As a father, I just want to quietly watch you live a long life

The fragrant and astringent taste permeated his mouth, but his mind had already drifted to the towering Dao Tree on the vast land above.

His daughter turned one, and the Dao Tree bore fruit.

Raw Dao Fruit [Dragon Elephant Vajra]!

This was Li Che's second Dao Fruit; the first was [Immortal Artisan], which enhanced his wood carving talent and allowed him to have the means to make a living in this world.

And he became a wood carver at Xu's Wood Carving Shop, settling in Xu's Courtyard, ensuring his daughter Li Nuanxi's safe growth until she was one year old.

Li Che had already understood the importance of the Dao Fruit.

Therefore, he was very much looking forward to the second Dao Fruit, and now it had finally ripened!

[Dragon Elephant Vajra (Dao Fruit): Flesh Dragon Elephant, Vajra Indestructible, Horizontal Refinement Unparalleled]

Before him, the prompts regarding the Dao Fruit [Dragon Elephant Vajra] suddenly surged forth like a tide.

In an instant, Li Che felt his blood boiling and surging within him, and his flesh seemed to have undergone an earth-shattering transformation.

If he was willing, actively stimulating the Dao Fruit could even cause a mutation in his flesh!

However, with Old Chen by his side, Li Che did not dwell on this and refrained from exploring the special abilities of the Dragon Elephant Vajra.

Flesh Dragon Elephant, Vajra Indestructible, Horizontal Refinement Unparalleled!

Li Che's heart surged with excitement, and he was in high spirits as he drained the cup of yellow wine.

This was a Dao Fruit that could enhance his martial path!

It was also the Dao Fruit that Li Che urgently needed now!

This Dao Fruit not only confirmed the truth of the event that his daughter produced a Dao Fruit at one year old, but it also made Li Che understand that he had to try even harder to protect his daughter's safe growth...

And even, watching his daughter...immortal!

Li Che's heart skipped a beat; if his daughter was immortal, producing one Dao Fruit a year...

Wouldn't he be able to amass a multitude of Dao Fruits and grow to unimaginable heights in the future?

"Yo, when did you start drinking so heartily?" Old Chen looked oddly at Li Che, who had just heartily drained his cup with turbulent emotions.

Li Che smiled and turned his warm gaze to Xi Xi, who was riding in her walker: "Before I knew it, the little one is already a year old..."

Hearing this, Old Chen's lips spread into a smile, and his doting eyes fell back onto Xi Xi.

"Yeah, she was so tiny at the start, and now she's grown a bit."

"This old fella has no heirs, no descendants... This Little Stinky Xi, she's quite taken with this old fella."

Old Chen too drained his cup of aged yellow wine, feeling invigorated and dispelling any gloom.

From now on, Xi Xi would be his own granddaughter!

Seeming to understand the implication in Old Chen's words, Li Che poured him another cup of wine and the two clinked cups and drank up.

...

...

The training field.

Snow fluttered down.

Several figures were energetically cultivating on the training field, their blood and energy boiling and scattering the falling snow.

Li Che changed into a training outfit and came to the training field.

In the distance, two figures spotted Li Che and immediately stopped their actions, exhaling steam.

Zhao Xuan, with a tall figure and her black hair tied up neatly, said with a smile, "Master Chen, you're here?"

"Isn't it Xi Xi's first birthday celebration today?"

Another practitioner, Wang Zhengpin, also laughed, "Zhao Xuan and I were just planning to attend the banquet after finishing our training."

"Hahaha, everyone should go, it's Xi Xi's first birthday. As uncles and aunts, you can't skimp on the presents," Li Che laughed.

"The banquet is arranged at Spring Breeze Building in the Outer City. Spring Breeze Building has specially sent chefs and servers. Everything is taken care of. I don't have anything to do; Xi Xi has been taken away by Old Chen, so, with nothing else to do, I came to train."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhengping pursed his lips, "A banquet at Spring Breeze Building. Looks like we're in for a treat tonight."

After a casual chat, the three continued their martial arts training.

Second Shopkeeper Xu Beihu once said that if the three of them wanted to achieve Skin Refinement Completion, they would need to diligently train hard for two years to attain it; if they were lazy, it might take even longer.

Therefore, none of them dared slack off one bit.

Li Che was significantly older than Zhao Xuan and Wang Zhengpin; he was already twenty years old, which made him three or four years older than the other two.

If he didn't work hard, as he aged and his vital energy declined, it might become even harder to make progress in the martial path.

So Xu Beihu had said that the most important part of Body Refinement Technique was diligence, racing against time.

For nearly a year now, Li Che practiced his martial arts in the morning, carved wood in the afternoon, and attempted to make mechanisms at night…

He was busy and fulfilled.

He didn't neglect his Skin Refinement Body Refinement either, and had now reached Minor Accomplishment in Skin Refinement.

In terms of progress, he was even slightly ahead of Zhao Xuan and Wang Zhengpin.

Even though Xu Beihu said that Body Refinement didn't care much about talent, there still was a slight difference in the end.

Li Che came to the training ground now, of course, to test the [Dragon Elephant Vajra] Dao Fruit.

Grasping the stone lock, the vital energy in his body surged, boiling blood-water pounded against his flesh and struck the skin, causing it to turn crimson in an instant, the temperature rose, and heat waves tumbled!

At the same time.

The [Dragon Elephant Vajra] Dao Fruit, as he stimulated his blood energy, seemed to be fully activated and began to throb!

In front of his eyes, a prompt suddenly appeared.

[Dao Fruit: Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv1, 1%)]

Joy emerged in his pupils, an invisible force spread through his body, striking his skin and feeling as though it had encountered thousands of hits in an instant, greatly accelerating the progress of Skin Refinement!

Li Che, who had achieved Minor Accomplishment in Skin Refinement, felt a sudden increase in his strength, his skin became extremely tough, and even a faint glow shone brightly, as if borrowing the activating power of the Dao Fruit to leap from Minor Accomplishment in Skin Refinement… directly into Perfection!

Unlike the [Immortal Artisan] Dao Fruit, the maturity of the Dragon Elephant Golden Core Dao Fruit only required him to diligently train to increase!

In short, it could be achieved through hard work!

Li Che was overjoyed, and with a thought, the subtle glow on his body immediately retracted, and his strong aura completely gathered.

It was as if he had completely vanished from existence.

"Controlled freely, a perfect Dao Fruit for deception!"

The vital energy was retracted without revealing a trace.

"With this, I needn't worry about being suspected because of too rapid an increase in cultivation. My physique… Xu Beihu has tested it, if it improves too quickly, it will surely raise doubts, and might even bring a fatal disaster upon myself."

"In such chaotic times, it's impossible for Xu's Courtyard to have remained secure in Fei Lei City for two hundred years without ruthless methods…"

"Therefore, one must not be without defense against others."

Li Che pondered for a moment, then gently exhaled.

He practiced the Skin Refinement Cultivation Method step by step in the training ground, training for half a day.

[Dao Fruit: Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv1, 2%)]

The maturity of the Dao Fruit had actually increased by 1%!

This brought a thicker smile to Li Che's face. Taking advantage of the fact that no one around noticed him, he once again opened the floodgates, releasing the vital blood power contained within the Dao Fruit.

In an instant, his vital energy rose again, reaching Skin Refinement Perfection, his skin glowed with a faint golden light, his temples bulged, with powerful strength coursing between his fists and palms.

After savoring the power boost from the 1% maturity increase… Li Che was immediately thrilled. This meant that he… now qualified to challenge the Muscle Channeling Stage!

To start practicing the Internal Strength Technique!

Besides, the [Dragon Elephant Vajra] Dao Fruit has a special ability to summon the Power of the Dragon Elephant. Unfortunately, the training ground was crowded at the moment, so it was not convenient for Li Che to activate it.

But one can imagine that the manipulation of the Power of the Dragon Elephant would surely bring a greater boost!

He gathered the vital energy back inside the Dao Fruit.

Li Che looked up, with snowflakes gently falling on his cheeks.

The corners of his lips couldn't help but lift.

In terms of personal martial strength…

He finally had a hopeful future!

He looked forward to… having a chance to kill the Spirit Infant Master!