Golden Thunder Stirs Up Trouble

A month later, inside the dormitory of Wanping Martial Academy.

Jiang Qinghe sat cross-legged on his bed, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and placed the final fifth of a Bear Tendon Pill into his mouth.

The pill entered his stomach and immediately turned into a warm current that surged toward his limbs.

Jiang Qinghe circulated the Iron Shirt Skill's cultivation method, feeling the rushing medicinal power.

A faint copper sheen appeared across his skin, while his muscle fibers seemed to be tugged by an invisible force, producing barely audible crackling sounds.

As the last trace of medicinal power was absorbed, Jiang Qinghe slowly opened his eyes.

A sharp glint flashed through his eyes and vanished. Looking at the panel before him, the corners of his mouth could not help but curve into a smile.

[Realm: Body Tempering (Great Accomplishment)]

[Techniques: Iron Shirt Skill (Great Accomplishment—15/30), Wood Splitting Skill (Perfected)]

[Martial Skills: Rock Crushing Palm (Minor Accomplishment—3/10), Levitation Technique (Beginner—0/20)]

[Potential Points: 33 (0–1 point obtainable daily)]

"The effects of this Bear Tendon Pill truly are extraordinary."

In just one month, he had swallowed two Bear Tendon Pills.

Not only was his blood and qi brimming as though boiling, but even the Iron Shirt Skill, which had originally progressed slowly, had been forcibly raised by six points.

If he had relied purely on his own painstaking effort, the hardship required to gain those six points would likely have consumed several months of summer and winter.

"First, I'll push the Iron Shirt Skill to its limit and see just what mysteries lie within that perfected realm where skin and flesh merge, hardness and softness balanced as one!"

Jiang Qinghe took a deep breath. With a thought, his Potential Points were instantly consumed.

In that instant, an indescribable, strange sensation swept through his entire body!

[Iron Shirt Skill (Perfected)]

"Hiss—"

At that moment, Jiang Qinghe felt the boundary between his skin and flesh rapidly dissolving.

His skin, once as tough as copper skin, now seeped inward like a living thing, tightly interweaving with his muscle fibers.

Every strand of sinew and muscle was wrapped and fused with the dermal membrane, gaining its resilience.

The two were no longer distinct—skin was flesh, and flesh was skin!

Blunt-force blows would naturally be dispersed by his skin and flesh.

Even ordinary blades and swords would struggle to harm him in the slightest.

He lowered his head and stared at his arm. A faint metallic gleam appeared over his skin. It looked as hard as iron, yet felt warm and smooth as jade beneath his touch.

Even more marvelous, he could clearly sense that his skin could shift between hardness and softness according to his will!

"So this is the perfected realm of skin and flesh merging."

Jiang Qinghe muttered to himself as he slowly clenched his fists.

His muscle fibers twisted together like steel wire. As blood and qi surged through him, an unprecedented sense of power filled every limb and bone.

He felt as though he had become a furnace of blood and qi; with every gesture, force surged like the tides!

With the dual reinforcement of two techniques, his physical strength had risen sharply.

A massive force of nineteen hundred jin—roughly twice that of an ordinary martial practitioner at the peak of Body Tempering!

What delighted him even more was the transformation in his defense. Jiang Qinghe picked up the carving knife on the table and lightly drew it across his arm.

His skin sank slightly, but not the slightest wound appeared. Even when he applied more force, it only left a faint white mark.

"An ordinary person wielding a blade or sword probably wouldn't be able to break through my defense."

Jiang Qinghe nodded in satisfaction, then looked at the remaining eighteen Potential Points on the panel and could not help but smile bitterly.

"My strength and defense have temporarily reached their current limits. I'd wanted to raise the Levitation Technique in one go, but it seems I'll need to accumulate Potential Points for another two days."

After tidying up, Jiang Qinghe pushed open the door and stepped outside.

Autumn sunlight spilled across his face, carrying a trace of warmth.

Stretching his limbs, he headed toward the training grounds, intending to test his newly gained strength.

Before he even reached the training grounds, a burst of noisy clamor entered his ears.

The sounds faintly carried arguments and cold laughter, completely different from the usual battle cries of martial training.

Jiang Qinghe frowned slightly and quickened his pace. After circling several verdant ancient pines, the full view of the training grounds came before his eyes.

Two groups stood in the center of the grounds, clearly divided like the waters of the Jing and Wei rivers.

One side consisted of the familiar Martial Disciples of Wanping Martial Academy, numbering around twenty.

The other wore training uniforms embroidered with golden lightning patterns. There were about ten of them, clearly people from Golden Thunder Martial Academy.

The two sides faced off, and the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

Jiang Qinghe swept his gaze over the scene and saw Fifth Senior Brother Zhao Guangyi standing at the very front with his arms crossed. His expression was rather unpleasant, with anger implied beneath it.

Opposite him stood a young man with a face full of flesh. Though his eyes were small, they gleamed sharply, and his aura was somewhat intimidating.

"Brother Guangyi, this is also Old Man Zheng from the pharmacy hall's intention."

The young man's voice boomed like a great bell, making everyone's eardrums tremble.

"Since the Blood Activating Powder is for the disciples, then the disciples should compete to settle who comes out on top. Have your arena ready by noon tomorrow, hahaha!"

His rough laughter echoed through the training grounds, filled with the arrogant air of certain victory.

Several Golden Thunder Martial Academy disciples behind him also wore mocking smiles.

"Or else,"

The young man looked around, his gaze sweeping across the faces of everyone from Wanping Martial Academy.

"You can simply hand over the share. That'll save you from losing face when the time comes."

As soon as those words fell, the Martial Disciples of Wanping Martial Academy glared at them furiously.

Several hot-blooded youths impulsively moved to step forward and argue.

Zhao Guangyi raised a hand, signaling everyone to stay calm. He turned toward the young man, his voice gaining a few degrees of chill.

"He Chong, if Golden Thunder Martial Academy wants to compete, we'll accompany you to the end."

He Chong grinned.

"Good! Noon tomorrow. Don't be late."

With that, he swept out a hand and led the people from Golden Thunder Martial Academy away.

Once the people from Golden Thunder Martial Academy had gone far, discussion immediately erupted across the training grounds.

Some were indignant, but even more wore worried expressions.

Jiang Qinghe quickly walked over to Gong Jie and asked in a low voice, "A-Jie, what happened? Why did the people from Golden Thunder Martial Academy suddenly come here to provoke us?"

The anger on Gong Jie's face had yet to fade as he said resentfully, "Isn't it all over the Blood Activating Powder share?"

After he explained in detail, Jiang Qinghe finally understood the whole story.

As the largest pharmacy in the city, the pharmacy hall had long cooperated with both martial academies.

Every month, it provided a certain quantity of Blood Activating Powder free of charge for the Martial Disciples' cultivation.

In previous years, the two martial academies had split it fifty-fifty and lived in peace.

However, the pharmacy hall's medicinal herb supply had recently run into problems, causing Blood Activating Powder production to plummet.

Wanping Martial Academy had suffered a serious loss of disciples in recent years, and its strength was far inferior to what it had once been.

Golden Thunder Martial Academy thus wished to seize this opportunity to cause trouble and monopolize most of the share.

They had clearly seen that Wanping Martial Academy was weak now and wanted to use a martial contest to openly and justifiably seize the share.

If they agreed to compete, Wanping Martial Academy's current Martial Disciples had little chance of winning.

But if they refused, they would only appear cowardly, and afterward they would find it even harder to hold their heads high before Golden Thunder Martial Academy.

At this moment, Zhao Guangyi walked over to the two of them, worry between his brows.

"The one leading them just now was He Chong of Golden Thunder Martial Academy, the third disciple of their academy head, Jin Sanqiu. They want to determine the Blood Activating Powder share through a contest between Martial Disciples. Best two out of three—the winners get seventy percent, while the losers receive only thirty percent."

"The two of you, along with Wang Er, will compete tomorrow."

Zhao Guangyi's gaze passed over their faces. "Don't overthink it. Just do your best."

After saying that, he patted both of them on the shoulders and turned to leave.

"A-Jie, how strong are those Martial Disciples from Golden Thunder Martial Academy?"

Jiang Qinghe asked in a low voice.

Gong Jie shook his head and sighed.

"I heard they've produced a genius disciple named Qin Wu. Despite his young age, he recently entered the perfected realm and has been riding high. Besides him, they also have two skilled fighters who've been entrenched at the Great Accomplishment stage for a long time."

"Qin Wu? The arrogant youth we encountered at the pharmacy hall that day had the same name. It should be the same person, right?"

As Jiang Qinghe stood there in a daze, Gong Jie's voice sounded by his ear again.

"Qinghe, let's go! We need to make the most of our time and train some more. Sharpening the spear at the last minute may not make it fast, but it will still make it shine."

The situation truly was thorny.

Within the martial academy, aside from Gong Jie and himself, there was no one else who could be put forward.

Though Wang Er was nimble and quick to react,

he was ultimately still at the Minor Accomplishment stage, and the gap in raw strength was too great.

Facing those skilled fighters from Golden Thunder Martial Academy who had long immersed themselves in the Great Accomplishment realm would be no different from throwing an egg against a stone.

Given the current situation, they could probably only hope for a little luck in the draw.

Gong Jie would draw the weakest among their three opponents, go all out, and win by chance.

Combined with the match Jiang Qinghe could win himself, only then could they defeat Golden Thunder Martial Academy and obtain seventy percent of the Blood Activating Powder share.

Although he was about to break through into the Muscle Tendon Strengthening realm, and the Blood Activating Powder's effects on him personally would gradually weaken,

after spending more than a month here, he had gradually developed a sense of belonging toward the martial academy. Naturally, he did not wish to lose to Golden Thunder Martial Academy.

Long-term use of Blood Activating Powder was greatly beneficial to the academy's Martial Disciples.

If this resource were reduced, their cultivation progress would inevitably be severely affected.