Chapter Twenty: Breaking Through to the Tendon Refinement Realm

Breaking Through to the Tendon Refining Realm

Upon hearing Xiao Wu's words, Wu Hong suddenly felt an urge to retch, as though the meat he had just eaten had turned sour in his stomach. His face grew pale, his body trembled, and he asked again for confirmation, "Are you saying that the silver-armored general from yesterday was turned into buffalo meat, and these buns are filled with buffalo meat?"

"Young master, you’re truly peculiar. Such a villain! If he cannot benefit the people in life, can’t he at least satisfy our appetite in death?" Xiao Wu replied naturally, unperturbed by Wu Hong’s change in expression.

"How can you eat human flesh?" Wu Hong had utterly lost his appetite, his whole body quivering as he looked at Li Ruolan.

"Young master, what harm is there in eating the flesh of such a villain?" Li Ruolan was puzzled by Wu Hong’s shock.

"No, absolutely not! Human flesh must never be eaten!" Wu Hong waved his hands in protest.

"When wolves and tigers are hungry, they eat their own kind. Why should human flesh be forbidden? Besides, the meat is quite delicious. Young master, you should try it—you wanted to eat just now, didn’t you?" Li Ruolan said, picking up a bun with her chopsticks to place it in Wu Hong’s bowl.

"How can beasts like wolves and tigers be compared to the sentient beings nurtured by heaven and earth?" Wu Hong’s face was ashen, and he moved his bowl aside.

Apparently, Li Ruolan had never grown up in the city and was utterly unaware of the concept that humans must not eat their own kind.

After hearing Wu Hong’s explanation, she was stunned for a moment and then said, "You all shouldn’t eat them either! Feed these meat buns to the dogs!"

"Chief! This is the flesh of a master of marrow refining! The essence of his blood and flesh is a great tonic!" a cook protested, rising to speak to Li Ruolan.

"Silence! Did you not hear my words?" Li Ruolan’s delicate shout frightened the cook into silence, and he regretfully carried the buns out.

"Ah—Brother Silver Armor! You must have endured much hardship to reach such heights in martial cultivation. Who would have thought you’d meet such an end? Surely you committed many sins in life. Let your remains return to the earth for peace!" Wu Hong sighed.

Just as the saying goes: the bones of thousands lie beneath the success of one general. The silver-armored general, whose life had seen countless innocent deaths, was now turned into meat buns after death.

Wu Hong then picked up the tray and walked outside, Li Ruolan following, not knowing what he intended.

Outside, Wu Hong walked under a tall willow tree, placed the buns on the ground, and drew his dagger to dig a shallow half-meter pit.

He placed the buns into the pit, covered them with earth, and said, "Brother Silver Armor, though you pursued me out of duty, you bear little fault. Today, let your remains rest in peace here."

With those words, Wu Hong bowed deeply to the small mound.

Suddenly, as he rose from his bow, he felt the Great Sun Tathagata True Manual in his chest grow hot—like an iron branding his skin. Shocked, he cried out.

"Young master, what’s wrong?" Li Ruolan saw Wu Hong’s sudden cry and thought something had happened to him.

"Nothing, nothing," Wu Hong stammered. He thought to himself, since the Great Sun Tathagata True Manual is invisible to others, there’s no need to make a fuss. With this in mind, he took the manual from his breast.

The Great Sun Tathagata True Manual floated into the air, hovering above him.

The cover now radiated a faint golden light, and the pages fluttered open by themselves. On the newly opened page were the words: "Delivering the souls of evil men to rebirth is the greatest good.

Guiding evil men to goodness is the greatest good.

Eliminating evil men to liberate the good is the greatest good.

Rejoicing in clarity is the greatest good.

Sacrificing oneself for others is the greatest good.

...

All such deeds yield the fruits of true virtue."

Wu Hong noticed that the newly opened page contained many clauses, each with detailed explanations. The phrase "Delivering the souls of evil men to rebirth is the greatest good" gradually changed from black to golden, sending radiant light soaring skyward.

Wu Hong’s jaw nearly dropped in astonishment—the golden brilliance was sacred and boundless, in an instant obscuring the sun and clouds, leaving only endless radiance in the world.

He felt himself bathed in the dazzling golden light, so comfortable he could not help but cry out.

Under the glow, his muscles and tendons resonated, crackling and popping, as if they had become one with heaven and earth.

He did not know how long this lasted, but all the golden light eventually converged into his body, and he instantly felt his flexibility increase without limit.

He knew he had broken through to the second realm of body refinement—the Tendon Refining Realm. His muscles and tendons now resonated with the earth.

The Great Sun Tathagata True Manual’s radiance faded, and it reverted to an ordinary book, dropping into his numb hands. Wu Hong felt as if that moment had lasted several months.

"Young master! What’s wrong? Please say something!" Li Ruolan, seeing Wu Hong’s strange behavior, reached to check his pockets, thinking he had produced some treasure, then stood dumbstruck, gazing at the sky.

But to Li Ruolan, there was only empty air—no manual, no golden light, no mystical glow entering Wu Hong’s body.

She assumed he was injured and his mind was clouded, so she anxiously called to him, but at first, Wu Hong did not respond at all, which left her even more worried.

Wu Hong heard Li Ruolan calling behind him, felt the lingering comfort in his body, and realized that everything had truly happened. Suppressing his astonishment, he turned and said, "I’m fine! I just remembered something, and was lost in thought for a moment."

"Ah—ah—" Two terrified screams pierced the air: first Li Ruolan’s, then the shop workers who had come out to see Wu Hong bury the buns.

They saw that as Wu Hong replied to Li Ruolan, his neck twisted a full 180 degrees.

He had been facing the willow tree, but now his head turned completely backward toward the others. Normally, a person’s neck can only turn about ninety degrees; any more risks breaking the vertebrae and death.

Wu Hong’s neck had rotated a full 180 degrees—how could they not scream?

Everyone felt a chill beneath their feet, and wondered if eating too much human flesh had brought retribution, with this yellow-skinned youth sent to scare and punish them.

"Young master, your neck!" Li Ruolan’s voice was faint, her delicate fingers trembling as she pointed at Wu Hong.

Only now did Wu Hong realize his neck had turned far more than usual, yet he felt no discomfort. Since Li Ruolan had asked, he did not turn his head back but smiled and said, "I just had an insight, and broke through to the Tendon Refining Realm!"

"Xiao Wu, have you ever heard of a martial artist who, after breaking through to the Tendon Refining Realm, can rotate the neck muscles like this?" one worker asked Xiao Wu.

"Nonsense, aren’t you yourself at the Tendon Refining Realm? Try turning your neck like that," Xiao Wu replied.

The worker tried, but could not match Wu Hong’s feat of rotating his neck a full 180 degrees.

"Ouch! I pulled a neck muscle!" The worker cried out from exerting too much force.

"Don’t be surprised. I cultivate a body refinement technique based on the art of flexibility. There’s no need to make such a fuss," Wu Hong explained, and everyone found it acceptable. It was said that in ancient times, there was a flexible body refinement technique from the East; after reaching the Tendon Refining Realm, one’s body became extraordinarily limber, and in combat, moves were unexpectedly sharp and difficult to defend against.

Such martial artists had a drawback, though—the Tendon Refining Realm, while flexible, lacked the strength common to other tendon refinement techniques.

Li Ruolan breathed a sigh of relief; Wu Hong’s sudden turn had truly frightened her.

"Young master, please don’t do that again. We all thought you were possessed!" Li Ruolan laughed, attributing Wu Hong’s earlier daze to a sudden insight in martial arts.

Though Li Ruolan did not practice martial arts, her shock was unparalleled. Rumor had it that her benefactor was the eldest son of the King of Martial Prestige in the capital—indulgent and extravagant, a notorious libertine, who had even killed his father and fled.

Yet everything revealed by Wu Hong showed that rumors were truly misleading! Wu Hong was clearly humble and courteous, righteous and protective of the weak, and an extraordinary talent in cultivation. Though his realm was somewhat low for his age, to suddenly attain an insight and advance to the Tendon Refining Realm before the willow tree—such a feat had never been heard of before.