Chapter 16: Washing the Muscles and Cutting the Marrow

"Try it!"

With a flawless cultivation technique, Zhang Xuan no longer hesitated. He began to cultivate according to the methods recorded in the Heaven's Path Divine Art. His entire body's pores opened wide, absorbing spiritual energy into his body.

The first four stages of a cultivator are:First Stage: Gathering BreathSecond Stage: Opening DantianThird Stage: Forming True QiFourth Stage: Skin and Bone Tempering

In the Gathering Breath stage, one gathers internal breath, senses spiritual energy, enables inner sight, and precisely controls the movement and flow of spiritual energy within the body.

In the Opening Dantian stage, one opens the Dantian to accommodate spiritual energy and transform the physique. This is how ordinary people metamorphose into cultivators.

In the Forming True Qi stage, spiritual energy is gathered to form true qi within the Dantian.

In the Skin and Bone Tempering stage, true qi fills the Dantian and automatically flows out, nourishing the entire body. The individual's physical constitution becomes much stronger, cardiovascular capacity improves, and they become a true powerhouse.

The first three cultivation stages are foundational, while the fourth stage truly begins to nourish the entire body, freeing one from illness and making them progressively stronger.

The cultivation method for the Nine Heavens Grand Heaven Art involves using the true qi overflowing from the Dantian to warm and nourish the entire body, greatly improving bones, muscles, tendons, and skin, thereby achieving the effect of skin and bone tempering.

The Heaven's Path Divine Art is different. It uses the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish the physical body, while simultaneously allowing the true qi within the body to reinforce the physique. Both processes occur concurrently.

Gurgle, gurgle!The spiritual energy formed a current that flowed through his meridians like water. The true qi, like a repair crew building bridges and roads, filled in the areas the spiritual energy had passed but not yet fortified.

Crackle! Crackle!In a short time, under the dual infusion of spiritual energy and true qi, his bones and muscles were tremendously tempered. They became translucent and radiated a gentle luster, as if they had been refined by a potent fire.

Boom!After countless cycles of true qi circulation, his entire body trembled. Zhang Xuan felt as if he had broken through a bottleneck, experiencing a surge of lightness.

Before, his body felt bound by shackles, but now, he felt completely unburdened. Every movement was free and effortless, as if he had been reborn from a cocoon, emerging as a butterfly.

"The fourth stage of cultivation, Skin and Bone Tempering... done?"Opening his eyes, Zhang Xuan still found it hard to believe.

The hallmark of breaking through to the fourth stage, Skin and Bone Tempering, was to shatter the physical shackles and enter a new realm. Yet, how long had he been cultivating? An hour? Two hours?

"What a stench!"Feeling curious, he looked at his body and discovered a dense layer of grime on his skin.

The Skin and Bone Tempering stage involves nourishing the body with true qi to expel impurities, cleanse the meridians, wash the marrow, and undergo a complete transformation.

From birth and throughout growth, humans consume various foods for survival, leading to an increasing accumulation of impurities. Only by nourishing the body with true qi during the Skin and Bone Tempering stage and expelling these impurities can one break free from physical limitations and return to a natural state.

"I've long heard about the Skin and Bone Tempering stage, but... I've never seen anyone excrete so many impurities!"Seeing his foul-smelling body, Zhang Xuan couldn't stand it any longer. He got a wooden tub and muttered to himself while bathing.

For the fourth stage, Skin and Bone Tempering, where one cleanses the meridians and washes the marrow, even a slight enhancement to the physique is considered good. He had never heard of anyone expelling so many impurities, to the point of making their entire body reek.

Soon, after he finished cleaning, Zhang Xuan discovered that his entire body's muscles were translucent like jade, smooth as a mirror. All scars from previous cultivation had completely vanished. At this moment, he was like a newborn baby, even smoother than one.

"My true qi..."Shocked by the changes in his physique, he inadvertently looked at his Dantian and felt his entire body tremble.

The previously murky true qi in his Dantian had now become as clear as water, emanating a pure aura. Without even checking, he knew this was definitely a Top-Grade True Qi!

"Not only has my body improved, but even the quality of my true qi has enhanced. This... the Heaven's Path Divine Art is simply too formidable!"Zhang Xuan was astonished.

Others require continuous nourishment for several years to make significant progress when breaking through to the Skin and Bone Tempering stage. Yet, he had directly broken through in less than two hours. What's more, even the quality of his true qi had improved. What kind of secret manual had the Heaven's Path Library actually formed? This was simply defying the heavens!

"Let's test my strength! Breaking through the Skin and Bone Tempering stage leads to the fifth stage, the Dingli Realm (Cauldron Strength Realm). Once a cultivator enters this realm, they will possess the strength of one cauldron!"He walked a few steps to a strength-testing stone pillar, dozens of meters away from his dormitory.

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

Upon entering the fifth stage, Dingli Realm, one immediately gains the strength of one cauldron, which is roughly a thousand kilograms. This level of strength far surpassed ordinary people, comparable to oxen or horses.

Zhang Xuan had cultivated the Heaven's Path Divine Art, undergoing a complete transformation and successfully breaking through the Skin and Bone Tempering stage. He could now test exactly how much strength he possessed, to see if he truly had the legendary strength of one cauldron.

Concentrating his mind and steadying his breath, he gripped the ground with his feet, his knees suddenly sprang, and his back and body immediately formed a taut bow. His arm shot out like a released arrow.

Bang!His fist struck the stone pillar, and a halo of light circulated."5 Cauldrons!"The number was displayed above.

"This... this... how is this possible?"Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted, his face slack with disbelief.

Is this real? Typically, cultivators in the early Dingli Realm possess the strength of one cauldron, two cauldrons in the middle stage, three cauldrons in the late stage, and four cauldrons at the peak!

He had just broken through the Skin and Bone Tempering stage and entered the Dingli Realm, yet he already possessed the strength of five cauldrons. What... what was going on? This was too exaggerated!

"It must be the Heaven's Path Divine Art, the tempering of my physical body, and the Top-Grade True Qi..."After a moment, he recovered and secretly speculated.

He knew very well whether he was a genius or not. The only explanation was the Heaven's Path Divine Art he had just cultivated.

This cultivation technique not only tempered his physical body, leading to a complete transformation, and purified his true qi to meet the Top-Grade standard, but it also greatly increased his strength. He had just entered the fifth stage, Dingli Realm, yet he already possessed strength surpassing even peak Dingli Realm cultivators!

Terrifying!"The fifth stage of cultivation is something only a few senior teachers at the academy can reach!"

In the academy, only a few senior teachers possessed the strength of the fifth stage, Dingli Realm. People like Cao Xiong, who were comparable to him, couldn't even come close.

"With this level of strength, it's time to find cultivation techniques for the fifth stage..."His strength had improved rapidly, but a new problem had also emerged.

All the fourth-stage cultivation techniques he had previously browsed in the teachers' library were now useless. To continue cultivating, he needed to find fifth-stage cultivation methods.

"It's not too late yet; the teachers' library should still be open..."Scratching his head, Zhang Xuan once again headed towards the library.

To prevent people from being too ambitious and rushing their cultivation, the academy had set a rule: only those who reached the corresponding cultivation level could access the relevant techniques.

Soon, he arrived at the library again."You again?"Seeing him, Elder Mo, who guarded the entrance, frowned.

What was this show-off doing back so soon after just leaving?

"Elder Mo, I'd like to look at the fifth-stage cultivation techniques!" Zhang Xuan replied awkwardly.

He couldn't possibly say that he had just gone back a short while ago and already broken through! If he really said that, the elder might not kill him, but would surely drag him away for research as a guinea pig.

In the Skin and Bone Tempering and Dingli realms, true qi doesn't undergo significant changes. Therefore, as long as one didn't understand true qi, even the strongest person couldn't tell. Although Elder Mo was powerful, he couldn't have imagined that this young man had already broken through a level after such a short time.

"Fifth-stage techniques? What kind of nonsense is this?"Elder Mo's face darkened, and his last shred of appreciation for this guy vanished.

He hadn't even copied or cultivated the fourth-stage techniques, and now he was back to look at the fifth stage? What a joke!

"Elder Mo, it's like this: today, when I was accepting students, a parent asked me a question about fifth-stage cultivation that I couldn't answer. It made them look down on me a bit, so... I want to read up on it first, find the answer, so that next time I encounter such a question, I'll be able to handle it proficiently!"Zhang Xuan had already prepared an excuse.

"Some parents are indeed tricky!" Hearing this explanation, Elder Mo nodded, his face serious. "You can look, but under no circumstances should you cultivate them! If you try to cultivate the fifth stage without mastering the fourth, you'll risk qi deviation, and not even a deity could save you!"

"Yes, I understand that!"Zhang Xuan quickly assured him.

"Alright, go in!" Elder Mo waved his hand and closed his eyes again. "The fifth-stage cultivation techniques are in the last row of the cultivation methods section!"

"Understood!" Zhang Xuan quickly entered.

"Hypocritical! Vain!"Seeing him enter, Elder Mo once again added a four-character evaluation of him.