Iron Cloth Skill's Second Limit Break, Jade Skin Muscle Cultivation

The men of the Jinsha Gang held torches and searched the mountains for an entire night.

The search yielded nothing; the bones had long been cleaned clean by the mountain beasts, and the battle traces left at the scene were extremely shocking, making the enemy seem all the more unfathomable.

"All decisions will wait until the gang leader emerges from seclusion. For now, do not act rashly."

Jin Buhuan had his misgivings and somewhat regretted testing the Cheng Family and the Iron Clothes Martial Arts School, having stirred up an extremely troublesome expert.

Fortunately, that Chao Yun was a man of the Hantian Army. Once King Chaotian's men arrived, this scoundrel would surely have no escape.

As the Jinsha Gang's offensive pulled back, the former vitality returned to Jinshui Town, yet it was the calm before the storm.

Seeing this, the Cheng Family also temporarily set aside their worries, growing more and more convinced that behind Zhou Qiming stood a terrifyingly powerful guardian, which had forced Jin Buhuan to cool down.

The Cheng Family grew increasingly eager to bind themselves to Zhou Qiming, hoping to gain the protection of this expert.

But how could they know that Zhou Qiming had never had any guardian? The only one he could rely on was his own strength!

"One day, I alone will be the greatest noble family under heaven." Zhou Qiming did not slack off, spending all his time grinding the progress of the Iron Cloth Skill.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, nothing happened. Zhou Qiming, relying on his perfected Cooking skill, advanced to Chef, and also showed his face at the Cheng Family a few times to complete some simple tasks.

[Name: Zhou Qiming, Age 15]

[Realm: Muscle Cultivation Perfected!]

[Root Bone: 14/14 Points!]

[Woodcutting Saber Technique Second Breakthrough+]

[Iron Cloth Skill Perfected+]

[Earth Fiend Legs Minor Success 59%!]

These two months of accumulation had brought a leap in strength.

He used up all the Brute Ox Skin Grinding Paste, grinding his skin to Jade Skin, and broke through the second major realm, Muscle Cultivation, in one go.

Muscle Cultivation means training strength. Relying on the force from the saber technique's second breakthrough and the perfected Iron Cloth Skill, he directly became a Muscle Cultivation Martial Artist at the perfected level, ready to begin breaking through to the Bone Forging Realm.

And after eating an entire box of ginseng, his consumed Root Bone value had finally fully recovered.

His current Root Bone had been stacked to a fairly high level. Skills like Cooking and the entry-level Earth Fiend Legs hadn't brought much Root Bone gain, so over two months, his Root Bone Cap had only increased by three points.

But even these three points of Root Bone increase were akin to Bone Washing Marrow Cleansing. His bare-handed striking force had reached a full five thousand jin. A casual blow could slaughter a martial artist who had just stepped into Bone Forging, and his physique was like a vajra, transformed enormously.

"First, break through the limit of the Iron Cloth Skill. Living means everything!"

Zhou Qiming did not hesitate. He focused his will and tapped the plus sign on the Iron Cloth Skill.

With a shua, the Iron Cloth Skill's frame blurred, and a more powerful force brewed within it. Countless memories of the Iron Cloth Skill flooded into his mind.

[Iron Cloth Skill First Breakthrough+ (Trait: Iron Gall)]

[Root Bone: 9/14]

"Iron Gall? What is this thing?"

Zhou Qiming frowned, examining his body. This newly appeared trait was completely different from the saber technique and seemed extremely peculiar.

Compared to the saber technique comprehended from chopping wood, the Iron Cloth Skill was worthy of being a formal martial art. A single breakthrough consumed 5 points of Root Bone, but the improvement it brought was enormous.

Zhou Qiming slammed his body into a small hill. The entire cliff face shook, but his shoulder and body were completely unharmed. After the first breakthrough, his defense and strength had increased by several tenths!

Soon, Zhou Qiming saw the change inside his body. Beneath his heart, a charcoal-black metal ball like a pill had appeared—this was the Iron Gall.

If you find this book good, to avoid losing it next time, remember to add it to your bookshelf.

He tried to stimulate this ball with his will, and his body immediately surged with a craving for metal, a strange hunger spreading through him.

"Could it be that this Iron Gall needs to eat iron before I can see any change?"

Feeling the hunger signal from his stomach, Zhou Qiming had just eaten dinner; logically, he shouldn't be hungry this early.

Without hesitation, he took out several confiscated weapon longblades and, with a crack, snapped them into dozens of pieces with his hands.

Crunch, crunch!

A bizarre scene unfolded. Zhou Qiming's teeth had been enhanced to an unbelievable degree by the breakthrough martial art. He chewed the weapon fragments into pieces, and they instantly transformed into a surge of blood and qi power, transported throughout his body by the Iron Gall.

"Hiss, my entire skeleton is being hammered and forged. This effect is even stronger than a Bone forging pill."

Zhou Qiming took a deep breath, his face full of ecstasy.

The Iron Gall's trait was too powerful. It could treat metal as food, thereby continuously forging his entire skeleton, and the result was stronger than those martial artists who trained by consuming pills!

"And this is just scrap iron from ordinary weapons. If I were to devour Hundred-Forged or even Thousand-Forged Refined Iron, or even Innate Meteorite Iron, what kind of feedback would that bring?"

The more Zhou Qiming thought about it, the more anticipation he felt. He planned to get some Refined Iron ore from Zhang Tie at the Blacksmith Shop.

"I'm really starting to not be human anymore."

Just a single breakthrough had brought the Iron Gall trait, and the plus sign hadn't disappeared. He could continue breaking through, and his body could still bear it.

"Iron Cloth Skill, add it!"

With threats like the Hantian Army and the Jinsha Gang looming, Zhou Qiming had to take risks, pushing his power to its personal limit in a short time!

A surge of blood and qi power shot into the sky, like a Demon cub being born, causing all the surrounding beasts to whimper and flee.

The frame of the Iron Cloth Skill vanished once more, condensing into an even more terrifying skill attribute panel.

[Root Bone: 0/14 points!]

[Iron Cloth Skill Second Breakthrough (Traits: Iron Gall, Rebound!)]

"Rebound? This is heading in the direction of a turtle shell."

Zhou Qiming sensed it—after the second breakthrough, both strength and speed had improved across the board. The Rebound trait possessed a clever force-dispersing technique, capable of accumulating a small portion of an opponent's attacks and returning them.

When experts clashed, it was often that last sliver of difference that decided the outcome!

Moreover, the intensity of this Rebound would continue to grow with future breakthroughs of the Iron Cloth Skill!

With a flick of his Divine Sense, Zhou Qiming entered the Rebound state. A metallic sheen flowed across his Jade Skin, as if he were truly clad in a layer of iron clothes.

If the Hall Master of the Iron Clothes Martial Arts School were here, he would surely be stunned speechless by Zhou Qiming's achievement in the skill.

But after two consecutive breakthroughs, Zhou Qiming's complexion finally paled, and a faint stabbing pain echoed in his heart. Clearly, this surge had been too fierce, exceeding his body's burden—he would need to recuperate.

"So this is the feeling of power? Not enough, still not strong enough!"

Zhou Qiming clenched his fists, feeling the surging force within him. If he were to face Qiu Yun from two months ago now, he wouldn't even need to resort to sneak attacks with Lime Powder and Chili Water. A head-on clash of two or three punches would be enough to finish him off!

In the riverside courtyard, there were green plants and rockeries, with various training equipment set up in the yard.

This was the house gifted by the Cheng Family. Zhou Qiming had moved in early on and found it quite comfortable. After returning, he changed his clothes, soaked in a medicinal bath, and consumed two ginseng roots.

With two Martial Arts Breakthroughs, his body had expelled quite a bit of impurities. After cleansing, he felt refreshed, as light as a crane.

"My Life Level has transformed. The recovery effect of ginseng is clearly no longer strong enough. I need to find better precious medicines and skills."

Zhou Qiming ran through a set of Earth Fiend Legs, pondering to himself. The blood and qi feedback from the ginseng and medicinal bath was no longer as pronounced as before, and over the course of the day, the recovery speed of his Root Bone Value would likely slow down.