The Strongest Iron Skin

"Don't tell me golden radiance grows like cabbages. Why do I run into it everywhere I go?"

Gazing at the graceful figure in white seated by the flowing water beside the ancient pavilion, her fair hands stroking a zither, Yang Xiao was instantly taken aback.

Wait!

This golden radiance wasn't coming from the woman in white.

It was coming from the ancient zither she was lightly playing!

Yang Xiao's eyes immediately lit up, and his heart began to pound violently.

Last time in the Scripture Pavilion, Yang Xiao had taken away the ominous remnant scripture that emitted golden radiance, comprehending the "Azure Cloud Sword Art" from it and thereby gaining the life-saving trump card, "Ten-Step Flying Sword."

And the ancient zither before him had golden radiance soaring into the sky, not the slightest bit inferior to the Peace Sect sacred object Uncle Mute had hidden.

This was good stuff!

However, Yang Xiao stared fixedly at the ancient zither for a long while, yet no memory fragments appeared in his mind.

Yang Xiao froze, only then realizing that today's chance to use the Qi-Observing Stealing Technique had already been fed to the Thousand-Illusion Mask.

"In any case, I have the Black Iron Martial Introduction. From now on, if I come to the Scripture Pavilion to read every day, I'm sure I'll run into this fairy sister again."

Though slightly disappointed, Yang Xiao had a good mentality and quickly recovered his calm.

Yang Xiao continued walking forward.

As he passed by the ancient pavilion, Yang Xiao deliberately slowed his steps.

Yet the zither music in the ancient pavilion remained unchanged, without the slightest ripple or fluctuation.

That stunning beauty, dressed in white purer than snow, still lowered her head and played the zither, showing not the slightest intention of looking at Yang Xiao.

"To possess an ancient zither comparable to a sacred object, this fairy sister must be a major figure of Vermilion Bird Tower. How could she possibly look twice at a mere ordinary waiter like me?"

Glancing at his waiter's "uniform," Yang Xiao sighed faintly, quickened his steps, and stopped thinking about it.

"Could that person... really see me?"

In the ancient pavilion, the woman in white slightly raised her head. As she looked toward Yang Xiao's retreating back, a few traces of doubt could not help appearing in her eyes.

But the woman in white did not dwell on it either, lowering her head and continuing to play the zither.

The sound of the zither was lively, gentle, and elegant.

Only, just like last time, to Yang Xiao's ears, the music seemed faintly tinged with a wisp of faint sorrow.

At the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion.

On a rattan chair.

An old man lay there lazily, looking sickly and listless.

"Senior, senior?"

Yang Xiao stopped and spoke respectfully.

Snore~

The old man suddenly began snoring thunderously, giving no response at all.

"Senior, your silver fell."

Yang Xiao took out a piece of broken silver from his sleeve and casually tossed it at the old man's feet.

"Mm?"

The old man's ears suddenly trembled. He sprang up abruptly and swiftly picked up the silver.

His speed was so fast it left one tongue-tied!

"As expected, someone who can guard the Scripture Pavilion is no easy character."

Yang Xiao's heart tightened, and he couldn't help looking toward the top of the old man's head.

If he hadn't looked, it would have been fine.

But once he did, Yang Xiao was instantly stunned.

It turned out that above the old man's head, there was no light at all.

"That fairy sister just now didn't seem to have any light above her head either, and this senior is the same. This... what exactly is going on?"

Yang Xiao immediately fell into confusion.

If a martial artist had no light above their head, there could only be one possibility—their cultivation was below First Blood!

But the problem was, the old man before him was faster than Yang Xiao even at the pinnacle of Iron Skin?

To say he wasn't a blood-exchange martial artist—then how could he possibly be this strong?

For a moment, Yang Xiao couldn't understand it.

"Huh, why is it you again, kid?"

"You're just an ordinary waiter. You only get one chance in your life to exchange for a martial skill. Why have you come again?"

The old man wiped the silver on the ground, bit it, and only then looked up at Yang Xiao.

"Senior, we meet again."

Yang Xiao bowed respectfully and took out the Black Iron Martial Introduction Uncle Liu had given him.

Since the old man hid his depths and seemed to harbor some secret, Yang Xiao naturally became even more respectful.

"You brat, both your aptitude and bones are inferior, your whole body is sickly, and one look says you have the face of an early death, doomed not to live many more years. Yet you actually managed to earn the appreciation of an iron-token waiter?"

"This old man would like to see who in the world is so iron-headed, looking for trouble for himself, that he'd actually want to support a person certain to die."

The old man's words had only just fallen. Before Yang Xiao could even react, the Black Iron Martial Introduction in his hand had already landed in the old man's grasp.

"If Senior wanted to cut me down, I wouldn't even have time to react."

Yang Xiao's scalp went numb, and horror surged through his heart.

Originally, relying on his wits and intelligence, Yang Xiao had reversed his situation step by step and killed Zhao Hu and Boss Zhao one after another. In his heart, he had still felt a little smug.

Especially since a great expert like Song Qingshan, who had undergone blood exchange once and was about to undergo it a second time, could only die in such stifled frustration. That had made Yang Xiao secretly rejoice, and he had begun to feel somewhat as if he were floating.

Yet this unremarkable old man before him, with the face of a worldly, money-grubbing huckster, had dealt Yang Xiao a heavy critical blow.

It made Yang Xiao completely sober up.

"So before a true expert, I'm nothing at all!"

Yang Xiao finally understood. All disguises and methods were merely flowers added to brocade.

Only the strength of one's own power was the foundation!

"It's actually that little kid Liu?"

The old man held the Black Iron Martial Introduction and looked it over carefully. He could not help frowning, then could not resist sizing Yang Xiao up in detail.

In an instant, every hair on Yang Xiao's body stood on end. He only felt as if all his secrets had been seen through cleanly by the old man.

"This... how is this possible!"

The old man's pupils shrank. Suddenly, he sprang up and grabbed Yang Xiao's arm.

Boom!

A majestic wave of cold energy instantly spilled out from the old man's palm and enveloped Yang Xiao's entire body.

In just an instant, a faint layer of frost appeared across the surface of Yang Xiao's body.

That terrifying cold energy even seeped into Yang Xiao's limbs and bones, constantly roaming through him.

However, when that cold energy sank into his dantian, it automatically ignored the human-shaped phantom of the Myriad Phenomena Heaven-Swallowing Art, as though it had not seen it at all.

"So that's how it is."

The old man withdrew the cold energy, lay back down on the rattan chair, and once again became drowsy, as if he had lost interest in Yang Xiao.

"Senior, may I ask what exactly is wrong with this junior's body...?"

Yang Xiao's heart thudded, and he asked tentatively.

"Boy, with such a poor constitution, have you been using medicinal herbs to keep your illness hanging on for a long time?"

The old man suddenly asked.

"Replying to Senior, I've been sickly since childhood. To save me, my father bought precious Chinese medicinal herbs for me since I was young to prolong my life, to the point that our family wealth was exhausted..."

Yang Xiao answered honestly.

There was no way to hide these matters at all, nor any need to hide them.

"As expected!"

The old man nodded. "Boy, you've eaten medicinal herbs for dozens of years. You yourself are a medicine jar. Over time, a great deal of medicinal power has accumulated in your meridians."

"Originally, if this happened to an ordinary person, their meridians would have shattered long ago and their body would have exploded in death."

"But you brat are something else. That illness of yours is yin evil entering the body, and it just so happens to clash with the medicinal power in your meridians, making your yin and yang balance out perfectly. Your tendons and bones have also become as firm as iron, making you the strongest Iron Skin in my Vermilion Bird Tower."

I'm actually the Vermilion Bird Tower's—strongest Iron Skin?

Yang Xiao's eyes lit up.

"Other Iron Skins only have skin as firm as iron, but you brat are iron all over, from the inside out."

"Never mind the Iron Skin realm—even against a martial expert who has undergone blood exchange once, if they don't enter a blood-rage state, though you brat can't beat them, you can still escape easily. You don't have to worry about being killed."

The old man spoke indifferently.

"I'm actually—this strong?"

Having received the acknowledgment of a senior expert, Yang Xiao grew even more excited.

But then the old man changed the subject, and a basin of bone-chilling cold water came splashing down:

"However, don't be too happy. You brat originally could still live a few years, but now, at most, you can only live—three months!"

What!

The instant he heard this, Yang Xiao's smile froze.

Cold sweat instantly broke out all over his body...