Inner Sect Disciples Got Beaten All the Same

Inner Sect Disciples Got Beaten All the Same

I'll lie low for now and cultivate Eagle Claw Iron Shirt to its limit.

Zhou Shan thought to himself.

There was a limit to how much Internal Force one could cultivate through secular martial arts.

Eagle Claw Iron Shirt was a first-class martial art. Once cultivated to perfection, it could grant sixty years of cultivation, allowing one to become a First-class Martial Artist.

Zhou Shan's Eagle Claw Iron Shirt currently only had ten years of cultivation. He was still fifty years short of sixty, and would need to wait another fifty days before reaching perfection.

Once Eagle Claw Iron Shirt reached perfection, he would become a First-class Martial Artist.

Then, he would join the Black Armored Army and find a way to obtain a higher-grade martial art to cultivate.

Another twenty days passed.

A new batch of miners arrived, and Zhou Shan's group also finished their mining work.

Of course, with Zhang Hu and the other three serving as free labor, Zhou Shan had merely cultivated and rested inside the mine tunnels instead of truly mining. With the mining assignment finally over, Zhang Hu and the others were the happiest.

"Finally, we don't have to mine anymore."

Tears filled the eyes of Zhang Hu and the other three.

These days, they had practically dug from dawn till dusk. They had to complete Zhou Shan's mining quota as well as the quotas for the four of them, and they had long since been exhausted. The moment they returned to their tents, they collapsed into sleep, with no time at all to cultivate.

"Thanks for your help. I'll come find you again if I need anything in the future."

Before leaving, Zhou Shan smiled at Zhang Hu and the other three.

"Go, hurry up and go!"

"If we see Zhou Shan in the future, we'll take a detour."

In Zhang Hu and the others' eyes, Zhou Shan's smile was no different from a devil's. Terrified, they scrambled away as fast as they could, not daring to linger for even a second, afraid that Zhou Shan might take a dislike to them and beat them up.

With the assignment complete, everyone received a Qi Boosting Pill.

A Qi Boosting Pill was a medicinal pill that could increase one's cultivation.

One Qi Boosting Pill could raise one's cultivation by roughly one month.

If you wanted a horse to run fast, you first had to feed it enough grass. The martial artists from the various factions assisting the Black Armored Army in guarding the West Ridge Iron Mine received one Qi Boosting Pill each month.

Within the Iron Shirt Sect, Qi Boosting Pills were extremely scarce. Only elite disciples favored by the elders were qualified to take them. But to a super sect like the Guiyuan Sect, they were nothing special; it could already refine Qi Boosting Pills in large quantities.

The Qi Boosting Pills used by factions like the Iron Shirt Sect were basically purchased from the Guiyuan Sect.

However, such pills that increased one's cultivation could not be taken excessively. Taking one per month produced the best results. If taken continuously within a short period, they would lose their effect by the third pill.

Otherwise, by taking several hundred Qi Boosting Pills, one could gain dozens of years of cultivation.

Some pills that increased cultivation could even only be taken once in a lifetime.

The most famous one in the martial world was the Great Returning Pill. If one could refine and absorb it, it could increase cultivation by seventy years, allowing an unranked martial artist to become a Superclass Martial Artist in one leap.

But the Great Returning Pill could only be taken once in a lifetime.

Name: Zhou Shan

Talent: Nine Breaths Assimilation

Cultivation Technique: Eagle Claw Iron Shirt (thirty years of cultivation) Trait: Solid as a Rock

Zhou Shan opened the panel to inspect his stats.

The Eagle Claw Iron Shirt he cultivated had already reached thirty years of cultivation, and an additional trait, Solid as a Rock, had appeared.

Once he fully activated Eagle Claw Iron Shirt, the Solid as a Rock trait could push his body's defensive power to its limit. The muscles throughout his body would possess incomparably powerful resistance; strikes from weapons such as clubs and whips would cause him no pain whatsoever.

Even some ordinary weapons could not pierce his flesh, allowing him to seize blades barehanded.

With thirty years of cultivation, Zhou Shan now counted as a second-class martial artist.

After the mining assignment ended, the martial artists from the Iron Shirt Sect and other factions were divided into several squads, responsible for patrol duties within several miles of the West Ridge Iron Mine.

The Black Armored Army did not appoint squad leaders, instead allowing these squads to choose their own.

There were still over a hundred martial artists from the Iron Shirt Sect, divided into three squads.

At this moment, in one of the squads.

"My name is Zhao Gang. From today onward, all of you will obey my arrangements. Understood?" A burly man said coldly. "If I tell you to go east, you are not to go west. Otherwise, I'll make sure you know what I'm capable of. Mo Si, Liu San, Zhang Hu, Huang Yun, Zhou Shan, Wen Ding, Wang Dongsheng... You lot, go patrol now."

Zhao Gang called out more than a dozen names in one breath.

"Understood!"

Those whose names had been called accepted their orders one after another.

But Zhou Shan remained where he was, as though he had not heard Zhao Gang at all.

"Zhou Shan, are your ears deaf? Senior Brother Zhao told you to patrol. What are you standing around for?"

Seeing Zhou Shan remain still, Zhao Gang's lackey immediately stepped forward to bark on behalf of his master.

"Zhao Gang, why should I listen to him? The Black Armored Army only said we were to choose a squad leader ourselves. If Zhao Gang can be squad leader, why can't I be one? What right does he have to order me around?"

Zhou Shan said calmly.

He had heard of Zhao Gang's reputation back at the Iron Shirt Sect.

Although the man was an inner sect disciple with more than ten years of cultivation, he had basically accumulated it through the passage of time. He had cultivated for more than ten years and only possessed a little over ten years of cultivation. The Iron Shirt Sect did not value him much, which was why he had been sent to the West Ridge Iron Mine.

Therefore, Zhou Shan had no need to fear Zhao Gang.

What was more, Zhao Gang only had a little over ten years of cultivation, while he himself had thirty.

"How presumptuous! Zhou Shan, you've only joined the Iron Shirt Sect for two months, yet you dare act so arrogantly and speak to Senior Brother Zhao like this. I'll teach you, you brat who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, a lesson on Senior Brother Zhao's behalf."

Seeing Zhao Gang's face darken, the lackey thought his chance to earn merit had come. He immediately lunged at Zhou Shan.

Zhao Gang's lackey had been in the Iron Shirt Sect for two years. He was stronger than Zhang Hu, and with one great stride, he rushed before Zhou Shan. His five fingers curled like claws as he grabbed for Zhou Shan's throat.

Smack—

A crisp slap rang out.

Right after that, Zhao Gang's lackey flew through the air and crashed down in front of Zhao Gang.

"Useless trash. You can't even handle a kid who joined two months ago. What use are you?" Zhao Gang cursed angrily, kicking the lackey on the ground before saying, "Get the hell to the side."

"Zhou Shan, I remember now. I heard you possess Innate Divine Strength. I'd like to weigh you up and see just how much you're worth—whether you truly have Innate Divine Strength."

As his words fell, Zhao Gang shot forward, swooping down like an eagle pouncing on prey as he clawed at Zhou Shan.

Facing the charging Zhao Gang, Zhou Shan remained calm and responded with Eagle Claw as well.

Very quickly, claw met claw, colliding in midair.

Crack!

The sound of bones breaking rang out.

"Ah!"

Immediately afterward came Zhao Gang's scream.

"With that little strength of yours, what right do you have to weigh me up?" Zhou Shan gripped Zhao Gang's broken wrist and sneered. "Get lost."

As his words fell, Zhou Shan kicked out, viciously driving his foot into Zhao Gang's stomach.

The instant his kick landed, Zhou Shan released his grip. Zhao Gang's body was immediately sent flying backward by a terrifying force, soaring seven or eight meters away in an instant before landing on the ground and screaming miserably.

So what if he was an inner sect disciple? Since he dared attack him, Zhou Shan would not be polite either. He would beat him all the same.