I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

White Feather Hall entrance.

Central courtyard.

This is where the Hall Master resides. It's much larger than Wei Dian's villa, and the decorations are even more luxurious and exquisite, with pavilions, towers, rockeries, and ponds, offering everything imaginable.

After nightfall, the courtyard's corridor lights are turned on, and the light shines on the potted plants and ponds, making this place even more colorful and uniquely scenic.

In the living room, three people sat together drinking.

Sitting in the chief seat was Fang Baiyu. To his right was Wang Ziwen, and to his left was a burly man with a height of 1.9 meters, as strong as an ox, with bronze skin, exuding an imposing presence and a hint of overconfident arrogance.

He was none other than Hong Lie, another Deputy Hall Master of White Feather Hall!

"Congratulations, Brother Hong, on entering the Refined Flesh Realm at the age of thirty-five," Fang Baiyu said, raising his glass slightly towards Hong Lie.

Hong Lie, whose face was covered with a thick beard, was very humble in front of Fang Baiyu, "I owe it all to Brother Fang. If Brother Fang hadn't raised me, I, Hong Lie, wouldn't be where I am today."

Fang Baiyu was very satisfied with Hong Lie's attitude, and a smile appeared between his brows. He chuckled and said, "Brother Hong, you don't have to be so modest. You are a martial arts genius. I, as your elder brother, am just helping you along."

After some pleasantries, Hong Lie went straight to the point, "Brother Fang, you urgently summoned me back, saying it was to participate in the examination? To take down the Blood Ridge Black Market's incense master position?"

Hong Lie had only been back for a few days, but he had already inquired about it.

Fang Baiyu said, "Brother Hong is unwilling? Do you think your elder brother is demoting you?"

Hong Lie lowered his head and drank, not answering directly, only saying, "My life belongs to Brother Fang. Whatever Brother Fang asks me to do, I will naturally have no objections."

Although his attitude was very good, the dissatisfaction in his tone was still hard to hide.

Heh heh.

Wang Ziwen stepped in to smooth things over at this time, "Brother Hong, you have misunderstood Brother Fang. The position of incense master of the Blood Ridge Black Market is no less than that of the White Feather Hall Master, and may even be higher in the future."

Hearing this, Hong Lie slowly raised his head, "Brother Wang, don't try to fool me."

Wang Ziwen smiled and said, "Why would I fool you? Let me ask you, when Wei Dian first established the Blood Ridge Black Market, to whom did the Black Market's revenue belong?"

Hong Lie said, "It belonged to our hall."

Wang Ziwen nodded, "Later, the Black Market grew bigger and bigger, and the revenue scale grew larger and larger. To whom did the revenue belong?"

Hong Lie finally realized something, "Since three years ago, the revenue of the Blood Ridge Black Market has gone directly to the Examination Hall… that is, to the headquarters."

Wang Ziwen nodded and explained in detail, "It seems that our Brother Hong has also become smarter. Why would the headquarters do this? It's because they saw the extraordinary potential of the Blood Ridge Black Market. Especially this year, the scale of the Black Market has doubled."

"We received news that the Tiger Wolf Gate headquarters intends to unite with the county government and the guardhouse to legitimize the Black Market, directly developing it into a trade center for the six surrounding towns. After legalization, although it will be necessary to pay some taxes, it also means that… the Black Market has entered the imperial court."

"At that time, the guardhouse and the county government will send people down, and the incense master of the Black Market… is very likely to be granted an official position exceptionally. This is a real rise to prominence."

"Brother Fang is giving you such a good opportunity. Do you still have resentment?"

Hong Lie was stunned for a long time, then suddenly stood up straight, cupped his fist and bowed to Fang Baiyu, "It was I, Hong Lie, who misunderstood Brother Fang. Thank you, Brother Fang, for your cultivation."

Fang Baiyu smiled and said, "I have always treated you as my own younger brother. Now that there is an opportunity, I will naturally consider my own family first. But you must not be careless. Tang Qingyun is an old fox. He has allowed the deacons of other Tiger Wolf Gate halls to participate. It is possible that he will arrange some hidden experts to seize the position of incense master."

Pa.

Hong Lie slapped the dining table with one hand, confidently saying, "Brother Fang, don't worry. With me here, I will definitely win the first place. Although other halls are larger than our White Feather Hall and have more experts, the deacons under the incense master are just ants in my eyes."

Fang Baiyu was naturally very confident in Hong Lie's strength.

A Refined Flesh Realm second-level martial artist is considered an expert in the entire Qingwu County. The Tiger Wolf Gate naturally attaches great importance to Refined Flesh Realm experts. In the White Feather Hall, they can be Deputy Hall Masters, and in other halls, they can at least be incense masters.

Below the incense master, there are no Refined Flesh Realm experts.

When Fang Baiyu reached a tacit agreement with Tang Qingyun, he was sure of this point before he dared to agree to Tang Qingyun allowing the deacons of other halls to participate in the examination.

Thinking of this, Fang Baiyu smiled, "Good. With Brother Hong's participation, there will be no mistakes. When Brother Hong wins the first place, I will celebrate your success again."

Wang Ziwen smiled and said, "Brother Hong, Brother Fang has high hopes for you. He has already sent Deacon Zhu Hu to the Blood Ridge Black Market to take over the defense. When you win the first place, you can directly take over seamlessly."

"Thank you, Brother Fang. I respect Brother. In five days, I will definitely win the first place for Brother."

Fang Baiyu was in a great mood, "Although I didn't get the Immortal Treasure, it's not bad to take down this Blood Ridge Black Market. Wei Dian, ah, Wei Dian, you guarded against me all your life, but in the end… wouldn't you still have to hand over this piece of fat obediently?"

…

The weather in the twelfth lunar month is getting colder day by day.

The heavy snow not only did not stop, but became heavier and heavier.

During this period, Lin Yun had been in seclusion in Wei Dian's villa in the hall.

Xie An was in seclusion in the villa of the Blood Ridge Black Market.

Breaking through the second level of the Refined Flesh Realm sounds simple, but it is not easy to do.

Fortunately, Xie An has enough patience.

Xie An, who had taken off his clothes, was sitting in the bathtub. While running the Fetal Breath Technique, he vigorously absorbed the medicinal power of the tiger meat essence soup to break through the Refined Flesh Realm.

This is considered a breakthrough to the Refined Flesh Realm.

Compared to the Tempering Hide Realm's forging of the skin, the Refined Flesh Realm is a deeper level, a realm of increasing strength. Ordinary martial artists who have just entered the Refined Flesh Realm can lift up to seven hundred pounds with one arm.

While ordinary martial artists who have achieved minor success in the Refined Flesh Realm can lift nine hundred pounds with one arm, those with good physical qualities can even lift a thousand pounds.

Xie An is currently a martial artist with great success in the Tempering Hide Realm, but with the blessing of the Longevity fate and the Nourishing Life Skill, he has reached the point of lifting a thousand pounds.

This is already quite monstrous!

Xie An anticipates how much power he will unleash after breaking through to the Refined Flesh Realm.

Whoosh!

After the medicinal bath, Xie An walked out of the tub, put on his inner lining, and came to the courtyard to practice his saber techniques.

It's not enough for the muscles to absorb the medicinal power alone; it must be digested through practicing martial arts to transform the medicinal power lingering in the muscles into one's own.

Straight thrust, horizontal slash, upward cut, turning slash…

Each move is unleashed like a fierce tiger.

With the blessing of Qi, every saber strike Xie An makes is incredibly smooth, and even the sound of the blade compressing the air is much quieter.

Even seasoned saber practitioners who have trained hard for five or ten years may not be able to achieve this.

After practicing continuously for an hour or two, Xie An was drenched in sweat, and he felt that the medicinal power of the tiger meat lingering in his muscles had been completely digested.

The muscles are constantly condensing and strengthening, and the strength is obviously increasing.

However, to break through to the Refined Flesh Realm, it still feels like something is missing.

"Don't rush, after I finish the last dose of Tiger Meat Vital Soup, I should be close to breaking through to the Refined Flesh Realm."

Ordinary people need several months to break through to the Refined Flesh Realm, going through multiple medicinal baths and practicing to digest the power before they can break through.

Xie An naturally knows not to rush.

In the past month, Xie An has not only practiced the Heavy Mountain Saber, but also hasn't slacked off in practicing martial arts to break through.

Moreover, after mastering the Heavy Mountain Saber, Xie An's breakthrough speed has been greatly accelerated.

Right now, he has reached the edge of breaking through.

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"A bit tired."

Xie An rubbed his temples, wanting to sleep soundly. But thinking about the upcoming assessment.

If he can break through to the Refined Flesh Realm before the assessment…

That would undoubtedly be the most perfect thing.

With this in mind, Xie An took a deep breath, endured his fatigue, and came to the water tank in the kitchen. He opened the lid of the water tank and immediately smelled a different kind of scent.

"Having been nourished by the Immortal Treasure Box for so long, I wonder if the effect will be better."

He scooped a spoonful of water with a gourd ladle and drank it all in one gulp.

Soon, he felt a warm current stirring within his body, gathering in the lower abdomen, lingering for a long time, making him feel very comfortable.

"Indeed, it's much better."

Xie An smiled.

If he wasn't worried about the Immortal Treasure Box getting wet, Xie An would have thrown the box directly into the water tank to soak, in which case… the effect should be even better.

"Using this tank of water to complete the last medicinal bath, the probability of breaking through to the Refined Flesh Realm will be even greater!"

This water is quite precious.

Xie An usually feels extravagant just drinking a mouthful.

Now using an entire tank of water for a medicinal bath… that's too extravagant!

He used a wooden bucket to scoop the water from the water tank, heated it, and then poured it in batches into the bathtub in the room, then poured in a dose of Tiger Meat Vital Soup.

As the medicinal power dissolved, the room was immediately filled with a rich medicinal fragrance.

Xie An tested the water temperature with his hand, felt it was about right, and then sat in it.

He activated the Fetal Breathing Skill to accelerate the absorption of the medicinal power.

…

Four days passed in a flash.

This morning, it was a snowy day.

In the secluded courtyard with its gates tightly closed, an old man with a bare upper body, revealing his abdominal muscles, stood barefoot in the snow, practicing the Heavy Mountain Saber.

Forward thrust, horizontal chop, vertical slash.

Pressing Saber Technique.

Again and again.

Faster and faster, more and more skillful.

Although the snow was falling heavily and the cold was biting.

Xie An didn't feel cold at all, but instead felt the heat in his lower abdomen growing stronger and stronger.

This heat didn't come from practicing martial arts, but from cultivating the Nourishing Life Skill.

In the beginning, this heat was only as thick as a strand of hair, but now it was as thick as a thumb. Whenever he felt his limbs getting cold, the heat would be released, flowing through his limbs and bones, keeping his body at a suitable temperature.

This is a good treasure that ordinary martial artists don't have.

"I feel that the muscles all over my body have reached a limit, and I'm about to break through this barrier."

After more than an hour of practice, Xie An was already very tired.

But he clearly felt that the breakthrough was right in front of him. So he didn't dare to slack off in the slightest, and continued to grit his teeth and practice.

"One mountain, one river, one coffin, the water is wide, the sky is high, the saber becomes itself."

It's now!

With the eruption of a Pressing Saber Technique, a crack more than ten feet long was cut into the snowy ground…

Crackling…

The muscles in his body made crackling sounds, like stir-fried beans.

Like pouring oil on a raging fire, reaching the limit, giving birth to a transformation.

Xie An clearly felt that the muscles all over his body were rolling in a sour and numb way, accompanied by bursts of spasms. He could no longer hold the saber, and collapsed on the snow, feeling the transformation and growth of his muscles, while looking up at the falling snow in the sky.

"Finally, I've broken through!"

"Second Realm Martial Artist, Refined Flesh Realm."

Fang Baiyu, can be slain.

Xie An squinted his eyes, opened his tired arms, and looked at the white, vast snowy sky.

"Brother Wei, there's something I wanted to say last time, but the time wasn't right. Now I can say it…"

"After you leave, the Blood Ridge lineage will still have me."

— — — — — —

ps: Asking for the first subscription on the shelves, I originally wanted to explode with 20,000 words, but I have a cold ~ Next, there will be at least 10,000 words a day, if there is an alliance leader, one alliance leader will add five updates. Please support ~