Ten Years of Skill, Golden Bell Shield

Golden Bell Shield with Ten Years of Skill

"You... you killed Master Hu Jiu? How is that possible?"

Wang Gui and Qiu Ping trembled all over, their faces frozen in utter horror.

Master Hu Jiu had been killed. To them, it felt as though the sky over Cloud City was about to collapse.

Wei Fan raised the tiger's head in his hand. "Just an old tiger. Was it that hard to kill?"

Qiu Ping's scalp went numb as he shouted, "Wei Fan, you've caused a huge disaster! Master Hu Jiu is the Tiger King's ninth son. Since you killed Master Hu Jiu, the Tiger King will surely launch a bloody reprisal!"

As Li Shen's trusted men, Qiu Ping and Wang Gui knew more than most.

The tiger in the courtyard was merely the Tiger King's youngest son. It had only been born a few years ago and was not particularly capable. The truly terrifying one was the Tiger King.

"Caused trouble? A huge disaster? So I was supposed to let it eat me obediently?"

Wei Fan's gaze sharpened, killing intent surging forth. "Tiger this, Tiger that—you two are so close to this tiger demon. You must have sent quite a few people for it to eat. Now that it's gone, I'll send you down to keep it company!"

Wang Gui and Qiu Ping's expressions changed drastically.

Only then did they realize that they themselves were in danger. Since Wei Fan could kill Master Hu Jiu, he could naturally kill them as well.

The man was not stupid, nor had he failed to realize they had led him here to die. His skill was simply high and his courage great; he had no need to run. Instead, he had slaughtered the tiger demon.

Wang Gui: Colluded with a tiger demon and fed people to it. His heart has turned black!

Kill him to gain two years of skill!

Qiu Ping: Colluded with a tiger demon and fed people to it. His heart has turned black!

Kill him to gain three years of skill!

Information on the two men began to appear on the panel as well.

They really had sent many people here. Some of the human bones in the courtyard must have been their doing.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

"Don't be afraid! He's only trained in martial arts for three months. Who knows what despicable trick he used to harm Master Hu Jiu? If we don't kill him, we won't survive when we return either!"

Qiu Ping and Wang Gui struck first.

Wei Fan had killed the tiger demon they feared, yet they did not fear Wei Fan.

Because if they failed to kill Wei Fan, they would face something even more terrifying than death.

In an instant, both drew their sabers. Their long blades glimmered with faint red light as they attacked Wei Fan from the left and right.

"Two fools. You've trained for years, yet your Blood Fiend Saber Technique is only at minor mastery, and neither of you has even entered the gate of the Golden Bell Shield!"

Wei Fan was not surprised that they had attacked first. These spineless wretches did not dare fight demons, but they were quite skilled at fighting people.

Boom!

Wei Fan's true qi exploded, and a thin golden membrane instantly appeared over his body. His swelling muscles made his frame visibly broader.

Though the Golden Bell Shield was not purely a body-tempering external art, its refinement of the body was still beyond comparison with ordinary martial arts.

Wei Fan's Golden Bell Shield was now at the Sixth Level. In terms of physical strength alone, one of his arms could exert more than a thousand jin. Against these two, whose Golden Bell Shield was at most at the First Level, he did not even need to draw his saber.

These two were perfect for testing just how strong the defense of the Sixth Level Golden Bell Shield had become.

Bang! Bang!

The two sabers struck his body. The thin membrane trembled, and Qiu Ping and Wang Gui's blades were instantly sent flying. Their sabers could not even damage a single hair on Wei Fan's body.

"His body is a sheet of yellow bronze—this is the Sixth Level Golden Bell Shield!"

Qiu Ping and Wang Gui screamed. The hands holding their sabers had already split open from the rebounding force, blood pouring from the webs between their thumbs and forefingers.

"You each slashed me once, so I'll return one kick to each of you. No one owes anyone anything."

Seeing that they had failed even to break his protective true qi, Wei Fan was greatly disappointed. As he kicked out, the air itself erupted with a thunderous blast.

"Wei Fan, spare us!"

"It was Captain Li who colluded with the Fierce Tiger Gang and ordered us to harm you!"

Qiu Ping and Wang Gui cried out for mercy. The Sixth Level Golden Bell Shield had terrified them. A martial artist with a Sixth Level Golden Bell Shield could kill them with a kick—even a single poke of a finger would be enough.

Crack!

Wei Fan's expression remained cold. His first kick killed Qiu Ping outright, nearly bursting his entire body apart as countless shattered bones pierced through flesh and protruded outside.

He caught up to Wang Gui, who had only fled two steps, and kicked out. Wang Gui flew away like a leather ball, and after hitting the ground, he never moved again.

Killed Wang Gui, gained 2 years of skill

Killed Qiu Ping, gained 3 years of skill

Current skill: 10 years

The number ten made Wei Fan's eyes light up.

"Constables Qiu Ping and Wang Gui were suddenly attacked by demons while on duty and tragically died in the line of duty. Constable Wei Fan risked his life to strike, slaying one tiger demon!"

After tossing the two corpses into the courtyard, Wei Fan turned and headed back toward the city. When he reached the village entrance, he suddenly heard a flurry of footsteps behind him.

Wei Fan turned around to see a group of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people kneeling behind him, shouting, "Hero, your virtue and merit are boundless!"

"These beasts!"

In his line of sight, Wei Fan did not see a single able-bodied young man or child. Most were people already in the twilight of their years.

"Leave quickly. The tiger demon will come soon!"

All he could do was give them that one warning. After saying it, Wei Fan turned and left.

After walking for a while, he found a concealed patch of forest and plunged inside.

"Use four years of skill on the Golden Bell Shield for me!"

Previously, four years of skill had raised the Golden Bell Shield to the Sixth Level. With only the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Levels remaining, four more years should have been enough to raise it to the highest Ninth Level!

Yet the result was nothing like what Wei Fan had imagined.

Deducted 4 years of skill!

With 5 years of skill, your Golden Bell Shield did not break through. It still lacked some tempering!

With 6 years of skill, your Golden Bell Shield achieved minor success and broke through to the Seventh Level!

With 7 years of skill, your Golden Bell Shield broke through to the Eighth Level!

With 8 years of skill, your Golden Bell Shield remained stuck in place!

Golden Bell Shield (Eighth Level)

Current skill: 6 years

His true qi grew wildly, and his body became hard as iron, yet Wei Fan frowned slightly. The final three levels of the Golden Bell Shield required even more skill than the first six combined.

He added another year of skill!

Deducted 1 year of skill!

With 9 years of skill, the bottleneck of the Ninth Level Golden Bell Shield has loosened slightly!

It was still not enough. Wei Fan added another year!

Deducted 1 year of skill!

With 10 years of skill, your Golden Bell Shield broke through to the Ninth Level. Bronze Skin and Iron Bones, Golden Bell protecting the body!

Golden Bell Shield (Ninth Level)

Current skill: 4 years

The moment he broke through to the Ninth Level, Wei Fan underwent his most intense transformation yet. It was even more violent than the changes from the previous eight levels combined.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

As his flesh, blood, and bones condensed, a series of explosive sounds came from within his body. Looking inward, he saw a cold metallic gleam beginning to appear on his bones.

He had already been tall and broad, but amid this most intense transformation, his body thickened by another full circle.

His bulging muscles and fine golden skin made him appear as though he were clad in a layer of golden armor.

The Ninth Level of the Golden Bell Shield—Bronze Skin and Iron Bones—had been achieved!

At the same time, surging, perfected true qi seeped from every pore of his body, forming an inverted Golden Bell outside him that spun in the void.

"This is the Golden Bell Shield martial art? Why does it feel a little like high martial fantasy?"

Wei Fan charged forward beneath the Golden Bell, instantly smashing apart a small tree over ten centimeters thick, while his arm could pass through the Golden Bell without obstruction.

"It truly is a body-protecting martial art. The rebounding force alone could have shaken the previous me to death!"

With a thought, he drew the true qi forming the Golden Bell back into his body, and Wei Fan immediately returned to normal.

"Four years of skill left!"

The Golden Bell Shield could still be enhanced, but Wei Fan did not try to continue adding skill to it. Now that it had reached the highest Ninth Level, adding more skill would mean creating a martial art of his own. That was definitely not something a few years of skill could accomplish.

His proficient Blood Fiend Saber Technique was also insufficient to unleash the might of all his true qi. He planned to add his remaining skill to the Blood Fiend Saber Technique.