Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Breakthrough
In a private chamber deep within the bathhouse.
Xie Yuan was soaking in a large wooden tub. The tub was filled with a medicinal liquid, dark brown and nearly black, billowing with hot steam.
"This concoction... it’s even more potent than last time!"
Xie Yuan couldn’t help but furrow his brow slightly. The stinging, tingling, and aching sensations prickling his skin made him tremble faintly in the water.
’Come to think of it, when I told Senior Brother Lu to "add extra ingredients," the look he gave me—so moved, fervent, and resolute—makes me regret it a little...’
’I hope I haven’t been turned into some kind of test subject...’
Xie Yuan let out a breath, his gaze turning resolute.
’As long as it helps my progress on the Martial Dao, a little pain is nothing.’
He closed his eyes, circulating his inner breath to soothe his trembling, feverish skin, absorbing the medicinal liquid’s potency drop by drop.
The progress numbers for his Iron Cloth Shirt jumped up, visible to the naked eye.
With less than a hundred points remaining, he would complete it before the tub of medicinal liquid was depleted.
As Xie Yuan tempered his skin with the medicinal liquid, he assumed a stationary stance in the tub. Uniting the internal and external, he refined the last wisp of Blood Qi needed to perfect the 3rd Layer of his Iron Cloth Shirt.
Time passed. The bathhouse filled with roiling steam, obscuring Xie Yuan’s face.
[998/1000]
[999/1000]
[1000/1000]
Xie Yuan’s eyes flew open. His skin felt tougher than ever before, like aged cowhide—impenetrable to blades and impervious to fire. Even the aching tingle from the medicinal liquid had lessened considerably.
It wasn’t an illusion. His skin had truly reached a certain level of toughness, and the improvements from the liquid were now negligible, which was why he wasn’t absorbing it as before.
But to leap to the next level of strength and develop the so-called "copper skin," it seemed something was still missing.
With a thought, Xie Yuan dispersed all his Blood Qi, which had also reached a bottleneck, spreading it across his entire body until it formed a thin layer over his skin.
His gaze sharpened. The Blood Qi vibrated, his skin tightened, and he simultaneously began to reinforce his entire hide with it.
His inner breath naturally accelerated, flowing through the meridians of his body. The medicinal liquid in the tub began to churn, one bubble after another rising to the surface, and then it started to GURGLE and boil.
In that instant, Xie Yuan felt a specific vibration as his skin and Blood Qi merged. A flash of insight struck him.
’Now.’
He drove his Blood Qi and inner breath with all his might. His skin suddenly grew intensely hot, and the liquid around him formed a vortex, boiling away as its color faded!
Breakthrough!
For a moment, Xie Yuan’s skin became incredibly hard, like a sheet of copper, then swiftly returned to normal. It even felt less tough to the touch than before, like that of an ordinary person.
But in reality, the deeper layers of his skin now held a power forged through countless trials. It would activate naturally when struck by an external force, repelling attacks like a suit of iron armor!
Only at this stage could one say they had truly mastered the Iron Cloth Shirt. This was the completion of Skin Training.
And completing Skin Training meant that Xie Yuan had officially become a Martial Artist—a First Training Martial Artist.
Standing in the now-empty, steamed-dry wooden tub, Xie Yuan slowly exhaled a puff of hot air and raised his hand.
He slapped the tub. BANG! The large vessel, big enough for one person, instantly shattered into pieces.
"This power... I could probably go toe-to-toe with a tiger or a black bear now, right?"
Xie Yuan subconsciously compared himself to his old friends and smiled.
He pinched the skin on his arm, silently assessing it.
’By completing Skin Training with the Iron Cloth Shirt technique as the foundation, my Defense Power is much stronger than those who practice other arts. However, my strength or other aspects might be a bit weaker.’
But Xie Yuan didn’t care about this difference. He still had his inner breath to augment himself.
When he’d slapped the tub just now, he had only used his physical strength, without channeling his inner breath! If he channeled it, his power would increase even further!
In comparison, the enhanced defense was clearly more useful, since his inner breath couldn’t yet be used for protection.
"Choosing the Iron Cloth Shirt to start with was definitely the right decision."
’Back then, I hadn’t started cultivating Inner Power yet; I was just thinking I could use my axe for offense.’
Now that he was a Martial Artist, his strength had surged, and the power of his Three-Axe-Strike killing move had naturally grown as well.
If he were to use the Three Axe Strikes now, the lethality would be hard to imagine.
[Iron Cloth Shirt - 4th Layer: (1/2000)]
"I was just trying to test the waters, but that little bottleneck broke with the slightest push. With my talent and hard work, becoming a Martial Artist wasn’t hard at all!"
Looking at the numbers before him, Xie Yuan nodded with conviction.
"It’s all thanks to my talent!"
He had finally become a Martial Artist!
Xie Yuan’s strength had taken a comprehensive leap forward, making him far more powerful than before.
The transformation into a Martial Artist had enhanced his skin and greatly increased his body’s overall condition!
No wonder they said there was a chasm between Martial Artists and ordinary people. Even the pre-breakthrough Xie Yuan would be completely powerless against his current self.
"This feeling of getting stronger... it’s truly exhilarating."
Xie Yuan threw a few punches, feeling the abundant power, and couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
However, this was still far from enough. Becoming a Martial Artist was just the beginning of his cultivation journey.
He needed to become stronger, to go further, until no one could threaten him.
Xie Yuan spent the next two days at the martial arts school, practicing and familiarizing himself with his explosive new strength.
Then, at noon, while he was training in the courtyard, a servant came to tell him that Liu the Monk was looking for him and summoned him to the study.
He knocked gently on the door. Hearing Liu the Monk call out, "Come in," Xie Yuan pushed the door open and saw the short, stout Sect Leader squeezed into the chair behind the desk.
A flicker of anticipation grew in his heart as he asked:
"Master, has word come back from the county seat?"
Seeing Xie Yuan’s expectant expression, Liu the Monk’s face grew slightly solemn, and he slowly shook his head.
"That fellow villager of yours... he’s a ruthless one.
"I sent a letter to an acquaintance at a martial arts school in the county seat, and the reply just arrived. They all said that Squad Leader Zhang from the county yamen made the rounds the day before yesterday, telling everyone not to accept any apprentices named Xie from Little Rock Village.
"Judging by the timing, he must have gone and done that the moment he got back to the county seat after leaving here."
Xie Yuan’s fists tightened.
"Does he, Zhang Yufeng, carry that much weight?"
"He himself doesn’t, of course, but he’s using the names of the County Captain and the Vajra Sect. Ai, he beat you to the punch. If you had enrolled in a martial arts school first, even just as a nominal disciple, the bigger schools would have protected you from being bullied so casually, if only for their own reputation."
"But since he went around warning them first, those schools will naturally do him the favor. They won’t risk trouble for a stranger. To accept you now would be deliberately looking for a fight."
"Ai, that fellow villager of yours... his mind is sharp and his methods are ruthless. Just what kind of grudge does he have against you?"
Xie Yuan pressed his lips together tightly.
’Zhang Yufeng...’
’From the moment I woke up until now, every trouble I’ve faced, at its very root, has been caused by him.’
’If there was some great feud between us, that would be one thing, but I have never offended Zhang Yufeng.’
’It was simply because I was a convenient pawn. Zhang Yufeng callously used me to pave the way for his own future, scheming in such a way as to leave me no path to survival.’
’That’s even more hateful than a real grudge.’
Xie Yuan’s expression was grim and unsettled, his hand stroking the handle of the axe at his waist.
Seeing his expression, Liu the Monk sighed softly.
"Xie Yuan, don’t be rash. Where there’s life, there’s hope. Let’s think about what to do now. Hmm, I used to stay at a temple for a while... Why don’t you go there to lay low for a bit..."
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
The study door was suddenly pounded on urgently.
"Sect Leader, someone from the county seat has arrived! He’s waiting in the main hall!"
A servant’s voice came from outside the door.
’The county seat?’
Xie Yuan and Liu the Monk both tensed up.
’They won’t even give me a moment to breathe?’
Liu the Monk’s voice was grave as he called out:
"Stall them! How many are there? What do they look like? Did they say who they are?"
"Just one man! He’s tall and powerfully built, with a saber at his waist. He looks like a martial arts expert!
"He says he’s from the Longteng Escort Agency."
