Chapter 21: The Nine-Character Thunder Chant Secret Technique!

"Alright, I've pushed the Wild Ox Bone Tempering Art to Perfection."

Lu Changsheng wasn't particularly surprised, as he had expected this result. He invoked his status panel to examine his progress.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 215 (Full of Potential)

[Skills]

Wild Ox Bone Tempering Art: Fourth Layer Perfection

Lu Changsheng's progress in cultivating the Wild Ox Bone Tempering Art had been swift, mostly because, compared to many other techniques, this Bone Tempering art was rather ordinary. With his current level of Perception, mastering it posed no difficulty at all.

The pinnacle of the Bone Tempering Stage is to refine the bones until they become jade-like. Easier said than done, though. There are plenty of Bone Tempering arts that can't get you to that point. Repetition is crucial, and yet one session of tempering takes a great deal of time. Doing it ten or twenty times... By the time I'm done, even if I achieve Jade Bones, it might no longer matter.

Ultimately, it was a question of worth. Jade Bones were certainly desirable, but with the time and effort required to achieve them, they might not even be worth pursuing. In that case, advancing to the Divine Strength Realm more quickly could be the wiser choice.

However, Lu Changsheng thought differently. He knew with the aid of his status panel, reaching the Divine Strength Realm was only a matter of time. What mattered now was forging a foundation for each realm as solid as possible. He had already pushed his blood qi to the limit. That, together with the fifth-tier martial technique Deathflash, had allowed him to defeat the Saber-Dragging Heavenly King, Li Ji.

But what if he also tempered his bones into jade? That would elevate his strength to another level entirely. Upon reaching the Divine Strength Realm, he would undoubtedly crush any opponent of the same tier.

"Bone Tempering techniques can be purchased at the black market. And this time, I've gained quite a haul of silver notes..."

With that thought, Lu Changsheng began tallying his spoils from the derelict temple. The silver taels were far too heavy to carry, but he had taken nearly all of the silver notes. After a careful count, he found the total exceeded sixteen thousand eight hundred taels.

"

Haa

..."

That number prompted him to draw in a sharp breath of cold air. But thinking it over, he realized that all these silver notes had been plundered by Li Ji from Miaoshou Garden. For a family that had accumulated wealth for over a century, this much silver was hardly significant.

There had also been cartloads of gold and silver ingots, but he had been unable to carry them away. Even if he had managed to take everything, the Zheng Clan could have easily pulled another several hundred thousand taels from their reserves.

Afterward, Lu Changsheng sorted through a large number of manuals, both of martial arts and of martial techniques. Most of the martial arts were for the Blood Strengthening Stage, which was of little use to him now, while many of the techniques were ones he had already practiced. In the end, only eight martial technique manuals were unfamiliar to him.

He also uncovered a single Bone Tempering Stage martial art, namely the Tiger Devil Bone Tempering Art. Lastly, there was also the mysterious manual he had taken from Li Ji himself. Lu Changsheng opened and examined it carefully.

"The Nine-Character Thunder Chant Secret Technique!"

His eyes widened slightly.

"A secret technique? Indeed, it has to be..."

As a martial artist, Lu Changsheng naturally understood what secret techniques were. They differed greatly from ordinary martial techniques.

The Nine-Character Thunder Chant was neither a Bone Tempering nor an Organ Refinement technique, yet it could enhance both. It belonged to the category of auxiliary secret techniques, capable of aiding a martial artist in tempering bones or refining organs regardless of their realm.

Ordinarily, once an Organ Refinement martial artist's bones had fully set, they could no longer be tempered. But by mastering the Nine-Character Thunder Chant, the user could temper their bones again and again until they became incredibly hard.

Naturally, only secret techniques bestowed such extraordinary effects.

"I've struck gold!"

Lu Changsheng was delighted with this unexpected windfall. It made sense that such a secret technique had been in the possession of Li Ji, an Organ Refinement expert.

"Clearly, the Nine-Character Thunder Chant is extremely difficult to learn... but it can be practiced alongside Bone Tempering martial arts."

In addition, he had also gained another Bone Tempering art. Although those arts weren't especially powerful, he already had a plan for them.

Achieving Jade Bones was bound to be difficult. He would have to temper his bones dozens of times just to have a chance at success. And the stronger the bones grew, the less effective each round of tempering became, until eventually progress might cease altogether. For most people, spending years, or even decades, pursuing Jade Bones would hardly yield satisfactory results that would justify the effort.

However, Lu Changsheng's Perception was exceptionally high, enough that he could study several Bone Tempering arts at once in a relatively short amount of time. The Nine-Character Thunder Chant also came into play; it would certainly make a significant difference. By the later stages of Bone Tempering, its effects would gradually reveal themselves.

"Alright, it's time. I shall start with the Tiger Devil Bone Tempering Art and the Nine-Character Thunder Chant."

With that, he began his training.

The Tiger Devil Bone Tempering Art was similar to the Wild Ox Bone Tempering Art. Both allowed only four cycles of tempering, making them rather ordinary techniques. Lu Changsheng grasped the art in the time it took to drink a cup of tea[1].

With that out of the way, he shifted his focus to the secret technique. The Nine-Character Thunder Chant was founded upon the nine-character mantra—Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing[2].

By grasping the essence of the words and chanting them repeatedly, a practitioner could generate sound waves like thunder, capable of tempering both bones and organs. Whether at the Bone Tempering or Organ Refinement Stage, the benefits were immense.

The only obstacle was the sheer difficulty of the technique. Merely activating it was a formidable challenge, let alone mastering it. Despite his Perception being at 215, Lu Changsheng spent several hours without managing to activate the technique. Naturally, he was taken aback by the lackluster result.

In the past, he had managed to activate the sixth-tier Sixfold Heaven Blood Strengthening Art without much difficulty, eventually training it to Perfection. By comparison, the Nine-Character Thunder Chant proved incredibly challenging. That alone showed it was far beyond the sixth tier; it might even belong to the tenth, or perhaps surpass even that.

In any case, Lu Changsheng was in no rush. If he could not cultivate the technique now, then he would simply wait. Once he perfected the eight martial techniques in his possession and raised his perception further, the Nine-Character Thunder Chant might naturally open its gates to him.

Following the massacre at the temple, his life returned to a quiet calm. Every day he continued to follow his master in the herbal medicine shop, learning the ways of healing.

Although his Perception was sharp, medicine was ultimately an experiential craft. No matter how much knowledge one possessed, practice was indispensable. Given Lu Changsheng's current situation, it would take at least a year or more before he could properly take a patient's pulse and diagnose them.

Still, Wu Jing valued him more with each passing day, as though he truly saw Lu Changsheng as his successor, imparting everything without reservation.

Ten days quickly slipped by.

Tiger Devil Bone Tempering: Perfection. Perception

+4

.

"Perfection again?" Lu Changsheng muttered as he accessed his status panel.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 235 (Full of Potential)

[Skills]

Tiger Devil Bone Tempering Art: Fourth Layer, Perfection

Nine-Character Thunder Chant: Dormant

Lu Changsheng drew in a deep breath. It was too fast! In just ten days, he had cultivated all eight martial techniques to the level of Perfection. Unfortunately, since they were merely second-tier techniques, his Perception had only risen by 16 points. Together with the 4 points gained from the Tiger Devil Bone Tempering Art, his Perception now stood at 235.

He had made progress, but he still couldn't activate the Nine-Character Thunder Chant Secret Technique.

"My Perception is still lacking. I need more martial techniques to raise it further..." Lu Changsheng muttered to himself. "And then the Bone Tempering arts. Between the Tiger Devil and Wild Ox methods, I've tempered my bones eight times already, and yet it doesn't feel like I'm even close to reaching Jade Bones. I've played all my cards. I need to acquire more manuals from the black market."

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Silver was no longer a concern. With Lu Changsheng's recent gains, he could afford as many manuals as he required.

When the Hour of the Boar came, he donned a disguise and swiftly made his way toward the black market.

1. Though not strictly standardized, it usually refers to anything between 5 and 15 minutes. ☜

2. “临兵斗者皆阵列前行” (lín bīng dòu zhě jiē zhèn liè qián xíng). This is a legitimate ancient Daoist spell chant known as the Nine Syllable Mantra (九字真言). It carries a deeper esoteric significance: summoning cosmic forces, uniting them under one will, arranging them into formation, and driving them forward to manifest the caster’s intent. Each syllable represents a stage of invocation, order, and execution, and the mantra is traditionally used to focus qi, align internal and external energies, and strengthen one’s spirit before unleashing powerful techniques. Fun fact, it was later adopted into Japanese esoteric traditions such as Shugendō and Onmyōdō, where it is paired with nine hand seals (kuji-in). ☜