A tremendous haul

Creak~ Creak~

Lin Hao's tendons, bones, and joints kept making all sorts of noises, an exquisitely aching pain running through his entire body.

"Enough, enough!"

Wu Deshui finally let go and pushed Lin Hao down onto a chair beside the Martial Arts Hall.

"It truly is astonishing. In just over a month, you've brought Crouching Tiger Fist and Crouching Tiger Staff to this level. Perhaps one day I'll get to witness a fist technique perfected..."

Wu Deshui sighed with emotion.

With a strong physical foundation, quickly reaching bright force or even hidden force was normal. But mastering the techniques to such a degree at the same time was another matter entirely!

"It feels as though you've forced your way up purely through proficiency with the moves. Your physical foundation is only above average, really. That innate strength of yours is strange, too."

Wu Deshui seemed to have seen straight through the secret behind Lin Hao's rapid progress, but he merely muttered about it without probing further.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao reflected on their "sparring" just now-or rather, the guided practice his master had given him.

All he could say was that a transforming force expert was terrifying indeed!

His use of force had reached a miraculous level. Every part of his body could release it, offense and defense becoming one!

Recalling an idea he had once entertained, Lin Hao suspected his master really could withstand a full-power strike backed by his forty-kilogram enchantment!

Or rather, he could disperse its force into the ground, or use it to retreat and dissipate the impact.

Apart from the first punch his master had tested, which had felt like a solid hit, none of his subsequent attacks had landed properly!

He had truly experienced what it meant to be a transforming force master!

After that first punch, it had felt as though he were hitting a roly-poly toy, unable to deliver any force at all. Even with the enchantment's enhancement, his master had remained slippery as an eel, taking none of the impact.

Even when a punch struck his chest, a tilt and shake of his shoulder, accompanied by a tremor through the ground, had redirected all of Lin Hao's strength. Instead, Lin Hao had been left feeling extremely uncomfortable.

At the same time, however, the force his master had sent through his body, combined with his own previous success in releasing hidden force, had given Lin Hao more ideas.

"Master, does hidden force have a stronger conditioning effect on the muscles?"

"It seems you've already sensed it. Indeed it does. Tendons, bones, skin, and membranes are all one whole. Releasing hidden force also provides better conditioning for the muscles and membranes it passes through. You should understand that there's no such thing as 'perfection' in conditioning cultivation. You keep learning and practicing for as long as you live..."

Wu Deshui's answer made the picture in Lin Hao's mind clearer.

In fact, after achieving bright force, Lin Hao had already noticed that it substantially enhanced his physical training, making it far more efficient than before he had unified his strength.

But he had only successfully activated hidden force once, through insights gained when acquiring other conditioning methods from new weapons. He lacked experience and opportunities to reflect on it.

Now, after experiencing his master's precisely controlled force passing through his body, he could put the two experiences together and understand more.

"I have a general understanding of your condition now. Go back and get some proper rest. I'll have someone send out invitations for the apprenticeship banquet."

"I leave everything to you, Master."

Lin Hao cupped his hands, his gaze falling on the Infantry Armor again.

"Take it, take it."

Wu Deshui waved a hand, but then reminded him,

"Although one person wearing armor isn't a crime, what your Eldest Senior Brother said earlier wasn't wrong. The Infantry Armor's greatest strength is protection in chaotic situations. It gives you considerable room for error when surrounded by large numbers of ordinary people. Slaughtering a gang single-handedly in armor isn't difficult.

"But against a hidden force expert, it could actually become a liability. Within ten paces, even a one-picul strong bow firing an armor-piercing arrow might penetrate it. Still, it offers excellent protection against ordinary broadheads, and even if an armor-piercing arrow gets through, it can greatly reduce the damage. It's essential on the battlefield."

"I understand."

Lin Hao cupped his hands.

"There's a Two-Picul Strong Bow over there. Normally, you need to be a Martial Master to draw it, but with your innate strength, you can take it and train with it."

"Thank you, Master!"

Lin Hao's grin nearly split his face. He hadn't expected another windfall!

Normally, experts who had achieved bright force could use a one-picul strong bow once they had accumulated enough physical conditioning and passed through their period of rapid improvement.

The archery test for selecting Martial Talents in the Prefectural Examination required ten shots on target with a one-picul strong bow.

This event had been added for martial practitioners who had yet to achieve bright force but had already conditioned their bodies sufficiently.

A two-picul strong bow generally required the bodily tempering of a hidden force Martial Master to use properly. Even someone with great achievement in bright force who could barely draw it would be better off using a one-picul strong bow.

The bow Lin Hao had just been given was precisely such a weapon.

[Two-Picul · Strong Bow (Blue)]

[Value: 1,644 wish power]

[Draw weight: 122 kg]

[Additional trait: Armor-Piercing (White)]

[Additional trait: Precision (White)]

[Additional skill: Bowstring Force · Mastery (Blue)]

[A strong bow with no practical use for ordinary people, but a rare fine bow for hidden force Martial Masters or archers with innate strength.]

Draw weight?

Lin Hao sensed that this stat carried a different meaning, then quickly gained a glimmer of understanding.

Unlike ordinary weapons, this bow could add draw weight when he used other bows!

But that draw weight depended on his inventory's equipment limit. He didn't truly possess innate strength, and with his current abilities, he couldn't even barely equip this Two-Picul Strong Bow!

The bow occupies both hand equipment slots. That means my one-handed weapon limit has to reach over sixty kilograms!

Looking at his current forty-kilogram limit for one-handed weapons, Lin Hao felt a surge of excitement.

He had only recently entered bright force and had already successfully released hidden force once. This was another opportunity for explosive physical growth. Sixty kilograms would come soon enough.

With the Replacement Slot available, Lin Hao saw nothing wrong with adding a ranged option.

But a longbow's material isn't as tough as a metal weapon. The enchantment's protective effect will probably be somewhat lacking. The weapon I actually use can't be made of anything too poor, either.

Carrying the Meteoric Iron Spear, Infantry Armor, and strong bow, he returned to his room first. Zhao Xiaowen and Nie Yi were still practicing with his master's wife in the back courtyard, so Lin Hao could only begin awkwardly putting on the armor by himself in the courtyard.

The Infantry Armor had a full three layers, with Cotton Armor inside and Leather Armor in the middle, studded with iron plates like dragon scales. It was quite cumbersome.

Alone, Lin Hao could barely get it on, and even then it sat crookedly.

Once he sensed that he could equip it, he decisively stuffed it into his Equipment Slot!

Now this is a sense of security!

His body felt lighter. After the Infantry Armor vanished from his body, an unprecedented sense of security rose in Lin Hao's heart.

Despite its various shortcomings, and the possibility that an expert's hidden force or an armor-piercing shot from a strong bow could breach its defenses, the Infantry Armor was still a lifesaving treasure!

Even attacks it couldn't completely block would do far less damage!

Besides, he didn't look as though he were wearing armor. Arrows fired at him probably wouldn't be armor-piercing ones, and hidden force Martial Masters could easily misjudge him, too.

There's no questioning the Infantry Armor's effectiveness. Otherwise, why would Master wear it on the battlefield? Even hidden force experts trained in external body-hardening arts are still carbon-based organisms.

One suit of Infantry Armor might not amount to much, but a group of armored experts could cut through a disorganized mob dozens of times their number!

Wearing Infantry Armor hinders other people's movements, but not mine. This extra defense is simply wonderful! And judging by the leather jacket's enchantment, the enhanced body also makes a noticeable difference in withstanding recoil...

Next, Lin Hao equipped the Meteoric Iron Spear as well: the damaged Wrought-Iron Staff in his left hand, and the Meteoric Iron Spear in his right!

In terms of weight alone, the combined enhancement from both hands is only slightly less than the Double Stone Locks.

Lin Hao opened and closed his hand, then picked up a wooden staff and began whirling it rapidly through the little courtyard.

The long staff whistled as it sliced through the air, moving with remarkable agility in Lin Hao's hands.

Just as I thought! Although a spear isn't a staff, their similar shapes make the weight penalty extremely low! I can barely feel it!

Lin Hao freely and exuberantly performed the Crouching Tiger Staff Technique. Then his hands shifted, adding numerous thrusts to the staff's movements, along with the sudden turn of a returning spear strike. He was executing the Crouching Tiger Spear Technique at great achievement using a long staff!

By the same reasoning, when I use a spear, I can practically ignore the Wrought-Iron Staff's weight penalty, too! Once I finish adapting and converting these skills, bringing my own Crouching Tiger Spear to mastery, I can equip another [Mastery] Crouching Tiger Spear. Perhaps the two will stack to perfection!

With the Double Stone Locks, even a ten-percent weight penalty amounted to eight jin. That might seem negligible compared with the enhancement, but it certainly affected his handling.

His one staff strike that had killed three Beggar Gang members had demonstrated the overwhelming power of his attacks, but it had also reflected the inconvenience of changing moves.

Now that he had changed his equipment, however, although the enchanted weight had decreased slightly, the weight penalty problem had been neatly resolved!

His staff moved faster, and its power could actually soar!

Kinetic energy scaled with the square of speed!

Haha! Time to train. I need to quickly make the most of this golden period of improvement after achieving bright force, and try releasing hidden force a few more times...

After finishing a full routine, Lin Hao still wanted more. He applied medicinal ointment to his body as he headed toward the pharmacy.

He needed tonics to keep his blood and vitality replenished, too. Fortunately, he still had plenty of money left, and his recent earnings had added several dozen taels. Ordinary medicines were something he could afford in abundance...