Chapter 130: 129. A Terrifying Punch

129. Chapter 129: A Terrifying Punch

The next day.

Everyone slept late, not rising until around ten in the morning; for once, Master Zhao Ge did not urge his disciples to get up—he wanted them to rest longer, given how they had been fleeing for their lives without proper rest.

But Li Yi woke early.

His White Bone Contemplation cultivation technique naturally reduced the need for sleep, allowing him to remain alert without sleeping.

A night of cultivation brought little improvement for Li Yi now—only a lighter feeling in his body, and the discomfort from yesterday’s tendon-stretching had vanished, clearly because his body had memorized the sensation of tendon training.

The Eight Treasures Deer, having benefited from a night’s rest and nourishing broth, was much more spirited, its strength restored; though still emaciated, it moved nimbly, even leaping over thresholds.

This was a remarkable change—if it continued, within one or two months, it could be fully restored.

But Li Yi had neither the time nor the resources to feed it—he had other matters to attend to.

In the kitchen.

Smoke rose early; Zhao Ge had stayed up all night, instructing the butcher to slaughter three yellow sheep at dawn and stew them in a large pot. Now that the disciples had just risen, the mutton was nearly ready to eat.

He sat on a stone in the courtyard, sipping hot mutton broth, savoring this rare moment of ease.

As he drank, Zhao Ge also guided Li Yi’s cultivation.

Li Yi stood in the courtyard in a thin T-shirt, cultivating the third realm of martial arts: Bone Training.

Bone Training means refining the entire human skeleton—to make it both resilient and flexible, capable of mobilizing skeletal strength at will. The hardest part is not the method, but the nourishment.

Because these people are born deficient, their bones fail to develop robustly, requiring postnatal nourishment.

Though nourishment methods vary, they all boil down to two words: eat more.

Some eat meat, some take medicine, some drink tonic soups—all aiming to strengthen the bones as much as possible, for this directly affects the path of Marrow Refinement and Blood Replacement. If Bone Training is poorly done, one’s entire cultivation will be capped; one will never break through to the Middle Ranks of Martial Artist in life.

But Li Yi did not need to nourish his bones.

He was an Evolver; after his body’s transformation, his bones had become unnaturally resilient. As his master Zhao Ge put it, he was born with Dragon Tendons and Tiger Bones—able to skip the nourishment stage entirely and begin Bone Training immediately.

Li Yi now moved like a fierce tiger, stretching his sinews and bones; his skeleton writhed, emitting crisp snaps. Some training methods were peculiar—for instance, when refining the spine, he used skin and sinew to slowly stretch each vertebra apart, then used a unique force method to gradually close them again.

Repeating this until he could freely control the spine’s tension and relaxation meant minor mastery.

He had tried it: when his spine was stretched, his height changed. His master had said some Bone Trainers knew the Art of Bone Adjustment and Face Transformation, altering their height and appearance by rearranging bones.

But moving bones was dangerous. Without guidance and a strong physique, attempting the Tiger Bone Great Training method easily injured oneself. Once sinews or bones were damaged, months of recovery were needed—add nourishment time, and it stretched even longer.

Thus, Bone Training consumed time, energy, and money. Even those with good talent needed years to achieve mastery.

Hence, most martial artists were stuck at this stage.

To reach Bone Training already marked one as a capable hand, a core force in any martial school.

Even with his exceptional talent, Li Yi moved cautiously during bone training—he did not want to accidentally paralyze himself.

But with Zhao Ge present, even if Li Yi’s bones shifted out of place, Zhao Ge could reset them.

That was the advantage of having a master.

Zhao Ge understood Bone Training was not easy, so he planned to spend two, even three or four days guiding Li Yi slowly—this was the final step; haste was forbidden.

Everyone waited for Li Yi to retrain his sinews, bones, and skin, fully unleashing his divine strength.

Only then would they have the courage to return to San Yang City for revenge.

While Li Yi trained, others were not idle. Zhao Ge sent Skinny Monkey to lurk near You Shui Town to check for pursuing enemies; Zhao Qian, meanwhile, practiced shooting with a sniper rifle, though ammunition was scarce, making live-fire practice impossible.

Still, Zhao Qian trained her grip, steadied the rifle, practiced aiming, and loaded rounds faster—eventually, she began disassembling and reassembling the rifle herself.

Several times, she could not reassemble the rifle, until Li Yi took a break to guide her.

After a few familiarizations, Zhao Qian nearly mastered the Superb M200 sniper rifle—if given more ammunition, she could become an excellent sniper.

Rong Niang, her arm still injured, was recovering. She did little but handle minor chores: feeding horses, stewing mutton, washing clothes for others, occasionally going out to buy daily necessities.

After a day of cultivation ended.

Li Yi had not completed Bone Training, but Zhao Ge was delighted—he no longer needed to guide him; Li Yi had memorized the method and executed it flawlessly.

The reason Bone Training was incomplete was not lack of talent, but lack of time.

That night, everyone gathered again, happily eating stewed mutton.

Today, everyone’s spirit was far better; even Zhao Ge’s white hair now showed streaks of black, his wrinkles lessened—clearly, his blood and qi had been restored.

“Meng De, rise early tomorrow and continue training. Rong Niang will stand watch tonight,” Zhao Ge said after finishing his meal, set down his chopsticks, yawned, and went to sleep.

The third day.

Everyone continued resting, adjusting their state, preparing for the coming event—everyone knew Li Yi’s cultivation speed was rapid; Bone Training would not take long, likely ending within these next few days.

In fact, Li Yi achieved complete Bone Training earlier than expected.

On the morning of the fourth day.

After a night of White Bone Contemplation cultivation, Li Yi walked out of his room, alert and refreshed, and said his first words: “Master, I’ve completed Bone Training.”

In the courtyard, Zhao Ge, as usual, had risen early, holding a bowl of mutton broth in one hand and a lamb leg in the other, eating breakfast. He froze at Li Yi’s words.

“Already completed Bone Training?” he exclaimed.

Last night, when Li Yi ended his session, his Bone Training was still incomplete—yet now, after sleep, it was done.

Li Yi nodded: “Master, after a night’s rest, my body adapted to the changes of Bone Training, so it naturally succeeded. Now I can skillfully use skin, sinew, and bone to pull bones, generating new power. After this training, I feel forces I never mobilized before are now fully active.”

“Sinew, bone, skin—unified. I seem to have undergone a new transformation and breakthrough.”

Zhao Ge immediately set down his bowl and chopsticks: “Good. Demonstrate the Tiger and Leopard Sinew-Bone Great Training postures. Let me inspect you.”

“No problem.”

Li Yi immediately performed.

His body was now supple and fierce, like a tiger or leopard stretching its sinews and bones. As he stretched, his physique subtly changed—his frame grew longer, his height noticeably altered. Yet when he finished, his body returned to normal. During the performance, his skin and flesh rippled like water, slowly undulating, radiating harmonious beauty.

Laymen saw spectacle; experts saw the method.

As his master, Zhao Ge needed only one glance—he knew Li Yi’s Tiger and Leopard Sinew-Bone Great Training had reached an extremely high level: skin, sinew, and bone fused into one, capable of moving the entire body with a single twitch.

“Excellent. This is the posture of complete Bone Training,” Zhao Ge’s face lit up. He didn’t even need to see—he could judge Li Yi’s level by the sound of his bones writhing.

In high-difficulty sinew-bone stretches, if Bone Training was incomplete, bones would collide, producing sharp clicks.

But Li Yi made none.

Sinew and bone moved in perfect harmony—not a single bone sound echoed.

“With Bone Training complete, your latent potential is unlocked. Now, try to mobilize all your sinew, bone, and skin power, assume a fist stance, and strike with your full strength. Let me see how powerful your divine force has become—can it cross three realms and kill a Meridian Martial Artist?”

Zhao Ge grew excited. He had waited days for this moment.

“Alright.”

Li Yi took a deep breath, adjusted his state, then crouched slightly, assuming the core fist stance of the Zhao Family Martial School.

He closed his eyes, focusing on the subtle changes within his body.

At the same moment, his Spiritual Sense activated—these past days, his body had stabilized, and mastering Spiritual Sense came naturally.

Now, everything around him lay within his perception; even the faintest trace could be detected. In this state, ambush was nearly impossible—only direct combat could kill a Spiritual Sense cultivator; no trickery would work.

After a brief adjustment.

Li Yi suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze glowed, pupils vertical, uncanny. A terrifying force surged from his powerful, towering frame.

Sinews stretched, skin rippled, every bone in his body shifted.

Sinew, bone, skin unified—mobilizing the entire human body’s power.

This force, guided by the fist stance, converged into one point.

“Here it comes.”

Zhao Ge’s expression changed—he stepped back several paces.

Before Li Yi even began his strike, energy swirled around him. An invisible ripple spread outward, sweeping dust away. The thick blue stone ground beneath him cracked rapidly—cracks spiderwebbed from his center, radiating in all directions.

As the power erupted, Zhao Ge felt as if a true dragon had awakened. The gap in life-tier between them shook his spirit—this Meridian Martial Artist himself had to retreat.

At that moment,

Li Yi raised his hand and delivered a punch. An unimaginable, terrifying divine force condensed from his Spiritual Sense body and exploded outward.

Instantly,

Zhao Ge felt his head ring, his ears deafened. Then his pupils shrank in shock—he saw something impossible.

Around Li Yi’s fist, a ring of white vapor coiled, as if shattering the vacuum. Everything nearby was overturned by this divine force.

“Boom~!”

A thunderclap roared, like the Thunder God swinging his hammer beside the ear. A violent, suffocating gust surged outward—where the wind passed, courtyard stones trembled, as if ready to be ripped away.

Though the punch struck empty air, the force remained concentrated, extending nearly ten feet before dissipating completely.

Such a punch—no martial artist in the Four Seas and Eight Provinces would ever surpass it.

Zhao Ge stood frozen for a long time, then his face flushed crimson with excitement.