Chapter 488: 116: The Four Steps of Outer Refining, The Terror of the Golden Body!_2

Chapter 488: Chapter 116: The Four Steps of Outer Refining, The Terror of the Golden Body!_2

Since merit has been earned, it must be met with rewards.

He guessed that Hong Minghu had sought him out at the first opportunity, probably in relation to this matter.

He was not in a hurry about this issue.

The merit that belonged to him couldn’t escape.

Within the Inspection Office here, even the current Hong Minghu, in his eyes, was far inferior to him.

More than half a month ago, he had been able to fight two against one.

Above the Luoshui River, he had slain two Martial Artists from the God Worship Sect who were at the Fifth Grade Internal Strength Realm.

Let alone now.

In the Martial Arts, compared to more than half a month ago, his cultivation of the Jade Bone had progressed much further, and he was only a few days away from fully forging the Jade Bone.

As for his skills, he had achieved an even greater breakthrough.

His spiritual power was transformed, enabling him to open the Heavenly Eye.

Moreover, his swordsmanship had broken its limit once again, enhancing his Sword Force.

Now his strength was completely incomparable to what it had been more than half a month ago.

The growth in his strength was extremely evident.

Especially the breakthrough in his swordsmanship, which had brought a more noticeable increase in combat ability.

Swordsmanship was his strongest means of slaying enemies, and the breakthrough in swordsmanship made his strengths even more pronounced.

Now, if he were to face those two Fifth Grade Internal Strength Martial Artists from the God Worship Sect again, he could take their lives with just one strike at full explosive power.

He was no longer what he once had been!

Therefore, in his eyes, Hong Minghu, who had entered the Internal Strength Realm by relying on external things, would undoubtedly be far inferior to him in strength.

In Luoshui County at present, unless there were other hermit experts, the only one he wasn’t confident about was the elderly lady from the Internal Affairs Office, the Granny Bai who Hong Minghu had mentioned.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning spoke up, “Is the old granny from the Internal Affairs Office around?”

Upon hearing this, Xie Xiaojiu immediately responded, “Yes, she’s been sunbathing in the Internal Affairs Office since early morning. Because salaries were distributed today, subordinates went there to exchange for necessary items this morning.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning said, “I will make a trip to the Internal Affairs Office!”

“Sir, I will go as well!” Xie Xiaojiu quickly followed Jiang Ning.

She no longer mentioned the matter of the Xie family, just secretly grateful in her heart, thankful that Jiang Ning had given the Xie family a chance to survive.

…

Internal Affairs Office.

As Jiang Ning stepped into the courtyard of the Internal Affairs Office, he saw an old woman around fifty with some strands of silver hair sitting in the courtyard sunbathing, appearing to be in her forties.

She was sitting there like a serene deity, with her eyes slightly squinted.

The noise of their entry into the courtyard caused the old woman to slowly open her eyes.

“Is that you?”

“Greetings to the senior,” Jiang Ning saluted with clasped hands.

The moment he first saw the old woman, he thought about secretly activating his Heavenly Eye to take a peek.

But as soon as this thought arose, his body bristled with instincts telling him it was not permitted.

He immediately understood that this old woman was unfathomably deep, a person of inconceivable depth.

His demeanor immediately became respectful.

“You, young man, are not bad!” The old woman looked at Jiang Ning, nodding her head in approval and then said, “The fact that Luoshui County didn’t encounter trouble the other day, it really is all thanks to you, young man!”

Jiang Ning modestly said, “It is only what’s expected. With great power comes great responsibility. As the ‘Lord’ in everyone’s eyes, I should bear the duty and obligation to protect the people.”

“Very good, very good!” The old woman nodded in agreement again, looking very satisfied.

Then, a cloth bag appeared in her hand, which she tossed to Jiang Ning.

“This is your salary. Currently due to logistical reasons, I am temporarily distributing it. As for the merit you’ve earned by defending the city at the critical moment, someone from above will come to see you in person.”

Jiang Ning watched as the cloth bag flew toward him through the air, and he quickly reached out to catch it.

The cloth bag disappeared from his hand in an instant, as he stored it inside the Sumeru Ring.

To him now, whether he received a salary or not was already unimportant.

His salary was not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth now.

Therefore, there was no need to check it.

After placing the cloth bag into the Sumeru Ring, Jiang Ning saluted again.

“Senior, do I now have the authority to understand the Fifth Grade Inner Strength Realm of Martial Arts?”

The old woman gave Jiang Ning a look and immediately understood his intention.

He nodded slightly, “Indeed, within the Martial Arts Nine Grade, there is actually a significant division. Below the Fifth Grade, it is all about Body Refining and outer refining, refining the skin, flesh, tendons, and bones.”

“Achieving these four steps of the method is not considered any top secret; with just money, one can easily obtain the relevant techniques.”

“Joining the various sects across the land also enables easy access to these techniques.”

“Among the four steps of Body Refining and outer refining, only a few key steps are top secrets, such as the ‘Refining Skin’ phase’s Gold Body technique. There are only a handful of methods that can accomplish the highest Gold Body technique under the heavens, not exceeding the number of two hands.”

“Among them is the Vajra Immortal Body from Vajra Temple, regarded as the best. If one could refine into the Vajra Immortal Body, even if just on the level of the Martial Arts Nine Grade, one would be able to battle against a Sixth Rank.”

Jiang Ning stood in front of the old woman and listened quietly to her narration. When he heard this, he could no longer contain himself.

“Is it that exaggerated?” he asked, showing an expression of surprise.

“Exaggerated?” The old woman glanced at Jiang Ning indifferently, then shook her head, “Your perspective is too narrow. You don’t understand the terror of a Gold Body. You have to know that the body is a whole. If you can achieve a Gold Body, do you think the skin, flesh, tendons, and bones will be poor?”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning nodded in strong agreement.

“Indeed!”

He readily accepted the old woman’s words.

This was also why, after achieving Iron Bone, Xuan Bone, and Jade Bone, the physical body’s strength would undergo a transformation.

If the human body were compared to a building, then the bones would be the load-bearing pillars and the steel framework of Great Xia.

The more robust the pillars and framework are, the more magnificent the building will be.

Similarly, as the bones transform, the physical body’s strength will also increase.

Therefore, the old woman’s words resonated deeply with Jiang Ning.

The human body is inherently a whole.

Therefore, in these four steps of outer refining, each step enhances and changes, with the most significant difference being the focus, rather than just improving one aspect alone.

At the Ninth Grade ‘Refining Skin’ phase, the focus is on the defensive power of the epidermis.

But it also brings about improvements in strength and Qi-Blood.

And at the Eighth Grade Divine Power Realm, the ‘Power Training’ phase, the focus is on strength, which refers to exercising the body’s muscle groups.

Therefore, this phase greatly increases strength, but both defensive power and other aspects will also improve.

However, strength is the main focus at this stage, accounting for about eighty to ninety percent of the improvements.

In the Seventh Grade ‘Muscle Training’ phase, the focus is on explosive power, particularly the quenching of the body’s Great Tendons.

Thus, explosive power greatly increases during this phase. A casual punch, under the explosive force of the body’s Great Tendons, is like an arrow bolstered by bowstrings, terrifyingly powerful in its burst.

In this stage, the main improvement is explosive power, with lesser overall enhancements compared to the Eighth Grade.

But at the Sixth Grade, it’s different.

Sixth Grade ‘Bone Forging’ focuses on strengthening the human body’s bone structure.

It transforms the bones step by step, achieving Iron Bone, with a strength comparable to that of ten-times refined fine iron.

Achieving Xuan Bone is comparable to a hundred-times refined fine iron.

Achieving Jade Bone, the bones’ strength is like that of a thousand-times refined fine iron.

Increasing the strength of the bones is the most significant focus of this step.

Upon completing this step, it is akin to having the body draped in an inner protective suit.

With Jade Bone achieved, any bone within the body has the strength of thousand-times refined fine iron.

You must understand, ordinary Seventh Grade Martial Artists are equipped standardly with only thousand-refined weapons.

As for Divine Weapons forged with ten thousand refinements, they can already be called Divine Weapons.

In the vast Luoshui County, not one ten-thousand-refined Divine Weapon can be found in the Weapon Forging Shops.

To forge ten-thousand-refined fine iron requires incredibly formidable strength and sustained stamina.

Luoshui County fundamentally lacks such powerful Martial Artists to take up the craft of blacksmithing.

Therefore, achieving Great Success at Sixth Grade and forging Jade Bone, one can claim to be invincible in Luoshui County without exaggeration.

Martial Artists who have forged Jade Bone, even if they stretched out their neck for someone to chop with a thousand-refined Divine Weapon, would not have their head severed.

Just with the skull alone, they could be fearless of the slashes from thousand-refined weapons.

The two hundred and six bones almost completely protect every vulnerable spot in the human body.

This ability to survive is what makes Sixth Grade Martial Artists so terrifying.

And needless to say, the critical role of bones within the human body.

Therefore, during the Sixth Grade ‘Bone Forging’ process, each comprehensive transformation of the skeleton greatly enhances the overall physical body.

This far surpasses the total enhancements brought by the first three steps of Body Refining.

All these facts corroborate what Granny Bai has said.

The physical body is inherently a whole. There’s never a singular enhancement, only different focus points.