Martial arts were as important to a martial artist as his life and livelihood.
Out in the world, even a First-Grade Martial Art would be fought over desperately by countless Body Tempering martial artists.
But on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion,
there were tens of thousands of First-Grade Martial Arts!
That was the benefit of joining the Demon Suppression Division. As long as you had enough Merit Points, you could exchange them for any grade of martial art you wanted!
"You're Lin Feng, right? Your 200 Merit Points were recorded last night. Just take it; the Merit Points will be deducted automatically," the One-armed Elder said slowly.
Lin Feng nodded and picked up Iron Shirt. He was just wondering where he should go to train when—
the One-armed Elder spoke again.
"The Scripture Pavilion has a designated area for practicing martial arts."
"Iron Shirt requires you to be struck with iron sand and tempered with weapons."
"You'll find those things in the third Training Ground on the right. Go there and train on your own," the One-armed Elder said, pointing toward a spot.
Lin Feng nodded at his words, feeling a little curious.
By rights, someone as powerful as the One-armed Elder shouldn't have said so much to an ordinary constable like him.
First, the One-armed Elder had advised him against practicing Iron Shirt, then he'd told Lin Feng where to find a suitable Training Ground.
Countless people passed through the Scripture Pavilion, yet this was the first time the One-armed Elder had ever said so much to anyone.
At the same time, Lin Feng couldn't help but feel impressed by how considerate the Scripture Pavilion was.
He'd just been wondering how to begin training, and it turned out everything he needed was already there.
All he had to do now was keep grinding proficiency, and he'd be able to grow stronger in no time!
Lin Feng followed the direction the One-armed Elder had pointed and headed off.
He wanted to start training at once, without wasting a moment.
Meanwhile, the One-armed Elder watched Lin Feng's back gradually disappear.
"Foolish boy, reaching beyond your grasp."
The One-armed Elder shook his head slightly.
He'd also heard that a new Demon Suppression Guard had killed a Second-Order Demon last night, and knew it had been Lin Feng.
That was why he'd taken a couple of extra looks when Lin Feng first came in.
He'd thought Lin Feng would choose a martial art related to Archery, or perhaps a movement technique.
He hadn't expected him to choose a Body Tempering martial art first.
The One-armed Elder sank into thought.
He'd seen Lin Feng's expression change when he picked up Iron Shirt.
Decades ago, when he'd still been an ordinary constable, he'd chosen Iron Shirt too, hoping to survive the demons' jaws.
Seeing Lin Feng make the same choice had brought back memories.
He still remembered how grueling it had been to practice Iron Shirt!
He'd filled a sack with iron sand and repeatedly beaten his body with it, night after night, for who knew how long.
Only then had he barely reached Minor Success!
By his rough estimate, it had taken him at least two months to reach Minor Success.
"The first layer of Iron Shirt, the Copper Skin Realm, isn't easy to master. You have to endure pain that ordinary people can't bear!"
"This kid's an archer. He probably has no experience tempering his body, not since he was a child!"
"He'll probably give up in less than an hour."
The One-armed Elder shook his head at the thought.
Body-tempering martial arts were quite precious to martial artists in the Body Tempering Realm.
At least several dozen people had chosen Iron Shirt to practice.
Without exception, they'd all given up after practicing for a little while.
The pain of beating one's own body was simply more than most people could endure.
The key thing was, after all that pounding, you still needed a Medicinal Bath to help your body recover.
Many Body Tempering martial artists simply couldn't afford it!
Meanwhile,
Lin Feng entered the Training Ground for body-tempering martial arts and looked around.
He saw all sorts of equipment for assisting with training, such as an entire sack filled with heavy iron sand.
There were also Wolf Tooth Clubs, Meteor Hammers, Iron Nail Beds, and more.
He'd already read through Iron Shirt.
He knew that practicing it boiled down to one essential principle:
Tempering the body by any means necessary!
Lin Feng focused, and the Status Panel appeared before his eyes.
Name: Lin Feng Cultivation: Body Tempering Fourth Level Skills: Archery lv3 (120/10000), Iron Shirt lv1 (0/100) Talents: Infallible Shot, Swift Shadow Soul Chaser, Toxin
His Iron Shirt was currently lv1. All he had to do was grind it up to 100 proficiency, and he'd successfully level up!
Lin Feng's gaze then fell on the Iron Sand Bag below.
He took a deep breath and picked up the Iron Sand Bag with one hand.
The instant he lifted it, his steps sank slightly.
What a heavy sack!
This sack must have weighed at least five hundred pounds!
It was meant to temper the body by swinging it from side to side and beating the chest and back.
Just getting struck by a five-hundred-pound Iron Sand Bag was already more than an ordinary person could bear.
And swinging it made the weight even more terrifying. An ordinary martial artist in the Body Tempering Realm couldn't withstand it!
But...
For the sake of becoming stronger, Lin Feng didn't hesitate for a moment.
His eyes were full of determination.
He lifted the Iron Sand Bag and swung it with all his strength.
The swinging Iron Sand Bag cut through the air with a heavy whoosh.
BAM!!
The Iron Sand Bag slammed directly into his back.
At that moment, Lin Feng let out a muffled grunt.
His throat tasted sweet, as if he were about to cough up blood.
His Five Viscera and Six Bowels shuddered violently, as though they were about to be pulverized.
Lin Feng paid none of it any mind. Instead, he stared fixedly at the Status Panel, watching for changes to Iron Shirt.
He saw Iron Shirt's proficiency jump from (0/100) to (2/100).
It had increased by 2 points!
Lin Feng felt a surge of joy.
That was a pretty good increase. He only needed to temper his body 50 times to level up!
Thinking this, Lin Feng took another deep breath, tensing every muscle in his body.
Once more, he swung the five-hundred-pound Iron Sand Bag from side to side.
Lin Feng was alone in the body-tempering Training Ground.
The dull thuds of the Iron Sand Bag striking his body echoed through the grounds.
Anyone watching would have been terrified.
After all, this was a five-hundred-pound Iron Sand Bag.
A blow from it was equivalent to a fierce punch from someone at the Fifth Level of Body Tempering!
Lin Feng was only at the Fourth Level of Body Tempering. To anyone else, he must have looked like he was courting death.
Who knew how long passed?
Lin Feng stared eagerly at the Status Panel before him.
He watched as his proficiency slowly climbed.
It drew closer and closer to 100.
For the final two or three swings, Lin Feng didn't rest. Instead, he swung with all his strength.
The dull thuds continued to ring out. Lin Feng's face turned bright red, as if he might spray blood at any moment.
Suddenly, Lin Feng stopped moving.
His Iron Shirt proficiency had reached 100!
Name: Lin Feng Cultivation: Body Tempering Fourth Level Skills: Archery lv3 (120/10000), Iron Shirt lv2 (0/1000) Talents: Infallible Shot, Swift Shadow Soul Chaser, Toxin, Copper Skin
Seeing this, a flicker of delight appeared between Lin Feng's brows!
Then he couldn't help grinning, blood pouring from his mouth.
Iron Shirt had nearly killed him during training, given that he was only at the Fourth Level of Body Tempering!
But in the end, his efforts had paid off. His Iron Shirt had leveled up.
He'd also gained a Copper Skin talent.
He'd read in martial arts books that Copper Skin was the Minor Success stage of Iron Shirt.
For an ordinary person, reaching Minor Success took three or four months at the shortest, and five or six at the longest.
Even those with outstanding talent needed at least two months to reach Minor Success.
But how long had it taken him?
Before you continue