Chapter 52: Body Tempering

As they exited the spirit plant area, Father and Mother Li wore broad smiles on their faces. Li Zhen had only been cultivating for a short while, yet he had already reached the second layer of Qi Refining.

This rapid progress was a testament to Li Zhen’s exceptional talent. Having attended cultivator classes themselves, they could confidently say that Li Zhen’s cultivation speed placed him firmly within the top three of his class.

Li Zhen hadn’t anticipated revealing his cultivation realm so soon, but he decided it wasn’t a significant issue.

In his estimation, Yu Nan and Han Wenqin from his class were likely already at the second layer of Qi Refining as well.

If Cheng He were more composed, four students in their class would have attained the second layer by now. Of course, this assumed no other classmates were concealing their true cultivation levels.

Revealing his cultivation at the second layer of Qi Refining wasn’t a concern for Li Zhen, as he was on the cusp of advancing to the third layer.

“Father, I’m off to study!” Li Zhen said, feeling rather self-conscious under his parents’ scrutiny.

Father and Mother Li couldn’t possibly refuse, hastily waving him off to his studies.

Upon reaching his cultivation room, Li Zhen didn’t delve into the ‘Seventeenth Version of Foundation Qi Refining Technique.’ Instead, he focused on the Black Iron Body, a physical refinement technique.

Cultivating the Black Iron Body required Spirit Iron as a catalyst. The consumption progressed from using low-grade first-tier spirit iron in the early stages to mid-grade for the intermediate stages, and finally high-grade for the advanced stages.

No wonder the Xian Nation doesn’t publicly disclose their body refinement techniques. Given this level of consumption, if they were to reveal their methods, they wouldn’t even be able to guarantee mass-producing magical artifacts in the future.

“Could ready-made magical artifacts be useful?” Li Zhen pondered after examining the cultivation method for the Black Iron Body, considering a possible alternative.

To be frank, before he could open those three storage pouches from Nine Heavens Group, there was no way for him to obtain spirit iron.

If the Demon-Worship Cult hadn’t attacked Yunxi County, he might have tried bartering magical items at the ghost market for credit points. However, with the current situation, the ghost market definitely wouldn’t be open.

From the Demon-Worship Cult’s attack, he had acquired a significant number of magical artifacts.

These magical artifacts couldn’t easily be sold in the Xian Nation, nor could they be used in his original world; thus, these artifacts were essentially stuck in his hands.

Initially, he planned to have the Dragon Heart Space consume them entirely, but this approach seemed wasteful and would only slightly improve his spiritual roots and innate talent.

After seeing the cultivation method for the ‘Black Iron Body’, he realized the spirit iron used was essentially the Xian Nation’s spirit ore, which is the primary material for magical artifacts.

Li Zhen retrieved a low-grade first-rank long sword magical artifact from the Dragon Heart Space. He held the long sword like a stick, using its back to strike his own arm.

As he circulated the ‘Black Iron Body’ cultivation technique, each time the blade’s back hit his skin, he sensed energy entering his body.

This energy was the essence of the golden spirit iron, also used for cultivating the ‘Black Iron Body’.

The Black Iron Body technique utilized the golden essence from spirit iron to continuously strengthen the cultivator’s body, achieving the effect of body refinement.

After discovering that striking his arm with the sword’s spine was effective, Li Zhen, his heart swelling with excitement, used the Dragon’s Heart Space to put away all his clothes.

Now he could strike every part of his body with the sword’s spine, allowing the golden essence from the spirit iron to cover his entire body.

If any cultivator from any world could witness his method of body refinement, they would surely beat their chests in astonishment at such reckless behavior.

No cultivator would ever waste resources by using a finished magical item for body refinement.

Li Zhen had no choice; he was too young, and these countless unverified magical items in his possession could not be exchanged for credibility points. Using them for body refinement was a useful alternative.

Perhaps due to his body having previously experienced the enhancement of the dragon heart, he managed to persevere through his first session of body refinement for a full three hours.

His entire body turned crimson, with faint traces of black flowing beneath his skin.

The low-grade first-rank longsword magical item in his hand, after three hours of use, had its spiritual presence nearly imperceptible.

What concerned him further was that towards the end of those three hours, he could barely detect any traces of the golden essence emanating from the low-grade first-rank longsword magical item.

Li Zhen switched to a low-grade first-rank longsword magical item. He had dozens of similar items at his disposal anyway.

After striking himself again, he confirmed that the low-grade first-rank longsword no longer offered any refinement benefits.

He pondered for a moment before pulling out a mid-grade first-rank blade magical item. His aim wasn’t to persistently cultivate but rather to test his theory.

As expected, using the mid-grade blade, he immediately regained the sensation of metallic essence flowing into his body.

“Could I have already reached the Mid Stage of Body Tempering?” Li Zhen muttered to himself, scarcely believing it.

The Mid Stage of Body Tempering roughly corresponded to the Mid Stage of Qi Refining, encompassing the fourth to sixth layers of qi cultivation. Unlike qi cultivation, however, Body Tempering wasn’t divided into such precise levels; it only had early, mid, and late stages.

Reaching the Mid Stage of Body Tempering would indeed make him a small powerhouse in Yunxi County.

Most of the cultivator teachers at school were also around the Mid Stage of Qi Refining.

He suddenly remembered something and opened his identity bracelet. His retinal display showed his current information:

 Name: Li Zhen (Male)

 Age: 12

 Realm: Qi Refining 2nd Layer

 Spirit Root: 
 - Wood: 21.22
 - Water: 20
 - Metal: 20
 - Fire: 18
 - Earth: 13
 - Thunder: 19

 Spirits: 1

 Spirit Energy: 27.45

 Physical Body: 1st Layer (33/100)

The addition of “Physical Body” to his information indicated that he was now cultivating a body refinement technique. However, to display this attribute, he had to first activate it by training a suitable technique.

First Degree was equivalent to the Initial Qi Refining Stage. His current cultivation progress stood at 33, which is one-third of the total progress needed. He was at the peak of the initial phase of Physical Body First Degree and could soon breakthrough to its intermediate stage.

Li Zhen couldn’t help but wonder how using just one low-grade first-rank long sword could have such an impact on his physical body.

Cultivating the Black Iron Body required at least twenty portions of low-grade first-rank spirit iron. Even the mass-produced low-grade first-rank long swords of the Immortal Nation contained less than a single portion of spirit iron.

He hadn’t considered the role of the dragon heart. Due to his frail body initially, when the chaotic young dragon integrated the dragon heart into his flesh through the medium of dragon blood, it reinforced his body significantly.

However, the dragon blood was too potent. After the dragon heart was in place, the young dragon had it absorb all the excess dragon blood back into itself. This ensured that the enhancement to his body was the sum total of the dragon blood’s effect.

His physical enhancements had been built on a solid foundation, surpassing that of an ordinary person by a significant margin, and even rivaling that of a Qi Refining cultivator. However, this was his limit; any further enhancement would cause his mortal body to collapse.

When he transmigrated into this body, he had destroyed the soul of the young Chaos dragon, merging only with the spirit of his human predecessor.

This unique experience allowed him to effortlessly overcome the initial stages of cultivating the ‘Black Iron Body’ technique, a method for refining the physical body.

Cultivators are particularly attuned to the changes in their bodies, and he could now sense his entire self with heightened clarity.

Currently, his fleshly body’s strength had increased by nearly half. Even before this enhancement, his power was already formidable, comparable to a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator. Now, he should be able to overpower such a cultivator with ease.

While he couldn’t directly measure his reaction speed, he could plainly feel a significant improvement in his agility and movement.

To accurately gauge the changes in his strength and velocity, he’d need specialized instruments for testing.

He unsheathed the Xingrui E07 Longsword, gritted his teeth, and made a slicing motion towards his arm.

The Xingrui E07, though classified as a low-grade, first-rank magical longsword, boasted considerable sharpness. Even a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, without employing magic or magical artifacts for defense, would struggle to withstand its penetration against their physical defenses.

However, when the Xingrui E07 sword sliced across him, it failed to break his skin, leaving only a faint white mark that disappeared almost instantly once the blade was removed.

This extraordinary resilience was the true strength of the ‘Black Iron Body’ cultivation technique.

With his body cultivation at the peak initial stage of the first level, Han Wenqin had fortified himself to match the hardness of a low-grade first-rank magical artifact.

By the time he reached the intermediate stage of ‘Black Iron Body’, even a mid-grade first-rank magical artifact would struggle to breach his defenses.

Of course, he wouldn’t risk taking a cultivator’s magical weapon attack head-on. Cultivators had too many methods at their disposal; who knew if there might exist artifacts specifically designed to counter physical enhancement techniques?

The comprehensive improvement in strength, speed, and defense allowed his swordsmanship to reach its maximum potential.

Unfortunately, the cultivation room’s size was too limited, preventing him from fully utilizing the Xian Nation’s basic sword techniques. Even if he wanted to make use of the Going Beyond Swordplay venue, it was currently unavailable.

News from Han Wenqin revealed that most of the Han family cultivators were engaged in Yunxi County’s reconstruction efforts, security maintenance, and other such tasks. The original personnel responsible for these duties had suffered significant casualties, leaving them without the manpower to continue.