A vast Martial Arts Hall.

Plain crane characters hung on three walls, while the fourth was entirely floor-to-ceiling windows.

The early morning sun shone through the glass, spilling onto the white, soft-matted floor and scattering a golden brilliance.

Lu Yuan stood calmly in the center of the room, his feet slightly apart, arms hanging naturally at his sides.

He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of loose, white martial arts pants, cinched tightly at his waist with a black cloth strip.

His eyes were closed, his breathing as serene and prolonged as drifting clouds.

Lu Yuan's muscles rippled and undulated with the rhythm of his breath.

His fair skin would bulge from time to time, revealing thick, prominent blue veins and taut, iron-like muscles.

It was as if a large mouse scurried rapidly beneath his skin.

When this movement reached a certain peak, Lu Yuan's entire frame abruptly expanded. His height shot up, soaring to nearly two meters.

His skin turned a cyanotic black, fine vascular networks spreading like tree roots. His thick limbs resembled pillars cast from steel.

The tendons across his chest, stretched taut, looked like steel wires pulled to their breaking point.

WHOOSH—

Lu Yuan suddenly threw a punch.

The instant he punched, a dull, immense thud echoed through the spacious room.

This was immediately followed by a series of fine, continuous sonic booms, as if something was being furiously pulverized.

A visible ring of white qi expanded rapidly from Lu Yuan's fist.

When the punch was fully extended, the air at its peak seemed to distort with a transparent, twisting current that surged forward.

CRASH—

The large floor-to-ceiling window directly opposite Lu Yuan shattered, a gaping hole appearing as broken glass rained down.

Lu Yuan's figure flickered, and in an instant, he was before the window.

Looking down, the lake surface below remained calm, with only a few egrets flapping their wings as they swiftly flew past. Only then did he quietly sigh in relief.

PFFT—CRACKLE—

In less than a second, his expanded physique "deflated," and Lu Yuan returned to his normal state.

A fine sheen of sweat coated his fair skin, making it appear exceptionally delicate.

Is my Fist Strength now eight tons?

Lu Yuan casually picked up a white towel from the floor beside him and carefully wiped the sweat from his body.

Ten days had passed since his return from Weishan.

Unknowingly, Lu Yuan's strength had once again undergone a massive transformation.

He summoned his information panel.

[Name: Lu Yuan]

[Age: 17]

[Strength: 17]

[Agility: 18]

[Physique: 19]

[Intelligence: 17]

...

[Occupation: Fighter Lv7 (2,293/6,400)]

...

Spirit Crane Body Lv3 (379/400)

Ten Thousand Refining Body Lv2 (178/200)

Steel Bone Lv2 (145/200)

...

Ten Thousand Refining Crane Bone Strength Lv2 (13/200)

Among his four Basic Attributes, both Strength and Physique had increased by 1 point.

This two-point increase was mainly due to the breakthrough of his Ten Thousand Refining Body.

Completely different from the emphasis of Spirit Crane Body, Ten Thousand Refining Body primarily enhanced strength.

A 1-point increase in Strength pushed Lu Yuan's Basic Fist Strength beyond two tons. After activating Lv3 Special Burst, his explosive Fist Strength instantly soared to over eight tons.

And this still wasn't Lu Yuan's limit.

He hadn't yet touched the upper limit of the strength amplification from Lv3 Special Burst; his physique significantly restricted the full exertion of his power.

Even so, this should be enough for me to sweep through most opponents at the martial master level...

Lu Yuan had experimented in the Consciousness Space.

Among the Crane Sect's top direct disciples, aside from Zhao Qiancheng, who had Vigor coursing through his entire body and was on the verge of breaking through to the True Intention Realm, none of the others were his match.

Against his terrifying pure physical strength, if he so much as grazed any of the other top disciples... the fight was essentially over.

After all, before reaching Great Achievement in the martial master realm, it was impossible for Vigor to cover the entire body. Furthermore, their Vigor was too thin; it couldn't possibly defend against such pure, blunt force attacks.

This is what they mean by brute force working wonders...

Lu Yuan now understood why Master Liudao Yuan valued his talent in the Palace of Flesh so much, and why he had said that if the Palace of Flesh was developed to its extreme, one could contend with a Grandmaster even without becoming one.

Indeed, if this strength continued to swell, reaching twenty tons, thirty tons, or even higher, a casual punch would be like a head-on collision with a super-heavy truck at high speed. A Grandmaster was still human; they couldn't withstand that either.

But a normal Palace of Flesh might not be able to withstand the backlash from twenty or thirty tons of force. Ultimately, physique is the foundation...

Thinking of this, he subconsciously glanced at the Lv2 Steel Bone skill that had recently appeared on his panel.

This skill came from the Steel Bone Door Forging Body Skill. He had cultivated it to Lv2 and had even used it to fuse into the Ten Thousand Refining Crane Bone Strength skill.

My physique is now much higher than that of a typical martial master who has completed PracticeOrgans. The breakthrough of Ten Thousand Refining Body alone probably isn't enough; it might also be due to the Steel Bone upgrade...

In the Consciousness Space, Lu Yuan had attempted Consciousness Inhabitation with all the Crane Sect experts, including Master Liudao Yuan.

He found that his current physique was no less than these masters of Ancient Martial Arts. While he might lack some of their refined control, in certain aspects, he even surpassed them.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Now, if Lu Yuan focused even slightly, he could clearly hear the drum-like beating of his heart in his chest, and the whooshing sound of blood flowing through his vessels like the ebb and flow of tides.

He once regarded the finely-tuned, meticulously structured bodies of Lin Zhiquin and Qin Feng as his goal. However, along the way, he inadvertently found he had deviated from the normal development path of a Fighter. His martial physique began to evolve towards that of nature's apex Ferocious Beasts.

Further down the line, will I become comparable to a prehistoric Tyrannosaurus Rex, a humanoid Ferocious Beast?

Lu Yuan stopped wiping himself down, casually tossed the white towel to the floor, and mused, Another path to physical transcendence?

Indeed, as his physique steadily approached the twenty-point mark, Lu Yuan perceived the changes in his body with increasing clarity.

His five senses grew sharper, and his intuition during combat became more potent.

It was a wondrous sensation... as if layers of shackles binding his body were being unlocked one by one, and instincts dormant within him were continuously awakening.

I wonder what kind of changes will occur when a Fighter reaches the True Intention realm.

It's a shame Master's body is so damaged; it doesn't offer much to learn from...

Lu Yuan retrieved a crimson Bone Refining Pill from a corner and casually tossed it into his mouth.

Then, he walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, calmly gazing into the distance.

This was a high-class facility within the Origin Martial Arts Hall, open only to select high-ranking members.

It was situated on a mountainside just outside Burnt Rock City, offering a tranquil environment and a secluded location.

Moreover, from the top floor where he currently stood, he could overlook the entirety of Burnt Rock City.

The effects of the Bone Refining Pill quickly manifested.

Differently from before, this time Lu Yuan's skin only turned slightly red and warm.

He didn't move, just stood there casually.

Yet, his internal Vigor was stimulated, beginning to work in concert with the Bone Refining Pill's medicinal effects to continuously temper all the bones in his body, emitting a series of faint, subtle sounds.

The body-forging method of the Steel Bone Sect was peculiar, specifically targeting the Cultivating Bone realm.

Furthermore, one had to first cultivate Steel Bone Strength to proceed.

It feels like this technique is just part of a larger, complete one. Perhaps when the Holy Fist Sect split, the Steel Bone Sect only managed to grab the Cultivating Bone part of the Heavenly Domination Extravagant Body technique... Lu Yuan guessed.

The Steel Bone Strength accompanying the Steel Bone Door Forging Body Skill was unremarkable. Its external effect was needle-like, inflicting a piercing pain on opponents.

Its penetrative power was even weaker than Crane Strength, as it was too soft.

However, for internal Cultivating Bone, its effects were astonishingly good, as if it were a type of Vigor specifically created for body forging.

The Heavenly Domination Extravagant Body is hailed as the number one body-forging technique in the Martial Arts Circle. Maybe it follows a path similar to an invincible body-hardening style, where the Vigor's effect isn't for combat but solely for strengthening the body. That would be quite normal...

Still, even if Steel Bone Strength was lackluster, the integration of a new Vigor type had somewhat improved the quality of Lu Yuan's own Vigor.

The Ten Thousand Refining Crane Bone Strength was a bit more domineering than the original Ten Thousand Refining Crane Strength.

It was just that the Experience Points increased a tad slowly...

I won't integrate any new Vigor types in the short term. Otherwise, my Vigor might stay at Lv2 forever, and I'd struggle to break through to the martial master realm in my lifetime...

The fused Ten Thousand Refining Crane Bone Strength was needle-like. It possessed the soft sharpness of Steel Bone Strength, the robustness of Ten Thousand Refining Strength, and the penetration of Crane Strength. As it moved across every inch of bone, its Cultivating Bone effect was far superior to the original Steel Bone Strength.

When Vigor reached a certain concentration, it could become visible on the skin.

He had seen this with others, like the Northern Eagle King he had defeated, and the direct disciples of the Crane Sect in the Consciousness Space—their Vigor manifestation was almost always white.

But he felt his Ten Thousand Refining Crane Bone Strength might not be white; the color seemed deeper, though he wasn't sure by how much...

Once the Bone Refining Pill was fully digested, Lu Yuan exhaled a turbid breath and slowly dispersed his Vigor.

By now, the sun had climbed quite high, and the entire Martial Arts Hall was bathed in sunlight.

In another two hours, without drawing the curtains and turning on the air conditioning, the room would become a giant steamer.

Lu Yuan quickly tidied his things, put on his clothes, and walked out of the Martial Arts Hall.

The training room Qin Feng had arranged for him was on the top floor of this Martial Arts Hall. He took the elevator down to the restaurant on the second floor.

Just as he stepped out of the elevator and before he had taken two steps, he bumped squarely into an employee wearing the martial arts hall uniform.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The clumsy girl bowed repeatedly in apology, her ponytail bobbing violently up and down, making it impossible to see her face clearly.

Lu Yuan was a little speechless. He called out, "Sis."

The apologizing girl immediately froze, then straightened up, revealing Lu Jing's face.

"Boring... I wanted to trick you," Lu Jing mumbled.

Then, still a bit unconvinced, she tugged at her hair and asked Lu Yuan, "How did you know it was me? I just got my hair done and even used clips..."

"I smelled you," Lu Yuan replied casually, then scanned Lu Jing's clothes and hair more closely, frowning. "What clips? I don't see any clips on you."

Lu Jing suddenly put on an affected, overly sweet voice. "This is the 'clip' I meant, little brother~"

Lu Yuan's slightly forged martial physique shivered involuntarily, the hairs on his arms standing on end, and his eyelid twitched.

After a brief silence, he said, "Let's eat, Sis. I'm hungry."

"You're such a boring straight guy!" Lu Jing scolded him.

....

Lu Yuan found a corner table in the restaurant and sat down.

His meal plan at the Martial Arts Hall was specially arranged, so there was no need to order; someone would bring his food shortly.

Lu Jing was essentially mooching a meal off him.

While Lu Jing went to get drinks, Lu Yuan watched her retreating back, his gaze gradually softening.

Lu Jing's current state was much better than when she had first returned.

Her complexion was fairer, she wasn't as thin as before, she had her hair done, and was even in the mood to joke with Lu Yuan...

It seemed she had completely emerged from the shadow of the archaeological team incident.

I can stand in the rain myself, but the people around me... they must have sunshine over their heads, Lu Yuan thought calmly.

"Here, for you!"

Lu Jing returned quickly, holding two bottles of drinks, and handed one to Lu Yuan.

She knew his tastes best.

The restaurant staff began bringing their food, and in no time, the table before them was laden.

There was no need for ceremony between Lu Yuan and his sister Lu Jing; they didn't even need to exchange pleasantries before digging in.

"I've discovered it's quite nice eating with you now," Lu Jing suddenly said to Lu Yuan as they ate.

"Hmm?" Lu Yuan looked up slightly. "Why do you say that?"

"Because before, you were always refusing to eat this or that; you were so picky..." Lu Jing picked up a mouthful of some unidentifiable dish with her chopsticks, stuffed it into her mouth, and said with narrowed eyes, "But now, you're like a bottomless pit; you can stuff anything into your mouth. Eating with you, I get to taste all the dishes, and I don't have to worry about wasting food. PTUI! PTUI! So spicy, so spicy...."

"...."

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