Golden Bell Sect.
The foremost of Tianwu City's three hard-skill martial arts schools, it stood on the busiest street in the eastern part of the city.
Its vermilion-red gates stood three zhang tall, with two enormous bronze lions crouched before them, giving the place an imposing air. A gleaming golden plaque hung above the gates, bearing four characters: "Golden Bell Protects the Body." The words were written in bold, iron-hooked strokes, carrying the weight of an immovable mountain.
It was the early morning martial arts session.
On the training ground inside the school, hundreds of bare-chested disciples with bulging muscles stood in formation. Led by a middle-aged instructor, they shouted in unison as they trained their impact resistance.
"Hi-yah! Ha!"
Some struck their bodies with wooden staffs, while others rammed their bodies against stone pillars, producing dull thuds.
"Put your backs into it! What, didn't you eat?"
The middle-aged instructor paced among the ranks, whip in hand, and scolded them loudly. "If you want to master the Golden Bell Shield, first you need to toughen your skin and flesh until they're as thick as oxhide! Only by taking the fiercest blows can you forge the hardest skills!"
"Yes, Instructor!"
The disciples' shouts shook the heavens.
Just then—
"Boom!"
The school's heavy vermilion-red gates suddenly boomed, as if something massive had slammed into them. The hinges let out a teeth-grating squeal.
"What's going on?"
The instructor and disciples stopped what they were doing and stared at the gates in shock.
"Boom!!!"
Another crash rang out.
This time, the two vermilion-red gates, each weighing a thousand jin, seemed to have been struck head-on by a battering ram. Their massive hinges twisted and snapped in an instant, letting out a shrill metallic wail.
The entire gate burst straight off its frame, flipped through the air several times, and hurtled toward the center of the training ground with a howling rush of wind.
"Bam!"
The earth shuddered. Dust billowed, and splinters flew in every direction like shrapnel.
As the dust cleared,
a hulking figure, as massive as an iron tower, walked in slowly, carrying an even more outrageous Black Great Hammer over his shoulder.
Sunlight fell on him, illuminating his black outfit and the savage lines of his muscles. Most striking of all was the faint layer of black fur on his face, making him look like a Demonic Beast that had barged into the human world.
"Here to crash your school."
Yan Kui planted the Bone Shattering Hammer on the ground.
The earth trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
"Who's the master here? Come out and take a beating."
The entire school fell silent.
The Golden Bell Sect disciples stared in disbelief.
Who was this?
He actually dared to come alone and crash the Golden Bell Sect? And that entrance... Wasn't it a little too violent? He'd torn down the gates!
"Impudent!"
The middle-aged instructor was the first to react. He flew into a rage.
"What kind of wild man are you, daring to cause trouble at the Golden Bell Sect! Don't you even know where you are?"
He shouted, "All disciples, heed my command! Form up! Drive him out!"
"Yes!"
Though Yan Kui's imposing presence had shaken them, the Golden Bell Sect was a major martial arts school with disciples to spare. Hundreds of them rushed forward, each activating his Hard Qi Gong and tensing his muscles until they were like iron blocks.
"Picking on me because you've got more people?"
Yan Kui grinned.
"Fine by me. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."
He didn't use the Bone Shattering Hammer, but casually planted it in the ground beside him.
His fists were enough to deal with these nobodies.
"Attack!"
At the instructor's command, dozens of disciples surged toward Yan Kui like a rising tide.
Yan Kui stood where he was, letting their fists and kicks land on his body.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
A flurry of blows rang out.
Yet the disciples felt as if they were striking an iron plate. They couldn't budge him at all, and the impact only left their hands and feet numb.
"That's all you've got?"
Yan Kui shook his head.
"Get lost!"
He swept his arm out with a sudden swing.
A savage force surged across the area.
The dozen or so disciples surrounding him were swept off their feet, tossed away like leaves caught in a gale, and sent tumbling head over heels.
"What?!"
The instructor was aghast.
The strength and defense of this wild man were simply terrifying!
"Stand down!"
A stern, elderly voice suddenly came from the Inner Hall.
The disciples quickly parted to make way.
An old man in a golden martial arts uniform emerged at a leisurely pace, his beard and hair as white as snow. Though advanced in years, he walked with steady steps, each one seeming to connect him to the earth.
The Golden Bell Sect Master, Wang Jinzhong.
He had trained the Golden Bell Shield to the tenth layer. Hailed as a "Bronze Wall Iron Barrier," he was a renowned powerhouse even in Tianwu City.
"Warrior, why have you torn down my gates and injured my disciples without cause?"
Wang Jinzhong's gaze was as sharp as lightning as he fixed his eyes on Yan Kui.
"If you think this book is good, add it to your bookshelf so you won't lose track of it next time."
"I told you. I'm here to crash your school."
Yan Kui looked at Wang Jinzhong, a flicker of interest in his eyes.
This old man had the "hardness" he needed.
"I want your Golden Bell Shield manual."
"You want the manual?"
Wang Jinzhong laughed in fury. "Then let's see if you have what it takes to take it!"
"Golden Bell Protects the Body!"
He shouted. Qi surged around him, gathering over his body into the faint shape of a golden bell that enveloped him.
This was a profound level of Inner Qi Manifestation!
"Now we're talking."
Yan Kui's eyes lit up.
This was exactly what he wanted!
"Take this punch!"
Without another word, he charged toward Wang Jinzhong.
Brute Bull Strength!
His right fist shot out like a cannonball.
"Dong!"
A booming bell chime rang through the sky.
Yan Kui's fist slammed into the phantom golden bell. It shook violently, ripples spreading across it, but it didn't shatter.
Wang Jinzhong's feet sank three inches into the earth, yet his body remained perfectly still.
"That's hard!"
Yan Kui praised him.
The Golden Bell Shield's defenses were no weaker than his Iron Cloth Shirt. It also seemed to be better at dispersing the force of Inner Force.
"Your strength is decent, but that's all."
Wang Jinzhong sneered. "My Golden Bell Shield is—"
"Crack!"
A faint snap interrupted him.
Wang Jinzhong's expression changed.
A tiny crack had appeared in the phantom golden bell.
"We're not done yet."
Yan Kui drew back his fist and gathered strength again.
This time, the muscles in his arm swelled, and dark-red Blood Qi surged beneath his skin.
Savage Boar Ramming Technique · Savage Charge!
He turned into a human cannonball and rammed viciously into the already-cracked golden bell.
"Crack!!!"
A clear, despairing sound of shattering rang out.
It was like a massive pane of glass smashed by a hammer. Under Yan Kui's unreasonable charge, the seemingly indestructible golden barrier instantly shattered into countless golden fragments of energy, which scattered in every direction.
"Pfft!"
Wang Jinzhong was struck as if by lightning. He vomited blood, along with fragments of his organs.
His body shot backward like a cannonball, flying dozens of meters before crashing heavily into the stone wall at the far end of the training ground.
"Boom!"
The hard blue-stone wall caved in around him, leaving a man-shaped crater. Web-like cracks spread across the entire wall. Wang Jinzhong was embedded in the crater, every bone in his body shattered, his limbs as limp as a heap of mud.
The entire school was utterly silent.
Everyone stared blankly at the black giant standing in the center of the training ground, completely unharmed.
Even the master's Golden Bell Shield had been shattered by a charge?
What kind of monster was he?
"Anyone else want to object?"
Yan Kui brushed the dust from his clothes and looked around.
No one dared answer.
He walked up to Wang Jinzhong and held out his hand.
"The manual."
Wang Jinzhong's face was deathly pale. Trembling, he pulled a golden booklet from his clothes.
"Here... take it..."
He knew the Golden Bell Sect had been thoroughly beaten today. The man before him was simply beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.
Yan Kui took the manual and casually flipped through it.
[Detected Mortal Hard Skills: Golden Bell Shield (Complete Version). Record it?]
"Record it."
Yan Kui nodded in satisfaction.
"Thanks."
He turned, pulled the Bone Shattering Hammer from the ground, slung it over his shoulder, and swaggered out of the Golden Bell Sect through its now-demolished gates.
All that remained were disciples with ashen faces and their badly injured master.
After leaving the Golden Bell Sect, Yan Kui didn't stop.
He pulled out a map he had prepared in advance. Several red circles had been drawn on it.
"Next... Iron Cloth Sect."
Now that he'd started, he'd see it through to the end.
Today, he would make sure every martial arts school in Tianwu City knew the name "Black Iron Tower"!
Before you continue