The Jinsha Gang's men searched the mountains with torches for the entire night.
The search yielded nothing. The bones had long since been devoured clean by the wild beasts in the mountains, while the traces of battle left at the scene were astonishing, making the enemy seem all the more unfathomable.
"Everything can wait until the gang leader comes out of seclusion before we make a decision. Don't act rashly for now."
Jin Buhuan had his reservations and somewhat regretted probing the Cheng Family and Iron Clothes Martial Arts School. He had actually provoked an extremely troublesome expert.
Fortunately, Chao Yun was a member of the Hantian Army. Once King Chaotian's men arrived, that bandit would certainly be unable to escape death.
As the Jinsha Gang's offensive contracted, Jinshui Town recovered its former vitality, though it was also the calm before the storm.
Seeing this, the Cheng Family temporarily set their minds at ease, becoming even more convinced that behind Zhou Qiming stood an extremely terrifying Guardian, which was why Jin Buhuan had calmed down.
The Cheng Family became even more eager to bind themselves to Zhou Qiming, so they could obtain the protection of a powerhouse.
But how could they know that Zhou Qiming had never had any Guardian? The only thing he could rely on was his own strength!
"One day, I alone will be the world's top Noble Family." Zhou Qiming did not slack off in the slightest, devoting all his time to grinding out the progress of Iron Cloth Skill.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye. Nothing happened during that time. Relying on his perfected cooking skills, Zhou Qiming was promoted to head chef. He also showed his face at the Cheng Family a few times and completed some simple tasks.
[Name: Zhou Qiming, 15 years old] [Level: Muscle Cultivation Perfection!] [Root Bone: 14/14 points!] [Woodcutting Saber Technique Second Breakthrough+] [Iron Cloth Skill Perfection+] [Earth Fiend Legs Minor Achievement 59%!]
The accumulation of these two months ushered in a leap in strength.
After using up all the Brute Ox Skin Grinding Paste, he ground his skin into Jade Skin and broke through the second major threshold in one stroke—the Muscle Cultivation Level.
Muscle Cultivation meant cultivating force. Relying on the force of the Woodcutting Saber Technique's Second Breakthrough and perfected Iron Cloth Skill, he had directly reached the Perfection level of a Muscle Cultivation Martial Artist and could begin breaking through to the Bone Forging Realm.
After eating an entire box of ginseng, the Root Bone Value he had expended finally recovered to full.
His Root Bone had now accumulated to a fairly high level. Since cooking and breaking through the entry-level Earth Fiend Legs had not brought him much Root Bone gain, his Root Bone Cap had only increased by three points over the past two months.
Yet those three points of Root Bone growth had been nothing short of Bone Washing Marrow Cleansing. His bare-handed force had astonishingly reached five thousand jin, and a casual strike could slaughter a Martial Artist who had just entered the Bone Forging Realm. His physique had also become like a vajra, undergoing a tremendous transformation.
"I'll break through Iron Cloth Skill first. Staying alive is everything!"
Zhou Qiming did not hesitate in the slightest. He gathered his consciousness and clicked the plus sign beside Iron Cloth Skill.
With a swish, the Iron Cloth Skill box blurred, brewing an even more powerful force. Countless memories of Iron Cloth Skill surged into his mind.
[Iron Cloth Skill First Breakthrough+ (Trait: Iron Gall)] [Root Bone: 9/14]
"Iron Gall? What is that?"
Zhou Qiming frowned as he examined his body. This newly appeared trait was completely different from Blade Technique and seemed exceedingly strange.
Compared with the Blade Technique he had comprehended through chopping wood, Iron Cloth Skill truly was a formal martial art. Just one breakthrough had consumed five points of Root Bone, and the improvement it brought was enormous.
Zhou Qiming rammed into a small hill. The entire cliff shook violently, yet his shoulder and body remained completely unharmed. After the First Breakthrough, his defense and strength had increased by several tens of percent!
Very soon, Zhou Qiming saw the change within his body. Beneath his heart, there was now a charcoal-black metal ball resembling a pill. It was the Iron Gall.
His consciousness tried to stimulate the sphere. His body immediately filled with a craving for metal, and a strange hunger surged up.
"Could it be that this Iron Gall has to eat iron before I can see any changes?"
Feeling the signals of hunger in his stomach, Zhou Qiming had just eaten dinner. In theory, he should not be hungry so soon.
Without hesitation, he took out several long sabers among the weapons he had confiscated earlier and chopped them into dozens of pieces with both hands.
Crack, crack, crack!
A strange scene appeared. The martial art that had broken through its limits had raised Zhou Qiming's teeth to an inconceivable level. He chewed the weapon fragments to pieces, and they instantly transformed into a stream of Blood Qi power, which the Iron Gall transported throughout his body.
"Hiss, the bones throughout my body are being hammered and forged. This effect is even stronger than Bone forging pill!"
Zhou Qiming drew a deep breath, his face full of wild joy.
The Iron Gall's trait was far too powerful. It could treat metal as food and continuously forge every bone in his body. Moreover, it made him stronger than those Martial Artists who cultivated by consuming pills!
"This is only scrap iron from ordinary weapons. If I swallowed 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 expectant he became. He planned to get some refined iron ore from Zhang Tie at the Blacksmith Shop.
"I'm starting to stop being human."
A mere First Breakthrough had brought him the Iron Gall trait, and the plus sign had not disappeared. He could continue breaking through, and Zhou Qiming's body could still withstand it.
"Iron Cloth Skill, add to it!"
With threats like the Hantian Army and Jinsha Gang looming over him, Zhou Qiming had to take the risk and push his strength to its absolute limit in a short period!
Wave after wave of Blood Qi power shot into the sky like a young demon emerging into the world, making the surrounding beasts whimper and flee.
The Iron Cloth Skill box vanished once more and condensed into an even more terrifying attribute box for the technique.
[Root Bone: 0/14 points!] [Iron Cloth Skill Second Breakthrough (Traits: Iron Gall, Rebound!)]
"Rebound? It's developing in the direction of a tortoise shell."
Zhou Qiming sensed it for a moment. After the Second Breakthrough, his strength and speed had both increased across the board. The Rebound trait possessed ingenious force-dispersing techniques that could accumulate and return a small portion of an opponent's attack.
When experts exchanged blows, victory often came down to that slightest fraction!
Moreover, the strength of this Rebound would continue to grow as Iron Cloth Skill underwent further breakthroughs!
With a thought, Zhou Qiming entered the Rebound state. A metallic sheen actually flowed across the Jade Skin covering his entire body, as though he had truly donned a layer of iron clothing.
If the master of Iron Clothes Martial Arts School had been there, he would certainly have been so shocked by Zhou Qiming's achievements in the technique that his jaw would have dropped.
After two consecutive breakthroughs, Zhou Qiming's complexion finally turned somewhat pale, and he felt a faint stabbing pain in his heart. Clearly, this improvement had been too fierce and exceeded the burden his body could bear. He had to recuperate.
"Is this what power feels like? It's still not enough. I'm still not strong enough!"
Zhou Qiming clenched both fists and felt the surging force within him. If he encountered Qiu Yun from two months ago now, he would not need to use Lime Powder and chili water to ambush him. Two or three punches head-on would be enough to finish him.
The Small Courtyard by the river had greenery and rockeries, with various training equipment arranged throughout the yard.
This was a house gifted by the Cheng Family. Zhou Qiming had moved in early that morning, and the place was quite comfortable. After returning, he changed his clothes, soaked in a medicinal bath, and consumed two stalks of ginseng.
The two Martial Arts Breakthroughs had expelled a great deal of impurities from his body. After washing them away, he felt refreshed and light all over, like a crane soaring through the heavens.
"My Life Level has transformed. The recovery effect of this ginseng is clearly no longer strong enough. I must find better Precious Medicine and martial arts."
Zhou Qiming practiced a round of Earth Fiend Legs and pondered inwardly. The Blood Qi feedback from the ginseng and medicinal bath was not as obvious as before, and the recovery speed of his Root Bone Value over the course of a day would probably slow down.
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