A Great Opportunity, Iron Dregs (1 / 2)

Moreover, as his mastery of the art improved, his body would grow increasingly powerful, potentially making him invincible among those at the same cultivation level.

However, aside from the pain, the metals this art consumed were hardly cheap. That... probably counted as another drawback.

"This art is great. With this, movement techniques won't be so important anymore."

After carefully reading through the art, Zhao Er's eyes shone.

He had wanted to practice a movement technique to stay alive while tangling with enemies. With the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art, he would be as good as clad in armor, and his enemies would be the ones struggling to stay alive.

As Zhao Er finished reading the art, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

[Art: Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art (Blue) lv.1 (1/80)]

"It only takes eighty experience points to cultivate this art to lv.1? Right, it must be because I've practiced the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body. That reduced the experience needed to level up this art."

Zhao Er's eyes lit up as he looked at the newly appeared art on his panel. Now this was how things ought to work.

Surely, once his cultivation reached a higher level, he would not still have to work step by step through the lowest-level arts. That would make no sense at all.

"Allocate points and fuse!"

Seeing that the art was already blue-grade the moment it appeared, Zhao Er's first thought was to fuse it.

[No compatible arts available for fusion. Point allocation failed!]

Unfortunately, a line of text appeared, shattering Zhao Er's fantasy.

"Is fusion impossible because the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body is already a fused art? Or can I only fuse Body-Tempering Arts?"

Zhao Er felt somewhat disappointed as he looked at the text before him. He had thought he could keep upgrading his arts indefinitely. Now, it seemed he would have to find another suitable art to fuse with the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art.

Fortunately, the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art was extremely powerful in its own right. For now, leaving it unfused would not make much difference.

"This art may look simple, but successfully cultivating it is no easy task. Don't expect to grasp it all at once. Take it back and ponder it at your leisure."

Apparently noticing Zhao Er's frown, Dian Zhang spoke with a smile from beside him.

"It seems... not all that difficult."

Zhao Er looked at Dian Zhang's smiling face, then glanced at the panel before him. After a moment's thought, he began circulating the art as he spoke.

Although this was Zhao Er's first time circulating the art, once it appeared on his panel, even a single point of cultivation progress meant he had already crossed its threshold and could use it proficiently. All he lacked afterward was depth of mastery.

Thus, as Zhao Er circulated the art, the skin all over his body visibly began to darken, as though a thin layer of iron armor covered it.

"Not all that difficult? You... you..."

When Dian Zhang first heard Zhao Er say it was not all that difficult, he had been about to mock him for not knowing the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. Yet a moment later, he saw that thin layer of iron armor on Zhao Er's body.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Er found that Dian Zhang, who had still been lounging in his seat as he spoke, had suddenly appeared before him and flicked his arm three times with a finger.

Although Zhao Er had not seen how the man came to stand before him, he did notice a faint golden glow on Dian Zhang's finger as it struck his arm.

Clang, clang, clang!!

Three crisp sounds rang out, like blows striking sheet iron, particularly clear inside the room.

"It really is an Iron Armor Body! He really crossed the threshold after reading it just once? How is that possible... How long did it take me back then? How much suffering did I endure..."

Dian Zhang stared at the layer of black iron armor covering Zhao Er, his gaze somewhat vacant as he murmured softly.

Listening to Dian Zhang's increasingly faint voice, Zhao Er said nothing and simply waited in silence.

"What's your name?"

Only after a long while did Dian Zhang abruptly raise his head to look at Zhao Er.

"Zhao Er!"

Zhao Er answered without hesitation, anticipation stirring in his heart.

"Zhao Er... if you can cultivate this Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art to the third layer before the end of the year, I'll give you a great opportunity. One greater than the grand examination."

Dian Zhang looked at Zhao Er and spoke in a solemn voice.

"All right!"

Zhao Er nodded emphatically upon hearing this.

The reason he had displayed his "talent" before Dian Zhang just now was to see whether he could coax some benefits out of him.

After all, he had already suspected that Dian Zhang's cultivation was far from weak, and that the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art might be the martial art he practiced. Displaying his talent might bring nothing but benefits.

Now, it seemed his display had not been in vain. Although he did not know what great opportunity Dian Zhang meant, it was enough to give Zhao Er something to look forward to.

"All right, off you go... remember, you only get this one chance. Whether you can seize it is up to you!"

Seeing Zhao Er nod, Dian Zhang waved a hand, then walked back toward his earlier seat.

"This junior takes his leave!"

Zhao Er cupped his hands toward Dian Zhang, then turned and left.

Dian Zhang sat back down and stared blankly at the empty doorway. Only after a long while did he speak softly:

"Originally, seeing that he had broken through to become a martial artist using an unorthodox art, and that his expression never changed when I examined his bones, I thought his temperament must be good. He was just the right person to carry on my family's Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art. But now..."

Zhao Er left the Martial Pavilion in excellent spirits.

However, rather than leaving the city directly, he returned to the Ning Family.

"Second Brother, how did it go? Were you short on money for the manual?"

Upon hearing that Zhao Er had returned, Zhao Da and Ning Mu immediately came out to meet him. Zhao Da assumed he had come back because he lacked money, and could not help feeling his pocket as he asked.

"Big Brother, I have enough money. I came back to ask how you usually dispose of the final waste from your smithy."

Looking at his elder brother, Zhao Er felt deeply touched. But he was eager to cultivate now, so he did not intend to spend too long on pleasantries.

Cultivating the Nine-Turn Golden Armor Art required metal granules. The art also stated that it was best to use granules of a single pure metal, as this not only made them easier to absorb during cultivation but also reduced the toxicity caused by impurities.

However, both buying the metal and processing it into granules would cost a considerable sum. Moreover, once the metal had been completely absorbed, it would have to be replaced.

But did Zhao Er care about the toxins caused by impurities? What mattered more to him was obtaining metal granules at the lowest possible price.

When it came to things that contained metal but could no longer be reused, Zhao Er immediately thought of the waste from smithies. His sister-in-law's family happened to have just that, so he had rushed over at once.

"You mean the Iron Dregs? We usually haul those away to fill in roads, or mix them with other materials to build city walls. Do you need them, brother-in-law?"

It was Ning Mu who spoke. She was thoroughly familiar with these day-to-day matters.

The Iron Dregs she mentioned were the rough, completely unusable residue left after the waste had been repeatedly smelted and its metal extracted, until nothing else remained. That was what they called Iron Dregs.