Astonishing Arm Strength, the Martial Master's Shock

"Eh, who's that guy? How's he so close to Second Senior Brother?"

"Isn't he the one who delivers meals every day? Seems like he's called Xiao Ming or something."

"Heh heh, with a menial's status like his, he probably can't even eat his fill. Does he really think he can lift a 400-jin Stone Lock?"

Everyone watched the commotion here and discussed it heatedly.

They knew Master's rules as well, but in the two years since joining, they had never seen anyone win Master Yuan's favor.

Only after several years of tempering one's Blood Qi and breaking through the great Skin Grinding barrier could one possess such strength, not to mention being limited by the age of sixteen.

At this moment, the chief disciple Fang Hai also walked over. His face was stolid, his muscles knotted like earthworms. Shaking his head, he said, "Junior Brother Cheng Yu, you're being far too reckless. Even when making friends, you shouldn't be so careless. If Young Master Zhou gets hurt and bleeds, wouldn't that be troublesome?"

Fang Hai did not think highly of this. He only felt that his Second Senior Brother, in trying to curry favor with their elderly master, had become somewhat unscrupulous. Did he really think that picking up any Tom, Dick, or Harry off the roadside and calling him a Heavenly Prodigy could break Master's rules?

He knew Zhou Qiming's background. He was merely from a poor household. Without a family's resources and guidance, how could he have achieved anything in martial arts at this age?

The disciples nearby also chimed in, watching with amused expressions.

"Second Senior Brother is still the same—polite and friendly to everyone."

"But when making friends, you need to keep your eyes open. Not everyone has potential or worth."

"With no money, what martial arts are you practicing? This kid is so poor he can't even afford a decent set of clothes, yet he wants to take a shortcut to Zhongnan. What a fool's dream."

Cheng Yu felt somewhat embarrassed. He had only acted on a whim, yet he had ended up dragging Zhou Qiming into being mocked and made a spectacle of. At the same time, he was worried that Zhou Qiming had been placed over the flames by everyone. If he stubbornly forced himself to do it, he would inevitably get hurt.

"Of course you need to keep your eyes open when making friends. It's just that some people have eyes yet fail to recognize treasure. What you can't do doesn't mean others can't either."

The next instant, Zhou Qiming's domineering voice rang out.

"Kid, you're too arrogant!" The crowd flew into a rage.

Fang Hai also snorted coldly. "Just as I thought, another..."

Before he could finish, an utterly inconceivable scene appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Up you go!"

With a low shout, Zhou Qiming planted his feet and steadied his waist. Reaching out, he gave a lift, and the 400-jin Stone Lock whooshed into the air. He raised it past his shoulder, then above his head. After holding it steadily for several breaths, he pushed it sideways and threw it out. It actually spun across the ground like a leaf, every motion effortless and unhurried, without a gasp or a racing heartbeat.

It rose like thunder and fell light as a leaf. His gaze swept across the field, his expression calm.

And this was not even his limit. The improvement brought by his Four-Point Root Bone was immense. Coupled with the Perfection realm Woodcutting Saber Technique, the transformation it had wrought upon his arms and body could be called a rebirth.

Hiss...

Sharp intakes of breath rang out. Everyone frantically rubbed their eyes, standing dumb as wooden chickens, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Heavens, what did I just see?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Even a Skin Grinding Expert would find it extremely strenuous. How could he lift it with one arm?"

"It must be fake! Hurry and report this to Master!"

The disciples were first struck dumb with shock, then came to their senses. After the astonishment came a tangled mass of envy and jealousy. Their own training had simply gone to the dogs—they could not even compare to a restaurant servant.

Zhou Qiming looked only fifteen or sixteen, yet he possessed such arm strength. If he obtained a cultivation method and tempered himself through Skin Grinding, what terrifying sight would that become? Could his strength exceed a thousand jin, standing shoulder to shoulder with a Muscle Cultivation expert?

"This..."

Fang Hai's expression shifted. Then his eyes flashed, and he said in astonishment, "Lifting Heavy as Light—this is absolutely the technical realm of Lifting Heavy as Light! Heavens, could he truly be a genius?"

As the chief disciple, Fang Hai had achieved success in the Iron Cloth Skill and was already at the Muscle Cultivation level. His eye was exceptionally sharp, and he saw far more than the others.

Lifting the Stone Lock was nothing much, but the way Zhou Qiming had smoothly and steadily set it down at the end without raising even the slightest sound or speck of dust showed an extremely profound mastery of technique. Even he could not do it. Looking across the martial hall, perhaps only Master possessed such skill.

Fang Hai's scalp went numb. The way he looked at Zhou Qiming changed completely, as though he were looking at a monster. It was too crushing. Was this the monstrous Prodigy Master had spoken of?

Having succeeded in the Iron Cloth Skill, he had once thought he could make a name for himself in the County Town. Now, his Dao Heart was on the verge of shattering, and he felt like a frog at the bottom of a well staring at the sky.

Cheng Yu was even more stunned with delight. "Am I seeing this right? Are we really about to gain another junior disciple brother?"

His heart pounded wildly, as though it were that Stone Lock itself, fiercely gripped by Zhou Qiming, lifted into the air, then hurled back to the ground.

In an instant, the martial hall erupted.

Meanwhile, in the rear courtyard, a spirited old man with a goatee sat in a Grand Tutor chair, drinking tea and eating his meal in great comfort.

"Shallow waters cannot raise a flood dragon. After all these years, I still haven't encountered a disciple with supreme Root Bone. Is revenge truly hopeless?" Yuan Tieyi sighed in disappointment.

Once Martial Artists passed fifty, their Blood Qi would generally decline, leaving them with less than sixty percent of their peak strength. Not to mention that in his early years, he had been challenged at the County Town, made enemies, and suffered hidden injuries.

After his strength declined, even after relocating to hide in the remote Jinshui Town, he still feared that old enemies he had offended would come knocking.

Only after suffering defeat did Yuan Tieyi realize the importance of Root Bone in martial arts. A Martial Artist's upper limit was essentially locked in by the nature of their Root Bone. Wanting to break through through personal effort alone was utterly impossible.

Back then, how glorious the Iron Shirt Sect had been. Yet his enemy had taken in a disciple with monstrous Root Bone. After merely two years of martial training, that disciple had broken through several Body Tempering barriers, then come to sweep through the sect, severely injuring him, an established Martial Master. In the end, he had tossed out the words, "Those under the Iron Shirt Sect are worthless trash," before striding away.

Humiliation, hatred, rage—those emotions had tormented him for all these years.

A fist feared youth and vigor. If he had possessed his peak strength back then, or if he too had had such a monstrous disciple, how could he have lost all face, fled in disgrace, and ended up in such a miserable state?

"The chief disciple has more than enough perseverance, but his Root Bone is still too poor. Muscle Cultivation is likely his limit. Second Son Cheng Yu's family has its own business. He studies martial arts only for self-protection, and spends his days gathering friends without putting his heart into the martial hall. Forget it."

The more Yuan Tieyi thought, the more bitter and lonely he became. Revenge was hopeless. He could only turtle up and hide in this town.

Suddenly, a clamor came from outside.

"What's going on? Could my enemies have come to the door?"

Yuan Tieyi sprang to his feet, shocked and furious.

"Greetings, Master Yuan."

Everyone hurriedly paid their respects. Fang Hai and Cheng Yu also stepped forward to support the old man.

"Fang Hai, as the Senior Disciple Brother, you can't even keep the disciples below in line. Shouting and making a racket—what kind of conduct is this? Has everyone stopped training?"

Yuan Tieyi was so angry that his beard quivered and his eyes bulged. He was even more disappointed and dissatisfied with his two confidant disciples. It was one thing to lack talent, but if even their temperaments were beyond cultivation, how would they care for him in his old age and see him through to the end?

"Master, Zhou Qiming has met the rule you set back then. With one shake of his arm, he possesses 400 jin of Immense Strength." Fang Hai hurriedly explained, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

"You still dare talk back? Are my words as Master no longer of any use?"

Yuan Tieyi had his eyes closed, looking calm and composed. The next moment, however, he jolted violently. For a moment, he suspected his ears had failed him. Looking toward the Zhou Qiming they indicated, he said, "What did you say? Are you making sport of your master? Do you know the crime of deceiving one's master?"

He had seen this youth a few times. He vaguely remembered him as the restaurant worker who delivered meals. Other than having shot up in height recently, he was utterly ordinary—he did not look like gold buried beneath dust at all.