Chapter 47: Chapter 47: New Talent
Zhao Xisheng was shocked.
To think that Li San, someone who had always seemed so high and mighty in his eyes, would be so fawning toward Gong Yulei!
’Could it be that Senior Brother Gong Yulei has become a high-ranking member of the Fish Dragon Gang?!’
Zhao Xisheng was overjoyed at the thought of this possibility.
He hurriedly stepped forward to block their path.
"Senior Brother Gong! What are you doing here!"
When Li San saw Zhao Xisheng suddenly step out to block them, he grew angry and was about to kick him.
But upon hearing that this person seemed to know Gong Yulei and even called him "Senior Brother," he was startled and forcefully stopped his foot mid-kick.
"Master Gong, this is...?" Li San asked.
Gong Yulei frowned and said coldly, "And you are?"
"It’s me, Zhao Xisheng! Senior Brother Gong, don’t you recognize me? We learned the fist arts together at the White Cloud Martial Arts Hall! I used to train with Jiang Che all the time back then!" Zhao Xisheng said hurriedly, his heart skipping a beat.
"Oh, it’s you!" Hearing him mention Jiang Che, Gong Yulei suddenly remembered.
"Yes, yes, it’s me, Zhao Xisheng!" Zhao Xisheng was ecstatic that Gong Yulei recognized him.
"A good-for-nothing who couldn’t even break through to the Qi Blood Realm and got kicked out of the Martial Arts Hall. You think you’re worthy of being my fellow disciple?! Get lost!" Gong Yulei snarled before striding away.
Zhao Xisheng froze on the spot, as if struck by lightning.
"You’ve got some nerve, kid, daring to impersonate Master Gong’s junior brother! Brothers, get him!" Li San said through gritted teeth.
This Master Gong was a favorite of the Gang Leader, and now he was his direct superior.
For this brat to dare offend Master Gong—wasn’t he trying to get him in trouble?! How outrageous!
At his command, the Fish Dragon Gang members behind him swarmed forward, punching and kicking Zhao Xisheng.
Zhao Xisheng curled up on the ground, covering his head with his arms. He felt countless kicks land on his body until he started to lose consciousness.
He couldn’t help but think back to his time learning the fist arts.
If only he had worked a little harder, if only he had broken through to the Qi Blood Realm and become a Martial Artist...
Tears streamed down his face.
Some of the fishermen who knew Zhao Xisheng saw this and could only shake their heads and sigh.
Although they felt sorry for him, no one dared to step forward and intervene.
Seeing that Zhao Xisheng had almost stopped moving, the Fish Dragon Gang members stopped kicking and left.
Once they were long gone, a few of the fishermen who knew him came over.
"Xisheng! Wake up, Xisheng!"
A swarthy, white-haired old man picked Zhao Xisheng up.
He was a distant cousin of Zhao Xisheng’s father.
"Ah... it hurts..."
Zhao Xisheng groaned and slowly opened his tear-filled eyes.
"Xisheng, where are you hurt? Do we need to get a doctor?" the old man asked.
Zhao Xisheng shook his head. "I’m fine..."
He struggled to his feet and limped over to his stall.
He silently packed up his fish stall, then limped toward a small sampan docked at the pier.
"What a tragedy..."
The old man sighed, but he had his own family to look after and was truly powerless to help.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
During those two months, Zhang Xiong and Lin Xue’er had also accumulated their Qi Blood to its peak and successfully broken through to Stone Skin.
Although their Root Bone was not as good as Gong Yulei’s, they were still considered outstanding.
Plus, they had been eating plenty of Exotic Beast Meat and supplements, so their breakthrough was to be expected.
As for Jiang Che, his Qi Blood had reached ninety percent.
However, the residual effects of the Qi Replenishing Pill were nearly depleted, and his progress had slowed.
Fortunately, he was still eating Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat; otherwise, his progress would have been even slower.
But he finished the five catties he received each month in less than ten days, and for the rest of the time, Jiang Che could only eat Low-Grade Exotic Beast Meat.
The other three had already reached Stone Skin and were spending more time outside, so they weren’t in the courtyard much.
Luo Kun had also recruited a new batch of apprentices and spent most of his time with them.
So, Jiang Che dropped the pretense and simply did his Cultivation at home. He would only take Jiang Ling to the Martial Arts Hall every few days, mainly to visit Luo Kun.
On this day, Jiang Che was in the courtyard, repeatedly smashing a nail-studded iron rod against his own body.
His physique had also grown more robust.
He was now roughly 1.83 meters tall, with powerful muscles that weren’t bulky.
His face had lost its boyishness, becoming sharp, well-defined, and strikingly handsome.
His long, black hair hung loose, and his every movement exuded an air of masculine virility.
SNAP!
Suddenly, one of the steel nails embedded in the iron rod broke.
[Body Refinement Perfection]
[Talent Unlocked: Rejuvenation]
[Rejuvenation: Passive Skill, permanent attribute enhancement type.]
[Description: Increases physical strength and recovery speed. Allows for limited Flesh Regeneration!]
’A new Talent Skill!’
Jiang Che was delighted and was just about to read the Skill’s description.
Suddenly, his expression froze.
A powerful, warm current surged from his limbs and gathered in his Dantian.
His Qi Blood, which had been at ninety percent, instantly jumped to ninety-five percent!
’What’s going on?’
Jiang Che was a little shocked.
’Could it be because my Body Refinement reached Perfection?’
That was the only thing that had changed, so he guessed the two events must be related.
’When I reached Perfection in White Cloud Fist and calligraphy, I didn’t get any extra Qi Blood...’
’Is it because this is an Iron Body Skill?’
Although it wasn’t a Qi Blood circulation Cultivation Technique, Body Refinement could barely be considered a low-tier version of an Iron Body Skill.
But Jiang Che couldn’t be certain of the exact reason for now.
’Looks like I’ll have to wait until I master other skills to Perfection and observe what happens.’
’But if it really is because of Iron Body Skills...’
Jiang Che suddenly thought of a Cultivation method that would be perfect for him.
He could continuously learn new Iron Body Skills and train them all to Perfection!
That way, his Qi Blood would accumulate steadily, eventually compensating for the slowness of his Qi Blood progression!
He made up his mind instantly, deciding to seek out more Iron Body Skills to practice in the future.
’Right, I should check how strong I am now...’
For one, his Qi Blood had increased again.
And for another, Body Refinement itself increased one’s strength.
Now that he had trained it to Perfection, there was sure to be another significant boost.
He walked over and stood before a huge stone lock, two chi long and one chi wide.
This was a four-hundred-catty stone lock.
Before reaching Body Refinement Perfection, this had been the limit of his strength.
Jiang Che grabbed the handle with one hand, then with a powerful push from his legs, he lifted his arm simultaneously.
In an instant, the stone lock was raised above his head and held steady.
’So much easier! My strength has definitely increased!’
Jiang Che was delighted.
He then walked over to a five-hundred-catty stone lock.
This one was even larger, reaching half his height.
’I wonder if I can lift this...’
Jiang Che was a little anxious.
Five hundred catties was a level of strength only a Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist should possess.
But now that his Body Refinement had reached Perfection and his Qi Blood was even more abundant, he had a faint feeling that he had already reached that level of strength.
He squatted slightly, planting the soles of his feet firmly on the ground.
After gripping the handle tightly, he sank his Qi to his Dantian, then powerfully pushed off the ground, flinging his hands upward in one motion.
"Heh!"
The massive stone lock was instantly lifted off the ground and held steady by Jiang Che!
At that moment, his powerful muscles were completely taut, veins bulging on his neck, making him look like an overlord reborn.
After three breaths, Jiang Che lowered the stone lock heavily.
BOOM!
A cloud of dust rose into the air.
’I can hold five hundred catties for three breaths!’
Jiang Che was very satisfied.
Although he hadn’t yet broken through to Stone Skin, his strength was no less than that of a Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist.
’Oh, right, there’s this too!’
Jiang Che suddenly remembered he had a new Talent Skill he hadn’t looked at yet.
So, he opened his panel and began to read it carefully.
’Flesh Regeneration... I wonder to what extent it works.’
