Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill

Chapter 298: Chapter 164: Cultivation Technique Fusion

"A C Level mission," Wang Xiongying said.

"Oh?" Wang Tingxuan seemed quite surprised. "A C Level mission from the Wind and Rain Tower for ten thousand taels of silver, to take the head of a Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm.

You’re certainly willing to spend!"

Wang Xiongying said with a serious expression, "Although Chen Cheng is only a Small Success Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm, he has likely hidden his true power. His actual combat ability is probably on par with a Great Success Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm.

A C Level mission from the Wind and Rain Tower will, at the very least, dispatch a Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm who specializes in assassination. Only then can we ensure Chen Cheng won’t escape."

"Mm." Wang Tingxuan nodded with great satisfaction and said approvingly, "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. You’ve done well."

He then turned to the Wang Family’s Ancestor, Wang Xuanjiu, and said, "Father, if Chen Cheng is killed, Zheng Hun will fly into a rage. There’s no telling if he’ll come after the Wang Family, so you must prepare."

Wang Xuanjiu was nearly ninety, his hair and beard snow-white and his face weathered by age. Yet his spirit seemed exceptionally vigorous, and his aura was immeasurably profound.

His eyes were especially striking; they faintly glinted with a sinister crimson light and constantly emanated a terrifying pressure.

He said in a deep voice, "It’s of no concern. Although Zheng Hun has touched upon the True Intent of Heaven and and Earth, he has yet to fully comprehend the Third Layer Realm. I am not necessarily afraid of him.

If he really comes knocking, at worst I’ll just expend some Primordial Qi to fight him.

My Wang Family has the Blood Pool Secret Technique to replenish Primordial Qi. I’m not afraid of a battle of attrition with him."

...

At the same time, in the western part of the Inner City District, at the Qin Family’s residence, the Qin Family’s Ancestor, Patriarch, and Clan Elders were also gathered, discussing Zheng Hun.

Among the Four Great Clans of the Inner City, the Qin Family’s Patriarch, Qin Qiyuan, was the Commander of the Protectorate Army, and Qin Ruiyang was the Vice Commander of the Protectorate Army, giving them firm control over the force.

Although the Linji City Protectorate Army was still under the jurisdiction of the City Lord’s Mansion, the Qin Family was a side branch of the powerful Qin Family from Su State City. The Patriarch of the Su State Qin Family was an Inner Sect Elder of the Great Dao Sect, possessing a profound background.

In a sense, the Qin Family of Linji City was backed by the Great Dao Sect and answered directly to them.

No matter how chaotic Linji City became, the Qin Family could stand firm.

Furthermore, when Zheng Hun was young, he had trained in the Protectorate Army and had a reasonably good relationship with the Qin Family.

Therefore, although the Qin Family had previously participated in suppressing Zheng Hun for reasons related to their family’s power, they were now happy to see him rise again.

In any case, as long as powerful martial artists from other State City factions didn’t cause trouble in Linji City, a relatively stable situation would be maintained, and the Qin Family could rest easy.

Even if Linji City got a new City Lord, the Qin Family wouldn’t worry about their family’s fate.

As for further strengthening the Qin Family, it was completely unnecessary. As long as the younger generation of the Qin Family had enough talent in the Martial Dao, they would have the opportunity to further their prospects in the State City.

Why should they exhaust themselves and stir up conflict like the other three families?

Developing steadily and securing their foundation was a much more prudent approach.

...

Zheng Martial Arts Hall, the True Disciples’ residential compound.

From a distance, he sensed a tall figure enter the inner courtyard and slowly walk towards the First Madam’s residence.

Chen Cheng, with his arm around Mu Xiaowan’s soft waist, also leaped down from the roof, landing steadily in the courtyard.

"Xiaowan, let’s bathe and go to bed."

"Mm."

...

The night passed without incident.

...

The next day, before the sky had fully brightened, Mr. Zheng and Gongsun Rou boarded a carriage and set out for Su State City.

They were accompanied only by Min Wei and a few servants.

Mr. Zheng didn’t want to draw attention, so he didn’t ask Chen Cheng to see them off.

The events of the previous night at the City Lord’s Mansion quickly spread throughout Linji City.

After remaining quiet for over a decade, Mr. Zheng had once again revealed his power. He had confronted City Lord Jiang Botao with his Martial Arts Power and asserted his dominance over all of Linji City, a display that left everyone profoundly shaken.

Not only martial artists, but even the common people were all talking about it with great relish.

On the main street near the Zheng Martial Arts Hall, a large number of officials from the Inner City Guard Department, clad in armor, suddenly appeared. They patrolled day and night, subtly guarding the Zheng Martial Arts Hall.

Chen Cheng could guess that this was because Mr. Zheng had stormed the City Lord’s Mansion, forcing City Lord Jiang Botao to take the security of the Zheng Martial Arts Hall seriously.

In the days that followed, with officials from the Inner City Guard Department on patrol, the Zheng Martial Arts Hall was naturally safe from harm.

However, as the Hospital Chief Steward, Chen Cheng did not let his guard down. He strictly ordered the Hospital Martial Artists to perform their duties and maintain their watch as usual.

The Demon Suppression Department mission only required a trip to the Black Market every six days, so Chen Cheng had plenty of free time. He spent his days in his own courtyard, diligently cultivating the Martial Dao and occasionally guiding Mu Xiaowan in her cultivation.

Life was quiet and pleasant.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a month had gone by.

During this time, Chen Cheng went to the Cold Crow Village Black Market two more times with Shen Qingyao for their investigation mission.

Because of the incident with the Shadow Eighteen Bandits, every time they went to the Black Market, Shen Zhiheng escorted them with Shen Family guards.

Shen Zhiheng was a Perfect Martial Artist of the Bone Forging Realm with formidable strength. With him and the Shen Family guards, they were naturally very safe.

This kind of investigation mission gave Chen Cheng a taste of the lavish lifestyle of a disciple from a great family.

They had an escort for the journey, but when it came to the actual investigation, Chen Cheng and Shen Qingyao completed it independently, without the Shen Family’s help.

Shen Qingyao seemed to have grown a bit odd. She stopped testing Chen Cheng on every little thing and started taking the lead herself. It was as if she wanted to be in charge, making him follow her orders like a loyal little brother.

She had always been rather clever, and there weren’t many flaws in her plans, so Chen Cheng couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.

Through their investigation, the two of them had more or less gotten a clear picture of the situation in the Cold Crow Village Black Market.

In the Cold Crow Village Black Market, the Taiyi Sect, the Sutra of Ultimate Sect, and the Blood Moon Sect were all aggressively expanding their influence and recruiting en masse.

However, it seemed that the people sent by these factions weren’t very strong, so they couldn’t cause much of a stir for the time being.

Chen Cheng and Shen Qingyao only found one young martial artist who was suspected of having Bone Forging Realm strength.

As for the others, they were mostly just Martial Artists of the Muscle Strengthening Realm.

Gradually, Shen Qingyao also lost interest, saying that after finishing the month-long investigation mission, she wouldn’t take any more.

Chen Cheng was more than happy to agree. Earning a hundred Demon Suppression Department Merit points a month... at that rate, saving up the five thousand points needed for a Bone Tempering Pill would take an eternity.

Chen Cheng’s main focus remained on cultivating the Martial Dao.

His progress in the Iron Armor Skill was steadily increasing. He also had a lot of time to practice the Deer Cutting Saber Technique and the Wind Chasing Saber Stance.

One day, Chen Cheng woke up early and was practicing the Iron Armor Skill in the courtyard.

An hour later, Chen Cheng’s Qi Blood Power surged violently, and waves of formidable aura radiated from him.

SNAP!

As his body moved slowly, the major tendons throughout his body twisted together, letting out a crisp snapping sound!

’I’ve finally cultivated the Iron Armor Skill of the Muscle Strengthening Realm to Perfection!’

Chen Cheng stood tall, a faint smile on his face, and immediately called up his panel to check.

[Name: Chen Cheng

Realm: Muscle Strengthening (Perfection)

Skills: Iron Armor Skill • Muscle Strengthening (Perfection) (Cultivation Technique inference in progress, Inference Progress 0/100. Once inference is complete, the Cultivation Technique for the Bone Forging Realm Iron Armor Skill can be derived.)

Dragon Eagle Muscle Strengthening Technique (Perfection)

Powerful Eagle Claw Skill (Perfection) (Powerful Eagle Claw Stance) (First Layer of the Great Power Realm) (Inference of the Second Layer Technique of the Great Power Realm in progress, Inference Progress 60/1000. Once inference is complete, cultivation of the Second Layer of the Great Power Realm can proceed.)

Deer Cutting Saber Technique (Perfection) (Horn-Cutting Saber Stance 98820/100000)

Wind Chasing Saber Technique (Perfection, Wind Chasing Saber Stance) (Cultivation Technique inference in progress, current Inference Progress (55/100). Once inference is complete, the technique can be advanced to a Superior Technique.)

Secret Skill: Concealment (Incompleteness 5/100) (Uninitiated 2/10).

(Note: Incomplete Skills can be cultivated. The Cultivation Technique will be automatically corrected during cultivation, and progress will be gained.)]

Closing his eyes slightly, he sensed the condition of his major tendons and the extent of his Qi and Blood’s growth, then once again tried to cultivate the Iron Armor Skill of the Muscle Strengthening Realm.

As he cultivated, he could feel his major tendons swelling with power, as if they had already reached their limit.

Half an hour later, Chen Cheng stopped cultivating and called up the panel again. The inference progress for the Iron Armor Skill had increased by 2 points.

’Now that my Iron Armor Skill of the Muscle Strengthening Realm and Dragon Eagle Muscle Strengthening Technique are both at Perfection, I must have long surpassed the Flood Dragon Tendons level and reached the legendary Dragon Tendons level.

It’s time to focus on inferring the Cultivation Technique for the Bone Forging Realm’s Iron Armor Skill. But before that, I’ll master the Horn-Cutting Saber Stance first.’

Chen Cheng picked up his long saber and began practicing the Horn-Cutting Saber Stance.

More than an hour later, with just a slight raise of the long saber in Chen Cheng’s hand, ripples began to spread across the blade.

His figure suddenly flashed. Where the blade’s light pointed, a leaf falling from an ancient tree in the courtyard was enveloped by the rippling waves.

Chen Cheng retracted his long saber and caught the leaf, only to find that the Horn-Cutting Saber Stance had completely stripped away its flesh, leaving nothing but a delicate network of veins.

’The Horn-Cutting Saber Stance... I’ve finally mastered it!’

At that very moment, a notification appeared on the panel.

[Compatible skills have been detected. Fusion can create a new skill. Initiate Skill Fusion?]