Chapter 34 : Entering the Ranks of Martial Arts
Chapter 34: Entering the Ranks of Martial Arts
“Using my identity to drag the Jiang Family into the turmoil?”
Hearing this, Li Yunqing’s heart sank.
Such a thing was indeed very likely to happen.
If the three great families of Qingzhou fell into chaos, then the entire Qingzhou would descend into disorder.
At that point, what might happen would be impossible to predict.
And her current strength was still insufficient.
Thinking of this, she spoke in thanks, “Thank you, Lord Jiang, for informing me.”
Only by letting Jiang Jing see the results of her treatment could those conditions truly be fulfilled.
At the very least, during the treatment period, Jiang Jing would not ignore her affairs.
Jiang Jing nodded slightly and said no more.
‘Such a woman is truly suitable to be taken as a wife!’
Yet as he looked at that delicate figure, such a thought inexplicably arose in his heart.
Her temperament was excellent—and as for her figure…
His gaze fixed directly on Li Yunqing.
Her waist was slender, her legs long, her rounded hips stretched the pale purple dress into a curve that stirred the imagination.
Her chest was full, impossible to cover with one hand, and her long hair cascaded over her shoulders.
With every movement, charm flowed freely.
Especially that jade-like skin, glowing with luster like a rare treasure, making one unable to resist wanting to touch it.
Marrying such a woman—one would likely never even think of taking concubines.
Only her temperament was somewhat quiet, yet perfectly suited for managing a household.
‘What am I thinking?’
Jiang Jing subconsciously turned his head aside, somewhat startled.
In all his years, no woman had ever stirred such feelings in him.
Yet as time passed, his gaze unknowingly drifted back to Li Yunqing.
He simply could not control his eyes.
It was as if that figure possessed some kind of magic, making it impossible to look away.
That vibrant life force radiating from her made one want to draw close and hold her in their arms.
Sitting in the courtyard like this, he did not feel bored at all—instead, he found it endlessly captivating.
But whenever Li Yunqing turned her head and her gaze swept past him, he would instinctively look away, not daring to meet her eyes.
As if he had been caught peeking.
“This feeling…”
Jiang Jing’s heartbeat became slightly disordered.
In thirty years, he had seen many beautiful women—but this feeling was rare.
“Gulu gulu…”
Inside the medicine furnace, the decoction churned.
Li Yunqing held medicinal herbs between her fingers, adding them from time to time.
The Medicine King Scripture circulated intentionally, and the dense medicinal qi surged into her body like spiritual energy.
“Medicine King Scripture experience +1.”
“Medicine King Scripture experience +1.”
Lines of text flashed before her eyes, yet her movements remained smooth and flowing.
As for Fire Control Seals, Extraction Seals, and Pill Condensation Seals, she had naturally tried them.
Without magical power, relying solely on mental strength made it difficult to achieve.
Or rather, true alchemy likely required inscriptions of fire control, extraction, and condensation formations on the furnace.
Afternoon.
“Lord Jiang, we can begin.”
Inside the room, Li Yunqing spoke softly. “Remove your clothes and enter the bath.”
Jiang Jing, who had just entered the room, paused slightly. His heart inexplicably skipped faster, and he looked at Li Yunqing.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he turned his head and expressionlessly looked at the bath.
The half-person-high tub was already filled with boiling hot water, steam rising, and a rich medicinal fragrance filling the air.
Watching Li Yunqing step out and close the door, Jiang Jing removed his outer garments, leaving only his inner clothes, and stepped into the tub.
A moment later, Li Yunqing pushed the door open and said, “Circulate your True Qi to absorb the medicinal power. Take this pill.”
As she spoke, she handed a jade bottle to Jiang Jing.
With medicinal bath and pills as dual protection, followed by acupuncture, although it lacked the true pill power refined with magical power by cultivators,
it was sufficient if she only drew out a single strand of cold poison.
Watching Jiang Jing swallow the pill and circulate his True Qi, Li Yunqing added, “It may hurt a little. Endure it.”
Extracting cold poison would never be easy—even a single strand was like scraping bone.
Hearing this, Jiang Jing’s expression stiffened slightly. He subconsciously looked up and met Li Yunqing’s gaze.
Seeing her calm expression, he suppressed his thoughts and did not think further.
Yet for some reason, his heartbeat quickened slightly.
Combined with the boiling water, his entire face flushed red.
Even his body showed faint signs of unusual reaction.
“Begin!”
Jiang Jing could not help but speak.
For three years, he had endured the erosion of cold poison every midnight.
Pain meant little to him.
Instead, it was the current atmosphere and the strange reaction of his body that made it harder to endure.
Hearing this, Li Yunqing took out her needle pouch and swiftly inserted silver needles into Jiang Jing’s body.
In a moment, more than ten silver needles shimmered and trembled slightly on his back and head.
She then took out another silver needle, her expression turning solemn.
The next instant, her hand flashed, and she thrust it sharply into Jiang Jing’s back.
Jiang Jing’s body trembled. He felt the cold poison within him slice through flesh and bone like blades.
Yet he clenched his teeth tightly, not making a single sound.
“Chi—”
A strand of faint purple cold qi suddenly burst from the silver needle, and the temperature in the room dropped instantly.
Frost even began to form faintly in the air.
The silver needle held in Li Yunqing’s hand was already coated in a layer of white frost.
At the very moment the cold qi erupted, Li Yunqing activated the Medicine King Scripture.
That strand of faint purple cold qi followed the guidance of the needle and instantly spread onto Li Yunqing’s body.
“So cold!”
Li Yunqing’s heart sank as she felt her entire body freezing.
Her blood flowed more and more slowly, her heartbeat faint and distant.
“So this is the Thousand-Year Cold Poison?”
“That was a bit reckless…”
Feeling the changes in her body, she was inwardly shocked.
Too cold.
Without the circulation of the Medicine King Scripture, she felt she would have been frozen into an ice sculpture.
Her Longevity only meant endless lifespan—she could still be injured, bleed, and be killed.
This kind of cold could not be ignored.
“This won’t do—the Medicine King Force isn’t enough to protect my whole body!”
Sensing her internal force slowing, Li Yunqing’s mind moved, and her Yin Spirit instantly left her body.
In the next moment, the Yin Spirit formed hand seals, drawing all that strand of cold qi into itself.
Having been nourished by the Profound Yin Jade Marrow, her Yin Spirit could endure more than her physical body.
“Buzz!”
The Yin Spirit trembled slightly, and frost visibly formed over it.
“I underestimated this cold poison!”
“Wait… what is this?”
At that moment, Li Yunqing suddenly felt a sharp edge flicker rapidly within her Yin Spirit.
That terrifying cold qi surged entirely toward that sharpness.
In that instant, it felt as though she had arrived in a world of ice and snow.
Every strand of cold qi transformed into countless tiny sword edges dancing through heaven and earth.
Her consciousness immersed into it, with insights continuously emerging in her mind.
With the support of her comprehension, she seemed to become strands of cold qi drifting through the world.
Wherever she passed, all things froze.
“This is… Frost Sword Intent!”
After an unknown amount of time, Li Yunqing suddenly regained consciousness.
All the cold qi vanished completely.
Before her, lines of text suddenly appeared.
“Frost Sword Art experience +121.”
“Frost Sword Art (Mastery 252/3000) Trait: Innate Sword Bones.”
“Medicine King Scripture experience +333.”
“Medicine King Scripture (Minor Success 0/3000) Trait: Identifying Medicine by Scent, Immunity to All Poisons.”
“A single strand of cold qi brought such great gains?”
Feeling the Medicine King Force within her body, Li Yunqing was astonished.
At Minor Success, the Medicine King Force had already surpassed more than half of her Mingyu Force.
As the force circulated, she could feel her flesh being rapidly nourished and tempered.
A tingling, numbing sensation spread throughout her body.
She suddenly gritted her teeth and instinctively glanced at Jiang Jing, who sat in the bath circulating his technique, then quietly exhaled.
“Buzz!”
As her flesh trembled slightly, it became more resilient and vibrant.
It even faintly formed a unified whole, undergoing a transformation—like donning an invisible layer of armor.
“One round of skin tempering completed—entering the ranks of martial arts.”
Feeling the changes in her skin, Li Yunqing understood.
This was what it felt like to complete one round of skin tempering.
After eight more rounds, her skin tempering would reach perfection.
Then she could begin tempering her tendons and bones and step into the Middle Tier of the Initial Realm.
After a moment’s thought, her mind moved, and she formed a sword gesture with her fingers.
A strand of cold intent burst from her fingertips, condensing into an inch-long frost sword, radiating sharpness.
The surrounding air instantly formed a thin layer of frost.
“This Thousand-Year Cold Poison can actually help comprehend Frost Sword Intent and strengthen ice-cold power!”
“In that case, after more than ten treatments, to what level will my Frost Sword Intent reach?”