Chapter 90: Cultivation, Improvement, Tempering

So fast. Far too fast! Even with the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye aiding you, you still struggled to see the speed of the scythe's swings.

That kind of speed transcended time, crossed space. You could not describe it.

“Alright, go practice.” The Wheat Cutter waved a hand, telling you to begin.

You closed your eyes, recalling that scene from before. Your right hand swung fiercely, and ten stalks of wheat snapped at the sound!

You ceaselessly pondered that wave of the Wheat Cutter's hand. Your right hand, following what your heart conceived, began to practice.

On the first day, you finished cutting an acre of wheat. Only when the sun set did you finally leave.

At night, you boiled wheat as your meal, recovering the wounds on your body and dissolving the lingering void force.

On the tenth day, you cut two acres of wheat. Your wheat-cutting technique had improved somewhat.

In the first month, with the Wheat Cutter guiding you at your side, you felt as though you had grasped something. Your wheat-cutting speed grew even faster.

In the second month, you grabbed a handful of wheat, and with a single swing of the scythe in your right hand, the wheat was cut clean at the waist.

“Not bad. Entering the basics in two months, your talent is decent.” The Wheat Cutter looked at you and nodded, giving you his acknowledgment.

“It is all thanks to Senior's good teaching.” You said modestly.

“Enough. You don't need to come cut wheat tomorrow. If I let you keep cutting, I won't have any work left to do.” The Wheat Cutter rolled his eyes, pointing at the bare wheat field.

“Heh heh.” You scratched your head embarrassedly. Over these two months, you had cut quite a lot of wheat, and most of it had gone into your belly. The wounds on your flesh had also basically healed completely.

Your strength had finally returned to its peak!

That night, you returned to your dwelling and began secluded cultivation.

You engraved the wheat-cutting technique into your heart and applied it to combat. Your close-combat strength was drastically enhanced.

A month later, you emerged from seclusion.

“Well?” The Old Village Chief had been waiting outside your room for a long time.

“A bountiful harvest!” You looked at the Old Village Chief and smiled.

In the past, you could throw three punches a second. Now, you could throw ten!

And the power of your fists was far beyond what it had been before!

“Mm. Go to the blacksmith's forge. The Blacksmith has been waiting for you for quite some time.”

Arriving at the blacksmith's forge once again, you felt a touch of emotion. To think that forging iron could push oneself to exhaustion. You were the first.

“Come in. I'll teach you to forge.” The Blacksmith said in a booming voice.

You entered the blacksmith's forge, and a burning sensation assailed you once more, searing your flesh red. This time, you clearly felt that your body was being tempered.

Just like forging iron, it ceaselessly tempered your flesh, removing the impurities within your body, making your physical strength even greater.

Beyond that, some of the hidden injuries within your body also recovered through the tempering.

“I thought my physical body had already reached perfection at this realm. I never imagined there was still room for improvement!” You smiled self-deprecatingly.

The Blacksmith glanced at you and said in a booming voice, “Little one, you must know there is always a higher mountain, and beyond immortals there are immortals!”

“This junior understands.” You bowed.

“Mm. Rise.” The Blacksmith handed you a hammer and said, “Strike the iron a couple of times and let me see.”

You received the hammer with both hands and swung it with force. The hammer smashed heavily onto the red-hot iron block, producing a sound.

The hammer in your hands was knocked away, and you borrowed the force to strike again.

The Blacksmith first nodded, then shook his head and sighed. “With that hammer strike of yours, you can only produce eighty percent of the effect from full strength.”

“Watch how I do it.” The Blacksmith took the hammer from your hands and demonstrated personally.

You directly activated the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye, earnestly observing the iron-forging technique. You knew this was not merely about forging iron!

“This hammer strike of mine uses eighty percent of the force, yet it can produce one hundred and twenty percent of the effect!”

“On top of that, there is another method.” The Blacksmith said to himself, and the hammer in his hand fell once more.

“My hammer method grows stronger the more you strike!”

“You need only understand the principle. In the future, applying it elsewhere will be the same!”

Bang! Bang bang bang!

After the Blacksmith finished his demonstration, you picked up the hammer and began to imitate.

Whether day or night, the hammer in your hands never stopped.

In the first week, the strength of your flesh began to decline. The power behind your hammer swings slowed.

In the second week, you began to reach exhaustion. Your hands trembled as you tried to lift the hammer, but regardless, you could not raise it.

You looked at your skin-and-bones appearance and let out a bitter laugh. This was a sign of your physical strength being overdrawn.

The Blacksmith brought you a basin of chicken, a pot of rice, and a jar of good wine.

“You brat, what good fortune you have. Back in my day, how could I have had conditions like yours?” The Blacksmith looked at the good wine before you, nearly drooling.

You picked up a bowl of wine and offered it to the Blacksmith. “Senior, have a bowl.”

The Blacksmith shook his head vigorously and hurriedly refused. “This was specially prepared for you by the Village Chief. I cannot drink it.”

To avoid losing control, the Blacksmith went straight back inside, out of sight and out of mind.

You smiled helplessly. You did not know why the Old Village Chief treated you so well, and you did not ask.

When it was time for you to know, the Old Village Chief would naturally tell you.

“That basin of chicken, you can only eat two pieces at a time! Don't eat too much!” The Blacksmith's voice came from inside, warning you.

“I know!” You began to wolf down the food.

With one bite of chicken down your throat, the flesh and blood throughout your body began to stir, and your physical strength began to recover.

Once you had eaten and drunk your fill, you stood up, gripped the hammer with both hands, and continued tempering.

In the third month, with your final hammer swing, your exhausted self collapsed to the ground on the spot, your mind a complete blank.

“Smells so good. Big Brother, you're cooked!” Little Nannan passed by the blacksmith's forge, sniffed at you, and exclaimed.

Over these three months, you had stayed in the blacksmith's forge the entire time, your flesh constantly enduring the tempering of high heat.

You looked at your own body, red all over, and smiled, because that burning sensation had already begun to weaken!

This proved that your physical strength had grown stronger once again!

You glanced at Little Nannan and casually asked, “Little Nannan, why have you come?”

“Grandpa Village Chief told me to come check on you. He said if you were done forging, you should go find him.”

You rested for a moment, then flipped up onto your feet with a carp's leap.

“Go on. See what the Village Chief wants with you.” From inside the forge, the Blacksmith's voice came.

“Yes, Senior. This junior will take his leave now.” You bowed toward the interior of the forge, then turned and departed.