Chapter 28: Refining Skin and Tempering Bones Realm Chasm

  Things have gotten out of hand now.

  These few big wolf dogs were all knocked down, and no matter how they were called, they couldn't wake up. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that someone had cast a spell on them. The Wu family raised these dogs specifically to guard the house and yard, so why did these guard dogs get knocked out? Could it be that someone is planning to make a move against the Wu family's ironwork shop?

  As a result, with the fall of these few dogs, the entire Wu family iron shop entered a state of high alert, where every sound was magnified and every blade of grass seemed to be an enemy.

  An investigation was conducted into the cause of the wolf dog's collapse, and as the wolf dog's water source, the large water tank was also checked many times. However, after half a month had passed, not even a single clue was found. In this process, Wu's family naturally also investigated that Xiaobao had bought medicine outside before, but later discovered that all the medicines Xiaobao bought were ordinary medicinal materials, and no one would think that these medicines could cause such consequences, so his suspicion was also ruled out.

  This search lasted for half a month, those wolf dogs, once asleep, would sleep for half a month, all sleeping to death, not because the Migu Dan was poisonous but because they didn't eat or drink for an entire month, who could withstand it, in the end, they were actually starved to death.

  The potency of the medicine was completely beyond Xiao Baozi's expectations.

  The wolf dog died, and after investigating for half a month, nothing was found missing. The Wu family's ironware shop gradually returned to normal. Although the incident was strange, there was no evidence to be found, so the matter subsided. However, following the death of those dogs, the Wu family's ironware shop brought in over a dozen large wolf dogs, even more majestic and ferocious than the ones that had died.

  The mastermind behind this matter, Xiao Baozi, was also the biggest beneficiary. In the following month or two, his mood reached an all-time high, and even his work became more skilled, producing several top-notch weapons that earned him numerous praises.

  The leopard smiled and ignored these praises, his mind was no longer on this matter.

  "This Spirit-Destroying Pill dissolves immediately in water and becomes colorless and tasteless after being ground into powder, it doesn't have any flavor at all, what a great thing for Yin people!"

  The remaining thirty or so Mind Confusion Pills were ground into powder, filled into a small porcelain bottle, and from then on, the little leopard never left his side again.

  The days returned to calmness, and the encounter of several large wolves was regarded as a legend in Qingyang Village, with no other significance except as a topic for people's conversation during tea breaks.

  Xiao Baozi's life returned to normal, every day was either hammering iron or practicing his skills, living a relatively easy life. Every month, Xiao Baozi would always manage to hand in satisfactory workpieces that pleased Qin Xuanlong, which made Qin Xuanlong increasingly trust him. However, at the same time, he also became more strict in supervising Xiao Baozi's training because he shared the same idea with Old Xing: hoping that after Xiao Baozi turned ten, he would participate in the Wu family's selection conference. Once selected, his status would be greatly elevated, just like a carp jumping over the dragon gate. Especially for someone with Xiao Baozi's talent, Qin Xuanlong believed that he would definitely catch the attention of the Wu family's high-ranking members and might even be taken as a disciple by one of the elders, thus entering the upper echelons of the Wu family.

  As a result, he was no longer concerned about the tasks that Xiao Bao submitted every month. On the contrary, he became more and more concerned about his progress in martial arts, especially the cultivation of the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Technique and the nine-style chaotic wind hammer method.

  Even when Xiao Baozi was forging objects, Qin Xuanlong would stand by and emphasize to Xiao Baozi from time to time that when hammering, he must use his heart to experience the essence of the nine-style hammer method.

  As for this point, Xiaobao, who had already had an epiphany and incorporated the hammer method into his Tai Chi, naturally didn't need to exert much effort. However, Qin Xuanlong, who was watching from the side, felt a bit depressed - this kid's comprehension ability was simply too good, far exceeding his expectations.

  Half a year has passed, and the life in Wu's ironware shop has gradually stabilized. With his growing strength and technical skills, the quality of the things he makes is getting higher and higher.

  "Your current technical level is already comparable to that of an ordinary master craftsman!"

  Qin Xuanlong held the long sword that Xiao Bao had just forged, swung his hand and slashed it down. The sword flashed by, making a "ding" sound, and an iron rod as thick as a bowl was cut in two. He placed the sword in front of him, and saw that there was a small notch on the blade, about the size of a grain of rice. Qin Xuanlong raised an eyebrow and said, "This is probably the limit of what you can achieve at your age. In a year and a half, you must practice the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Technique well, and strive to reach the Great Perfection of a First-Rank Warrior by the time you are ten years old. If you can even touch the edge of a Second-Rank Warrior, then you will definitely be noticed by the elder!"

  "Have you been chosen by the elder?!"

  Although this statement sounds somewhat ambiguous, it is very tempting.

  The Wu family is a blacksmithing clan, although it sounds like a family, in fact, it's more like a sect-like structure. The only difference between the generations of masters is that each generation's master has the surname Wu. Besides the Wu family itself, there are many people with other surnames, who have been part of the Wu family since its founding by the old ancestor and his three younger brothers from the Ma, Lin, and Xu families. After hundreds of years of evolution, the Ma family has disappeared, the Lin family is gradually declining, but the Xu family is becoming increasingly prosperous. Of course, generation after generation of masters and elders can't just take their own descendants as apprentices forever, right? There will always be one or two exceptional talents among the outsiders who join each generation.

  These outsiders who are strong and skilled but serve the Wu family are the Wu family's elders.

  It's not easy to become an elder of the Wu family, but it's not difficult either. As long as your martial arts skills reach the fourth rank, you'll basically have the qualifications to become an elder.

  The fourth level is to break through the boundary of practicing skin and reach the boundary of tempering bone.

  The Forging Bone Realm in the Three Realms!

  It sounds easy, but in the world of martial arts, there are many practitioners, and truly breaking through the skin-tempering realm to reach the bone-forging realm is extremely rare. One reason is that the techniques are hard to come by, and more often than not, it's because spiritual medicines are difficult to find.

  Unless it's the legendary top-notch technique, the internal energy cultivated can have a strong nourishing function for the body, and only then can one complete the tempering of bones relying solely on the nourishment of internal energy without resorting to the power of medicinal decoctions, in conjunction with the bone-tempering fist method. But what kind of technique can be considered heaven-defying, and how can ordinary people possibly practice it?

  So, for the vast majority of martial artists in this world, if they want to cultivate to the Bone Forging Realm, apart from their own efforts, they also need to rely on the accumulation of countless spiritual medicines. Otherwise, just practicing the Bone Forging Fist alone, wanting to break through the Skin Tempering Realm would take at least fifty years. Fifty years, how many changes will have occurred in the world? Who knows if your body will still be able to move after you reach the Bone Forging Realm?

  But ordinary cultivators don't have that much money and ability to collect so many spiritual medicines, just like Wang Tianlei, who also has a good talent, relying on the popularized martial arts learned in the army, he can also practice to the realm of a first-class warrior. If given a few more decades, it's not impossible for him to practice to the realm of a second-class or even third-class warrior, and beyond that is simply impossible!

  There is a deep chasm between the third-grade warrior and the fourth-grade warrior, which is also the first hurdle that all warriors must go through. Because of this chasm, although the difference between the third-grade warrior and the fourth-grade warrior is only one grade, their strength is vastly different. Even if they have just entered the Bone Forging Realm, the strength and toughness of their bones are at least ten times greater than those in the Skin Tempering Realm. As a result, even without using internal energy, the force they can exert is stronger than that of warriors in the Skin Tempering Realm who use internal energy. Once they use internal energy, the destructive power generated by the Bone Forging Realm under the amplification of internal energy is unimaginable to third-grade warriors. Therefore, even a third-grade warrior at the peak of the Skin Tempering Realm cannot withstand a single punch from a warrior who has just entered the Bone Forging Realm.

  One punch and it's gone up in smoke.