The Li River Water Monster
Li River Wharf.
Looking at the bustling dock, Qin Ming frowned.
He has asked several people, but no one knows Wang Shun.
It seems finding Wang Shun won't be so easy.
As darkness fell, he originally intended to return to the vicinity of the courtyard to wait for Wang Shun to come back and intercept him, but the courtyard was now surrounded and sealed off by the County Yamen, making it impossible to get close. Helpless, he could only come to the dock to search for him.
It's getting dark.
Xiong San walked over.
He changed into clean clothes and wore a large straw hat, covering half of his face completely to avoid being recognized.
"Cough cough."
Yang Ye, who was standing to the side with his face covered, coughed a few times.
After leaving the Water Prison, he wanted to leave, but Qin Ming forced him to stay.
Qin Ming's method for retaining people was simple.
Leave and you die; stay and you live.
Yang Ye didn't want to die, so he had no choice but to stay.
On the other hand, it was also because he had too many hidden injuries in his body, which prevented him from exerting his full strength. Even if he wanted to run away, he couldn't. It was better for him to stay and recuperate. Once he recovered, with his agility, he believed that even if Qin Ming wanted to stop him, he wouldn't be able to.
While searching for the person, Qin Ming's gaze also fell upon the few martial arts manuals he had recently acquired.
The second stage of the Pure Yang Art has been Perfect Mastery, and there is no further progress. To enter the third stage, one must integrate more Horizontal Training Martial Arts techniques.
Qin Ming brought the newly acquired "Ape-Armed Iron Stake Art" to its Perfection Realm. A scorching hot current flowed through his arms, and Qin Ming could clearly feel that the skin and flesh of his arms had become firmer, the muscles more symmetrical, and they looked more slender.
Qin Ming glanced at his remaining Free Attribute Points; they were enough to max out two more martial arts skills.
These Free Attribute Points were obtained from the Ghost Artifacts and Ghost Furnaces left by the black-robed man, and they were almost depleted after Qin Ming maxed out multiple martial arts skills.
"Diamond Shield, maxed out!"
Qin Ming looked at the control panel.
Both the Diamond Shield and Iron Body Shirt are Horizontal Training Martial Arts practiced by outer disciples of Shaolin Temple, but they are quite different.
The Diamond Shield is a technique that combines internal and external training. First, one cultivates internal energy to protect the internal organs, and then strikes the skin and flesh. It emphasizes gathering energy and releasing power. When struck, the muscles tense up instantly, as if a bell is enveloping the whole body. Therefore, the Diamond Shield is also called the Golden Bell Shield in Shaolin Temple.
Iron Body Shirt, on the other hand, is a purely external martial art. It involves striking the skin and flesh to strengthen the muscles and bones, like wearing an Iron Body Shirt to enhance physical defense.
The moment the "Diamond Shield" reached its Perfection Realm, Qin Ming clearly felt a wisp of nameless energy arising in his meridians.
This wisp of energy circulated throughout his body, protecting his Five Viscera and Six Bowels.
Qin Ming was both surprised and delighted. He had practiced so many Horizontal Training Martial Arts, from "Savage Bull Strength" and "Iron Body Shirt" to "Iron Arm Art," "Iron Crotch Art," "Iron Head Skill," and so on. These techniques all had one thing in common: they specifically trained a certain part of the body. Even though "Iron Body Shirt" trained the entire body, that was all.
Although his physical body had become indestructible, his internal organs could still be injured by strong shocks. The Silver Dragon's attack earlier had almost ruptured his internal organs.
Now that he has obtained the "Diamond Shield," it's as if he has filled this gap in his knowledge.
This gas circulated in Qin Ming's abdominal cavity like a swimming dragon, and would protect his internal organs from fatal damage in the event of an impact.
"Can we use this energy to break through the third stage of the Pure Yang Art?"
Qin Ming was intrigued and looked at the bottom of the panel, but unfortunately there were no prompts.
"Does this mean the second phase is the end?"
Qin Ming was unwilling to accept this.
Perhaps it's because he hasn't mastered enough Horizontal Training Martial Arts, or perhaps the internal energy of the "Diamond Shield" technique isn't strong enough to activate the third stage.
After Qin Ming broke through to the Bone Refining Realm and reached the Silver Bone, he successively practiced six martial arts techniques, including "Leopard Bear Strength Iron Head Skill," "Swallow Flying Daggers," "Through-the-Back Fist," "Ape-Armed Iron Stake Art Skill," and "Diamond Shield."
Four of them are Horizontal Training Martial Arts.
These six martial arts techniques continuously vibrated Qin Ming's skin and flesh. Originally, there were only some golden spots on his Silver Bones, but now most of his Silver Bones were covered with golden spots, and he was not far from becoming Golden Bone.
Qin Ming hadn't expected that the final step, Golden Bone, would be so difficult to achieve. Even mastering six martial arts techniques to Perfect Mastery wasn't enough. Judging from the area covered by the golden spots, he needed to master at least five more Perfect Mastery arts techniques to have a chance to transform into true Golden Bone.
Even Qin Ming, who possesses the control panel, finds this path too difficult. Besides him, who else could cultivate a dozen or even twenty martial arts techniques during the Bone Refining Realm and reach the Perfection Realm of all of them?
Qin Ming looked at the last martial art, "Iron Body Shirt".
Compared to the Iron Body Shirt manual that Qin Ming had previously practiced, this Iron Body Shirt manual is more complete and more profound, and its grade is not ninth rank, but eighth rank!
The eighth-rank Horizontal Training Martial Arts, "Iron Body Shirt"!
With all remaining Free Attribute Points used up, the complete version of the Eighth-Rank Martial Art "Iron Body Shirt" was quickly pushed to its Perfection Realm.
He slowly clenched his fist, and as the force gradually increased, a thick layer of calluses quickly formed on the back of Qin Ming's hand.
After Perfect Mastery the Iron Body Shirt technique, the thick calluses on his skin increased by at least 30%. If he were to fully utilize the Iron Body Shirt, the calluses alone would be half an inch thick, and ordinary swords and knives would not even leave a white mark on them!
Qin Ming's body became even leaner; he appeared much thinner, but his weight was actually greater than before.
Having mastered over a dozen Horizontal Training Martial Arts strength to the Perfection Realm, Qin Ming is arguably unparalleled in history. He is a Greater Mastery physical prowess, possessing terrifying strength that would even terrify those in the Blood Refining Realm.
"I wonder how my current strength compares to that of Bright Strength expert."
Qin Ming thought of Li Qingfeng; although his physical body was strong, he might not be able to withstand the sharpness of a sword wielded by a Bright Strength expert.
"Monster! There's a monster!"
Just then, a panicked scream suddenly came from ahead, interrupting Qin Ming's thoughts.
He instinctively looked in the direction of the sound and saw workers on a large ship on the riverbank jumping off in a rush, running frantically away from the ship.
"What is that?!"
Xiong San's voice carried a hint of surprise.
On the large boat by the river, a black-haired humanoid monster, soaking wet, stood at the bow and slowly straightened up.
The monster was covered in hair and looked like a giant ape, nearly three meters tall. Even from a distance, Qin Ming could still see its long claws that gleamed with a cold light.
The Monkey looked down at the fleeing crowd, let out a strange cry, and quickly jumped off the boat, moving so fast that it was almost just a series of black afterimages.
In the blink of an eye, it caught up with the last dockworker, and with a swift movement, its sharp claws split the man's skull in two. It then pounced on the man's head and forcefully sucked in all the milky-white brain matter.
The monster licked its lips with its half-foot-long tongue, drool dripping from the corner of its mouth. A deep greed gleamed in its eyes. Then, it transformed into a black blur, killing three workers in quick succession, their skulls ripped open.
"You beast!!"
A loud shout rang out from the shore, and the next moment a burly man wielding a long knife stepped out from the crowd.