Chapter 282: I

Liu Ran retracted her fist, her aura instantly condensing; once the gale ceased, she continued:

"Just now, when I threw that punch, it was pure force—only when skin, tendons, muscles, and bones work in unison can the force become powerful."

"There's also an additional piercing force; when this power combines with bodily strength and strikes flesh, muscles, blood vessels, and organs shatter instantly."

Even skin as hard as steel can be penetrated.

"The same applies when wielding weapons—when force vibrates and flows through tendons and bones, its destructive power increases."

"Thus, upon reaching the Bone Cultivation realm, a martial artist's strength surges dramatically, widening the gap between them and lower-rank warriors."

After Liu Ran finished, Lin Qi deeply understood—he couldn't help recalling the assassin who tried to kill him during the Spring Festival.

The man was a fourth-rank warrior; during their clash, Lin Qi had felt the sheer destructive power of his force was unnaturally strong.

It had inflicted massive damage to his arm's tendons and muscles; had his physique not been extraordinary, with steel-like bones and iron-like flesh, he might have been killed instantly.

"Of course, in the fourth realm, there's another significant change."

Liu Ran continued:

"That is, force detaching from the body."

"Force detaching from the body?" Jiang Tao blurted out in confusion.

"Precisely—force detaching from the body!" Liu Ran nodded, then extended her finger and flicked the air.

Jiang Tao felt as if a marble had struck his face; Lin Qi saw a red mark appear on Jiang Tao's cheek—a painfully real sensation.

Liu Ran flicked again.

Guanshan, Wang Wang Qiufeng, and even Lin Qi all felt something strike their faces, slightly painful.

"Is this force detaching from the body? Amazing!" Jiang Tao touched his stinging cheek in awe.

Lin Qi suddenly recalled: during his battle with that assassin, he'd noticed the man's force could leave his body—even when Lin Qi dodged by several centimeters.

He'd assumed it was some unique trait of the assassin's force, never realizing this was a universal ability of all fourth-rank warriors: "force detaching from the body."

Liu Ran raised her hand; around her fingers, the air rippled with vibrations. She spoke again:

"After breaking through to the fourth realm—Bone Cultivation—our bones grow stronger and harder. As I said before, we can now coordinate skin, tendons, muscles, and bones to generate unified force."

"Body vibrations produce far greater force, but it still remains bound to weapons, or within bones and flesh."

"Decades ago, Emperor Chi discovered that the source energy absorbed into our bodies could fuse with force."

"When force erupts and bones and flesh vibrate, fused with source energy as the medium, force can be expelled beyond the body."

"This is what we call force detaching from the body."

"Force detaching from the body enhances a technique's destructive power, penetration, and range."

"As physical condition improves and blood qi increases, bones become harder than iron, and the range and destructive power of force continue to grow."

"Eventually, force can even coalesce into tangible form, granting the ability to attack calamity beasts from afar," Liu Ran said.

Everyone fell into silent imagination.

"But fusing force and source energy is extremely difficult," someone shook their head.

"It took me twenty days just to figure out how to fuse source energy and force."

"I spent a full month to master it!"

"I took twenty-one days!"

"Ding Ding Danxuan seemed to take the least time—less than half a month to master it," someone added.

Several glanced at Ding Ding Danxuan with envy—such was the genius of the academy head.

Ding Ding Danxuan, sensing their stares, straightened her long neck and smiled faintly:

"To be precise, thirteen and a half days. Even that's slow for me."

Listening nearby, Lin Qi's expression grew peculiar—force fused with source energy?

Was it the same thing he knew?

Hadn't he already mastered it in the third realm? Had he skipped a step?

Others needed half a month or a full month—he'd done it in two and a half days?

Should he say something?

No—he'd never be believed. Better not crush their confidence.

"Having explained the benefits of Bone Cultivation, now we'll discuss cultivation methods for the fourth realm."

Liu Ran switched the yellow metal sphere's projection to a human figure seated in lotus posture, surrounded by glowing dots—all knew these were source energy.

Behind the figure, a massive ape-like calamity beast appeared in silhouette.

"After breaking through to the fourth realm—Bone Cultivation—our martial path refines blood qi values. To reach the fifth realm, you need far more blood qi."

"Blood qi exceeding 100 marks the fourth realm; to reach the fifth, you need 400—300 more than before."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tao, Guanshan, and Wang Wang Qiufeng all took deep breaths.

The 60 blood qi required for the third realm had already been grueling; this additional 300 was five times that.

None had ever seen such high blood qi values.

Ding Ding Danxuan nodded—she was the current head of the Sixth Academy, having broken into the fourth realm as a freshman.

Yet now she remained stuck in early fourth realm, still far from its late stage.

Liu Ran spoke slowly:

!

"As blood qi increases, progress becomes ever harder. Long ago, our Blue Star martial artists discovered this problem."

"Thus, intermediate source energy scriptures emerged—specifically designed for mid-rank martial artists."

"For you top-tier geniuses, you must train new source energy scriptures to boost cultivation efficiency."

"That's only one part. The other is using resources tailored for Bone Cultivation."

"Our Xia Nation's martial path has developed for 47 years—each of the nine realms has dedicated cultivation resources."

"But prices rise accordingly."

Everyone nodded—without money, without resources, relying solely on talent made cultivation painfully slow.

…

Minutes later, Liu Ran dismissed the projection and looked around:

"That's all for today's lesson. Those with questions may stay; others may return to your dorms."

"Goodbye, Teacher!"

Only three among them remained.

The rest bid farewell and departed.

"Teacher, how long do you think Lin Qi will need to master force detaching from the body?"

Ding Ding Danxuan stepped closer and asked curiously.

"I'd guess about ten days," said a third-year male student.

"I agree."

Liu Ran recalled the sensation Lin Qi had given her—being a high-rank warrior, her perception was sharper.

Lin Qi was unlike any student she'd ever taught.

She shook her head: "Lin Qi isn't like other geniuses. Ten days is too long—seven or eight days."

…

After class ended.

Lin Qi, Jiang Tao, Guanshan, and Wang Wang Qiufeng left Cangjing Tower, each boarding an electric tram back to their dorms.

"Qi Ge, I didn't expect you to break into the fourth realm so fast."

"Ding Ding Danxuan was last year's head of our Six Academies. Even with her talent, it took her thirteen days to fuse force and source energy—to achieve force detaching from the body."

"With your incredible talent, wouldn't you cut that time in half? Six to seven days should be enough?"

Jiang Tao said; Guanshan and Wang Wang Qiufeng nodded in agreement.

Lin Qi looked at the three, hesitated, then spoke:

"What if I told you I mastered the fusion of force and source energy back in the third realm—would you believe me?"

…

(End of Chapter)