Chapter 10

(Seeking recommendations and favorites, for the continuous self-improvement of the human race, everyone, let's use your votes to fight!)

Two Immortal battalion commanders hastily retreated, while the human bone-tempered warrior, with his battle aura like thunder, struck with a force that could sever rivers and lakes, far beyond the capabilities of the two.

After his strike, Shi Zhixuan did not attack again. His steed, the Ten Thousand Mile Horse, lightly stepped through the void, its hooves ablaze, slowly descending.

"Kill!"

The black iron staff pointed afar, and thousands of Bloodstone clan members responded in unison. Blood surged to the sky, and the remaining less than two thousand green-armored Immortal soldiers were instantly scattered, crushed, and turned into powder. After a short while, apart from the two Immortal battalion commanders and less than two hundred green-armored Immortal soldiers who fled into the ancient forest, the earth before the mountain wall was stained with blood, and the remains of over two thousand green-armored Immortal soldiers lay piled up, their bodies severed.

"Brother Xiao!"

Shi Lei returned, his body stained with blood from the Immortals. His face was tinged with excitement, his black hair fluttering, and his green iron spear hummed as he said, "Brother Xiao, I killed three Immortal soldiers and can now refine and absorb their blood and qi."

Then, Shi Lei looked up and down at Xiao Yi, hesitating, "Brother Xiao, your injuries are healed?"

Xiao Yi nodded lightly. Not only were his injuries healed, but he had undergone a transformation. However, this was not the time for cultivation. Otherwise, with a single burst of effort, he would surely have made great progress. But Xiao Yi did not mention this; sometimes, it was better to keep certain things to oneself to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"Lord Shi!"

At this moment, Xiao Yi saw Lord Shi walking over with a medicine basket on his back, which was now empty, all the herbs used up. At this time, thousands of Bloodstone clan members were seated cross-legged on the battlefield, absorbing the pure blood qi floating from the Immortal soldiers' corpses. Some of them emitted booming sounds as their heavenly meridians were unblocked.

"Go, I have a spot for you." Lord Shi arrived, glanced at Xiao Yi, his pupils slightly brightening, "You need it more than I do now."

"Lord Shi!"

Xiao Yi spoke solemnly, his fists clenching slightly. The old man might not have given him much, but he had given him the most needed thing—hope.

Patted Xiao Yi's shoulder, Lord Shi turned and walked back into the tribe. His back was slightly hunched, but in Xiao Yi's eyes, he was as majestic as a mountain, deeply etched in his mind.

No one paid attention to Xiao Yi. He came to the edge of the battlefield, chose the remains of an Immortal soldier, and sat down cross-legged. The Great Elephant Strength Technique began to circulate in his mind. A massive elephant, as strong as a mountain, raised its trunk, creating a black hole that enveloped everything. The fresh blood qi from the Immortal soldier's remains instantly rushed out, merging into Xiao Yi's flesh and blood.

"This is..."

The next moment, Xiao Yi was startled. The blood qi he absorbed from the Immortal soldier was instantly devoured by the stone mirror on his chest. After a few breaths, a thin thread of blood qi, as fine as a hair, was expelled. This thread was crystal clear, radiating a red light, and was extremely pure. Although the quantity had decreased by hundreds or thousands of times, its purity was also hundreds or thousands of times greater, reaching an unimaginable level.

This thread of crystal-clear blood qi merged into his bones and blood, but Xiao Yi did not absorb it. He wanted to see how many heavenly meridians he could unblock with his current physical blood qi. He felt that one heavenly meridian was already pulsating violently, with blood qi surging, seemingly ready to be unblocked at any moment. The stone mirror showed no change; the blood qi of an ordinary Immortal soldier was far from enough to repair it.

"Absorbing the blood qi of one Immortal soldier, not even one heavenly meridian was unblocked, truly a waste!"

Xiao Yi opened his eyes. Ten feet away, the young Shi Qian sat cross-legged between the remains of two Immortal soldiers, looking at him coldly. His body was surrounded by surging blood qi. By killing two Immortal soldiers and absorbing their residual blood qi, Shi Qian was on the verge of a breakthrough. The next moment, two loud booms echoed within his body, and twelve pale green battle auras emerged, intertwining and merging into one.

Twelve heavenly meridians!

Shi Qian had unblocked two more heavenly meridians, now on par with the previous Shi Lei. His strength could reach twelve jin, with one jin equal to a thousand catties, and twelve jin equal to twelve thousand catties, making him a god of twelve jin in the Bloodstone tribe.

Xiao Yi stood up, not caring about Shi Qian's words. In the Bloodstone tribe, he owed only Lord Shi.

"Shi Lei, Shi Lei is about to break through!"

Suddenly, a cry came from nearby. Shi Qian was startled and turned his head. Dozens of feet away, Shi Lei stood up, his black hair dancing, emitting a powerful aura. Four thunderous booms echoed within his body, and sixteen pale green battle auras circled him, deeper and heavier than Shi Qian's.

"Absorbing the blood qi of three ordinary Immortal soldiers, he unblocked four heavenly meridians. Truly a tiger father, tiger son. Shi Qiren became a hundred-man commander at thirty, and his son, at sixteen, has already unblocked sixteen heavenly meridians. The tribal leader unblocked thirty-six heavenly meridians and reached the small success stage of the Blood Refinement Realm at twenty. I wonder if Shi Lei has that potential."

"If so, his talent and physique might allow our Bloodstone tribe to produce another bone-tempered warrior in a few decades."

Some Bloodstone clan members conversed, each having their own views on the young generation. They predicted their futures based on their breakthroughs on the battlefield.

"However, Shi Qian is no ordinary person. Although his cultivation is slightly inferior to Shi Lei, his battle technique realm has reached the level of 'lifting heavy as if it were light.' Among the young generation, only he has achieved this. In our Bloodstone tribe, only a squad leader who has reached the small success stage of the Blood Refinement Realm can comprehend this."

Lifting heavy as if it were light!

Xiao Yi's gaze sharpened. Lord Shi had said that the Blood Refinement Realm had three stages: small success, unblocking thirty-six heavenly meridians; great success, unblocking seventy-two heavenly meridians; and small perfection, unblocking one hundred and eight heavenly meridians and forming a heavenly qi sea. To break through these stages, one must comprehend three battle technique realms: lifting heavy as if it were light, lifting light as if it were heavy, and handling light and heavy with ease. Shi Qian had comprehended the realm of lifting heavy as if it were light, meaning that before reaching the great success stage, he only needed to accumulate battle qi, with no further obstacles in his realm.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yi calmed his mind and began to circulate the Blood Refinement section of the Great Elephant Strength Technique for the first time. As a top-tier military technique, the Great Elephant Strength Technique uses the form of a great elephant to comprehend and cultivate its strength, refining battle qi. Without the image of the great elephant, one could not practice the technique, as they could not observe the true essence of the elephant.

Roar!

In Xiao Yi's mind, the green-scaled great elephant roared to the sky, its trunk like a whale's mouth, stirring up a violent surge of blood qi throughout his body. Xiao Yi could see the boiling, crystal-clear blood qi in every inch of his flesh and bones, with one hundred and eight heavenly meridians emerging, like tracks connecting his limbs and organs, extending to the top of his head.

Boom!

A thunderous sound echoed within Xiao Yi's body. On the battlefield, some nearby Bloodstone clan members were startled, their eyes showing shock.

"Heavenly Meridian Thunder Sound! Who has unblocked a heavenly meridian, causing the Heavenly Meridian Thunder Sound?"

Shi Qian was stunned, then turned his head sharply, his eyes widening in disbelief. He saw what he saw: that sickly weakling, who couldn't even lift a child, was now unblocking a heavenly meridian, even causing the Heavenly Meridian Thunder Sound. The Heavenly Meridian Thunder Sound was a sign of a strong physique and abundant blood qi, and in the entire Bloodstone tribe, there were no more than five such individuals. Among the young generation, only Shi Lei had barely reached this level.

"Brother Xiao, he is unblocking a heavenly meridian!"

Shi Lei's expression was surprised, his eyes showing disbelief. Although he was familiar with Xiao Yi, it had only been half a month, and he had thought that Xiao Yi's physique would never allow him to unblock a heavenly meridian.

In the Bloodstone tribe.

Lord Shi suddenly stopped, his hunched body straightening. He slowly turned, his eyes flashing with deep green qi, and gazed outside the tribe, where Xiao Yi's figure stood like a rock, his black hair fluttering without wind, emitting a faint aura of the wild.

"Great Elephant Strength Technique!"

...

When all his blood qi boiled, Xiao Yi could no longer suppress it, and a crystal-clear, jade-like blood qi shot up to the sky.

Boom!

His body shook violently, and a heavenly meridian was instantly unblocked. A pale green light emerged from this blood-colored heavenly meridian, and pale green battle qi began to form. This pale green battle qi was different from that of Shi Lei and others, being crystal clear and emitting a jade-like luster, with a faint ancient aura. Instantly, a powerful force spread through his limbs and organs.

Boom!

A second thunderous sound echoed, and Shi Qian's expression changed. Another Heavenly Meridian Thunder Sound, and it seemed far from over. This was already the second heavenly meridian.

In the Bloodstone tribe, ordinary clan members could unblock at most one heavenly meridian when they first practiced, while those with extraordinary physiques could unblock two. After many years, they could become battle soldiers. Those with exceptional physiques could unblock three heavenly meridians, and in the future, becoming squad leaders was not a problem, and even battalion commanders and thousand-man commanders were possible. As for four heavenly meridians, it was rare to see one in several decades. In the thousand-year history of the Bloodstone tribe, there were only a dozen or so individuals. Four or more, only the current tribal leader, Shi Zhixuan, with six heavenly meridians, had reached the bone-tempered realm.

However, just as Shi Qian was pondering, the boiling blood qi in Xiao Yi's body gradually subsided, and after a few breaths, Xiao Yi opened his eyes, a thread of crystal-clear pale green divine light flashing and disappearing.

Relieved, Shi Qian's gaze became cold again. Just two heavenly meridians. Adding the blood qi of one Immortal soldier he had absorbed, with Xiao Yi's physique, he could at most unblock one heavenly meridian, or even less. His future achievements would be at most on par with ordinary Bloodstone clan members. However, for some reason, Shi Qian always felt uneasy, as if he had overlooked something. (Seeking recommendations and favorites, for the continuous self-improvement of the human race, everyone, let's use your votes to fight!)

...

{Piaotian Literature}