Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Chapter 131 Dragon City Awakens

The moment the binding was complete, the ruins of the entire Dragon Burial City seemed to be shaken awake from their slumber by an invisible giant hand.

The slag heel trembled violently beneath his feet, and the dark golden light of ancient inscriptions emanated from the collapsed, curved walls and the tilting stone tower.

The half-buried passageway stretched outwards. Where the light passed, the inscriptions, weathered for countless years, resurfaced, their strokes sharp, as if carved just yesterday.

Standing in the center of the ruins, Xu Hao felt an immense and indescribable force surging up from the ground, passing through the soles of his boots, through his muscles and blood vessels, and directly into his bones.

The metallic patterns on the Iron Bone Realm pulsed wildly under the influence of this power, and every bone hummed.

It wasn't pain, but a feeling of acceptance—like a key being inserted into a lock that had been waiting for a thousand years, fitting perfectly.

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, words floated on the scroll of the blessed land.

[Binding successful: Burial Dragon City LV1 (Ancient Ruins - Awakening)]

[Blessed Land Characteristic 1: Prison Suppression] Within the Blessed Land's area, all targets outside the host's faction experience a 70% reduction in Qi circulation efficiency and are subjected to ten times the gravity.

[Blessed Land Feature Two: Echoes of the Martial Ancestor - Cultivating the Nine Divine Skills of the Martial Ancestor within the Blessed Land increases comprehension speed and compatibility by 50%.]

Ten times the force of gravity.

The efficiency of the protective energy has decreased by 70%.

Xu Hao's lips twitched slightly.

The restricted area of ​​the mining vein already reduces the efficiency of the internal energy to 40%. When combined with the special characteristics of this blessed land, it means that any outsider who is not recognized by it will have 90% of their internal energy wasted when they step into the area of ​​the Dragon Burial City, and at the same time, they will have to withstand ten times the gravity.

If the battle with Bone Lady had been fought after the binding was completed—there are no ifs.

She couldn't even manage a single move.

No wonder it's called "Heavy Pressure of Prison".

This city was originally built to suppress things.

But what really bothered him was the second point.

The lingering sound of Martial Ancestor.

When cultivating the Nine Divine Skills of the Martial Ancestor, the speed of comprehension and compatibility increase by 50%.

He currently possesses three martial ancestral inheritances within him—the "Myriad Transformations Heavenly Vault Scripture," the second level of the "Suppressing Prisons and Myriad Bones Technique" (Iron Bone Realm Perfection), and the first strike of the "Nine Slashes of Innocent Delusion."

Practicing martial arts in this city is like having a speed boost.

Xu Hao took a deep breath, digested the information in the Blessed Land Scroll one by one, and looked up at the northeast direction.

The Bone Maiden's presence has completely vanished at the edge of the Gobi Desert.

She won't come back anytime soon; the cost of destroying the bone flute is too high. In her current condition, it will take her at least six months to recover.

Let's look at the direction of Zezhou.

On the Six Nails Suppressing Dragon Diagram in the sea of ​​consciousness, the flashing frequency of the secondary nail in Zezhou changed from once every ten breaths to once every eight breaths.

Someone is speeding up.

However, there was no violent tremor.

This indicates that the person who took action was still in the probing stage and did not use brute force to pull it out.

The people of the Observatory are always cunning and ruthless, unlike the straightforward and honest barbarian bone shamans.

They are most likely studying the seal structure, looking for weak points, and loosening it little by little.

This process won't be too fast.

The Dragon-Suppressing Nail was laid down by an ancient powerful being, and even if the Celestial Surveillance Bureau exerts all its strength, it will take time to pull it out.

It can take anywhere from one month to three months.

Xu Hao found a flat stone platform in the middle of the ruins and sat down.

He has time.

But not many.

An old man emerged from the passageway carrying a broadsword. His cloudy old eyes swept over the dark golden light flowing across the ruins. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He spent most of his life guarding this Gobi Desert, witnessing the brilliance of mineral veins and the devastation of sandstorms.

But I've never seen the Dragon Burial City light up.

"Has this city come alive?"

"Hmm." Xu Hao sat cross-legged on the stone platform, placing the Devouring Sea Blade horizontally in front of his knees. "From today onwards, this city will listen to me. From now on, anyone who isn't mine entering this territory is committing suicide."

The old man was astonished; the young man's methods were far beyond his comprehension.

Xu Hao closed his eyes and began to circulate his internal energy.

The trajectory of the "Myriad Transformations Heavenly Vault Scripture" unfolds within the meridians.

The Qi of the Opening Acupoints Realm surges out from the acupoints, circulates throughout the body, and then flows into the bones, intersecting with the metallic patterns of the Iron Bone Realm.

Then he felt it.

The lingering sound of Martial Ancestor.

It's not a sound, it's a frequency.

From the mineral vein beneath our feet, from the light of ancient inscriptions, from every stone in the ruins, a vibration resonates with the "Myriad Transformations Heavenly Vault Scripture".

It was as if someone was secretly calibrating the pathways of his meridians.

The previously vague understanding became clear, and the bottleneck was pushed past by a gentle force.

Under this guidance, the Qi in the Tongqiao Realm circulates more and more smoothly and becomes more and more refined.

It's no exaggeration to say that the comprehension speed has increased by 50%.

Time passed during the practice.

The old man stayed by his side, serving camel meat soup twice a day without fail.

He had seen many martial artists practice, but he had never seen this kind of practice—this young man sat there motionless, yet the entire city seemed to breathe with him.

The light of the dark gold inscriptions flickered with his breathing, its frequency perfectly synchronized with his heartbeat.

Information about the "Suppressing Prisons and Ten Thousand Bones Technique" began to emerge in new content within the Blessed Land Scroll.

The path after reaching the pinnacle of the Iron Bone Realm.

[The Prison Suppression Technique - Third Level: Marrow Transformation Realm]

[Overview: Bones become iron, marrow transforms into silver. Using the black iron bones as a furnace, the marrow is tempered and refined, giving it the ability to absorb external forces and convert them into one's own. The silver marrow permeates the entire body, absorbing offensive energy and feeding it back; the more severe the injury, the stronger the counterattack.]

[Cultivation Requirements: Iron Bone Realm Perfection (Already Met). Requires completing the first marrow transformation within a high-concentration mineral vein essence.]

Xu Hao's eyelid twitched.

The Marrow Transformation Realm.

To refine bone marrow into a form capable of absorbing external forces and converting them for one's own use.

The greater the blow, the stronger the counterattack.

This is not a defensive technique; it is a fighting physique that heals itself from injuries and grows stronger with each battle.

The Iron Bone Realm made his bones as hard as black iron, and his power transmission was lossless.

But essentially it's still about "enduring" – even the toughest bone will break if it encounters an attack that exceeds its limit.

The Marrow Transformation Realm is different.

It can not only carry heavy loads, it can also be eaten.

The energy that the opponent attacks is absorbed by the bone marrow and transformed into one's own.

Subsequently, the trajectory of the first strike of the "Nine Slashes of Innocent Delusion" was repeatedly rubbed and ground in the sea of ​​consciousness.

The problem exposed during the previous battle against Bone Mother—that it takes three breaths to recover after releasing all the energy stored up at once—has been optimized under the guidance of the Martial Ancestor's echoing voice.

It's not about reducing the amount released, but about changing the energy cycle.

The power transmission path of the first strike was originally a single-line output—from the spine to the shoulder blade to the arm to the blade, going all the way through one line.

Yu Yin's guidance led him to a branching path—a force branching off from the spine, traveling along the ribs, circling back, and converging in the arms to create a secondary acceleration.

The advantage of doing this is that while the main road is outputting, the secondary road has already begun to recover from the oscillations.

The rebound time of the whole-body resonance network has been shortened from three breaths to one and a half breaths.

It can almost continuously deliver attacks.

The next thing to appear is [Nine Slashes of Innocent Delusion - Second Slash (Fragment)]

[Second Strike - Severing Intent: A blade that severs the target's fighting spirit and mental defenses.]

[The blade, once drawn, never returns; its power does not harm the flesh, but strikes directly at the soul. The victim's martial will crumbles, resulting in a loss of focus for three breaths at best, or complete mental destruction, rendering them a cripple.]

[Completeness of the fragment: 41%. Currently, it can be cultivated to the beginner level. Formal use requires a physique at the Marrow Transformation Realm or higher.]

Forty percent of the text is incomplete, barely enough to get started.

However, "entry-level" means that he has an additional dimension of attack methods. The first strike is a pure power output, and the second strike directly targets the mental level.

Against an opponent like Bone Maiden who doesn't follow the conventional bloodline system, the second strike might be much more effective than the first.

Xu Hao memorized all this information, intending to accelerate his cultivation within the limited time available and elevate the level of the Blessed Land of Burial Dragon City.

The first marrow transformation requires immersion in highly concentrated mineral essence.

There is currently no place with a higher concentration of mineral veins than Hidden Dragon City.

Xu Hao's mind sank into the scroll painting of the blessed land. The course of the city's internal energy flow appeared in his mind in perfect detail.

In the northeast corner, thirty feet from the central stone platform, there is a mineral vein node, its essence so rich it's almost purple.

Xu Hao walked to the top of the node and gripped the knife handle tightly with his right hand.

The resonance of the bones superimposed on the blade, causing the dark silver patterns to light up.

There were no fancy moves, just a straight slash.

The blade sliced ​​into the ground.

Under the resonance, the basalt layer peeled away layer by layer, and silently, a ravine one zhang wide and three zhang deep was cracked in the ground.

A rich, silvery-gray light, mixed with a pungent metallic smell, emanated from the ground.

This is extremely pure essence from the earth's veins.

Xu Hao sheathed his sword and leaped into the air.

After falling three zhang, their feet landed on the solidified mineral essence.

The surrounding pressure was several times stronger than that on the ground; if someone in the Inner Strength Realm were here, their bones would have been crushed long ago.

Xu Hao, with his perfected Iron Bone Realm physique, greedily inhaled this energy.

Sit cross-legged.

The inscription of the Prison Suppression Technique automatically appeared in his mind.

[The conditions for the first marrow transformation in the Marrow Transformation Realm have been met.]

[Start tempering.]

first day.

pain.

It hurts ten times more than when the Iron Bone Realm penetrates the collarbone.

The mineral essence seeps into the bone marrow cavity through the tiny pores on the surface of the bone.

The micro-cracks in the bones caused by battle, and the hidden injuries left by overloading during the cultivation of the Prison Suppression Technique, were all enveloped, filled, and replaced by the essence of the mineral vein.

The color of the bone marrow is changing.

It changes from red to pink, from pink to grayish-white, and finally reveals a very faint silver sheen.

the next day.

The silver light spread from the bone marrow to the periosteum.

The metallic patterns of the Iron Bone Realm and the silvered bone marrow created a new resonance mode—no longer a single-frequency vibration, but a superposition of two frequencies.

One high and one low, one strong and one soft.

High frequency represents the hardness output of the Iron Bone Realm, while low frequency represents the absorption and transformation of the Marrow Transformation Realm.

When two frequencies overlap, the characteristics of the skeleton change.

Xu Hao clenched his fist in the ravine that had been split open.

The essence of the surrounding mineral veins was drawn in.

It's not the way you suck when you're drinking water.

The bones on the fist are like a dried-out sponge, absorbing energy the moment they come into contact with the mineral vein.

The energy he inhaled circulated through his bone marrow, transforming into his own power reserves.

This is the core of the Marrow Transformation Realm—devouring and transformation.

The force that hits him is not only blocked, but also absorbed and digested by his bone marrow, becoming the energy for his next punch.

The greater the blow, the stronger the counterattack.

The Marrow Transformation Realm.

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, the scroll is renewed.

[Introduction to the Third Level of the Prison Suppression Technique: "Marrow Transformation Realm"]

Day three.

The practice and sweeping were carried out alternately.

This sounds outrageous, but that's how Xu Hao's blessed lands have always been upgraded.

He walked around the ruins, scraping away the weathered debris layer by layer from the outer walls of several stone towers that had not yet completely collapsed.

After the ancient inscriptions were revealed, the dark gold light became even brighter, and the efficiency of the mineral vein's feedback also increased.

Then comes the passageway.

He cleared away the sand and bone fragments that had accumulated in the three main underground passages for countless years, one by one.

Sha Fanzi helped for a long time, but eventually couldn't stand the heavy pressure of the mineral vein inside. He felt his bones ache just standing there, so he was kicked out.

Xu Hao did it all by himself.

With his perfected Iron Bone Realm physique, he thrived in the restricted mining area.

For him, physical labor like moving stones and clearing gravel was no different than taking a walk.

The progress bar for the blessed land on the scroll is climbing up little by little.

Each time an ancient site is cleared, the progress increases significantly—the completeness of the ancient inscriptions is directly linked to the level of the blessed land.

The more complete the inscription, the stronger the resonance of the mineral vein, and the higher the quality of the blessed land.

The fourth day at dusk.

The progress bar has reached full.

[Blessed Land Level Upgrade: Burial Dragon City LV2 (Ancient Ruins - Martial Ancestor's Sacred Land)]

[Gained new effect: Efficiency of mineral essence replenishment doubled. Blessed Land area expanded to three miles outside of Dragon Burial City.]

Then one or two new features appeared on the painting.

The gold lettering was more subdued than the information from LV1.

[Blessed Land Special Feature: Dragon City Seal—The city contains the lingering echoes of the fourth part (Shattered Soul Crossing the Heavens Record), which cannot be extracted at present. Unlock Condition: Unknown.]

[Blessed Land Characteristics: After the dragon vein protects the host and they leave the Burial Dragon City, the secondary nail seal automatically enters a "deep sleep reinforcement" mode. The seal strength increases slightly each day until the host returns, and remote warnings can be provided.]

Xu Hao stared at these two characteristics for a long time without making a move.

The fourth part, the lingering echoes of the fragmented story – The Record of the Shattered Soul Crossing the Heavens.

When Bone Maiden destroyed the Bone Flute, the aura of the fragments seeped into the mineral vein strata and was swallowed by the veins of Burial Dragon City.

It's still there.

It's locked inside the city and can't be retrieved, but it's still there.

Unlock conditions are unknown.

Keep it; it'll happen sooner or later.

What truly relieved him was the fourth point.

Protected by the dragon vein.

He can't stay in the Red Sand Domain watching over the deputy nail forever.

The matter in Zezhou needs to be dealt with, and the remaining martial arts techniques of the Martial Ancestor need to be searched for.

Now, Zanglong City is watching over him.

The secondary nail seal will automatically enter a deep sleep to strengthen itself after he leaves; it will not only not weaken, but will also become a little stronger every day.

As long as someone touches the deputy nail in Shuozhou, no matter where they are in Tianqing Haotu, they can sense it.

What's needed next is practical experience and more time.

But time waits for no one.

"Old man."

The old man, who was dozing against the entrance of the passageway, groaned and opened his cloudy old eyes a crack.

"You don't need to guard the nail anymore."

The old man's eyes widened.

"This city will take care of itself. The seal is getting thicker every day, and as long as no one above the Shattered Realm tries to break it, it can remain stable in the short term."

Xu Hao spoke very frankly.

The old man remained silent for a long time.

He spent most of his life squatting in this Gobi Desert.

When his master left, he gave him a nail, and he squatted there, from black hair to white hair.

The city of Burial Dragon was transformed from ruins into ruins within ruins. Stone towers collapsed one after another, and passageways crumbled section by section. He guarded the city for decades, wielding his broadsword amidst sandstorms and the immense pressure of the mines.

Now this young man tells him he doesn't need to guard anymore.

"Not guarding it anymore?" The old man's voice was a little hoarse.

"It's not that we don't abide by the rules. It's that we're abiding by them differently." Xu Hao squatted down to be at eye level with the old man. "The city is alive; it can take care of itself."

You waste your whole life here, and then what? Your master passes the responsibility to you, but who will you pass it on to?

The old man's mouth moved, but he didn't make a sound.

He has no apprentices.

In this godforsaken place, there isn't a soul in sight for miles around. Where am I supposed to find apprentices?

"Go out." Xu Hao stood up, patted the slag dust off his clothes, and said, "There are plenty of young people outside the Crimson Sand Domain who want to learn martial arts. Pick one or two with good aptitude and upright character, bring them back, and let them practice in the city."

The old man raised his head and looked Xu Hao up and down repeatedly.

Something was churning in his murky old eyes—like fresh water suddenly gushing out of a dried-up river.

"You mean—you want me to go out and find an apprentice?"

"right."

"Then bring them back to the city to practice martial arts?"

"Yes. We don't need to make the apprentice stay here forever, but we can use this as a training base." Xu Hao took the old man's broadsword, weighed it in his hand, and asked, "What's the name of your swordsmanship?"

"I don't have a name. I just practiced exactly what my master taught me. Chop, slash, parry, that's all I know."

"That's enough. It's not about having many moves, but about using them." Xu Hao handed the knife back. "Once we get out, there are quite a few refugees in the oasis city-states on the border of Shuozhou, and there are plenty of young people who are willing to fight to the death. Your swordsmanship is suitable for people who are strong and honest. Don't choose someone who is too clever, and definitely not someone with a wicked heart."

The old man took the knife and rubbed the handle with his rough hands for a while.

He lowered his head, his lips moving.

Xu Hao didn't urge him.

After about half a cup of tea's time, the old man raised his head.

A glimmer of light appeared in his cloudy eyes.

"My master found me on the road back then," the old man said in a hoarse voice. "I was seven years old then, and my parents had starved to death. I was digging for lizards to eat in the sand. My master was passing by and threw me a piece of dry food, asking if I wanted to learn how to use a knife. I said yes. So he brought me here."

The old man hung the broadsword on his back.

"Okay, I'll go take a look."

"You know the city's layout better than I do." Xu Hao took out a small bag of essence blood beads and half a packet of camel meat jerky from the Sumeru Warehouse and stuffed them into the old man's hand. "Chew these on the road, so you don't starve to death halfway and cut off the inheritance."

The old man chuckled and didn't refuse.

"Once you find the person, bring them back. Before entering the city, shout 'Returning Guests of Dragon City' three times outside the city walls, and the city won't suppress you." Xu Hao explained the rules of the "Friendly Mark" in the Blessed Land's permissions to the old man. "From now on, your apprentices will also use this password to enter and exit."

The old man nodded and stuffed the blood essence bead and dried meat into his robes.

He walked to the entrance of the passageway and then stopped.

"Young man."

"Um?"

The old man didn't turn around; his voice was muffled.

"My surname is Wei, Wei Tiesheng. Since you came in, you haven't asked me my name once."

Xu Hao was taken aback. He hadn't asked that.

"Have a safe journey, Mr. Wei."

Wei Tiesheng snorted, slung the knife over his shoulder, and stepped into the last stretch of night before dawn, his old boots, worn from decades of walking on the slag heap.

The figure was quickly swallowed up by the sand dunes.

Xu Hao stood at the entrance of the passageway, looking in the direction where the old man had disappeared.

He turned his head and glanced at Sha Fanzi.

Sha Fanzi leaned against a low wall outside the ruins, his face showing an "whatever you say" expression.

"I'm gone."

Xu Hao turned around and strode towards the outer perimeter of Burial Dragon City.

As dawn broke through the eastern horizon, the sky over the Crimson Sands changed from dark red to a dazzling golden yellow.

Behind it, the dark golden light of the inscriptions slowly receded, like a giant beast closing its eyes and entering a deep sleep.

But it was awake.

Each vein of mineral roots was slowly pulsating, pouring the essence of the earth into the secondary nail seal drop by drop.

The thickness of the seal is slowly increasing, layer by layer.

In the sea of ​​consciousness, the light of the Shuozhou deputy nail on the Six Nails Suppressing Dragon Diagram was a full 20% brighter than it had been four days ago.

Meanwhile, a flashing light spot in the direction of Zezhou had changed its frequency from once every eight breaths to once every six breaths.

The moment Xu Hao stepped out of the territory of Burial Dragon City, a line of words popped up on the scroll of blessed land.

[The Dragon Vein Protection has been activated. The secondary seal on Shuozhou has entered a deep slumber reinforcement mode.]

[Remote warning has been activated. If the seal is interfered with by an external force of strength exceeding the Opening Aperture Realm, the host will receive an alert immediately.]

The ruins of Burial Dragon City stood silently under the scorching sun.

No one came, no one left.

Only deep underground, a dragon-suppressing secondary nail, infused with the essence of the earth's veins and protected by dark gold inscriptions, emits a constant, stable, and unshakeable low hum.

It's like a heart buried deep within the bones of the earth.

one more time.