First Kill, Sensing Blood Qi!

He applied this portion of Azure Origin Secret Medicine to both hands, and they recovered at an astonishing speed.

"What a fast recovery rate. This means I can undergo Iron Sand Skin Grinding twice a day. On top of that, the Azure Origin Secret Medicine doubles its skin-grinding effect on my hands. If I train desperately, my daily cultivation gains will be quadrupled. It originally would have taken five or six months to complete the Iron Sand Skin Grinding training, but cultivating like this can shorten it to just over a month."

Training like that for over a month, using one portion of Azure Origin Secret Medicine every day, would consume dozens of portions in total. Added together, that meant several hundred taels of silver.

What ordinary family could possibly produce several hundred taels of silver? Even many Stone Skin Realm martial artists could not afford it!

Li Changsheng was not afraid that martial artists like Instructor Du Hai would covet his wealth. He was a blacksmith, and ordinary Stone Skin Realm martial artists were generally unwilling to offend one.

Thus, even if he revealed a large amount of silver, the risk was not too great.

So, in the days that followed, he bought one portion of Azure Origin Secret Medicine from the martial hall every day to speed up his cultivation, temporarily setting aside weapon forging.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

Li Changsheng improved at a tremendous pace, and naturally, others noticed that progress.

"This guy is advancing so quickly, and he undergoes Iron Sand Skin Grinding twice every day. He must be cultivating with complete portions of Azure Origin Secret Medicine."

Zhang Jun was deeply astonished by Li Changsheng's financial resources. Using one portion of Azure Origin Secret Medicine every single day—even genuine Stone Skin Realm martial artists did not possess such wealth!

Meanwhile, he secretly sold some Azure Origin Secret Medicine to earn the price difference, and it took him a long time just to scrape together enough money for one portion.

He had long since completed the Iron Sand Skin Grinding training and had sensed his qi and blood. He was now using his qi and blood to temper the skin on his hands, only a single step away from his skin transforming and entering the Stone Skin Realm. Yet he had no idea when he would be able to take that step.

He was an old apprentice nearing the one-year deadline. If he still failed to break through next month, he would completely lose his eligibility to become a disciple of Azure Steel Martial Hall.

"If I had enough Azure Origin Secret Medicine, I would have a chance to break through and become a Stone Skin Realm martial artist!!!"

A thread of killing intent arose in Zhang Jun's heart—he would ambush and kill Li Changsheng. Li Changsheng was wealthy and had ample funds. If he killed Li Changsheng and seized all his wealth, he could buy enough Azure Origin Secret Medicine.

Besides, Li Changsheng was merely an apprentice. Even if he died, Azure Steel Martial Hall would not investigate.

As for Li Changsheng's background, he needed to look into it.

The next day.

Zhang Jun finished his investigation. Li Changsheng had no particular background, but he was a blacksmith at a blacksmith shop. His forging skills were excellent, and he could craft rather good graded weapons.

"No wonder Li Changsheng can afford so much Azure Origin Secret Medicine. He's actually a blacksmith with such strong earning power!"

Even after learning Li Changsheng's identity, Zhang Jun still wanted to kill him.

Blacksmiths indeed held a high status, no less than Stone Skin Realm martial artists. But Li's Blacksmith Shop was not powerful, and as long as he acted discreetly, who would know that he had killed Li Changsheng?

To break through and become a Stone Skin Realm martial artist, he had to take the risk!

As for whether he could kill Li Changsheng, he was not worried in the least. He was, after all, a quasi-martial artist who had sensed qi and blood. He could slightly mobilize the power of his qi and blood, unleashing tremendous strength. Killing an ordinary person who had only begun Iron Sand Skin Grinding would be as easy as turning over his hand, would it not?

Night fell.

On his way back, Li Changsheng had just reached the entrance to an alley when his heart jolted. At that moment, a blade chopped toward him.

He sensed the danger in advance and dodged in time, but his arm was still slashed by the blade.

"Run!"

He had no weapon in hand and had not broken through to become a Stone Skin Realm martial artist. His body could not yet contend with weapons. Even if the weapon in the other party's hand was not graded, merely an ordinary blade, it was still not something an ordinary person's flesh could withstand.

"That's a stick!"

He dashed over at full speed. The instant he picked up that wooden stick, he spun around and unleashed the Vajra Hammer Technique.

In his hands, the wooden stick was no longer an ordinary stick—it was his hammer. He used the stick to perform the Vajra Hammer Technique. The master-level Vajra Hammer Technique erupted forth, turning the stick into nine afterimages as it struck at that person.

The master-level Vajra Hammer Technique increased the might of Li Changsheng's blow enormously, far beyond what an ordinary person could compare to.

Sure enough.

That person could not block Li Changsheng's Vajra Hammer Technique at all and was struck by the stick. Yet Li Changsheng did not stop. Treating the man like a piece of Refined Iron, he hammered him again and again, dense shadows of the stick raining down over his body.

By the time Li Changsheng stopped, the man had already been beaten to death.

It was his first time killing someone, and his stomach immediately felt unsettled.

He took a moment to steady himself before walking forward. Suppressing his discomfort, he removed the man's mask. Half of the face was a bloody mess of mangled flesh, but he still recognized him from the other half.

"Zhang Jun—it was him!"

Li Changsheng had not expected Zhang Jun to be the one who attacked him. He quickly understood why Zhang Jun had targeted him. It had to be because he had flaunted his wealth and caught Zhang Jun's eye.

If he had not mastered the master-level Vajra Hammer Technique, he would undoubtedly have died this time!

Although the Vajra Hammer Technique was a hammer technique for forging weapons rather than a true martial art, it could still be used as one. It naturally would not work against Stone Skin Realm martial artists, but against ordinary people, it was exceptionally useful.

After killing Zhang Jun, Li Changsheng immediately left. When someone as ordinary as Zhang Jun died, no one would care.

Azure Steel Martial Hall would not investigate either. After all, this fellow was no genius and had little chance of becoming a formal disciple. Who would care about him?

Sure enough.

The next day, Li Changsheng went to Li's Blacksmith Shop as usual before heading to Azure Steel Martial Hall. The news of Zhang Jun's death was discussed by only a few people, and even the constables did not investigate it seriously.

Soon, more days passed, and Li Changsheng's Iron Sand Skin Grinding training was finally nearing completion.

On this day.

His hands rubbed back and forth through the scalding iron sand, yet it still could not harm his right hand. At most, it turned both his hands crimson. This counted as completing the cultivation of Iron Sand Skin Grinding.

Next came the cultivation of the Azure Steel Hand martial art. Once he sensed his qi and blood, he could use it to temper the skin of his hands, bringing about a transformation and breaking through to become a Stone Skin Realm martial artist.

"Li Changsheng, congratulations on completing Iron Sand Skin Grinding. Next, you need to sense your qi and blood. This stage is still very difficult—some people cannot sense qi and blood even in their entire lives. If you want to sense it sooner, it would be best to use secret medicine," Du Hai advised.

"Thank you for your guidance, Instructor Du!"

Li Changsheng also knew that his aptitude was not particularly good. Among ordinary people, it was merely average, nowhere near that of a genius. Only by relying on more resources could he forcibly pile his way up to the level of a Stone Skin Realm martial artist.

After that, he continued purchasing Azure Origin Secret Medicine from the Martial Arts Hall, applying it to his hands before cultivating Azure Steel Hand in an attempt to sense his qi and blood.

It took a full half month before he finally truly sensed his qi and blood!