The cave’s depths were dark and silent.
Torch in hand, Lin Ye tread carefully through the hidden chamber behind the ancient rock strata. The air was thick with dust and the scent of ages, as though a thousand years had passed without a single visitor.
Before long he reached a stone stele half‑embedded in the wall.
Time had battered it; crowded across its surface were ancient characters and totems—strokes bold and wild, each line pulsing with an unsettling rhythm.
The moment his fingertips brushed the stone, the system chimed:
“Fragmentary body‑forging art Savage Tempering Canon detected. Parse preliminarily for 20 evolution points?”
A flash lit his eyes. He answered without hesitation:
“Parse.”
At once the engravings flared like molten streams, splintering into motes that poured into the center of his brow. In his mind unfolded an archaic method: guiding blood‑qi to temper bone and flesh, open nodes, break meridians, and ceaselessly rebuild the body through heaven‑earth aura and one’s latent potential—thus stepping onto the Body‑Forging path.
He sat cross‑legged and, by its formula, began moving his blood‑qi.
It ran like fire—searing, tugging nerves, joints buzzing—yet clarity and vigor spread within. The injuries not fully healed twitched and knit, his frame quietly strengthening.
“This tempering… steadier and longer‑lasting than the brute boosts from beast bones.”
While he was immersed in cultivation, a whistle of something slicing air drew near like an arrow through forest.
In a blink he slipped outside, hiding among giant trunks and shadowed leaves.
Moments later several figures flashed past. Clad in close‑fitting gear, they moved with practiced ease, swords at their hips and hawk‑sharp eyes. The leader, a sword‑backed youth, carried a calm but piercing aura; his companions, various weapons in hand, guarded their flanks.
Holding his breath, Lin Ye caught their words clearly.
“The tiger’s scent is close—stay alert.”
“They say it’s hit the peak of Body‑Forging. If it breaks its bloodline shackles, it’ll step into Qi‑Sea Realm.”
“Hmph—just a beast. Body‑Forging means nothing compared with us.”
A jolt ran through him.
Body‑Forging peak… Qi‑Sea Realm… are these cultivation tiers?
He realized all his battles so far touched only the fringes of the world’s hierarchy.
Empowered by beast bones, he had merely forced a toe across the Body‑Forging threshold, while these people already stood on far higher planes.
“I must grow—not by system crutches alone, but by mastering the powers native to this land.”
Watching the warriors recede, resolve burned in his gaze.
As night deepened, he returned to the cave and resumed the Savage Tempering Canon.
Bones creaked; blood‑qi thundered like floodwaters. Sweat drenched his brow, yet he clung to the discipline, eyes fixed and fiery.
“The reverse‑scale is shown, the blood is awake… From now on, every step I take will be with these fists—until I punch through the very sky of this world.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKhe6csrmn
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3fmGWRkpe
