Chapter 436 - 418: Refining Marrow Like Frost

Chapter 436: Chapter 418: Refining Marrow Like Frost

Martial Arts Calendar, Year 2047. December 1st.

The first day since Lin Qi broke through to the Sixth Realm of Marrow Refining.

There were only five months left until the Global Martial Arts Tournament.

Lin Qi got out of his luxurious black electric car and walked into the Celestial Dome Tower.

His mind, however, was on the matter of Special Abilities.

The increase in his Template Fusion Degree had slowed. It had been over two years, and it was still only at 27.5%.

However, for every 5% increase, he would gain an additional Talent.

His Special Ability was also one of his Talents. Once he reached a 30% Fusion Degree, he would gain a second Special Ability.

So far, he had never heard of anyone who had Awakened two Special Abilities.

Even the five SSS-level geniuses—Du Shanyan, Chu Yu, Zang Sea Dragon, Meng Yuxuan, and Shen Heng—had only Awakened one Special Ability.

But one thing was certain: two Special Abilities were definitely stronger than one.

A few moments later, he made his way up to the third floor of the Celestial Dome Tower and entered a brand-new Martial Arts Room.

The Martial Arts Room was exceptionally spacious, with a minimalist white decor, and was a full five hundred square meters.

The white walls were printed with famous quotes from many Ninth Realm Title Level Martial Artists.

Weapon cabinets lined the corners, filled with all sorts of weapons.

Lin Qi glanced around briefly; they were all Tier One Weapons infused with Delta Alloy.

In the center stood Mu Hong, dressed all in black, practicing his Spear Technique with a long spear.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

SWISH! SWISH!

As he brandished the spear, an invisible, blood-red Mental Realm filled the Martial Arts Room. Standing within it, Lin Qi felt a powerful sense of suppression.

He could feel that if he were to make a move, he likely wouldn’t be able to exert his full strength.

’Is this the power of a Domain?’

When Martial Arts Skills break through to Tier Five, one could form a Domain. Within a Domain, an opponent’s strength would be suppressed, while one’s own strength would be enhanced.

With one side weakened and the other strengthened, this alone could determine the outcome of a battle.

Against a low-realm opponent, one could even suppress them simply by activating the Domain.

Hoo...

A gentle breeze blew, the Domain dissipated, and Mu Hong retracted his spear, turning to look at Lin Qi.

"You’re here!"

He looked at Lin Qi and began to speak slowly.

"I’ve been on the Otherworld Battlefield for several months now, so I’ve mostly been guiding you through video calls."

"But ultimately, it’s not as effective as teaching face-to-face."

"You said yesterday you had some questions that needed answering. Don’t tell me you broke through to the Sixth Realm of Marrow Refining?"

Lin Qi nodded. "You guessed right, Teacher. I have indeed broken through to the Sixth Realm."

Mu Hong was stunned. "You really broke through?"

Lin Qi nodded.

Mu Hong fell silent. If he remembered correctly, Lin Qi had only broken through to the Fifth Realm in August.

’It’s only been four months, and he’s already broken through to the Sixth Realm?’

’He’s progressing far faster than I ever imagined.’

’Back in my day, I didn’t break through from the Fifth to the Sixth Realm until after graduation.’

’But Lin Qi... he’s not even done with the first semester of his sophomore year, and he’s already at the Sixth Realm.’

’It’s too fast!’

’As expected of someone with the potential of an SSS-level genius. He’s already catching up to my senior apprentice-brother, Liang Tai.’

He took a deep breath to calm himself, then looked at Lin Qi with a complicated expression.

"Since you’ve successfully broken through to the Sixth Realm, I’ll give you a detailed explanation of the Marrow Refining realm."

Lin Qi nodded. The Marrow Refining realm was also extremely important.

It involved the cultivation of the body’s bone marrow, and not a single detail could be overlooked.

Mu Hong pondered for a moment before beginning his explanation.

"The Sixth Realm of Marrow Refining is the final stage for a Middle Realm Martial Artist, a transitional realm before becoming a High Realm Martial Artist."

"Once Marrow Refining is complete, our bodies will have finished a major cycle of development."

"Your physical prowess will also experience explosive growth as you officially begin to walk the path toward the Extraordinary."

"At the same time, with the Refinement of your Inner Organs complete, they can work in concert with other parts of your body to release an even more immense Power."

HUMMMMM!

As Mu Hong spoke, he raised his long spear with one hand. Wisps of cyan Power materialized from thin air, swirling around the spear like a gale.

This formed an ethereal, cyan spear-light.

The moment the spear-light formed, whirlwinds kicked up throughout the Martial Arts Room, carrying a biting Sharpness.

WHOOSH!

In the next instant, he thrust the silver long spear in his hand forward!

BANG!

The cyan spear-light shot forward, tearing through the air before exploding violently several meters away.

It kicked up a fierce gale inside the Martial Arts Room.

Standing tall and straight, Mu Hong retracted his spear and said:

"A Sixth Realm Martial Artist can condense their Power into a destructive ray, releasing it from their body. The damage it can cause is already quite considerable."

"Once the spear-light is unleashed, it can easily tear through the flesh of a First-Level Calamity Beast. A Second-Level Calamity Beast would be heavily wounded, and even a Third-Level Calamity Beast would be knocked back."

"You now possess a proper ranged attack."

"The damage is greatest within a three-meter radius of the body."

"And the stronger one’s physique, the larger this range becomes."

"It can even effectively block damage from Special Abilities."

As the wind from the Power washed over him, Lin Qi realized that a martial artist’s resistance to Special Abilities grew stronger at the Sixth Realm.

This made fighting across realms increasingly difficult.

A First Realm Martial Artist with an Awakened Ability could fight someone in the Third Realm, crossing two entire realms.

By the Middle Realm, most could only fight an Ordinary Martial Artist one realm above them.

And in the High Realm, where everyone had Awakened Special Abilities, fighting across realms became nearly impossible.

Only the most elite SSS-level geniuses could achieve such a feat.

From this, it was clear how much of a power-up was gained after achieving Powerful Force.

After demonstrating the changes that came with Marrow Refining, Mu Hong activated a green holographic projection, displaying a wealth of diagrams and information.

"The process of Marrow Refining is delicate work. Making progress is not so easy."

"Breaking through to a Qi and Blood Value of 1,000 marks the beginning of the Marrow Refining realm. But to break through to the Seventh Realm’s 4,000, there’s a gap of 3,000 in Qi and Blood Value."

"That’s more than the increase in Qi and Blood Value from the First Realm to the Sixth Realm combined."

"To raise your Qi and Blood Value, you need to consume large amounts of top-level resources. Without money, you can only slowly grind it out by cultivating a Source Energy Skill."

"The transition from the Sixth to the Seventh Realm is a watershed moment. Countless geniuses get stuck at this realm for their entire lives."

Mu Hong pointed at the data on the screen, his expression serious as he spoke.

"In our Xia Country, we divide geniuses into seven grades, but only A-level geniuses have a hope of breaking through to the Seventh Realm."

"For anyone below B-level, the Sixth Realm is their limit."

"Only 20% of geniuses among Sixth Realm Martial Artists can advance to the Seventh Realm."

"Our Xia Country doesn’t lack Middle Realm Martial Artists, or rather, we don’t lack Sixth Realm Martial Artists."

"But we are desperately short on Seventh Realm Martial Artists!"

"This stage of Marrow Refining is a critical juncture, linking the middle realms to the high realms."

"I myself was stuck in the Sixth Realm for five or six years before I finally broke through."

Lin Qi nodded. Hearing his teacher, Mu Hong, explain it like this, he realized the Marrow Refining stage wouldn’t be as easy as he had imagined.

Mu Hong continued, "Of course, the quality of your Marrow Refining also determines whether you can break through."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qi suddenly thought of Martial Bones and Visceral Quality. ’Marrow Refining must have different levels of quality too, right?’

He asked curiously, "Then, Teacher, how are the different levels of Marrow Refining distinguished?"

The black-clad Mu Hong switched the projection, bringing up new information as he continued.

"In every realm, the degree of bodily Refinement achieved is completely different. It all depends on the sophistication of the Cultivation Technique, one’s personal Talent, and the resources consumed."

"Each breakthrough is another layer added to your foundation."

"This is especially evident in the Middle Realm, where you forge your Martial Bone and cultivate fourth-grade quality Inner Organs!"

"Achieving each of these lays a profound Foundation for yourself."

"Like the inner organs, Marrow Refining is divided into four levels."

"The first is Muddy Marrow: the marrow is turbid with many impurities. Cultivation speed is extremely slow, the body’s foundation is unstable, and the early-stage of the Sixth Realm is the limit."

"The second is Clear and Muddy Marrow: the marrow is a mix of clear and turbid. It’s a bit better than Muddy Marrow, and one has a hope of reaching the peak of the Sixth Realm."

"The third is Clear Marrow: the marrow is clear with few impurities. Generally, only geniuses who have forged a Martial Bone can achieve this. They have a ninety percent chance of breaking through to the Seventh Realm."

"I myself achieved Clear Marrow back then."

"The fourth and best type is called Purified Marrow. The marrow is pure and flawless, with almost no impurities."

"The foundation it provides is profound, capable of driving deep-seated transformation and metamorphosis within the body."

"It guarantees a 100% chance of breaking through to the Seventh Realm, with a high probability of reaching the Ninth Realm in the future."

"There’s an old saying, ’Refining Marrow Like Frost,’ which means the refined bone marrow should be as pure as frost, without impurities."

Lin Qi looked at the projection, which clearly introduced the four types of marrow, along with their colors.

They could also perceive the quality of their marrow through Spirit Perception.

"Teacher, is there a fifth type of marrow?"

Lin Qi suddenly asked.

Mu Hong thought for a moment before replying, "Theoretically, yes."

"Just as some say there is a fifth-grade of Organ Cultivation Quality, there are also those who speak of another type of marrow, called Glazed Marrow."

"It is truly without a single trace of impurity, as pure as glazed glass. It initiates a deep-level transformation of the body, leading to a massive increase in physical strength."

"However, for now, I’ve only heard rumors that the world’s strongest have achieved it."

"You’re an SSS-level genius, so your goal should be Purified Marrow."

"Among S-class geniuses, only seventy percent can forge a Martial Bone. By the time they reach the Fifth Realm, only fifty percent of them can cultivate fourth-grade quality Inner Organs."

"And by the Sixth Realm, a mere twenty percent can succeed at Refining Marrow Like Frost."

"Only a very small number of SS-level and SSS-level geniuses can do it."

Lin Qi nodded. ’My goal isn’t Purified Marrow,’ he thought, ’but the fifth type.’

’My Visceral Quality has already reached the fifth-grade, which proves that these theoretical qualities are real.’

’I’m confident I can achieve Glazed Marrow and widen the gap between myself and the other geniuses even further in the Sixth Realm.’

Mu Hong switched the projection again and continued speaking.

"There are many methods for Marrow Refining. Failing to perform any one of them to perfection will affect the final quality of your marrow."

"The first method is the Refinement method itself, the Bone Marrow Cultivation Technique. These techniques vary in quality."

"A Five-star rating Source Energy Skill naturally contains the best Bone Marrow Cultivation Technique."

"The second is relying on the Martial Artist’s own Talent. Marrow Refining involves using Spiritual Power to control your Qi and Blood Value to activate and refine the bone marrow."

"If you have a Martial Bone and fourth-grade quality Inner Organs, you can refine out a great deal of impurities and improve the quality of your marrow."

"Then there are various top-level Potion Resources, or Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. You can use these external forces to remove impurities and refine your bone marrow."

Lin Qi nodded to himself. ’I can do all of that,’ he thought.

’I have a top-level Talent, and I have plenty of money.’

’In terms of resources, I have Level 7 Calamity Beast flesh and blood, which can also be used to refine bone marrow.’

’As long as I have enough time, breaking through to the Seventh Realm is just a matter of time.’

...