Iron Cloth Shirt Leveled Up!

"Stop."

Two cold shouts rang out. Behind them, threads of golden light surfaced beneath the two men's feet, and their speed suddenly surged.

Like ghosts, they actually left afterimages where they had stood.

"I already notified Senior Ziling. She'll be here in two minutes."

Zhou Wen caught his breath and said, "Put me down."

"Hm?"

Jiang Changkong froze. His vision blurred, and two figures appeared in front of them, blocking the way.

"Zhou Wen, getting an ordinary person who hasn't cultivated Star Power to help you—what kind of ability is that?"

The two stared at him coldly. "Get down and die."

"This has nothing to do with him. However you want to do this, draw the line."

Zhou Wen got down from Jiang Changkong's back and glared at them. "But you'd better think it through. Senior Ziling will be here any second."

"This is between us. It has nothing to do with Ji Ziling. Today, we're only beating you. And you—if you dare interfere, you get beaten too."

The two said coldly.

"Between us? We agreed on a one-on-one, and you brought a whole crowd to beat me alone. You still have the face to say that?"

Zhou Wen burst into curses. He had really fallen into a pit today.

They had agreed on a duel, only for a whole group of people to gang up on him.

"They insisted on beating you. What was I supposed to do?"

The two men's faces reddened, clearly feeling they had gone too far as well.

"Beat them. Ji Ziling is almost here."

One of them pounced straight at Zhou Wen.

The other also snapped back to his senses. They did not have much time.

"Wait. No need for you to beat me. I'll do it myself."

Jiang Changkong flipped his hand and took out a small knife.

Pfft.

He stabbed it into his thigh. It hurt a little.

But it did not matter.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit +1.

"You—what are you doing?"

The two were a little dumbfounded. Their raised palms stopped dead in midair.

We were only going to beat you up. We never said we'd stab you with a knife.

"I think doing it myself is better."

Pfft.

Another stab.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit +1 again.

The two felt like a dog had been fucked right in front of them.

Zhou Wen: "..."

Brother, they were only going to hit you lightly. They weren't as ruthless as you.

Pfft.

"Don't, stop stabbing yourself. We'll leave, all right?"

The two cowered. This was one damn werewolf.

Pfft.

Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Iron Cloth Shirt has improved, and I haven't stabbed myself in ages.

I can hold out for a few more stabs now.

"Brother, don't do this." Zhou Wen hurriedly grabbed him.

Doesn't it hurt?

"Where do you think you're going?"

An icy voice rang out. Ji Ziling had arrived.

Dressed in white, she looked like a fairy.

Unfortunately, she was a comrade.

"S-Senior, you might not believe this, but he stabbed himself with that knife."

The two of them trembled a little.

"I believe you."

Ji Ziling nodded.

The two of them: "..."

What was going on? She believed them?

They had never expected Ji Ziling to actually believe it.

And in the end, she did.

"Then, then there's nothing else for us to do here."

The two of them quivered in the knees, somewhat afraid.

Ji Ziling looked at them coldly. "You injured someone, and you're not giving compensation?"

"Zhou Wen wasn't injured by us, either. It was a group of people who beat him." The two lowered their heads, somewhat afraid to look at her.

"Mm?"

"Two Star Stones. That should be enough."

The two hurriedly took out two stones and gently placed them on the ground.

The two stones were palm-sized. Most of their surface was blurry, with only a few specks of golden light at the center.

"Go."

Ji Ziling waved her hand.

As if granted a great pardon, the two of them turned and ran.

Ji Ziling picked up the two Star Stones and flicked her hand, sending green light falling onto the two men.

"These two are for you." Ji Ziling handed them to Zhou Wen.

After Zhou Wen received the green light's treatment, his wounds stopped bleeding.

Holding the two Star Stones, he handed them to Jiang Changkong. "You take them. It's all thanks to you this time."

"I didn't really do anything..."

Jiang Changkong was just about to refuse when his entire body froze in shock.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit 100, 100. Extract?

Two Star Stones actually had this much Essence, Qi, and Spirit?

He glanced at his own Essence, Qi, and Spirit: 39.

Four points came from his own four knife strikes just now. He originally had 15 points, leaving 20 points, all of it dispersed from Zhou Wen.

"Your injuries aren't serious. Treat them yourself."

Ji Ziling stabilized his injuries and said.

This still wasn't serious?

Twenty points of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Were cultivators really that ridiculous?

"Thank you, senior." Zhou Wen let out a breath of relief and said.

"Go back and rest." Ji Ziling turned and left.

"These Star Stones came from inside Star Demons?" Jiang Changkong asked.

"Yes. These two are the lowest grade. Take them and use them. Tomorrow, I'll see you at the clinic."

After Zhou Wen finished speaking, he hurried away. He had to go back and recuperate.

Jiang Changkong was a little stunned. Two hundred points straight up. That was a lot.

Iron Cloth Shirt could be perfected halfway.

Holding the two Star Stones, he returned to his room, so excited that he only fell asleep in the middle of the night.

Those four knife strikes just now had been pretty well done.

They had spared him a whole brutal beating.

If he took a beating, who knew how badly he would be beaten?

If they hit too lightly, there would be no Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

If they hit too hard, he would suffer.

Stabbing himself was still more straightforward and satisfying.

He slept straight until dawn, then got up and went to work.

When he arrived at the clinic, Zhou Wen and Ji Ziling were already inside.

"Hand it over," Ji Ziling said coldly.

"What?" Jiang Changkong was a little confused, then immediately said gloomily, "The Star Stones?"

Regretting what you promised me yesterday?

"Your knife," Zhou Wen said with a curl of his lip. "It's too dangerous for you to keep a knife on you."

Jiang Changkong: "..."

Obediently, he took out the small knife and placed it on the table.

The slaughtering was about to begin. He had to go take a look.

"I'm going to watch the slaughtering," Jiang Changkong said.

"I'll go with you." Zhou Wen got up to accompany him.

Ji Ziling said nothing. After those four stabs had gone in yesterday, she was uneasy again.

The two of them carried stools over and sat together to watch the slaughtering.

"Thanks for last night," Zhou Wen said quietly.

"I was just afraid of getting beaten," Jiang Changkong hurriedly said.

"If you were afraid of getting beaten, you wouldn't have gotten involved for me."

Zhou Wen shook his head, took out a stone, and handed it to him. "Take it."

"A Star Stone?"

Jiang Changkong glanced at it, froze for a moment, then waved his hands again and again. "I can't take it. You already gave me two last night."

Inside this Star Stone, there were more golden specks of light than in those two pieces.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit +400!

It was higher grade than the two from last night!

"Take it. I've got plenty of this stuff."

Zhou Wen said grandly, "Once you cultivate Star Power, you'll be able to absorb it for cultivation and join Martial Arts School."

Jiang Changkong couldn't refuse him, so he could only accept it.

Deep down, he felt thrilled about what he had done last night.

He had done exactly the right thing!

"Those two guys won't cause you trouble, so don't worry."

Zhou Wen added, "I'm the one who has a grudge with them. You were purely a victim, and they're also afraid you'll stab them."

"Can you tell me about this Star Stone?"

Jiang Changkong was very curious.

Zhou Wen explained, "A Star Stone is the essence of a Star Demon's entire body. It contains abundant Star Power and can be absorbed for cultivation."

Jiang Changkong understood.

Star Demons also had Essence, Qi, and Spirit. The essence of an entire body was what Essence, Qi, and Spirit condensed into. Star Power could be counted as qi too, right?

After learning about Star Stones, Jiang Changkong continued watching the slaughterhouse.

Although he had Star Stones now, no matter how small a mosquito's leg was, it was still meat.

He got another 10 points, and the two returned to the clinic.

In the afternoon, they continued watching. Zhou Wen was somewhat puzzled. "Why are you watching the slaughtering? Do you really want to become a butcher?"

"I do have that idea."

Jiang Changkong said this because if he killed with his own hands, he should be able to obtain more Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

In the afternoon, there were only 8 points.

After getting off work, he went home and locked the door.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit: 657

He upgraded Iron Cloth Shirt.

A warm current surged up inside his body and spread through his limbs and bones.

His bones gave off popping sounds like exploding beans, crackling nonstop.

A faint coppery light appeared on his skin.

It felt as if heaven and earth had become a little clearer. His gaze passed through the window, and he could even see the veins on weeds a hundred meters away.

Faint sounds reached his ears—the footsteps of passersby.

His five senses had strengthened!

Muscles bulged across his body, eight-pack abs, all lean, corded muscle.

He was like a soldier honed for countless years, with a perfect, capable build that radiated a heroic martial air.

The hidden injuries inside his body had long since vanished. He was full of vigor, his qi and blood abundant, like a small furnace.

Jiang Changkong's eyes widened. There was a ball of qi inside his body, circulating along a crude route.

The panel had also changed:

Jiang Changkong: Early Star Qi Stage

Low-grade, low-tier martial art: Copper Skin Iron Bone Technique: Beginner 1/500

Essence, Qi, and Spirit: 225.7

It had upgraded!

The basic martial art Iron Cloth Shirt had upgraded into a low-grade, low-tier martial art!

"Low-grade, low-tier? Why is my Essence, Qi, and Spirit so much lower? It shrank?"

He opened his phone and searched for information on martial art rankings.

Martial arts were divided into four major grades: low, middle, high, and top-tier.

Each grade was divided into upper, middle, and lower tiers.

A low-grade, low-tier martial art could be cultivated to Star Qi Peak!

That mass of qi inside his body was Star Power!

By circulating it along a specific route, he could absorb the Star Power between heaven and earth and improve himself.

As for martial dao ranks, they were Star Qi, Nebula, and Star Sea.

Above that, there was not much information online.

The Star Stone he had obtained should have belonged to the Star Qi realm.

Zhou Wen's piece probably had not surpassed the Star Qi realm either.

If it had been a Star Stone nurtured by a Nebula Level Star Demon, it definitely would not have been worth only 400 points of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

As for the issue of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit shrinking, it should be because he had advanced.

Weak Essence, Qi, and Spirit was equal to nothing. He had become stronger; of the Essence, Qi, and Spirit he had extracted earlier, two hundred points had come from the Star Stone.

The Star Stone's portion had not shrunk, because the Star Demon had been powerful. The remaining Essence, Qi, and Spirit, however, had been relatively weak.

Of the remaining 25.7, those 20 points were probably from Zhou Wen, which was why they had not shrunk.

This discovery left him somewhat depressed.