Darkness had already fully settled when Fang Li returned to a more open area of the forest. Hours earlier he had dealt with the bodies in the only practical way he found: dragging them to a cliff hidden among the undergrowth and throwing them into the void. It was not elegant, but he could not think of a better alternative. The forest would take care of the rest.

  After that he had hunted another wild boar. Now the animal was roasting over a small, controlled fire. The smell of cooking meat mixed with the smoke and the night humidity.

  Fang Li held a freshly torn leg and took wide bites, letting the hot grease stain his fingers. He had no intention of returning to the sect to dine. The food in the dining halls tasted like wet soil and rancid oil; he preferred something that at least had real flavor.

  While chewing calmly, he opened the system interface.

  [Beating Points: 23,597]

  He slightly raised his eyebrows.

  The rewards of the day had been substantial, especially the mission and the direct kills. Now he had an amount of points that gave him real room to maneuver.

  He took another bite and observed the floating number in front of him.

  "Mmm…" he murmured with his mouth half full. "With this amount I already have room to improve things."

  Fang Li finished gnawing the bone and threw it into the fire. He looked at the dark sky between the treetops and spoke into the air naturally.

  "System, how many points does it cost to upgrade to complete Organ Tempering?"

  The answer came without delay.

  "The realm upgrade requires 10,000 Beating Points, host."

  He could not help letting out a low sigh.

  He already knew it would be more expensive than the previous refinement, but hearing it directly was still annoying. Ten thousand was not a light figure, even with his current margin.

  Even so, improving was necessary. The competition for the inner sect was getting closer and he did not intend to present himself with an incomplete foundation.

  He finished the remaining meat calmly and extinguished the fire by covering it with dirt. Then he stood up and stretched his shoulders. The forest was silent, barely interrupted by nocturnal insects and the whisper of the wind.

  "System," he said in a firm tone. "Upgrade my realm to complete Organ Tempering."

  "10,000 Beating Points have been consumed to upgrade the realm," the mechanical voice responded. "I recommend the host prepare himself, because it will hurt."

  Fang Li opened his eyes in surprise.

  "What do you mean it will hurt…?"

  He did not get to finish the question.

  A brutal pressure exploded inside him. It was not like the previous refinement, which had been intense but controlled. This time the energy burst in without softness, coursing through each organ as if it were being torn out and placed back into position.

  His heart beat violently, forcing blood through vessels that seemed too narrow to withstand it. His lungs compressed before expanding with renewed force. Each organ was subjected to extreme tension, as if a denser and more rigid layer were forming around them, forcing them to adapt under pressure.

  Fang Li clenched his teeth. His knees gave slightly, but he did not fall. The pain was deep and internal.

  The refinement did not end as quickly as the previous time. The internal pressure persisted longer, forcing his body to adapt to a greater density of Qi and a more resilient organic structure. Fang Li ended up bracing himself with one hand against the trunk of a tree to avoid losing balance. Sweat soaked his back and ran down his forehead, mixing with the dust and dried blood he still carried on him.

  When the energy finally stabilized, the pain receded gradually. His breathing remained heavy, but deeper. He felt his heartbeat firm and controlled, his lungs functioning with greater capacity and a general solidity he had not possessed before. It was no longer just a partial refinement; the foundation of Organ Tempering was complete.

  He straightened slowly and moved his shoulders to check the body's response.

  "Damn system," he muttered in a hoarse voice. "At least warn me beforehand so I can prepare next time."

  He did not expect a response and none came.

  He looked at the forest that had accompanied him for almost a month. He had obtained what he needed for now. With the refinement complete and a still considerable reserve of points, it was time to return.

  Two days remained before the selection tournament for the inner sect. He needed to register and adjust some details before the confrontation. He could not keep accumulating points in the forest as if time did not matter.

  He adjusted the stained robe and began walking toward the exit. This time he did not move with an active technique; he advanced with firm and steady steps, leaving behind the deep area he had turned into his hunting ground.

  When he reached the edge of the forest and glimpsed the outer courtyards of the sect, he changed direction toward his cabin. He had to change his robe, clean off the smell of smoke and blood, and rest for a few hours. The body had improved, but even a successful refinement demanded recovery.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  The sun had already risen when Fang Li crossed the outer courtyards with calm steps. The night of rest had been enough to stabilize the body after the refinement. This time he carried no blood stains nor smell of smoke; he wore the clean robe of an outer disciple, properly adjusted, and his hair tied in a simple ponytail that left his face clear.

  At first glance he looked like just another disciple only much more handsome or at least that was what Fang Li thought.

  In the distance he spotted his destination. In a wide area near the training field, a considerable crowd had formed. Most remained at a certain distance, commenting in low voices or simply observing. Only a few approached the front, where a disciple seated behind an improvised counter registered names on a simple table.

  Fang Li evaluated the scene as he advanced.

  His plan was simple: approach, register his name, and return to the cabin. With the accumulated points he could still optimize some detail before the competition. He had no intention of drawing unnecessary attention.

  However, something in the atmosphere did not quite fit. The gazes were not neutral. Some whispered more intensely than usual. Others looked away when he passed.

  Fang Li had not advanced more than a few steps when a figure stepped into his path.

  The outer disciple blocking his way was broad-shouldered and disproportionately muscular. His arms seemed thicker than Fang Li's own legs. For a moment Fang Li wondered, in complete seriousness, whether with those arms he could even wipe himself without breaking something.

  Before he could continue developing the idea, a deep voice interrupted him.

  "You are the bastard who humiliated Brother Hu in a sacred duel."

  That caught him by surprise and he could not help blinking.

  "Brother Hu?"

  Another disciple, positioned at the muscular one's side, pointed at him.

  "Don't play dumb. We all saw you commit that shameless act."

  Upon hearing that, several of those nearby began to look more closely. The murmur grew slightly.

  He let his gaze sweep over those present until it stopped on a young man with a scar on his face who remained standing next to the two accusers.

  The young man looked at him as if he were waiting for a public apology.

  Fang Li looked at him for a few seconds, then opened his eyes in an exaggerated manner and pointed directly at him.

  "Ahhh…" he said with feigned surprise. "Who are you?" he said while tilting his head and pretending confusion.

  For a second there was silence.

  Then the reaction came all at once.

  Some were stunned by Fang Li's response, but the surprise quickly turned into indignation. The murmur spread through the crowd. Several who had not witnessed the previous duel began asking what had happened, while others offered increasingly exaggerated versions.

  The muscular man clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked. His face reddened quickly.

  "How dare you pretend not to know him?!"

  Without warning he threw a direct punch at Fang Li's face.

  The blow was fast for a body of that size, but it lacked precision. Fang Li barely tilted his torso and let the fist pass.

  Fang Li took half a step back, maintaining the exact distance.

  "Hey, hey," he said in a light tone, "how can you attack a fellow disciple like that? And let me tell you something: that duel was a clear victory for me. There's nothing shameful about that."

  The explanation did not calm the muscular man; in fact, the effect was the opposite.

  With a growl he charged again, this time trying to trap Fang Li with both arms, as if he were wrestling rather than fighting.

  The crowd instinctively stepped back to make space. Some shouted for them to stop; others watched with growing interest.

  The muscular disciple continued attacking with wide and direct blows, driven more by rage than real technique. Fang Li moved around him with short and precise displacements, avoiding each punch with the minimum effort necessary.

  While dodging, he instinctively waited for some notification from the system. A mission, a secondary objective, any incentive.

  But nothing, the system remained silent.

  That made him slightly arch an eyebrow.

  "Mmm…" he thought. "I suppose it doesn't think it's fun to dominate these weaklings."

  The fight shifted without many noticing. Between dodge and dodge, Fang Li carefully adjusted his position, guiding the exchange toward a specific point of the circle formed by the crowd.

  The muscular man roared and threw another punch loaded with all his weight. This time he aimed directly at Fang Li's face, determined not to miss.

  Fang Li waited until the last instant. He smoothly turned his body and let the fist pass by, the problem was that behind him there was no longer empty space.

  The muscular disciple's punch struck squarely into Hu's stunned face, who did not have time even to raise his hands.

  The sound was forceful.

  Hu was sent flying backward and fell several meters away, rolling over the dirt before remaining sprawled without reacting.

  For a long second, no one moved and the crowd remained frozen and the muscular disciple as well.

  The only one who did not remain still was Hu who had been sent flying.

  Upon seeing Hu sent flying, Fang Li opened his eyes exaggeratedly and pointed at the muscular man with feigned indignation.

  "How dare you do that to Brother Hu?!" he exclaimed. "I will avenge him!"

  The crowd took a second to process the phrase.

  What followed could not be called combat in any formal sense. The muscular disciple, inflamed by having accidentally struck his own companion and now confused by the accusation, lost any remaining control. He roared and launched himself again at Fang Li.

  Or at least he tried.

  Each time he charged forward, Fang Li slid to the side with minimal precision and appeared behind him. And each time he was at his back, he delivered a direct kick to the buttocks.

  The first impact made him stumble. The second made him turn around furiously. The third left him clearly irritated, not only in pride but physically; the area was beginning to ache.

  "Stay still!" he bellowed while trying to turn and catch Fang Li.

  Thus Fang Li disappeared from his front again and reappeared behind, executing another kick with his foot that raised an uncomfortable murmur among the spectators.

  By that moment, the muscular disciple was red with anger and pain. His breathing was heavy, his movements increasingly clumsy.

  Fang Li took a step back and looked at him with an almost compassionate expression.

  "Alright," he said in a calm tone, "it's time to end this, my friend."

  The muscular man barely managed to focus his sight.

  Fang Li activated the "Light Wind Step" and his figure blurred for an instant. When he became clear again, he was already at the other's side.

  "Take my secret technique: one thousand years of pain, foot version."

  The kick came straight, concentrating strength and precision into a single point. The impact lifted the muscular man off the ground and sent him flying several meters, until he fell awkwardly in front of the crowd that hurriedly stepped aside.

  The silence that followed was much heavier than any shout.

  Fang Li observed the muscular disciple lying several meters away, writhing in the dust. He nodded slightly to himself, as if he had just restored the natural order of things.

  The crowd remained motionless. Some looked at the fallen one. Others at Hu, who still had not finished getting up. Most simply looked at Fang Li with an uncomfortable mixture of bewilderment and caution.

  He slightly adjusted the sleeve of his robe, as if he had just finished a minor exercise, and resumed his walk toward the registration counter with the same calm with which he had arrived.

  At that moment, a system notification sounded.

  [+300 Beating Points]

  Upon arriving in front of the disciple in charge of registration, he rested one hand on the improvised table and spoke in a calm tone.

  "I've come to register for the tournament."

  The disciple, stunned by the spectacle, could only answer —it's 10 spirit stones—

  With a shocked look Fang Li could only say —wasn't it free?—