Year 1: I continued to practice The Divine Sun Sutra, trying to break through from 2nd stage Warlock-Warrior to 3rd stage. But things didn't go as smoothly as I thought. Last time, I was so close, just a little bit more, and I could've made the Arcane Power penetrate deeper into my skin.

Year 2: Finally, the Arcane Power sank deeper!

Year 3: I successfully made Arcane Power fully integrate into my skin, becoming a 3rd stage Warlock-Warrior. But this wasn't the end—it was just the beginning.

Year 4: Following the order of skin, bone, blood, and spirit, I started trying to make Arcane Power enter my bones. But the human body has 206 bones, and some bones are full of blood and tissue between the skin, making it incredibly difficult for Arcane Power to seep in.

I had no choice but to start with areas like my knees and elbows.

Year 5: Slow! Too slow! My innate talent must be awful—after a whole year, I've only managed to get Arcane Power into one elbow bone!

I started realizing that, in order to break through from 3rd stage Warlock-Warrior to 4th stage, I'd need to improve my talent and bone strength as much as possible!

Year 7: I had gotten Arcane Power into four bones, but progress was still painfully slow. At this rate, how long would it take to break through?

Year 10: Arcane Power had reached five bones now, but the speed was even slower. If I didn't find a way to improve my talent and bone strength, I'd never make any real progress!

Those geniuses with special physiques must find it so easy to integrate Arcane Power into their bones. I'm so envious.

The light of the Contract dimmed suddenly, and it went back into cooldown.

Bruno slowly opened his eyes, his aura once again becoming stronger. He had successfully broken through from 2nd stage Warlock-Warrior to 3rd stage Warlock-Warrior!

"Warlock-Warrior 12th stage, divided into skin, bone, blood, and spirit. I've now completely tempered my skin!"

Bruno grabbed a fruit knife from the room, applied a little pressure, and ran it across his arm.

No blood appeared. The fruit knife only left a white mark on his skin.

"Too bad. Ten years of cultivation time isn't enough, and when it comes to tempering bones, talent becomes even more important," Bruno sighed.

It took him three years to become a 3rd stage Warlock. In the remaining seven years, he had only tempered five bones.

Bruno lifted his arm, looked at his right elbow, then went to the wooden table in the room and slammed it down with force.

"Thud!"

The sound was like a hammer striking solid wood, and wood chips flew everywhere.

The wooden table shook violently, one of its legs cracked and broke, and the table fell to the ground.

The elbow strike had left a dent the size of a fist on the table's surface.

"Not bad, the power's good. Turns out, starting with the elbow and knee bones was the right choice," Bruno's eyes gleamed with excitement.

He was now a 3rd-stage Warlock-Warrior, with a perfected Meditation Technique, High Rank Breathing Method, and a perfected Tiger-Wolf Combat Technique.

If he faced that assassin from the hospital again, he would definitely be able to deal with him much more easily.

"Next, I need to focus on the Breathing Method. I should get the Thunderclap Breathing Method to the perfected level!"

"Contract, activate!"

The seventy years of breathing method cultivation time from Edward Shaw appeared with a boom.

"Year 1: I continued to explore the Thunderclap Breathing Method beyond High Rank. The Thunderclap Breathing Method can only reach High Rank at best, but I've figured out a way to improve it. I can't give up. Besides, time is not precious to me."

"Year 8: As I practiced the Thunderclap Breathing Method, the thunder grew louder, and I could even feel a slight arc of electricity in my mouth and nose."

"I have a feeling that if I can perfect the Thunderclap Breathing Method, it'll be extremely powerful!"

"Year 11: Things didn't go as smoothly as I hoped. Perfecting the Thunderclap Breathing Method is harder than I thought. I still can't find that right feeling."

"Year 15: Just a little more! Just a little more!"

...

"Year 27: I got it! I finally got it!"

"The Force of Thunder lies in accumulation and eruption. In other words, to perfect the Thunderclap Breathing Method, it requires gradual buildup before an explosive release!"

"Thunderclap, Thunderclap—silently gathering, then striking in an instant, delivering a deadly blow to the enemy. That's the true meaning of the Thunderclap Breathing Method!"

"Year 28: Thunderclap Breathing Method, perfected!

"Now, when I use the Thunderclap Breathing Method, I can not only increase my power in battle but also infuse my attacks with a thread of real lightning—not just a weak arc of electricity!"

"I'm a 3rd-stage Warlock-Warrior. With this thread of lightning, I can explode in an instant, and any 4th-stage Warlock-Warrior would be no match for me."

"But after perfection... how do I break through the limits of the Thunderclap Breathing Method?"

"Year 30: No progress at all."

"Year 48: Still no progress. It seems that once the Thunderclap Breathing Method is perfected, that really is the limit."

"So much time has passed, enough to turn a boy into an old man. But for me, time isn't precious. I will continue to explore!"

"Year 60: I found a new direction. Perfecting the Thunderclap Breathing Method isn't the end!"

"Year 65: Unfortunately, my comprehension isn't enough. My progress is very slow."

"Year 70: Still not enough, time is still not enough! I need more time, as much as I can get!"

"Zzzzt, zzzzzt."

Suddenly, a spark of lightning appeared in the room, crackling with a hissing sound.

Bruno exhaled softly, his eyes snapping open. Purple lightning flashed in his eyes for a brief moment!

Perfected Thunderclap Breathing Method!

Bruno lifted his hand lightly, and the purple lightning sparkled!

He clenched his fist and swung it forward.

Immediately, a flash of purple lightning shot out, and the air began to fill with a faint burnt smell.

Perfected Meditation Technique allows one to use spiritual power to create a world in their mind, known as the God Realm, which can influence reality.

Perfected Breathing Method brings wondrous changes to the body. Since he practiced the Thunderclap Breathing Method, it manifested as a thread of purple lightning.

If it had been another breathing method, the effect would likely have been different.

Bruno slowly exhaled, and the purple lightning gradually faded away. With his perfected Meditation Technique and Breathing Method, his strength had increased significantly.

He just wasn't sure if it would be enough to handle a 5th stage Warlock-Warrior in real combat.

After all, his Warlock-Warrior level was still only 3rd stage. God Realm wasn't ideal for sudden bursts in battle, but the perfected Thunderclap Breathing Method helped to make up for that.

Of course, when practicing with the Contract, Bruno had noticed a few issues.

Both times he had trained, they mentioned his comprehension and bone strength, which were holding back his progress.

If his comprehension were better, and his bone strength were improved—better yet, if he had a special physique—his progress would've been much faster.

"Oh, right. Bone of the Dead, my The Ten Thousand Hells is perfected now, I should ask Master Nell how to cultivate the Bone of the Dead." Bruno thought about it.

For him, besides using the Book of All Things to trade for a special physique, he could also cultivate one through Meditation Technique.

But before that, there was one thing he hadn't used yet: Nidhogg's Breath.

Bruno planned to head to the dojo's cafeteria first to buy some special food supplements. He wanted to wait until the Contract of All Phenomena had finished cooling down before using it.

That way, if any problems came up, he could trade the Nidhogg's Breath to someone else to ensure his safety.

Luckily, after selling the alchemical handgun, he had earned 650 gold coins. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had enough money to buy the special food supplements.

"The two thousand gold coins from Tarnison won't be available until tonight. No rush. I'll go to the cafeteria first!"

At the dojo cafeteria.

"Just like last time, ten servings of special food, to go," Bruno said.

The cafeteria worker replied, "Sorry, the ten servings of special food for lunch today are already sold out."

Sold out?

He had been quick enough, yet someone else had managed to buy all the special food supplements.

"I'll come back tonight, then," Bruno sighed.

The cafeteria worker shook their head and replied, "There's been an issue with the supply of Celestial Beast meat these past few days. It'll take a while before it's back to normal."

Bruno's eyes widened. The special food supplements were the key to speeding up the cooldown of the Book of All Things. Without them, his usage of the Book of All Things would decrease significantly.

"What happened?" Bruno asked.

"I'm not sure. Mr. Tursos should know the reason," the worker answered.

Bruno nodded, bought some regular food, and sat down in a quiet corner.

Just as he was about to finish quickly and go ask Tursos about the situation, someone with a tray sat down next to him.

Bruno sensed the person's gaze on him and turned to look.

"You're the one who took my spot, Bruno?" The person's voice was full of challenge.

Bruno gave him a closer look and realized he didn't recognize this person.

"Spot? You must have the wrong person."

The person shook his head, staring at Bruno as he spoke slowly, "Bruno Hornes, right? I didn't get it wrong."

Bruno set his tray down.

Was this person looking for trouble?

He carefully sized the guy up. He looked young, probably around the same age as Bruno. His aura felt like that of a 2nd stage Warlock-Warrior. Among the dojo apprentices, he seemed to be one of the top ones.

"My name is Philip. Bruno, you took my spot as Mr. Nell Hornes' disciple." Philip spoke up.

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