Iron Fist at Perfection, Iron Hand at Perfection

After completing the first condition for Iron Hand and Iron Fist, Chu Qing immediately swallowed two kinds of secret medicine.

Then:

The two martial arts advanced to Great Completion.

The Promotion Conditions showed:

To reach Perfection, he only needed ten portions of secret medicine.

When those martial arts school masters had given him the techniques, they had included over twenty portions of secret medicine with each.

That was enough to support advancement to Great Perfection.

Continue taking the medicine!

He first swallowed the Iron Hand secret medicine.

Martial Art: Iron Hand Perfection—temper it a thousand times daily, take secret medicine for ten days, break the limit after a thousand days.

Promotion Condition: 1: Temper Iron Hand in blazing fire for ten days. 2: One portion of Limit-Breaking Secret Medicine.

The method of advancement had changed.

He could advance without Stone Bamboo Bright Pearls.

That was good news.

But Limit-Breaking Secret Medicine was something Chu Qing had heard of for the first time.

"I hope this thing isn't too precious."

At that moment, the secret medicine took effect.

He began training.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

His ten fingers came together as his hands flew about, like door panels, like hand blades.

Iron Sinew +20

Iron Sinew +20

"Damn it, I forgot to use Toad Skill to boost it."

He wanted to use the Toad Skill secret transmission.

Then he thought of that old man.

"Forget it. I have plenty of secret medicine anyway. Losing 5% progress doesn't matter—I can fully make it up with medicine."

Ten minutes...

One hour...

Two hours...

All the Iron Sinews had been opened up.

In the end, sixteen Iron Sinews had not overlapped.

At this point, he had a total of 139 Iron Sinews.

After resting briefly, he felt the changes in his hands.

The skin on his hands peeled away, like a great snake shedding its skin.

The newly born skin was fair and delicate, like a baby's skin.

Yet its toughness and sturdiness had risen by a great deal.

Chu Qing picked up a stone ball.

He rubbed it between his hands.

Crack!

Crack!

The stone ball shattered. With the strength of his hands alone, he easily destroyed it.

Vaguely, he had a feeling:

He could grip iron into mud.

And the reason he could do this was entirely because too many Iron Sinews in his hands had been activated.

"Eagle Claw Skill + Iron Hand + Mantis Fist."

The Iron Sinews activated by those three martial arts were simply too numerous.

If he had trained Iron Hand alone, let alone gripping iron into mud, he probably would not even have been able to crush a stone ball.

"Next is Iron Fist."

He swallowed the secret medicine.

Martial Art: Iron Fist Perfection—temper it a thousand times daily, take secret medicine daily, break the limit after a thousand days.

Promotion Condition: 1: Use Iron Fist to hammer iron one hundred thousand times. 2: One portion of Limit-Breaking Secret Medicine.

The secret medicine took effect.

Time to train!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

His fists swung like iron hammers.

The wind from his fists howled and whimpered without end.

One hour...

Two hours...

With the secret medicine supporting him, Chu Qing trained all the Iron Fist Iron Sinews in one breath.

Of them, only ten did not overlap.

Even so, he was still delighted.

Because:

His total number of Iron Sinews had reached a terrifying 149.

In just half a month, he had gone from an ordinary person to a martial artist with 149 Iron Sinews.

That progress was truly, incredibly fast.

"Unless someone swallows several Stone Bamboo Bright Pearls a day, no one can compare to me."

The 149 Iron Sinews filled him with confidence.

His several perfected martial arts, along with the secret Toad Skill, gave him even more confidence.

"If I met Hall Master Liu now, even if he used Eight Hammer Strikes, I might be able to trade blows with him head-on!"

Unfortunately... Hall Master Liu's bones were nowhere to be found. There was not even anyone to test his skills on.

"Tang Wuming said the limit for Iron Sinews is 365, corresponding to the number of the Heavenly Cycle."

"I'm nearly halfway there."

"If I work harder, I can reach the limit."

"It's just that... the Iron Sinews in my upper body have almost all been developed. I still lack leg techniques and martial arts for my chest and abdomen."

It was just... he had no more techniques now.

"Toad Skill has only trained a dozen or so Iron Sinews..."

"Without secret medicine, Toad Skill progresses too slowly."

"And... I need to keep a low profile these next two days. I can't train."

Reviewing his martial arts, Chu Qing discovered:

The only things he could train were Iron Cloth Shirt, which could still improve his defense, and Dual Mantis Sword.

His other martial arts had already reached Perfection, or needed secret medicine to advance, so there was no need to polish and train them further.

"By my calculations, my greatsword will be finished the day after tomorrow."

"Tomorrow night, I'll go to Maple Leaf County and return the day after tomorrow."

"Then I'll rapidly improve Dual Mantis Sword. I just don't know whether this sword technique can train Iron Sinews."

Some said weapon martial arts were merely arts of slaughter and could not train Iron Sinews.

Others said they could train Iron Sinews.

But those who practiced weapon martial arts all kept silent, never answering directly.

"If I get the chance to meet Tang Wuming later, I must ask him."

Early the next morning:

Chu Qing washed up and went to find Fatty Jin.

Fatty Jin had long prepared the manpower. Once Chu Qing arrived, he immediately made the arrangements and said:

"Our spot is at the east gate."

Chu Qing did not waste words and directly led the men over.

Only when they reached the east gate did he discover:

Soldiers stood atop the city walls.

Outside the gate, many high platforms had been erected.

The fortified villages and wealthy households each had their own platform for recruiting people.

Outside the platforms were densely packed disaster victims.

Many disaster victims had unnatural flushes on their faces.

One look was enough to tell they had fevers.

After all, the wind and rain had not stopped these past few days. For anyone even slightly frail, catching a fever or cold was perfectly normal.

Medicine shops were also brewing medicine, all decoctions to dispel wind and cold. Drinking a bowl would not immediately cure them, but it could suppress their pain and illness.

Chu Qing led his people to the platform belonging to the Blood River Gang.

A hoodlum asked, "Master Qing, do we start now?"

This hoodlum was precisely the Minor Leader who had tipped him off back then.

The Minor Leader had originally wanted to draw a clear line between himself and Chu Qing.

But:

Before he could do anything, Hall Master Liu died.

Then... he continued following Chu Qing around and calling him Master Qing.

Now that Chu Qing had taken on this assignment, the "Master Qing" from his mouth came even more frequently.

Chu Qing said calmly, "Start recruiting!"

The Minor Leader struck a gong and shouted:

"The Blood River Gang is recruiting!"

"Those with families get priority!"

People with families had more concerns. Once they entered the gang, fewer would run away.

The Minor Leader called out.

But very few were willing to come register.

Everyone went first to try their luck at the fortified villages and wealthy households.

Only when they truly could not get in would they come to the Blood River Gang.

Looking at the gaunt people with fevers and coughs, Chu Qing had a headache.

The gang's requirements were:

Men had to be able to carry one hundred jin of weight.

Women and children could not be seriously ill.

But:

Among this group of people, those who met the requirements were few and far between.

"In a few days, once the disaster victims have eaten all their dry rations, there will be even fewer who qualify."

"This assignment... is ordinary at best!"

Looking at the densely packed disaster victims, he thought of his past life.

In his past life, whenever disaster struck, the whole nation rushed to provide aid.

But in this world... alas!

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and trained Iron Cloth Shirt.

After circulating the martial art once, his defense increased slightly.

The amount was small, but grains of sand could pile into a tower. He could keep growing stronger.

Near noon:

More and more disaster victims arrived.

The gang also recruited some suitable people.

After cultivating on his own all morning, Chu Qing was mentally exhausted. He paced back and forth atop the platform, scanning his surroundings to relax his mind.

Just then:

He suddenly saw, on the neighboring platform of He Fortified Village, a woman with a birthmark on her face having her mouth pried open by an older woman, who inspected her teeth.

In an instant, Chu Qing's spirits surged.

The birthmarked woman?

Stone Bamboo Bright Pearl?

"Finally, I found you."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heartbeat quickened.

This Daughter of Stonemason Xu represented a Stone Bamboo Bright Pearl!

"I hope the He Family doesn't want her."

"Then I can get her openly and aboveboard."