My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Innate Martial Saint Body

「The next day, early in the morning.」

As a red sun rose from the east, the chill between heaven and earth was driven away, and Wu Chen leisurely awoke from a deep sleep.

He stretched contentedly and heard a series of sounds, like popping beans, exploding within his body.

CRACKLE! POP!

On and on it went!

Fortunately, he was the only one aware of this change. No one else noticed.

When the popping sound inside him faded, Wu Chen immediately noticed something different about himself today.

First, a vast number of saber techniques and a deep understanding of saber arts flooded his mind like a tidal wave.

Next, the experience of life-and-death saber combat seeped into his muscle memory, silent and subtle like a gentle rain.

It was as if, were he to wield a saber now, he could handle even ten Demon Corpses attacking him at once with ease.

He wouldn’t face the same perilous danger he had when fighting the enemy last night.

Not only that,

Wu Chen also sensed a world-shaking change within his body.

His Qi Power was more potent, and his Qi and Blood more vigorous.

If his Qi and Blood had previously been like tiny sparks, always in danger of extinguishing—forcing him to be cautious in a fight to conserve his Qi Power—then today, they were like a roaring flame.

And this flame was constantly forging the flesh and blood beneath his skin, making it firmer, more compact!

This forging process wasn’t painful at all. On the contrary, Wu Chen found it incredibly comfortable, leaving him feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Perhaps ’nourishing’ would be a more appropriate word.

In any case, this change was far beyond what any of his previous realm breakthroughs could compare to. He had never felt so comfortable during an advancement before.

Wu Chen’s eyes focused. He looked at the panel and, sure enough, discovered the reason.

[Deep Red Host] Wu Chen

[Martial Arts Realm] First Layer Flesh Refining Realm

[Martial Arts & Cultivation Techniques] Long-Armed Fist (Great Success), Spiritual Snake Step (Great Success), Stone-Shattering Saber Art (Great Success)

On the panel, the words ’Body Tempering Realm’ previously displayed in the realm section had now been replaced by the three words ’Flesh Refining Realm’.

This meant that sometime last night, without even realizing it, Wu Chen had broken through the shackles of the first major stage of Martial Arts!

”I’ve stepped into the second realm!” Looking at the words ’Flesh Refining Realm’, a look of intense excitement flashed in Wu Chen’s eyes.

Last night, he had fallen asleep before he finished adding points to his Stone-Shattering Saber Art, so he hadn’t seen this change.

Although his stamina recovered significantly with every minor realm he advanced,

the pressure of slaying five Demon Corpse scouts and the peril of a life-and-death struggle had left him mentally exhausted.

Therefore, after looking over the saber art and reassuring Liu Linshan, he had fallen into a deep sleep.

However, Wu Chen had noticed yesterday that every time his Stone-Shattering Saber Art broke through a proficiency level, his Martial Arts realm would also rise by a small step.

’Shouldn’t I be at the Ninth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm by that logic?’

Wu Chen pondered this, but he quickly figured it out. The Deep Red panel was probably just too powerful.

Every Martial Art had points added to it, polishing it to perfection, surpassing ten years of bitter cultivation by others.

When reflected in his physique, it meant every inch of his body was polished to absolute perfection.

That was how he broke through the Body Tempering Realm in one fell swoop, arriving at the First Layer of the Flesh Refining Realm without any hindrance.

There were no ambiguous realms like ’Great Perfection of Body Tempering’, ’Half-Step Flesh Refining Realm’, or ’Initial Realm of Flesh Refining’.

’I wonder if I can fight my way out of the Demon Corpse horde now.’

Wu Chen repeatedly flexed and unflexed his fingers, adapting to this new power while also feeling curious about his current strength.

It was obvious he had gotten stronger, but by how much? How many times stronger than yesterday was he?

That was hard to determine.

The master his predecessor had studied under was just a country martial artist, only at the Body Tempering Realm.

His knowledge of Martial Arts was extremely limited.

Therefore, Wu Chen searched his mind but couldn’t find any memories regarding the Flesh Refining Realm.

If he had to describe how today felt different from before,

it was that the Body Tempering Realm made him bigger, while the Flesh Refining Realm made him last longer.

In terms of physique and Qi Power, of course.

Just as Wu Chen was carefully sensing the various changes in his body, the father and daughter pair, Liu Linshan and Liu Wei, also woke from their deep sleep.

Liu Wei first respectfully handed the waterskin to Wu Chen to drink from, then checked the wound on her father’s abdomen.

Seeing that Liu Linshan was not in serious condition, she began to gather the pile of burnt-out charcoal in front of them, collecting it for use on the next cold night.

Liu Linshan’s body had been getting much better over the past few days. After Liu Wei’s inspection, he stood up to move his limbs and get his stagnant Qi and Blood flowing.

However, when his gaze swept over Wu Chen, who was drinking water and eating a wheat bran cake, a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes.

Although Wu Chen looked the same as usual—no change in his appearance, his figure still thin, his skin still dry...

...for some reason, Liu Linshan felt that the young man was different now.

Especially his eyes, which were exceptionally fiery.

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly was different.

”Young Master Wu, you seem... a little different today?”

A moment later, after his daughter finished packing their few belongings, Liu Linshan ended his standing meditation and sidled up to Wu Chen.

”Heh, perhaps after seeing your family’s ancestral saber manual yesterday, Master Liu, I had some kind of insight. The realm I’ve been stuck at for so long seemed to loosen up last night without me realizing it.”

Wu Chen hadn’t expected the old Hunter’s eyes to be so sharp that he’d actually noticed something.

He rubbed his chin and chuckled. ”Maybe that’s the reason?”

”This...”

Liu Linshan didn’t know what to say; he just had a strange expression on his face.

After all, he had never heard of Martial Arts in the Body Tempering Realm requiring a Martial Artist’s insight to advance.

Still, he was incredibly surprised.

’Could it be that Young Master Wu is a prodigy in the Martial Arts?’

’To not only memorize the saber manual with a single glance but also have his realm improve... he’s truly terrifying!’

’So this Young Master Wu now has the strength of the Seventh or Eighth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm?’

’He’s one or two minor realms above me, approaching the Perfection of Body Tempering. No wonder he feels different!’

Unless a Martial Artist volunteered information about their background and strength, asking directly was considered abrupt and offensive.

So, throughout their journey, Liu Linshan had never asked about the foundations of Wu Chen’s realm or who his master was.

But based on Wu Chen slaying his two treacherous apprentices and saving Liu Wei, Liu Linshan had judged Wu Chen’s realm to be around the Sixth or Seventh Layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

How else could he have killed two treacherous apprentices so easily?

But thinking about Wu Chen’s current realm, Liu Linshan was suddenly filled with regret:

’If I had known Young Master Wu was so talented, I would have given him the saber art earlier to make his realm more stable.’

’Even though I’m injured, if I fought with my life on the line alongside Young Master Wu, we probably could have fought our way out of the Demon Corpse horde and protected my daughter from danger without a problem!’

’But now...’

Once bitten, twice shy. He had been afraid that Wu Chen would take the saber art and run, and as a result, he had delayed Wu Chen’s realm advancement.

And a realm advancement was always accompanied by unstable Qi and Blood, which needed to be solidified and condensed.

With countless Demon Corpses outside the village now, how could there possibly be time for Wu Chen to condense his Qi and Blood?

At this thought, Liu Linshan was so frustrated he nearly slapped his own thigh.

”Young Master Wu, you should eat more of the dry rations for the next couple of days. There’s no rush to travel. Let’s rest in this village for two days.”

Seeing Wu Chen get up, wave his hand, and signal for the father and daughter to get moving, Liu Linshan grew anxious.

He felt that Wu Chen was being too reckless, wanting to continue their journey right after a realm advancement, when his foundation was still unstable.

It wouldn’t be too late to travel after his realm stabilized!

Otherwise, if he rushed onto the road now, not only would his realm be unstable, but if he fought with Demon Corpses and damaged his Martial Arts foundation, that would be a true disaster!

”It is urgent, of course it’s urgent!” Wu Chen gripped the scabbard in his hand.

Beneath his gaunt exterior was a surging, torrential power.

Last night he could crush a Demon Corpse’s throat with one hand. Today, he felt that as long as he didn’t worry about the drain on his Qi Power, he could crush their heads with his bare hands without a problem.

But that was limited to today. After all, without three proper meals a day to replenish himself, his Qi Power would only diminish day by day.

”This...”

Liu Linshan hesitated, then finally reminded him cautiously, ”Young Master Wu, don’t you feel that after your realm advanced, your Qi and Blood scattered, aren’t condensed enough, and are temporarily difficult to control?”

Wu Chen was puzzled. He had powered up so many times, but he’d never once felt his Qi and Blood scatter.

’Maybe... everyone’s constitution is different?’

”Master Liu, perhaps I have the fabled constitution of a natural-born Martial Arts saint?”

Wu Chen didn’t know how to explain, so he could only pat Liu Linshan’s shoulder and gesture for him to relax.

”Don’t worry, Master Liu. Right now, even ten Demon Corpses wouldn’t be enough for me to cut down!”

Wu Chen wasn’t boasting; in fact, that was a conservative number.

Yesterday, at the Sixth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm, he could kill five Demon Corpses. If all Demon Corpses were at that level of strength,

then ten would be nothing, fifteen would be a trifle, and at twenty, he’d just have to crack a small smile.

So, in Wu Chen’s view, killing twenty of them in his current state was really not a big problem.

And that was even considering the need to protect the father and daughter.

Wu Chen spoke casually, but Liu Linshan’s legs felt a little weak:

’Ten? Do you have any idea what ten of them means?’

’This kid breaks through one minor realm and suddenly doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth!’

’Has he never heard that there’s always someone better, a sky beyond the sky?!’

’Even if he doesn’t understand that, he should at least consider the situation of my daughter and me!’

The old man and the young man just stared at each other.

Neither could understand the other.

Just as they were speaking, a rough shout suddenly echoed from far outside the door:

”Everyone, after a night of consideration, have you reached a decision?”

”Our rules haven’t changed! Each person just has to hand over one catty of grain, and Sun Sheng of the Red Sand Palm—Master Sun!”

”Will escort you south to escape the famine!”