Uncover the treasures of the human body and enhance physical strength.
That was exactly what Xia Nuo wanted most right now. Hesitating for even a second would be disrespectful to his own body, so he immediately added it to his cart.
As for the last item...
[Pete Griffin's Jeans]
[Type: Equipment]
[Price: 500 points]
[Description: After putting them on, Intelligence will decrease slightly, and there is a chance of increasing the hatred others hold toward you.]
[Seller's Note: Also suitable for Big Stomach]
The effect was rather interesting, but the cost-performance ratio was poor. After thinking it over briefly, Xia Nuo shook his head. He still felt there was no need to waste his points on something like this.
Submit cart and check out.
There were quite a few items he liked among the items that had appeared this time—four in total, costing 3,500 points altogether.
He had 37,525 points left, which was still more than enough.
After closing the trading market, Xia Nuo opened his inventory and first took out the black training outfit that could adjust its weight.
Its default initial setting was the minimum, one kilogram, making it roughly equivalent to ordinary close-fitting clothes.
It fit him perfectly, and despite its extremely high elasticity and resilience, it was also quite breathable.
It felt very comfortable. After casually moving his hands and feet around, he immediately began trying to adjust its weight.
"Since I'm just starting, I'd better take it slow and be cautious. Let's try 250 kilograms first..."
Thud!
The pressure on his body suddenly increased. Xia Nuo sank slightly for an instant, then calmly steadied himself again.
He did a set of handstand push-ups, jogged a lap around the grounds, and then used Shave several times back and forth between a few wooden posts—
His landings remained precise, though his speed was just a little slower.
"Not enough. Far from enough."
Xia Nuo shook his head. A 250-kilogram load might have put some pressure on him before he went to sea.
But for him now, he would adapt to it quickly, and it would have little effect.
He continued increasing it bit by bit.
300, 350... until it reached 500 kilograms.
Xia Nuo finally felt the sluggishness of having to expend enormous strength with every movement, as though he were walking through a thick liquid.
Yet it still did not reach the point where his muscles could not bear it.
He had found a perfect balance.
"I'll set it to this number for now."
Xia Nuo was very satisfied with the current effect.
After some time, once he had completely adapted to the pressure and could treat it as nothing during training, he would begin increasing the weight further.
He then opened the Secret Manual called Copper Head.
After giving it a rough look, he thought for a while and decided to begin practicing it alongside Iron Body.
Both were martial arts for tempering the body, and they shared certain aspects and were compatible. Practicing them together would not cause them to conflict or interfere with each other.
However, their training methods were fundamentally different.
The name Copper Head sounded crude, but the Flesh Furnace Method it belonged to was a genuine internal cultivation manual.
It placed greater emphasis on comprehension and technique. While subjecting his body to high-intensity tempering, he also had to constantly study and comprehend its mysteries before he could truly master it.
As for Iron Body—
Compared to it, Iron Body was entirely an external technique, and its training method was much simpler and more brutal.
As the only defensive technique among the Six Styles, its principle was to control the flow of blood and concentrate it in the muscles to increase their hardness.
To accomplish this, besides constantly strengthening his muscles through various daily physical exercises,
the most essential part was specialized impact-resistance training!
In simple terms, it meant repeatedly striking the body with various hard implements to gradually improve its resistance to impact.
When the Marines and the CP Department trained this technique, they worked in pairs, taking turns striking each other with wooden rods. When one person grew tired, the other took over, and they continued in a cycle.
In other words, to maintain the efficiency of Iron Body training, one person could not do it alone. He had to have a sparring partner.
Fortunately, Xia Nuo was not lacking people around him at the moment.
The processing workshop would not be ready until next year. For now, the refugees he had brought over only had to handle the orange grove, so they were relatively free.
He could simply select a few strong young men from among them each day to accompany him in training Iron Body.
He disliked putting things off until tomorrow. Since he had made a decision, he would not delay.
Thus, after practicing Copper Head for the entire morning, when it was time for Iron Body in the afternoon—
--Man Scar and the Fat Mountain Bandit he had once punched into a tree were brought to the training ground. Each held a hardwood club and looked nervously at Xia Nuo.
"Sir, let me confirm this one more time. I didn't hear you wrong, did I?"
Man Scar looked at the wooden club in his hand and swallowed. "You really want me to hit you five hundred times with all my strength?"
"Yes. Start with my back, but it won't stop at five hundred. That's only the first round. I'm just worried you'll get tired and be unable to exert any strength."
Xia Nuo stretched his back muscles and instructed him, "After five hundred hits, Fat Ox will take over. You can rest nearby, and switch back when Fat Ox gets tired."
Fat Ox was the name of the Fat Mountain Bandit. He was somewhat simple-minded, and upon hearing this, he hurriedly nodded. "Okay! Got it, Boss!"
"But..."
Man Scar was still hesitating.
It was only after Xia Nuo turned and glared at him that he finally stopped delaying. Gripping the hardwood club tightly, he suddenly brought it crashing down onto Xia Nuo's back.
Xia Nuo had already settled into a firm stance and calmed his mind. Following the principles mentioned in the Iron Body manual, he tried his best to accelerate the blood flow through the muscles in his back as he waited for the blow.
Thud! The muffled impact left Man Scar's palm numb. He immediately felt uneasy. Did I use too much force?
"Hm?"
Xia Nuo turned his head around, looking displeased. "I told you to use all your strength. Why are you still holding back? Are you scratching an itch? I can't feel a thing!"
Man Scar gritted his teeth and finally put all his strength into the next blow. When he saw that Xia Nuo had not turned around, he immediately followed with another strike, then another—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The heavy sounds, like the beating of war drums, continued without end through the orange grove. Yet they did not last very long. After roughly twenty or thirty swings, the hardwood club suddenly snapped with a crisp crack, breaking into several pieces.
"Huh?"
Man Scar stared blankly at the club, now reduced to less than half its original length.
This was the hardest wood he had brought from the Colbo Mountains, the toughest timber that could be found anywhere in the entire range!
And yet it had shattered so completely after holding up for such a short time?
Xia Nuo sighed as well. He turned around and looked at the debris scattered across the ground, feeling a headache coming on.
His muscle strength was indeed extremely high now. Using a wooden club to hammer his body was simply unlikely to have much effect.
"Throw away the wooden club."
Xia Nuo turned his gaze toward Fat Ox. "Try using your spiked mace."
"Huh?"
Even Fat Ox, simple-minded as he was, froze this time. Man Scar could not help saying, "Sir, Fat Ox's spiked mace weighs sixty or seventy kilograms. It's a genuine weapon for actual combat."
"It's fine. I like this weapon."
Xia Nuo stared at the enormous spiked mace, nearly as tall as he was, and grinned. "It'll help me adapt to Thunder Bagua in advance."
"All right, but... shouldn't we blunt the sharp parts a little?"
Man Scar asked hesitantly again.
There were quite a few spikes on Fat Ox's mace. If they did not modify it, one or two strikes might be fine, but after several hundred blows in a single round, Xia Nuo would end up covered in holes.
Xia Nuo nodded. The suggestion was reasonable.
A moment later, the spikes had been modified.
Man Scar and Fat Ox took turns, swinging the spiked mace again and again into Xia Nuo's back like blacksmiths forging a weapon.
Xia Nuo remained expressionless, staring straight ahead. Occasionally, when he truly could not endure it, he would grimace, but he quickly forced himself to bear it.
Did it hurt? Of course it hurt. But if he could not withstand even this little pain, how could he become stronger quickly?
There was an almost crazed anticipation in his eyes.
Yes, this was it! It had to be this way!
--With the statue and the training outfit enhancing him, he would temper his body at high intensity day after day. Once he had fully mastered Iron Body and Copper Head, what level would his physical strength reach?