High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Battling the Feathered People Again

Xu Wuyi nodded in satisfaction.

The effects of this Thunder Sound Bone Tempering Pill were even better than Anna had predicted.

Not only did it push his Life Energy Level directly to 18, but more importantly, it had given him a solid skeletal foundation—something that no amount of accumulated Qi and Blood could trade for.

The sense of improvement from successfully tempering his bones was so significant that an irrepressible thought surfaced in Xu Wuyi’s mind:

’If I fought the Feathered People from the eighth stage in my current state, what would the outcome be?’

Once the thought took root, it grew like a weed.

Without much hesitation, he turned and walked back toward the Virtual Pod.

His consciousness connected, and he entered the Star Martial Battle Network.

He navigated to the entrance of the Star Beast Hunting Ground with ease. To his slight surprise, the gate of light at the entrance was still lit; it hadn’t closed just because he had cleared the stage.

However, the glowing leaderboard that had caused so much discussion had dimmed and vanished.

’It seems you can re-enter after clearing it,’ Xu Wuyi realized. ’It just loses its competitive ranking purpose and becomes a place for pure self-training.’ This was exactly what he wanted.

He hadn’t come for empty fame in the first place.

He selected the eighth stage. The scene shifted, and the dark cave and its dreary, ghostly blue light enveloped him once more.

”Stage Eight Challenge Target: Feathered People (1). Clear Condition: Kill the Feathered People within ten minutes.”

The system notification sounded as before.

The next moment, a familiar screech echoed from high above.

A huge, dark silhouette glided down and landed on a massive rock. Its dark-green scales reflected a cold light, and its bright yellow, vertical pupils locked onto him with icy intent.

It was the same oppressive posture, a perfect fusion of offense and defense, dominating the air.

But this time, Xu Wuyi’s state of mind was completely different.

The Feathered People vibrated its wings and tried the same trick again, hovering low as the bone spur on its right arm became a gray blur, stabbing viciously downward!

Xu Wuyi’s eyes were calm. With a subtle activation of his Instant Shadow Step, his body slid sideways like a phantom, dodging the sharp bone spur by a hair’s breadth.

Compared to his pathetic state last time, his evasion now seemed effortless.

His tempered bones not only gave him stronger support and resilience but also elevated his control over his body to a new level.

His Qi and Blood coursed through tougher ”channels.” Wherever his mind willed, his power arrived instantly, without the slightest lag.

Missing its first strike, the Feathered People followed through with a horizontal sweep of its fleshy shield-arm.

This time, Xu Wuyi didn’t block it head-on. Instead, he twisted at the waist, and his longspear shot out, striking with pinpoint accuracy at the point on the shield’s edge where the force originated.

BAM!

With a muffled thud, the creature’s downward momentum was deflected by this clever force, and its massive body destabilized for a moment.

’Now’s my chance!’

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Wuyi’s eyes. He instantly activated Melting Furnace Boiling Blood. The crimson Qi and Blood surged, but he felt it was easier than ever before, the strain far less.

He stomped his feet hard, leaving faint imprints on the rocky ground, and used the force to launch himself into the air, proactively closing the distance with the Feathered People!

The crimson glow of Furnace Flame flared on his longspear. It was no longer a simple application of Power; within that crimson light, there was a faint trace of Divine Charm from his Heart Fire, causing the surrounding air to shimmer and distort.

The Feathered People clearly hadn’t expected Xu Wuyi to dare to approach it. A flash of offended fury crossed its yellow vertical pupils as its bone spur moved to defend and its shield-arm desperately tried to adjust.

But Xu Wuyi’s speed was too great, his Power too condensed!

PFFT!

At an extremely tricky angle, the crimson longspear bypassed the shield’s defensive arc and stabbed viciously into the joint at the base of the Feathered People’s folded fleshy wing!

SKREEE—!

The intense pain made the Feathered People let out a sharp, miserable shriek as green fluid sprayed out.

It struggled frantically, trying to flap its wings and fly away, but the damaged wing contorted its movements, causing it to lose altitude involuntarily.

Xu Wuyi pressed his advantage relentlessly. The moment he landed, he attacked without pause, his longspear striking like a raging tempest.

Every stab, sweep, and smash contained far more Qi and Blood Power than before.

After Bone Tempering, even at the same Energy Level, his explosive power, endurance, and fine control over his strength had all taken a quantum leap.

The Feathered People’s shield was still sturdy, but under Xu Wuyi’s continuous, heavy-handed assault, it began to tremble violently. Fine cracks even started to appear on its surface.

It had lost its most crucial advantage—mobility—and with its Spirit constantly being disrupted by Heart Fire, it was now completely on the defensive.

In less than three minutes.

Xu Wuyi seized an opening. His longspear, like a bolt of crimson lightning, pierced through the vital spot on the creature’s neck, which it had exposed in its rage.

Furnace Flame’s Triple Power erupted!

The Feathered People’s screeching stopped abruptly. Its massive body crashed to the ground and dissipated into white light.

”Stage Eight cleared. Time elapsed: 2 minutes, 58 seconds.”

The system notification sounded.

Xu Wuyi slowly retracted his spear, his breathing steady.

Compared to last time’s victory through wits and trading injury for life, this was a complete domination of pure power, speed, and skill.

’So Bone Tempering increases one’s strength this dramatically.’

Feeling the Qi and Blood that still surged within him yet obeyed his every command, he gained a deeper appreciation for the effects of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace and the Thunder Sound Bone Tempering Pill.

After exiting the Battle Network, Xu Wuyi didn’t slack off in the slightest. He integrated this tangible sense of improvement into his unwavering daily training regimen.

...

Time flew by in a state of concentration, and soon it was late September.

The courses at Star Martial University began to unfold, opening the gates to a higher sanctuary of Martial Arts for these new geniuses.

Tuesday morning. The *Body Refining Basics* class.

This was a mandatory course conducted on the Battle Network, held in a virtual tiered lecture hall large enough to accommodate several hundred people.

When Xu Wuyi arrived, the classroom was already more than half full. The students’ auras were a mixed bag, but all of them radiated a vigorous, youthful energy.

Everyone seated here was a genius from their respective region, and most were quite confident in the Body Refining foundation they had built during their time in the Martial Disciple Stage.

Xu Wuyi found a seat near the front and waited quietly. He noticed that Shen Wei, Yu Peiling, and others were also seated nearby in the front rows.

The class bell rang, and a figure appeared silently on the lecture stage.

He was a man who looked to be in his thirties, with an ordinary face but exceptionally bright and spirited eyes, dressed in a simple gray training uniform.

He made no superfluous movements or remarks. Just by standing there, he naturally exuded an aura of profound stability, like a deep pool or a towering mountain, as if he were one with his surroundings.

”My surname is Han. Han Mo. I’m in charge of this course, *Body Refining Basics*.” The man’s voice was calm, yet it carried clearly to every student’s ears.

He wasted no time on pleasantries and got straight to the point, tapping a finger on the virtual screen.

Instantly, an extremely complex and minutely detailed 3D diagram of the human body’s Qi and Blood circulation appeared on the screen.

On the diagram, major meridians, minor meridians, micro-vessels, Qi and Blood nodes, energy convergence points... they were all densely packed and crisscrossed in a way that made one’s scalp tingle.