High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Refining Blood with Heart Fire, Advancing to Martial Artist

Xu Wuyi didn’t hesitate for a moment. Without even stopping to savor the details of the battle, his body was already moving on pure instinct.

He planted his feet in the center of the underground Cultivation Room, took a deep breath, and assumed the Starting Form of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace’s Eighteen Beginner Forms.

His Qi and Blood immediately began to surge. In his Dantian, the wisp of scarlet-gold Heart Fire was stirred, flickering joyfully. It radiated a gentle yet vigorous heat, causing the Qi and Blood throughout his body to circulate as heavily as lead and mercury, a faint crimson glow appearing beneath his skin.

This time, he deliberately slowed down, no longer pursuing the fluidity and explosiveness of the movements. Instead, he sank his mind completely into his body, meticulously sensing the flow and transformation of his Qi and Blood through every meridian, every node, and even deep within every inch of his bones.

The principles Deputy Professor Han Mo had spoken of—about the subtle meridians and Qi and Blood nodes—now aligned with his direct experience, becoming crystal clear.

He could ”see” that under the influence of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace, his own powerful Qi and Blood, like molten lava, was repeatedly washing over and forging his entire body, illuminating even the deepest, normally unreachable places.

After completing one full routine of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace, his Qi and Blood was thoroughly invigorated, reaching its absolute peak.

Without pausing, Xu Wuyi seamlessly transitioned to the Basic Body Refining Technique.

The movements were simple, archaic, even a little clumsy.

But empowered by his Great Success Realm, these nine seemingly simple forms held a resonance of Returning to Truth.

His Qi and Blood circulated in flawless harmony, naturally mending the most minute imperfections and solidifying his most fundamental foundation.

He continued this way, alternating between the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace and the Basic Body Refining Technique.

The Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace was like pouring oil on a blazing fire, pushing his Qi and Blood to their absolute limit and unearthing his deeper potential. The Basic Body Refining Technique, in contrast, was like a gentle simmer, soothing, harmonizing, and stabilizing that blazing intensity, converting it into a state more suitable for accumulation and refinement.

One advanced, one fundamental; one rapid, one slow. Together, they formed a perfect, complementary cycle.

Barely half an hour later, while performing the Furnace Cauldron Stabilizing Vein form, Xu Wuyi’s body jolted violently!

He clearly felt his ceaselessly flowing Qi and Blood, as if drawn by some invisible force. It was no longer content to simply circulate through his meridians; like a hundred rivers flowing to the sea, it began to spontaneously converge on his Dantian in his lower abdomen!

No, this was no simple convergence.

It was compression. It was refinement!

The moment the heavy, viscous Qi and Blood, like lead and mercury, rushed into his Dantian, it was enveloped by the steadily pulsing, scarlet-gold Heart Fire.

TSSSS—

It was like cold water hitting hot oil, or unrefined iron being cast into a melting furnace.

The scorching Heart Fire flared with unprecedented intensity, tightly enveloping the Qi and Blood that surged into the Dantian and viciously burning and refining it!

An intense pain radiated from his Dantian, a searing heat that felt as if it would incinerate the very core of his being.

Xu Wuyi let out a muffled grunt, fine beads of sweat instantly breaking out on his forehead. Yet his eyes were startlingly bright.

He understood. ’This is the crucial step!’

He steadied his Heart and Spirit, his mind highly focused. Far from resisting the pain, he actively guided even more Qi and Blood to pour into his Dantian and feed the scarlet-gold flame.

Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace: Body as a Furnace, Melting All Things!

At this very moment, he was using his own Body as a Furnace, with his Heart Fire as the source, to melt down and purify all of his Qi and Blood!

During this process, he could use Introspection to ”see” the gray impurities being purged from his Qi and Blood, incinerated into nothingness by the Heart Fire’s forge.

Meanwhile, the essence that remained was undergoing a fundamental transformation under the dual effects of intense heat and pressure.

Its color grew deeper, shifting from the original crimson to a dark red, and eventually taking on an almost imperceptible golden sheen.

Its form also grew more condensed, no longer a flowing liquid but something approaching a strange, exceptionally dense state of energy.

The process continued for nearly an hour.

When the last stream of Qi and Blood was drawn into the Dantian and had been thoroughly refined by the Heart Fire, the churning, searing sensation within began to slowly subside.

The wisp of scarlet-gold Heart Fire seemed to have expended a great deal of energy; its glow was somewhat dimmer, but its core was far more concentrated, and its flickering pulse now had an air of stability.

And now, within Xu Wuyi’s Dantian, the once-brimming Qi and Blood had vanished. In its place was a small pool of a deep, viscous, dark-red liquid that exuded a powerful life force, its center flecked with tiny golden motes.

Purified Qi and Blood!

This was a higher form of energy, the result of his Qi and Blood metamorphosing after a qualitative leap in his life essence!

Xu Wuyi slowly relaxed his stance, standing up straight.

He lightly clenched his fist. Without activating any Qi and Blood, he could feel an explosive power coiled deep within his bones—far, far stronger than before!

His five senses were sharper than ever before. He could even hear the faint sound of his own blood flowing through his vessels and clearly ”see” the paths of dust motes drifting in the air.

A sense of exhilaration washed over him, as if he had broken free from invisible shackles and his very level of existence had ascended.

Without any hesitation, he turned and walked toward the Virtual Pod.

His consciousness connected, and he entered the Star Martial Battle Network.

Within his personal space, a soft blue light converged, and Anna’s virtual projection materialized.

”Xu Wuyi, welcome back. A significant change in your vital signs has been detected. Updating your data...” Streams of data flashed rapidly in Anna’s eyes.

A moment later, a holographic screen unfolded, clearly displaying his latest data:

[Name: Xu Wuyi]

[Life Energy Level: 20.1]

[Status: Star Martial University - East Courtyard (Official Martial Artist)]

20.1!

’I really broke through!’

Although he had anticipated it, seeing the number with his own eyes still sent a thrill through him.

After months of effort, he had finally crossed this crucial threshold and become a true Martial Artist!

”Anna, pull up a detailed comparison of my physical data before and after the breakthrough,” Xu Wuyi said calmly, suppressing his excitement.

”Command received. Generating data comparison...”

[Life Energy Level: 19.9 → 20.1 (+0.2)]

[Total Qi and Blood (in standard units): ~15% increase]

[Qi and Blood Purity: 85% increase]

[Bone Density: 5% increase]

[Nerve Reaction Speed: 20% increase]

[Overall Physical Assessment: 25-30% increase]

Xu Wuyi studied the report, lost in thought.

Judging by the percentages alone, his improvements were actually smaller than those of a typical Martial Disciple breaking through to the Martial Artist realm.

This, however, was entirely within his expectations. His foundation was simply too massive.

It was precisely because he had used the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace to build a foundation far exceeding the norm during his Martial Disciple Stage. His starting point was incredibly high; even before the breakthrough, his life essence had already approached, or perhaps even reached, the baseline for an ordinary Martial Artist.

Therefore, this breakthrough was less a sudden leap and more of a natural culmination—a qualitative change that compressed and purified his already immense ”quantity” into a higher ”quality.”

If one were to calculate the absolute gains, his growth was definitely greater than that of an average Martial Artist upon their breakthrough. And his potential ceiling was now much higher!

’So this is the power of a Martial Artist...’ Xu Wuyi mused, feeling the pool of purified Qi and Blood within him, along with the tougher physique and keener Spirit that complemented it.

With a thought, he tried to mobilize a wisp of the purified Qi and Blood.

HUMMM!

A wisp of dark-red, gold-tinged light flashed at his fingertip and vanished. The air hummed softly. A Power far more condensed and scorching than anything he could produce before was held, potent but unreleased.

Controlling it felt effortless, yet the expenditure of energy felt much lower.

He threw a casual punch, using no Martial Technique, relying purely on his physical strength empowered by his Qi and Blood.

BOOM!

A muffled boom echoed through the personal training area. The force of his punch was so great that it visibly distorted the air several meters away.

Its power far surpassed anything he could achieve during the Martial Disciple Stage!

A look of satisfaction spread across Xu Wuyi’s face.

This breakthrough was more than just a surge in power; it meant he had officially stepped into a new world of Martial Arts, earning the right to pursue even higher Realms.

He exited the Battle Network, returning to reality.

He stood before the full-length mirror in the Cultivation Room, gazing at his reflection.

’It’s still not enough. I can become even stronger...’