In an instant, Zhao Ya felt the bones of his entire body creaking and clinking. The already jade-like bones evolved again, becoming as strong and flexible as steel.
The gaps between his ribs were completely filled, forming a bone shield like plate armor, protecting the soft organs within his chest cavity.
At the same time, Zhao Ya felt his mind extraordinarily full, with an unprecedented clarity of thought.
Details that were previously overlooked now stood out vividly.
Not only that, with the successful unlocking of the kidney, Zhao Ya suddenly felt a strong urge to urinate.
When he went to the outhouse to relieve himself, the discharged urine had an extremely foul smell, but upon finishing, Zhao Ya felt indescribably refreshed all over.
Could it be that the kidney, like the liver, has a hidden talent?
Thinking of the detoxification function of the kidneys, Zhao Ya suddenly felt a bit excited.
It must be understood that the most difficult part of advancing from the Fourth Realm to the Fifth Realm is how to expel the toxins from the blood, internal organs, and bone marrow.
The term "toxins" here refers collectively to congenital fetal toxins and the postnatal polluted evil qi, which penetrate the entire body and are extremely difficult to expel.
The blood is somewhat easier to handle, as every martial artist moves their Qi blood, and with diligent effort, the toxins in the blood can be gradually expelled.
But when it comes to the internal organs, it becomes challenging because the toxins in these organs have penetrated deeply into the tissues, making expulsion difficult.
However, this is still easier compared to removing toxins from the bone marrow.
The bone marrow is the source of human blood, enveloped in layers of bone, and is extremely hard to reach.
Lu Dingtai had expelled the toxins from his blood and organs, but he remained stuck at the barrier of the bone marrow toxins for many years.
However, Zhao Ya has a congenital advantage over other martial artists: he can skip the step of expelling toxins from the internal organs.
After all, Zhao Ya possesses the Golden Finger of viscera enhancement, so the toxins have long been removed.
Now with the kidney’s hidden detoxification talent, it’s believed that it won’t take long for the congenital fetal toxins and postnatal polluted evil qi in Zhao Ya’s blood to be completely expelled.
At that time, Zhao Ya can leap two realms at once, directly stepping into the half-step Fifth Realm, reaching the height of Lu Dingtai.
With this in mind, Zhao Ya couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief, feeling much more assured.
Once he attains the half-step Fifth Realm, combined with his current combat capabilities, let alone Yuan Chenfeng, even if the entire Chenfeng Martial Arts Hall came together, Zhao Ya would not fear them at all.
The only concern would be Wei Hongbin and his troops of the Great Yan Iron Cavalry.
Although these cavalrymen are undisciplined, they are well-trained and considered elite troops.
If they were to launch a massive attack, even Zhao Ya would not dare to confront them directly and would only have to avoid them temporarily.
Yet, Wei Hongbin has not done so, instead choosing to remain inactive.
Initially, Zhao Ya couldn’t quite understand, uncertain about what Wei Hongbin was planning.
But after Sun Yingkui’s recruitment attempt today, Zhao Ya understood.
Wei Hongbin’s strategy is actually quite simple.
In his view, with a heavy army at his disposal, time and advantage are on his side. Though the martial forces in the city are very dissatisfied with the situation, without a leader, they are destined to remain disorganized.
By remaining calm, staying put, and secretly recruiting to divide and conquer the various Martial Arts Halls, before long, the martial forces would break apart, or even tear themselves apart.
After all, human nature is unpredictable; in an insurmountable crisis, unity prevails, but once multiple choices appear, disunity follows, complicating leadership.
Undeniably, Wei Hongbin’s strategy is both clever and effective.
If allowed to continue, such a situation may indeed unfold, allowing Wei Hongbin to take control of the entire Commandery without shedding a drop of blood.
And there is only one way to break this situation, which is to have a person with sufficient prestige and strength step forward.
Only this can unite the martial artists in the city together.
But Zhao Ya does not believe he has the qualifications to be that leader.
He is too young, although he shone during this beast tide, his foundation is still too weak to truly command respect.
As for Shang Tiefeng and Jin Zhenming, although they have sufficient foundations and strength, they lack the prestige and political skills.
Shang Tiefeng is indecisive; he can lead a Martial Arts Hall but would cause significant trouble if tasked with commanding all martial artists in the Commandery.
Jin Zhenming, though decisive, was too low-key before, resulting in too little prestige to command genuine loyalty.
The most suitable person is none other than Zhao Ya’s master, Lu Dingtai.
After all, whether in personal charisma or strength and skills, Lu Dingtai is undoubtedly the number one among the martial artists of the Commandery.
Unfortunately, in this beast tide, Lu Dingtai was seriously injured and remains unconscious.
At this thought, Zhao Ya couldn’t help but sigh softly, pushing these thoughts aside for the time being, then opened the Human Body Outline Map.
It showed that the fog over the five areas—heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidney—had dissipated, replaced by a warm glow.
Simultaneously, Zhao Ya noticed that these major organs complemented each other, and the five talents were interconnected, further increasing in power.
In normal circumstances, the five viscera should refer to heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, but the Human Body Outline Map is slightly different.
Its five viscera became the heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidneys, with the lungs becoming one of the six viscera instead.
This is likely related to the initial unlocking of the stomach, as when Zhao Ya first started training, what he needed most was powerful digestion, prompting a change in the Human Body Outline Map.
It was at this moment that a glow appeared at the lung area, followed by a prompt appearing.
[Lung unlocking initiated, current progress: 0%]
So it was the lungs.
Zhao Ya had expected this, as among the six viscera, most organs are related to digestion.
For example, the gallbladder strengthens the spleen and stomach, the small intestine processes and stores, the large intestine transforms dregs, and the bladder eliminates urine.
Only the Triple Jiao and the lungs are not among them.
Over the years, Zhao Ya had roughly understood some key points about unlocking the Human Body Outline Map.
Its unlocking does not follow the sequence of five viscera and six viscera, but rather relates to the functions urgently needed in current cultivation.
For instance, the first organ that Zhao Ya unlocked was the stomach.
At that time, Zhao Ya had just begun his training, his Qi Blood was weak, and to quickly enhance his own strength, he needed to supplement his diet extensively, requiring a powerful stomach.
So the first organ unlocked was the stomach.
The following organs, like the heart, liver, spleen, and kidney, were unlocked in basically the same order.
Now, Zhao Ya’s digestive and absorption capabilities were strong enough, at least sufficient for his current realm, so the Human Body Outline Map did not continue to unlock the large and small intestines but instead began unlocking the lungs.
Nevertheless, after unlocking the kidney, Zhao Ya vaguely saw the dawn of the Fifth Realm.
If this news were to spread, it would likely cause many people to question their own achievements.
Because it hasn’t been long since Zhao Ya advanced to the Fourth Realm, while other martial artists would still be consolidating their strength, Zhao Ya was already aiming for the next stage.
Moreover, Zhao Ya felt confident that with his current strength, he might not beat someone in the Fifth Realm one-on-one, but he could at least escape unscathed.
This gave Zhao Ya immense confidence.
Even in the Great Yan Capital City, martial artists in the Fifth Realm are rare.
Zhao Ya calmed his mind, tidied up his belongings, and decided to end this round of intense cultivation.
After all, besides needing to refine the Great Stone-Throwing Hand and the Great Vajra Fist to quickly reach peak performance, other skills could not be perfected overnight.
Upon leaving the room, Zhao Ya stretched languidly, his joints crackling, feeling rejuvenated and indescribably comfortable.
By now, night had fallen, and most families would have finished dinner and be preparing for bed.
Zhao Ya looked up at the sky, seeing the magnificent Milky Way and stars glistening like diamonds, very beautiful.
But he had no intention of enjoying the night scene, and after glancing nonchalantly in a certain direction, Zhao Ya stepped out of the small courtyard, heading towards the rear residence.
After he left, three people perched on a distant tree were quite surprised.
"Strange, that guy only secluded himself for a few days, but he seems completely transformed." The young scholar spoke seriously.
"Did he just detect our attention?" the woman frowned and asked.
"He probably sensed a little, because in terms of Concealing Breath skill, you both are a bit lacking," the honest man said.
The other two did not refute.
Because the honest man was speaking the truth.
"Even if Junior Sister Gu and I are not as good as Senior Brother Wang in Concealing Breath skill, it’s a bit exaggerated that this guy noticed when he’s only in the Fourth Realm."
"He’s not in the Fourth Realm anymore," the honest man shook his head.
"Hmm?"
The young scholar and the woman both paused.
"Are you saying that in just those few days of seclusion, he broke through?" This time it was the woman’s turn to be incredulous.
"Not yet, but it probably won’t take long before he expels the toxin from his blood, then he’ll have at least the strength of the pinnacle of the Fourth Realm," the honest man said calmly.
The young scholar and the woman both fell silent.
They did not doubt the honest man’s judgment.
Because among the three, he had the highest cultivation, and the greatest talent.
After all, he was considered the Golden Saber Institute’s most outstanding disciple in twenty years, and the one most likely to successfully achieve Meridian Opening before the age of forty. What he said, the other two naturally accepted.
But this was a bit astonishing.
Back in the forest, it was obvious to all three that Zhao Ya had just recently accomplished Skin Grinding as a new entrant to the Fourth Realm.
Yet within a few days, he had reached the pinnacle of the Fourth Realm.
There’s just no explaining it.
Especially since they prided themselves on being from prestigious families in the Capital City and looked down on martial artists from Yunxiao County.
But now Zhao Ya had smacked them in the face.
It had taken them one or two years to go from the Fourth Realm to the pinnacle of the Fourth Realm, even with sect assistance.
Just as they were questioning their own life choices, the honest man suddenly said, "Let’s go, he’s coming!"
The young scholar and the woman finally noticed something amiss, their expressions changed, and the three quietly melted into the darkness, disappearing.
Moments later, Zhao Ya’s figure silently appeared at the treetop like a ghost.
But by this time, the top of the tree was already empty.
Zhao Ya stood silently for a moment, a hidden blade in hand.
Just moments ago, in the courtyard, he felt the vague sense of being watched again.
This time, however, leveraging the talent unlocked by the kidney, Zhao Ya had finally locked onto the vital energy and found the direction of the gaze.
Feigning ignorance, he left the courtyard, and as soon as he exited the range of that gaze, he swiftly returned unnoticed.
But he ended up finding nothing.
The opponents were evidently stronger than he had imagined, and moreover...
Zhao Ya took a deep breath, sensing a faint whiff of rouge in the air.
The scent was so faint that only Zhao Ya, with his enhanced senses, could notice it; an ordinary person would never detect it.
It seems there was more than one person, including a woman with a high status.
Zhao Ya concluded this because the rouge’s scent was exceptionally elegant, not at all the common type.
Zhao Ya had only ever smelled a similar scent on Shang Luoluo, and later learned that this type of rouge was extremely expensive.
Anyone who could afford such rouge was clearly a woman of extraordinary identity.