Eight Hammer Strikes, Your Iron Cloth Shirt Is So Hard

Screech!

Screech!

Hall Master Liu sharpened his blade.

This blade was mottled with rust. It was called the Tetanus Blade, and its killing power was astonishing.

Over the past decade or so, many people had died beneath this blade.

Spring thunder boomed. Wind came, rain came, and the candle flame flickered wildly.

Hall Master Liu shut the doors and windows, flipped through the books on the table, then swung his blade in practice.

At first, Saber Light whirled in circles, like carriage wheels.

But near the end, he suddenly stopped.

Frowning, he pondered and deduced in his heart before swinging his blade again.

Once...

Ten times...

A hundred times...

Each time, Hall Master Liu swung from a different angle, linking it to the previous moves.

Whenever inspiration struck, he immediately scribbled it down.

After practicing a while longer, he crossed things out again.

Before long, he was drenched in sweat.

After some hesitation, he took a secret medicine from a hidden place and swallowed it.

This secret medicine rapidly restored Spirit and Energy. One pill was worth a tael of silver.

In the past, whenever he tired himself out deducing blade techniques, he would swallow one without a second thought.

But now, he had to hesitate.

Because:

Chief Constable Shi had extorted a great deal of silver from him.

Back then, he had wanted to kill Zhao Wuji and the other masters precisely to plunder their silver.

Unfortunately... he had failed.

"It's all that killer's fault; it's all Chu Qing's fault."

"Without silver, my deductions are slowing down."

"The next time I meet the gang leader, he'll definitely rebuke me."

The more he thought about it, the deeper his resentment grew.

"Give me another three to five years. Once I successfully deduce this blade technique, I'll make them regret it."

Hall Master Liu swallowed another secret medicine.

When his Spirit and Energy recovered to their peak and he was about to continue his deductions, he suddenly heard knocking at the door.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Someone was knocking on the door on a stormy night?

His wife? Impossible. She was in the Buddhist hall of the rear residence.

His concubines?

Also impossible. Whenever they knew he was in this room, they only cuddled up and played among themselves. They never disturbed him.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The knocking sounded again.

Unease rose in Hall Master Liu's heart.

Gripping his beloved Tetanus Blade, he stared fixedly at the doorway.

"Who is it?"

There was no sound outside.

A clap of spring thunder suddenly rang out.

A human silhouette appeared in the window's reflection.

"Kill!"

Hall Master Liu swung his blade, unleashing his half-finished blade technique.

Saber Light flashed, like a carriage wheel crushing down upon the door.

The door exploded apart, and he saw Chu Qing, masked and dressed in sackcloth.

Hall Master Liu was shocked and enraged. Someone wants to kill me?

With a low roar, he exerted force through both arms. The Saber Light grew fiercer, like a cascading strip of silk.

"Even if it were a bull, this strike would split it open."

Chu Qing had originally intended to lure Hall Master Liu outside.

Instead, this fellow had simply chopped open his own door.

You're destroying your own property? Why aren't you following the script?

The Saber Light was savage, like a cascading strip of silk. There was no time to dodge.

I was careless.

I didn't expect him to have a long blade.

Fortunately—I have steel gloves.

He threw a punch.

Mantis Fist!

Fist and blade howled. Like the forelimbs of a mantis, they met head-on.

Blade and fist collided.

Chu Qing retreated two steps.

Hall Master Liu's pupils contracted as he saw the steel gloves on Chu Qing's hands.

"An Outer Court student of the Martial Academy?"

"Damn it!"

If the Martial Academy discovered that he had secretly trained with weapons, the light punishment would be having both hands crippled; the heavy punishment would be execution.

There was absolutely no room for luck.

"Kill!"

Hall Master Liu was shocked and enraged, his killing intent surging. His long blade changed course and swept sideways.

Instead of retreating, Chu Qing advanced. His hands were like shields as he drew on the Iron Sinew reinforcement of his Toad Skill:

Iron Hand!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Saber Light scattered.

Hall Master Liu retreated into the room, and Chu Qing stepped inside.

"Mantis Fist?"

"Iron Hand?"

Chu Qing let out a low roar. His legs moved like great serpents slithering as he charged forward:

Red Snake Leg!

Hall Master Liu dodged and swung his blade.

The Red Snake Leg struck empty air and landed on the ground, smashing three to five blue bricks to pieces.

The long blade sliced across his long leg. The sackcloth tore, and a white mark appeared on his skin.

"Iron Cloth Shirt at Perfection?"

Hall Master Liu's pupils contracted.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't lose it next time.

"So what if it's Iron Cloth Shirt? I'll still cut you down!"

He gripped his blade and charged in again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Inside the room, the two fought in a tangled mass.

Hall Master Liu was seasoned and experienced, and his blade struck Chu Qing's body time and again.

Very soon:

The sackcloth covering his body was slashed into tatters.

Chu Qing was enraged.

Screech!

He tore off the ruined sackcloth, standing naked as he stared at Hall Master Liu and rasped:

"Your blade—is too weak."

Hall Master Liu said nothing. He swung his blade and unleashed his strongest blade move. "Kill!"

Saber Light streamed forth like silk, like a startled swan.

This time, Chu Qing neither dodged nor evaded. As the Saber Light fell, he raised all ten fingers in claws to meet it.

Crack!

His hands caught the long blade.

Hall Master Liu let out a low roar, abandoned the blade, and threw a punch.

"Mantis Fist!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hall Master Liu's fists were like blades. His Mantis Fist had already reached Perfection; it could cleave flesh and sever tendons and bones.

Yet:

Chu Qing's entire body was iron-blue, utterly unmoving.

Crack!

His ten fingers exerted force. The Tetanus Blade was actually pierced through by his fingers, shattering across the floor.

"Your blade is gone!"

"Your Mantis Fist isn't up to par."

"So you're this weak after all."

Hall Master Liu's pupils contracted, and he turned to run.

"He is definitely not an Outer Court student. He must be an Inner Court student."

Crash!

Chu Qing's feet shattered the blue bricks. Like an oversized mantis, he sprang behind him.

Both hands formed claws:

Eagle Claw Skill!

The cry of an eagle rang out.

Under the candlelight, on the wall:

A shadow like a mighty eagle stabbed toward Hall Master Liu's shadow, aiming for the center of his back.

Hall Master Liu suddenly turned around. His hands were like iron hammers as he forcibly struck back.

Eight Hammer Strikes

The steel gloves exploded apart. His fingers throbbed with pain, and even his nails felt as though they were about to burst off.

Hall Master Liu charged in, his hands like iron hammers as he pounded again:

"As long as you haven't cultivated Iron Bone, you're no match for me."

Using the Eight Hammer Strikes technique, he had cultivated four Iron Bones.

He was confident he could beat Chu Qing to death.

The secret Toad Skill activated his Iron Cloth Shirt. More than fifty Iron Sinews wriggled, forcibly resisting the blows.

One punch!

Chu Qing retreated, wanting to evade.

But Hall Master Liu immediately followed with a second punch.

The third punch...

The fifth punch...

The eighth punch...

The Eight Hammer Strikes ended.

Chu Qing retreated from the room to the center of the courtyard.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Hall Master Liu panted heavily.

Even with Iron Bones supporting him, even with more than a hundred Iron Sinews,

Activating such a ferocious Eight Hammer Strikes technique still left him utterly exhausted.

"Not bad force. You nearly beat me to death."

Chu Qing spat blood. He felt as though his breastbone had cracked.

Fortunately, the secret Toad Skill was powerful. It drew on an additional dozen or so Iron Sinews to reinforce his Iron Cloth Shirt.

He... had endured it.

Hall Master Liu was horrified.

These Eight Hammer Strikes were his trump card, his ultimate killing move.

Once unleashed, no one had ever been able to withstand them.

"Even Li Hao, whose Iron Cloth Shirt had reached Great Perfection, could take at most five punches before I blasted him apart."

"How could this guy's Iron Cloth Shirt... be so hard?"

Before he could figure it out, Chu Qing charged.

His feet slithered about like a great serpent.

Mantis Fist!

His fist-blades split Hall Master Liu's arms apart.

Iron Hand!

Both hands struck him backward.

Iron Fist!

The flesh on Hall Master Liu's chest exploded.

Red Snake Leg!

One kick shattered his breastbone. Hall Master Liu screamed miserably and flew backward into the house.

Before he hit the ground, Chu Qing leaped into the air, ten fingers hooked like claws as he descended viciously.

Eagle Cry!

Eagle Claw Skill!

Crack!

One hand pierced his chest and crushed his heart.

One hand pierced his face, leaving behind five great holes.

Both hands exerted force, pinning the corpse down and smashing it heavily onto the ground.

Spring thunder suddenly rang out:

Wind and rain blew into the house. The half-finished saber manual on the table fluttered noisily through its pages before finally falling to the floor.