The domineering force was far beyond Su Chen's imagination.
Like a festering sore clinging to the bone, like a centipede that refused to die even after it was crushed, it lingered in his body, stiff but never truly still.
Now and then, it surged about, stirring his nerves, damaging his organs, and tormenting both his body and soul.
But Su Chen noticed that the remnant force inside him rarely surged into his arms.
At first, he had thought the force could not reach his arms. Later, he realized it could only flow through other parts of his body.
Su Chen began to suspect that it wasn't that the force didn't want to extend into his arms, but that it couldn't—or, perhaps, that it was afraid to.
Why would it be afraid to extend there?
Su Chen thought of his arms. They had been strengthened by Iron Cloth Skill, Ape Arm Skill, Iron Sand Palm, and Iron Wire Fist. Even if the force reached them, it probably couldn't hurt him.
That was why Su Chen had rushed to the gold shop to exchange his gold. While the force was still surging through his body, he planned to raise Turtle Shell Skill to its limit and see if he could eliminate it.
However, after he topped up and activated Easy Mode, he realized he had been careless:
Easy Mode activated: Sunbathe for one hour to raise Turtle Shell Skill to its limit.
He slapped his forehead, his face full of helplessness. "It's the middle of the night. Where am I supposed to find sunlight? Looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning."
With the force still surging through him, Su Chen wasn't in the mood to read medical texts or study Disguise Technique that night. He could only lie in bed and struggle to fall asleep.
When he woke the next morning, Su Chen's face had grown noticeably paler, and the bags beneath his eyes had puffed up.
He jumped out of bed in a hurry and opened the door. A relieved smile crossed his face. Thankfully, it wasn't overcast today.
The rising sun's rays, carrying warmth and hope, spilled across the earth and over everyone's faces.
Su Chen brought out a grand armchair. He couldn't even be bothered to wash up, and simply leaned back in it, taking his time.
He picked up a medical book and read as he basked in the sun.
Martial Arts: ...Turtle Shell Skill (Limit) Easy Mode: ...Turtle Shell Skill 0 times (None)
The instant the panel refreshed, Su Chen felt his body turn warm all over. Then his abdomen gave a slight twitch, and a few seconds later, everything went still.
"The force is gone!"
Su Chen rubbed his abdomen and drew a deep breath. When he no longer felt any pain, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Just as I thought. Turtle Shell Skill strengthened my body and wiped out that remnant force. It helped that the force was weak. Otherwise, Turtle Shell Skill alone might not have been enough to destroy it."
After eliminating the force, Su Chen was in high spirits.
He got up, washed, changed into clean clothes, and went to a street stall for a hearty meal before returning home.
"I was planning to improve Ape Arm Skill, but now I only have a little over sixty taels of silver left. I'm afraid I can't afford it."
Looking at the silver on the table, Su Chen pondered.
Although he had changed the order of his plans, he didn't regret it. Improving Turtle Shell Skill had helped him a great deal, after all.
"Then I'll raise Bone Shrinking Skill to mastery."
After a moment's thought, Su Chen made up his mind. He activated Easy Mode and spent an hour swinging his arms five hundred times.
The panel refreshed again:
Martial Arts: ...Bone Shrinking Skill (Mastery 1%) Easy Mode: ...Bone Shrinking Skill 0 times (10 taels of gold/time)
He still had a little over fifty taels of silver, but there were no more martial arts he could improve. Su Chen turned his attention to the broken saber.
He murmured to himself, beginning to take stock:
"This fight with a Practice Force Warrior has affected me deeply. I've finally experienced firsthand just how formidable they are."
"If his force hadn't been so weak, I'd probably have been injured by it already. If I ever meet a Practice Force Warrior again, I'll have to be extremely careful."
"But when all's said and done, it comes down to strength. I'm still not strong enough. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been hurt by that tiny wisp of force."
"With my current strength, I'm probably unmatched in the Practice Strength Realm. It's time to see if I can find a way to break through and enter the force-wielding stage."
"Senior Brother Li Mo knows very little about entering the force-wielding stage. Looks like I'll have to ask Master Hong. I'll find a chance to speak with him."
"Also, in this fight, my Severed Arm Drawing Blade clearly wasn't enough. Before now, no one had ever reacted in time when I drew my blade."
"This time, the bandit not only reacted, but was quick enough to stop me. He didn't manage to block my attack, but it still showed that my Severed Arm Drawing Blade has a flaw."
"If I run into a warrior stronger than him in the future, this trick of misleading the enemy might not work."
"Looks like I need a chance to improve my ambush tactics. For example, I could hide a blade in my sleeve and turn it into a Sleeve Blade for surprise attacks. I have two blades now, after all. One to mislead people, and the other reforged and hidden in my sleeve. It might just work!"
"Besides, I could coat the blade with poison. Even if I can't kill my opponent with one strike, I could still inflict serious damage. Especially if the poison is potent—once it gets on the enemy, I could wear them down until they die."
"I haven't started studying the knowledge in the Medical Codex yet, but I've picked up some basic medical knowledge lately. I should be ready to study it in depth. I don't need to become a famous doctor; I just need to develop some poisons that can help me in a fight."
After reviewing everything, Su Chen settled on his plans.
First, improve his ambush tactics and have a smith rework his weapon. For now, he would keep using the Yang Guo alias, with one weapon in plain sight and another concealed as backup.
Second, study the Medical Codex and see if he could develop poison to coat his weapons with.
Third, use the remaining fifty-odd taels to see if he could buy some high-grade Blood Replenishing Medicine and fill out his progress.
Fourth, and most importantly, ask Hong Ming how to enter the force-wielding stage.
Once he had decided, Su Chen left home and found a blacksmith's shop that seemed fairly reliable.
"Master, I'd like a custom weapon made."
The Da Qian Dynasty didn't impose many restrictions on weapons like sabers and swords, so Su Chen made his request without hesitation.
The old blacksmith's eyes lit up, and the wrinkles on his face eased a little. "What kind of weapon would you like, sir?"
Su Chen said nothing. Instead, he took out the drawing he had made and handed it over. The weapon on it resembled a Goose Feather Saber, but he had modified both its length and width.
The old blacksmith studied it for a long while, then asked Su Chen a few questions about the details before saying, "Making a weapon to these specifications will be rather expensive."
"What if I provide the materials?" Su Chen asked, then took out the broken saber.
The old blacksmith looked it over and thought for a moment before replying, "If you provide your own materials, it'll cost much less, but it'll still be thirty taels."
"That much?"
Su Chen frowned. He had thought that providing the materials himself would bring the price down to twenty taels at most. He hadn't expected it to be even higher than he'd anticipated.
The old blacksmith shook his head. "You may not know this, sir, but copper and iron prices have gone up lately. The cost of making weapons has risen, and even farm tools are considerably more expensive. This is already the lowest price I can offer. If you don't believe me, you can ask at other smithies."
"No need. I'll accept that price. How soon can it be ready?" This was already the fairest-priced smithy he had found after comparing shops. The others would probably charge even more.
"Five days at the earliest, ten at the latest," the old blacksmith said after a moment's thought.
"Good. I'll come pick it up in five days."
Su Chen spoke, ignoring the blacksmith's hesitant expression. He paid the deposit and turned to leave.
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