Chapter 275: Bone-Tempering and Sinew-Forging Pill
"Finally reached minor mastery."
Zhang Ruochen felt quite pleased and was very satisfied with the power of the Solar Meridian Sword Wave.
A single sword wave was enough to break through the protective Heavenly Gang of a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist.
As his cultivation deepened, the power of the Solar Meridian Sword Wave would only grow stronger.
Although the Ten Meridian Sword Wave was merely a Spirit-level top-grade martial technique, once all ten meridians were cultivated to great mastery, its power could reach the Ghost-level lower-grade level.
Of course, the difficulty of cultivating all ten meridians to great mastery was no less than cultivating ten different Spirit-level top-grade martial techniques.
"Zhang Ruochen, what are you doing?"
Huang Yanchen walked over from the other side of the hole in the wall, looking somewhat annoyed. She glanced at the damaged wall, raised her eyebrows, and charged toward Zhang Ruochen with her battle sword in hand, fury blazing.
Seeing Huang Yanchen, Zhang Ruochen suddenly realized that her cultivation residence was right next to his. The sword wave from earlier had pierced through the defensive formation inscriptions on the wall and had likely already entered her cultivation residence.
He wondered how badly damaged her cultivation residence was.
"Master."
Kong Xuan immediately rushed over, blocking Zhang Ruochen's front and staring at Huang Yanchen with hostility.
No matter who it was, as long as they posed a threat to her master, Kong Xuan would always charge to the front to clear the way.
In Kong Xuan's eyes, Huang Yanchen, charging over in a rage, was a threatening enemy to her master.
Zhang Ruochen gently waved his hand and said, "Kong Xuan, step back. This doesn't concern you."
"Yes, Master."
Kong Xuan retreated behind Zhang Ruochen, still watching Huang Yanchen warily.
Huang Yanchen coldly glared at Kong Xuan, recognizing her as the maidservant Zhang Ruochen had bought.
She found Kong Xuan utterly displeasing. Pointing her sword, she said, "Impressive! Even a mere maidservant dares to challenge this Commandery Princess. If she's this lawless now, what will she become in the future? Zhang Ruochen, if you can't control her, I'll do it for you."
Kong Xuan shot back a cold glare, her aura not losing to Huang Yanchen's in the slightest.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Senior Sister, why bother arguing with her? I was just cultivating a martial technique and accidentally damaged your cultivation residence. If you want compensation, name your price."
"No need for money. Do you think this Commandery Princess is short on silver coins?" Huang Yanchen said. "If you give me that maidservant, I'll let this matter slide."
Hearing this, Kong Xuan, who had been full of bravado, immediately showed a worried expression, afraid that Zhang Ruochen might actually hand her over.
If Zhang Ruochen really gave her to Huang Yanchen, how could she have a good life from then on?
"Master..."
Kong Xuan's eyes turned pitiful as she looked at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Senior Sister, you're the Commandery Princess of a superior commandery. Why bother picking a fight with a maidservant?"
Huang Yanchen stubbornly said, "Are you giving her to me or not?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head.
"Hmph!"
Huang Yanchen snorted coldly and thrust her sword forward.
Zhang Ruochen's hand moved like a blur, catching her sword between two fingers, rendering her unable to exert any force.
"Zhang Ruochen, you're ruthless. I should have struck you down with one sword back when your cultivation hadn't grown, so I wouldn't have to put up with you angering me now."
Huang Yanchen gritted her snow-white teeth, withdrew her sword, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes. "Zhang Ruochen, what peerless divine technique have you been cultivating? That strike earlier was probably comparable to the full-force blow of a mid-stage Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist."
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his fingers, gently flexed his knuckles, and said calmly, "Just a sword wave. Nothing worth mentioning."
"Fine, keep your secrets."
Huang Yanchen wasn't lacking in profound martial technique manuals. Since Zhang Ruochen wouldn't say, she didn't bother asking further.
She shot another fierce glance at Kong Xuan, clenched her fists tightly, and snorted, "I've recently cultivated Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow to great mastery in the Hurricane Cultivation Chamber. I'm planning to challenge the Nine Absolute Tower. Do you want to come along?"
"Senior Sister has already cultivated Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow to great mastery?" Zhang Ruochen was somewhat surprised.
Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow was a Spirit-level top-grade martial technique.
The reason Zhang Ruochen had been able to master it quickly was that he had cultivated it before and was very familiar with it. Re-cultivating it naturally yielded twice the results with half the effort.
For Huang Yanchen to cultivate Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow to great mastery in just over a year was truly astonishing.
After all, she had no prior foundation.
Unless... her comprehension was exceptionally high.
Huang Yanchen snorted, "You don't have a wind-attributed physique, yet you've already mastered Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow. I have a wind-attributed physique, so what's so strange about me mastering it? Are you coming or not?"
Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head. "I still need to continue cultivating my martial techniques. I won't go for now."
The Nine Absolute Tower was essentially a place to test a martial artist's strength.
The so-called "X-Absolute Genius" referred to how many floors of the tower one could clear.
Generally, martial artists who could clear the first floor of the Nine Absolute Tower could fight across one realm.
Those who cleared the second floor could fight across two realms, and so on. In theory, those who cleared the ninth floor could defeat opponents across nine realms.
Other martial artists flocked to the Nine Absolute Tower, eager to make a name for themselves by challenging it.
For example, the Ten Demon Masters of Heavenly Demon had cleared the third floor, making them famous across the world and well-known among martial artists of the thirty-six commanderies of Demon Ridge.
But in Zhang Ruochen's view, the Nine Absolute Tower wasn't very meaningful.
Although the tower was somewhat related to talent, it depended more on the weapons and martial techniques the martial artist used.
Even martial artists of equal strength could get different results if they used weapons of different levels.
Moreover, as one's realm increased, the significance of the Nine Absolute Tower diminished.
For instance, the Martial Market Academy had conducted statistics: among those who could become Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artists, sixty percent were One-Absolute Geniuses, and twenty percent were Two-Absolute Geniuses.
Similarly, among those who could become Half-Saints, almost ninety-nine percent were Three-Absolute Geniuses or higher, with many being Four-Absolute or Five-Absolute Geniuses.
This didn't mean that becoming a Three-Absolute Genius gave one a high chance of becoming a Half-Saint. In reality, ninety percent of Three-Absolute Geniuses never reached the Half-Saint realm. Among the Ten Demon Masters of Heavenly Demon, if even one reached the Half-Saint realm, that would already be impressive.
Thus, even if you were a legendary Seven-Absolute Genius, you couldn't fight across seven realms once you reached the Half-Saint level. Because almost all martial artists who became Half-Saints had the ability to fight across several realms.
The higher the realm, the harder it was to fight across realms. The significance of the Nine Absolute Tower became weaker.
Since it wasn't very meaningful, why waste time?
While Huang Yanchen went to the Nine Absolute Tower, Zhang Ruochen headed to the Merit Tower. He used his merit points to exchange for six bottles of third-grade healing pills, totaling sixty pills, costing three thousand merit points.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen spent ten thousand merit points to purchase ten fifth-grade body-tempering pills, the Bone-Tempering and Sinew-Forging Pill.
Carrying the purchased pills, Zhang Ruochen once again went to Saint-Connecting Mountain and entered the Earth-level Gravity Cultivation Chamber for the second time, continuing to cultivate the fifth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
Elephant Force Ninefold Stack.
Still in a twenty-times gravity environment, Zhang Ruochen channeled his full blood and Qi, continuously striking out palm prints.
After seven days of rest, Zhang Ruochen's physical body had returned to its peak state, able to withstand high-intensity training.
"Boom! Boom!"
After striking two thousand five hundred palm prints in a row, Zhang Ruochen's arms and hands were severely injured again, nearly crippled. He had to stop, take a healing pill and a Bone-Tempering and Sinew-Forging Pill, and recover while tempering his bones and sinews.
The Bone-Tempering and Sinew-Forging Pill was a fifth-grade body-tempering pill. Even at the Martial Market Academy, it cost a thousand merit points to exchange for one.
Outside, the price was twice as high, costing at least two million silver coins for a single pill.
The value of one pill was comparable to the total assets of an eighth-rate family.
Even for an ordinary Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist, a Bone-Tempering and Sinew-Forging Pill was a precious treasure.
By taking the Bone-Tempering and Sinew-Forging Pill while cultivating the palm technique, Zhang Ruochen could allow his body to absorb the pill's power more completely, thereby enhancing his physical strength.
Zhang Ruochen was aiming for the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm. Not only did he need profound inner power, but his physical body also had to be absolutely strong to unleash sufficient strength and speed.
Zhang Ruochen's current pure physical strength was already on par with an early-stage Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist.
If he could refine those ten Bone-Tempering and Sinew-Forging Pills, his pure physical strength would surpass his current realm and reach a higher level.
Once his arms had healed, Zhang Ruochen resumed practicing the palm technique.
Half a month passed quickly. The healing pills Zhang Ruochen had bought were all used up, and the ten Bone-Tempering and Sinew-Forging Pills were fully refined.
Zhang Ruochen's physical strength had far surpassed before. He could now strike ten thousand palm prints in a row before being forced to stop and heal.
In terms of the palm technique, Zhang Ruochen had made great progress. Even under twenty times gravity, he could strike three palms at once, unleashing three times the palm power.
After leaving Saint-Connecting Mountain, Zhang Ruochen didn't immediately return to his cultivation residence. Instead, he went to the Silver-Robed Elder Hall to meet Lei Jing.
Now that everyone knew Zhang Ruochen was Lei Jing's secret disciple, no one stopped him. He easily met Lei Jing.
Zhang Ruochen cupped his hands and bowed. "Hall Master, I want to go to the Earth Ranking Testing Hall to test where my current strength ranks on the Earth Ranking."
"If you want to go to the Earth Ranking Testing Hall, just go directly. Why come to inform me?" Lei Jing asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I only want to test my Earth Ranking position, but I don't want the results recorded on the Earth Ranking so soon."
Lei Jing smiled slightly, understanding Zhang Ruochen's intention.
Zhang Ruochen wanted to test his current position on the Earth Ranking without prematurely revealing his strength, so he came to ask for help.
Lei Jing squinted his eyes. "If I'm not mistaken, you're only at the mid-level Earth Extreme Realm. You probably can't enter the top thousand of the Earth Ranking."
"That may not be the case," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Alright! If you can truly break into the top thousand of the Earth Ranking with a mid-level Earth Extreme Realm cultivation, then by the time you reach the Great Perfection of the Earth Extreme Realm, you'll definitely be able to enter the top hundred. How about this: if you break into the top thousand, I'll give you a treasured item I've been keeping to help you break through to the high-level Earth Extreme Realm," Lei Jing said.
How could something Lei Jing gifted be ordinary?
Zhang Ruochen's heart leaped with joy. "Student will not disappoint the Hall Master's expectations."