Chapter 226: Chapter 150: Promotion to Sixth Grade; Cultivation Technique Upgrade

He could even take a Fourth Grade expert down in a mutual-destruction gambit, then retreat to the Wilderness World to heal.

In short, he could trade his life for that of an expert at Fourth Grade or higher; below that, he was invincible.

But to be on the safe side, he gave it some thought. After discussing it with Li Lu, he had Zhao the Seventh take a group of men to the main road. Their task was to collect all the bleached skeletons from the roadside and pile them up at the entry and exit points between the three villages and the main road. This was meant to scare away any outsiders who might want to enter.

A large, scorched forest separated the main road from the villages. Although a determined person could still pass through the forest, the sight of those skeletons would likely deter them.

Furthermore, the scorched forest blocked the view from the main road, adding another layer of security.

Moreover, after the heavy rains, weeds and new trees would sprout, gradually replacing the charred landscape and providing even more cover.

The only entrance left open was the road from the County Town to Xu Family Village.

By the time all this was done, evening had already fallen.

As the others clocked out and headed home, Cheng Zongyang departed once more, planning to return in a few days.

Li Lu and the others knew what to do, so he didn’t need to give them any further instructions.

He headed into the mountains and entered the Wilderness World.

Stepping outside, he saw Ma San and the others still hard at work.

He immediately told them to change their method. Instead of digging up each plant with a clump of soil, they should just uproot them, tie them in bundles, and set them aside. This would speed things up, and they could simply water them more later.

Upon hearing this, Ma San and his men immediately changed their approach. By dividing the labor, their speed increased significantly.

Cheng Zongyang then went to check on the potato and sweet potato plot; they were also growing well.

Through propagation by cuttings, their numbers had increased considerably.

Both were high-yield crops and would serve as excellent food sources in the future.

While the fundamental boundaries of the Wilderness World remained the same, the territory near the entrance had expanded significantly.

A fish pond had been built. It wasn’t large, but it held three or four thousand fish, all of a species that could grow to over a kilogram.

The farmland was expanded to twenty plots, with ten of them used to cultivate rice.

The remaining plots were used for growing Wilderness Oil Beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, Wilderness Red Heart Fruit, ginseng, and other valuable Medicinal Materials.

No other ordinary fruits and vegetables were planted here; those common crops could be left for the villagers to grow.

Overall, aside from the expansion, not much else had changed.

Of course, there was another piece of good news: they had figured out how to make bricks.

They could begin firing bricks anytime. The only thing they lacked was manpower.

At this thought, Cheng Zongyang turned and headed back to the market hut to check on his purchase requests.

This was his fourth attempt to purchase ten Low Tier Soul Crystal Stones since the end of last month. Even after raising the price to 850 Points per stone, the order remained unfulfilled.

’Tomorrow is the third day. Looks like the request will be taken down again.’

"I’ll have to raise it to nine hundred next time!" Cheng Zongyang muttered.

With the expansion of his territory, manpower was once again stretched thin. His only option was to keep offering a high price for what he needed.

As for the item and acquisition tabs, they had refreshed the day before yesterday, but there was nothing worth seeing.

The items that had appeared over the past two months hadn’t included anything particularly good.

Aside from a few recipes, the rest were all common items. In a way, this helped him save a lot of Points for his cultivation.

He then summoned his personal Attribute Interface to take a look.

——

Name: Cheng Zongyang

Age: 16 (Years)

Lifespan: 16/98 (-24 days)

Realm: Seventh Grade Bone Forging

Points: 16908

Skills: Archery (12356/20000, Specialization); Medicine (15/3000, Middle Level);

Cultivation Technique:

Body Refining Skill (5976/6000, Seventh Grade)

Martial Arts:

Basic Saber Technique (1238/7000, Refined and Masterful)

Wind-Stepping Step (6220/7000, Refined and Masterful)

Great Strength Vajra Palm (2256/7000, Refined and Masterful)

——

’I still haven’t done my medicinal bath for today. It’s time to advance.’

He’d tried before and knew that to upgrade a Cultivation Technique’s Grade, its proficiency had to be maxed out.

Looking at the progress of his Body Refining Skill, Cheng Zongyang personally boiled the water and prepared the medicinal herbs. He poured out two taels of Tiger Bone Wine that his second uncle had steeped, setting it aside. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The Tiger Bone came from an Exotic Beast, a Tiger King. Its effects were comparable to the Tiger Bone Wine that had once appeared in his item list.

Half an hour later, the boiling medicinal broth was poured into a wooden tub. He stripped off his clothes, circulated his qi and blood, and with a surge of power, stepped into the bath.

Although he was no longer fazed by the broth’s temperature, the medicinal potency required for the Seventh Grade Bone Forging Realm was another matter entirely. As it seeped into his body, it felt like countless micro-bombs detonating within him. The force hammered and tempered his bones, increasing their density and making them tougher, enabling them to withstand greater external impacts.

However, the process felt like his very nerves were being hammered, an agony that was beyond words.

Even after undergoing this treatment so many times, he had never gotten used to it. He could only grit his teeth and endure until the process was complete.

At the Seventh Grade Bone Forging Realm, the medicinal bath itself was the method of Body Forging; no other physical tempering was necessary.

When the medicinal broth finally cooled completely, Cheng Zongyang’s daily medicinal bath was over.

As the Bone Forging process concluded, a prompt appeared.

He summoned the interface and checked his Cultivation Technique’s proficiency.

——

Cultivation Technique:

Body Refining Skill (6000/6000, Seventh Grade) ↑

——

Just as he expected, it was at 6000/6000. A small arrow had appeared at the end!

With a single thought, he initiated the upgrade!

Instantly, the interface didn’t directly upgrade his Body Refining Skill as he’d expected. Instead, a new prompt appeared:

——

Requirements met. Upgrading the Martial Arts Technique’s level will consume 5000 Points. Middle Third Grade Techniques are methods for tempering the inner body.

Please select a technique as your new focus:

[Cyan Netherworld Breathing Method]: A Martial Arts Internal Cultivation Method. The internal training is gentle, with an emphasis on yin and softness. Cultivation speed is doubled in places of extreme yin and cold.