29: The Power of Kung Fu

A few days later, Gu Chang officially began Refining Bone, and the tiger bone wine he had prepared in advance became an essential item for his Cultivation Technique.

Unlike Flesh Refining, which requires external assistance, and Refining Bone, which requires a large amount of weight training, the Refining Bone stage focuses on cultivating internal Qi, and then using it to wash and temper all the bones in the body, making them incredibly hard, until they are comparable to steel.

Therefore, ever since he began Refining Bone, Gu Chang had spent a lot of time cultivating his internal Qi.

tiger bone wine could only be considered an aid; the real key was his own Qi and blood, which, through breathing and cultivation in conjunction with his Cultivation Technique, were continuously transformed into internal Qi.

"Internal Qi, in the end, is more like a special effect formed by the burning of nutrients within the body."

"Under the enhancement of internal Qi, the power of all Moves will be greatly increased, or rather, many Martial Skills were actually developed to be used in conjunction with internal Qi."

"Next, I should focus as much as possible on how to use internal Qi, so that all Martial Skills can fully unleash their original power."

Simply sitting still cannot make one a true powerhouse; only through continuous practice, combat, and killing can one advance step by step on the Martial Dao.

"Whoosh!"

After the internal Qi circulated through his body for a full cycle, Gu Chang directly gripped his steel military knife and went to the training ground to begin practicing.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

The Seven Kill Saber Technique was fierce and ruthless, striking at a person's vital points with every draw of the saber, and becoming even more dangerous when continuously changing Moves, often severing limbs, disemboweling, and taking lives.

However, those were merely Moves; when Gu Chang activated his internal Qi and combined it with the Seven Kill Saber Technique, the entire saber technique instantly felt completely different.

"Woooooo~ woooooo~"

The excessive speed caused the steel military knife in Gu Chang's hand to turn into streaks of afterimages, the sound of the blade tearing through the air like ghostly wails, and a chilling coldness erupted from the blade, causing Li Ergou and the others watching Gu Chang practice martial arts to involuntarily retreat.

"Swish! Woo!"

"Hmph!"

Most importantly, when Gu Chang activated his internal Qi to use this saber technique, he felt his entire emotional state change.

In the unseen, it was as if some ghost or god was watching him, grinning sinisterly in his ear, urging him to start killing directly, and a strong desire for destruction filled his heart.

"Swish! Swish! Crack!"

Suddenly, Gu Chang spun around, and the military knife in his hand instantly swept across a nearby stone grinding wheel used for strength training.

Almost instantly, the blade swept past the stone grinding wheel, and large chunks of rock were directly shattered by the military knife; such power, if it landed on a person, would absolutely split them in two.

"Hoo~ hoo~"

A moment later, Gu Chang forcefully retracted his saber and stopped practicing martial arts, then he suddenly discovered that the hand gripping the hilt had actually split open, and crimson blood instantly flowed from the hilt to the blade, making the military knife look even more terrifying.

"What a brutal Martial Skill! If it doesn't harm others, it harms oneself!"

One must know that at this point, Gu Chang had already achieved Flesh Refining Perfection, and weapons like swords and sabers were almost ineffective against him; yet, even so, he was still injured when he truly unleashed this saber technique.

"One can only say that it lives up to its reputation as a military Martial Skill; what it pursues is rapid progress, astonishing power, and unmatched ferocity, as for side effects, those people probably wouldn't care."

Gu Chang had somewhat anticipated such a result, but the fact that this was the outcome on his first attempt still made him feel a bit horrified.

"Brother, are you alright?"

Seeing Gu Chang retract his Move, Li Ergou and the others dared to approach him, looking at his bleeding palm and asking with some concern.

"I'm fine, the saber hit the stone and I was injured by the recoil force, that's all."

Gu Chang shook his head and did not directly explain the reason; their current strength was still far too weak, and there was no need to make them worry about these issues.

"You all continue training; in a few days, we will be going out of the mountain, and this time we must collect as many medicinal herbs as possible."

Then Gu Chang looked at them and continued, saying that the shortage of secret medicines was always a problem.

Although some of the medicinal herbs could be found in the mountains, there were still some that needed to be obtained from other sources.

Originally, they could continue practicing martial arts by relying on tiger meat, but now the tiger meat had been consumed.

"Yes!"

"Understood!"

"Alright!"

Hearing Gu Chang's command, everyone present was very happy; they had been in the mountains for almost half a year, and naturally, they all wanted to go out and see what the outside world was like.

A few days later, Gu Chang led Wang Da Niu, Li Ergou, and others out of the valley towards the outside of the mountain.

His main purpose this time was to obtain medicinal herbs for preparing secret medicines, and of course, if there were other gains, that would be even better.

After leaving Da Wu Mountain, Gu Chang, as usual, went to the nearby villages and towns to take a look, and found that the lives of the people in the nearby villages and towns had clearly become even more difficult than before.

Throughout history, during times of great chaos, it is always the common people at the bottom who suffer the most.

"I wonder how Da Mao and the others are doing?"

"Their lives probably aren't too good."

"Should we go and see them? No matter what, they were once our comrades-in-arms."

"..."

Seeing that the once relatively peaceful villages and towns had now become much more desolate, Li Ergou and the others couldn't help but worry about the soldiers who had not gone into the mountains with them back then.

"Brother, what do you think?"

Finally, Li Ergou and the others all looked towards Gu Chang; only Gu Chang could make a decision on such matters.

"Alright, but we have to go quietly after dark."

Gu Chang thought for a moment and then directly agreed; if those soldiers were still around, they could also be a force.

Presumably, after this period of experience, they should also understand that the outside of the mountain is definitely not a benevolent place.

"Yes, we'll all listen to Brother!"

Li Ergou and the others immediately agreed, and their trust in Gu Chang grew even stronger.

Afterward, their group found a hidden spot to rest, and after night fell, they used the cover of darkness to go to the homes of those few soldiers to check on the situation.

"Woof woof woof~"

Dog barks continuously echoed through the village at night, but this was nothing to Gu Chang and the others.

Soon, they found the home of one of the soldiers, but all they saw was a sallow-faced woman and a emaciated child.

"My husband was taken away by you all to fight long ago! The family's food supply is also gone, why are you still here? Are you not even going to spare me, an orphan and a widow?"

The woman looked mournful, seeing Gu Chang and the others dressed in armor, and thought they were the soldiers who had come to conscript people back then.

"Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding! It's me! Sun Er! We've met before, what happened to Liu Da Mao?"

At this moment, a soldier next to Gu Chang stepped forward and spoke to the woman.

"What else could happen? He was forcibly conscripted a few months ago, and there has been no news for several months; he's probably gone."

After the woman recognized Sun Er, she couldn't help but wipe away tears, and then began to tell them the specific details.

"Sigh, why bother?"

In the end, Li Ergou and the others could only sigh, then they briefly said a few words to the woman before quickly leaving.

After leaving the village, everyone remained silent, the atmosphere was very oppressive; while everyone felt fortunate for themselves, their hearts were also filled with frustration and hatred.

Ordinary people had no way to survive in this world; a slight misstep could lead to eternal damnation, and it was simply impossible to live a peaceful life.

"Go, you all go find the others; if they are still there, tell them they can follow me into the mountain."

"Also, when you come back this time, bring Liu Da Mao's relatives with you; if we let them, an orphan and a widow, continue to stay here, they probably won't live much longer."

At this moment, Gu Chang suddenly spoke to them.

"Brother!?"

Li Ergou immediately looked up, feeling incredibly surprised by Gu Chang's command.

"After all, we were comrades-in-arms; what needs to be done, must be done, otherwise my heart will not be at ease."

"Furthermore, Da Wu Mountain is not small; it can accommodate more people. Aren't we practicing martial arts day and night, constantly strengthening ourselves, precisely so that we can live well and protect our own people?"

Gu Chang added two more sentences, but this was not an outburst of a saintly heart; rather, he realized that he was still too isolated and alone. If he could have a faction, would he still need to rack his brains for medicinal herbs and such?

Relying solely on the hundred or so people in the mountain was still too few; it was simply not enough to accomplish anything significant.