Chapter 25: Deep in the Dense Forest, the Scent of Blood Rises in the Night

The "Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art" offered benefits, but they were only temporary. The immense pressure exerted by the original version of the technique would crush one's physique, likely leaving no room for further martial progress before the Martial Sect Academy examinations. However, it was a pity that they could not have anticipated his ability to refine all things, which allowed him to easily bypass these flaws.

Beyond the "Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art," Lu Xiao possessed another manual given to him by Xue Shiwei. She herself was unsure of its contents and could not make sense of it, so giving it to him was merely a gamble. On the night Lu Xiao received it, he had tried to see what color its name would reveal. Exhausted that day, he felt as if his vitality were being drained away while he focused on it, causing him to pass out before he could see the name. After that night, Lu Xiao realized the manual was extraordinary and decided to attempt it again only after his physical strength had improved.

For now, he turned his attention to the "Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art." There was a saying: "Without a dragon's body, do not study the dragon's art." A sect's core techniques were usually not easily shown to outsiders, but Dragon King Mountain was an exception. Their core techniques were not hard to acquire; with a bit of money, anyone could obtain them. For a top-tier sect, this was quite strange, but the reason was that others simply could not master them. The core of Dragon King Mountain lay in how they cultivated their disciples' physical constitutions. Their techniques were brutal when tempering the body; to put it plainly, practicing them was akin to being relentlessly attacked by a powerful martial artist. To gain any benefit, one had to withstand this onslaught. Within the sect, there were special methods to train the physique, creating a "dragon body" far stronger than that of an average warrior—a prerequisite for practicing the "Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art."

However, the version before Lu Xiao had changed after his refining. As he focused his mind, a thought flickered. The small text "[Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art +1]" shifted repeatedly until it settled on "[Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art +3]." The content within the manual became profoundly deeper.

The first stage of refining provided restoration and correction; the second stage was sublimation; and the third stage, in addition to improvement, optimized the technique for easier learning. Once refined to the third stage, the "Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art" became simple and easy to understand, while its profound mysteries were significantly enhanced.

Strictly speaking, the "Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art" was a protective technique rather than a meditative one for internal cultivation. It was intended for use during combat, condensing blood energy into a protective shield. Lu Xiao leaned against the headboard, studying its nuances. Though it was a protective art, it differed from others. Its essence lay in using blood energy to form a shield for self-preservation. Practicing it required tempering the body and enhancing it significantly. Since blood energy originated from the muscles and bones, the most direct benefit of this technique was the strengthening of the practitioner’s frame. Thus, while it appeared to be merely a defensive art, it actually provided massive physical gains, similar to the benefits of the "Gang Qi Heart Method."

Lu Xiao scanned the manual. After being refined to the third stage, the difficulty of learning the technique had dropped significantly; he understood the meaning almost as soon as he read it. While the improvement from the third stage of refining might seem subtle—especially since Lu Xiao’s natural comprehension was already high enough to grasp it—the practical application was remarkably effective, saving him a great deal of time.

Since the "Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art" could enhance physical strength, Lu Xiao decided to dedicate time to it. If it were purely defensive, he might have neglected it given his tight schedule, but its potential to build his physique made it worth the effort. The "Gang Qi Heart Method" used boxing to temper the body, but its effects on blood and physical constitution were not obvious; its core lay in gathering, controlling, and transforming Gang Qi. Physically, it was a weakness.

As night fell, Lu Xiao began his practice. The people in the Marquis's estate had their own affairs and could not watch him every hour of the day. Furthermore, the Old Madam had warned them that while they could hinder Lu Xiao, they should not overdo it. The estate feared that if pushed too far, Lu Xiao might prefer to die rather than surrender his spiritual bone; thus, they left him some breathing room. Of course, to the people of the estate, Lu Xiao’s practice was nothing more than child’s play. The "Gang Qi Heart Method" was a technique even the farmers of the Great Xia Dynasty looked down upon; no matter how hard he practiced, they felt it was meaningless. They saw no chance for him, yet Lu Xiao felt his opportunity was immense.

In the dense forest north of the estate, Lu Xiao began practicing the "Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art." Just as Wu Shanlong had said, the techniques of Dragon King Mountain were aggressive. This was true not only when executing the technique but also during the training process. As he began, a layer of blood energy seeped out from his skin. His skin seemed to crack, and blood oozed out. The pain came from every part of his body, so intense he did not know which area to focus on enduring. The worst part was that the pain seemed relentless; from the moment he began, it never ceased.

Lu Xiao’s willpower was formidable. Having survived various life-threatening crises, this level of pain was not enough to break him. The blood from his cracked skin initially stained his inner robes a dark red. But as he continued to practice and began to master the technique, a change occurred. The seeping blood turned into blood energy before it could even touch his clothes. The "Dragon Blood Body Tempering Art" used one's own blood energy as a protective force. The so-called "dragon blood" was, in truth, one's own lifeblood. A warrior who could master this technique was one who possessed a dragon's body, hence the name.

At this moment, Lu Xiao finally understood the origin of the technique. With the manual refined to the third stage, his speed of study and practice exceeded his own expectations. The technique consisted of three layers. The first layer was to temper the body and build blood energy; although it could produce energy, it only offered shallow protection. The primary purpose of the first layer was to boost the practitioner's constitution and the fullness of their blood and vitality.