One-Click Max Iron Cloth Shirt

Wang Xuan followed the Players on the street who had clearly just descended and were looking around everywhere. Before long, he had gotten a rough understanding of Blue Stone Town.

The town was small, with only one main street, though it had three martial halls, each with an eye-catching signboard.

The first was the "Five Tigers Door-Breaking Blade Hall." Several Players squatted at its entrance, sighing dejectedly.

"Brother, mind if I ask how this place is?" Wang Xuan approached and asked.

A skinny man looked up, his face full of frustration. "Don't even mention it! The name sounds impressive—Five Tigers Door-Breaking Blade! But when I went in and asked, the hall master said he only taught the first four forms. The rest... were lost! Tell me, isn't that basically cutting the art in half? And the tuition's still six taels. What a scam!"

"Exactly," a fat man beside him chimed in. "I figured my talent was the 'diligence can make up for clumsiness' type. I might train slowly, but at least I could master the whole thing. But the hall master said it wasn't that he refused to teach it—the later moves simply didn't exist. His ancestors never passed them down. What the hell am I supposed to train? Even at the peak, I'd only be half-baked."

Wang Xuan's heart sank.

An incomplete cultivation art?

His talent was One-Click Max, but could maximizing an incomplete art derive its original complete version? He wasn't that confident. Especially not with six taels of silver—he didn't have the capital to make a mistake.

Forget it. Pass.

The second was the "Mountain Crushing Fist Hall." It was far quieter than the Five Tigers Blade Hall; there wasn't even a soul outside.

Wang Xuan walked in and saw an old man dozing inside.

"Sir, may I ask if you teach fist techniques here?"

The old man opened his eyes and yawned. "Mountain Crushing Fist. One punch carries the force to shatter mountains. Tuition is four taels."

"Is this fist art... well known?" Wang Xuan asked cautiously. He had watched plenty of wuxia stories in his previous life, yet he had never heard of this technique.

The old man shot him a glance, his tone impatient. "Why does a fist art need fame? It works if it can fight. Are you learning or not? If not, stop interrupting my sleep."

Wang Xuan quietly backed out. An unknown fist art carried too much uncertainty. He was crossing the river by feeling for stones now; every step had to be steady. There was no need to take such a risk.

The third was the "Iron Garment Martial Hall." It had the largest crowd outside, noisy and bustling.

"Iron Cloth Shirt, brothers! A hard martial art! It may be common as dirt, but at least it's complete!"

"Right, right! In a first-floor world, a complete cultivation art is better than anything! Train an incomplete one, and when your realm gets stuck later, you won't even have anywhere to cry!"

"I heard Master Qin is the strongest expert in Blue Stone Town, with Post-Heaven Realm Third Layer cultivation! Learning from him is reliable!"

"The tuition's five taels, a whole tael cheaper than the Five Tigers Blade Hall!"

Listening to the Players' discussion, Wang Xuan immediately understood the situation.

The Five Tigers Door-Breaking Blade was incomplete and highly uncertain. Mountain Crushing Fist was obscure and equally risky. Iron Cloth Shirt might be common as dirt, but it was complete. Its hall master's strength was there for all to see, and the information about it was clear.

Was there even a choice to make?

For someone like him with a "cheat," it did not matter whether the cultivation art itself was good or bad. What mattered was that it had to be complete. As long as it was complete, he could One-Click Max it. Still, Mountain Crushing Fist was out. One was a combat fist technique, while the other was a body-tempering hard martial art. No matter how well he trained the former, it would only be useful for dealing with street thugs and bandits. The latter, however, could truly cultivate inner force from the outside in.

So one had to recognize reality. Choosing wisely was very important.

Wang Xuan squeezed through the crowd and entered the martial hall.

In the courtyard, a sturdy middle-aged man in a short jacket was instructing several apprentices in their training. His temples bulged high, and his gaze was bright and sharp. This was presumably Master Qin.

"Master, I want to learn Iron Cloth Shirt," Wang Xuan said directly.

Master Qin examined him and said, "Five taels of silver. That includes the mnemonic, the method of circulating qi, and the medicinal bath formula. Can you endure hardship?"

"I can." Wang Xuan took out the silver and handed it over.

Master Qin accepted the money and nodded. "Follow me."

He led Wang Xuan aside. Without any unnecessary words, he began teaching him directly.

"Iron Cloth Shirt trains sinews, bones, and skin externally, and cultivates a breath of qi internally. Memorize this: Raise both hands to the sky to nourish inner qi; sink the shoulders and drop the elbows to stabilize the foundation."

"The qi circulation method goes like this: first, draw qi into the dantian; second, lift it through the spine; third, exhale until it fills the body; fourth, condense it like an iron wall. Qi courses through skin, flesh, and bone; strength permeates every limb and joint."

"The medicinal bath uses these herbs. Go to Che Family Apothecary in town and get them yourself. Soak for two hours after training each day to nourish the skin and flesh."

There was not much information, and Wang Xuan quickly memorized it all.

As expected, Iron Cloth Shirt was basic. Entry-level training relied on taking hits—using external force to pound the body, then nourishing it with medicinal baths until the skin, muscles, and bones gradually hardened.

After Master Qin finished speaking, he waved a hand. "I've given you the mnemonic and method. Go find a Wooden Dummy in the courtyard and temper yourself. Remember, haste makes waste. The greatest taboo of hard martial arts is... Hm? You... this is..."

He could not finish his sentence, because obvious changes had already appeared in Wang Xuan's body. Wisps of white steam rose gently from him.

The instant Master Qin finished imparting the cultivation art, a clear sensation arose in Wang Xuan's mind. It was not an actual voice, yet it felt exceptionally real.

[Detected skill: 'Iron Cloth Shirt' (Complete).]

[Would you like to use the talent 'One-Click Max'?]

What body-pounding tempering? What medicinal bath nourishment? Before his Unique Rank talent, all of it was completely unnecessary!

Talent, let me see your limit!

Wang Xuan silently said in his heart, "Yes!"

An immense current of heat exploded from deep within his body without warning! Like a pot of boiling oil, it instantly poured across every inch of skin, every muscle, and every bone in his body!

"Urgh!" Wang Xuan grunted, quickly gritting his teeth to keep himself from crying out.

His skin reacted first. It tightened and swelled, and then an iron-and-copper-like hardness rapidly spread throughout his body. The Copper Skin Realm was crossed almost in the blink of an eye.

The heat did not stop. It continued drilling deep into his muscles.

His muscle fibers seemed to be pulled and reshaped by invisible hands, becoming denser and tougher. The Iron Skin Realm did not even last two seconds.

Then the heat surged straight into his bones!

Wang Xuan could clearly hear faint crackling sounds from within his body, like beans being fried. Yet there was no pain at all. Instead, he felt the exhilarating comfort of being remade from the inside out. Iron Bone Realm, great completion!

The heat still surged onward, breaking through an invisible bottleneck without the slightest obstruction.

Perfection!

But it was not over yet!

The heat seemed to have no limit. After reaching Iron Cloth Shirt's theoretical state of perfection, it actually forced the cultivation art onward toward a realm no one had ever reached!

Wang Xuan felt an extremely faint, jade-like warm sheen emerge over his skin before quietly sinking beneath it.

Within his meridians, inner force far thicker and more solid than before began circulating on its own, endlessly and without needing deliberate activation.

[Iron Cloth Shirt has reached the historical limit of the cultivation art.]

[Realm breakthrough: Iron Cloth Shirt (Limit)]

[Characteristic: Small Vehicle Grade · Indestructible Diamond.]

[Effect: Indestructible Diamond. No weak points. Inner force self-generates, qi fills the entire body. The fleshly body is forged like yellow jade; blades and spears struggle to penetrate it, while inner force from those of the same realm cannot harm it.]

It worked!

It sounded like a long process, but from the emergence of the heat to the completion of the transformation, only a few breaths had passed.

Wang Xuan took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart. With a thought, he summoned the personal System Panel that only he could see and quickly swept his gaze across it.

[Player Name: Wang Xuan]

[Age: 18]

[Talent: One-Click Max (Unique Rank)]

[Cultivation Art: Iron Cloth Shirt (Limit)]

[Realm: Post-Heaven Realm Sixth Layer]

[Current Plot World: Secret of the Linked Cities!]

His gaze stopped on the Realm entry, where the words "Post-Heaven Realm Sixth Layer" were written clearly.

It really worked!

A common Iron Cloth Shirt hard martial art, after being maximized, had directly pushed him from an ordinary person with no cultivation all the way to the Post-Heaven Realm Sixth Layer!

In Blue Stone Town, he was probably three levels above even Master Qin. That was how the martial world worked—being one level higher in martial arts meant being higher beyond measure.

Wang Xuan quietly clenched his fist. With this strength, he finally had the means to protect himself in this first-floor world. He was no longer a rookie anyone could manipulate at will.

Just then, an even louder commotion suddenly erupted outside the martial hall, mixed with countless cries of alarm. The peace inside was instantly shattered.

"You..." Master Qin's eyes widened round. The transformation Wang Xuan had just undergone was too astonishing. He had clearly trained Iron Cloth Shirt to an unimaginable level, yet in the blink of an eye, he had returned to normal, no different from an ordinary apprentice. Master Qin was momentarily at a complete loss, frozen where he stood.

"The Royal Clan! The Royal Clan has descended! We're done for!" A shocked cry came from the entrance, and the martial hall immediately erupted into unrest as Players surged outside.

Wang Xuan gathered his thoughts, feeling the abundant power within him. He followed at the back of the crowd, leaving behind Master Qin, who was still frozen in place and struggling with himself, and walked out of the martial hall.

Both sides of Blue Stone Town's narrow street were now packed with people, most of them Players who had only recently descended. They craned their necks, their gazes uniformly fixed on the middle of the street.

A woman stood in the middle of the street.

She wore spotless white robes, making her particularly conspicuous against the dusty old-town street. She was breathtakingly beautiful, yet her face bore no expression. Her eyes looked ahead with indifference, treating the ordinary Players gathered around her as if they did not exist.

Most eye-catching of all was the faint Golden Imprint at her brow, which seemed to emit its own soft light: [Royal].

The Royal Clan!

Wang Xuan's pupils contracted slightly. Yesterday, in the real world, he had seen the royal character on Feng Shaoyun's brow. He had not expected to encounter another one on the first floor of the Heavens Tower today!

This woman had clearly descended only recently. Seemingly impatient with the noise around her, she swept her gaze around and did something that stunned every Player present. She pulled an ancient scroll from her robes and tore it apart with both hands.

Rip—

The scroll was ripped open on the spot!

A dazzling stream of light immediately shot from the torn scroll into the sky. After circling once overhead, it seemed to come alive and suddenly rushed toward the woman in white.

In an instant, an invisible wave spread outward, sweeping dust from the ground into the air.

Feeling the inner force abruptly fill her body, the woman in white saw a System Panel that only she could see appear before her eyes:

[Player Name: Yu Jinghong]

[Age: 18]

[Talent: Reincarnation Substitute (A Grade)]

[Realm: Post-Heaven Realm Fifth Layer]

[Cultivation Arts: Bright Jade Art (Beginner), Falling Blossom Divine Sword Palm (Minor Accomplishment), Whirlwind Leaf-Sweeping Leg (Minor Accomplishment)]

The surrounding Players instantly exploded into uproar.

"What was that thing she just tore apart?"

"Those special effects—her entire aura changed in an instant!"

"It's definitely something good! When someone from the Royal Clan makes a move, they use trump cards like that!"

Standing amid the crowd, Wang Xuan looked at the woman in white, his pupils contracting again.

Ordinary Players could not see what was happening, but he saw it clearly. With his Post-Heaven Realm Sixth Layer cultivation, he could easily sense the other party's aura.

A moment ago, this woman had only been at an ordinary level. Yet after using a single scroll, her realm had soared directly to the Post-Heaven Realm Fifth Layer.

So this is how the Royal Clan operates? How is that any different from having cheats? Wang Xuan grumbled inwardly.

He unconsciously touched his jade-tough skin and sensed the rich inner force flowing through his meridians on its own. Then he suddenly froze. It seemed that he, too, was a cheat user—and perhaps even more outrageous than the Royal Clan.

"Disregarding the rules and blatantly cheating... and this is only the Royal Clan. What methods must those Longevity Clans possess..."

Wang Xuan sighed inwardly. The faint sense of security he had only just built up in this world was instantly and completely shattered by the sudden appearance of the Royal Clan.