Doing Some Thieving

Zeng Fan stared in shock at the warehouse packed with Ironwood, then lowered his head to look at the few pieces in his hands. Even the Ironwood he held was of poorer quality than the wood in front of him. Yao Ling'er's teasing voice came from the side.

"Oh my, you should have told me you wanted Ironwood. We usually need Ironwood to burn as firewood for alchemy. If you'd said something, I could have brought you here. Why go all the way to the Disciple Hall to exchange for it? (?ω?)"

Zeng Fan felt a tightness in his chest. Looking at the few pieces of Ironwood in his hands, he felt uncomfortable all over. I emptied my Spirit Stones to exchange for firewood from their Alchemy Hall?! No wonder Yao Ling'er was laughing like that.

After taking several deep breaths, Zeng Fan did his best to steady his emotions. At least he no longer had to worry about not having enough Ironwood. With sufficient resources, his cultivation speed would definitely soar! The gloom in Zeng Fan's heart was slowly replaced by excitement.

Seeing Zeng Fan's eyes light up, Yao Ling'er quickly reminded him, "You only need to absorb the energy inside the Ironwood. Just take a little from each piece so no one notices. I don't know how much you need, but if you get caught later, it'll be troublesome."

"Of course. Even thieves have principles. You're helping me sneak through the back door, so don't worry about the rest. I'll handle it!" Zeng Fan was already somewhat impatient. He hurriedly nodded at Yao Ling'er.

"Then get started. I'll keep watch for you. I'll warn you if anything happens." Yao Ling'er poked her little head out and looked left and right before gesturing for Zeng Fan to begin.

Zeng Fan nodded and sat cross-legged around the Ironwood, silently reciting the incantation for Ironwood Body. Gradually, his mind grew tranquil, and a faint suction force began to radiate from his body. This suction force seemed to work only on Ironwood.

As the suction force continued to strengthen, streams of black energy began to seep from the Ironwood in the warehouse. The moment the energy floated into the air, it uncontrollably rushed toward Zeng Fan. When his skin came into contact with the black energy, Zeng Fan's brows furrowed tightly.

At the places where his skin touched the black energy, the circulation of the Ironwood Body incantation caused an unknown change. His skin gradually grew harder and slowly took on the same black-gray color as Ironwood. But with it came an intense itch, like the sensation of skin healing, only countless times stronger. The itching grew more and more severe, and sweat began to bead on Zeng Fan's forehead. He knew he absolutely could not stop now. Otherwise, the changes in his skin would halt, and his cultivation of Ironwood Body would end in failure. He could not allow that. He refused to give up even the slightest opportunity to increase his strength.

Inside the warehouse, Zeng Fan's entire body trembled faintly, his face flushed red as sweat poured from him and dripped to the floor, kicking up clouds of dust. He felt as though countless tiny bugs were crawling all over his body. Only stopping to scratch himself viciously could bring him relief.

But he knew he could not stop. He had to wait until Ironwood Body had absorbed enough before he could pause. Enduring the itch, he began to cultivate with all his might, focusing his attention on the circulation of the Spiritual Energy within him. Because of the irritation to his skin, the circulation was often interrupted at first. As time passed, however, Zeng Fan's mind gradually focused on cultivation. The changes in his skin continued, and the itching persisted, but its effect on him grew smaller and smaller. His entire being seemed to have sunk into cultivation.

Zeng Fan's focus and yearning for cultivation were extraordinarily intense. These were things every powerhouse had to possess—or rather, necessities on the path to becoming one. The earlier a person possessed them, the farther they could walk on the road of cultivation.

At some unknown moment, the itching began to slowly diminish. Zeng Fan's entire body was covered in a faint black hue. It was extremely weak, but it already radiated a sense of toughness.

Zeng Fan opened his eyes. Was it over? He could feel that the faint black radiance covering his body had made his defenses considerably stronger than before. As long as he continued absorbing the aura inside the Ironwood, his defenses would grow even stronger.

With a thought, the radiance slowly vanished, and his skin returned to its normal color. "That should be enough. I need to leave quickly."

Zeng Fan rose and walked toward the warehouse entrance. Yao Ling'er was flipping through an alchemy book by the door. When she saw him approaching, she hurriedly closed the book and glanced around. Seeing that no one was nearby, she quickly motioned for Zeng Fan to leave the warehouse.

Zeng Fan walked over to Yao Ling'er. The girl slightly furrowed her brows. "Why do you smell so strongly of sweat? What were you doing just now?"

"Do I?" Zeng Fan lowered his head and sniffed himself. There really was a smell. He could not help but sigh at how difficult it was to cultivate a killing move.

Yao Ling'er did not question him further. She knew it was probably related to his cultivation, so she silently changed the subject.

"Come find me again when you cultivate next time. I'll keep watch for you."

"Okay, thank you. Otherwise, this Ironwood would have cost me half my life." Zeng Fan felt somewhat fortunate. If he had not met Yao Ling'er, cultivating Ironwood Body would have been impossible.

The girl found his words quite pleasing. The corners of her lips curved upward, revealing pearly teeth, while the loose strands of her hair twirled endlessly around her fingers, expressing the delight in her heart.

After walking out of the Alchemy Hall, Zeng Fan looked back. The girl stood where she was and waved at him. Her graceful figure then disappeared inside the doors.

"Let's go to the waterfall." Ironwood Body could be considered to have entered the initial stage. Zeng Fan was eager to find out just how powerful the explosive force would be when Fish Dragon Dance was combined with it, so he needed to find somewhere to test it.

When he reached the waterfall, the familiar roar filled the air. The white torrent still plunged down from the sky with a furious howl. The waterfall had not changed at all during his absence, but Zeng Fan discovered a familiar figure there. It was Yuan Jin.

Yuan Jin was currently darting across the stone platform beneath the waterfall. As his body moved, he was also performing a set of boxing techniques—the Five Kill Fist passed down through his family. Every time Yuan Jin swung his fists, the force he unleashed caused the rushing water to pause slightly before exploding violently. It was the hidden force contained within the boxing technique.

Zeng Fan had not expected Yuan Jin to fuse his cultivation method with his family's boxing technique. When he had been cultivating before, he had even lamented that Yuan Jin was unsuitable for it. Yet after only a few days, Yuan Jin had actually figured it out. It seemed the fellow had been secretly pondering it himself.

After finishing the set of boxing techniques, Yuan Jin plunged into the pool, washing the sweat from his body while using the chill of the water to stimulate his mind.

When he climbed ashore, Yuan Jin froze. He had seen Zeng Fan waiting nearby, and his weary face immediately split into a broad, gleaming grin.

"When did you get back?"

"Yesterday. You've been coming here too? When did you secretly learn my method and start cultivating beneath the waterfall?"

"What are you talking about? Can something done by cultivators be called stealing? It's called borrowing for reference, haha!"

Yuan Jin walked over and put an arm around Zeng Fan's shoulders, not caring as water droplets fell all over Zeng Fan's clothes. He thumped Zeng Fan hard in the chest, but just as he was about to speak, an expression blending shock and confusion appeared on his face.

"You broke through again?! What spiritual pills have you been eating?"

Yuan Jin stared at Zeng Fan in astonishment. How long had it been since Zeng Fan's previous breakthrough? He had already caught up to Yuan Jin's realm.

"Yeah." Zeng Fan nodded with a slight headache. He really had eaten spiritual pills, after all, and slowly recounted what had happened this time.

Yuan Jin's expression shifted repeatedly between shock and amazement. After Zeng Fan finished, he let out a soft breath, his face turning solemn. "You were incredibly lucky this time. If anything had gone wrong at any step, you wouldn't have come back!"

Zeng Fan nodded in agreement. But it was already over, so there was no need to remain overly afraid. He raised a hand and patted Yuan Jin's shoulder before smiling.

"That's why I came straight to the waterfall as soon as I had the time. One's own strength is what matters most."

"That's certainly true." Yuan Jin stroked his chin, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "How about we have a match?"

Zeng Fan paused. Seeing the gleam in Yuan Jin's eyes, he knew the fellow's hands were itching for a fight. Ironwood Body had just reached Minor Accomplishment, and Zeng Fan wanted to test its power as well. At that thought, he could not help smiling.

"Then you'd better be careful. I just finished cultivating a new killing move today. I'll use you to test its power!"

Yuan Jin's eyes were already shining. "Then let's get started!" He retreated several steps, his expression turning solemn as he clenched his fists and charged at Zeng Fan. Zeng Fan smiled, iron-gray radiance spreading across his body as he met Yuan Jin head-on without the slightest hesitation. The two began sparring outside the waterfall.

At the same time, inside the Disciple Hall, the elder on duty that day was cultivating with his eyes closed. A ripple flashed, and the elder opened his eyes. With a thought, a voice transmission token appeared in his hand. The elder closed his eyes and sensed it, as though receiving some command. A moment later, he put away the token, summoned a disciple, and spoke indifferently.

"Pass down my order. The Datong Dynasty established by our sect's disciples has gone to war with the nearby demon beasts. Since the dynasty has only recently been founded and lacks manpower, all disciples below the Foundation Establishment Realm are hereby ordered to join the battle. Refusal is forbidden. Violators will be severely punished."