He clenched his right hand into a fist and smashed it violently against the iron arm choking his neck!
“Bam! Bam! Bam!”
But only the sound of clashing metal rang in his ears!
It was the 『Iron Bone Technique』!
The cold light in Shen Xiuhan's eyes grew even more frigid. The blood qi within his body erupted without reservation, and the muscles in his right arm bulged like blocks of granite.
“Creak... Creak...”
Ma Xianyang's throat bone let out a pathetic groan. His feet kicked wildly at the floor, and his body slammed backward in a desperate, futile struggle.
But the arm locked around his neck seemed rooted in place, tightening more and more.
“Hah...”
Despair welled up in Ma Xianyang's eyes as his face gradually turned purple.
After dozens of breaths, his struggles grew weaker and weaker. His legs dragged limply on the ground, and his right hand, which had been clawing at Shen Xiuhan's forearm, finally lost all strength and dangled limply.
Yet Shen Xiuhan still did not let go. He twisted his arms with another violent surge of force!
“Crack!”
Accompanied by a hair-raising sound of splintering bone, Ma Xianyang's cervical spine was snapped clean through. Only then did Shen Xiuhan release his grip.
Thud!
Ma Xianyang's heavy, large corpse collapsed onto the floor like a sack of wet mud.
Shen Xiuhan stood up, stepped forward, and channeled blood qi into his right foot, stamping down brutally on the already broken neck!
“Crack!”
The neck bones were completely crushed.
With this stomp, even a golden immortal descending from the heavens could not save him.
Shen Xiuhan quickly bent down and expertly searched the corpse, pocketing Ma Xianyang's purse and miscellaneous belongings.
Then, with a flicker of his figure, he leaped over the wall and swiftly vanished into the night.
...
The day after Ma Xianyang's neck was broken.
The horizon was just beginning to turn the color of a fish's belly, and a shroud of morning mist hung over the streets and alleys of the Inner City.
Inside the private courtyard.
Shen Xiuhan stood shirtless, his feet firmly rooted to the blue-brick ground like an ancient tree. Facing the cool morning breeze, he tempered himself with the 《Mystic Eagle Stance》.
His spine arched like a drawn bow, and as he exerted force, his bones popped and crackled like pearls dropping onto a jade plate.
Driven by the stance work, his chest rose and fell violently like a bellows.
His arms were slightly bent, his fingers curved into empty claws.
With every stretch and twist, the thick muscle fibers beneath his skin could be seen rolling like serpents.
Boundless blood qi surged and roared within his body. Sweat poured off him like rain, vaporizing into large plumes of white steam that rose lazily in the morning light.
Supported by medicinal nourishment and Deduction, it had only been a few days since Shen Xiuhan broke through to the Bone Tempering Rank, yet he had already forged his second main bone with unstoppable momentum.
His shoulder bones were complete!
“Hu...”
After completing a full set of the stance, Shen Xiuhan exhaled a breath of turbid air, a sharp gleam flashing briefly across his eyes.
“My progress in the Bone Tempering Rank is actually a bit faster than it was during Blood Tempering. I should be able to completely temper the remaining two main bones within twenty days, and then I can begin attempting to break through to the Tendon Tempering Rank.”
Feeling the increasingly condensed power within his body, he retracted his stance with satisfaction.
He walked over to the well, scooped up a ladle of freezing well water, and poured it directly over his head, washing away all the sweat and grime.
Changing into a clean, neat green robe, he lifted the coarse cloth curtain and stepped into the eatery out front.
The eatery was already packed with customers.
Over a dozen people were squeezed around the five square tables. The rich aroma of steaming bone-broth noodles filled the room, mingling with the lively chatter of the patrons.
Shen Xiuhan nimbly helped Madam Zheng carry bowls and serve water, weaving his way between the tables.
“Wang Ergou, have you heard? A massive, earth-shattering event happened in the county last night!”
A man slurped a large mouthful of wide noodles and lowered his voice mysteriously.
“Pfft, who doesn't know about that? It's already the talk of the town all over South Street!”
A diner at the same table wiped his greasy mouth and chimed in.
“Ma Xianyang, the third disciple of the Tongbei Martial Arts Hall, was silently slaughtered last night! He died right in his own room in the inner courtyard!”
Someone nearby chimed in to agree.
“That's not all. I heard his neck was snapped, and a servant only found him this morning. Word has it that the martial arts hall master's wife, Song Yanrong, flew into a mad rage on the spot and heavily punished over a dozen outer courtyard disciples who were on night watch!”
“Huh? The Tongbei Martial Arts Hall?”
The man who had started the conversation was visibly taken aback and waved his hands repeatedly.
“No, no, no! I was talking about Ma Jingxing, the eldest young master of the Ma Family Firm!”
“Ah?”
“You didn't know? Last night, he was drinking and making merry at a brothel in the West Market. He got absolutely plastered, and on his way home, he tumbled headfirst into a muddy ditch and drowned!”
“Wait, that can't be right. I heard Young Master Ma studied martial arts under a major sect in Nanxiang Prefecture. How could he drown in a ditch just from being a bit drunk?”
“Well, who can say for sure? The Ma family didn't believe it either. First thing this morning, they went wailing and crying to the county magistrate's office, carrying his corpse to beat the drum and report it!”
“Sigh!”
An older customer nearby sighed and shook his head.
“The world is truly becoming more and more unstable. Even a top disciple of the Tongbei Martial Arts Hall and the young master of the Ma Family Firm can lose their lives for no rhyme or reason...”
“Exactly. Even the Inner City of Changyun County isn't safe anymore...”
“Alright, alright, the noodles are here. Stop talking about such depressing things and eat while they're hot!”
“Here are your noodles, gentlemen. Enjoy your meal.”
Shen Xiuhan placed the bowls on the table with a warm, polite nod, then turned and walked back toward the kitchen.
He had naturally taken Ma Xianyang's words to heart last night.
To prevent Ma Jingxing's loose tongue from causing any further trouble, he had made a detour to the West Market to shut the eldest young master's mouth forever.
He had cleaned up the scene perfectly, making it look exactly like an accidental drowning due to intoxication. No matter how thoroughly the coroner examined the body, they would not find a single flaw.
Shaking his head, Shen Xiuhan pushed the minor interlude to the back of his mind and continued with his work.
He busied himself in the eatery until noon, then ate a bowl of noodles for lunch.
He spent his free time in the afternoon in the backyard with Shen Momo, playing with “Gugu, Gaga, and E'e,” the three Blue-Spire Chicken chicks whose feathers were starting to fill out.
Around the hour of Shen, Shen Xiuhan packed his bags and bid farewell to his mother and younger sister.
He pushed open the courtyard door and walked straight toward the Mei Courtyard.
After walking past just two streets, he sensed that the atmosphere was off.
On the streets, there was a visible increase in Tongbei Martial Arts Hall disciples wearing gray uniforms.
Each of them had a grim expression and dark, sinister eyes. They patrolled and interrogated passersby in groups of three to five at every intersection, leaving the pedestrians hurrying past in silent, suppressed resentment.
Shen Xiuhan tightened the bundle on his back and walked past the intersection with an air of complete normalcy.
When he arrived at the Mei Courtyard, even before entering the inner courtyard, he caught a faint, lingering aroma of medicinal herbs in the air.
Taking a single breath of it made the blood qi within his body warm up slightly, feeling much more active.
Entering the inner courtyard, he saw Mei Shuangfeng sitting at a table, a trace of exhaustion lingering between her brows.
Shen Xiuhan hurriedly bowed with deep respect.
“Greetings, Master! My miscellaneous affairs in the city have been settled. I have come to bid you farewell before departing for Yunyi Island.”
Mei Shuangfeng nodded slightly, withdrew a white porcelain bottle from her sleeve, and placed it on the stone table.
“You've come at the perfect time...”
“With the horn of the Antler Chub and your well-preserved 『Jade Heart Lotus Root』, this batch of 『Jade-Tempered Pills』 yielded a better success rate than expected. Open it and take a look...”
Shen Xiuhan cradled the porcelain bottle in his palm, using his thumb to pop open the red silk-wrapped wooden cork.
Buzz!
A refreshing, elegant fragrance resembling green lotuses after a fresh rain burst forth from the bottle!
Shen Xiuhan peered into the bottle. Ten perfectly round, plump pills lay quietly at the bottom.
The pills were translucent and flawless, their surfaces gleaming with a warm, jade-like luster, completely devoid of any impurities or medicinal toxins.
A top-grade elixir!
If a pill of this caliber were to find its way onto the black market, even a single one would be enough to make martial artists stuck at the Bone Tempering Rank fight to the death for it!
Shen Xiuhan's expression turned solemn, and he cupped his hands deeply once more. “Thank you, Master!”
“No need for such politeness. By the way... do not interfere in the affairs of the Bai family for now. Wait until I have investigated them in secret.”
“Xiuhan understands!”
“On the path of martial arts, tempering your muscles and bones ultimately depends on yourself. Go on. The winds and waves on Cloudwater Lake are fierce, so be careful in all things.”
Mei Shuangfeng waved her hand, closing her eyes once more to rest, saying no more.
Rate on N.U.
