Eighteen Bronze Men

Arhat Hall.

At this moment, Arhat Abbot and the others were sizing up Li Changfeng as he slowly said:

"You're the new disciple? You look pretty good! Tall and well-built, with exceptional bones. You truly have the makings for external training. From now on, you are a disciple of the Eighteen Bronze Men formation. Your Dharma name will be Jue Kong, and you will rank sixth."

"This disciple accepts!" Li Changfeng said helplessly.

Suddenly, a golden, burly man patted Li Changfeng on the shoulder and said, "So you're the new Sixth Brother! I'm your eldest senior brother. You can call me First Brother."

"Sixth Brother? What Sixth Brother? Since when did I become Sixth Brother? What the hell is going on?"

"Hehe! None of the Eighteen Bronze Men have names. We're only called according to our ranking. I'm ranked first, so I'm First Brother. The second is Second Brother, and so on. You're ranked sixth, so you're Sixth Brother."

Damn it! Of all the things I could be called, it had to be Sixth Brother. I'm fucking speechless! Li Changfeng thought helplessly.

"Si... Sixth Brother, hello! I... I'm your se... second senior brother. You can call me Second Brother," Second Brother stammered.

Li Changfeng said speechlessly, "Hello, Second Brother."

"Come on! I'll take you to meet the other senior brothers!"

With that, he brought Li Changfeng to the Training Ground and shouted, "All of you, stop! This is the new disciple, Sixth Brother. Get acquainted."

"And Third Brother, later give the Eighteen Bronze Men Art and the Bronze Men Stance Method to Sixth Brother so he can practice them. We'll have to form the Eighteen Bronze Men formation in the future."

"Alright, First Brother. I'll take him to get the manuals now."

"Sixth Brother, come with me! I'll take you to the Merit Martial Hall to get the manuals."

Merit Martial Hall.

An Abbot took out two secret manuals and a bottle of Golden Liquid, then tossed them to Li Changfeng.

Li Changfeng picked up the bottle of Golden Liquid and asked doubtfully, "What is this Golden Liquid for?"

The Abbot glanced at Li Changfeng and said calmly, "You'll find out later."

Back in his bedroom, Li Changfeng eagerly opened the manuals and studied them carefully. After pondering for a while, he said:

"So that's how it is! This bottle of Golden Liquid is applied to the body while practicing. It's the secret concoction for the Eighteen Bronze Men Art. Used together with the technique, it makes the entire body as hard as iron. At minor mastery, blades and spears can't pierce you; at major mastery, neither water nor fire can harm you. This is a top-tier external training technique!"

After reading it, Li Changfeng immediately stripped off his clothes and smeared the Golden Liquid all over himself. He even applied it to his butt, leaving only his little brother untouched.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

A sudden shout rang out. Li Changfeng jumped in fright and nearly knocked over the Golden Liquid.

"This Golden Liquid has to be applied all over your body, and that part is no exception! Otherwise, all your previous efforts will be wasted, understand?!" Third Brother shouted.

"I have to put it there too? You're not joking, right? Will anything happen?"

"What the hell are you scared of? Every one of us applies it. If you don't believe me, look!"

Afraid that Li Changfeng still would not believe him, he pulled it out right there for him to see:

A gleaming golden old rod nearly blinded Li Changfeng.

"Alright, alright, I believe you. I'll apply it right now. Put that old rod away already! You nearly blinded me!"

With that, he immediately smeared it down there. It felt cool and refreshing, even rather comfortable!

After seeing Li Changfeng finish applying it, Third Brother said sternly, "Don't just stand there! Hurry up and practice. Absorb the medicinal effects. This is the best time to train."

Hearing this, Li Changfeng immediately circulated the technique. His entire body slowly absorbed the golden medicinal power. At first his skin felt a little itchy, then it began to burn fiercely.

Cold sweat streamed down Li Changfeng's body as he gritted his teeth and said, "Fuck! What the hell is happening? Why does my whole body feel like it's on fire?!"

Li Changfeng could endure the other places, but damn it, his little Second Brother could not take it.

"Endure it! Just hold on for one shichen. Don't stop no matter what, or at best your skin will be burned away, and at worst you'll die!"

"My skin will be burned away?! Is that even something a human would say?!"

The instant Li Changfeng heard the words "skin will be burned away," he was horrified. He gritted his teeth and desperately kept circulating the technique, muttering, "Fuck, if it gets ruined, that'll be the end of it. No matter what, I have to hold on!"

One shichen later...

Li Changfeng lay on the ground, gasping for air, his entire body dyed a gleaming golden color.

Then he slowly said, "That one shichen was really hard to endure! Even with the willpower I developed as an armed police officer, I nearly couldn't make it through."

"You held on! Not bad! From now on, you're one of us. Your technique can now be considered at the initial stage. Practice diligently from here on and reach the entry level as soon as possible, understand?"

"Alright! I understand."

"Come on! It's getting late. Time to eat. I'll take you to dinner!"

Upon arriving at the Arhat Dining Hall, Li Changfeng immediately caught waves of meat fragrance. For a moment, he thought, Fuck! Have I gone insane from craving meat? I can actually smell meat in Shaolin Temple!

At that moment, a shout interrupted Li Changfeng's thoughts. "What are you standing around for?! Get over here and eat!"

Li Changfeng came to the dining table and saw it piled high with meat, with barely any vegetables. He rubbed his eyes, hardly believing it, and said in astonishment, "Shaolin can eat meat?"

"Hehe! Shaolin truly isn't supposed to eat meat, but martial monks are an exception. Martial arts training is a high-consumption physical activity. How could just vegetables sustain us? How does that saying go? Though wine and meat pass through the belly, the Buddha remains in the heart. Eat up! Just don't drink alcohol!"

Upon hearing that, Li Changfeng did not waste another word. He sat down, grabbed a huge pig trotter, and began devouring it in great bites. Slowly, he said, "What are you standing around for? Eat!"

Seeing this, everyone chuckled and began eating in huge bites as well.

Late at night, during the Hour of the Pig.

Inside the large bedroom, everyone was sleeping soundly.

Li Changfeng slowly opened his status panel.

A screen of light that only he could see appeared before his eyes.

Host: Li Changfeng (Li Dazhuang).

Identity: Shaolin Temple disciple

Inner Force: 0

Strength: 150 jin

Experience Points: 30

Technique: Shaolin Bronze Body Skill, rudimentary (30/80)

Title: Jianghu Scrub.

Fame: Unknown (0/80) (For every 10 Fame points, 1 Cultivation Point can be obtained)

Cultivation Points: 0 (For every 20 Cultivation Points, a Lucky Pack can be opened or System Training Time can be entered at a 1:3 conversion rate. Each session allows one month of training.)

Current Lucky Packs: 0.

Current mission: Achieve major mastery in the Shaolin Bronze Body within three months at Shaolin.

Li Changfeng looked over the panel. He had only brought the Shaolin Bronze Body Skill to the initial stage, yet his Strength had already increased by thirty jin. His Inner Force had not increased at all. This technique truly was a straightforward external art.

He had read martial arts novels before. External arts were always treated like punching bags and could never amount to much. True strength still came from internal arts.

Internal arts did not merely increase strength; they also preserved one's health. Some bigshots with profound cultivation always looked eternally young. It seemed he needed to find an internal art manual when he had the chance!

"Huh!" There were Experience Points too! What were they for? Li Changfeng first tapped his Inner Force, but nothing happened. Then he tapped Strength, but there was still no reaction. Finally, he tapped his technique.

The thirty Experience Points instantly increased the technique's proficiency. With sixty proficiency points, he only needed twenty more to truly reach the entry level. So Experience Points could be added to techniques. I get it now.

One month later...

Li Changfeng had finally trained the Shaolin Bronze Body Skill to the entry level, achieving a small degree of success. His body's defenses had strengthened considerably. Ordinary clubs and staffs could not break through his defenses, and his Strength had risen to two hundred jin.

He had also secretly practiced one of Shaolin's Seventy-Two Supreme Skills, the Luohan Fist, bringing it to the initial stage. It was more than enough to deal with a few Jianghu Newbies.

Inside the Shaolin kitchen, Li Changfeng was desperately trying to persuade the Kitchen Monk.

"Kitchen Monk, please let me go down the mountain to buy supplies! I used to sell vegetables to you all the time. I can tell at a glance which vegetables are good and which are bad. Please, let me go!"

The Kitchen Monk could no longer endure Li Changfeng begging him every day, so he casually agreed to let him purchase supplies. However, he made it clear beforehand that Li Changfeng must not violate the precepts outside, or he would face severe punishment.

"Alright, alright, alright! I promise I won't violate the precepts. Don't worry! I'm leaving now!"

Phew~ Li Changfeng let out a deep breath and said happily, "The air outside is so much more comfortable. These three months in the temple were stifling me to death. Every day was nothing but training, training, training. It was boring as hell. It feels so much better to come out and take a walk."

"I haven't seen Tie Niu and the others in ages. I told them to come visit me more often, but they haven't come even once. What a fake brotherhood!"

As he passed Li Family Village, Li Changfeng paused. He should go see them after all!

With that, he headed toward his home. When Li Changfeng reached the entrance, he smelled an incredibly strong stench of salted fish. Covering his nose, he walked inside.

Flies buzzed wildly throughout the room. There was a corpse covered in maggots, disgusting beyond belief. Judging from its clothing, it seemed to be his cheap father.

"What happened?! Could this be my cheap father's corpse? It looks like he starved to death. Where are those mother and son? Where did they go?"

"Sigh! This was all your own choice. You brought it upon yourself. Forget it. I'll let you rest in peace!"

Li Changfeng cleaned the foul-smelling corpse with water, dug a pit outside the house, and buried him. With a sigh, he said, "This is all I can do for you. Rest in peace!"

"I need to find Tie Niu and the others and see what exactly happened. Where the hell did that mother and son go?!"

With that, he immediately headed for Golden Source Casino. When he entered, the gamblers saw a gleaming golden monk walk in and teased, "Yo! Where did this monk come from? He actually came here to gamble? Interesting!"

At that moment, a wealthy young master dressed in fine clothes sneered, "Little monk, come over to me. Your whole body is shining with gold, bringing me luck. If I'm happy, I might even reward you with a few taels of silver."

Li Changfeng smiled faintly and walked toward the young master. He smashed his forehead hard into the brat's head and slowly said, "What did you say? Say that again. Let me hear it!"

"Ow!"

The young master was left dizzy from the blow and shouted, "Someone's hitting me! I've been hit! There's a monk hitting people in Golden Source Casino!"

Hearing the commotion, the casino's thugs immediately surrounded him and shouted, "What monk dares cause trouble in Golden Source Casino? Are you tired of living?!"

"Heh! Someone who can actually talk has finally shown up. Do you know where Tie Niu is? I need to find him."

At that moment, a leader stepped forward, waved his hand, and said solemnly, "This master must be one of Shaolin's Eighteen Bronze Men, correct? May I ask why you have come to Golden Source Casino to cause trouble?"

"You've got some eyesight! I didn't come to cause trouble. Some blind fool provoked me, so I merely taught him a lesson. Do you know where Tie Niu is? I have urgent business with him."

"So that's it! Tie Niu? Several of them have been hunted down by Young Master Jin! Black Tiger also had one hand chopped off by the young master and fled in defeat. What, do you have a grudge against them too?"

Upon hearing this, Li Changfeng's face darkened. Then he slowly asked, "Do you know which direction they fled?"

"I think they went into the deep mountains and old forests to the north. Young Master Jin and his men are still hunting them!"

"Thank you!"

After thanking him, Li Changfeng immediately ran toward the deep forests in the north, anxiously shouting, "Tie Niu! You all have to hold on! Wait for me!"