Nothing happened that night. Early the next morning, the instructor frowned deeply when he discovered five people were missing and asked where Zhao Tao and the other four had gone.
"They left," Wang Wu said.
"Useless trash."
The instructor cursed, his expression dark. With so many people gone, he was bound to receive a scolding from the martial masters above him.
But a single sentence from Li Feng turned his gloomy skies clear.
"Instructor, my Iron Cloth Shirt has reached minor accomplishment."
Delight spread across the instructor's face. He stepped up to Li Feng and scraped a fingernail across his arm again, only this time with far more force than before.
A white mark appeared. The instructor's eyes shone as he looked at Li Feng as though he were a piece of uncut jade.
"Good, good, good!" The instructor repeated the word three times and patted Li Feng's shoulder. "Minor accomplishment in four days! Our Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall hasn't seen a talent like you in a long time."
Wang Wu and the others' expressions changed drastically at this. Li Feng becoming a human training post was no good news for them. Dealing with them would be no harder than dealing with children.
"We're in trouble. With how petty Li Feng is, our days won't be easy," Wang Wu said heavily.
"Fuck! Heaven must be blind, giving trash like that talent for martial arts!" Meng Lin cursed under his breath.
The other two roommates looked terrified, afraid Li Feng would come looking for trouble.
Lin Fan remained composed. He had no intention of revealing that his Iron Cloth Shirt had reached minor accomplishment. He planned to get through today and reach major accomplishment before deciding what came next.
Li Feng's gaze swept over Lin Fan. He had thought Lin Fan would step forward and announce that he, too, had reached minor accomplishment, but when Lin Fan made no move, his head filled with questions.
Does he want to keep hiding here and developing? Heh... trash! With that sort of disposition, he still wants to become a martial artist? Li Feng sneered inwardly, his disdain for Lin Fan growing.
"Train on your own," the instructor said before taking Li Feng away. With Li Feng, he would not care if everyone else left, let alone five people.
"Phew..."
Wang Wu and the others breathed a sigh of relief. With Li Feng gone, at least they no longer had to live in fear of his retaliation.
"Speaking of which, has Li Feng turned over a new leaf? He actually didn't do anything to us at breakfast," Wang Wu said in puzzlement.
Lin Fan chuckled softly. "It's not that he didn't want to. He couldn't."
With that, he headed toward the slope. The instructor's absence was all the better. Once his roommates passed out, he could train with everything he had.
Wang Wu and the others looked utterly confused, not understanding what he meant by Li Feng being unable to.
Lin Fan's cultivation progress rose rapidly. Once his roommates had all passed out, he stopped holding back, sprinting to the top of the slope, rolling down, then sprinting back up.
In just an hour, he rolled down twenty times. By nearly noon, Lin Fan's Iron Cloth Shirt had fully reached major accomplishment.
Iron Cloth Shirt, major accomplishment (900/900)
Lin Fan felt another surge of tremendous strength well up in his body. His skin became incredibly tough, and the abrasive garment rubbing against him felt little different from a scratch to relieve an itch.
According to the instructor, my strength should now exceed 600 jin. Ordinary people can hardly hurt me even with swords or sabers. And with Iron Cloth Shirt at major accomplishment, I can become a nominal disciple of the martial arts hall, cultivate a body-tempering technique, and become a martial artist. Excitement stirred within Lin Fan, and he wished he could reveal his attainment right now and become a disciple of the hall.
But he restrained himself. He had no one to rely on, and rashly revealing such great talent would likely invite disaster.
Lin Fan continued charging up the slope. With his current strength, he could cover ten meters in a single stride and reach the top in three steps.
Lin Fan rolled down and relaxed as he watched his progress keep increasing by +1. He had been afraid this training method would no longer work, since the abrasive garment could no longer break his skin.
But the progress bar stretching all the way to 1,500 gave Lin Fan a slight headache. It meant he would have to roll down 150 times.
Hopefully the instructor won't show up over the next couple of days, Lin Fan prayed inwardly. If he could train without holding back, at his current pace, he could probably reach perfection within three days.
Once Iron Cloth Shirt reached perfection, his strength would increase by another 400 jin, breaking past a thousand. Even newly initiated martial artists wielding swords or sabers would struggle to hurt him, and he would qualify to exchange blows with martial artists. Lin Fan looked forward to it.
If he waited until perfection before becoming a human training post, the risk would be greatly reduced.
At noon, in the dining hall.
Lin Fan gulped down bowl after bowl of medicinal food. The dining hall had not reduced the amount because there were fewer people, so Lin Fan and the others could take all the medicinal food allotted to Li Feng's entire dormitory.
Lin Fan drank a full ten bowls, enough to fuel an entire afternoon of exertion.
To Lin Fan's delight, the instructor did not come that afternoon either. Once his roommates passed out, he trained with all his might. By dinnertime that evening, his progress had made a very gratifying advance.
Iron Cloth Shirt, perfection (760/1500)
I can train at least another fifty times tonight. Even if the instructor comes tomorrow, my Iron Cloth Shirt will still reach perfection. Lin Fan calculated inwardly, joy showing on his face.
Seeing how happy Lin Fan looked, Wang Wu could not help asking, "Brother Lin, you look so happy. Is your Iron Cloth Shirt about to reach minor accomplishment?"
The other three roommates looked over expectantly. Li Feng was a blade hanging over their heads. Until Lin Fan reached minor accomplishment, they could not even sleep peacefully.
"Barring any surprises, I'll reach minor accomplishment tomorrow," Lin Fan said, giving his roommates a pill of reassurance.
His roommates were overjoyed. It felt as though the blade that had hung over their heads all this time had finally been blocked by a shield.
Because they had consumed more medicinal food, Wang Wu and the others also followed Lin Fan to the slope to train. Only after they left could Lin Fan train at full strength.
Progress +10, +10...
His progress kept increasing. By the time Lin Fan left the slope, it had reached Iron Cloth Shirt, perfection (1300/1500).
Just twenty more times, and my Iron Cloth Shirt will reach perfection. Lin Fan looked forward to it.
The next day, the instructor came, unable to suppress the smile on his face. Presumably, he had received quite a few benefits after taking Li Feng back.
But his face darkened when he saw Lin Fan and the others.
"A bunch of useless trash! Why aren't you training already?" His roar arrived before he did. "Li Feng has already reached minor accomplishment, and major accomplishment is just around the corner, yet two pieces of trash among you haven't even reached the entry level! Unless you roll down thirty times this morning, don't even think about eating!"
Lin Fan and the others were angry but dared not speak. The amount of medicinal food had returned to normal today, nowhere near enough to sustain thirty rounds of training. It would overtax their bodies. The instructor could not possibly be unaware of that. He was clearly intent on crippling them through training, already stopping at nothing for Li Feng's sake.
But beneath another's eaves, one had no choice but to bow one's head. Lin Fan and the others could only climb the slope and roll down in silence.
Iron Cloth Shirt, perfection (1310/1500), 1320...1350...1400...1450...1490.
Lin Fan stood at the top of the slope, his eyes bright. Just one more roll, and his Iron Cloth Shirt would reach perfection, leaving him only a hair's breadth from becoming a martial artist.
He rolled down, his progress continuously increasing by +1. When he reached the ground, an immense surge of strength welled up within him. Iron Cloth Shirt had officially entered the realm of perfection!
Iron Cloth Shirt, perfection (1500/1500).