Chapter 1: Strength of One Bull

He picked up a bucket of water from the courtyard and poured it directly from head to toe, washing away the dirt and sweat on the surface of his skin.

Song Changming only felt much more refreshed all over, and only then had the energy to think about what had just happened.

Open the panel.

Seeing the martial arts section, the Great Strength Bull Demon Skill, previously never started, had now reached the Strength of One Bull.

According to what was recorded on the parchment, achieving the Strength of One Bull was the basic level of this body refining skill.

Obviously, the dramatic change in his body just now was due to the entry into the basic level of this body refining skill.

At this moment, his physique looked noticeably more robust, especially his arms, with muscle texture like it was forged from steel, full of explosive power.

Strength of One Bull, as the name implies, gives the practitioner the strength of a bull.

Of course, this is just an approximate analogy. The strength of one bull described on the parchment is roughly equivalent to a force level of about a thousand pounds.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this so-called Strength of One Bull is undoubtedly very astonishing.

If combined with martial arts techniques, like his Minor Achievement in Soul-breaking Saber Skill, its destructive power could multiply.

And this is the power of a martial artist!

Song Changming wanted to test it, his eyes swept over, he went to the kitchen to pick up a chopping blade, and swung it at a large piece of wood.

His waist and arms exerted continuous force, and a somewhat unfamiliar furious power surged out, following the blade.

Only hearing a crisp bang, that thick chunk of wood as thick as a thigh was shattered by Song Changming’s single slash.

Yes, not just split in two, nor cracked, but directly shattered into countless small pieces, scattered all over.

"Such strong power!"

Song Changming found that he hadn’t even used his full strength, yet the power he demonstrated already far exceeded his daytime self.

This is the increase in strength brought about by body refinement of a martial artist!

Song Changming then picked a few pieces of hardwood, stacked them together, and slashed again.

This time, the wood splinters were scattered even further, and it shattered even more completely.

"Excellent!" Song Changming was very satisfied with the new power he had acquired.

Unrestrained and powerful!

It must be said, the choice of this year’s annual reward was quite worthwhile.

Not only did it allow him to complete the basic level of body refining a year and more in advance, but also saved all the medicinal resources needed over that year.

Such a significant reduction in martial arts expenses was undoubtedly a blessing for him, who had little financial power, an unexpected surprise.

After that, Song Changming tested other functions of his body.

Soon he found that in addition to the significant increase in strength, his endurance, explosive power, five senses, and reactions were also strengthened to varying degrees.

However, compared to strength, these enhancements in body functions were much weaker.

Especially in terms of flexibility and speed, the enhancement was quite limited, exactly as the parchment stated.

Every body refining skill has its advantages and disadvantages, with some focused directions and certain gaps that need to be filled.

His Great Strength Bull Demon Skill is a body refining skill that mainly forges bones and maximizes force training effects.

After bone forging, his bones were hard as iron, heavy as mountains, which inevitably affects speed and flexibility.

Song Changming was mentally prepared before practicing, but now after entering the basic level of body refining, he could still clearly feel the heaviness of his body.

He couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Although the significant enhancement in power was exhilarating, he also didn’t want to sacrifice his speed and agility.

He contemplated how to recover his speed and agility in the future, even if it wasn’t the main focus of body refining, it shouldn’t lag significantly.

After much thinking, limited by his current insight, the only solution he could think of was to dual cultivate.

Simply put, most martial artists typically focus on a single body refining direction, perfecting it to become a master in that area.

A few would dual cultivate other body refining skills, if they had surplus energy, to compensate for their weaknesses and shortcomings.

But this method requires massive consumption of body refining resources, and takes double the time and effort to practice diligently for some results.

If not balanced well, with unclear focus, it could delay the progress of their main body refining skill, resulting in putting the cart before the horse, counterproductive.

Song Changming had the panel, along with a long lifespan, so he could consider dual cultivating different body refining skills.

However, he needed a massive amount of body refining resources, which was a problem, and crucially, he currently only had one set of Great Strength Bull Demon Skill to practice, so even if he wanted to dual cultivate, there were no other body refining skills to choose from.

Therefore, this matter could only be postponed until an opportunity presented itself.

After a night of this, Song Changming glanced at the sky, seeing it was only a few hours from dawn.

He didn’t feel tired, having reached the basic level of body refining overnight, his energy was quite abundant. Even if he didn’t sleep tonight, it wouldn’t affect him getting up early for his shift tomorrow.

After seriously adapting to his current body strength, Song Changming wiped his wet hair and returned to his room to rest.

Time passed quickly, mid-year came and it was now July.

On the first floor of Changping Restaurant.

A few servants were holding down an old man in plain clothes onto the floor, indifferent to his wailing.

"Old geezer, how dare you still scream!" one of the servants, not appeased, kicked the old man’s thigh.

The shopkeeper frowned and waved his hand, "Throw him out quickly, don’t affect the restaurant’s business!"

As he spoke, from a table not far away, several burly men with rolled-up sleeves suddenly slapped the table and stood up, angrily reprimanding, "Is this a shady shop? Broad daylight and you are beating an unarmed old man like this."

"Who are you to this old thing? What business is it of yours?" one of the servants couldn’t help but retort.

The shopkeeper stopped the servant and was about to explain to the diners.

But the burly man was too angry to listen any longer, striding over with large steps, grabbing that servant by the collar and directly throwing him to the ground with a miserable wail.

With bull-like eyes glaring, the other servants in the shop were also thrown into panic.

"You! Call the authorities! Hurry and call the authorities!" the shopkeeper, fearing the other side might go mad and smash his shop, shouted immediately.

He’s seen such unreasonable and irritable people before.

In fact, this kind of impulsive man who has practiced martial arts was quite common in the Jianghu, liking to act impulsively in the name of chivalry, but actually, they were epitomes of abusing martial power.

True martial artists with the chivalrous spirit are few and far between.

"I told you to call the authorities! You blind fool!" the burly man lashed out with a kick, intending to strike the shopkeeper.

"Stop!" suddenly a loud shout came, and a leg stretched out, blocking in front of the shopkeeper, colliding with the burly man’s foot.

In the next moment, the burly man only felt a strong force coming at him, causing his body to lose balance instantly, staggering and almost falling to the ground.