Shi clan.
A week and a half has passed since the meeting in the Shi Ancestral Hall and Shi Li's request on learning how to forge a sword.
Many things happened within these past days, with the most notable one being the Shi clan's approval of the Tri-clan Tournament! To the Huang clan who was using this tournament to their advantage, they were surprised to know that the Shi clan wholeheartedly accepted the invite and even agreed to send some of their treasures as prizes for the competition.
As of now, the Huang clan couldn't help but laugh at the Shi clan because they knew that this tournament would be the Shi clan's grave. But of course, the Shi clan knew the Huang clan's plans, preparing their own small tournaments for different cultivation stages before the Tri-clan Tournament.
Of course, with the Shi clan's approval, everyone within the clan finally took note of the tournament and cultivated as hard as they can to reach a higher level before the tournament. Even Shi Li was not spared from this announcement, pushing him to strive harder so he could reach the minimum cultivation requirements of the tournament.
Not only that, during this past ten or so days, after Shi Li devoted his time to learning the forging method for swords, he would then head towards the library to brush up on information about the planet he currently resided in, the places to take note of, herbs and plants that are beneficial for him and so on.
From this, he learned that he was currently in the town of Verdant Breeze under the rule of First Heaven City. He also learned that there were multiple tiers to the civilizations in this planet, with the smallest one being villages and the biggest being dynasties.
During these past few days, Shi Li also dedicated his time to cultivating the [Iron Vessel Tempering Manual] to the peak of the first level. With the hammering techniques he learned from Shi Zhang and his increased strength, he was able to progress smoothly, achieving the state of iron skin just a few hours ago!
...
Present day, afternoon.
Shi Li stood up after hammering his body multiple times at different areas. He couldn't help but feel elated since he was now able to achieve the state of having the skin toughness of iron! Although there was still a long way to go before he reached a level where he could kill the Huang clan, he still felt satisfaction that his strength was increasing.
He dropped the hammer he borrowed on the floor and checked if the red pearl was still on his body. After making sure that the necklace where the pearl was affixed to was still there, he headed towards his courtyard's training space to check his current strength.
Bang!
As usual, he channeled the strength of his soul and body towards the end of his fist and punched out towards the strength measuring pillar. After a faint glow of the pillar, a number materialized in front which made Shi Li smile.
20.
20 ren, a strength equivalent to 20 people. A strength that would allow him to fight against multiple groups of people at once without taking a break!
"Finally, I've reached the peak of the first level for both [Steel Body Manual] and [Iron Vessel Tempering Manual]," Shi Li couldn't help but feel proud that he was able to reach the peak of the first stage of the Martial Novice stage within a month.
Now that he thought about it, it has already been a month ever since he was transmigrated into the world of cultivation. Although his goal of killing the Huang clan was still far away, he has completely adjusted to the life of living within the Shi clan's territory.
But he didn't dare to slack off, because in the novels he read, whenever a cultivator would slack off, they would end up becoming arrogant young masters that would eventually be killed by the main character. The past owner of his body was an arrogant young master and he was trying to change that.
Shi Li went back to his courtyard's living room area and lied down flat on the floor as he lifted the wooden hammer he borrowed from the Logistics Hall.
If one were to compare the state of the wooden hammer from when Shi Li just borrowed it to its current state, they would see that one end of the hammer head has been worn down, evident by the incessant sounds that could be heard throughout Shi Li's courtyard whenever he cultivated his body.
"Now, it's time to cultivate the [Grand Steel Will and Vessel Fusion Manual]," Shi Li muttered.
He closed his eyes and rummaged through Tian Zhenfei's memories to recall the process of progressing through the technique.
"To achieve the first level, one must connect the soul of the cultivator and the skin, allowing them to resonate and become one. To do this, one must have a heart as calm and water and a will that yields to no one."
Although he didn't know how he would achieve those requirements, he would still try his best. The technique also says that once the fusion fails midway, the cultivator should cultivate the technique from scratch again.
With that, he regulated his breathing as he allowed the energy from the surroundings to flow throughout his body. He then started to hammer his body according to the hammering techniques he learned.
At first, there was a slight stinging sensation all over his body, but after a while, the sensation went away as he felt numb. He then continued to hammer away for a few minutes as his heart calmed down, which surprisingly achieved the state of being as calm as water.
Although he was excited, Shi Li didn't let that affect his heart since he would fail. He then moved onwards according to the instructions written on the technique.
He circulated the strength of his soul and released it with full power as he formed tendrils of condensed strength that stemmed from his soul.
According to the technique, to achieve a connection between the soul and the skin, once must extend the soul through tendrils made out of the soul's pure strength and pierce it through the cultivator's body.
Once the feeling of the soul and skin being one arises, the cultivator is successful in achieving the first level.
Taking a few deep breaths, he slowly extended the soul tendrils towards his skin that was currently being hammered until...
Chi!
One by one, the tendrils pierced through Shi Li's skin, suddenly giving Shi Li an intense pain that was more painful than the first time he tried cultivating his body.
Of course, Shi Li finally figured out what the technique meant by a will that yielded to no one. It meant that he had to endure this torturous process.
Seconds...minutes...hours pass as the feeling of intense pain was gradually subsiding, giving Shi Li the feeling of his soul and skin being as one.
He then tried to circulate the strength of his soul and body while he was still hammering and was surprised to see that the strengths of his body and soul combined into one homogenous energy that was more powerful than the two strengths separated.
With this, he stopped hammering and opened his eyes as he sat up. He looked outside the window and saw that the moon was already high up in the sky. But this didn't hide the excitement Shi Li felt since he was now one step closer to his goal. Although he was still far away, he was still closer than before.
"I finally did it! I've achieved the peak of the first level on all three techniques!"