As the heat coursed through his body, washing over his skin, it forced out a flood of pitch-black impurities. His skin gleamed with an even more crystalline luster.
After repeating this for who knew how long, the pain of needles stabbing him and ants biting at him faded away.
"Feels great!" Luo Yi stood in the courtyard, feeling better than ever, and couldn't help shouting aloud.
Wasting no time, Luo Yi hurriedly picked up the Iron Head Skin Refining Technique manual from the stone table and flipped through it, eager to test his theory.
After flipping through it again and again, the Iron Head Skin Refining Technique was fully recorded in the system panel: Iron Head Skin Refining Technique (Not Started 1/25).
Looking at the panel, he saw that the Iron Head Skill needed only 25 points to reach the entry level. It seemed that once he brought a technique of his current realm to perfection, his progress in other techniques of the same realm would be cut in half, while his cultivation speed would increase.
Having confirmed his theory, Luo Yi wasted no more time and assumed the stance for the Iron Head Skin Refining Technique.
He bent forward at the waist, spread his legs, and slapped the air with his hands, one above the other. As he thrust his head forward, his shoulders swayed in the same direction.
Before long, he had completed a full set of the Iron Head Skin Refining Technique's moves, and a notification popped up on the panel: progress increased by six points.
"Just as I expected." It really had gotten faster. A delighted smile spread across Luo Yi's face, and he was very satisfied with how quickly his progress was increasing.
He went into the kitchen, started brewing his Tonic Medicine, then took out the Bear Gall wrapped in paper from inside his clothes and swallowed the largest piece.
He kept practicing in the courtyard like this for who knew how many hours, until the sky gradually darkened.
After slapping his hands, butting his head, and rolling his shoulders over and over, he felt soreness throughout his body. His neck was especially stiff, as though he'd slept on it wrong; even moving it was difficult. He knew his neck had reached its limit for the day, and pushing any further might cause trouble.
He slowly brought his practice to a close and silently thought, Open the proficiency panel. Iron Head Skin Refining Technique (Mastered 67/200).
Excellent. He needed only 133 more progress points to reach perfection. It looked like he could finish as soon as tomorrow.
It was nearly midnight. So as not to affect his cultivation the next day, Luo Yi went to the well, washed up quickly, then returned to his room and lay down to rest.
In Yunlu County's South District, in a courtyard tucked away in a secluded alley, lanterns blazed brightly. A group of people sat around a table, constantly raising their cups and clinking them together, enjoying themselves immensely.
The man at the head of the table turned to the others and asked, "How did the investigation go? Did you find out that man's real identity?"
At his question, the people at the table looked at one another. Finally, one man stood up and said:
"Little Wolf Head, we've got it all figured out. The man's name is Luo Yi, and the pretty young lady is Luo Xi."
"The two of them are hunters from Dongsheng Town, near Yunlu County. They arrived in the county seat a few days ago and bought a courtyard from Luo Real Estate Agency in the South District. They only moved in a few days back."
After hearing his subordinate's report, Little Wolf Head learned the pair's identities and background. Remembering how Luo Yi had bluffed him earlier that day, he couldn't help but curse furiously:
"Two country bumpkins who just got to town, and they actually dared to cause trouble for our Green Wolf Gang? They must be tired of living!"
"You lot, go tell every brother under me. Tomorrow night, we're going to kill that brat."
"Boss is mighty! Boss is invincible!" Hearing their boss's threats, the gang of lowlifes could only keep showering him with flattery.
The next morning arrived, and Luo Yi got up early. After a quick wash, he began practicing the Iron Head Skin Refining Technique.
Apart from the time he spent eating, he devoted himself to martial arts practice without a break.
He'd originally thought it would take all day, or even longer, to upgrade the Iron Head Skin Refining Technique.
But not long after lunch, a notification suddenly popped up on the panel before Luo Yi: Iron Head Skin Refining Technique (Perfect).
"So fast!" Even Luo Yi was startled by how quickly the skill had leveled up.
That familiar feeling washed over him, and he began to sense the effects of the skill upgrade.
"Hot!" "Hot!" "Hot!" This time, aside from the heat, the stinging pain and the feeling of ants biting him were barely noticeable.
Once the Iron Head Skin Refining Technique reached perfection, the crystalline, glowing sheen on his skin gradually vanished. His skin became just like that of an ordinary person who had never practiced martial arts.
"Back to the natural state." Looking at his skin now, Luo Yi thought of the idiom.
Worried that his skin had returned to normal and lost its defensive power, Luo Yi picked up the Dao from the table and dragged it across his arm.
"Zzz, zzz, zzz." As the Dao scraped against his arm, sparks flew again and again.
After a single slash, the Dao was full of notches, while not even a pale mark appeared on his arm.
After confirming that his defense was still intact, Luo Yi squatted down and easily lifted the stone table, which weighed a thousand jin, with one hand.
What was this? What kind of strength and defensive ability was this?!
Ordinary martial artists usually tried to move on to Body Refining once their skin reached the mastered stage. Even after entering the Body Refining Realm, their strength would not improve by much.
Feeling the surging power within him, Luo Yi found himself eager to fight a Body Refining martial artist.
He went to the well, drew up a bucket of water, and poured it over himself. Taking a deep breath, Luo Yi suppressed the restlessness in his heart and opened the system panel:
Host: Luo Yi Age: 16 Realm: Skin Refining Limit Skills: Basic Archery (Mastered 270/400), Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique (Perfect), Introduction to Poisons (Perfect), Mantis Skin Refining Technique (Perfect), Iron Head Skin Refining Technique (Perfect) Traits: Immune to Poisons, Fierce Tiger's Back, Mantis Leg (After practicing martial arts for a long time, the joints in both legs have become flexible and agile, slightly altering the Bone Frame and improving martial arts aptitude) Iron Brain (Greatly increases the brain's defensive ability, slightly alters the Bone Frame, and improves martial arts aptitude) Energy Points: 16 Bone Frame: Top Grade
"Skin Refining Limit"! Mantis Leg! Iron Brain! Top-grade aptitude.
Luo Yi felt he had gained more from these three days of martial arts training than he had during the entire time since he'd transmigrated.
Seeing the Skin Refining Limit displayed on the panel, he suspected that he couldn't improve any further, but he still couldn't help wanting to try.
He jogged all the way to Wucang Pavilion, took out the last twenty-odd taels of silver he had, and bought a manual called the Lion Skin Refining Technique.
After thanking Hongyu, Luo Yi hurried home.
He practiced again and again until he successfully reached the entry level of the Lion Skin Refining Technique. But when he did, Luo Yi found that his body didn't react at all—not even the surface of his skin changed. It looked just as it always had.
It seemed that each realm had a limit, and he could only train up to that limit. Since the Lion Skin Refining Technique no longer had any effect on the Skin Refining Realm, Luo Yi stopped practicing it, returned to his room, and took out the Berserk Bear Flesh Refining Technique manual hidden under his pillow.
Looking at the contents of the book, Luo Yi couldn't help imagining how things would be if he steadily trained every step of the way to the limit of each realm. By then, both his strength and his foundation would far surpass those of others in the same realm.
Before you continue