, reaching a peak, Fu Juemin’s body began to tingle and itch, as if something was about to burst forth from between his muscles and bones.
SWOOSH—
As Wang Shuisheng swung an Iron Ruler down, Fu Juemin, in a moment of inspiration, moved his body to meet the blow.
CRACK!
With a crisp sound, the Iron Ruler that landed on Fu Juemin’s shoulder and back seemed to be hit by a strange rebound force. It trembled violently, and then, with a SNAP, it bent in the middle!
The movements of all the striking members of the Nursing Home came to an abrupt halt. They stared in horror at the long wrought-iron ruler, its hardwood core now broken, and were momentarily shocked into silence.
At that same moment, Fu Juemin’s eyes snapped open. "Medicated Bath!" he called out.
A servant waiting nearby immediately ran off. A few moments later, they returned, carrying in a steaming bathtub filled with medicinal fumes.
Fu Juemin, still in his trousers, stepped directly into it. The moment the warm medicinal water touched his skin, he felt the already-boiling blood within him grow even hotter.
The parts of his body that had just been struck by the Iron Rulers were now a vivid, angry red.
He simply submerged his entire body in the water.
An unknown amount of time passed. The onlooking training partners from the Nursing Home began to look pale, unable to hide the worry on their faces....
SPLASH—
Fu Juemin burst out of the water.
"Towel!"
A servant who had been waiting rushed forward with a towel, then quickly set up a folding screen around the tub for privacy.
After Fu Juemin had washed and dried himself, he changed into a fresh set of clothes and stepped out from behind the screen. Cao Tian suddenly took a step forward, clasped his hands, and said, "Congratulations, Young Master, on your advancement to Blood Refining."
With his hair still wet, a faint, unreadable smile played on Fu Juemin’s handsome face as he slowly nodded.
The other members of the Nursing Home finally snapped out of their daze and chimed in one after another, "Congratulations, Young Master, on advancing to Blood Refining!"
"Tell Uncle Chen,"
Fu Juemin said with a smile to the servant beside him, "everyone who trained with me today gets a red envelope with ten silver coins."
"Thank you, Young Master!"
Hearing there was a reward, the cheers from the men grew even more enthusiastic. One of the witty ones even shouted things like, "Congratulations, Young Master, on achieving Great Success in your divine arts! You’ll unite the Martial Arts world in no time!"
Amused, Fu Juemin waved his hand to dismiss everyone, then pulled up his character panel to inspect it alone.
—
[Fu Juemin]
[Attack—14, Defense—11, Life—4, Mana—0]
[Cultivation Technique: Mixed Element Stance (Mastery: Life+1), Ming Fist (Entry Level: Attack+1), Eight Extremes Bone Forging Skill (Great Success: Attack+6, Defense+6), Five Elements Tongbei Fist (Entry Level: Attack+2), Iron Armor Technique (Entry Level: Defense+2)]
[Talent: Soft Bone, Yao Ling]
On the panel, Fu Juemin’s Attack and Defense Attributes had each increased by 1 point.
The former was due to the increase in strength and speed from advancing from Bone Forging to Blood Refining, which caused his Qi Blood to surge.
This single point wasn’t the limit; it should continue to grow. Just like when Cao Tian advanced to Blood Refining, his physical qualities had surged for over a week before gradually slowing down and stabilizing.
After all, the process of Qi Blood transforming the body takes time; it doesn’t happen overnight.
As for the latter, that came from finally reaching the Entry Level in the [Iron Armor Technique].
The > was meant to be practiced alongside Bone Forging. Reaching the Entry Level now was both unexpected and reasonable.
To be honest, although the Iron Armor Technique provided an additional Attribute of "Defense+2" at Entry Level, its focus overlapped with the Great Success level of the Eight Extremes Bone Forging Skill. He was quite surprised that these 2 points of Defense weren’t completely nullified by the [Eight Extremes Bone Forging].
After reaching the Entry Level of the Iron Armor Technique, the thick membrane that had formed on Fu Juemin’s arms from practicing the Eight Extremes Bone Forging to Great Success began to show signs of spreading across his entire body. His skin also grew a little darker.
What was once the ivory-white skin of a pampered young master now had a somewhat bronze-like hue.
Fu Juemin casually took a long saber from the nearby weapon rack, placed the blade against his arm, and slowly dragged it across.
At first, he felt nothing. Only when he gradually increased the pressure did a faint stinging sensation emerge.
When he used about twenty percent of his strength, the skin on his arm broke, leaving a red line that was neither deep nor shallow.
’My sense of pain seems to have been weakened a bit. The Defense is only so-so...’
Fu Juemin was slightly disappointed. This level of Defense was a far cry from when Li Tong had taken a full blow from his saber to the neck and emerged completely unscathed.
He suspected that Li Tong’s Iron Armor Technique had likely already reached Great Success, or perhaps even a higher level.
’Oh well, I was just practicing it on the side anyway. If I want to become truly Immune to Blades and Guns, I’ll have to rely on the >...’
Fu Juemin shook his head, tossed the saber aside, and turned his attention back to examining the changes in his body.
After advancing to Blood Refining, his most significant feeling was a constant sense of roiling Qi Blood.
When he struck, his Qi Blood would surge, his skin would flush red, and he could muster his strength far more quickly and powerfully than during the Bone Forging stage.
Blood Refining was, as the name implied, the practice of refining this very Qi Blood.
This Qi Blood would grow naturally with daily training, but the fastest method was, of course, through medicinal supplements and food.
’This is where my advantage truly comes into play...’
Burning through money? When it came to cultivation, Fu Juemin wasn’t afraid of spending money at all.
’Now that I’m at the Blood Refining stage, I can set aside my daily Body Forging practice for now. The priority is to reach the Entry Level for the > and the >...’
Of the five "Purification Body Maps" for the >, Fu Juemin was already practicing the fourth. He had also prepared all the necessary medicinal ingredients for the Medicated Bath and was just waiting for the right time to officially push for the Entry Level.
As he was pondering this, a servant came in to report.
"Young Master, there are two young ladies at the gate who wish to see you."
Fu Juemin asked instinctively, "What are their names?"
The servant replied, "One is named Jiang Yao, and the other is Zhou Yunzhi.
They say they are your friends and have come specifically to return something to you."
Zhou Yunzhi?
Fu Juemin was taken aback for a moment but quickly regained his composure. He nodded and said, "Alright, I understand.
Have them wait in the living room."
"Yes."
