Chapter 5: Before the Hall of Spiritual Medicines

To open two spirit meridians in a mere day—if this were to get out, everyone would surely think Chu Fengmian was a monster.

To open even a single spirit meridian relying solely on one's own strength is an arduous task, let alone opening two within a single day.

"This Bone-Breaking Rebirth Art truly lives up to its reputation as the former number one technique."

Chu Fengmian sighed inwardly. However, only someone with a will as firm as his could cultivate this Bone-Breaking Rebirth Art to open spirit meridians.

For an ordinary spirit master, the countless times of shattering and reshaping their meridians would be enough to make them faint from the pain; once they fainted, death would be the only outcome.

Precisely because of this, those capable of cultivating the Bone-Breaking Rebirth Art are few and far between.

In his previous life, Chu Fengmian had endured untold suffering, yet he still couldn't cultivate. Now that he finally had the opportunity, how could he possibly give up?

While opening the second spirit meridian, Chu Fengmian also discovered that the strength of his body was now several times greater than before.

In terms of raw power, it was already more than ten times what it had been just a moment ago.

"Bone Tempering Realm, Third Stage."

Chu Fengmian sensed his condition; indeed, his cultivation level had stepped into the third stage of the Bone Tempering Realm due to the opening of his meridians.

Thirty-five Bone Tempering Pills were theoretically enough to allow a martial artist at the first stage of the Bone Tempering Realm to step into the second.

However, that was only for ordinary martial artists. It was already difficult for them to absorb even fifty percent of the spiritual energy within the pills, whereas Chu Fengmian could absorb all one hundred percent with almost zero loss. It was precisely because of this that he was able to rely on those thirty-five pills to leap directly into the third stage of the Bone Tempering Realm.

Chu Fengmian stood up and secretly activated the Phantom Movement Technique. Suddenly, his figure became astonishingly fast, moving about the room.

Within the room, there were three images of Chu Fengmian, two of which were merely afterimages created by his speed.

Now that he had entered the third stage of the Bone Tempering Realm, Chu Fengmian could finally activate the Phantom Movement Technique. Although he could only manifest two afterimages and had not reached the legendary level of thousands, he was confident in dealing with any martial artist below the fifth stage of the Bone Tempering Realm.

"Let's go out and practice."

Chu Fengmian pushed open the door and looked at the night sky. His body moved continuously in the courtyard, repeating the process of condensing afterimages and familiarizing himself with the Phantom Movement Technique.

By the time Chu Fengmian rested, the sky had already brightened.

Having not slept all night, Chu Fengmian felt no fatigue; on the contrary, he was extremely spirited. For a martial artist, cultivation is far more refreshing than sleep. Many martial arts experts can go decades or even centuries without sleeping, cultivating their martial path at every moment.

Over the course of the night, Chu Fengmian had finally mastered the Phantom Movement Technique to the minor success stage.

Chu Fengmian was naturally gifted. In his previous life, he simply couldn't circulate spiritual energy, so he couldn't cultivate. But this time, in just one night, he had grasped the Phantom Movement Technique to the minor success stage.

With this, even if he were to face a martial artist at the seventh stage of the Bone Tempering Realm, while he might not be able to defeat them, he would at least be invincible.

"Today is the day the stipends are distributed, isn't it?"

Chu Fengmian lowered his head and pondered. Today was the middle of the month, the day the Lin Mansion distributed monthly stipends.

Usually, Chu Fengmian's stipend was collected by the outer sect disciples of the Lin Mansion, and by the time it reached his hands, it had been skimmed so many times he didn't even know how much was missing.

Back then, Chu Fengmian had anger but dared not speak; after all, without strength, everything was just empty talk.

But this time was different. Having stepped into the third stage of the Bone Tempering Realm, Chu Fengmian now had a place for himself in the outer sect of the Lin Mansion.

This time, it was time for Chu Fengmian to collect it himself.

A smile appeared on the corner of Chu Fengmian's mouth as he strode toward the Spirit Medicine Hall of the outer sect.

The Spirit Medicine Hall was where the monthly stipends were distributed. For martial artists, the best stipend was medicinal pills, so the disciples of the Lin Mansion received varying amounts of pills each month.

As Chu Fengmian walked through the outer sect of the Lin Mansion, many disciples who had risen early to collect their pills looked at him with strange expressions.

Usually, Chu Fengmian never dared to collect his own pills; they were always collected by others. What was going on this time?

In particular, many had noticed that Chu Fengmian's temperament—the way he held his head high—was completely different from before. He looked like a completely different person.

"Could it be that Chu Fengmian can actually cultivate now? Has he stepped into the Bone Tempering Realm?"

Some outer sect disciples whispered to each other. The news of Chu Fengmian defeating Cao Dahai had already spread throughout the entire outer sect of the Lin Mansion.

After all, Chu Fengmian was known by everyone as a piece of trash. Now that he had suddenly struck out and defeated Cao Dahai, they were all extremely surprised.

"But so what if he stepped into the Bone Tempering Realm? A martial artist with only one spirit meridian is still trash."

An outer sect disciple said with disdain.

A martial artist with one spirit meridian was indeed no different from trash; it was difficult for them to step into the Body Forging Realm in their entire life, and they could only be said to be slightly better than ordinary people.

"Look, that kid is going to the Spirit Medicine Hall to collect his pills. Let's go, let's go see."

An outer sect disciple laughed, pulling the others along as they hurried toward the Spirit Medicine Hall, intending to watch Chu Fengmian make a fool of himself.

Chu Fengmian saw the mockery and disdain in their eyes.

However, he had no interest in dealing with these petty people one by one.

Defeating Cao Dahai was only Chu Fengmian's first step. What he intended to do next was to become the master of the Lin Mansion.

At the Spirit Medicine Hall, a long line had formed early in the morning. However, only those outer sect disciples had to queue; those who held some status in the outer sect didn't need to wait, as people would naturally step aside for them.

"Oh? Isn't this Steward Chu? Why have you come to collect your pills in person today?"

Just as Chu Fengmian arrived at the entrance of the Spirit Medicine Hall, an untimely voice rang out.

A man with several scars on his face stood at the entrance, sneering at Chu Fengmian.

It was he who had just mocked Chu Fengmian.

"Hmm?"

Chu Fengmian raised his head and looked at the man.

This man was named Lin Gou, an outer sect disciple of the Lin Mansion. Although his aptitude was low and he was only at the fourth stage of the Bone Tempering Realm, he was a sycophant and a favored subordinate of the deputy steward of the outer sect, giving him some status in the Lin Mansion.

In the past, Lin Gou had often targeted Chu Fengmian, but back then, Chu Fengmian's strength was low, and he couldn't do anything about it.

A cold smile appeared on the corner of Chu Fengmian's mouth.

He had just mastered the Phantom Movement Technique to the minor success stage and needed someone to test it on. This Lin Gou had delivered himself right to his doorstep.