【Your voice is calm, but your words are sharp, like a sharp blade, piercing deeply into the inexperienced young girl】
【The layers of falsehood fall away, revealing the true world—a world the girl had never seen before, ugly and bloody, a cruel reality】
【Humans and demons】
【Humans and humans】
【Enemies, companions, trust, betrayal】
【These various concepts swirl like a chaotic vortex, crushing one's thoughts and lingering in Wu Yingxue's heart, leaving her confused and lost】
【At only 16 years old, Wu Yingxue could not bear the collapse of her worldview, but she was strong, able to move forward alone, spear in hand】
【She deeply realized how luxurious her act of spitting out meat had been】
【In Qingniu Town, and in countless similar towns, many ordinary people were struggling to find even a bite to eat】
【Though they were strangers, though she had never met them, the kind-hearted girl felt ashamed of her wastefulness and swallowed the meat she had spat out. This was her way of holding herself accountable】
【Your opinion of the girl rose】
...
【The relationship between the Great Qian Dynasty and the Ten Thousand Mountains made you wary】
【You speculated whether there was a deeper connection between the two, and what else might be hidden in this world】
【You pondered】
【You investigated】
【You came to a reliable conclusion: the Great Qian Dynasty might not be as powerful as it seemed—at least, far less so than the demons of the Ten Thousand Mountains】
【Only this could explain why the Great Qian, with its army of killers, would silently tolerate the demons' massacres, even aiding them】
【This bizarre situation filled you with a sense of urgency】
【You quietly increased your training intensity, practicing your punches daily and refining your qi and blood. Your Blood Qi Tyrant Fist became even more refined】
...
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The wind roared as punches flew, and the sea of trees shook violently.
Fresh blood flowed through the organs and limbs, washing over the body and giving the skin a faint, moist redness.
As Xu Xi executed his punches, his blood surged like tides, circulating through his body repeatedly, transforming it and pushing it into a mysterious, profound state.
This was the Blood Exchange Realm.
The final stage of returning from the mundane to the innate.
The so-called martial arts were never just about raw muscle strength but a comprehensive transformation of the bones, muscles, skin, and even deeper aspects of the body.
The flesh ascends, the body becomes the Dao, transforming oneself into the heavens and earth.
Powerful! Fierce! Dominant!
Bang—
Another ordinary punch, Xu Xi's force like a released bowstring, sent the wind swirling and created a deafening echo.
At this moment, Wu Yingxue, who was watching from the side, was utterly bewildered.
...
【Your strength improved slowly, but it grew steadily every day】
【In the eyes of ordinary martial artists, this defied the principles of martial arts. Most could only rely on occasional flashes of insight to advance their techniques】
【But you were different】
【Wu Yingxue believed you were an extraordinary martial genius, naturally gifted with immense qi and blood, and possessing a rate of martial progress that surpassed worldly understanding. Though slow, it was steady】
【As days passed, the girl who had once been severely injured and in a pitiful state finally recovered】
【Before leaving, she chose to stay a little longer to learn the true essence of martial arts from you】
【Though you repeatedly emphasized that all you had was perseverance, with no particularly profound techniques】
【Wu Yingxue handed you two bottles of Qi Pills】
【Your guidance to Wu Yingxue became more detailed】
Xu Xi's current martial realm was the fifth stage of Body Tempering: Blood Exchange.
Wu Yingxue was also at this realm, so she didn’t need guidance in that area.
Thus,
aside from the differences in weapons, since Xu Xi couldn’t teach her sword techniques, all he could teach her were fist techniques and movement techniques.
Some time ago, Xu Xi had given her some preliminary instruction, but at that time, the girl’s injuries hadn’t fully healed, so her training was limited.
Now, Xu Xi planned to teach her more advanced techniques.
“Relax your mind, clear away distractions.”
“When you throw a punch, don’t think about how your fist is moving. Instead, focus on the flow of your blood and the resonance of your bones.”
...
“Your forehand is weak!”
“Your backhand is powerless!”
“Your footwork is sloppy!”
“None of your movements are proper!”
“Do it again. With that punch speed, who do you think you can hit?”
In the courtyard where only the two of them lived,
Wu Yingxue, dressed in her martial training attire, panted and gritted her teeth, earnestly following Xu Xi’s instructions, repeatedly channeling her qi and blood to throw punches.
Xu Xi’s attitude was strict.
This was something the girl had requested herself.
Returning to the capital to uncover the truth was a dangerous mission, and she wanted to improve her strength as much as possible to ensure the mission’s success.
“Yes, I’ll work harder!”
The girl wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued mimicking Xu Xi’s movements, throwing punch after punch in a mechanical rhythm.
Was this really effective?
Though she had witnessed Xu Xi’s punching power more than once, after experiencing this numbness firsthand, she couldn’t help but doubt.
【After teaching the fist techniques, you quickly began training her in movement techniques】
【Your movement techniques had no finesse—they were pure speed, relying entirely on raw power】
【Crude and unrefined】
【Others might shake their heads, but none dared to look down on them】
【Because your speed was too fast to see】
Just like Xu Xi’s fist techniques, which relied on daily repetition,
his movement techniques were also built on daily running.
But this wasn’t ordinary running—it was an intense, full-body exertion, with the organs, bones, muscles, and skin resonating at high intensity.
Such an extraordinary way of running
naturally consumed an unparalleled amount of qi and blood.
On the first day of training, Wu Yingxue collapsed from exhaustion, her body covered in dirt.
“Doesn’t this feel familiar?”
Xu Xi recalled his past experience teaching Krisha water magic.
Back then, Krisha had exhausted her magic power, causing a water sphere to lose control and drench her completely.
“Is there something wrong with my teaching methods? …Strange, why do I shiver whenever I think of Krisha?”
Xu Xi helped Wu Yingxue up and let her rest for a while, waiting for her qi and blood to recover before resuming training.
Days passed.
The training intensified bit by bit.
Silent time always brings genuine growth.
At first, Wu Yingxue couldn’t handle Xu Xi’s training at all—not just because of its difficulty, but also because of its monotony.
But gradually, she found herself able to train continuously for an entire day, just like Xu Xi.
What exactly had changed?
Wu Yingxue didn’t know. All she knew was that she had grown much stronger than before—whether in her mastery of martial techniques or her control of qi and blood, she had improved in every way.
Now, she decided to bid farewell to Xu Xi and leave Qingniu Town to uncover the truth behind her wanted status.