Heart Furnace Three Forgings

Interestingly.

In this stench-ridden place, the silk cloth still gave off a faint fragrance. Its surface was likely coated with a special oil film.

The old madman said, "This is a family heirloom. It records a martial art. My ancestors told me to protect it with my life.

"I've kept it safe all these years... Unfortunately, I have no talent for martial arts and can't practice the technique recorded on it.

"I'm about to die. I'll leave it in your care for now. If you can learn it, consider it your reward for this trip."

Li Xiuwen accepted the extraordinary-looking item, astonished inwardly.

This mad old man really did possess a hereditary martial art from the Prosperous State.

Master Xing hadn't lied to him after all.

But he also knew that the mad old man was not mad.

Even if he had given the old man fifty earlier, the fellow would have cheated him out of it. He lived by scamming food and drink from people.

Only now, with death approaching and fearing that his ancestral treasure would be lost, had the old man handed it over to him.

"Fine. If I get the chance, I'll visit Thousand-Buddha Mountain. Go in peace," Li Xiuwen said.

In Li Xiuwen's impression, the Lu Region was one of the martial arts strongholds in the north of the Prosperous State. Many schools had originated there.

Thousand-Buddha Mountain sounded like a sacred site of Buddhism and Daoism, and a large portion of this world's martial arts schools originated from Buddhist and Daoist traditions.

"Young man, I didn't lie to you. The moment I saw you, I knew you were no ordinary person..." the old madman said with a foolish grin.

"Then you've got a good eye." Before Li Xiuwen could finish speaking, the old madman breathed his last. His neck twisted to one side, and he fell silent.

"Forget it. I can afford a coffin, but there's nowhere to bury you... I'll find a place to cremate you. Better than feeding you to the crocodiles."

Fires could easily break out in the settlement, so the crematorium was fairly remote.

It took Li Xiuwen quite a while to have the old madman cremated, costing him sixty dollars.

"Old madman, you asked for fifty, and I spent sixty on you. That's loyal enough."

Holding the old madman's meager ashes, Li Xiuwen came to the rooftop.

He waited quietly until a powerful gust of wind swept past.

He scattered the ashes high into the air and said, "Go on. The wind will carry you back to Thousand-Buddha Mountain."

By the time he finished all this, it was already afternoon. He did not go to the martial arts hall again.

Instead, he found a secluded spot at home and took out the golden silk cloth. It was covered in over a thousand tiny characters.

Li Xiuwen read through the entire text and found it utterly obscure, as though he were lost in the clouds and mist. It was several times more difficult than the most difficult martial art he had encountered before, the Binding Armor Skill.

"Heart Furnace Three Forgings... There's actually such a profound martial art in this world?"

Though he had not yet comprehended the entry point, he roughly understood the effect of this martial art.

This technique did not train the body, muscles, or bones. It specialized in cultivating one's spirit and will.

It regarded the human mind as a piece of stubborn iron, tempering it through the furnace fire three times to forge a powerful martial will.

Li Xiuwen had practiced martial arts for four months and could be considered somewhat knowledgeable.

Yet he had never heard of a method that could temper the mind.

He had always thought that martial will was innate, or else forged through hardship and battle.

"Heart Furnace Three Forgings belongs to the Heart Furnace School of Thousand-Buddha Mountain. It is a Buddhist-Daoist school. Anyone who could create such a method must belong to an orthodox and distinguished lineage."

After calming himself, Li Xiuwen began studying [Heart Furnace Three Forgings]. He studied from afternoon until night, yet after an entire day, he still could not get started.

He did not think his comprehension was lacking. It was simply that this martial art was too advanced. It was not something someone at the Membrane Gate should be learning.

His current foundation in martial arts theory and attainment was insufficient to lay the groundwork for this martial art.

It was like trying to learn calculus without even knowing basic addition and subtraction.

"If [Beginner Martial Arts Knowledge] reaches mastery, I wonder whether I'll be able to learn it."

Li Xiuwen could only suppress his excitement and put away [Heart Furnace Three Forgings].

The sheer difficulty of getting started showed that this was a martial art far beyond anything he had imagined.

Sand-Turning Palm, Sea-Sand Stance, Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance—none of them could compare.

The only technique worthy of carrying its shoes was the Binding Armor Skill.

Of course, that did not mean the Sea Sand Style was weak.

It was simply that the martial arts Old Huang taught disciples on the first floor were surely the most basic and simple ones.

That night, Li Xiuwen continued practicing the Binding Armor Skill.

Potential enemies left him feeling unsafe, and the martial art that gave him the greatest sense of security was undoubtedly hard qigong.

"Uncle, put some strength into it!" Li Xiuwen said.

"Alright! Shout if it hurts." His uncle held a small hammer and increased his force.

As the Binding Armor Skill neared minor mastery, Li Xiuwen rarely asked his aunt to help beat his body anymore.

Women lacked strength, did not dare use much force, and had poor endurance. Even after beating him for half a day, she could not make him feel pain.

Using a medium hammer was out of the question too, since he was afraid his aunt's wrists would hurt. From now on, he would probably have to trouble his uncle with his training.

Fortunately, the ten thousand he had given them had helped in their time of need. The rice noodle factory had hired several workers, and his uncle had essentially become a hands-off boss, responsible only for sales.

In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.

There was one week left until the second-floor martial competition.

During this time, Li Xiuwen visited quite a few dental clinics, secretly investigating the killer's identity.

He had to figure out who wanted to harm him, but unfortunately, he had gained nothing so far.

After Little Loudspeaker left, Hesheng Tu never sought out Li Xiuwen again.

He did not care. With his current cultivation, if he ran out of money, there was plenty of work he could do.

And once he entered the second floor and no longer had to pay monthly fees, a major expense would immediately disappear.

Thus, he quietly trained at the martial arts hall, his martial arts progressing steadily as usual.

Naturally, every night's routine of "battling at the summit of the Illusory Realm" with Liu Chun remained indispensable.

At first, he could only withstand thirty moves. Later, he could handle a hundred.

By now, his odds of victory against Liu Chun in the Illusory Realm were roughly forty-sixty.

After all, his Black Membrane progress had reached 36%, bringing him closer and closer to Liu Chun.

Without an overwhelming advantage in physical attributes, Liu Chun was much easier to fight.

At the same time.

On Guangwang Street, inside a brothel,

Three pale, naked street girls lay on the bed.

Za Jiu sat naked at the bedside, smoking a cigar and catching his breath as he refreshed his "duration."

This brothel belonged to Thunder God Shed. Za Jiu occasionally came to help watch the place, so he could enjoy himself for free.

Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked on the door. A lackey entered, bent at the waist, and said, "Master Jiu, Missing-Tooth Kid hasn't returned for several days."

Za Jiu frowned slightly. "Did you ask his family?"

"I went to Missing-Tooth Kid's home, and I also found that lover of his on Temple Street. They both said they haven't seen him these past few days. He may be dead."

Za Jiu took a drag, inhaling deeply, and asked, "Did you find the body?"

The lackey shook his head. "No."

After the lackey left, Za Jiu muttered thoughtfully, "Strange. How did Missing-Tooth Kid disappear just from investigating something?"

Could he have offended other people from the underworld while investigating that kid from Longjin Road, then gotten killed?

Li Xiuwen might have been capable of killing Rotten-Life Ji, but Za Jiu did not believe he could kill Missing-Tooth Kid.

He now felt that the person who had killed Rotten-Life Ji had never been that kid from Longjin Road at all. It had been someone else!

After finishing a cigar, Za Jiu still could not figure it out, so he temporarily put the matter aside.

"Forget it. I'll make a trip myself another day and investigate it personally."

He returned to bed to attend to the pressing matter before him. A moment of spring was worth a thousand gold.

The day after tomorrow was the contest for the second floor.

On the rooftop, his uncle wiped away his sweat and collapsed onto the ground.

"Ah Wen, could the martial art you practice be the legendary Iron Cloth Shirt? I've seen gangs fight before, and those martial artists didn't seem nearly as tough as you.

"When I was young, I saw a very formidable wandering performer in the Prosperous State. He had mastered Iron Cloth Shirt. When wooden sticks struck him, they broke outright."