Blood is born from the marrow, blending with the breath in and out, nurturing infinite power to break monuments, shatter stones, and split iron.

This is the essence of the Martial Dao, the 'root' for a Martial Artist to bring their fists and kicks to the extreme.

Therefore, as the saying goes in the martial world, what a person possesses is merely blood and qi.

"Qi is the commander of blood, and blood is the mother of qi. Qi can move and control blood, blood can nourish and carry qi, both are inseparable, closely connected..."

Bai Qi sat alone at the front of the small boat, the angry waves of the Black Water River surging fiercely, pounding against him, each wave crashing like hard rocks, instantly shattering into sprays of foam.

With near-perfect Arhat Hand, restraining thoughts and keeping the mind ethereal has become almost instinctual.

The skills of the Mysterious Talisman surfaced and sank, like bright stars in the night, each with different effects bestowing upon him, seemingly enveloped in layers of shifting, radiant light.

Reddish mist formed by blood dispersed by the water, turning into strands of crimson threads, settling slowly on the river surface, quickly attracting a swarm of fish, eagerly snatching up the expelled "waste blood," savoring it as sweet delicacy.

"The number of blood exchanges represents potential, the stronger the flesh and body become, the more vigorous the vitality essence, enabling continuous breakthrough, reaching beyond limits.

With [Golden Flesh and Jade Veins] training, six blood exchanges are just the minimum assurance, it's no wonder that skilled Martial Artists all strive for the four-barrier Great Perfection achievement, as the benefits are indeed substantial."

Bai Qi breathed through his nose and mouth, his pores tightly sealed, feeling internal heat boiling, with Qi and Blood Power swiftly racing throughout his limbs and bones.

Like the rapid current of the Black Water River, repeatedly flushing through the bones, leaving no impurities, resembling a flawless, perfect jade.

The lively and heavy blood gushing, under internal vision, shining brilliantly like melted gold, imbued with a gentle radiance.

The ninth blood exchange happened naturally, without any difficulty or turbulence.

Holding two Divine Seeds, [Nine Oxen and Two Tigers] and [Dragon Strategy and Tiger Scheme], with a pinnacle True Skill as support.

Bai Qi's accumulation was so profound, it almost surpassed the disciples of the Upper Sect in the Prefecture City.

Even without consuming three Life and Death Ling Jiao, with patience and perseverance for a month or two, completion would be without any reason for failure.

"It seems there is still some strength left? Nine is supposed to be the limit, could it be that I can advance further?"

Bai Qi crossed the blood exchange threshold, yet felt his sinews and bones had not reached their limit, as if only practicing on ten Yang Meng was child's play, without exhausting much energy.

His heart was filled with joy, and after a brief consideration, he used the [Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants Prison-Suppression Skill], one of the three great True Skills of Tongwen Hall, as the main framework, further driving the Five Grand Captures.

The overwhelming power surged like furnace fire, pushing the dazzling golden radiance of Qi and Blood inward to the viscera, extending outward to the limbs.

In his drifting thoughts, Bai Qi seemed to see an Ancient Divine Elephant, raising its trunk, stomping, bearing the sky on its back, and an Ancient Celestial Dragon coiling around towering pillars, capturing stars with its claws.

This is the artistic conception imprinted by the True Skill Root Diagram.

At this moment, like a knife chop and axe carve, deeply engraved in Bai Qi's spirit.

"Dragon form, elephant form... I seem to resonate more with the former."

He clenched his teeth, maintaining the circulation of the true skill, as the dragon spine crackled, almost ready to soar.

His entire flesh shell felt as though hammered by a great hammer, growing even more compact.

Suddenly, Bai Qi's entire being began to glow!

The intense flames formed by the ninth refining of Qi and blood seemed to emerge from his body, forming a several-foot-high dazzling brightness, parting the torrential moisture, vaporizing it into billowing thick smoke!

"From virtual to reality, qi as mighty as a dragon, ten blood exchanges, smoke rising to the sky! Who says disciples are lesser than their masters? Young Master Qi truly is not inferior."

Lao Dao standing distantly on the shore, took off his mink fur hat, tucking it into his chest to avoid the rain.

He sincerely praised, with a slight upward curl of his lips.

The Second Bone Training Barrier, during the blood exchange stage, also has levels.

The more abundant the blood, the thicker the qi, the heavier the fists and feet, the more painful the strikes.

This is an evident principle.

Six blood exchanges equate to the strength of a wild horse, seven exchanges to that of a fierce tiger, and eight exchanges to the power of a giant elephant.

The ninth stage reaches near the limit of the flesh shell, already nearing the strength of a Great Demon Fiend's body.

The more this step is refined and surpassed, the more solid the physique becomes.

Like Celestial Water Prefecture's renowned Silver Hammer Grand Protector, Pei Yuanqing, born with terrifying physical strength, by the age of seventeen or eighteen, dominated the army with his frighteningly powerful flesh shell.

Ordinary third or fourth training barriers could not withstand even a single hammer blow and would be shaken to death.

This person was well known for nine blood exchanges, rumored to have cultivated Dragon Sinews and Tiger Bones.

His qi and blood were so robust, fighting a Big Flood Dragon barehanded was not an issue.

"Young Master Qi still aims to go beyond the peak!"

Lao Dao, gazing at the glaring smoke amidst the vast darkness, clicked his tongue and said:

"Ten blood exchanges, enough to make a name at Divine Capital Simurgh Platform!"

...

...

Amidst the pouring rain, the surroundings of Bai Qi emitted a silent dragon roaring sound, the vitality essence so plentiful it was about to overflow, permeating every inch of flesh, giving him the illusion that even if his limbs were severed, they could be reattached.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble——

The dull roaring rolling within seemed like thunderous echoes, overshadowing the immense turbulence of the Black Water River.

The upright silhouette sitting cross-legged on the small boat was completely enveloped in light, its specific form entirely obscured.

"The first effect of the tenth blood exchange is gathering strength into the bone, inner fortifying of divine power.

Every ounce of strength within the human body is gathered as one, allowing the marrow to be full, the blood to continuously generate, strong marrow and solid bones."

Bai Qi's mind flickered, each tooth trembling, loosening, then falling away, akin to an aged elder.

Soon, the entire vitality essence of the flesh shell surged like a tide.

Within an extremely short period, a new set of iron teeth and steel jaws grew, capable of crushing stones, biting through gold and jade.

"Teeth are the tips of the bones, the solid external manifestation of bone marrow, represented by neat and firm teeth!

My Second Stage of Bone Training Great Success, ten blood exchanges, thus replaced with a mouth full of good teeth... unfortunately, unlike the sages described in the books, possessing the 'Forty Teeth Aspect.'

Bai Qi ground his teeth, feeling a strange urge to bite something hard, to test the strength of his iron teeth and bronze jaws.

The smoke of condensed qi and blood rose several feet higher, scattering the large raindrops, yet he remained steadfast as a mountain, with each breath affecting the rise and fall of the water waves, slowly merging with the vast river.

The tenth blood exchange continued onward.

"The essence of the waters gather to me..."

Bai Qi practiced the [Yellow Springs Dao of the Flood Dragon Scripture], even opening the mindful grasp of the ear and eye senses, making his five senses sharp to an indescribably astonishing degree.

He vaguely glimpsed a massive Flood Dragon hidden within the continuous waves, quietly surrounding the area within a hundred feet.

On this night of the Ren Water's flood, the essence of the waters was utterly rich, yet all were drawn here, as if intentionally creating a sacred cultivation ground, nurturing his overflowing Qi and blood, melting away that untamed ferociousness.

Like water and fire in harmony, manifesting dragon and tiger!

"Sister Jiao... you have a kind heart."

Bai Qi's heart was slightly moved, and he offered a smile, continuing to push towards the tenth breakthrough to the Great Perfection of the Blood Exchange.

"Concentrating strength into the bones, with divine power strengthening internally is the first.

If the fat transforms into marrow and true strength becomes complete, that is the second.

Being neither hungry nor stuffed, with ample energy and abundant blood, with the spine upright and enduring prolonged sitting… this is cultivating to the utmost. Even at fifty or sixty, one can maintain jet-black hair and a ruddy complexion, with physical strength not drastically declining with age."

The wind and rain raged, lightning blazed, and beneath the dark sky, the column of concentrated qi and blood stood firm, unwavering.

Time passed without notice, the wind subsided, the rain ceased, and everything dissipated.

Bai Qi opened his eyes, as if lightning flashed within them, and the small, battered sampan silently splintered, disintegrating into pieces.

Two faint water patterns glinted on his forehead, as the waves of the river surged, supporting the immensely heavy and robust physique.

The broad smoke of qi and blood, as wide as a millstone, gradually coiled in, like a great flood dragon wrapping around his sinews and skin, pushing his towering stature even higher.

His shoulders grew broad like a character for "one," and his spine was tempered a thousand times, resembling refined steel!

"Truly impressive."

Lao Dao squatted on the embankment, his gaze momentarily unfocused, as if the silhouette of Young Master Qi overlapped with Ninghai Zen.

"The Second Stage of Bone Training has reached Great Success, only the refining of Silver Marrow remains."

Bai Qi took a deep breath of the moist air, as a glimmer of light appeared at the horizon.

This night, after all, had come to an end.

...

...

He Family.

He Lichang, the head of the main branch, sat rigidly all night, his once straight back now bent and hunched.

In his hand, he clutched the message from He Jinghong a few days back, stating that he and the third brother He Jingyun had discovered an Inner Scenic Land, where a cultivation technique of the Classic level was hidden, assuring success in the Dao Trial and receiving the Child Talisman, glorifying the family.

"Father, you haven't touched food for a whole day."

He Jingfeng, who had rushed back from Black River County, stood at the threshold, hands hanging at his sides.

"Xiaoqi."

He Lichang's voice was hoarse, like a decaying tree.

"Has your mother gone to rest?"

He Jingfeng nodded,

"I had a physician prepare some prescriptions, and after mother took some soothing medicines, the maid helped her to her room to rest."

He Lichang's lips quivered slightly,

"Did you recover your elder and third brother's bodies?"

He Jingfeng shook his head:

"At Zhi Xin Temple, they said it was the doing of the White Sun Sect remnants. As for elder and third brother... Daoist Xuanji did not send anyone to search.

He said that their names had been erased from the genealogies, their spirits obliterated, which was enough proof."

He Lichang's eyes reddened, each word squeezed out through gritted teeth:

"Not seeing them alive, nor their bodies dead! How can we enter them into the ancestral hall! Must my two sons become wandering ghosts?"

He Jingfeng stepped over the threshold, walked up to He Lichang, and bowed his head:

"Father, in my opinion, Daoist Xuanji cares little for the deaths of elder and third brother, he wishes instead to seize this opportunity to eradicate the White Sun Sect remnants and gain great merit.

The He Family does not stand a chance against the Daoist officials, so father, we must endure."

He Lichang's face twitched, he had painstakingly raised two sons to become students in the Daoist School, and now both were gone.

"Father, the immediate concern is not the Daoist officials' reaction. The main branch relied on elder and third brother to uphold the family. Now... with this mishap, the collateral branches will surely stir.

As the head of the main branch, many eyes are on you, you must not collapse, nor falter.

I've written to second and fourth brothers in the Celestial Water Prefecture, urging them to return swiftly.

Meanwhile, I've instructed fifth brother and ninth uncle from the collateral branches, one to report to the Prefecture City, and the other to arrange the funeral, preventing them from conspiring in secret."

He Jingfeng bowed his head lower, tears silently fell, dripping to the ground, his voice calm:

"Please, father, have some food, wash your face, and rally your spirit to preside over the situation."

He Lichang's hand trembled as he steadied himself on the chair, standing up, he said:

"Xiaoqi, I once thought you imprudent and indiscreet..."

He Jingfeng did not raise his head, dressed in mourning attire, he spoke stolidly:

"I am your son, the legitimate descendant of the main branch, and also a young master of the He Family.

When elder and third brother were extraordinary and could uphold the family, I could act willfully.

Now, with what has happened to both elder and third brother, as a brother and son, I must do what I can."

He Lichang felt a comfort in his heart, supporting He Jingfeng,

"You've done well. Fifth brother, He Jinglong, and ninth brother He Licai, who takes care of the store, are restless characters.

I will find a way and invite a few Daoist skill masters to find your elder and third brother's bodies.

As for revenge... we don't even know who the enemy is now, so we must hold onto that."

He Jingfeng seemed to mature overnight, the flightiness of old vanished:

"Father, I have a request for you."

He Lichang's brows furrowed slightly:

"Say it, between father and son, there needs no 'request'."

He Jingfeng gritted his teeth, hatred in his eyes:

"I plan to enter the Daoist School. Daoist Xuanji is greedy, prioritizing gains.

Elder and third brother's spots as students in the Daoist School may not be reserved for the He Family; the people from the Thirteen Hongs will surely seize the opportunity."

He Lichang hesitated:

"Xiaoqi... cultivation is not easy. The longer house of the Thirteen Hongs, they would eat people without spitting out the bones."

He Jingfeng's gaze was intense:

"I know, still, I'm willing to try."