Breaking Through — The Third Layer

I returned to my small room as the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows across the wooden floor. My entire body ached, every muscle screaming from the strain of the arena fight. Yet beneath the pain simmered a quiet satisfaction—a flicker of hope that I was moving forward, no matter how slow.

Carefully, I placed the small vial containing the lowest-grade Body Refining Pill on my rough desk. It was a meager reward, but to me, it was a treasure—a symbol of my first real progress in this harsh world of cultivation.

I sank onto the floor in a cross-legged position, closing my eyes to shut out the noisy city and the bustling sect outside. Slowly, I focused on my breathing—deep and even—trying to coax the energy buried inside my flesh and bones into motion.

The True Martial Body technique had already tempered my skin and muscles, making them tougher than any normal man's. But now, it was time to push deeper—into the bones themselves.

I uncapped the vial with trembling fingers and swallowed the pill. Almost instantly, a warm current spread through my body, like molten metal flowing through frozen channels. My muscles twitched involuntarily; sharp aches stabbed through my joints and ribs. The sensation was fierce, almost painful, but I didn't flinch.

Instead, I forced my mind to steady, to channel the warmth deep into my core, where the marrow rested, where strength was born.

Minutes passed in agonizing silence. Sweat beaded on my brow, and my breaths came fast and shallow.

Then—suddenly—I felt it: a subtle shift, like a breaking wave beneath my skin. The boundaries that had once held me back cracked and dissolved.

My body was changing. My bones were strengthening, becoming denser and more resilient.

I opened my eyes, heart pounding, chest heaving. The breakthrough had come.

I had entered the third minor stage of Body Tempering—Bones.

This was no small feat. The path ahead was daunting. Flesh and skin were easy enough to temper, but the bones were the very framework of the body. To refine them was to lay a foundation for everything else—blood, marrow, organs, and beyond.

I clenched my fists, feeling the rough but undeniable power coursing through me. Every ache and every bruise from the past weeks had led to this moment.