Longevity by Grinding Skills

The moment the notification chimed.

A sudden ringing filled Xu Yunfan’s ears as a series of sharp cracks echoed from his bones.

A searing torrent of Blood Qi erupted from within his flesh, surging through his entire body.

His spine cracked, vertebra by vertebra, like a string of firecrackers. A tremor erupted from his tailbone, shooting up his spine to the crown of his head. Beneath his skin, the "great dragon" of his spine actually began to glow with a jade-like luster.

CLANG—

His twelve pairs of ribs resonated in unison, and his chest cavity rang with the sound of clashing metal.

Beneath his skin, the contours of his skeleton undulated like a swimming dragon, its jade-like patterns faintly visible in the moonlight.

If one could see beneath his skin, they would find his entire skeleton had taken on the warm luster of ivory, yet possessed the cold, hard quality of Cold Iron.

"Success!"

Xu Yunfan’s eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flickering deep within his pupils.

His inflated chest deflated, and a plume of white vapor escaped his lips, coalescing into a three-foot-long arrow of air. With a sound like tearing silk, it shot across the yard, and the porcelain cup on a stone table ten feet away exploded.

Before the shards of porcelain even hit the ground, every pore on his body was venting blood-colored steam.

He glanced at the skill information that appeared in his vision.

’Iron Bridge Town Bone Training Chapter 0/5000 (Great Success)

Effects: Bones as strong as iron, Bone-shaking Force, Hard Bone Unloading Power, Iron Bone Jingling, Bone Force Penetration’

Immediately after, a flood of cultivation memories related to the Iron Bridge Town Bone Training Chapter surged into his mind.

In those memories, he saw himself using countless Bone Training Secret Medicines as if they were free—smearing them on his body, swallowing them, and soaking in vats of them, never stopping from morning till night.

A tidal wave of cultivation memories about Bone Training flooded his Sea of Consciousness.

He saw himself soaking in boiling medicinal soups, the dark red liquid seeping into his cracked skin. He saw himself swallowing bitter pills that made his stomach burn as if he had swallowed hot coals. He saw himself scraping his very bones with handfuls of Profound Iron Sand, sparks flying amidst fragments of his own flesh and blood...

The Third Level Martial Master Realm!

Having achieved Great Success in cultivating his sinews, bones, and skin, he had now pushed the refinement of his physical body to its very limits. To advance further would mean delving into his flesh, blood, and marrow—a process of continuously unearthing his body’s potential and expanding its inner treasures.

This was why geniuses pursued the level of Perfection in their sinews, bones, and skin.

"Brother Xu!"

A clear voice called from the doorway.

Bare-chested and still steaming, Xu Yunfan turned to see Su Shiyu standing in the doorway. She carried a bundle on her back and was still disguised as a man.

Su Shiyu’s Profound-Colored Martial Attire was damp with night dew. She stopped short as her gaze met his deep eyes.

Heat radiated in waves through the courtyard. Xu Yunfan’s knotted back muscles were like red-hot iron, and the intense heat alone made beads of sweat form on her temples.

As his Blood Qi roiled, the muscles all over his body writhed like living pythons, bulging into distinct, diamond-shaped patterns on his skin.

She had no choice but to stop and remain at the doorway.

Su Shiyu’s face flushed slightly as she looked at Xu Yunfan’s body of pure, sinewy muscle, which, due to his surging Blood Qi, was engorged and bulging into diamond-like patterns.

"Brother Xu, thank you for your hospitality these past few days. I’ve found a merchant caravan heading to Jade Capital, and I’ll be departing this afternoon."

Xu Yunfan nodded. "In that case, I wish you a safe journey, Brother Su. May you achieve your great revenge!"

A rare smile touched Su Shiyu’s lips when she heard Xu Yunfan call her Brother Su. "I will dedicate myself to my training and avenge my father’s murder," she declared, her voice bright. "Brother Xu, may we meet again in the Mortal World!"

Xu Yunfan watched as Su Shiyu walked away into the dim light of dawn, never once looking back. When her figure finally disappeared from view, he slowly withdrew his gaze.

It was time for him to get on the road as well.

With Su Shiyu gone and Liu Tianyun back in Beiye, Xu Yunfan had no reason to linger. His sinews, bones, and skin had reached Great Success; all that remained was the patient grind of constantly honing his skill level to bring them to a state of Perfection.

Even with diligent, non-stop practice and the aid of the Linn Character Technique, it would still take him half a year. At least for the Red Rope Copper Body Cloak Hammer, he was already nearly sixty percent of the way to the true Realm of Perfection.

’The Outer Three Harmonies...’

When Xu Yunfan exerted the full power of his sinews, bones, and skin, even the air three inches from his body seemed to buzz and vibrate. Yet, he still felt that the integration of these three aspects was not yet flawless.

Only now did he finally understand the purpose of the Outer Three Harmonies Realm.

After packing his belongings, Xu Yunfan ran his fingers over the leather lining of his clothes. Twelve hidden pockets were arranged within it like a chessboard.

The roughly ten thousand taels’ worth of Silver Notes he had left were folded into thin slips and hidden away in his collar’s lining and a secret compartment in his sash.

He wrapped the Extreme Dao Relic Shell around his torso like a vest. The skin was impervious to blades and spears and could even withstand a blow or two from a Divine Weapon; its defensive capabilities were not to be underestimated.

The Gilded Mace Box was cold to the touch, its iron lock fastening securely. When he shouldered the Jar Gold Hammer, which weighed over two hundred pounds, its sheer weight cracked the green bricks beneath his feet into a spiderweb pattern.

He went to the stables, paid the fee, and led out the bay horse that had traveled far and wide with him. At six-foot-three, he only came up to the horse’s neck. The steed possessed a trace of Jiao Horse blood, giving it immense endurance and strength. It had cost him nearly a thousand taels of silver.

Man and horse charged out of the Changyi North Gate.

The gate guards started to shout a reprimand, only to be forced back three steps by a dense, searing wave of Blood Qi that washed over them.

"A Third Level Martial Artist!"

The Guard Officer hastily grabbed a soldier who was raising his Long Spear to block the way. He watched the rider’s retreating back, his expression turning grave.

’I don’t know which clan that expert belongs to,’ he thought. ’Best to let it be.’

「Seven days later. Dusk was the color of blood at Divine Weapon Ridge.」

Xu Yunfan reined in his horse on a cliff edge, his pupils contracting at the sight before him.

The three-hundred-foot-tall Mountain-Suppressing Stele had been snapped in half. At the break, the vitrified rock still shimmered with a glassy light.

The entire mountain range, which stretched for dozens of miles, looked as if it had been cleaved in two by a celestial giant’s axe. The eastern peak was pulverized into dust. On the western remnant of the mountain, hundreds of broken weapons were densely embedded.

HMMMM—

The Gilded Mace suddenly began to vibrate on its own, and a cry like that of a dragon and tiger erupted from within its box.

Xu Yunfan quickly clapped a hand on the Iron Box to stop the Divine Weapon from vibrating.

Xu Yunfan swung down from his horse. The moment his boots touched the ground, they sank three inches deep. The very earth and stone here had been ground into fine sand by some immense Gang Qi.

He bent down and picked up a hopelessly rusted fragment of a sword. The materials of the hilt were superb; when whole, it must have been a weapon of the Sharp Blade Level.

’What a powerful sword.’

He gazed at the thousand-foot-long sword gash on the mountainside. Its edges were as sharp as if chiseled, its surface as smooth as a mirror.

In the deepest part of the gash, a purplish-black scab of blood had congealed, uneroded by years of wind and rain. He feared this was where the master from Divine Weapon Ridge, who had wielded a Divine Weapon, had undergone Soldier Resolution and perished.

He finally understood the despair Lv Yi must have felt back in Beiye City when he’d drunkenly spoken of Divine Weapon Ridge being smashed to ruin.

Thirty years ago, a Supreme Grandmaster of Qi Cultivation, wielding a peerless Divine Weapon, had come from across the lands. With one strike, he sundered the mountain; with a second, he slew its master.

With just two sword strikes, he had broken the spine of Yanbei Dao’s once-mighty Divine Weapon Ridge, severing its legacy.

Looking up, he could see a few massive blast furnaces in the mountains still billowing smoke, busily smelting iron.

There were still people at Divine Weapon Ridge, but it was just a handful of survivors.

Xu Yunfan hesitated for a moment before leading his horse down the mountain, approaching Divine Weapon Ridge.

At the foot of the mountain, Xu Yunfan looked up at a sign. The three words written on it were "Divine Weapon Valley." He fell silent. Just as he was about to turn and leave, a somewhat aged voice spoke from behind him.

"Friend, are you here seeking a weapon?"