Chapter 16 Washing the Marrow and Cleansing the Sinews

“Give it a try!”

With a flawless cultivation technique in hand, Zhang Xuan no longer hesitated. He began to cultivate according to the methods recorded in the Heavenly Path Technique.

All the pores on his body opened wide, absorbing spiritual energy into his body.

The first four realms of a martial artist.

First realm: Gathering Breath; Second realm: Dantian; Third realm: True Qi; Fourth realm: Skin and Bones.

The Gathering Breath realm: gather inner breath, sense spiritual energy, enabling one to see internally and precisely control the flow and direction of spiritual energy within the body.

The Dantian realm: open the Dantian, allowing it to contain spiritual energy and transform the body. It is at this point that an ordinary person transforms into a martial artist.

The True Qi realm: gather spiritual energy and form True Qi within the Dantian.

The Skin and Bones realm: when the Dantian is filled with True Qi, it automatically overflows and nourishes the entire body. The overall physical quality becomes stronger, heart and lung capacity increase, and one becomes a true powerhouse.

The first three realms of a martial artist are the foundation. The fourth realm begins to truly benefit the whole body, freeing one from illness and pain, making one stronger and stronger.

The cultivation method of the Hongtian Ninefold Art uses the True Qi overflowing from the Dantian to gently nourish the whole body, greatly improving the bones, muscles, fascia, and skin, thereby achieving the effect of tempering the skin and bones.

The Heavenly Path Divine Art is different. It uses the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish the physical body, while simultaneously the True Qi within the body also feeds back to the body. Both work together, proceeding simultaneously.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!

The currents formed by spiritual energy flowed through the meridians like water, spreading throughout the body. True Qi, like a road builder, filled in the places where the spiritual energy had passed but not yet repaired.

Creak! Creak!

Before long, under the dual infusion of spiritual energy and True Qi, his bones and muscles were all greatly tempered, as if refined by pure fire, crystal clear, emitting a warm luster.

Boom!

After True Qi had circulated countless cycles, his whole body trembled. Zhang Xuan felt as if he had broken through some bottleneck, and a wave of relief washed over him.

His previous body seemed bound by some shackles, but now his whole body was relaxed, every move free and easy, as if reborn from a cocoon, emerging as a butterfly.

“Martial artist fourth realm, Skin and Bones realm… I’ve finished cultivating?”

Opening his eyes, Zhang Xuan still couldn’t believe it.

The Skin and Bones realm, the fourth realm of a martial artist, is marked by breaking the physical shackles and entering a new realm. How long had he been cultivating? One hour? Two hours?

“So stinky!”

Puzzled, he looked at his body and found it covered with a dense layer of grime.

The Skin and Bones realm uses True Qi nourishment to expel impurities from the body, washing the marrow and cleansing the sinews, shedding the mortal body and exchanging the bones.

From birth to growth, humans consume various foods to survive, and impurities accumulate more and more. The Skin and Bones realm, through True Qi nourishment, expels these impurities, allowing one to break the physical shackles and return to nature.

“I’ve long heard of the Skin and Bones realm, but… I’ve never seen anyone produce so many impurities!”

Seeing his stinking body, Zhang Xuan could no longer bear it. He fetched a wooden tub and muttered to himself while bathing.

In the Skin and Bones realm, washing the marrow and cleansing the sinews, it would be good if the physical body strengthened a little. He had never heard of anyone expelling so many impurities that the whole body became stinking.

Soon, after cleaning up, Zhang Xuan found that his muscles were as crystal clear as jade, smooth as a mirror. The scars left from previous cultivation had all disappeared. At this moment, he was like a newborn baby, even smoother than a baby.

“My True Qi…”

Shocked by the changes in his body, he inadvertently looked at his Dantian and was stunned.

The previously turbid True Qi in his Dantian had now become clear as water, emitting a pure aura.

Without looking, he knew that this was definitely top-grade True Qi!

“Not only has my body improved, but the quality of my True Qi has also increased. This… the Heavenly Path Divine Art is too powerful!”

Zhang Xuan was astonished.

When others break through to the Skin and Bones realm, they need constant nourishment, and without several years of effort, it’s hard to make progress. He had broken through in less than two hours, and not only that, the quality of his True Qi had also improved. What kind of secret manual had the Heavenly Path Library produced?

This is too heaven-defying!

“Let me test my strength! Breaking through the Skin and Bones realm leads to the fifth realm, the Cauldron Strength realm. Once one enters this realm, one possesses the strength of one cauldron!”

He walked a few steps to a strength-testing stone pillar dozens of meters away from the dormitory.

Such strength-testing stone pillars were almost everywhere in the academy, allowing students to test their cultivation anytime, anywhere.

The fifth realm of a martial artist, the Cauldron Strength realm: once entered, one immediately possesses the strength of one cauldron, which is about a thousand kilograms.

This kind of strength already surpasses ordinary people and rivals that of oxen and horses.

Zhang Xuan, having cultivated the content recorded in the Heavenly Path Divine Art, shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones, successfully breaking through to the Skin and Bones realm. Now was a good time to test how much strength he had and whether, as legend said, he already possessed the strength of one cauldron.

Focusing his mind and calming his breath, he gripped the ground with the soles of his feet, then suddenly snapped his knees upward. His spine and torso instantly formed a great bow, while his arm shot out like an arrow released from the string.

Bang!

His fist struck the stone pillar, and a ripple of light flowed across it.

"5 ding!"

The number appeared on it.

"This... this... how is it possible?"

Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted, his face full of stunned disbelief.

Was it real or fake?

Normally, at the initial stage of the Dingli Realm, one possessed the strength of one ding; at the middle stage, two ding; at the late stage, three ding; and at the peak, four ding!

He had just broken through the Pigu Realm and reached the Dingli Realm, yet he already possessed the strength of five ding. What... was going on?

This was too exaggerated!

"It must be because of the Heavenly Dao Divine Art, the tempering of the flesh, and the top-three-grade true qi..."

After a moment, he recovered and began to speculate inwardly.

Whether he was a genius or not, he knew very well himself.

The only explanation was the Heavenly Dao Divine Art he had just practiced.

This technique not only tempered his flesh, allowing him to be reborn, and purified his true qi, raising it to the standard of the top three grades, but also greatly increased his strength. Having just entered the fifth level of martial arts, the Dingli Realm, he already possessed strength surpassing that of a peak Dingli Realm expert!

Terrifying!

"The fifth level of martial arts—only some senior teachers in the academy can reach it!"

The fifth level of martial arts, the Dingli Realm, was only achieved by some senior teachers in the academy. People like Cao Xiong, who were at a similar level to him, could not reach it.

"Having reached this level, I should go find the cultivation method for the fifth level..."

His strength had improved rapidly, but at the same time, a problem had emerged.

The numerous fourth-level cultivation methods he had browsed earlier in the teachers' library were no longer usable. To continue cultivating, he could only go find the cultivation method for the fifth level.

"It's not too late now; the teachers' library should still be open..."

Scratching his head, Zhang Xuan once again walked toward the library.

To prevent many people from being overly ambitious in their cultivation, the academy had set a rule: only those who had cultivated to the corresponding level could view the corresponding methods.

Before long, he arrived at the library again.

"Why are you here again?"

Seeing it was him, the gatekeeper, Old Mo, frowned.

This frivolous fellow had just left not long ago; what was he coming back for now?

"Reporting to Old Mo, I would like to take a look at the cultivation method for the fifth level!" Zhang Xuan said awkwardly.

He couldn't very well say that he had just gone back and broken through in no time, could he!

If he said that, the other party might not kill him, but they would drag him off to be studied like a lab rat.

In the Pigu Realm and the Dingli Realm, true qi did not change much. So, as long as one didn't understand true qi, no matter how strong they were, they couldn't tell. Although Old Mo was powerful, he would never imagine that this young man, having been back for such a short time, had already broken through a level.

"The fifth-level method? What nonsense are you up to?"

Old Mo's face darkened, and the last trace of appreciation he had for this fellow vanished completely.

He hadn't even copied or practiced the fourth level, and now he was coming to look at the fifth? What a joke!

"Old Mo, it's like this: today I took on a student, and one of the student's parents asked me a question about the fifth level of cultivation. I couldn't answer, and he looked down on me. So... I want to take a look first, find the answer, so that if I encounter such a question again in the future, I can respond appropriately!"

Zhang Xuan had already thought of an excuse.

"Some parents are indeed difficult!" Hearing this explanation, Old Mo nodded and said seriously, "You can take a look, but don't practice it! If you haven't even mastered the fourth level and want to practice the fifth, once you go into qi deviation, even the gods won't be able to save you!"

"Yes, I know that!"

Zhang Xuan quickly replied.

"Alright, go on in!" Old Mo waved his hand and closed his eyes again. "The fifth-level methods are on the last row of the method section!"

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan hurried inside.

"Hypocrite! Vain!"

As he walked in, Old Mo added another four-character evaluation for him.