Chapter 13: True Dragon Stake

Inside Ning Qi’s small courtyard.

The roars of exotic beasts, sometimes low and rumbling, sometimes sharp and piercing, rang out from time to time. If anyone were here, they would surely be dumbstruck.

Ning Qi’s gaze was focused and intense; he was completely immersed in the world of stance training.

At one moment, he was like a Bi’an roaring; the next, like a Suanni leaping; then like a Baxia suppressing the sea; and then like a Qiuniu crossing the water...

He had practiced the Nine Stances of True Martial to the point of perfect mastery, where he could switch between them as he pleased. Even the transition of his intent was incredibly smooth. One moment he was in the Bi’an stance, and the next he had switched to the Chiwen stance. The nine stances, which were originally distinct, now seemed like a single, unified technique.

If the senior disciples were to see this, they would likely doubt their own lives.

Ning Qi’s eyes were bright.

Sparks of inspiration were constantly flashing through his mind.

"Not enough! Still not enough!"

"On the surface, it looks like I’ve merged the nine stances into one, but in reality, it’s just an appearance. Although combining their strengths has increased the efficiency of skin tempering, it is still far from my expectations and has not yet transcended the category of superior-grade stance techniques."

Ning Qi practiced while he thought. At his level, he no longer needed to consciously think about the stances; he simply followed his instincts.

At this moment.

Ning Qi’s skin was rippling constantly, a terrifying sight. His reddish skin had already taken on an iron-like hue, filled with a powerful texture.

Ten days passed.

He had made another breakthrough, reaching the Iron Skin Realm. Beyond this stage, he would be impervious to blades.

Despite his young age, his combat power already surpassed that of many adults.

This speed of cultivation was incredibly fast, yet Ning Qi remained unsatisfied.

"There is clearly a certain pattern between the Nine Stances of True Martial. Merging them on the surface isn't enough; the key lies in the intent!"

After stepping into the Iron Skin Realm yesterday, Ning Qi felt something different when looking at the Nine Stances of True Martial.

The process of body tempering is a process of enlightenment.

Standing high allows one to see far.

If Ning Qi were in the Inner Origin Realm right now, having fully experienced the body tempering process, he felt he might only need a quarter of an hour, or even less, to grasp the relationship between the Nine Stances of True Martial.

No matter how strong one's comprehension is, it still requires sufficient knowledge and foundation to support it.

After all, stance training is not just about tempering the skin; it covers the entire process of body tempering.

However.

Ten days of research was enough.

The inspiration in Ning Qi’s mind grew more vigorous. With a thought, he channeled his intent, switching between the stances. Eventually, they began to merge—not by being forced together, but by taking the essence of each to create something new.

"The ferocity of the Bi’an, the heaviness of the Baxia, the agility of the Zhaofeng, the steadiness of the Qiuniu, the viciousness of the Yazi..."

"The dragon has nine sons, each different, yet all born from the True Dragon!"

"Tracing back to the source, it is... the True Dragon!"

The moment Ning Qi realized this.

The roars of the exotic beasts in the courtyard vanished, and a majestic dragon’s roar echoed through the air.

The rate at which Ning Qi’s sweat evaporated suddenly accelerated, turning into a white mist that shrouded him, obscuring his true form. Each move and stance gradually changed; they were derived from the Nine Stances of True Martial, yet they were completely different. From afar, it looked as if a young True Dragon was leaping within the white mist.

Ning Qi felt incredibly exhilarated.

This was a stance technique he had created himself, so he naturally reached the highest realm immediately. His body tempering efficiency skyrocketed once again, feeling at least double what it was before!

"Refreshing! Refreshing! Refreshing!"

Ning Qi laughed heartily in his heart.

He did not stop, practicing until he was completely exhausted before jumping into the medicinal bath he had prepared earlier, still feeling unsatisfied.

Closing his eyes.

Ning Qi was still somewhat excited.

The sense of accomplishment from solving a difficult problem after deep contemplation was no less than a breakthrough in realm; it was even greater. It was somewhat similar to the satisfaction of solving an extremely difficult math problem in his previous life, but even more intense.

"I can now be certain that there must be a stronger stance technique above the Nine Stances of True Martial!"

"In a way, I’ve reverse-engineered it. I don't know if this True Dragon Stance I created is the same as the original, or if it's stronger or weaker?"

"Perhaps... I should ask Master?"

The thought occurred to him involuntarily.

But he felt he might not get an answer.

He had previously heard his senior brother, Luo Wentian, say that the True Martial inheritance Master Longshan Daoist received seemed to be incomplete, missing some of the more core elements.

Moreover.

Based on Ning Qi’s understanding of Longshan Daoist.

He didn't think his master was the type to hold back. If there really were a stronger stance technique than the Nine Stances of True Martial, he would have surely brought it out long ago.

However, he still planned to find time to ask. If such a technique did exist, he could compare it with his True Dragon Stance, which might make the True Dragon Stance even more powerful.

Although the True Dragon Stance could already be called a peerless technique, Ning Qi still wanted to see if he could strengthen it further.

Furthermore.

Ning Qi felt it was necessary to reveal his cultivation progress to Longshan Daoist, as this would affect whether he could obtain greater freedom later on.

As for the other senior brothers and sisters, he didn't plan to tell them what realm he had reached for the time being.

Ning Qi was afraid of discouraging them.

The other senior brothers and sisters were fine; they were as normal as ever when he saw them again. But the Eighth Senior Brother had been a bit strange that day. When Ning Qi went to look for Qin Yun another day, he discovered that this Eighth Senior Brother had gone into seclusion again.

"He couldn't have been stimulated, could he?"

Ning Qi was a bit puzzled and planned to check on him later.

"After Master comes out of seclusion, I'll first talk to him about the True Martial Stances and the improved body tempering powder."

Ning Qi cast aside his distracting thoughts, emptied his mind, and focused on the medicinal bath.

A burning, stinging sensation came from his skin, but he welcomed it gladly; it was a sign of growing stronger.

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Another eight days went by.

Ning Qi did not wait for Longshan Daoist to come out of seclusion; instead, he stepped into the Jade Skin Realm first.

It had taken him ten days to advance from Stone Skin to Iron Skin, but only eight days to advance from Iron Skin to Jade Skin. He had even spent one of those days specifically re-practicing the previous three realms, which showed the power of the True Dragon Stance.

Ning Qi curiously examined the skin on his body.

It was as fair and smooth as precious jade, completely different from before.

The Jade Skin Realm was the pinnacle of skin tempering. Not only was it impervious to blades, but it could also withstand the impact of immense force, being both hard and soft.

Moreover, Ning Qi was practicing a peerless technique like the True Dragon Stance, so his foundation was far more solid than others.

"Next is the Flesh Tempering Realm!"

"Truth be told, it only took me a month, or even less, to reach the pinnacle of skin tempering. If I continue at this pace, one realm per month, wouldn't I be able to complete the entire body tempering stage and give birth to Inner Origin in a year?"

Ning Qi was pleasantly surprised at first, then shook his head.

"No, body tempering is easy at first and difficult later. The further you go, the more time it takes, especially since the later stages go deep into the human body and require extreme caution."

"And the reason I have such rapid speed now is fundamentally because I grasped a stance technique with perfect intent as soon as I stepped into the martial path, and even created a peerless technique like the True Dragon Stance."

"But thinking about it carefully, Eighth Senior Brother also has extraordinary talent. He started martial arts at seven, and it probably took him three or four years to reach perfect intent with the Yazi Stance. Yet, even so, it took him a full eleven years to complete body tempering and give birth to Inner Origin. That shows the difficulty of the later stages."

"However, my speed will still be much faster. My martial path has only just begun, and I will have more time to create techniques to accelerate it."

"The True Dragon Stance is not my limit."

Ning Qi’s eyes were firm and confident.