Chapter 59: Dragon Bone Like Jade, Blood-Melting Gold! Dream Disciple? Seeing I, Duan, Say That Again?
Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Dragon Bone Like Jade, Blood-Melting Gold! Dream Disciple? Seeing I, Duan, Say That Again?
The Milky Way ushered in the night, hanging a lone moon among the stars.
The sky darkened early in the late autumn. As some of the hard laborers returned home, their wives were just starting the cooking fires, sending plumes of smoke spiraling into the air.
But on East Fire Kiln Street, in a desolate alley...
A certain courtyard residence seemed like an overstoked furnace. Billow after billow of black smoke, thick with roiling steam, shot straight into the heavens, overwhelming all the nearby wisps of cooking smoke.
Instructor Liao, who had been summoned by Wei Dinchang of the Wind and Cloud Association and had been running around all day, raised his white eyebrows and frowned sharply.
"At this hour? Don’t tell me there’s a fire."
He followed the address he’d gotten at the Wind and Cloud Association’s Fire Kiln and fixed his gaze on the scene.
He discovered that the residence that looked like it was "on fire"...
...was his exact destination.
He immediately rolled up his sleeves, revealing powerful arms. Grasping his War Body Saber, he radiated menace.
’So this is the home of the Martial Artist who beat me to the punch and snatched my Dream Disciple?’
’That Yang fellow from the Tiger and Leopard Hall didn’t say a damn thing. Wouldn’t even show his face, just stubbornly refused to explain the situation.’
’And that old coot Lu Chengfeng only said he was an armless Outer Gang practitioner, nothing more.’
’But... seeing as he lives in such a remote place, he can’t be anyone with a solid family fortune or a profound background.’
’He’s probably just some down-on-his-luck fellow who bankrupted himself to cultivate some meager Martial Arts. He can barely support himself, let alone afford to teach someone else!’
’Teaching a disciple is like raising a son.’
’You have to buy them a horse, pay for their training... All that shiny silver flowing out like water. How could a poor Martial Artist who can only focus on his own cultivation possibly manage that?’
’That’s a job for me!’
’In my younger days, I joined the Jade Shop in the Prefecture City. I earned the appreciation of the Boss from the Cai Clan. With my Whale-Slaying Saber, I could hold down any stall, and I was even promoted to the main family to serve under Master Cai Si.’
’If it weren’t for that disaster back then, where I was caught in the crossfire and made the scapegoat...’
’Even now, I could easily secure a respectable position for myself among the Hundred Trades and Livelihoods of the Thirty-Six Professions back in the Prefecture City, no question!’
’It’s a shame my luck ran out and I ended up in Anning.’
’But in recent years, I’ve used my blade to make a name for myself, gathering disciples far and wide. I even earned the County Magistrate’s favor and was given the qualification to train the County Soldiers, earning me the title of Instructor.’
’My status is nothing to scoff at now; I’m a man of some repute. I often regret that I can’t return to the Prefecture City to pursue higher Secret Techniques like the ’Immortal Robe,’ or even become a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster, but I’m managing.’
’But... of all the luck, for me to hear about a truly promising sapling in this backwater hole!’
’To be like this at only sixteen... the potential is immense.’
’If I cultivate him carefully and he breaks through the ’First Great Limit,’ I could send him to the main family where he’d be put in a position of importance. He’d get the chance to enter the Mansion Courtyard and take the Martial Examination. Then the Boss might even arrange for a daughter from a side branch to marry him...’
’Riding on my disciple’s coattails, I might even get a chance to go back myself!’
CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP!
Carrying his War Body Saber, Master Liao of the Whale-Slaying Saber—a man who could be said to do as he pleased through the five hundred li of Anning County—stomped along the bluestone path, his eyes gleaming as he muttered to himself.
With his hair unbound, looking like a martial lion baring its fangs and claws, he charged straight ahead.
’Even if there’s only the slightest chance...’
’I can’t let someone else snatch away my Dream Disciple!’
...
After a very, very long time...
Ji Xiu felt his senses return.
He finally managed to crawl out of the large furnace. After drying himself off, he let out a long breath and pulled on his clothes. Before he could even begin to process the changes in his body, Duan Chenzhou called him over.
At some point,
Duan Chenzhou had pulled up a stool nearby and was sitting there quietly.
"From this moment on, you have officially begun your Bone Tempering."
His eyes held a hint of curiosity.
"Come here."
"Let me see what you’re made of now."
Back in the day, his master had "tricked" the Human Dragon Maiden to get his hands on this Foundation Establishment Technique. It was said that upon reaching the pinnacle of this technique, one would possess Mercury Blood and Silver Marrow, earning the description "Dragon Bone like jade, blood that melts gold."
It was this very technique that laid the foundation for his old master’s future accomplishments, almost making him one of the most prodigious talents of his generation, hailed as the one most likely to inherit the legacy of the Sword Lineage after the collapse of the World Sword Sect.
Even Duan Chenzhou had to admit it.
’If we were born in the same era...’
’Forget about how I was considered the unrivaled blade among my peers in the Jiangshui region. Even if I were a level higher...’
’I fear I wouldn’t have even been able to draw my saber in front of him.’
But things were different now.
’My own disciple, taught by my own hand, is now truly walking my old path. And what’s more, he’s cultivating the Turtle and Snake Grand Foundation Stake, a True Sect Foundation Establishment.’
’If he masters both, his foundation will surely be even more profound than that old man’s was back in the day!’
’You taught two disciples, and neither of them amounted to anything.’
’How can you compare to me? With a single attempt, I’ve produced a great talent who has a shot at making it to Xuanjing.’
’Heh!’
He looked at Ji Xiu’s skin, which was now smooth and delicate, glowing with the luster of gold and jade. Beneath it, terrifyingly hot blood seemed to roil like magma. His very bones were faintly coated in an ’iron-colored sheen’.
It was as if he had been hammered and scoured repeatedly by the Mercury Blood, undergoing a complete Transformation.
Duan Chenzhou couldn’t help but smile with pride.
He then slapped a large hand down on Ji Xiu, gave him a couple of squeezes, and followed up with a few taps, looking quite satisfied.
"As expected of one of the Foundation Establishment Chapters of the ’Nine Transformations of the Azure Dragon,’ a technique said to be for the Dragon Species to cultivate. These Dharma Gates of the Outer Dao are indeed more profound than the Bone Tempering Techniques we have hidden away in our Prefecture."
"Just a single tempering session."
"And it’s already shortened the process of opening your ’Spinal Dragon’ by a full one-fifth. Once that’s open, Force will be able to flow unimpeded through your tendons and bones, tempering your entire body."
"If anyone else heard this, they’d probably faint from shock..."
CRACK!
Suddenly, his voice cut off.
At the same time, a wild-haired, wild-bearded old man, traveling under the moon and stars and carrying a War Body Saber, kicked the wooden door open with a single, outrageously arrogant blow.
"Bullshit!"
"Bone Tempering, you say? Without being hammered and refined a thousand times, how can you forge true steel?"
"The Spinal Dragon is the central hub of a man’s torso, of his entire skeleton!"
"As the saying goes, a single spine gives birth to a hundred strengths!"
"For a Martial Artist to temper their bones, they must use a Great Medicine Treasure Pill to nourish their Qi and Blood. Then, they must repeatedly flush their tendons and scour their bones, letting them absorb the essence so they can withstand the pressure of ’Force’ without limit. Only then can they advance, step by step."
"This requires years, even decades, of patient, painstaking work. It’s a cumulative effort. It absolutely cannot be forged in a short time!"
"Tempering one-fifth in a single session..."
"What do you think this is, Artifact Refining? Where you can break something down, smelt it into refined iron, and forge a Treasure Weapon in a few days and nights? Absurd!"
Master Liao, having just arrived, had only heard the last part of the conversation.
Without a second thought, he barged right in.
"I am Liao Yuanhua, Instructor of the Whale-Slaying Saber Hall, one of the Four Great Halls of Anning!"
"Kid, you’ve been duped! This broke Martial Artist might have some skill, but he can’t possibly afford to teach a talent like you! The fact that he’s spouting such nonsense proves it..."
Liao Yuanhua, saber in hand, was halfway through his speech when his eyes fell upon Ji Xiu. Bathed in the moonlight, having just thrown on an outer robe, his golden skin and jade-like tendons were visible, his bones and blood robust. In that instant, Liao Yuanhua’s eyes exploded with a brilliant, piercing light.
"Holy shit, holy shit!"
He roared internally, wishing he could rub his eyes and get a clearer look.
’I’ve struck gold! I’ve really struck gold! This level of Bone Marrow refinement... this isn’t just the beginning! It’s clearly reached Perfection!’
’Even in the Prefecture City, he’d probably catch the Boss’s eye and earn a spot in the Mansion Courtyard!’
’My life is made!’
’A prodigy like this belongs with me! Now let’s see just who would dare try to snatch him from me...’
He shifted his gaze.
He saw the armless Martial Artist, whose gentle expression had vanished, his words caught in his throat as his face grew cold.
First, he frowned and rubbed his eyes.
After rubbing them, he took another careful look, only to confirm that he hadn’t been mistaken.
He glanced up at the moon, then grunted, feigning a thoughtful expression.
"The smoke from this residence is so thick, it’s clouding my vision."
"Sigh, I’m getting old. How could I have come to the wrong house..."
Sighing dramatically, he clutched his saber and abruptly turned around. His shoulders were trembling faintly as a memory from ten years ago in Jiangyin Prefecture surfaced, unbidden, in his mind.
At the Jade Shop, Master Cai Si himself was cutting open a stone for a gamble.
At the time... he had been the one watching over the premises.
As the saying goes, "one cut to poverty, one cut to riches." With stone gambling, luck was just as important as the quality of the raw stone. Even experts could get it wrong.
The wealthy often enjoyed it as a pastime.
But this time was different.
Master Cai Si was to cut the stone. With a single word, the jade would be split in two.
However, at that same moment.
Over his head...
...a Celestial Blade was hanging, wielded by another.
And on that day, Liao Yuanhua watched helplessly as...
...the jade stone was shattered, revealing nothing of value, and moments later, a head was separated from its body.
After that day,
the Jadeite Cai Clan—the Scholarly Clan that served as Captain of the Jade Shop, one of the Jiangyin Thirty-Six Professions—was short one Master Cai Si of the Direct Lineage.
The clan’s Captain had even gone to that man’s sect gates without a word of protest, offering a personal apology.
From then on, Liao Yuanhua had drifted all the way here, to the five-hundred-li Anning County.
And that face...
Liao Yuanhua would never forget it for as long as he lived.
He took a deep breath, and then another, trying his best to act as if nothing was wrong.
But just as he crossed the threshold...
...a quiet voice drifted over.
"Come back."
"Sit down."
"Say what you just said... one more time."
"I, Duan, have always been a most reasonable man."
"So you can explain..."
"...exactly what I said wrong."