Chapter 6 Cultivation

Just like that, two days passed. Deep in the night of the third day, Du Fei leapt up swiftly. However, this time he did not immediately start cultivating but pondered for a short moment. His cultivation over these two days could not be said to have gone smoothly. The situation where a series of loud noises resonated had occurred several times. However, for some unknown reason, he was unable to successfully advance to the fourth stage of Body-forging Fist in the final step. One could only say that his attempts were unsuccessful. Even though Du Fei understood that hoping to progress to the fourth stage of Body-forging Fist after only cultivating for three days seemed greedy for a man with his capabilities, he was also clear that if he couldn't smoothly advance, his plans would undoubtedly be hampered. Taking a slight breath, Du Fei had already pondered over Soft Fist in his mind several times. Particularly the nuances of this fist technique, he reflected on them in detail. However, he could not figure out where he went wrong, causing him to miss that crucial last step... Although in the past few days, Du Fei had also referred to other Body-forging Fists he had learned before, the essence of Soft Fist was completely different from other Body-forging Fists. Therefore, other Body-forging Fist techniques essentially had no reference value for him. Even that unreliable system did not provide him with an answer... "Where did I go wrong? Where did I go wrong?" Du Fei muttered to himself, his right hand clenching into a fist, fiercely slamming it onto the table. "Crack!" With a soft sound, everything on the table jumped up. But almost simultaneously, Du Fei's body trembled! "Could it be..." "System! Display Soft Fist!" With certain contemplation, Du Fei swiftly issued the command. When an image manifested in his mind, he did not analyze anything this time but watched attentively. Stepping, swinging palms, retracting fists, elbowing, sweeping legs... He hadn't made a mistake in any of these moves. Even the critical parts were nearly identical. However, this time, Du Fei already had some ideas in his heart, focusing on a certain part of the image. "Crack!" The shadow image delivered another punch and then slowly retracted its palm. Almost at the same time, Du Fei's eyes brightened! "Is this really the case?" During his previous cultivation, Du Fei had only focused on the unique aspects of the Soft Fist, which were slowness, gentleness, and softness. This cultivation method, which radiated from the inside out, indeed had a miraculous effect. It even made Du Fei's previously blocked meridians flow more smoothly. However, after being stuck at the threshold of the fourth stage of Body-forging Fist, he had pondered countless reasons until just now when he had an idea. That is, whether it's the skin or the meridians, during the Body-forging process, using the Soft Fist's inside-out cultivation method should have some miraculous effects. But, when it came to the critical point of refining the bones, relying solely on the soft power of the Soft Fist seems insufficient. Was it possible that even though the Soft Fist was special, it was still a part of Body-forging Fist? So, if he was only cultivating its soft power, would it not be enough? Which meant that during his cultivation, should he also utilize some hard power to strike a balance between the two spectrums? After re-watching the shadow image, Du Fei was even more convinced of this point. Indeed, even the shadow image would at some point transition from soft to hard. This was the essence of Soft Fist that he hadn't noticed! If he grasped this point, breaking through to the fourth stage of Body-forging Fist should pose no problems. Having realized this, Du Fei didn't waste any more words. Taking a deep breath, his body slowly began to move in sync with the shadow image's actions... "Crack!" With a punch, the soft power in Du Fei's hand instantly turned hard, resulting in the sound of bones cracking, originally, this punch should have been silent! "It's indeed like this!" Joy surged in Du Fei's heart. He paused briefly and then continued to move swiftly. The Soft Fist, under his control, was performed repeatedly... "Crack, crack, crack, crack..." After who knows how many repetitions, Du Fei finally retracted his last punch. The continuous sound of bones cracking echoed throughout his body. At a certain moment, the sound paused and then promptly resumed. At the same time, every bone in his body felt as if they were being bitten by ten thousand ants, causing extreme discomfort. This sudden change took Du Fei aback, but immediately, ecstasy surged in his heart! Bone tempering! This was the crucial stage of the fourth stage of Body-forging. It meant that he had successfully overcome the toughest hurdle of the fourth stage and was on the last step! "I've finally reached this stage!" Suppressing the joy in his heart, Du Fei exerted all his effort to maintain his emotional balance. He endured the sensation of countless ants gnawing at his body, not letting out even the slightest sound. As time passed, the feeling of ants gnawing did not diminish but grew even stronger. Plumes of white smoke started to emanate from Du Fei's body. Simultaneously, droplets of pitch-black blood began to seep from his skin. However, the moment these droplets appeared, they instantly evaporated and disappeared. Over time, the blood droplets that seeped from his skin slowly turned red. After an indeterminable duration, the redness no longer contained any traces of black. Almost concurrently, Du Fei took a sharp breath, and his whole body began to tremble violently. In the end, this tremor manifested into a punch. "Crack!" The punch landed on the ground, causing the sturdy blue bricks to tremble slightly before shattering. Within the debris, a faint palm imprint could be discerned. Even though Du Fei's punch was as powerful as any practitioner at the fourth rank of Body-forging, the faint palm imprint indicated that his power contained not just raw strength, but an internal force similar to true breath, it was the soft power of the Soft Fist! "It really is the fourth rank of Body-forging!" Suppressing the ecstasy within him, Du Fei moved, executing Soft Fist once again. This time, his movements flowed smoothly like clouds and water. His fist technique was no longer merely soft, it carried a firm and vigorous force within its softness, a force incomparable to his previous capability. As his fist retracted and his palm settled, Du Fei smiled faintly. A strong surge of confidence welled up in him. He firmly believed that with his current abilities, he should have earned a place of importance in the Du Family! Even more crucially, he had set foot on the path of martial cultivation! Taking revenge was no longer an unattainable dream. Whether it was Long Aotian or the mysterious man in black, he would one day seek them out! A flash of resentment crossed Du Fei's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. Taking a light breath, Du Fei's complexion had returned to normal. He checked his body again and found that all the internal and external injuries had completely healed. Moreover, after advancing to the fourth rank of Body-forging, there seemed to be some subtle changes in Du Fei's physique, making him appear even more charismatic. Of course, he was mostly unaware of such changes. After some light stretching, Du Fei slowly headed to the back room, where he cleaned himself up and changed into a fresh set of clothes. By the time he returned to his room, the door was already being gently pushed open. Soon after, Little Ai slowly walked in. Little Ai's gaze fell upon Du Fei, pausing for a moment in slight surprise. She then shook her head curiously, seemingly noticing something but not quite sure what it was. "What's the matter?" Du Fei smiled gently and asked in a soft voice. "Nothing, it's just that after seeing Young Master rest for several days, there seems to be something different about you today. Yet, I can't quite pinpoint what it is," Little Ai hesitated before replying. "It might be that my injuries have healed, making me look more spirited," Du Fei smiled, his gaze briefly pausing on Little Ai, "While I was resting these past days, did... anything happen to you?" Hearing this, Little Ai looked taken aback, her expression darkening. After a short pause, she whispered, "It's okay, Young Master. You don't have to worry too much..." Upon hearing her words, Du Fei's face darkened, his voice carrying a hint of anger, "Was it Du Qing?" "No, but..." Little Ai began, then gave a wry smile, "Young Master, you shouldn't worry too much. After all, we are now under someone else's roof. As for these matters... you know that I, Little Ai, have some martial arts training. I can take care of myself. So, you don't have to worry too much..." Anger flashed in Du Fei's eyes, but he didn't elaborate further. He just smiled and softly said, "It's fine, Little Ai. If something like this happens again in the future, neither of us needs to endure it anymore." Hearing his words, Little Ai seemed slightly startled. Her eyes wandered around the room and, upon noticing the fist imprint on the floor, a hint of astonishment flashed in her bright eyes.