"Add points!"
As fourteen Fengyue Points were consumed, Zhou Chen felt as though he had spent several months in relentless cultivation, sweating profusely day in and day out, tirelessly practicing the Yi Archery body-tempering postures over and over again.
Finally.
Heaven rewards diligent work; he broke through.
A powerful surge of vital energy and blood boiled within his body, darting wildly like a school of water snakes.
His body temperature rose sharply, especially his skin, which felt like a glowing, red-hot iron, or as if thousands of ants were crawling all over it—both painful and itchy.
Fortunately, it lasted only a very short time, mere breaths.
Zhou Chen's entire body grew warm and cozy; all the pain and itching vanished, as if he had returned to the embryonic stage in the womb, reborn anew, wrapped in an indescribable comfort.
His whole being felt flooded with power, possessing a boundless, inexhaustible strength!
"Body Refining Tier 1, Skin Refining is complete!"
The excitement in Zhou Chen's eyes was beyond words. He let out a long breath, concentrated and unbroken, shooting out like a sharp arrow for three feet.
He drew his short blade and slashed it across his palm. It felt as though he were cutting into a tough piece of ox hide, or smooth fish scales, making it difficult to slice through.
Gradually increasing his strength, Zhou Chen pressed the blade against his resilient and elastic skin, causing it to indent, yet still failing to break the surface.
"Hiss! With this defense of mine, ordinary people would find it hard to hurt me even with a sharp weapon. Is this what a martial artist is? It's simply too strong!"
At that moment, Zhou Chen truly felt the gap between a martial artist and an ordinary person. They were practically two different species, beyond comparison.
Not only his defense, but his strength had also skyrocketed by a massive margin.
Zhou Chen clenched his fist. He had at least a thousand catties of force.
Although the Yi Archery he practiced did not focus primarily on raw strength, it was still a top-tier martial art, vastly superior to lower and middle-tier techniques.
Zhou Chen raised both hands. With his sharp eyesight, he noticed that his arms and fingers seemed even sleeker and more powerful.
Martial artists temper their physical bodies, and as their cultivation progresses, their physique changes accordingly. For instance, those who practice strength-based martial arts usually end up with broad shoulders, thick backs, and a robust, muscular build.
According to its manual, the Yi Archery he practiced would thoroughly transform a person upon completing the Body Refining stage, evolving them into a Postnatal Archery Spirit Physique with ape-like arms, a wasp-like waist, and a slender, powerful frame—especially in the arms and waist.
Feeling his own strength, Zhou Chen was thoroughly satisfied.
He glanced at his personal panel.
The realm column had already changed:
【Realm: Body Refining Tier 2: Flesh Refining (7/2000)】
"Two thousand Fengyue Points? That'll take me just over two months!"
That timeframe was based solely on Qin Hongyu.
Zhou Chen planned to make a trip to Qinghe City tomorrow.
Aside from buying a bow and gathering information, he had heard that the city's famous Snow Moon House ran deep, and he intended to go inside to see just how deep the water went.
By the way, he wanted to explore whether there were faster ways to earn Fengyue Points.
"Flesh Refining..."
Recalling his thoughts, Zhou Chen focused on Body Refining Tier 2.
This tier, Flesh Refining, was primarily about increasing strength.
Generally, once Flesh Refining was accomplished, one could pull up ten thousand catties, and defense would also increase substantially.
From Zhou Chen's current perspective, Zhang Long was likely at the Flesh Refining Realm; the constables had mentioned earlier that Zhang Long was close to a breakthrough.
If he broke through, he should reach Body Refining Tier 3.
Of course.
In the Body Refining Realm, it was generally difficult for ordinary people to make precise judgments from outward appearances alone; one could only observe physique, spirit, and vitality to make a rough guess.
"As my cultivation gets stronger, my consumption grows too!"
With his cultivation breakthrough and having exerted himself all night, Zhou Chen's stomach was already growling, so hungry it felt pressed against his back.
Qin Hongyu had not yet woken up. Choosing not to wake her, Zhou Chen went to the kitchen to cook by himself!
Perhaps because she was hungry, or perhaps catching the aroma of meat, Qin Hongyu slowly came to her senses and hurried to get out of bed, only to find her entire body sore and weak.
Glancing at the messy bedding, Qin Hongyu blushed, quickly stripping off the sheets and quilt to wash them later.
After tidying up briefly, Qin Hongyu came to the kitchen and, seeing Zhou Chen busy at work, said guiltily, "Brother Chen, why didn't you call me up to cook?"
As she spoke, she had already taken over the work from Zhou Chen's hands.
"Cook what?"
Zhou Chen cast a glance at the plump mounds on her chest with a teasing look on his face.
"Make food..."
As Qin Hongyu spoke, feeling Zhou Chen's gaze, how could she not understand the hidden meaning in his words? "You bad guy, all you think about day and night is making things!"
"Then I won't make anything with you from now on!"
"You wouldn't dare!"
Her face flushing red and unable to hold back her embarrassment, Qin Hongyu scolded, "Get out of here!"
Zhou Chen turned her around into his arms, grinning mischievously. "It's fine, you do your cooking, we won't interfere with each other!"
Qin Hongyu: "..."
Half an hour later.
With the joint efforts of Zhou Chen and Qin Hongyu, the meal was finally ready.
【Fengyue Point +1】
"Bad guy!"
Qin Hongyu shot Zhou Chen a reproachful look. "Go wash your hands and eat!"
"You got it!"
Without delay, Zhou Chen went over to wash up at the washbasin outside, shook the water droplets from his hands, dried them with a towel, and came to the dining table.
Qin Hongyu had already filled a bowl of rice for him.
Zhou Chen dug in heartily.
So did Qin Hongyu.
She was hungry too.
Though she had eaten some nutritious fast-acting meals, they didn't fill her stomach at all, especially since she had expended a lot of energy herself.
"Tomorrow I plan to make a trip into the city to get a good bow. Tell me if there's anything you need bought, and I'll pick it up together!" Zhou Chen said while gnawing on a deer leg.
"I don't need anything. Why don't you buy a bolt of cloth, Brother Chen, and I'll make you a new set of clothes!" Qin Hongyu thought for a moment, not wanting to spend money.
"Alright, you can make a few sets for yourself while you're at it!"
Zhou Chen smiled. He didn't require Qin Hongyu to do any heavy chores; when he wasn't home, making clothes would also help her pass the time.
The next day.
Just as dawn broke, Zhou Chen slipped out of bed. Though reluctant to leave Qin Hongyu's warm nest, he relied on his sheer willpower to tear himself away.
Qin Hongyu had originally planned to wake up early to cook for Zhou Chen before he went into the city.
Unfortunately.
Tossed about by Zhou Chen, she was still sleeping soundly, let alone waking up early to cook.
Too lazy to cook himself, Zhou Chen washed up simply, changed into a decent set of clothes, and set off light with a single short blade.
Dahe Village was not far from Qinghe City—only about ten miles away.
Although Zhou Chen possessed no lightness skills, his pace was fast, and in just over half an hour, he arrived at Qinghe City.
Built alongside the Qing River, Qinghe City boasted convenient water transport and abundant aquatic products. Although not a large city, it was very bustling.
Zhou Chen paid two copper coins as the city entry fee. Although it was still early, the city was already quite lively.
Vendors along both sides of the street set up their stalls, selling all sorts of trinkets.
There were sellers of steamed cakes, candied haws, steamed buns, wine, and many fishmongers selling fish.
Both Dahe Village and Qinghe City clung closely to the Qing River, and the Qing River connected to the nearby eight-hundred-li Yunmeng Marsh, making the fishing industry highly developed.
After eating a large bowl of beef noodles, Zhou Chen didn't rush to buy a bow. Instead, he strolled around slowly, taking in the local customs and practices of Qinghe City.
Not long after.
Zhou Chen spotted a luxuriously decorated pavilion bearing three large characters: 【Snow Moon House】.
In ancient brothels and pleasure houses of his past life, business usually didn't start until past noon, with the courtesans only coming out to entertain guests at night.
Yet things were somewhat different here.
According to his memories of this lifetime, Old Man Cao frequented this place from time to time—and he came during the day, sometimes staying the entire night and only returning home the next day.
However, Old Man Cao had never brought Zhou Chen along.
"Since I'm already here, I'll go in and take a look!"