The Martial Saint of Humanity, I Have Transformed Low-Level Martial Arts Into Immortal Martial Arts - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Astral Strength! Refining Strength into Astral!

In the desolate mountain, Su Hao continuously practiced various martial arts, accelerating the circulation of his vital blood and releasing the intense qi that seemed to want to burst forth from his body.

Iron Shirt, Void Breaking Divine Fist, Melting Gold Hand, Dripping Rain Sword Technique, Mad Demon Staff Technique…

These five Lower Grade martial arts had been perfected by Su Hao, and as he continued to practice, the different types and characteristics of the Strength Force within him gradually merged and began to condense.

Su Hao’s skin turned a fiery red, and a scorching heat spread from his chest throughout his body, tempering his flesh, bones, and internal organs. This was his Strength Force, continuously condensing, causing a comprehensive transformation in his physical capabilities!

As the sky gradually brightened, a ray of light broke through the gray horizon, and the heat enveloping his body finally began to recede.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”

Su Hao breathed heavily, feeling the considerable fatigue from a night of transformation, but in place of that fatigue was the terrifying Strength Force contained within his body!

“I… have completed the fifth round of body tempering and Strength refining!”

In Su Hao’s weary eyes was an unmistakable joy, and a genuine smile crept onto his lips.

Since he cultivated the Core Strength, he had diligently practiced without pause, mastering multiple Initiated Martial Arts to perfection, integrating them together, and the Strength Force had become ever more substantial. Finally, on this day, he accomplished a transformation and advanced to a new level!

Compared to his Core Strength, the Strength Force within Su Hao now permeated every inch of his body—his nails, hair, teeth, skin, and even his internal organs were covered by an exceptionally refined qi!

The thickness and refinement of this Strength Force were astounding; compared to it, the Core Strength, which had once surged from his entire body like an explosive ball, seemed like a mere block of wood, while Su Hao’s current Strength Force was like an “iron block.”

The collision between the two was like an egg hitting a stone, where the former would undoubtedly be shattered effortlessly.

“This is Astral Strength… the Astral Strength transformed from Core Strength, refining Strength into Astral!”

Su Hao’s heart raced.

“Let’s give it a try!”

Su Hao’s eyes shone brightly as he suddenly kicked out his leg. This kick appeared remarkably calm; aside from its speed, it possessed no other particular traits and didn’t even stir up any waves as it swept horizontally toward a tree with a trunk as thick as a person’s waist!

“Whoosh!”

As the kick passed, only a faint tearing sound was heard. Su Hao retracted his leg and stood quietly, looking at the tree ahead.

“Crash!”

A gentle breeze blew by, and the tree unexpectedly snapped in half, crashing to the ground and sending up a cloud of dust, followed by a chaotic clatter!

The tree, which had been the thickness of a person’s waist, was sliced cleanly in two by Su Hao’s kick, as sharp as a knife; the surface of the broken trunk was smooth as a mirror, as if it had been cut effortlessly by a Treasure Sword.

This scene was enough to send chills down one’s spine. To effortlessly sever a tree as thick as a person’s waist with a mere leg kick suggested that if a human body faced this kick, it would be like rotten wood or straw.

If there were an observant person, they would notice that just before Su Hao’s kick swept through, a thin layer of the tree trunk had already been torn apart from a mere inch away.

That was the condensed Astral Strength, a force that had left his body, forming a one-inch thick qi that was formless yet tangible!

This was indeed astonishing.

Su Hao’s Void Breaking Divine Fist could unleash punching force that extended a zhang (about 10 feet) in the air to strike enemies, but it was not purely a force; it integrated air with force, as if one had hurled a ‘balloon’ with strength—there was a support, merely replacing physical objects like blades and stones with ‘air’.

Now, however, Su Hao had truly unleashed his strength beyond his body, condensing it into ‘Astral Strength’. Even though it was only an inch away, it was pure force that came into being from nothing, without any support!

Condensed Astral Strength was invulnerable, capable of effortlessly tearing through soft muscles and hard bones!

Not only that, but the explosive power of Astral Strength was also extremely formidable.

Su Hao raised one foot high and then brought it crashing down heavily, with Astral Strength condensing on the surface of his foot.

“Boom!”

At the moment his foot hit the ground, the Astral Strength exploded, shaking the earth violently, like a thousand-jin (about 500 kg) heavy hammer slamming down, causing the ground to tremble immensely. Massive cracks ripped apart, while flowers and trees were shattered and destroyed, almost like a bomb detonating in an instant!

Centered on Su Hao, the ground within a radius of more than ten meters sank down completely, dust rising up, shaking the area stretching twenty to thirty feet intensely.

It was unimaginable that such terrifying power could erupt from a flesh-and-blood body!

“Strong…So strong! This is Astral Strength! Refining Strength into Astral allows it to slice through metal and sever iron; when it erupts, it is like thunder and volcanoes, unmatched in power! Even my physical body, after five rounds of body tempering and strength refining, had a significant increase in strength—just relying on my bare fists, without any force or martial skills, I can easily crush Jin Bupo and Blood Daoists alike!

Looking at his own hands, even Su Hao couldn’t help but feel shocked and delighted at the improvement in his strength.

Astral Strength is invincible, and its explosion is like thunder. Even his body, having undergone five rounds of tempering and strength refining, has undergone a leap in power, capable of pulling down elephants with pure brute strength and tearing apart tigers and wolves.

After days of accumulation, he completed his transformation in one go.

With five rounds of body tempering and strength refining, refining strength into Astral, Su Hao experienced a qualitative change in his ability!

Once Astral Strength is unleashed, even Jin Bupo, who is proficient in External Exercise Hard Skill and has perfected the Golden Bell Cover, would seem like paper in front of Su Hao, capable of being effortlessly killed with a single strike without any surprises!

After years of hard training, with five low-grade martial arts skills perfected, combined with his innate talent and comprehension abilities, Su Hao finally completed his transformation.

Body tempering and strength refining is the first realm of martial arts, and it is also fundamental and crucial, just like the foundation of a tall building. Only with a solid foundation can a skyscraper be built!

Su Hao also felt a sense of relief in his heart and finally felt a sense of safety; with his current strength, ordinary characters are nothing more than like farm chickens and tile dogs.

“I still need to continue improving; my current goal is to become the strongest in Evergreen County!”

However, Su Hao did not slack off because of this; he knew there were unfathomable experts in the Evergreen County area, like some top family warriors who practice Cleansing Marrow, and the leader of the Black Deer Army, the sun-like King Huang!

His current goal is to become the strongest in this county, without becoming proud or complacent, and to not stagnate.

The stronger one becomes, the more one should maintain a sense of awe in their heart.

Having mastered Astral Strength with rich force, and refining the Transforming Tendon Elixir with astonishing speed, Su Hao’s efficiency in practicing Transforming Tendons skyrocketed several times.

Just two months after mastering Astral Strength, Su Hao, using the Transforming Tendon Elixir ‘Ten Treasure Tendon Nourishing Soup,’ completed the second round of Transforming Tendon!

Concentrating his mind to look inward, he could ‘see’ that each of his meridians had become thick and flexible, surprisingly covered in a faint metallic luster; both in resilience and explosive power, it far surpassed the past!

“This is the ‘steel’ refined from the second round of Transforming Tendons, surpassing ox tendon by more than a notch.”

As Su Hao casually moved his body, the tendons inside him tightened, producing crisp sounds like bowstrings being pulled, embodying a fierce explosiveness.

After the second round of Transforming Tendon, his tendons resembled steel!

“However… this Ten Treasure Tendon Nourishing Soup isn’t going to last much longer; I need to exchange it for a higher-grade Transforming Tendon recipe, and also acquire more Lower Grade Martial Arts to quickly push my potential through another transformation.”

As Su Hao moved, he contemplated his next plan.

The Ten Treasure Tendon Nourishing Soup was obtained from Wu Yannian, an elixir suitable for martial artists just starting on the path of Transforming Tendon. Its properties were relatively mild, and Su Hao was able to use it to complete his second round of transforming his tendons purely because he had a solid foundation; for anyone else, reaching the first round would be the limit. He needed a more potent and stronger Transforming Tendon elixir.

Then there was his potential.

Potential Points: 87 points (Innate Talent)

During this time, Su Hao had perfected two Lower Grade Martial Arts, studied medical knowledge and pharmacology, and practiced some Basic Martial Arts in his spare time, broadening his martial arts outlook, which had caused his potential to surge to a remarkable 87 points!

Based on Su Hao’s estimation and speculation, the critical threshold for his next qualitative change in potential should be 100 points, and he was not far from that milestone. If he could perfect two to three more Lower Grade Martial Arts, it should be enough for him to undergo another transformation!

Unfortunately, the three initiated martial arts available for exchange from the Yamen had all been acquired by him, and initiated martial arts were considered unshared secrets of the great families and sects, making it difficult for outsiders to obtain.

“Anyway, I should go and see Gongsun Xiu first.”

Su Hao made up his mind; his connections in Evergreen City were limited, and Gongsun Xiu, who worked at the government office, was one of them!

In the evening, Su Hao disguised himself as Wen Tailai to visit Gongsun Xiu.

Deep within the Inspector Department, Su Hao sat across from Gongsun Xiu and explained his intentions.

“You want a recipe for a more advanced Transforming Tendon elixir? Wouldn’t it be more convenient to ask for the finished product?”

Gongsun Xiu frowned upon hearing Su Hao’s request.

There were two reasons for Su Hao wanting the recipe for the Transforming Tendon elixir: firstly, having the recipe allowed him to procure the medicinal materials himself, which would save a considerable amount of money.

Secondly, Su Hao was researching medical knowledge and pharmacology, exploring more secret medicine recipes to understand the use and combination of medicinal materials, which was also a way to enhance his medical skills. Therefore, he preferred the recipe over the finished elixir, wanting to personally mix it himself.

“Brother Wen, the value of this Advanced Transforming Tendon Elixir Recipe surpasses that of many Martial Arts Secret Books. I’m afraid it will be difficult for me to meet your needs, and recently there aren’t any suitable rewards for you… I can ask County Magistrate Li Shou for you, but don’t hold out too much hope,” Gongsun Xiu said with a bitter smile, directly telling Su Hao not to expect too much.

The Advanced Transforming Tendon Elixir Recipe wasn’t something that could be acquired through ordinary merit, and there were currently no suitable rewards for Su Hao, making it impossible for him to exchange merit for it.

“Alright,” Su Hao replied, feeling slightly disappointed, but he didn’t blame Gongsun Xiu and nodded slightly.

Finally, with Gongsun Xiu seeing him off, Su Hao left the Inspector Department.

By now, it was nighttime, and the streets were sparsely populated as Su Hao walked through a narrow alley.

Suddenly, Su Hao paused and said expressionlessly, “No need to hide; why not show yourself?”

“Well, you truly are the ‘Wen Tailai’ of the Divine Fist,” a figure emerged from the darkness at the corner of the alley after a brief silence, and he couldn’t help but exclaim in genuine admiration.

It was a small-framed man in a gray outfit, in his thirties, resembling a monkey, but with sharp eyes, long arms that reached below his knees, and exceptionally robust arms, belonging to someone with remarkable bone structure!

This man in gray clearly possessed formidable strength and was skilled at concealing his presence; had it not been for Su Hao’s five rounds of body refining and his acute perception that could sense even a mosquito flying within dozens of meters, he might not have realized he was being followed.

The gray-clothed man had evidently been waiting outside the Inspector Department, secretly observing for Su Hao to appear, and had been stealthily tracking him, which did not seem like the action of a kind person, causing Su Hao to harbor a murderous intent.

“Who are you? Do you have business stalking me?” Su Hao asked expressionlessly, yet an invisible pressure locked onto the gray-clothed man; if it turned out that the man was an enemy, Su Hao would have no qualms about taking him out.

The gray-clothed man’s heart sank, feeling as if he had fallen into an icy abyss. He sensed that if the other party made a move, even with his impressive lightness skill among Transforming Tendon martial artists, he would have no chance of escaping and would be killed on the spot!

“There are many Transforming Tendon martial artists who died at the hands of Wen Tailai; his strength is elite even within the Transforming Tendon Stage… it is truly not a false reputation.”

The gray-clothed man felt a surge of fear in his heart!