Progress

Back at his quarters, Zhang Tie sat cross-legged on the bed, his brows tightly furrowed as he pondered his current situation.

Although he had diligently cultivated the Mystic Armor Skill until now without seeing any significant progress, the Cultivation Method clearly stated that those of ordinary aptitude needed at least a year to get started. Perhaps he really had been too impatient.

However, if what Senior Brother Liu had said was true—that no one had mastered this Cultivation Method in a hundred years—then someone with his aptitude surely had no chance of succeeding either. At that thought, Zhang Tie became deeply conflicted, caught in a dilemma.

Back in his rather shabby quarters, Zhang Tie sat cross-legged on the bed, his brows knitted as he sank into deep thought about his current circumstances.

Zhang Tie stared blankly ahead, his thoughts tangled in his mind like a mess of threads.

He could not help recalling every detail of the past six months of cultivation. Every day, he had endured aching muscles and exhaustion, only for his skin to become rough and dark, turning him into a big, dark-skinned brute. Not only had the actual results been negligible, but he had become so ugly that if he went home now, his mother might not even recognize him.

"Could it really be that I'm too impatient?" Zhang Tie muttered, his eyes revealing a trace of confusion and doubt. Yet if Senior Brother Liu's words were true, and no one had succeeded in mastering this Cultivation Method for a hundred years, then with his aptitude, he surely had no hope of mastering it either.

At the thought, Zhang Tie felt as though a massive boulder were pressing on his heart, weighing so heavily that he could barely breathe.

Just as Zhang Tie was torn by indecision, he suddenly slapped his thigh, a look of sudden realization appearing on his face. "What can I gain by hesitating here and fearing this and that? I'll only bring myself more trouble!"

Zhang Tie rose and paced back and forth through the room, carefully working things out in his mind.

Over the past six months, because the gang provided food and lodging, he had sent all ten taels of silver from his monthly allowance home. Though he had done so to give his family a better life, it had left him short of money. To save enough silver to switch Cultivation Methods would take at least ten months.

"Ten months..." Zhang Tie let out a long sigh.

Zhang Tie stopped, his gaze turning firm. "Fine, fine! Then I'll persist for another ten months!" It was as though he had finally made up his mind. "During these ten months, I'll continue cultivating the Mystic Armor Skill. If there's still no progress after ten months, I'll decisively switch Cultivation Methods and find another path."

After making his decision, Zhang Tie felt much calmer. He sat back down on the bed, adjusted his breathing, and immersed himself in cultivation once more.

In the blink of an eye, three months passed.

During those three months, aside from sending one letter home at the beginning to tell his parents that he was well,

he wrote that he would need a great deal of money for cultivating over the next year and thus would be unable to send money home for the time being, telling his family not to worry. The rest of his time was almost entirely filled with cultivation.

The Mystic Armor Skill did bring him some changes. He could clearly feel that his flesh was gradually becoming rougher and tougher, his resistance to blows greatly increasing, and his strength growing as well.

However, beginning about a month earlier, no matter how desperately Zhang Tie cultivated the Mystic Armor Skill or how strictly he followed its principles, his body underwent no further changes. It was as if he had been restrained by invisible shackles, unable to advance.

He fell into deep confusion and self-doubt. Had he cultivated incorrectly? Or was his aptitude truly so mediocre that he could not achieve anything greater with this Cultivation Method? These questions hung over his heart like dark clouds that refused to disperse.

When night fell and the sky filled with stars, Zhang Tie turned to cultivating the Evergreen Skill.

Over the past three months, he had not slept at all, cultivating through the night after night. Strangely enough, even under such intense cultivation, his meridians showed not the slightest discomfort.

Zhang Tie could not help pondering whether the Evergreen Skill possessed some miraculous nourishing effect on the meridians, or whether cultivating the Mystic Armor Skill had invisibly strengthened their resilience.

During his cultivation of the Evergreen Skill, one phenomenon drew his great attention. Over those three months, four more threads of icy airflow had appeared.

The first two appeared like fleeting flashes of brilliance, vanishing in an instant without a trace. But the latter two streams of airflow miraculously remained.

Along with these changes in the airflow, the mysterious Green light cluster in Zhang Tie's mind underwent a startling transformation.

What had originally been only a tiny Green light cluster had transformed into a small green bead. The exquisite and mysterious bead was surrounded by densely packed runes, which slowly emerged like stars appearing at night.

Even more remarkable, through the translucent bead, he could occasionally see vague shadows flickering in and out of view.

After careful consideration, Zhang Tie guessed that this mysterious little bead was likely the key to the disappearing airflow from the Evergreen Skill.

At last, he made a decision. He would no longer remain fixated on cultivating the Mystic Armor Skill and would instead take up the Elephant Armor Skill again.

After all, he had some experience with the Elephant Armor Skill and was confident that reaching at least its first three layers would pose no problem.

If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!

In the days that followed, Zhang Tie devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivating the Elephant Armor Skill. Every morning, beneath a mountain waterfall, he began his daily training, using the waterfall's impact to continuously temper his body.

Even Zhang Tie found it difficult to believe that in merely five days, he had successfully cultivated the first layer of the Elephant Armor Skill to perfection.

Zhang Tie attributed this astonishing result entirely to the fact that he had never once slackened in his training for so long, as well as the day-after-day tempering of his body during his previous cultivation of the Mystic Armor Skill.

This result was like a brilliant ray of dawn, instantly dispersing the gloom that had hung over his heart for nearly a year and filling him with unprecedented confidence in his future path of cultivation.

The days flowed by quietly, one after another, like a calm, rippleless river.

Zhang Tie's life followed a simple and regular rhythm. Aside from necessary matters such as eating and collecting his monthly allowance on time, he poured nearly all his time and energy into cultivation without reservation.

One evening, Zhang Tie had just finished dinner, shut his door, and sat down on the bed, preparing to devote himself fully to cultivating the Everlasting Spring Technique.

After unrelenting effort, the Everlasting Spring Technique had successfully entered the second layer a few days earlier. This breakthrough gave him even more energy, and his confidence grew firmer still.

Though he still did not know exactly what powerful effects the Everlasting Spring Technique might bring, he believed that this Cultivation Method was anything but ordinary.

However, just as his thoughts ran wild across the vast world of cultivation and he imagined the future, a rapid and abrupt knock suddenly rang out, ruthlessly cutting off his wandering thoughts.

Zhang Tie frowned slightly and rose from the bed with some reluctance, walking toward the door.

As the door slowly opened, a youth of around twelve or thirteen came into view.

Though the youth was not very old and wore the same clothes as Zhang Tie, compared with Zhang Tie, his face held less childishness and more maturity.

"Are you Junior Brother Zhang?" the youth asked in a clear voice.

"I am. Which Senior Brother are you?" Zhang Tie's eyes were filled with confusion as he carefully sized up the youth before him.

"I am Zhao Lei from the External Affairs Hall. I came today to remind you that the one-year adjustment period for new disciples is nearing its end. Junior Brother, be sure not to forget to accept a mission." Zhao Lei wore a friendly expression.

"Senior Brother Zhao, wasn't it said that we only need to accept and complete a mission within one year? Can't I deal with it in the middle or at the end of the year instead?" Zhang Tie's heart tightened at those words, and he hurriedly voiced his question.

"Of course you can, but Junior Brother, I still advise you to start as early as possible.

Those missions that appear relatively easy often require a long time to complete, while difficult missions place extremely high demands on one's strength.

The longer you delay, the narrower your range of choices will become. That is why I came especially today to remind you. I hope Junior Brother will take this matter to heart." After speaking, Zhao Lei looked at Zhang Tie kindly.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhao. I understand." Zhang Tie clasped his hands and bowed in thanks.

However, he discovered that Senior Brother Zhao was still standing steadily at the doorway, looking at him pleasantly without the slightest intention of leaving.

After seeing this, Zhang Tie thought for a moment and immediately understood. He quickly stepped forward, carefully took out two taels of silver from his pocket, and presented them to Senior Brother Zhao with both hands. "Sorry to trouble Senior Brother by making this special trip. This is just a small token of my appreciation. Please use it for tea."

Zhao Lei accepted the silver and lightly weighed it in his hand. His expression clearly revealed a hint of disappointment, though he still forced a smile. "Then I thank Junior Brother. I'll be going now." With that, he turned and left.

As Zhang Tie watched Zhao Lei's retreating figure gradually disappear from sight, an indescribable ache rose in his heart. Two taels of silver!

Judging by that Senior Brother's expression just now, he had clearly thought the amount was too little.

He let out a deep sigh, returned to the bed, and sat down cross-legged.

Looking back on the past three months, Zhang Tie had truly gained a great deal and achieved remarkable results. Not only had the Everlasting Spring Technique successfully broken through to the second layer, but the Elephant Armor Skill had also surged all the way to the third layer.

Now, his muscles, bones, and flesh had become extraordinarily strong, while his strength had grown astonishingly great. At around five feet tall and with such a sturdy build, no one would believe that he was only an eight-year-old boy.

At times, Zhang Tie even felt that his current strength was already enough for him to seek out some Senior Brothers and spar with them to test his true level.

But after calming down and thinking carefully, he realized that the more important and urgent matter was to first visit the External Affairs Hall to learn about and accept Gang missions.

After sorting out these thoughts, Zhang Tie slowly closed his eyes and continued cultivating the second layer of the Everlasting Spring Technique.