New Talent

Zhao Xisheng was stunned.

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Li San, whom he had always regarded as lofty and untouchable, was actually fawning over Gong Yulei like this!

Could it be that Senior Brother Gong Yulei had become one of the Fish Dragon Gang's higher-ups?!

The moment he considered that possibility, Zhao Xisheng was overjoyed.

He hurried forward and blocked their path.

"Senior Brother Gong! What are you doing here?"

When Li San saw Zhao Xisheng suddenly step in front of them, anger flared in his heart, and he was just about to kick him away.

But hearing that this man seemed to know Gong Yulei and even called him senior brother, he was immediately startled and forcibly withdrew his foot.

"Hall Master Gong, this...?" Li San asked.

Gong Yulei frowned and said coldly, "You are?"

"I'm Zhao Xisheng! Senior Brother Gong, don't you recognize me? We learned boxing together at White Cloud Martial Hall! Back then, I often practiced boxing with Jiang Che!" Zhao Xisheng was startled and hurriedly explained.

"So it was you!" When Gong Yulei heard him mention Jiang Che, he suddenly remembered.

"Yes, yes, it's me, Zhao Xisheng!" Zhao Xisheng was delighted. Gong Yulei had recognized him.

"A piece of trash who never even broke through to the Blood-Qi Realm and was thrown out of the Martial Arts Hall—what right do you have to call yourself my fellow disciple?! Get lost!" Gong Yulei barked before striding away.

Zhao Xisheng felt as though he had been struck by lightning and stood there dumbfounded.

"You brat have some nerve, impersonating Hall Master Gong's junior brother! Brothers, beat him!" Li San snarled through gritted teeth.

Hall Master Gong was a favored man before the gang leader, and now he was Li San's direct superior.

This brat actually dared offend Hall Master Gong. Wasn't he trying to get Li San killed? It was simply outrageous!

At once, the Fish Dragon Gang members behind him swarmed forward and rained punches and kicks upon Zhao Xisheng.

Zhao Xisheng clutched his head and curled up on the ground. He felt countless feet striking him, and he was already beginning to lose feeling.

He could not help recalling the days when he had learned boxing.

If only he had worked a little harder. If only he had broken through Qi-Blood and become a Martial Artist...

Tears streamed down his face.

Some fishermen who knew Zhao Xisheng saw this scene and kept shaking their heads with sighs.

Though they could not bear to watch, no one dared step forward to stop them.

Seeing that Zhao Xisheng was barely moving, the Fish Dragon Gang members finally stopped kicking him and left.

After they had gone far away, some fishermen who knew him came over.

"Shengzi! Wake up, Shengzi!"

A dark-skinned old man with graying hair lifted Zhao Xisheng up.

By family reckoning, he was a distant cousin of Zhao Xisheng's father.

"Ah... it hurts..."

Zhao Xisheng groaned and slowly opened his tear-filled eyes.

"Shengzi, check where you're hurt. Do you need to see a doctor?" the old man asked.

Zhao Xisheng shook his head. "I'm fine..."

He struggled to his feet, then limped over to his stall.

He silently packed up his fish stall, then limped toward a small sampan moored at the dock.

"What a sin..."

The old man sighed, but he had family members of his own to care for and was truly powerless to help.

Two months passed without anyone noticing.

Over those two months, Zhang Xiong and Lin Xue'er had also accumulated enough Qi-Blood and successfully broken through to Stone Skin.

Though the two of them did not possess bones as exceptional as Gong Yulei's, they were still considered outstanding.

Moreover, they had eaten plenty of Exotic Beast Meat and medicinal supplements in their daily lives, so their breakthroughs were only natural.

On Jiang Che's side, his Qi-Blood had also accumulated to ninety percent.

However, the remaining medicinal effects of the Qi-Replenishing Pill had nearly been exhausted, and his progress had slowed.

Fortunately, he had continued eating Mid-Grade Exotic Beast Meat. Otherwise, his progress would have been even slower.

Still, he finished the five jin he received each month in less than ten days, leaving him to eat only low-grade Exotic Beast Meat for the rest of the month.

The other three had all reached Stone Skin and spent more time going out, rarely staying in the courtyard.

Luo Kun had also recruited a new batch of apprentices and spent most of his time over there.

Thus, Jiang Che simply stopped putting on an act and cultivated directly at home. He only brought Jiang Ling to the Martial Arts Hall once every few days, mainly to visit Luo Kun.

That day, Jiang Che stood in the courtyard, repeatedly smashing a nail-studded iron rod against his body.

His frame had grown even more burly.

His height had vaguely reached one meter eighty-three. His muscles were strong and solid, yet not bloated.

The childishness had also faded from his face, which had begun to take on sharply defined features. He was exceedingly handsome.

His long black hair hung loose, and every gesture he made carried an aura of masculine vigor.

Crack!

Suddenly, one of the steel nails embedded in the iron rod snapped.

[Body Tempering: Perfection Realm]

[Unlocked Talent: Rejuvenation]

[Rejuvenation: Passive skill, permanent attribute enhancement type.]

[Description: Physical strength increases, recovery accelerates, and Flesh Regeneration is possible to a limited extent!]

"I got a new talent skill!"

Jiang Che was delighted and was just about to examine the skill.

Then his expression froze.

A powerful warm current surged from every limb and bone into his dantian.

His Qi-Blood, which had been at ninety percent, instantly rose to ninety-five percent!

"What's going on?"

Jiang Che was somewhat shocked.

"Could it be because Body Tempering reached the Perfection Realm?"

That was his only change, so he guessed that the two were certainly connected.

"When White Cloud Fist and writing reached the Perfection Realm before, there wasn't any additional Qi-Blood...

"Could it be because this is a body-hardening martial art?"

Although it had no Qi-Blood circulation technique, Body Tempering could barely be considered a low-tier version of a body-hardening martial art.

But Jiang Che could not yet determine the exact reason.

"Looks like I can only wait until other martial arts reach the Perfection Realm before observing further."

"But if it really is because of body-hardening martial arts..."

Jiang Che suddenly thought of the cultivation method most suited to him.

That was to constantly learn new body-hardening martial arts, then train every one of them to the Perfection Realm!

That way, his Qi-Blood would continue accumulating and eventually make up for the weakness of his slow Qi-Blood progress!

He instantly made up his mind to seek out more body-hardening martial arts to practice in the future.

"Right, let's see how much strength I have now..."

On one hand, his Qi-Blood had increased again.

On the other, Body Tempering itself could increase strength.

Now that it had reached the Perfection Realm, there would surely be another considerable improvement.

He walked over and stopped before a huge stone lock that was two chi long and one chi wide.

It was a four-hundred-jin stone lock.

Before Body Tempering had broken through to the Perfection Realm, this had also been the limit of his strength.

Jiang Che gripped its handle with one hand, then fiercely pushed off with his legs while lifting with his arm.

In an instant, the stone lock was raised above his head and held steady.

"It's much easier! My strength really has increased!"

Jiang Che was delighted.

He then walked over to a five-hundred-jin stone lock.

This stone lock was even larger, already half a man's height.

"I wonder if I can lift it..."

Jiang Che felt somewhat uneasy.

Five hundred jin was strength that only a Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist could possess.

Yet now that his Body Tempering had reached the Perfection Realm, coupled with his further-filled Qi-Blood, he vaguely felt that he had reached this level of strength.

He crouched slightly, planting the soles of his feet firmly on the ground.

After gripping the handle tightly, he sank his Qi into his dantian, then violently kicked off the ground and flung his arm upward.

"Hey!"

The enormous stone lock instantly rose from the ground and was steadily supported by Jiang Che!

At that moment, every inch of his powerful muscles was fully taut, veins bulging across his neck as though an overlord had returned to life.

Three breaths later, Jiang Che heavily set the stone lock down.

Boom!

Dust billowed into the air.

"I can hold five hundred jin for three breaths!"

Jiang Che was very satisfied.

Though he had yet to break through to Stone Skin, his strength was already no weaker than that of a Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist.

"Right, there's also this!"

Jiang Che suddenly remembered that he still had a new talent skill he had not examined.

Thus, he opened the panel and carefully read it.

"Flesh Regeneration... I wonder to what extent it can go."