Although the Proficiency Panel let him break through the Martial Realm much faster, the process of Skin Refining remained the same. The side effect was that Lu Feng had endured searing, fire-like pain.
He slowly raised his right hand and clenched his fist. A moment later, an explosive force surged through his body.
"Hmm, my strength should be around five thousand jin now. Looks like my body can withstand a lot more than that of an ordinary First-Rank Martial Master."
Back when he was a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist, his strength had already reached three thousand jin, on par with that of a First-Rank Martial Master. Now that he had broken through to the Martial Master Realm, his strength had increased again, leaving him far stronger than others of the same rank.
After feeling out the changes in his strength, Lu Feng closed his eyes and began reviewing the Cloud-Dispelling Palm he had just comprehended.
The Cloud-Dispelling Palm at the Mastery Realm had changed in both its execution and the way its Internal Force circulated.
A moment later, Lu Feng slowly opened his eyes. Excitement and confidence gleamed in them.
"So that's how it is. The Cloud-Dispelling Palm at the Mastery Realm actually makes up for this Martial Skill's shortcomings. Let's see how powerful it is now."
With that, he walked over to the Iron Man Post nearby, circulated the Internal Force in his body, and called out,
"Cloud-Dispelling Palm, First Form—Flowing Water, Moving Clouds!"
As his voice fell, he struck out with his right palm in a motion of effortless naturalness.
Bam!
Crack!
A muffled boom rang out, and the Iron Man Post burst apart.
The sight before him startled Lu Feng.
The Iron Man Post was supposed to withstand a force of ten thousand jin, yet he had split it apart with a single palm strike. That meant the blow he had just unleashed had exceeded ten thousand jin.
Lu Feng looked from the Iron Man Post, now split in two, to his right hand.
"Holy cow, the Cloud-Dispelling Palm at the Mastery Realm is way too powerful!"
Generally speaking, an Internal Cultivation Method increased a Martial Artist's cultivation speed and Internal Force, while a Martial Skill allowed them to unleash their Internal Force several times over.
Before, the Cloud-Dispelling Palm could amplify his Internal Force by at most one and a half times.
But at the Mastery Realm, it could nearly triple it.
That Flowing Water, Moving Clouds strike had unleashed destructive force of over ten thousand jin, which was why it had shattered the Iron Man Post on the spot.
If that palm had landed on a person, it would have blown them apart right there.
And that was only the first form of the Cloud-Dispelling Palm. The technique had twelve forms in all, with even more powerful moves still to come.
The thought of how terrifyingly strong he had become filled Lu Feng with excitement.
"Haha, I didn't expect my strength to increase so much after breaking through to the Martial Master Realm!"
With his strength now, he had nothing to fear—not even if County Assistant Zhou Yongsi summoned a Martial Master from the Zhou Family to deal with him.
After letting his excitement settle, Lu Feng lowered his head and considered what to do next.
"According to Lu Yan, Skin Refining is followed by Sinew Refining. Once every sinew in the body has been refined, you can break through to Fourth-Rank Martial Master. But clearly, that method of cultivation isn't right for me."
Talking to himself, Lu Feng considered how he should cultivate from here on.
"Forget it. Since I have the Proficiency Panel, I might as well make good use of it."
With that, Lu Feng focused his mind, and the Proficiency Panel appeared before him.
[Name: Lu Feng] [Age: 19/70] [Realm: First-Rank Martial Master] [Cultivation Method: Peiyuan Gong (Mid-Grade, Upper-Tier, Perfection 0/1000)] [Martial Skill: Cloud-Dispelling Palm (High-Grade, Lower-Tier, Mastery Realm 0/5000)]
Seeing the changes on the panel, a look of confusion immediately appeared in Lu Feng's eyes.
"Huh? My lifespan seems to have increased by twenty years! What's going on?"
Originally, his lifespan had only been fifty years. After breaking through to the Martial Master Realm, it had become seventy.
The book title couldn't be found? Try searching for the author instead. Maybe it was just renamed!
"Could breaking through a major realm increase your lifespan?" Lu Feng wondered, rubbing his chin.
If that was true, then the Martial Dao in this world was truly extraordinary.
After thinking it over briefly, Lu Feng called Fan Tao over to dispose of the damaged Iron Man Post and told him to keep quiet about what had happened.
When Fan Tao saw the shattered Iron Man Post, he froze in place.
These Iron Man Posts were specifically made for high-rank Martial Artists and Martial Masters to train with. They were said to withstand a force of ten thousand jin.
Yet the Iron Man Post in front of him had clearly been split apart by a single palm strike. Its terrifying degree of destruction was almost impossible to imagine.
Fan Tao stood stunned for a moment, then turned to Lu Feng and stared at him in shock.
"C-Captain Lu, did you split this Iron Man Post?"
Lu Feng sighed. "Alas, I did. I didn't expect this Iron Man Post to be so flimsy. By the way, don't tell anyone about this, understood?"
Fan Tao was utterly dumbfounded. "Uh... yes, I understand!"
After Fan Tao left, Lu Feng closed his eyes again and began cultivating Peiyuan Gong.
The Cloud-Dispelling Palm's proficiency had now soared to five thousand points. It would probably take a long time to break through to the next level of the Martial Skill.
Peiyuan Gong, however, only required one thousand proficiency points. To keep advancing quickly through the Martial Realm, Lu Feng decided to cultivate this method first.
[You circulate Peiyuan Gong once. Proficiency +1] [You circulate Peiyuan Gong once. Proficiency +1] ...
Time flew by, and soon evening had arrived.
As usual, Lu Feng finished the exotic beast meat dinner prepared for him by the County Yamen, then got ready to head home.
Just as he left the room, he suddenly saw Captain Wang emerge from the Yamen Room as well.
Captain Wang glanced at him, disdain and a cold glint in his eyes.
Lu Feng let out a cold laugh inwardly. Captain Wang must still think he was an Eighth-Rank Martial Artist, unaware that Lu Feng had already broken through to First-Rank Martial Master.
Their strength was now worlds apart. It was time to settle their old grudge.
Captain Wang had not only helped his uncle's family plot against him; he was also one of Zhou Yongsi's men.
If Lu Feng could take him out, Zhou Yongsi would lose one of his allies in the County Yamen.
Besides, he could use the enemy spies' assassination attempts as cover for his actions.
Having made up his mind, Lu Feng headed straight home.
As time passed, night gradually shrouded all of Qinglu County.
To conceal his identity, Lu Feng dressed in black and began making his way through the city.
A moment later, he reached East Street. After looking around, he spotted Chen Han patrolling the whole district with several Yamen Runners.
"If I remember correctly, Captain Wang's home is at the westernmost end of this district."
After speaking, he flashed out of sight. When he appeared again, he was already inside a small courtyard.
As he looked over the courtyard, a trace of murderous intent slowly surfaced in his eyes.
Everyone who had once tried to harm him—whether they were officials from the County Yamen or members of his uncle's family—would pay. He would spare not a single one!
After checking the area, he leapt lightly into the courtyard, then slowed his steps as he approached the main room.
Through the door, he could clearly hear the breathing of the people inside.
Judging by their breathing, there should be two people in there.
Lu Feng took out a dagger, slid it into the crack in the door, and gently worked at the latch.
Before long, there was a soft click as the latch finally came loose.
But that slight sound was enough to wake Captain Wang, who was asleep in bed!
"Who's there!"
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