Chapter Seventeen: Mastery of the Iron Shirt Technique
Chen Xuan nearly burst into wild laughter.
Opening the grand gift pack actually granted experience points—an instant increase of 180, even more than completing a task.
And on top of that, he had actually obtained secret manuals.
The Huagong Great Technique!
The Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada!
He could hardly contain his joy, feeling like he might wake up laughing from a dream.
Though not on the level of the classic Yi Jin Jing or Hun Yuan Gong, the Huagong Great Technique was still formidable.
This was the ultimate skill of Ding the Old Freak from his previous life. Once activated, it struck fear into the hearts of all in the martial world. At best, it could drain an opponent’s internal energy; at worst, it could cause instant death. No matter how strong, an unsuspecting victim would suffer great losses.
And the Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada was an unparalleled lightness skill, compensating for his lack of speed.
Within eight steps, I am unmatched in swiftness!
“Hahaha…”
Chen Xuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
However, he needed to quickly bring his Iron Cloth Skill to full completion first.
Although the Huagong Great Technique and the Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada were both supreme arts, he had to develop some feeling for them before they would appear on his status panel. Without that, he couldn’t allocate any points to them.
He couldn’t be so rigid or inflexible as to hoard experience points and wait for the Huagong Great Technique and the Eight Steps to Chase the Cicada to mature—that would be a huge mistake.
Experience points must be used as soon as possible.
He wasn’t sure when he would develop a feel for the Huagong Great Technique, the Eight Steps, or even the Five Poisons Heart Sutra.
Anyway, after his meeting with the Left Path sects, he would gain another batch of experience points.
Would he ever be short of tasks to complete?
He looked at the glowing light before him, reached out, and grasped the bottle labeled Internal Energy Fusion Pill.
Everything else had transformed into a ray of white light, entering his body.
The Huagong Great Technique and the Eight Steps had both been converted into data, stored in his brain.
Chen Xuan opened the jade bottle and gently poured out a white pill, examining it carefully.
“So this is the Internal Energy Fusion Pill Qian Da Cai spoke of, worth tens of thousands of taels of silver?”
He sniffed lightly, catching an indescribable fragrance that seemed to open his pores.
This would come in handy eventually.
From now on, he could switch to cultivating internal skills from other sects at any time.
Chen Xuan carefully stored the pill close to his body, then glanced at the status panel.
Host: Chen Xuan
Identity: Disciple of the Five Poisons Sect
Internal Energy: 2 years
Stamina: 420
Experience Points: 180
Skills: Iron Cloth Skill—Mastery (100/180)
Title: The Sterilizer
Renown: Newcomer to the Jianghu (6/140) (Every 5 renown points grants 1 luck point)
Luck Points: 2 (Luck must reach 40 to unlock another grand gift pack)
Current Gift Pack: Cannot be opened
Current Tasks:
(1) Investigate and resolve the mystery of the Five Poisons disciple’s midnight death within 8 days. Voluntary abandonment deducts 300 experience points. (Time left: 5 days 16 hours 45 minutes 56 seconds)
(2) The three great clans of Yunzhou are closing in on the Five Poisons Sect, having sent experts into the sect’s territory in Qingxia Town. Meanwhile, the Left Path sects Seven Kill Palace, Iron Garment Tower, and Blood Blade Sect have also dispatched masters into the town. Within three days, meet under the guise of Five Poisons disciples. (Time left: 16 hours 45 minutes 56 seconds)
...
“Hm? When did my title change? ‘The Sterilizer’? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Chen Xuan’s eyes widened in surprise.
Could it be a nickname?
Since when did he have such a lame sobriquet?
Was that where the 35 renown points came from? Did that group of righteous sects give him this name?
---
His expression complex, Chen Xuan withdrew his gaze and began allocating points to Iron Cloth Skill.
Swipe!
Iron Cloth shifted from Mastery (100/180) directly to Full Completion (100/240).
His stamina instantly surged by 180, reaching 600.
A powerful force radiated from within him, exuding a wild aura; his muscles became firm and strong, his skin gleaming, denser and more powerful than before.
“Impressive. If I encounter those enemies from last night now, they shouldn’t be able to harm me.”
He lightly clapped his arms together, radiating fierce strength.
Yesterday, when Cui Zhengqing’s sword struck his skull, blood spurted out, nearly frightening him to death.
But now, with Iron Cloth fully complete and his defense multiplied several times over, Cui Zhengqing’s sword would never wound him again.
Moreover, in terms of sheer stamina, he now equaled a fourth-level Qi Master. Adding two years of internal energy cultivation, he was well beyond the fifth level—nearing the sixth.
“I suppose I’m a top expert now.”
Chen Xuan drew a deep breath, his chest swelling with pride.
Suddenly, a strange thought occurred to him.
With Iron Cloth skill fully complete, could he compress his yang energy into his abdomen?
Why not try?
He glanced around the village to confirm no one was watching, then began to focus.
“Up and down, left and right, front and back, inside and out…”
“Hmm, amazing. Truly amazing.”
“Hahaha…”
Chen Xuan laughed wildly again.
His last vulnerability was gone.
Who could stand against him now?
Unless he met a truly peerless master!
Suddenly, a strong hunger pang rumbled in his stomach. He turned and went outside the village to hunt a few wild boars. After roasting them, he devoured the meat ravenously, then headed back deeper into the village.
The wild village was deathly silent.
No signs of any recent battle.
Besides the absence of any living creatures, it looked no different from any other small village.
The more so, the more wary Chen Xuan became.
Could it be that this place had also experienced some strange event?
He paused, hesitating whether to withdraw for now.
Just then!
A sharp sound of something slicing through the air came from one side, and a swarm of black dots blazed forward like lightning, engulfing him.
Chen Xuan’s face changed. He hurriedly turned his head, but before he could see what it was, the black dots struck him all over.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thuds echoed.
The black dots hit his body but seemed to bounce off like hitting iron stone, scattering to the ground.
His clothes were instantly shredded to tatters.
He then saw the tiny black darts, gleaming coldly, each imbued with a deadly poison.
Fury flared within Chen Xuan’s heart as he finally recognized the attackers.
A few young men dressed in black stood in a nearby alley, faces full of shock and disbelief.
“The Thirteen Guards’ Iron Bell Shield—no, it’s a high monk!”
One of them shouted in alarm, “Run!”
The three turned and fled immediately.
They hadn’t yet grasped Chen Xuan’s true strength but were chilled to the bone by what they saw.
Such terrifying Iron Cloth mastery was unprecedented.
Apart from the peerless Shaolin masters, they could hardly imagine any skill exhibiting such power.
---
At first, seeing Chen Xuan bald, they thought he was just an ordinary Shaolin disciple. But after their darts struck and failed to harm him in the slightest, how perverse was this?
Their retreat gave Chen Xuan the perfect opportunity.
Seeing them flee, he stomped his foot, and with a thunderous roar, his body surged forward like a wild beast, wind billowing, charging straight toward them.
His attack was reckless and fierce.
Since they couldn’t pierce his defense, what was there to fear?
Boom! Boom!
Like a beast unleashed, Chen Xuan’s fists thundered, wind howling as he struck fiercely at the backs of two of them.
Those two were terrified to their cores, shouting desperately as they spun around, gathering all their power to resist.
Bang!
At the first clash, both spat blood and flew backward like kites, crashing hard with pained expressions.
Their strength was slightly inferior to Chen Xuan’s, and in their haste, they couldn’t fully exert their power.
A single punch nearly crippled them, twisting their arms painfully.
The remaining attacker, even more terrified, fled faster.
He had just launched the poisoned darts, but seeing the bald man’s terrifying strength, he was utterly frightened, willing to exert every ounce of strength to escape.
Chen Xuan, unable to catch up, suddenly drew his long sword and hurled it fiercely at the fleeing man.
Whoosh!
The sword sliced through the air like lightning, chasing after him.
The man glanced back in shock but was too slow to dodge. Hastily, he fired all remaining poisoned darts at the sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He launched four or five darts in quick succession, but Chen Xuan’s strength was immense, knocking them all aside.
The sword’s momentum weakened slightly but still pierced toward the man.
After briefly blocking the darts, the man finally dodged—but was still impaled through the shoulder.
Blood sprayed as he crashed to the ground in agony, screaming in pain.
Chen Xuan rushed over swiftly, standing over him with a fierce gaze.
“From the three great clans? Or the Left Path sects?”
His tone was cold.
“Ah!”
The man clutched his shoulder, writhing in pain.
Chen Xuan sneered, grabbed him, and strode toward the other two, tossing the wounded man down like a dead dog.
Thud!
Drawing his sword, Chen Xuan’s eyes gleamed icy cold.
“Speak. Who are you?”
If he was from the three great clans, no need for words—he would kill him outright.
But if from the Left Path, some civility was required.
After all, completing his first task still depended on them.
“Don’t kill me! I swear, we’re from the Iron Garment Tower. Master, monks are compassionate—you can’t kill us!”
Suddenly, one cried out in pain.
Though from the Left Path, not all were iron-willed; the urge to survive was natural.
“Iron Garment Tower!”
Chen Xuan’s eyes flashed.
They were Left Path!
This was good news.
He could finally make the meeting.
But one thing greatly annoyed Chen Xuan.
What was this “monks are compassionate” nonsense?
He was no monk!