Chapter 150: Bone Rebirth and Flesh Renewal (Monthly Ticket Bonus)

Losing teeth?!

Li Yuan was stunned.

In his understanding, humans had only two sets of teeth—baby teeth and permanent teeth—and after the baby teeth fell out, the permanent ones grew from within the bones.

Where had this new set of teeth grown from?

The thought flashed by, but Li Yuan no longer had time to worry about his toothache; his entire body erupted in a series of sharp, crackling pops.

His joints cracked as if each segment had shattered and then been reforged; his tendons tightened, then stretched inch by inch…

The violent transformation spread through his blood, qi, and the great circulation to every part of his body.

Tendons, bones, skin, flesh…

Throughout the process, Li Yuan could not influence it—he could only barely pull out one elixir after another and swallow them to accelerate the transformation of his root bones.

"Others aiming to refine a martial art to the point of altering their root bones need at least three to five years; the changes are subtle and gradual, never this violent…"

Li Yuan lay in the snow, suffering yet filled with anticipation.

The Thirteen Forms were already the pinnacle of root bones within a single prefecture or state—none of the current true disciples of Divine Weapon Valley possessed them.

"Squeak~"

Seeing Li Yuan motionless, the little mouse squealed and ran over, circling him frantically, clearly agitated.

Huh

After a long while, Li Yuan finally opened his eyes; the changes within his body had reached their end.

"That hurt!"

Li Yuan pulled out various elixirs, carefully selecting those of the "Bone Strengthening," "Tendon Transformation," "Blood Enrichment," and "Primordial Essence Replenishment" varieties to swallow.

Roughly one or two hours later, all his new teeth had fully grown in—apparently even more than before.

"Puff~"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, struggled to his feet, and found his limbs had grown longer; his formerly loose clothes now clung tightly, exposing his wrists and ankles.

His properly fitting boots had been split open, revealing all ten toes.

"Grew this much?"

Li Yuan stretched his tendons and bones, feeling he was at least one meter ninety tall—only half a head shorter than Qin Xiong in his prime.

He closed his eyes and sensed inwardly; every part of his body felt unblocked, his internal qi and blood flowing with perfect harmony, vibrant, fluid, and utterly exhilarating.

"Awesome!"

He touched his short hair, deeply pleased.

There was no pleasure in this world to rival the sheer euphoria of such a near-transcendent transformation—it was a fundamental elevation, a true anchoring of power within himself.

Huh!

After calming down for a long while, Li Yuan took up a heavy hammer and danced lightly through the snowstorm, moving from the Cloak Hammer to the Nine-Turn Tidal Hammer to the Martial Path Battle Hammer.

All these hammer techniques flowed effortlessly from his hands, devoid of any stiffness—he now moved like a true master of the hammer.

"Huh!"

Li Yuan lightly tapped his foot, his body swelling as if inflated, explosive power surging through every limb.

With full force unleashed, his physique grew even larger than during the Nine Forms; his tattered clothes tore apart with a sharp "rip."

The distant little mouse shrieked in alarm.

Crack!

Li Yuan flexed his five fingers, clenched his fist, and struck—producing a piercing whistle through the air; visible currents of wind howled past.

They whipped up the snow, leaving faint grooves on an old tree several meters away.

"Qi reaches three zhang, force erupts one chi. But with my explosive power, my internal force's lethal range should be about two meters?"

Li Yuan kicked and punched, waves of qi surging, continuous whistling sounds tearing through the air.

The Great Dragon Form's root bones differed from the Dragon Form; no deliberate activation was needed—every movement naturally drew upon his full body's strength, unleashing power surpassing his previous limits.

With every gesture, immense force accompanied him.

Not only strength, but speed and flexibility had also improved significantly; his physique was robust yet not bulky, powerful yet not stiff.

"This physique—aside from being aesthetically pleasing—has no flaws whatsoever."

Li Yuan looked at his hands: his fingers were long and thick, each joint brimming with tremendous power.

In this form, his height surpassed Qin Xiong's in his prime, and among all the people he'd seen, only Ba Wanli was taller.

"Two meters two… too tall. Compared to my senior brother, I look positively slender."

Li Yuan exhaled, his tendons and bones instantly relaxing, returning to his normal stature.

He flexed his five fingers, feeling the changes brought by completing the Great Dragon Form.

Not just speed and strength—his skin's resilience and instantaneous explosive power had all grown considerably.

More importantly, the various forms were beginning to merge into one; recalling Han Chui's fist set in the bamboo grove, Li Yuan fell into thought.

"The unification of all forms doesn't begin after the transformation—it must be consciously pursued from the very start, until the transformation is complete, only then can the forms unify."

Li Yuan pondered.

Over these past two months, every martial art he studied had advanced, and he hadn't neglected reading.

With Lei Jingchuan and Jin Shengwu—two experts who had fully cultivated their meridians—he naturally seized every chance to ask questions.

Though his internal strengthening was not yet complete, he now understood the various realms, especially internal strengthening and transformation, far more deeply.

"Force moves from outside to inside, weaving into a net among all internal organs; when force flows seamlessly between exterior and interior, internal strengthening is complete."

Li Yuan practiced with dual focus: while hammering, he closed his eyes and sensed the flow of internal qi through the great circulation.

From the body's surface inward, to the organs.

Internalizing force was a delicate art, demanding patience, as well as high insight and precise control over qi.

He excelled in multiple internal qi methods and had no shortage of elixirs; his progress far outpaced ordinary martial artists—within just three months, he had achieved what took most three years.

"By next spring, I'll complete internal strengthening."

Li Yuan pulled on a pair of shorts, lifted his hammer, and danced, releasing his joy.

The hammerhead cut through the wind with a low "woo-woo"; Li Yuan moved through the courtyard, stirring powerful air currents that whipped up vast clouds of snow and fallen leaves.

After a long while, he finally stopped.

"The Nine-Turn Tidal Hammer and Cloak Hammer share many similarities—both involve stacking force; the difference is, the former is denser, continuous, layered upon layer."

Li Yuan set down the hammer.

With his innate talent for hammer arts and the foundation of his perfected Cloak Hammer technique, he had reached proficiency in the Nine-Turn Tidal Hammer in just two months—unbelievably fast progress.

"Squeak~"

The little mouse climbed up his pant leg and perched on his shoulder.

"Its spiritual awareness keeps growing—could it even become a spirit?"

Gently stroking the creature's smooth fur, Li Yuan smiled and pulled out an elixir, tossing it to the little thing:

"I've heard rodent spirit beasts naturally possess treasure-detecting abilities—does this little one have that?"

Back inside, Li Yuan lit an oil lamp and studied himself in the mirror.

After completing the Thirteen Great Dragon Forms, his external appearance had changed noticeably—his shoulders, arms, spine, and waist had become more balanced and solid.

His facial features had grown sharper.

"Hmph, feels like a little facial tweaking?"

Li Yuan studied the bronze mirror, in good spirits; his external changes were minor compared to the massive internal transformation, yet far more immediately obvious.

After studying himself in the mirror for a long while, he still felt no sleepiness; he changed clothes, took out several catties of Red Dragon fish meat, and went to the kitchen for a simple cook.

As soon as it hit the pot, the aroma filled the air.

A few days ago, Liang Ashui had caught another Red Dragon fish—over ten catties—he bought it openly in front of everyone, so he could eat it without shame.

Though Red Dragon fish tasted delicious raw, a little cooking with seasonings made the flavor so potent it drifted for miles.

The little mouse squeaked wildly, hopping and jumping in hunger.

"Here, have some broth."

Li Yuan poured the mouse a bowl of broth and tossed in a few broken fish bones—he didn't have enough meat for himself.

The mouse didn't care; it dove headfirst into the bowl, squeaking excitedly.

"This taste—perfect."

Li Yuan squatted by the door, watching the drifting snow, slowly eating meat and drinking broth.

With martial arts to practice, books to read, hammers to strike, and Red Dragon fish meat every few days—he was thoroughly content.

Over these two months, disciples inside and outside Divine Weapon Valley either lived in fear or hunted assassins in groups; the battles were brutal.

In contrast, Li Yuan felt even more certain his earlier choice to reveal his talent and vie for the true disciple position had been correct.

In the martial world, who doesn't get cut?

During this time, he took on a flood of weapon-repair jobs; from the shattered blades, he could sense the ferocity of the fighting.

Fang Yunxiu had been injured multiple times, once nearly piercing her organs; Wu Ming and Yue Yunjin had joined one battle and were still bedridden—truly pitiful.

Even Feng Zhong had been ambushed and barely escaped losing an arm.

Those assassins and blade-seekers driven mad by bounties suffered even worse—over a hundred heads hung outside the Dragon's Lair City.

"The perks of a true disciple."

Li Yuan thought, stood up, ladled four bowls of fish broth, placed them on a tray, and stepped outside; he scanned the area and spotted several old soldiers nearby.

"Old Yu."

Li Yuan walked over and handed the broth to the old soldiers: "It's too windy out here—why not come inside and rest?"

Wind had stationed six veteran soldiers who had fully mastered the Form-Shifting Art to protect him; later, two were reassigned, leaving four still guarding him day and night.

"Little Li, you've thought of everything. We took this duty seriously—don't let our guard down. Rest easy; with us old brothers on watch, you've nothing to fear."

The veteran soldiers outside had long smelled the aroma; now they exchanged glances and smiled as they took the bowl:

"Red Dragon fish soup—I last drank this over twenty years ago."

"Little Li really knows how to treat people—he still remembers us old fellows. That stone-faced brat before? Not a single copper coin would he spend…"

"Hmph! Drink your soup. Honestly, with this flavor, no wonder it sells for so much!"

After over two months of living together, the veterans were no longer the stoic, silent men they once were; Li Yuan had learned much from them.

In talent, they were inferior, but when it came to Wu Gong—especially killing techniques—they had deep insights.

Especially their leader, Yu Jin, who had once commanded a company in the Divine Guard Army. Had he not lost an arm and suffered a collapse in his blood and qi, he would have been qualified to become an outer sect Elder—a formidable man indeed.

Li Yuan chatted amiably with the veteran soldiers.

Suddenly, one veteran raised his eyebrows; the other three set down their bowls and chopsticks. Li Yuan, half a beat late, finally heard the distant cry:

"Assassin!"

"Don't they fear death at all!"

Yu Jin licked his lips: "Old Wind is still too cautious. If it were me, I wouldn't need proof—I'd already have severed a dozen heads."

None of the veterans moved. Their duty was to protect Li Yuan—and in the entire inner island, only he was worth their intervention.

Li Yuan frowned slightly. Since Wind had taken the initiative to strike out, over a month had passed without a single assassination attempt on the inner island.

"Ah!"

Soon after, a scream echoed from nearby.

"Who?!"

Yu Jin flicked his wrist, sending a flying dagger into the bamboo grove. A metallic *clang* rang out, and a middle-aged man clad in heavy armor stepped forward.

"Senior Brother Li, I've slain the assassin."

The man bowed slightly and dropped the corpse at his feet; blood melted a large patch of snow:

"Elder Wind ordered us to protect you covertly…"

As he spoke, several young men clad in heavy armor emerged from the bamboo grove, bowed in armor, and addressed him as "Senior Brother Li," with great deference.

"Divine Guard Army?"

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes and asked: "Which company? Which squad?"

The Divine Guard Army numbered three thousand, divided into three companies—Jia, Yi, Bing—each with ten squads of a hundred men. Only those at least squad leaders could wear heavy armor.

"Senior Brother Li, we are from Bing Company, Sixth Squad…"

The middle-aged man bowed and replied.

"Bing Company?"

Li Yuan shook his head:

"Who are you really? Your intelligence is this poor? You didn't even know my sect master took Jia and Bing Companies with him when he left?"

"Attack!"

Before Li Yuan finished speaking, the armored men's expressions changed instantly—they lunged without hesitation.

The four veterans moved in unison to meet them.

Li Yuan stepped slowly backward: "Fine, your intel's bad—but your brains are worse too. You believed me just like that?"