20demayo Chapter 54: The Sick Tiger Walks in Peril, the Strong Bones Form a Perfect Realm
Chapter 54: The Sick Tiger Walks in Peril, the Strong Bones Form a Perfect Realm
[Martial Arts Skills Already Advance: Tiger Stance Technique (Introduction)]
His body slumped, as if ailing against a rock. His joints creaked softly, a sign of nascent vitality.
[Next Stage Advance: Tiger's Journey Achieved to a Minor Success]
[Walking on the bridge, bones tremble like steel. Opening and closing movements are explosive, producing a thunderous sound.]
As the essence of martial arts knowledge flowed into his mind, Wu He's body began to sway slightly, followed by a series of crisp bone cracking sounds.
Unlike the sounds produced during previous cultivation, the sounds from the bones now resonated throughout the entire body, as if they had come alive and become somewhat lively.
This process lasted for about twenty seconds before stopping.
lol~
As the final sound faded, Wu He felt a surge of exhilarating pleasure throughout his body, filled with the same lightness he always felt when his power increased during advancements. But this time it was different; there was a subtle depth and weight hidden within this lightness.
"The Bone Strengthening Realm refines the bones; as bone strength increases, defense and power naturally increase as well."
"But correspondingly, the increased density also makes it heavier, hence the feeling of heaviness."
Wu He suddenly understood, and then clenched his fist, feeling a surge of power like a flood.
Later, when they arrived in the courtyard, they lifted the heavy millstone with their backs bent. What had felt slightly heavy before now felt as light as a ball of cotton!
The power of skin, flesh, and bones has converged to a level more than three times that of the Flesh Refining Realm.
At the same time, so does the amount of food consumed.
Having just eaten, he felt a surge of hunger again, as if a flood was rising within him, and his entire body, even his bones, were brimming with the desire to eat.
As Wu He plunged into the kitchen to fill his stomach, he was also pondering and making plans.
Having now achieved the Bone Strengthening Realm, the main goal going forward is to elevate all the martial arts techniques I've learned to the Perfect Realm.
At the same time, dietary and medicinal supplements must also be improved accordingly.
The consumption of the Bone Strengthening Realm is astonishing; the meat of a precious beast taken more than ten years is no longer enough to sustain the consumption, and it will take at least twenty years or more.
So I'll have to go to Baicaoshan more often from now on.
The same applies to herbal decoctions. Cultivating the Bone Strengthening Realm is a great test for the bones. If the bones are not repaired with herbal decoctions in time, the disadvantages will far outweigh the advantages.
In this regard, I'm afraid I'll have to consult Wen Qiaoniang.
……
The next day, the new Plum Blossom Knife was produced as scheduled.
It is still over four feet long, and the style is no different from before, but its quality has been visibly improved.
It has a slight weight to it and feels great in the hand.
Keep in mind that this is after Wu He advanced to the Strong Bone Realm, when his strength increased more than three times. The knife still feels perfect, which shows that its weight has increased at least several times.
This also shows that Qiao the Cripple's forging skills are indeed superb.
With a series of swift movements, the blade flashed with cold light, then returned to its sheath with a crisp sound like a silver bottle shattering. Wu He turned around with satisfaction and tossed twenty taels of silver into the shop as a craftsmanship fee.
Waqiao Camp.
After witnessing the drills of the Hai Battalion soldiers, Wu He removed his armor and was about to begin his training when dust billowed at the door, and Liu Baoze arrived.
"Commander Liu."
"Commander Wu, you've come at the right time. Come with me to the Imperial Guard camp; today is the day for registration and selection."
"today?"
Wu He was slightly surprised: "Didn't you say it would be early next month?"
"It's ahead of schedule."
Liu Baoze paused, glancing around cautiously, before whispering, "There's an imperial decree from Kaifeng that the selection of the Imperial Guards will be brought forward this year. I reckon it's because the Northern Expedition will be launched earlier this year."
"Aren't we going to wait until after the autumn harvest?"
"Hard to say," Liu Baoze clicked his tongue.
"OK."
Wu He had no choice but to put on his armor again and go with him to the Imperial Guard camp.
Along the way, Liu Baoze glanced at him several times, looking at him with slight surprise.
Only when they were almost at their destination did he say suspiciously, "Why do you look like you've practiced Tiger Walking Kung Fu?"
Ever since he met Wu He today, he felt that this guy was somewhat different from yesterday.
Even setting aside his breathing, his physical appearance has changed somewhat.
Previously, Wu He's words and actions were decisive and efficient, and his posture was upright, clearly indicating that he was a martial artist.
But now, his movements have a faint sense of relaxation, no different from ordinary people. He is no longer as tense and robust as before, and even his spirit and energy are somewhat mediocre.
It looked like a large, sickly insect that was walking normally.
It looks like he's practiced Tiger Walking Kung Fu.
Wu He smiled slightly: "Yesterday, my godfather guided me, and I stepped into the threshold of strengthening my bones."
"I've mastered it!!"
Liu Baoze stopped abruptly, reached out and pinched Wu He's shoulder, his resolute face showing surprise.
"Good lad, you've gotten quite sturdy! You're on par with me now!"
"Not bad, really not bad!"
He still remembered when he first met Wu He, the latter was only in the early stage of meat refining. He never expected that, before he knew it, this kid had caught up with him.
Such a speed of martial arts training is truly rare in Waqiao Camp.
A quarter of an hour later, Wu He followed him to the Imperial Guard camp.
Unlike local garrison troops, the imperial guards' influence was not large. Apart from the capital, each prefecture had only one imperial guard headquarters, deploying around 10,000 imperial guards.
They are not usually on the front lines; they only temporarily set up camps at the border during wartime or under special missions.
Therefore, the camp in front of Wu He was quite simple, with a long line of hundreds of people at the entrance, all of whom were officers from all over Xiongzhou who had come to participate in the selection.
After bringing him there, Liu Baoze left. As one of Guo Guiyuan's old associates, he had no intention of getting involved in this.
About half an hour later, Wu He finally registered.
"Your military rank at Waqiao Camp is Captain of the Hai Battalion. The range for this selection is from Tenth General to Military Commissioner."
"Take this order to the Jia Shen field; today is the archery competition."
The goatee-bearded old man who was registering the papers handed over a wooden plaque. Wu He nodded and took the examination admission ticket, then went to the Jia Shen examination site in the distance.
When they arrived, there were already nearly a hundred people there.
The archery competition is divided into fixed target and moving target, which is nothing special. It is just a formality. For martial arts practitioners, archery is the easiest skill to hone.
Learning just one archery skill is enough to pass this selection exam.
Therefore, in the end, almost everyone got a perfect score. The key to whether or not someone would qualify was the close-quarters combat in the ring the next day.
After the archery competition, and after the draw for the arena the next day, Wu He returned bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun, lost in thought.
"This selection of ten generals from the Imperial Guard to military commanders totals one hundred people, most of whom are below the Strong Bone Realm. These are not worth worrying about."
"The real opponents are the remaining twelve Bone Strengthening Realm warriors. They are all experts from the nearby camps. I have just entered the Bone Strengthening Realm, so it will be quite difficult for me to deal with them."
"This competition is really fierce."
The selection process for the Imperial Guard was not one where a position was first created and then competitors competed for it.
Instead, they first selected ten people and then set up positions according to local conditions.
From the Ten Generals to the Military Envoy level, the competitors are mostly captains and military envoys from outside the region. Therefore, normally, only a small group of people at the Strong Bone Realm can successfully make it into the ranks.
Of course, there are exceptions; every year there are those who defeat opponents of higher levels and make a name for themselves.
Cultivation level is not the same as combat strength.
"Let's see how things go tomorrow."
……
Xiongzhou City, a classically elegant teahouse.
Humph~
Hurried footsteps could be heard outside.
The young woman dressed in a purple and gold flowing cloud robe looked up at the sound and said calmly, "Come in."
The door was suddenly pushed open, revealing a man in leather armor, none other than Wang Chen.
"Madam, why have you summoned me so urgently?"
Wang Chen, slightly out of breath, looked at Du Mei in front of him, puzzled.