"What? You were practicing your martial arts while slaying ghosts?"
Xiao Jinghong stared at the golden glaze appearing across Lu Chen's body. His cold arrogance had long since vanished, leaving only shock he could not conceal.
Relying on the Blood Sacrifice Formation, that Faceless Ghost General had nearly reached the threshold of the dragon-manifestation realm. Even fighting together, they had been driven into a sorry state, yet Lu Chen had comprehended his art amid a life-and-death struggle and achieved a horizontal-training golden body in one stroke.
Such a world-shaking feat was rare even in Yun Prefecture.
Bai Xiuwu went so far as to change how he addressed him. "Brother Lu!"
He strode up to Lu Chen, his eyes burning as he studied the golden light that had yet to fade.
"My Bai family has practiced body-hardening martial arts for generations, and we've studied golden body arts extensively as well. Once this ghost tide ends, why not return to Yun Prefecture with me? You're welcome to visit both our Scripture Repository and our Body-Tempering Treasure Pool."
At those words, the corner of Xiao Jinghong's eye twitched.
Damn it, he beat me to it!
By now, he had completely abandoned any desire to suppress Lu Chen. All he wanted was to befriend him.
Being called "Brother Lu" by Bai Xiuwu felt rather strange to Lu Chen. He glanced down at the four-colored patterns flowing across his skin and asked, "What exactly is this horizontal-training golden body?"
When the conversation turned to his family's specialty, Bai Xiuwu's expression immediately grew solemn.
"There are countless body-hardening martial arts, but whichever you practice, their ultimate pursuit is the supreme sublimation of the flesh."
Bai Xiuwu raised a hand and pointed at the faint golden sheen still lingering on Lu Chen's arm.
"As the saying goes,