Iron Shirt

"The Guard Hall has twelve guards, most of them named after animals."

"For example, the Azure Dragon Guard, Mountain Tiger Guard, Black Panther Guard, White Bear Guard, Patrol Horse Guard... each has its own duties."

"You've joined the Falcon Guard. Our main duty is to eliminate evil entities and supernatural horrors near Thousand Chimes City. It's highly dangerous, so prepare yourselves."

"And I am the commander of the Falcon Guard, Shen Ruiwen."

The middle-aged man introduced himself.

"Greetings, Commander Shen."

Everyone hurried to pay their respects.

Only Lu Mian was still thinking over Shen Ruiwen's words.

Back in the Refugee District, he had known very little about the Guard Hall and assumed it was just a collection of patrol squads.

Now it seemed the Guard Hall had quite a tightly organized structure.

The Falcon Guard's death rate must have been extremely high, too. Otherwise, they would not have added more than twenty people at once.

But for Lu Mian, this was probably the place that suited him best.

He could fight evil entities and supernatural horrors head-on, constantly absorbing supernatural abilities to strengthen himself and grow rapidly.

"The Falcon Guard has thirty squads, with ten people in each. At full strength, we have nearly three hundred members."

"But because the death rate is so high, every squad has some vacancies."

"I'll assign you to your respective squads shortly."

As Shen Ruiwen spoke, he led Lu Mian and the others to a spacious compound.

A stone tablet stood beside the entrance, bearing the words "Falcon Guard."

"This is our Falcon Guard's base. We usually assemble here."

After that, Shen Ruiwen began assigning Lu Mian and the others to their squads.

Lu Mian was assigned to the Falcon Guard Sixteenth Squad.

"Go on. Find your squad's courtyard inside the base and report to your captain. He'll explain the Guard Hall to you in greater detail."

"If your captain is out on a mission, rest in your squad's courtyard for now."

Without another word, Shen Ruiwen walked straight off.

Everyone exchanged glances. In the end, they could only split up and search the Falcon Guard's base for their respective courtyards.

The base contained many scattered courtyards, making it as confusing as a small maze. Lu Mian had no choice but to search patiently.

Fortunately, every courtyard had a sign identifying it.

"Falcon Guard Ninth Squad..."

"Falcon Guard Thirteenth Squad..."

After searching for roughly half an incense stick's worth of time, Lu Mian finally found the Falcon Guard Sixteenth Squad's courtyard.

The courtyard was neither large nor small, with a weapon rack standing in one corner.

Five or six people were practicing their punches, sharpening blades, or chatting inside.

They looked startled when they saw Lu Mian in his gray clothes.

"What's going on? Are even corpse collectors coming to work for our Guard Hall now?"

A fair-faced man sneered.

The others also gave him strange looks.

"My name is Lu Mian. Commander Shen assigned me to the Sixteenth Squad."

Lu Mian spoke calmly.

"So you're a newcomer."

The fair-faced man gave a contemptuous smile.

The only woman in the courtyard walked over.

She had a well-proportioned build and somewhat rough skin, but there was no prejudice or contempt in her eyes as she looked at Lu Mian.

"My name is Sun Feifei."

"The captain went out on some business. He'll be back later."

"I'll take you to collect your clothes and weapon first."

The woman spoke.

"Sorry for the trouble, Miss Sun."

Lu Mian nodded slightly.

Sun Feifei led Lu Mian out of the courtyard toward the Guard Hall's administrative office.

"Those people all come from established families. Deep down, they look down on refugees like us."

"Being isolated, ostracized, or even bullied is quite common."

Sun Feifei spoke quietly along the way.

That was also why she was willing to help Lu Mian.

They came from the same background.

"Did you come up from the Refugee District too, Miss Sun?"

Lu Mian was a little surprised.

"Yes... I used to work in the Agriculture Office. I joined the Guard Hall's Falcon Guard two months ago."

Sun Feifei nodded.

"I see."

"What about that fair-faced man just now? What's his background?"

Lu Mian asked quietly.

"His name is Yu Hao. He's from a family in Thousand Chimes Commandery City. He's arrogant, rude, and full of himself. He looks down on those of us from the Refugee District."

"Even our captain comes from an established family. Though he isn't as rude as Yu Hao, he won't take our side either."

"Since you're new, they'll probably try to make things difficult for you."

"Remember to be patient. As long as you don't resort to violence, they won't dare do much to you."

Sun Feifei warned him.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Lu Mian nodded.

When he entered the outer city, Chen Xiuzhu had already warned him how complicated the Guard Hall was.

Judging by Lu Mian's demeanor and expression, Sun Feifei felt he was a fairly levelheaded person, so she said no more.

Soon, they arrived at the administrative office, completed his registration, and collected his Falcon Guard uniform and a key.

Joining the Guard Hall entitled him to a house in the outer city, rent-free. As long as he stayed alive, he could live there forever.

"Next, we'll go to the armory."

"You can choose a martial arts manual and a weapon."

Sun Feifei led Lu Mian to their next destination.

Before long, they arrived at a three-story wooden building.

This was the Guard Hall's armory.

They were only allowed inside after presenting their Demon-Sealing Jade Tokens.

Their access was restricted to the first floor. Entering the second and third floors required higher clearance.

All manner of weapons lined the left side of the first floor, while the Book Repository on the right held a wide variety of martial arts manuals.

Sun Feifei offered Lu Mian no advice and instead went to wait in the lounge at the center of the armory.

Lu Mian first headed to the Book Repository on the right.

I still haven't practiced the Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade. There's no need to find another blade technique.

The Tortoise-Snake Fist is comprehensive and covers footwork, too. I don't need another technique like that either.

I'll find a body-hardening art.

Lu Mian scanned the martial arts manuals.

These body-hardening arts used various extreme methods to temper the flesh, potentially making the body impervious to blades and spears.

Soon, one martial art caught his attention.

Iron Shirt...

I heard of it plenty of times in my previous life. I never thought I'd come across it after transmigrating.

Curious, Lu Mian took down the manual.

The books displayed in the Book Repository contained only general outlines, not actual training methods. He would have to exchange them at the counter for those.

Iron Shirt: make the body iron, forge it into steel through relentless tempering!

It required various methods to batter and temper the flesh and connective tissues, then replenish the damaged body with large quantities of substances rich in blood and vitality. This would make it increasingly tough, as indestructible as if clad in iron!

Iron Shirt looks decent... I'll check a few more.

Lu Mian did not rush to decide and instead examined the other body-hardening arts.

But the other body-hardening arts all seemed to have shortcomings.

Some would stiffen his muscles and reduce his flexibility.

Others were not comprehensive enough to cover his whole body.

After looking through them all, only Iron Shirt suited him best.

Iron Shirt it is, then... even the name feels familiar.

After weighing his options, Lu Mian decided to take Iron Shirt.

With his choice of martial art settled, Lu Mian headed to the weapon storage area on the left.

The Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade is a heavy-blade technique that relies on overwhelming presence to strike terror into the enemy.

I can't choose a blade that's too light...

Lu Mian began browsing the rack of blades.

There was little difference in the quality of these weapons. They were all ordinary stock, differing only in shape and weight.

After considering his options, Lu Mian finally chose a large chopping blade.