“So fragrant!”
Shen Xiuhan's Adam's apple bobbed.
He reached out and tore off a piece of chicken breast, roasted golden brown and sizzling with grease.
Ignoring the heat, he stuffed it into his mouth.
“Crunch!”
The crispy skin shattered between his teeth, revealing tender, juicy meat with a delightful chew.
An unprecedented, rich savory flavor exploded on his tongue!
This kind of Precious Beast meat, which had absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, required no seasoning whatsoever. It was as if it naturally contained the most wonderful flavor in the world.
One bite, two bites, three bites...
Shen Xiuhan could not stop eating.
Before he knew it, he had devoured more than half of it, skin and meat alike. Even the fascia and cartilage between the joints were chewed up and swallowed down.
Only when two legs were left did he smack his lips, still wanting more.
Gathering a handful of snow to wipe his mouth, he was about to stand up when his movements suddenly froze.
“Wait, something's not right!”
Shen Xiuhan quickly sat cross-legged, closing his eyes and calming his mind to sense the circulation of blood qi in his body.
A moment later, he opened his eyes, his face filled with bewilderment.
“Where is my blood qi?”
“Senior Brother Xu said that eating Precious Fish or Precious Beasts directly would waste most of their medicinal properties. But even if some is wasted... at least twenty or thirty percent should have been absorbed by me, right?”
“Why is there absolutely no sign of my blood qi increasing?”
Shen Xiuhan panicked slightly.
Did this Blue-Spire Chicken die in vain?
As he was wondering, a line of simple, pale gold seal script suddenly flashed before his eyes, rippling like water:
『Intelligence +17』
Shen Xiuhan's heart jolted!
As if a bolt of lightning had struck his mind, he suddenly realized something. His breathing grew rapid as he quickly summoned the system panel.
Sure enough.
The intelligence accumulation bar, which had been stuck at 【0】, had now jumped to 【17】!
“So that's how it is... No wonder my blood qi didn't increase after eating the Precious Beast meat. It was extracted and converted.”
Shen Xiuhan was stunned for a moment, then he slapped his thigh, a wave of pleasant surprise surging in his heart.
The blood qi contained in the Blue-Spire Chicken's meat was indeed important, but compared to "intelligence," it seemed dispensable.
After all, this "intelligence" could be used to perform Deduction on techniques!
If the blood qi was gone, he could easily spend some time practicing stance work to slowly replenish it.
But Deduction was a heaven-defying method that could break through martial path shackles, ignore bottleneck insights, and even allow him to create his own martial techniques!
He had already experienced this firsthand when he performed Deduction on the Mystic Eagle Stance.
【Deductible martial art 『Mystic Eagle Stance』 detected. Perform Deduction?】
‘...No!’
Shen Xiuhan tested it slightly, and the familiar pale gold light screen lit up.
Yet, looking at the line of words, he did not immediately agree.
The harvest from the last Deduction was enough to support his cultivation to the peak of the Bone Tempering Rank.
What he lacked most right now was time to cultivate blood qi, not realm insights.
Even if he performed Deduction on the Mystic Eagle Stance to reach the Tendon Tempering Rank or even the Anjin Rank...
Shen Xiuhan wouldn't be able to exert the corresponding power, nor would it provide him with the immediate, tangible combat strength he needed most.
On the contrary...
Shen Xiuhan reached into his robe and slowly pulled out a yellowed old booklet.
『Iron Bone Technique』!
If he performed Deduction on this external technique...
Then Shen Xiuhan's physical defense would bound to skyrocket, giving him another life-saving trump card.
Tian Erhu, a mere pretender who hadn't even sensed blood qi, could withstand a blow from him, a Mingjin martial artist, just by practicing this technique...
What if he practiced it tirelessly for fifteen years?
What would happen?
At this thought, Shen Xiuhan's heart beat like a drum, filled with burning excitement.
【Deductible martial art 『Iron Bone Technique』 detected. Perform Deduction?】
‘Yes!’
In an instant.
The surrounding wind and snow froze.
The long river of time surged through Shen Xiuhan's mind like a fast-moving lantern show.
【You immerse yourself in this body-tempering technique, beating and refining your skin and flesh with wood and stones day and night, enduring pain that ordinary people cannot bear. In the third year, you break through to the Copper Skin Rank.】
【After seven years of bitter cultivation, supplemented by medicinal baths and external tempering, you cultivate the first stage of the 『Iron Bone Technique』, "Copper Skin," to Great Accomplishment. The skin across your entire body becomes as tough as old oxhide, greatly increasing your defensive power.】
【In the ninth year, you finally master the second stage, "Iron Bone." The bones throughout your body become as hard as iron, and your major tendons thrum like bowstrings. Relying solely on external cultivation, you can fight on equal terms with a newly initiated Mingjin martial artist.】
【In the fourteenth year, your cultivation of the 『Iron Bone Technique』 reaches great perfection! You master the subtleties of resisting external forces and dispersing impacts through your bones. Your entire skeleton is like steel and stone, and your physical defense reaches its peak. At full power, you can directly clash with a Bone Tempering Rank martial artist!】
【In the fifteenth year, your comprehension of the 『Iron Bone Technique』 reaches its peak, faintly touching a sliver of the true rhyme of its incomplete source, the 『Dragon-Elephant Luminous Prison-Suppressing True Body』. In a flash of inspiration, you attempt to reverse-engineer and restore it to create your own true body. However, since you only have the incomplete manual, you ultimately fail... Yet at the very last moment, your mind clears, and you actually comprehend a movement technique from the fragment—『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』!】
“Whew...”
Shen Xiuhan's eyes suddenly snapped open.
He stood up, and a series of crisp, popping sounds like firecrackers immediately erupted from his joints.
He lifted the hem of his coarse practice robes and looked down. His muscle lines were carved like chisels, tight and bursting with explosive power.
His entire temperament had undergone an earth-shattering change.
Even standing quietly in place, he stood steady as a mountain, yet exuded the oppressive aura of a spear with its sharp edge concealed.
He looked around.
The vast Dali Mountains were still blanketed in wind and snow, and the withered grass on the ground hadn't changed in the slightest.
The smoke from the campfire where the Precious Beast had been roasted still curled lazily into the air.
A dream of fifteen years, yet only an instant in reality.
Everything around him remained unchanged, yet in a single breath, Shen Xiuhan had trained the 『Iron Bone Technique』 to Great Accomplishment and even comprehended a movement technique—
『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』.
This piece, born from the true intent legacy of the 『Dragon-Elephant Luminous Prison-Suppressing True Body』, was a footwork specifically created for close-quarters combat.
When still, it was as graceful as a startled swan, leaving no trace.
When moving, it was like a swimming dragon entering the sea, incredibly elusive.
If he could train it to Great Accomplishment, his figure would flicker during battle, allowing him to advance and retreat as if dancing on a knife's edge. His combat power would skyrocket within close quarters.
“Great! Excellent!”
Shen Xiuhan's eyes shone brightly.
“Not only has my 『Iron Bone Technique』 reached great perfection, but I've also gained this movement technique for free. Now, even if I run straight into a Bone Tempering Rank martial artist... even if I can't beat them, my survival is guaranteed.”
Joy was joy, but a string in his heart remained tightly wound.
Although the Deduction stated that after reaching Great Accomplishment in the 『Iron Bone Technique』, he could directly clash with a Bone Tempering Rank martial artist at full power.
The problem was that Shen Xiuhan had never actually fought a Bone Tempering Rank expert.
He hadn't even fought a real life-and-death battle with a Blood Tempering Rank expert.
Knowing something on paper was always shallow compared to real experience.
In this world, even with trump cards, one must never grow complacent or underestimate the enemy.
Moreover, he had only grasped the basics of 『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』. If he wanted to turn it into a true trump card that could turn the tables in a life-or-death crisis, he still needed to practice it day and night.
Gathering his thoughts, Shen Xiuhan stuffed the remaining Blue-Spire Chicken into the fish basket.
At the same time, he pulled out the few azure tail feathers pinned to the basket.
Their piercing power had inevitably stretched the bamboo strips, creating slight gaps, which made Shen Xiuhan feel a bit pained.
Fortunately, his mother, Madam Zheng, had solid craftsmanship. The newly split bamboo strips had been soaked in water and were highly resilient. Shen Xiuhan pinched both ends and pulled hard, barely managing to restore the fish basket to its original shape.
Afterward, he returned to the campfire and gathered all the azure feathers on the ground.
The Precious Beast feathers were hard and looked quite extraordinary. They would likely fetch a decent price.
Having cleaned everything up, Shen Xiuhan shouldered his fish basket and turned to leave, but after a few steps, he slapped his forehead and stopped.
“I almost forgot!”
He ran back in a few strides to the rocky nest where the two Blue-Spire Chickens had been nesting.
Parting the deep withered grass, he revealed a hidden pit about the size of a human head.
Shen Xiuhan reached in and felt around.
A moment later.
Three Precious Beast eggs, as warm and smooth as green jade and about the size of goose eggs, appeared in his palm!
The beast eggs were still warm. Shen Xiuhan carefully tucked them into his robe.
After making sure nothing was left behind, he strode away from the area.
Rate on N.U.
