Chapter Three: The Divine Art of Hardening

Qin Feng had advanced. Though his heart brimmed with joy, the shadow that troubled his mind remained unlifted.

The reason was simple—Qin Feng’s strange illness.

With every advancement, the blockage in Qin Feng’s meridians became more severe, and the effort required to clear the stagnant blood grew ever greater. What was worse, the violent, bloodthirsty urge lurking within his affliction intensified, corroding his will and making his emotions even harder to restrain.

After losing control, his divine strength would surge, but at the cost of further shortening his lifespan.

In his previous life, Qin Feng possessed neither mystical energy nor cultivation techniques. His bloodline was blocked from birth, preventing him from ever cultivating, and so his life could not be prolonged.

Now, Qin Feng finally understood why his life had been so short in his past existence—it was entirely due to the blockage in his meridians. The mysterious presence within his soul, eager to accelerate its own growth, relentlessly drew upon all his life potential, granting itself growth while endowing Qin Feng with some inexplicable abilities.

But later, Qin Feng fell into slumber and crossed over into this new world. The mysterious entity crossed with him, and it seemed as though everything had returned to the start—he was once more threatened by a ticking clock of death.

Fortunately, in this world, cultivation techniques existed, allowing him to come into contact with mystical energy.

After suffering a setback, the mysterious presence within him realized that draining the pond to catch fish was not a sustainable method and no longer impatiently devoured his life potential as before. In this life, it merely absorbed mystical energy slowly, gradually extracting power from his bloodline.

It seemed that all these changes were because he had entered a different world—like a shallow dragon encountering water and transforming into a true dragon.

He could sense, faintly, its excitement.

“Could it be that it orchestrated my early death and transmigration on purpose?” The sudden notion made the corner of Qin Feng’s mouth twitch; the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Nevertheless, even in this new world, if he could not cultivate, he would not live long. An ordinary man without cultivation might reach seventy at best, but with his congenital frailty, living past forty would be exceptional.

Qin Feng had no wish to die so young.

Moreover, he vaguely sensed that, at his current cultivation speed, he could not satisfy the demands of the mysterious entity within him. As his strength increased, the energy it required would only grow, and the blockages in his meridians resulted from the impurities left behind after it absorbed energy.

It was a paradox: to grow stronger, he had to face harsher challenges, even the threat of death once more.

But Qin Feng had already tasted death once. Hardened by a lifetime of hardship, his resolve was now as firm as stone. Since heaven had granted him another chance at life, he was determined to live it to the fullest—not just well, but long. And the foundation for that was strength.

Just now, Qin Feng had advanced.

Though he possessed only fourth-level Mortal Qi strength, his heart could not help but race with excitement. This breakthrough brought subtle changes to his body that he could not entirely explain.

The fourth level of Mortal Qi was a threshold; once crossed, the body underwent a metamorphosis, marking the true entry into the path of physical cultivation.

Thinking this, Qin Feng was eager to test his new strength.

He took off his outer robe, draping it gently over Qin Yuyan, who was still sleeping soundly at the table, and then stepped out the door.

Glancing around, Qin Feng frowned.

Alas, his own courtyard was far too small—there was simply no room to unleash his abilities.

He looked up; the sun still slumbered at the horizon’s edge, casting only the faintest light. Morning was about to break.

If he went to the training ground now, it would likely still be empty.

House rules dictated that no one below the fourth level of Mortal Qi could set foot on the Qin family’s training ground. Qin Feng had just reached the required level; now, no one had the right to drive him out. Still, he decided to go at dawn when few would be present, avoiding unnecessary trouble.

He already had enough problems—there was no need to invite more.

The Qin family’s training ground was not far from his residence. Within moments, he arrived.

Though it was a place where Qin family disciples shed sweat daily, Qin Feng rarely came here. In all his years, he had visited perhaps five times.

Before, he had never qualified. But now… Qin Feng clenched his fists, the knuckles cracking sharply, and strode onto the vast blue stone slabs of the training ground.

The training ground was expansive, able to hold thousands. The entire floor was paved with blue stone, prized for its resistance to force—a costly material, used here in great quantities, testifying to the Qin family’s supreme status in Luoyang Town.

At this hour, the grounds were empty. Satisfied, Qin Feng drew a deep breath and began practicing his forms.

“Ha!”

With a forceful shout, he launched his first punch as a fourth-level Mortal Qi cultivator. Blue light flickered around his fist, the wind of its passage heavy and powerful—Qin Feng was pleased.

He was practicing Dragon Force Fist, one of the family’s Yellow Rank martial arts, and his strongest technique at this stage. Without the awakening of his bloodline soul, only by combining his energy with martial technique could he maximize his power—this was the key to channeling force at the fourth level and above.

Because his meridians had long been blocked, making cultivation impossible, he had poured most of his time into honing martial techniques. He practiced this set nearly every day, and now, having reached the fourth level, the forms flowed with newfound ease and the power was several times greater.

“Ha!”

His movements grew faster, his fists a blur—soon, only afterimages remained. With a final roar, all the phantom fists merged into one enormous blow, shrouded in a faint blue glow, and smashed down upon the force-testing post before him.

Bang!

A heavy impact resounded as his fist struck the ironwood core of the post. Ironwood was an excellent conductor of force; the power transmitted through golden spider silk to the cold iron gauge, causing the indicator to rise six notches.

“Only six units of force…”

Seeing the indicator, Qin Feng touched his nose, disappointment flickering across his face.

In the cultivation world, “force” was the accepted measure of attack power. One unit could tear apart a mountain tiger; six units would make someone a mighty warrior among mortals. But for a Qin family disciple, this was not enough—an average disciple at the fourth level could at least produce seven units.

No wonder Qin Feng was a bit disheartened; he owed it to his poor constitution.

Yet, after a moment, a curious smile crept across his lips.

After checking again to ensure the training ground was still deserted, Qin Feng raised his right fist once more. The skin at its tip writhed strangely, and a layer of keratin as hard as scales materialized.

“Haha! Just as I suspected—after reaching the fourth level, one of those bizarre abilities from my past life has finally awakened.”

“The first stage’s first ability: Localized Hardening!”

Indeed, the mysterious entity within him was devouring his life, but it was a double-edged sword. As it claimed his vitality, it granted him these extraordinary abilities. Was this a form of compensation?

“No matter. Let’s test it out.”

He gathered force into his hardened fist and, using all his strength, struck the post again.

Boom!

This time, the blow was several times stronger. The ground nearby shook from the impact. The force was transmitted via the golden spider silk to the iron gauge, which leapt to a score of twenty.

“Hiss…”

Qin Feng gasped, then grinned with delight.

“Twenty units of force!”

The hardened fist didn’t merely multiply the power of his technique; it transmitted force more efficiently, allowing him to deliver his full strength perfectly into the target.

Twenty units! That was strength normally attained only at the sixth level of Mortal Qi.

Qin Feng understood that this was not his natural bodily strength, but rather an enhancement—external power amplifying his attack to this level.

Nevertheless, it effectively raised his combat ability by two whole tiers!

How could Qin Feng not be ecstatic?

His excitement mounted; he struck several more blows in succession, each exceeding twenty units. The exhilaration was so intense that he lost all sense of time.

By then, the sun had risen halfway above the horizon, the sky growing lighter. On the far side of the training ground, a group of people was slowly making their way in.

“Huh? Someone’s already practicing techniques so early? I thought we were the first here. Wait… isn’t that the Qin family’s good-for-nothing?”

“Qin Feng!”