Defense Surged

"You practiced the Phantom Movement Technique. Congratulations, you triggered a Hundredfold Critical Hit and received a hundredfold reward!"

That was right. As soon as he reached the entry level in the Phantom Movement Technique, he triggered a Hundredfold Critical Hit, gaining a hundredfold increase in insights, experience, and skill... In one stroke, he raised the Phantom Movement Technique to the first layer.

With a shift of his feet, his speed surged, and an afterimage appeared where he had stood. His true body had already moved elsewhere, leaving his enemies unable to guard against him.

Although the first layer of the Phantom Movement Technique was a little stiff and its afterimages easy to see through, it could still be quite effective for saving his life and escaping when used by surprise.

After mastering the first layer of the Phantom Movement Technique, Qin Dongcheng's ability to escape and stay alive had improved by at least twofold. That was what made the Phantom Movement Technique so powerful.

The Heaven Concealment Art was for hiding, while the Phantom Movement Technique was for escape. Together, they were enormously useful for escaping and staying alive, each complementing the other perfectly.

From now on, even if he encountered an enemy he couldn't withstand, he could still flee or hide if he couldn't win.

After happily getting used to his greatly improved Phantom Movement Technique, he practiced until he could wield it as naturally as his own arm. Then Qin Dongcheng continued his peaceful cultivation, his days calm and fulfilling.

Before long, the Mission Hall issued a mandatory task. As expected, this time it was related to alchemy and medicine-making.

The task required him to refine ten Golden Wound Pills, and the reward was ten points of Sect Contribution. It might not seem like much, but as an Outer Sect Disciple, he also received a handsome monthly stipend.

Not only did he receive a stipend, he also got ten points of Sect Contribution as a reward. What was more, he had moved into Osmanthus Garden and was eligible to exchange for cultivation methods from the first five realms of martial arts.

So, looking at it purely from a business perspective, he hadn't lost out at all. In fact, he'd made quite a bit.

Given his skill in Alchemy, he could refine three or four Golden Wound Pills at most in one go. Even if he failed a few times, he could still make about five pills a day.

That meant he needed only two days to complete the mandatory task for the month, leaving the rest of his time entirely to himself.

Unlike other Alchemy Apprentices, who could only refine one pill at a time, he could complete the task in two days. If they failed a few times in a day, they might not manage to produce a single finished pill.

The mandatory task of refining ten Golden Wound Pills would probably take them about half a month. It went without saying how little time they would have left to practice.

It really was better to keep his abilities under wraps. That way, even when they assigned him a mandatory task, it wouldn't be too difficult, and he could finish it quickly, leaving the rest of his time for himself.

To avoid finishing too quickly and causing his next mandatory task to be upgraded, Qin Dongcheng took over half a month to complete this one, deliberately pacing himself. He took about as long as the other Alchemy Apprentices.

No one suspected he was deliberately holding back, and few paid him any mind. After all, everyone had been busy lately.

More and more Demons and Ghosts were entering Luo Cloud Prefecture from the surrounding prefectures. It seemed some force was stirring things up behind the scenes, trying to throw Luo Cloud Prefecture into turmoil as well. Several months had passed, yet the unrest had still not subsided.

As a result, the sect's demand for all kinds of healing pills kept growing, and many Official Alchemists and Alchemy Apprentices received numerous mandatory pill-refining tasks.

Qin Dongcheng didn't look into the matter too closely. Given his current status, even if he learned more, there was nothing he could do about it. Why worry?

When the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up. All he needed to do was cultivate, refine pills, and gather herbs in peace... As the days passed, Qin Dongcheng drew ever closer to the middle stage of the Skin Phase.

Perhaps it really was the influence of high-level Demons and Ghosts. Bamboo Forest Valley had seen no snow this year. No, it wasn't this year anymore; a new year had already begun. Even at the end of last year, Bamboo Forest Valley had never seen snow, and neither had many parts of Luo Cloud Prefecture.

It wasn't just a great deal of farmland that had been affected. Many Herb Fields had suffered as well.

Fortunately, Luo Cloud Prefecture had enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity, and had accumulated many resources and treasures over the years. So even when disaster struck, it was quickly brought under control.

This made Qin Dongcheng yearn even more for higher realms. What sort of existence could influence even the weather?

He wondered how long it would take him to reach that level and gain the power to affect the weather.

"You practiced the Diamond Skin Refining Fist. Congratulations, you triggered a two-hundred-and-fifty-fold critical hit and received a two-hundred-and-fifty-fold reward!"

That night, he was practicing the Diamond Skin Refining Fist as usual when, to his surprise, he triggered another critical hit without even realizing it—a two-hundred-and-fifty-fold one, at that.

His Blood Qi surged wildly, and the tempering of his skin accelerated at a tremendous rate. Qin Dongcheng hurriedly swallowed several Blood-Replenishing Pills and chewed on some ginseng that was over a decade old.

He did his utmost to stabilize his body and absorb the fortune brought by this critical-hit reward.

His cultivation had already been close to the middle stage of the Skin Phase. Now, it reached the peak of the early stage at astonishing speed, then surged toward an even higher level.

Before long, he broke through the bottleneck and entered a new realm.

The middle stage of the Skin Phase!

His Blood Qi grew even more vigorous and refined, and his skin became increasingly tough and sturdy, layer upon layer, like oxhide. Its defensive power was astonishing.

With a casual movement, he could unleash more than six hundred kilograms of force. With the boost from Dragon Vigor Tiger Might, that could surge to around twelve hundred and fifty kilograms—about twenty-five hundred pounds.

He was only a cultivator of the second realm of martial arts, and had only recently embarked on the path of a Martial Artist.

His strength hadn't increased by much. After all, the Skin Phase Realm was primarily about tempering and strengthening the skin, which mainly improved defense and offered only a limited boost to strength.

Besides, strength was only one part of measuring a person's abilities. Defense, speed, reflexes, combat techniques, secret arts, and other factors also had a major impact on one's strength. Sometimes, they could even decide the outcome with a single decisive blow.

Strength was just one factor. The greatest improvement was in his defensive power. After the breakthrough, Qin Dongcheng's skin was at least twice as tough as before.

From now on, he could rely on his skin to effectively withstand all kinds of attacks. Ordinary knives, spears, staffs, and clubs would have a hard time hurting him.

If those weapons were in the hands of ordinary people, whether they could even injure Qin Dongcheng would be an open question.

In his previous life, he still couldn't stop bullets with his bare body. But once he reached Skin Phase Perfection, there was a good chance he could.

After testing his skin's defensive power, Qin Dongcheng was quite satisfied. Once he had consolidated and adjusted to his new realm, he headed to the Herb Field early the next morning.

He hadn't been there for several days, so it was time to gather another batch of precious herbs. He wondered how his luck would be today—could he trigger a Thousandfold Critical Hit?