C21 Difficult Blood Forging!

Staring at the twenty Blood Forging Pills laid out before him, Mo Fanchen fell into a contemplative silence. His mind began to drift through the events that unfolded after his martial spirit awoke and he became a warrior.

From what Su Muyan had explained to him, reaching the initial stage of the Body Tempering Realm should be relatively straightforward for a warrior. The first step in Body Tempering involved conditioning the body's bones, muscles, and flesh to enhance strength, reflexes, and other physical capabilities.

Armed with the Raging Bull Force skill, Mo Fanchen had made a strong start in his strength training. The Dance of a Thousand Raindrops skill, imparted by Wu Chang, had also provided excellent nourishment, aiding in the tempering of his bones and muscles. He had faced little trouble in channeling his genuine energy and clearing his meridians.

Furthermore, his repertoire of Outer Sect skills—Mad Bull Fist, Titan's Fall, Shadow Waltz, and Grand Forsaken Grapple—had significantly honed his body's resilience, power, agility, and reflexes.

His training intensified under the relentless guidance of the Wu brothers at Scourgehold. His personal strength had surged impressively since his early days as a warrior!

Mo Fanchen was now certain that if he were to confront Zhang Xiaolong and his crew again, victory wouldn't be as hard-won as before. Relying solely on his physical prowess and martial skills, without even tapping into his genuine energy, he could dispatch them swiftly.

He was brimming with confidence in his abilities!

Indeed, being able to spar with the Wu brothers, who were at the Innate Realm, and hold his own for over a dozen moves was proof enough of his progress. And it was worth noting that the Wu brothers possessed the formidable Inner Strength Realm!

"So, I've got a solid start and a strong foundation. Now, let's see if I can break through the Body Tempering Realm and reach the Blood Forging Realm tonight!" Mo Fanchen whispered to himself, psyching himself up. Without a second thought, he popped a Blood Forging Pill into his mouth.

The pill didn't dissolve instantly as he had expected; it was more like biting into a large chocolate bean. Thankfully, the taste wasn't too overpowering. After chewing vigorously for a moment, the pill gradually began to break down in his mouth.

Mo Fanchen quickly channeled his genuine energy throughout his body, directing it to seek out the effects of the Blood Forging Pill he had ingested.

Simultaneously, he stimulated the Qi and blood within his veins, synergizing the genuine energy, his bloodline, and the resonance of the Blood Forging Pill. With the combined force of the genuine energy and the pill's medicinal power, he meticulously worked to thicken the Qi and blood in his bloodline.

Despite several attempts to circulate his genuine energy, the potency of the Blood Forging Pill had worn off, and Mo Fanchen found no change in his bloodline's Qi and blood!

"How odd, could it be that my approach to the breakthrough is incorrect?" Mo Fanchen mused, perplexed. Undeterred, he declared, "Hell no! I refuse to believe this. Let's go again!"

Unfazed by the setback, Mo Fanchen took another Blood Forging Pill and, with even more precision and focus than before, tried once more to condense his Qi and blood.

Yet, his internal Qi and blood remained as unresponsive as dead water, leaving Mo Fanchen without any progress and defeated once again.

"Damn! Could these Blood Forging Pills be expired?... No way, I'm trying again!" he exclaimed, refusing to concede and repeating the process once more.

...

After consuming ten Blood Forging Pills, Mo Fanchen's energy and strength were alarmingly depleted.

"Is advancing to the Blood Forging Realm really this challenging?"

The resolve Mo Fanchen had just moments ago began to wane.

Even if he could muster the will, his energy and strength were nearly spent, leaving him with the desire but not the means to continue.

With only ten Blood Forging Pills remaining, he knew he couldn't shamelessly ask others for more once these were gone, especially without a source to acquire them. It seemed he would have to use what was left sparingly.

Yet, he couldn't afford to remain stagnant in the Body Tempering Realm indefinitely. How else could he protect Su Muyan and alter the course of her destiny?

"No, I must seek guidance from someone! But who?"

Mo Fanchen glanced at the electronic clock on his bedside table; it was already past one in the morning.

To prepare for Xuan Xiu's return the next day, the Wu brothers had retired early to rest and gather their strength. Without a token in Scourgehold, Mo Fanchen couldn't access other realms or meet other guards.

He figured his only option was to seek out Niu Daben for some insight.

However, after a long and disjointed conversation with Niu Daben, Mo Fanchen hadn't gleaned any useful information. With the time approaching three o'clock, he reluctantly decided to postpone his breakthrough to the Body Tempering Realm.

"Clearly, I need more time to train," he thought to himself before drifting off to sleep.

...

"Bam!"

Startled awake by a loud banging on the door, Mo Fanchen barely had time to rub the sleep from his eyes before Wu Chang's booming voice filled the room.

"Mo, are you still asleep? Xuan Xiu will be back in an hour! Aren't you worried about the logistics deacon settling scores with you later?"

Wu Chang's words snapped Mo Fanchen to full alertness. He had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Scourgehold's leader and Ascended Level martial artist.

Zhang Hongyan, at the Peak of the Convergence of Five Energies, could expel him with mere presence. How formidable must Xuan Xiu be, several realms above that? Mo Fanchen doubted anyone from the Su or Shen families in Zouver had such a chance to witness a Mighty's presence.

He would have quite the story to share with Su Muyan later.

With his mind wandering, Mo Fanchen threw on some clothes haphazardly and stepped out of his room with Wu Chang.

Outside the Innate Stage building, in addition to the familiar Wu Sheng, stood two young men Mo Fanchen didn't recognize. They appeared about the same age as the Wu brothers but carried themselves with a more polished and tidy demeanor.

"New colleague?"

One of the men, sporting a baseball cap and sweatpants with headphones around his neck, gave Mo Fanchen an appraising look before extending a friendly hand. "Innate Stage, Chen Xing! Nice to meet you!"

So, this guy was the owner of that "Playboy" magazine! Hehe, thanks for the magazine, it tricked me into getting a decent skill!

While Mo Fanchen thought this, he mimicked Chen Xing's tone and introduced himself, "Ah, hello! Body Tempering, Mo Fanchen!"

"Body Tempering?"

Another man, clad in black sportswear, scrutinized Mo Fanchen and expressed his skepticism, "Since when did Scourgehold lower its standards so much?"

"Enough, this isn't the time for that discussion! You'll have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other later!"

Wu Chang cut off their conversation and urged them with urgency, "We're running out of time. Any more delays and the higher-ups will start swearing up a storm!"

"Right! Right!"

Spurred by Wu Chang's warning, Wu Sheng and the others involuntarily shuddered and rushed toward a wall in the Innate Realm.

What were they up to?

Mo Fanchen watched their actions, puzzled, as there was no visible door in the wall for them to pass through.

The four from Wu Chang's group each took a peculiarly shaped necklace key from around their necks, formed different hand seals, and with a shout, they channeled their genuine energy and struck the bare wall.

The wall, which had been bare moments before, began to ripple like a calm lake's surface under the force of their genuine energy, and soon four square protrusions with matching keyholes emerged from the ripples.

As Mo Fanchen marveled at the scene before him, Wu Chang and the others had already inserted their necklace keys into the keyholes and turned them simultaneously.

"Boom!"

The ground trembled beneath Mo Fanchen's feet as a door slowly opened before them.

"What's this?"

Mo Fanchen asked, his curiosity piqued by the door and the enclosed space that had just been revealed.

"An elevator, you greenhorn!"

Chen Xing's words carried no hint of mockery as he affectionately clapped Mo Fanchen on the shoulder and made small talk, "Mo Fanchen, where are you from? What brings you to Scourgehold? Did you get in through some backdoor?"

The man in the tracksuit rolled his eyes and muttered, "Idiot! What's this about pulling strings? He probably violated the rules of Crime and Punishment and got dumped here for a fresh start."

"Eh? Du Tong, you've got quite the insight!" Chen Xing chuckled. "If you can figure out what he did to end up here, I'll be thoroughly impressed!"

"Hey, how about we place a bet? Let's say a month's worth of cultivation resources?"

Wu Sheng proposed with enthusiasm, "Let's bet on whether Chen Xing can guess why Mo Fanchen was sent here, what do you say?"

"I'm not interested," Du Tong responded, clearly unenthused by the prospect of winning a month's cultivation resources. "In the context of Crime and Punishment, it usually means someone's been injured and sent here. If he'd really done something major, the kid would've likely been stripped of his powers and sent to an external re-education facility."

"Ah Tong, you're becoming less and less fun by the day!" Wu Sheng exclaimed in a tone that suggested he was beyond teaching.

Mo Fanchen, who had been grinning along with the group, chimed in, "Brothers, what kind of person is our Tower Master Xuan Xiu?"

"Uh, it's hard to put into words. You'll just have to see for yourself when you get there!"

As their conversation came to a halt, the so-called elevator chimed, and the doors slowly swung open once more.