I Can Merge Techniques-Chapter 102 - 95: Breakthrough to the Bone Marrow Forging Realm, the Twelve Forms Fist’s Second Limit Break
When he kicked out now, even if his enemies couldn’t withstand the blow, they could still retreat to shed most of the force.
But the strikes of someone in the Entering the Realm of Strength could penetrate an enemy’s body, and retreating would do little to negate the damage.
Chu Fan fell silent for a moment, pushing aside thoughts of the Entering the Realm of Strength.
He had just broken through to the Bone Marrow Forging realm. His next step was to advance to the Bone Tempering Realm. Only after breaking through the Bone Tempering Realm should he focus on how to achieve Entering Force.
Chu Fan shook out his arms, then began to circle the large boulder, unleashing a barrage of punches against its surface...
...
Chu Fan trained until evening before finally stopping.
After this training session, he had grown much more familiar with the power of the Bone Marrow Forging realm and his Vajra Iron Leg.
After dinner in the mess hall, Chu Fan left the Seven Stars Gang and headed back to Xingning Street.
Guided by the memories he had gained through Refinement from Master Chen of the Moon Arrow Martial Arts Hall, he navigated the alleys and entered a rather remote archery shop.
Inside the shop, various bows and crossbows were neatly arranged, ranging from Softwood Bows for children to heavy crossbows that required two men to string. The selection was comprehensive.
The air was filled with the distinct aroma of tung oil, animal glue, and wood—a scent most familiar to any bowyer.
Behind the counter sat an old man with powerful arms and sharp eyes, his head bowed as he polished the limb of a bow.
When Chu Fan entered, the old man merely gave a slight nod, saying nothing. He was clearly accustomed to seeing martial artists.
A young assistant, about twenty-three or four, rushed over with a welcoming smile.
Chu Fan’s gaze swept over a row of powerful bows before finally resting on a large bow at the very end of the rack.
The bow had an archaic design. Its limbs were cored with Purple Fir Wood, faced with thin plates of Water Buffalo Horn, and backed by a thin yet resilient layer of bull sinew.
The tips of the limbs were fitted with a Profound Iron Muzzle, and the bowstring, woven from dozens of strands of golden silk thread and Rhino Sinew, shimmered faintly in the dim light of the shop.
Seeing his interest, the assistant quickly stepped forward. "You have a great eye, young sir! That’s the treasure of our shop. It’s called the Meteor Bow, and it’s a Five-Stone Strong Bow!"
"Purple Fir Wood for the back, Water Buffalo Horn for the belly, composite-laminated with tendon glue, and Curved Like the Moon."
"The bow is four feet and three inches long. It takes the strength of five stones to pull it full, and it Cannot be tamed without a thousand-pound arm strength."
He carefully took the bow down and presented it to Chu Fan.
A jun was equivalent to thirty kilograms, and a stone was four jun.
Zhao Tianxing’s Iron-Saturated Wood Bow only required three jun of strength. While not top-tier, its power was already quite shocking.
But this was a Five-Stone Strong Bow! Only someone with immense Qi Blood Power could wield it!
Chu Fan said nothing, simply reaching out to take the bow.
The moment the bow settled in his hand, he felt its heft. It weighed more than twenty pounds.
His fingers lightly brushed against the bow’s limb, feeling its mirror-smooth surface and perfectly crafted curve.
The assistant glanced at Chu Fan’s somewhat slender build, a flicker of doubt in his eyes, but he suppressed it and continued his sales pitch. "This bow took three years to craft. The Purple Fir Wood was harvested from the Northern Border Snow Ridge from a tree at least three hundred years old, so the wood is dense and highly elastic."
"The Water Buffalo Horn was taken from a Southern Wilderness Giant-Horned Bull and applied using a special Refinement method."
"The bowstring is a blend of Extreme North Gold Thread and sinew from the back of an Exotic Beast known as the Fire Rhino. It’s impervious to water, fire, and blades."
Chu Fan nodded slightly, slipped a jade thumb ring onto his right thumb, and slowly hooked the string.
The assistant quickly exclaimed, "Careful, young sir! This is no ordinary bow. If you try to force it and fail to reach a full draw, you could easily tear a tendon!"
Before he could finish, Chu Fan was already putting his strength into it.
He sank his shoulder and dropped his elbow, his back muscles tensing like a drawn bow as Qi Blood Power surged through his arms.
With his movement, the Five-Stone Strong Bow gradually bent into a full moon!
The assistant stared, dumbfounded, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg. ’This kid looks seventeen, maybe eighteen, but he can actually draw a Five-Stone Strong Bow!’
Even the old man who had been polishing the bow looked up, his eyes filled with astonishment.
He had seen nearly every disciple from the Moon Arrow Martial Arts Hall, but this was the first time he’d ever laid eyes on this young man.
’Could he not be from the Moon Arrow Martial Arts Hall?’
...
Chu Fan held the full draw for three breaths before slowly easing the tension.
The bowstring snapped back into place with a low, resonant hum.
He nodded, satisfied. "I’ll take it."
The assistant finally snapped out of his stupor and lavished him with praise. "Young sir, you’re incredible! I’ve seen countless archers, but I’ve never met anyone your age who could draw a five-stone bow!"
Chu Fan gave a calm smile. "How much?"
The assistant beamed. "Five hundred taels of silver, and I’ll include thirty Purple Bamboo Arrows for free."
Chu Fan nodded slightly.
Having acquired the memories of Chen Xuan, the archery expert from Moon Arrow Martial Arts Hall, through Refinement, Chu Fan knew a fair bit about bows and arrows. He knew the price was reasonable—unlike the Shopkeeper at Hundred Herbs Hall, who had tried to charge him twelve hundred taels for a wild mountain ginseng worth only four hundred, treating him like a pig to be slaughtered.
Chu Fan asked, "And the arrows?"
The assistant quickly led him to an arrow rack. "The bow is the body, and the arrow is the soul. Since you’ve chosen the Meteor Bow, you ought to pair it with these."
He took out an arrow about three feet long. "This arrow is the Black Kite Arrow. It’s forged entirely from hundred-times Refined Iron and is designed specifically for masters with immense Qi Blood Power."
The assistant continued, "A typical wooden arrow is light, which is good for distance and speed. This Refined Iron Arrow, however, is heavy and cold. It’s so dense that holding one feels like grasping a miniature iron pestle."
Chu Fan took a Black Kite Arrow and felt its substantial weight.
This weight would require an even stronger bow to shoot, and the resulting impact would be far beyond what a wooden arrow could deliver.
The assistant went on, "Ordinary arrows are pieced together from three parts: a wooden shaft, a metal arrowhead, and tail feathers. The joints are always weak points."
"But this Black Kite Arrow is forged from a single piece of metal. It’s seamless from tip to tail, deep black, with no joints to be found."
"The shaft isn’t a perfect cylinder, either. It has extremely fine ridges that not only strengthen it but also reduce air disturbance during flight."
"And look at the arrowhead. It’s not your standard three-bladed or flat broadhead. It’s longer and more vicious, shaped like a slender, four-sided, armor-piercing cone. The tip gleams with a heart-stopping cold light, and its edges are razor-sharp, designed for maximum force concentration and penetration."
Chu Fan examined the Black Kite Arrow closely, noticing the faint, intricate cloud-like patterns on its surface—the telltale sign of countless hammer blows.
The arrow’s fletching wasn’t made from bird feathers but from thin, resilient sheets of metal, meticulously shaped and integrated with the shaft to ensure they wouldn’t deform or break off even at extreme speeds and upon heavy impact.
"A fine arrow!"
A sharp glint flashed in Chu Fan’s eyes.
He could sense that the arrow itself was a lethal weapon. Fired from a powerful bow, its piercing and destructive force would be more than ten times that of a wooden arrow!
"A bow with a draw weight of less than five stones can’t even use it; it would be a waste of an arrow. If the bow isn’t powerful enough, the arrow will be too slow, making it easy for an expert to parry or dodge."
The assistant added, "However, these arrows aren’t cheap. Two taels of silver each."
’Two taels of silver...’
’That’s literally shooting silver!’
The corner of Chu Fan’s eye twitched slightly.
’There’s no need to use these on ordinary enemies, but against a formidable opponent, they’d be well worth the cost.’
’The assistant might be exaggerating a little for the sale, but his prices are fair.’
"I’ll take thirty Black Kite Arrows."
As he spoke, Chu Fan’s gaze shifted to another type of arrow.
"Right away!" The assistant immediately walked over to the arrows Chu Fan indicated. "These are Purple Bamboo Arrows. The shafts are made from the purple bamboo of Dragon Ridge Mountain, soaked in tung oil for three years to ensure they’re perfectly straight. The fletching is made from Cloud Eagle Wing Feathers, with three feathers arranged symmetrically for stable flight. But the most important part is the arrowhead—"
"The arrowhead is forged from Profound Iron, with three blades to pierce armor and deep blood grooves. A single shot can pierce armor and disrupt Primordial Energy. Even a Martial Dao master would have trouble blocking it directly."
Chu Fan picked up an arrow, feeling its perfect balance and well-placed center of gravity.
But he knew this was the type of arrow most archers used. The assistant was just hyping up a common product.
A layman or a beginner archer would surely be completely taken in by his spiel.
Chu Fan nodded slightly. "You said buying the Meteor Bow comes with thirty Purple Bamboo Arrows. I’ll take another seventy."
With the deal concluded...
Chu Fan slung the Meteor Bow over his back, hung the quiver at his waist, and walked out of the archery shop.
Sunlight glinted off the Profound Iron arrowheads, reflecting a chilling light.
’I’ll make my preparations tonight. First thing tomorrow, I’ll flatten that pier!’
...
The Blood Saber Sect had been ravaged by Demon Fiends, their Primordial Energy crippled. Naturally, Chu Fan wasn’t the only one who wanted to kick them while they were down.
As the sun sank behind the mountains, inside the Seven Stars Gang Sub-Branch, Xia Huanhuan spread a map across a table.
On the map, two words were written in stark script: "Fishermen’s Pier"!
When Zhou Ye saw it, his expression soured. "I thought we were taking Xingning Street first? Why the Fishermen’s Pier?"
"That place stinks of fish and rot..."
Nearby, the three men sent by Zhou Tianci exchanged a look but remained silent.
They were all in the Bone Marrow Forging realm, and like Zhou Ye, they were all Small Leaders.
But Incense Master Zhou Tianci had ordered them to report to Zhou Ye for deployment. So, despite their reluctance, they had no choice in the matter.
