Tendon-and-Fascia Tempering, Ambushed

The next morning.

After dressing and washing up, Cheng Heng did not head to the martial hall right away. Instead, he immediately began cultivating the Vajra Art.

With only the last few points of proficiency remaining, he could break through to the second level.

Once he broke through to the second level and advanced from Skin-and-Flesh Tempering to Tendon-and-Fascia Tempering, his strength would rise tremendously once more!

Bang, bang, bang! As his fists alternated gently across his flesh, Cheng Heng began deliberately guiding his qi and blood through the gaps in his bones and deep into his tendons and fascia.

At first, waves of tearing pain coursed through his body. His meridians were battered by the violent qi and blood, and every inch of his sinews and bones felt as though it were being roasted over blazing fire.

Cheng Heng clenched his teeth, allowing sweat to soak through his clothes as he calmed his mind and continuously guided the qi and blood within him, gathering it again and again.

Body-tempering techniques greatly enhanced one's defenses, but cultivating such techniques came with one particularly obvious drawback.

They were simply too painful to cultivate!

As each second passed, the violent qi and blood was finally soothed. At the same time, the taut muscles throughout his body gradually relaxed, no longer possessing that rigid hardness.

Instead, his skin and flesh became loose without yet taut within, while his tendons, bones, and qi and blood fused into a seamless whole.

The second level of the Vajra Art was complete!

[Fate: Heaven Rewards Diligence]

[Persevere without fail, and success will surely come.]

[Vajra Art, Level Two: (1/2000)]

[Tiger-Subduing Stance Art, Mastery (1258/7000): Train ten times a day, attain completion in three years]

[Tiger-Subduing Fist Technique, Mastery (1125/7000): Train ten times a day, attain completion in three years]

[Mountain-Cleaving Saber Technique, Mastery (2589/5000): Train ten times a day, attain completion in one year]

[Martial Dao Space: Locked (Charge 85/100)]

This also meant that Cheng Heng's qi and blood had penetrated deep into his tendons and fascia, multiplying his body's resistance to blows. Among those at the Hidden Force level, it would be difficult for anyone to remain his match.

Only after breaking through did Cheng Heng wipe away the sweat covering his body, rise to his feet, and head for the Inner City county office.

Upon arriving at the county office, he met Wang Ming.

Wang Ming studied Cheng Heng with weary eyes for a moment, then said in surprise,

"Why do you look different from before today, kid? Could it be that your strength has improved again?"

Wang Ming was filled with shock. When Cheng Heng had first entered the county office, he had merely been a greenhorn who had just stepped into Bright Force. How much time had passed? His strength was likely already above Wang Ming's!

"That's right, Chief Wang. My techniques have improved somewhat recently," Cheng Heng said with a nod.

"The waves behind the Yangtze River drive the waves before them onward!"

Wang Ming's words were full of praise, though a trace of gloom flashed through his heart. If Cheng Heng's strength could grow a little greater...

He immediately cast that thought aside. He could not let this junior risk himself!

His expression turned solemn. "Cheng Heng, I should have told you about this when you broke through to Hidden Force. Hidden Force practitioners receive better treatment than those at Bright Force."

"Of course, we can no longer support you according to the previous Bright Force standards. From now on, your subsidy will increase to ten taels of silver per month, along with three Essence-Blood Pills!"

Yet as Wang Ming said this, worry stirred in his heart. The Wang Family was no longer what it used to be. What if his father refused?

Cheng Heng hurriedly waved his hands. "Brother Wang, when I had only just entered Bright Force, you were the one who supported me. I have always remembered such great kindness!"

Wang Ming waved him off. "Between brothers, there's no need for such formalities. As for the subsidy, I'll speak to the family head right now. Wait for my news."

Unable to withstand Wang Ming's enthusiasm, Cheng Heng could only cup his hands in thanks.

By the time he finished today's work, the sky had already darkened.

After bidding farewell to his many colleagues one by one, Cheng Heng headed home to the Outer City.

The moonlight was deep and still. On his way back, Cheng Heng continued to slowly feel out the changes brought by the second level of the Vajra Art.

The difference between the first and second levels of the Vajra Art was enormous, as was the change in strength it had brought him.

Previously, he had needed more than twenty moves to defeat Zhou Qing in a spar. Now, Cheng Heng was fully confident he could defeat him in fewer than ten moves!

"Hm!?"

Suddenly, Cheng Heng detected footsteps behind him, and his body immediately halted.

He was already within the Outer City. Public safety here was far worse than in the Inner City, and cases of robbing and murdering people along the road were common.

Cheng Heng was now at the Hidden Force level, his five senses several times sharper than an ordinary person's. Naturally, he noticed the two people behind him revealing their tracks.

Just then, two black shadows suddenly burst from the darkness along the street!

On the left, a scar-faced bandit dressed in black tight-fitting clothes lunged sideways, his iron elbow silently smashing toward the vital point at Cheng Heng's back!

On the right, a lanky bandit's iron palm concealed a dim glint. His five fingers curled into claws as they silently locked onto Cheng Heng's throat!

The pair coordinated skillfully and had clearly come prepared, targeting the vital points of the human body. They were vicious to the extreme.

Before the two could close in, Cheng Heng abruptly turned. The Tiger-Subduing Stance beneath his feet instantly rooted him in place, his waist and hips twisting sharply as the second level of the Vajra Art surged at full force!

The scar-faced bandit's iron elbow slammed viciously into Cheng Heng's back. Yet the anticipated sound of cracking bones and screams never came, only a dull thud.

Bang!

The scar-faced bandit's face filled with astonishment. Cheng Heng rolled his shoulder backward with the blow, and Hidden Force abruptly erupted from his right fist, shooting out through his shoulder bone!

His fist struck the scar-faced man squarely in the chest.

There was no thunderous boom, but Hidden Force surged fiercely into the scar-faced bandit's breastbone. With a crack, the man's entire breastbone shattered inch by inch.

The scar-faced bandit let out a muffled groan of pain, his body instantly faltering!

Cheng Heng swung an elbow backhandedly, gathering all his Hidden Force and smashing it brutally into his opponent's heart!

The scar-faced bandit's eyes flew wide open. Great mouthfuls of black blood gushed from his lips, and his body crumpled limply to the ground, dead on the spot.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. In merely two moves, before the two men's pincer formation could even take shape, one bandit had already fallen!

"Second Brother!"

The lanky bandit beside him let out a shrill cry, then threw everything into the attack, both claws snatching straight for Cheng Heng's throat!

Cheng Heng slid aside and evaded the claw strikes. His five fingers clasped around the bandit leader's wrist like steel hoops. His arm, tempered by the Vajra Art until it was as hard as refined iron, twisted sharply inward.

Hidden Force crashed through the meridians in the other man's arm, and the lanky bandit's right arm instantly went numb.

The lanky bandit could only ruthlessly break one of his own arms before he barely managed to pull away from Cheng Heng!

"Did Zhou Qing send you?"

Cheng Heng's heart sank slightly as he tested him with the question.

At his words, a flash of astonishment passed through the lanky bandit's eyes before he immediately returned to normal.

But Cheng Heng still caught that fleeting surprise. Just as expected—Zhou Qing was not far from death!

Dragging his broken arm, the lanky bandit's face was as pale as paper. Their original plan to encircle Cheng Heng with two men had been shattered by him in an instant.

"Zhou Qing has led me astray!"

"How is this man someone who only recently entered Hidden Force? He is clearly already one of Gaoyang County's foremost experts!"

"M-Master, spare my life!"

At this point, all he could do was beg for mercy and see whether he could escape with his life.