Chapter 17: Perfection of Bone Refining

Next.

Ning Qi's life gradually stabilized.

Since moving to his new residence near the Library of Sutras, he had felt like a fish in water.

Every day he practiced martial arts, and the rest of his time was spent immersed in the Library, hungrily absorbing its nourishment and transforming it into his own foundation.

Thanks to this, Ning Qi felt that his comprehension of martial principles was aided by divine inspiration, even more exaggerated than before.

Due to Daoist Longshan's instructions, his other senior brothers basically did not disturb him, and Ning Qi enjoyed it. He did not feel bored in the slightest; possessing max-level comprehension in this life, the joy of cultivation was infinitely magnified, leaving him craving more.

Being alone satisfied him greatly.

It was much better than his previous life.

Furthermore, his master and many senior brothers and sisters did not ignore him; they simply visited less frequently than before to avoid disturbing him.

Ye Qinghe was still the one who visited most often.

Occasionally, if a senior brother went down the mountain, he would inevitably bring some gifts for Ning Qi, all of which were delivered by her. However, the variety of these gifts gradually shifted from being diverse to becoming uniform: books.

Everyone knew.

The junior brother was obsessed with reading and often stayed in the Library without coming downstairs.

However, what made Ning Qi sigh inwardly was that the Eighth Senior Brother was no longer as close to him as before.

Once, Qin Yun had visited Ning Qi's new residence, but he only stayed for a short time, spoke a few words regarding cultivation, and then left, never to return again.

He was only seen during festivals when the many true disciples gathered together. Of course, when they did meet, he still wore a smile, and if Qin Yun went down the mountain, he would still bring books back for Ning Qi, but inevitably, there was a sense of estrangement.

Ning Qi could roughly sense it.

The Eighth Senior Brother seemed somewhat jealous of him, whether it was because of his talent or his master's favoritism.

Regarding this, he could only feel helpless. No matter how high his talent was, he could not control the thoughts of others.

He could only try to be as low-profile as possible.

Most of his time was spent cultivating in the Library or in his own small courtyard.

Occasionally, he would observe the heavens and nature alone.

Slowly, this ninth disciple of the Zhenwu Sect gradually became a mysterious figure in the eyes of the many outer and inner sect disciples.

...

In the blink of an eye, nearly a year had passed.

Ning Qi was four years old.

Inside the Library, a small figure in a white Daoist robe stood with hands behind his back, browsing through ancient texts while muttering to himself.

"This Tiger Fiend Fist is quite interesting. If one can grasp the essence of the Tiger Fiend, it can seize the soul; it can be considered an exquisite fighting style."

Ning Qi's eyes showed a hint of admiration.

As his thoughts turned, he had already fully comprehended the Tiger Fiend Fist, even extracting its essence to incorporate into his own creation, the Zhenwu Fist.

Stance training was a method for tempering the body and included combat techniques, but compared to martial arts specifically focused on offense, it was still somewhat inferior.

To this end, in his spare time, Ning Qi also practiced various offensive techniques, eventually creating this Zhenwu Fist—a style that encompassed all things and possessed peerless lethality. Within the Body Tempering Realm, it could be called invincible.

Although he sought the Dao of Longevity, he also needed techniques to protect that path.

Otherwise, having only high cultivation realms would inevitably lead to being killed by others.

He dabbled in fist techniques, movement techniques, and the arts of blades and swords; several of his primary focuses had reached realms unimaginable to ordinary people.

In this one year, he had grown tremendously.

Reading texts every day, he had read at least ten percent of the books in the Library, all of which he had transformed into his own foundation. If it came to martial knowledge, even a powerhouse of the Gangyuan Realm might not surpass him.

Ning Qi put back the Tiger Fiend Fist manual, stretched, and let his thoughts drift into the distance.

"In one year, I have reached the perfection of Bone Refining. Thus, the four outer stages of Body Tempering are completely perfected. Currently, a single arm of mine possesses five thousand catties of strength, making my foundation much more solid than my senior brothers; they only had three thousand catties of strength when they reached this stage."

"But this is not enough. This is not the perfect foundation I envisioned."

"The four outer stages were completed in one year. To complete the four inner stages, and then achieve the unity of inner and outer to step into the Inner Yuan Realm, it might take another two years. That means I will only step into the Inner Yuan Realm at age six."

"Compared to ordinary people, this speed is already extremely fast, but I can be even faster."

Ning Qi's gaze turned toward the outside of the pavilion.

In reality, he could have stepped into the Viscera Refining Realm a month ago, but he chose not to break through.

Sometimes, being slow is for the sake of being faster.

"During this year, besides practicing martial arts, much of my energy was actually focused on creating stance training. I don't know if it's because I've hit a ceiling, but the difficulty of creating this particular stance technique is greater than I imagined; it has actually taken me this much time."

"However, it's almost there. The essence of stance training is no longer a secret to me. Having comprehended over a hundred stance manuals, in a few days, this supreme stance technique will surely be completed!"

Ning Qi's eyes were full of anticipation.

In his conception, above Peerless Stance Training lay Supreme Stance Training.

If he could succeed, he was confident that he could generate inner strength and step into the Inner Yuan Realm a year from now.

The difference would be much larger, which was why he had not yet broken through to the Viscera Refining Realm. If he rushed to break through now, it would actually take more time later when he used the Supreme Stance Training to rebuild his foundation. But if he only had to rebuild the four outer stages, it would be much simpler.

"Observing the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth to gain inspiration. Though the True Dragon is incredibly strong, in the end, it is merely one of the myriad phenomena."

"Time—if it can be saved, it is better to save it."

Ning Qi turned and picked up a book beside him.

*Miscellaneous Notes of the Snow Plum Villa*.

He gently stroked it without opening it.

He knew what was written inside.

The heroic deeds of the founder of Snow Plum Villa, Young Master Ye Ningye, and the swordswoman Mei Jian Xue Mei.

And at the very end, there was a single, brief sentence

"In the twenty-seventh year of Yongxin, Snow Plum Villa was massacred by a mysterious force; not a single soul survived. A great regret."

This was brought back by the Eldest Senior Brother two years ago during his travels and placed in the Library.

Ning Qi let out a slow breath.

"Back then, that Lord Feng retreated because of Master; his realm likely does not exceed the Yuan Dan Realm, most likely the second stage of the Gangyuan Realm, the Jade Liquid Realm."

"The Gangyuan Realm lasts four hundred years. I only hope you aren't killed by someone else first."

If possible, Ning Qi still wanted to do it himself.

He felt that once he reached the Gangyuan Realm, swatting that person dead should not be a major problem.

Setting down the notes, Ning Qi looked out of the pavilion.

Sure enough, a familiar, lazy voice rang out.

"Little Ninth, are you ready to set off?"

Ye Qinghe pushed the door open, her face wearing an "I knew you were here" expression.

Looking at the vast sea of books inside the Library gave her a headache.

"You're leaving in a moment, yet you're still here reading. I might as well just call you a bookworm!"

Ye Qinghe leaned over, her slender fingers poking Ning Qi's cheek.

Ning Qi habitually brushed her hand away and smiled.

"Weren't you just arriving?"

"Let's go."

Ning Qi took the initiative to walk outside.

"It's rare for you to take the initiative to go out, Little Ninth. Today, your Senior Sister must take you on a proper tour so you don't go stir-crazy," Ye Qinghe said excitedly.

Ning Qi shook his head and laughed.

His envisioned Supreme Stance Training was related to the phenomena of heaven and earth. Usually, at most, he would observe clouds, snow, mountains, and water in safe areas of Mount Zhenwu. Recently, feeling he needed a catalyst, he thought about walking toward the outskirts of Mount Zhenwu.

However, the outskirts of Mount Zhenwu had not been cleared, so there were inevitably exotic beasts. For safety, Ning Qi had called upon Ye Qinghe as a ready-made bodyguard.

He cherished his life; he did not think that reaching the perfection of Bone Refining made him invincible and allowed him to run around recklessly. If he encountered a powerful exotic beast, it would be the end.

To his surprise, Ye Qinghe was even more excited than he was.