Skin Tempering

"Eh? These are Dragon's Roar Grass that are around thirty years old?"

Miao Qingyun picked up one of the medicinal herbs and examined it carefully.

He even raised it to his nose and sniffed it, a faint gleam appearing in his eyes.

A moment later, he inspected the other two herbs as well.

Only then did he set them back on the counter.

"This old man is willing to offer two taels of silver for these three herbs. What do you think, young friend?"

His tone was unhurried, brimming with confidence.

The price he had offered was already quite fair.

"Then let's make the trade."

Lu Changsheng smiled and agreed without hesitation.

Even if he went to a few more places, the price would not be much higher.

Two taels of silver were enough for him to get started with the Iron Cloth Shirt.

His most pressing task was to quickly raise his own strength. Delaying for a few extra copper coins would be putting the cart before the horse.

Miao Qingyun smiled, took out two taels of silver, and placed them on the counter.

"Please take it, sir."

As he spoke, he put away the three medicinal herbs.

"Mm."

Lu Changsheng nodded with a smile, picked up the silver, and turned to leave.

After leaving the apothecary, he strode briskly along the street.

The crowds on either side gradually thickened. Conversations and haggling filled the air, each sound reaching his ears.

Quite a few well-to-do married women had also brought their daughters out for an outing.

This world was rather open-minded. There was no rule that women had to remain secluded in their chambers.

Some young women even boldly cast flirtatious glances at Lu Changsheng when they saw him, drawing bursts of giggles from the female companions beside them.

Lu Changsheng had been quite handsome to begin with, and after starting martial cultivation these past few days, he had gained an added measure of masculine vigor.

Naturally, this made some women quite "taken" with him.

With such "assets," if he decided to lie flat and live off a woman, he would probably have a good chance of making that wish come true.

Lu Changsheng laughed silently, put away his thoughts, and soon arrived before a meat stall.

A burly man dressed in coarse hemp clothes stood before the stall, his body covered in slabs of muscle and a butcher's knife in his hand.

"How much for this whole sheep?"

Lu Changsheng pointed at the whole sheep on the left.

"One tael of silver."

The burly man lifted his eyelids and quietly spat out a few words.

Lu Changsheng frowned. Meat prices had risen again.

Silver still had considerable purchasing power. One tael of silver was equal to one thousand copper coins, and sometimes even carried a slight premium.

In the past, one tael of silver could buy two sheep. Now, the price had roughly doubled.

"Sigh... Grain prices have been going mad these past six months. Naturally, meat has to rise with them..."

The burly man casually offered an explanation.

"Give me a sack to pack it up."

Lu Changsheng nodded expressionlessly and tossed a tael of silver onto the man's stall.

"Sure thing."

The burly man's face lit up. He took out a burlap sack, packed the whole sheep into it, and handed it to Lu Changsheng.

Lu Changsheng slung the mutton over his back and headed toward the rear.

Everything was ready. He had no mind for sightseeing, so he immediately started back the way he had come.

As he hurried along, just as he reached a corner, a familiar voice drifted into his ears.

"Big Brother, we squeezed more than ten taels of silver from that brat of the Lu Family. That's enough for us to have a good time for a while."

"That brat didn't even come to pay his respects to Big Brother on his own. He's courting death..."

Two men in fitted blue outfits were walking away down the street.

Each carried a long saber, whispering as they walked.

One of them was tall and massive, like a mountain, radiating an overwhelming pressure.

Sha Qi flickered in his tiger-like eyes.

This man was Zhao Erhu, a minor leader of the Three Rivers Gang.

Hearing their conversation, Lu Changsheng immediately stopped, killing intent flashing through his eyes.

This body's head had been smashed open by that very man. Not only had he stolen his bereavement compensation, he had also looted his home clean.

If the other side learned that he had "come back from the dead," trouble would likely descend at once.

This man had already been placed on his kill list.

However, the Three Rivers Gang was one of Changping County's two top gangs. It had many powerful members and was not something he could provoke at present.

The gang had its hands in Changping County's canal shipping trade, as well as its brothels and medicinal herb business. Its reach was extremely broad.

He could only lie low for now.

Once he had made a beginning in martial arts, he would seek them out for revenge.

Lu Changsheng pondered silently.

Only after watching the two men gradually disappear from the corner of his eye did he step out from the corner and hurry home.

After rushing all the way, he soon arrived in the middle of his own courtyard.

After roughly preparing the whole sheep, he set a large pot of it to stew.

He also sent several pounds of meat next door to Fang Qing and Fang Tao. Eating alone was not his style.

The siblings were quite surprised when they received the mutton.

However, Fang Qing and Fang Tao did not ask any questions. They simply assumed it was part of Uncle Lu's family savings.

Time slowly passed.

Soon, it was noon.

After eating and drinking his fill, Lu Changsheng came to the middle of the courtyard and began to hold a stance.

His feet were spread apart, his arms curved in an embrace, and his eyes fixed straight ahead, his expression solemn.

Even his breathing carried an indescribable rhythm.

This wondrous posture was the stance shown in the first diagram of the Iron Cloth Shirt, and it was also its foundational technique.

As Lu Changsheng gradually entered the state, the mutton in his stomach began to digest rapidly, waves of warmth surging forth.

The deficits of the past few days were slowly recovering as well.

This state continued for more than half an hour.

Faint flushes gradually climbed onto his face, making him look much healthier.

"Tap, tap..."

Just then, several light footsteps sounded. Fang Tao climbed over the courtyard fence and walked toward Lu Changsheng.

"You came at just the right time. I'm ready to start cultivating again."

Seeing him, Lu Changsheng smiled faintly.

"Alright."

Fang Tao did not waste words. He directly picked up the wooden stick from the stone table, ready to begin at once.

He had watched Lu Changsheng's changes over the past few days. His initial doubts had now been greatly shaken.

He even felt that Lu Changsheng might truly succeed in cultivation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Repeated blows echoed through the courtyard. Lu Changsheng clenched his teeth and quietly felt the pain spreading across his body.

With every breath he took, thin streams of warmth flowed toward the skin of his upper body, easing even the stabbing pain by several degrees.

His mind gradually entered an ethereal state.

"Seventy-two percent, seventy-three percent..."

The technique's progress bar was also rising rapidly.

Five days later.

In the middle of the courtyard.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Thunderous impacts rang out in all directions as Fang Tao gripped a wooden stick and hammered wildly at Lu Changsheng's body.

Even Fang Tao's forehead was covered in sweat, his cheeks flushed red.

If he had not been regularly eating meat these past few days, he probably would not have had the strength to keep swinging.

Lu Changsheng stood with his feet apart, bare-chested and bare-backed, his body covered in red marks that were quite shocking to behold.

Steam rose in countless wisps from his body, gathering above his head into a tiny vortex. It was an astonishing sight.

Looking at the numbers on the panel—Martial Art: Iron Cloth Shirt (Not Started, 99%)—Lu Changsheng was extremely satisfied.

Over the past five days, he had finished that whole sheep and had no choice but to buy another one.

Driven by large amounts of meat, his martial cultivation had progressed smoothly. He was only one step away from getting started.

This cultivation session had already lasted two hours.

Yet he was still short by just a little.

Lu Changsheng did not tell Fang Tao to stop. He intended to break through this barrier in one go.

As the wooden stick continued striking his body, streams of warmth surged within him. Even his skin began to swell, becoming as tough and resilient as cowhide.

Who knew how much time passed.

Suddenly, enlightenment descended upon Lu Changsheng, and an indescribable sensation welled up in his heart.

"This is the moment."

"Break!"

With his furious roar, a powerful current of warmth instantly coursed through his entire body, transforming into a stream of air that burst from the crown of his head.

Even the mist around him was blown away.

Buzzz...

A humming sounded in Lu Changsheng's ears, as though his skin membranes were vibrating.

The wooden stick striking his body no longer caused even the slightest pain. Instead, it felt faintly numb and tingling.

The skin across his entire upper body emitted a soft, lustrous glow. It was truly wondrous.

At that moment, the Iron Cloth Shirt had finally crossed the threshold.

His many days of planning and running about had not been in vain.