Chương 102: Xu Shicai

The Black Iron Stronghold. Having smashed the furniture in his room to splinters, Xu Shicai, his anger still unvented, leaped like thunder and roared:"This is outrageous! In his dreams! He dared to kill my people and injure my Third Brother, and now he wants to sue for peace?! Why doesn't that Song dog go eat sh*t?!"

"And you too, Third Brother! Why didn't you just play along and confess to avoid a beating?! We have the geographical advantage here; it's not like we're afraid of them launching a sneak attack!" Hearing his Big Brother's words, Hu Ban felt a pang of shame. Deeply moved, he cried loudly:"Big Brother! We swore an oath of brotherhood with our blood! How could I dare sell out my two older brothers?! I was reduced to this state today, and I might become a cripple in the future! You two older brothers must avenge me!

I want to eat that Song dog alive!"

"Big Brother, there's no need to hesitate! Let us brothers secretly descend upon the city immediately and slaughter everyone in the Song Manor, leaving neither chickens nor dogs alive! As for that bastard Song dog, we must chop him into a human stick and bring him back so Third Brother can vent his hatred!" Xu Shicai also felt an unbearable suppression in his heart. He hesitated for a long time before gritting his teeth:"I will naturally avenge Third Brother's grievance, but we cannot act rashly!

Wait for me to think this over carefully."

"Big Brother!"...

"Big Brother!"

"Third Brother, rest well. You must trust your Big Brother! I will definitely avenge you. Just let me calculate things first, alright?" Hearing Old Xu speak so earnestly, the other two didn't dare push too hard and could only nod in trust:"Big Brother, we'll listen to you." Comforting his two sworn brothers and offering Third Brother some caring advice, Xu Shicai finally turned and left with a dark expression....

Just outside the window, standing on a beam and silently observing everything below, Grandee Song was also furious! These mole crickets! Every other word is 'Song dog' or 'Song thief'! Every time they said it, it was recorded in my ledger of grudges! He silently offered a moment of silence for these three. If he didn't still need to investigate the surroundings today, the sparrow he possessed might have turned into an Angry Bird and launched a few kamikaze attacks at them!

He carefully memorized the appearances of these three ill-fated souls. Boss Xu had an incredibly massive physique, not much inferior to Xiong Ba, and his bulging muscles were even more pronounced! He looked no different from a black bear! Perhaps due to practicing external hard-body martial arts, Xu Shicai shaved his head bald. His dark skin shone with a metallic luster; one look was enough to tell his defensive capabilities were astonishing! He just didn't know if the Peacock Plume could pierce it.

If not, this was going to be a massive headache. Even without exchanging blows, just through secret observation, he could see this person's muscles, tendons, and bones were incredibly tight and dense! Using his knees to think, he knew how terrifying this man's explosive power must be! An absolute formidable foe! The sense of threat he gave off far surpassed the likes of Lu Tianxiong and Wu Tian! The other two, on the contrary, were nothing to worry about.

The third brother was basically crippled, and the second brother's skills were just average. Grandee Song was confident he could chop him down within five moves! Xiong Ba and Nie Feng were more than enough to handle those two. The deciding factor was still the boss, Xu Shicai! Not bothering to pay further attention to the two minion bosses, Grandee Song immediately spread his wings, hid his presence, and followed Old Xu.

After all, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will emerge victorious in a hundred battles! One could never be too careful!... Returning from his Third Brother's place, Xu Shicai was entangled in endless hesitation. Being sworn brothers for many years, coupled with old grudges and new hatred, he wished he could immediately charge into the city and flay Song Que alive! But alas, he harbored a secret in his heart. Leaving this place would leave him restless!

Because of this secret, he had severely restricted his movements outside the stronghold over the past few years. Now, with the day of great success drawing nearer, Old Xu's state of mind began to suffer from the anxiety of gain and loss, making him even more unwilling to be careless! A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Zheng Junqing, that useless trash!" Frustrated, Xu Shicai couldn't help but smash the table and curse. If it weren't for that guy's careless negligence, how much worry would he have been spared now?! Previously, they had agreed that he would help shelter Old Zheng, and the reward would be allowing him to study the martial arts of Lingying Temple. Now look at it! Not only was there no sign of the secret manual, but he had also gotten himself covered in sh*t!

Even the underlings in the stronghold and his sworn brother had suffered disasters! How could he not be furious?! If Grandee Song could hear his inner thoughts, he probably wouldn't have been able to resist slapping him a few times! Look at yourself, Old Xu! If you hadn't deliberately sought trouble, Grandee Song wouldn't have bothered paying attention to you bunch of bandits! In a foul mood, Old Xu eventually couldn't sit still.

He stealthily slipped out of his room, carefully checked his surroundings, and, seeing no one around, secretly followed a trail toward the back of the mountain. His living quarters were located midway up the mountain. Anyone wanting to go to the back had to pass through here. Behind him was a sheer cliff, and in front was a deep abyss. Xu Shicai choosing this location to build his room clearly had a deeper meaning. Watching Old Xu acting like a thief in his own territory, Grandee Song's eyes lit up!

His curiosity scratching at his heart like a cat, he hurriedly followed! Benefiting from his tiny physique and being a common bird in the forest, Xu Shicai paid no attention to the little sparrow watching him from the cliff. Following the cliff face for a short distance, Old Xu finally stopped and scanned his surroundings. Then, he nimbly pulled aside some vines to reveal a massive boulder, large as a door! Slowly and carefully shifting the boulder aside, a pitch-black passage appeared behind it.

Xu Shicai immediately pulled the vines back to cover it and disappeared inside. Even without entering to see what it was, Grandee Song already smelled treasure! Without delay, he fluttered down to the cave entrance, pushed the little obstacle aside, and ran inside!... The cave grew larger the deeper it went. Song Que ran until he was sweating bullets (bird sweat, that is) before finally catching sight of Old Xu's figure.

At this moment, holding a Night-Luminescent Pearl, Xu Shicai stood perfectly still, gazing obsessively at a plant in front of him. The plant looked like a wild pineapple. Despite growing in a cave, it was thriving. Its leaves were black with white stripes, long and narrow like sword blades, with jagged teeth bristling along the edges. Hanging prominently from its branches were three brownish-red fruits the size of fists!

"Waiting all these years... less than half a year left until the Golden Bone Fruits mature! When the time comes and I consume them, they will naturally temper my bones to perfection, and I can break through to the Fifth Grade in one fell swoop! At that time, who in this region could stand against me?!"

"There absolutely cannot be any mistakes now! Song dog, oh Song dog... I, your father, will let you live a little longer! In the future, I will absolutely drink your blood and chew your flesh!" Hearing Old Xu's monologue, Grandee Song was intensely curious! He didn't even mind the disrespectful insults, perking up his ears to listen for more useful information. But Xu Shicai seemed possessed.

He didn't say anything else; he just circled the plant, observing it and clicking his tongue endlessly, as if admiring a peerlessly beautiful body. It gave Song Que goosebumps. Seeing that staying longer wouldn't yield any more useful information, Song Que controlled the little sparrow to quietly retreat, hiding on the cliff to continue waiting....

Tossing and turning, unable to sleep the entire night, it wasn't until early the next morning while treating Nie Feng's injuries that Grandee Song couldn't hold back his question:"Old Nie, you are knowledgeable and well-read. Have you ever heard of the Golden Bone Fruit?"

"Since this item is listed on the 'Rare Treasures Ranking', I have naturally heard of it! From whom did the Young Master hear this name?" Nie Feng asked with a smile.

"Never mind who said it! Just tell me what this thing does!" Seeing Grandee Song so impatient, Old Nie couldn't help but find it amusing:"Young Master, according to the texts, the Golden Bone Tree only grows upon metal ore veins, absorbing metallic essence to grow! It only begins to bear fruit after a hundred years. Five years to blossom, five years to bear fruit, and another five years for the fruit to ripen! When mature, the fruit's skin is dark red, and the inside is white."

"When consumed by a martial artist, it can alter their bone structure! It can assist a Bone Tempering martial artist in tempering every single bone and joint in their body to absolute perfection! Furthermore, it imbues the bones with metallic properties, making them incredibly hard and resilient!"

"This is an absolute dream treasure for martial artists! If news of it appeared in the martial world, I am certain even Grandmaster-level experts would be tempted! After all, even if they can't use it themselves, their descendants definitely need it!" It's actually that incredible?! My Song Family must have practiced medicine and accumulated good karma in our past lives! Now, everywhere we go, we meet noble benefactors! Old Xu is such a good guy!

Being able to temper a part of the body to perfection—hearing this, Song Que understood the immense value of this treasure! As martial artists progressed in their cultivation, they gradually tempered their entire body from the outside in: skin, flesh, tendons, bones, organs, and marrow! Only when stepping into the Grandmaster realm, using Innate True Qi to cleanse the mortal coil, could the body be considered perfectly tempered without any 'leaks', extending their lifespan to a lengthy 150 years!

Previously, Song Que considered the Glass Immaculate Body a divine art because it could temper the body inside and out until it was translucent and pure as glass, coming incredibly close to perfection! This would greatly assist in the potential breakthrough to Grandmaster! Now, the Golden Bone Fruit could directly make a practitioner's bone structure perfect! One could only imagine its astronomical value! And there were actually three of them! This is simply too wonderful! Old Xu must die! Quickly!

The Black Iron Stronghold must also be destroyed quickly! Grandee Song joyously made his decision! After all, Xu Shicai had personally said he hadn't yet broken through to the Fifth Grade! As long as they were both in the Fourth Grade, Grandee Song was confident he didn't have to fear anyone too much! Let's fight! Thrilled, Grandee Song didn't bother explaining further to Old Nie, happily continuing to heal him. It won't be too late to give these guys a pleasant surprise once the deed is done!