Day 31 at Black Cliff – The Bone Forge
The Bone Refining Hall stank of marrow and iron. A crucible of molten mercury bubbled at the center. Around it: iron anvils shaped like human torsos. Senior Monk Duan—face scarred into a permanent snarl—stood with a bone mallet forged from a whale's rib.
Wuya's bowl-blade palm throbbed. The porcelain had fully fused; veins of black qi spidered across his wrist like ink in water.
"Today," Duan barked, "we break you seventeen times. Each fracture forges denser bone. Fail once—die."
The 17 Breaks
Round 1: Fingers (Again)
They chained Wuya's arms to a spine pillar.
Left pinky: CRACK. Reset crooked.
Left ring: SNAP. Bone dust sprayed.
Left middle: CRUNCH. Compound—splinters pierced skin.
Left index: TWIST. Torn from joint.
Wuya's screams echoed. Blood dripped onto the mercury—hiss.
He counted:
"Five for Father. Six for Mother…"
Round 2: Wrists
Iron vices clamped. Duan swung the whale-rib mallet.
Left wrist: SHATTER. Radius exploded into gravel.
Right wrist: PULVERIZE. Ulna folded like wet paper.
They poured demon-oil on the wounds—sizzle. Flesh knitted, black and hard.
Round 3: Arms
Hung by elbows from meat hooks.
Left humerus: CRACK. Mid-shaft fracture.
Right humerus: SNAP. Bone pierced bicep—white spear through red meat.
Wuya bit through his lip. Blood filled his mouth. He spat it at Duan.
"More."
Round 4: Ribs
Pressed face-down on the torso anvil.
Duan stomped—CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH.
Ribs 4–7: Caved inward. Lung punctured—blood frothed from mouth.
Ribs 8–10: Shattered outward. Splinters stabbed his own back.
They yanked the shards free with pliers. Wuya laughed—mad, broken.
Round 5: Spine
Strapped to a wheel of bones.
Duan cracked a vertebrae whip—human spines linked by tendons.
CRACK. Paralyzed legs.
SNAP. Bladder burst—urine mixed with blood.
They reset with iron rods driven through muscle. Wuya's spine arched like a bow.
Final Round: Skull
Head locked in a vice of demon horns.
Duan raised the mallet.
"One strike. Survive—become Iron Corpse."
CRAAAAACK.
Frontal bone fractured. Vision exploded white. Wuya's scream shattered the mercury crucible—glass rained.
The Rebirth
They submerged him in the molten mercury—up to the neck.
HISSSSSSSSSS.
Flesh boiled. Bones drank the metal.
Wuya's skeleton glowed silver-black.
Seventeen fractures knitted denser—titanium-hard.
He rose from the crucible.
Steam hissed off his skin.
The bowl-blade had grown—now a curved porcelain claw protruding two inches from his palm, edged with mercury.
First Demonic Qi Deviation
Night 35.
Wuya dreamed of Zhao Heng crushing Lan's skull.
He woke screaming.
Demonic qi surged—black veins crawled up his neck. Eyes bled red.
Senior Monk Wei entered to check.
"Control it, rat—"
Wuya moved.
Bowl-claw through Wei's throat—rip. Larynx torn free.
Elbow to temple—crunch. Skull caved. Brain matter splattered the wall.
Knee to spine—snap. Wei folded backward, spine protruding like a white tail.
Wuya drank from the neck stump.
The deviation subsided.
He carved a new tally into his collarbone:
三 – Three.
The Stone-Shattering Test
Day 40.
Training Ground: a boulder of black jade, 10,000 jin.
"Break it with one punch," Abbot Hei commanded. "Or lose the claw."
Wuya's arm trembled. Mercury-bone qi surged.
He roared—names of the dead:
"CHEN TIEQUAN! LIU MEI! LAN! HUA! ZHAO HENG!"
BOOM.
The Vajra Iron Corpse Fist struck.
The boulder exploded—shards rained like arrows.
One pierced a monk's eye—pop. He dropped, screaming.
Abbot Hei smiled for the first time.
"The rat is now a wolf cub. Begin Ghost Step."
The Bowl-Claw's Evolution
Wuya studied his hand.
The porcelain claw now pulsed with qi.
He carved the five names into his chest—each letter a scar.
The claw drank his blood—suck.
It grew sharper. Hungrier.
End of Chapter 5