Chapter 12: Two Years of Tempering Bones

Half a month later, all thirty "geniuses" who had entered the academy as martial examination scholars this year had arrived. At Seekers’ Academy, there were dedicated instructors to teach the unified "Bone Tempering" method, and blood-replenishing elixirs were prescribed for each according to their unique physique and inner strength.

"As expected, the difficulty has increased sharply!" Over the following month, Li Jian devoted himself wholly, almost to the point of forgetting himself. Just as he’d anticipated, the "Bone Tempering" stage was leagues more difficult than "Skin Grinding" or "Flesh Reinforcement." The method alone required the circulation of blood and energy through two hundred and six pathways, where neither sequence nor dosage could suffer the slightest error.

During the previous stages, the energy he refined through the "Golden Strength Technique" was more than sufficient—what he lacked was only time to nurture and cleanse his body. But at the Bone Tempering stage, the energy refined by the Golden Strength Technique alone was already insufficient to nourish and stimulate his bones. In a single day, he could only complete three full cycles of bone nourishment. At that rate, even ten years might not suffice to master Bone Tempering!

"Both insight and innate constitution are indispensable! My roots are still lacking. If I possessed the Dragon-Tiger constitution, perhaps the energy I could refine would be enough for at least five cycles a day."

"Do my best! With external supplements, I should be able to halve the time needed."

Having recognized the realities, Li Jian felt no discouragement. After all, he had external supplements at his disposal—not only the academy’s required elixirs, but also the considerable fortune of six thousand taels of silver to support higher-grade medicine.

And even if, in this life, he was fated never to become a true immortal candidate, he would at least accumulate experience for the next, laying a solid foundation.

"Junior brother, come try this! My mother sent me new sweets again," Ning Yutan approached, holding a plate of exquisite pastries.

Li Jian couldn’t help but smile. He had made it quite clear that day that he would not become a prize for the two girls to compete over. Yet, contrary to his expectation, his refusal only seemed to intensify their rivalry.

These days, Ning Yutan was even more proactive. Even Ning Sujin had begun to let down her guard a little.

"Li Jian, I’ve almost fully grasped the Bone Tempering method. If you have any questions, you can ask me."

Li Jian let things take their natural course. Only time would reveal how relationships would develop; he simply needed to remain true to himself—honest, upright, neither deceitful nor malicious, and never to become an enemy.

"Third Miss, I appreciate your kindness, but I feel my energy is lacking. I’ve actually arranged for someone to purchase blood and flesh of a rare beast for me; it should arrive shortly, so I won’t indulge for now."

"First Miss, to be honest, I’ve already managed to understand all two hundred and six aspects of the Bone Tempering method a couple of days ago."

Li Jian answered each in turn. By now, the identities of the two girls were widely known in the martial academy, and everyone referred to them as such.

"Blood and flesh of a rare beast!" Ning Yutan’s mouth formed a perfect O in astonishment.

In her efforts to win Li Jian over, she had investigated his background: an orphan raised in a county temple. Blood and flesh of rare beasts were both scarce and exorbitant—the cheapest costing at least a hundred taels of silver. To maximize blood and energy replenishment, one had to drink the blood raw and eat the flesh uncooked—a wild, almost savage practice that sent shivers down her spine at the mere thought.

Most students, with access to nourishing elixirs, rarely supplemented with such bestial fare. Her understanding of Li Jian deepened once more.

"Such remarkable insight! No wonder, even with inferior innate roots compared to mine, you still placed second in the martial examination," Ning Sujin exclaimed, eyes wide with disbelief.

She had always been gifted, able to keep pace in martial pursuits with Ning Yutan, whose roots were superior and who had taken marrow-cleansing elixirs. Yet, before Li Jian, she found herself thoroughly outmatched.

In an instant, her feelings toward him subtly shifted—from the initial urge to compete with Ning Yutan to something more complex. A young woman’s admiration for strength was instinctive.

Looking closer, she realized that beyond his tall figure and handsome features, Li Jian possessed a unique aura—calm, serene, and quietly comforting.

At the same time, Li Jian couldn’t help but marvel at Ning Sujin’s own innate perception. It was almost on par with his, despite his having been reborn four times.

After a day’s training, Li Jian returned to his No. 1 courtyard and saw Xiao Wu from afar, carrying a marten with lustrous purple-gold fur.

The Purple-Gold Marten—a first-rank rare beast, renowned for replenishing blood and energy—cost at least two hundred taels of silver and was difficult for ordinary people to acquire. Fortunately, Xiao Wu held the position of constable, so Li Jian had entrusted him with the purchase.

Ning Yutan, seeing him from a distance, hurried over. Though invited, she only dared peer in from outside as Li Jian ate the flesh raw and drank the blood, covering her eyes and mouth in horror before fleeing, heart pounding.

Wildness and ruthlessness—a resolve to seek immortality at any cost! Dangerous, yet it made her all the more curious and awed.

"The effect is indeed good, but… my current body can hardly endure it. Once every three months is my limit," Li Jian thought, feeling the surging energy within his body, tinged with disappointment.

In the days that followed, the two girls’ attitudes toward him subtly changed—save for their rivalry, which grew increasingly intense.

Two years slipped by, marked by Li Jian’s sweat and the girls’ open and covert contest.

"Big Brother Li, I’ve finished Bone Tempering and can start changing my blood!" One day, Ning Yutan ran up to him, brimming with excitement, eager to share her news.

Li Jian was quietly astonished. Two years had passed, and despite relentless effort, plus the aid of elixirs and rare beast blood, his progress in Bone Tempering was just seventy percent. At this rate, it would take another year and a half to reach completion.

"Truly a monster of talent!"

"Hey! I’m not a monster, Big Brother Li—say something nicer," Ning Yutan blinked playfully.

Though two years older, and nearly seventeen, she had become even more mischievous and endearing before Li Jian, acting cute whenever she could.

"A prodigy! An unmatched prodigy!" Li Jian corrected himself.

"Hehe. Big Brother Li flatters me. Compared to the true talents in the Imperial Capital, I’m still lacking. My father said that last year, someone completed Bone Tempering in just one year." As she spoke, she turned her gaze deliberately toward Ning Sujin, raising her voice so she could hear.

"Enough! I’m done training—where did this annoying fly come from?" Ning Sujin kicked over the stone mill in front of her and stormed off, clearly provoked.

Her own progress in Bone Tempering was only slightly ahead of Li Jian’s, at around eighty percent, and she estimated she’d need another year to complete it.

"Jealous! Big Brother Li, she’s jealous of me," Ning Yutan complained, her face a picture of aggrieved delight.

Li Jian, as always, smiled, shook his head, and walked away, never getting involved in their battles.

Back at his small courtyard, the servant delivered two letters.

"My senior’s letters are coming more and more frequently," he mused. With age, nostalgia grew. Liu Deshan once wrote every six months; now, it was every three. His care was undiminished, but now tinged with a bit of gentle nagging.

In his previous life, Liu Deshan was five years his senior; now, at fifty-four, he was old by the standards of this world. Overweight, never having practiced martial arts for health, it was uncertain whether he’d live to sixty.

As for Qingyun’s letter, it was perfunctory, inconsistent, likely written at Liu Deshan’s urging. At seventeen or eighteen, it was only natural for a youth to be carefree, not yet touched by the pain of parting or the weight of longing—especially one as heartless as Qingyun.

After replying sincerely to his senior, Li Jian didn’t bother wasting words on Qingyun. Instead, he simply sent him the manuscript of the "Dragon Lock Secret Technique" that Xiao Wu had once passed to him—a method he’d stumbled upon by chance in a previous life. By circulating energy repeatedly through the perineum and guarding the essence, it helped nourish the vital force and preserve one’s strength, even for ordinary people who hadn’t yet kindled their inner energy.

In his past life, he’d given it to Xiao Wu; in this life, Xiao Wu had quietly returned it to him.