Standing alone in the courtyard, Lu Sheng lowered his gaze to his palms. Across his skin, faint web-like patterns surfaced—gray veins so light they almost vanished into his flesh, yet still unmistakably there.
‘I’ve initiated the Golden Veil Skill… it’s time to upgrade it.’
He didn’t bother returning to his sanctuary. Instead, he settled himself where he stood and focused his thoughts.
“Deep Blue.”
A soft chime echoed in his mind as a pale-blue screen shimmered into existence before him.
“Begin martial arts extrapolation?”
“Yes.”
The prompt vanished, revealing a neatly arranged list of martial arts. After draining every artifact of its Yin Qi, the extrapolation button now glowed behind each technique.
Lu Sheng’s gaze lingered on Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill. The button was there—tempting, dangerous. But he knew pressing it now would overwhelm his body. His current vessel was already stretched to the brink.
Either he would suffer grievous injuries… or his meridians would shatter entirely.
His inner Qi had reached the absolute limit of what his body could contain. Without breaking past this barrier, advancing to a higher-tier inner force skill was impossible.
‘What a pity…’ He spared one last look at Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill before shifting his attention to a new entry at the bottom of the list.
Golden Veil Skill: Initiated. Special Effect(s): Invulnerability to Sharp Weapons—Level One.
It was a basic hard body technique, offering nothing more than resistance to blades. Lu Sheng exhaled slowly.
“Better upgrade it using Yin Yang Jade Crane Skill first.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Upgrade Golden Veil Skill to Level One.”
The row blurred, flickering subtly before stabilizing again a few breaths later.
Golden Veil Skill: Level One. Special Effect(s): Invulnerability to Sharp Weapons—Level Two.
Feeling no discomfort aside from the halving of his Yin Yang Jade Crane Qi, Lu Sheng continued.
Although he had more than enough Yin Qi to brute-force further upgrades, that would simply be wasteful. He preferred to reserve the precious resource for extrapolating arts beyond their natural limits.
“Upgrade Golden Veil Skill to Level Two.”
Once again, the row trembled, blurred, and then came back into focus—this time carrying a new description.
Golden Veil Skill: Level Two. Special Effect(s): Invulnerability to Sharp Weapons—Level Three.
This time, Lu Sheng distinctly felt a wave of weakness pierce through his limbs. He lowered his gaze to the back of his hand. The web of gray veins had grown sharper, more defined.
‘Looks like I’ll have to use Yin Qi.’ All three items he had obtained from Zhuo Wenyu contained Yin Qi, yet the total he absorbed was barely enough to upgrade Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill once. Until he found another source, he needed to ration every bit carefully.
With a thought, he tapped the extrapolation button behind Golden Veil Skill.
Szzz…
The entire row flickered, blurred, then reformed.
Golden Veil Skill: Level Three. Special Effect(s): Invulnerability to Sharp Weapons—Level Four. Amplified Strength—Level One.
The Modifier laid out the effects plainly, not unlike the mobile games he once played in another life.
He raised his arm under the cold wash of moonlight. Something within him had shifted—subtle, elusive, like a whisper of change beneath the skin. He couldn’t pinpoint it, but he could feel it.
Following that faint sense, Lu Sheng headed into his sanctuary. In the corner of the wall, he tugged lightly on a single brick.
A hidden drawer slid open, revealing a pair of massive butcher blades.
He gripped one by the hilt and drew the razor edge across his forearm.
The blade rang crisply. Yet all it managed to leave behind was a thin, pale line.
‘This saber is sharper than most… and still it barely scratched me.’ By his estimation, his skin alone now provided protection rivaling thick leather armor—sturdy enough that even forceful saber strikes often failed to cut through.
‘Golden Veil Skill isn’t anything extraordinary. No wonder it’s only at Strength Proficiency.’ He exhaled softly, shaking his head. ‘Even at full mastery, paired with Bear Wrestling Arm, this is all it offers. A bit of defense against blades… a hint of strength enhancement. Other hard body skills can do the same.’
But at the same time, he noticed that only a small portion of Yin Qi had been consumed. Perhaps it was simply because this martial art was too weak to demand more.
‘Since I’ve only used this little Yin Qi, I can keep going.’
After taking a short break to wash up and grab a quick meal, Lu Sheng returned to his sanctuary, eager to continue cultivating the next hard body techniques.
Following Golden Veil Skill came Dusk Dantian Inflating Skill.
He had acquired five hard body skills from the Martial Proclamation Library in total. Golden Veil Skill was already mastered; the next was Dusk Dantian Inflating Skill—a technique famed for its immense rebound power.
To cultivate it, one had to temper the body until the skin, muscles, and bones grew extraordinarily elastic—like an enormous leather drum. When struck, the practitioner’s body would rebound the force with destructive intensity, sending the attacker recoiling as if they had slammed a fist into a war drum.
In every sense, it embodied the principle that the best defense was a fearsome offense. Naturally, it was far more difficult to cultivate than Golden Veil Skill.
Rumor said there were experts within the sect who had pushed this very skill to Intent Proficiency, making it one of the finest manuals among Strength Proficiency techniques.
Lu Sheng rang a small bell, summoning his subordinates.
“Change the medicinal bath,” he instructed before immersing himself in memorizing the mantra of Dusk Dantian Inflating Skill.
And so, Lu Sheng trained relentlessly. Three days passed in a blink.
Throughout those days, he isolated himself within the sanctuary—sleeping on the ground when exhaustion overtook him, calling for food or water when necessary, and spending every remaining moment tempering his body according to the mantra’s demands.
A dozen massive iron maces hung from the beams above. Each was as thick as an ordinary man’s waist. For training, he would shove one away, then hurl himself into it as it swung back.
The crushing weight of the mace and the sharp spikes lining its surface hammered against his flesh, consolidating Golden Veil Skill and cultivating Dusk Dantian Inflating Skill at the same time.
In this way, he trained relentlessly for three days. Thanks to his prior experience cultivating multiple hard body skills—and the deep foundation of outer force he possessed—his body quickly began to show the early signs of initiating Dusk Dantian Inflating Skill.
BAM!
One of the massive black maces shot upward, torn from its arc.
Lu Sheng stood amidst the hanging iron maces, his arms whipping through the air like a storm, striking everything before him.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!!!
At once, the muscles across his body swelled as though they were on the verge of bursting. Every fiber rippled violently beneath his skin, rolling like waves across a raging sea.
He charged left, right, and straight through the maze of maces like a bull crashing through wooden stalls. Palm after palm, he knocked the huge weapons flying. Each mace—over a hundred catties in weight—swung back with ferocious momentum before being blasted away again by his strikes.
The sharp spikes hammered against his skin, leaving behind nothing but shallow impressions.
BOOM!
Suddenly, Lu Sheng spun like a massive gyroscope, arms fully extended.
The maces were hurled away in all directions.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Steel chains snapped apart, and the maces smashed into the surrounding walls, carving out deep craters before clattering onto the stone floor.
“Phew…”
Lu Sheng lowered his arms. His bare upper body was flushed red, yet not a single wound marked his skin.
‘My body has expanded by another fold…’ He gazed down at the swollen, rock-solid muscles covering him.
Before cultivating any hard body skills, he had stood a little over 1.8 meters tall. Now, he was easily past two meters—and not the lanky, stretched kind. Every inch of him was thick, compact muscle.
Heat surged from his body in rolling waves, filling the sanctuary with swirling steam.
‘The side effect of training too many hard body skills seems to be… getting bigger and bigger?’5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCJxLQDBuI
Lu Sheng couldn’t decide whether to laugh or sigh.
Even his old shorts no longer fit—they had gone from loose and comfortable to painfully tight.
Exhaling helplessly, Lu Sheng reached over and rang the bell.
Soon, a voice called from outside the sanctuary.
“My lord?”
“Bring me a set of clothes. The largest size.” Lu Sheng’s voice echoed calmly.
“Yes, sir.”
Footsteps retreated swiftly down the corridor.
Inside the sanctuary, Lu Sheng stood still, feeling the unhindered surge of Qi and blood coursing through every inch of his body. A profound sense of vitality welled up within him—fresh, powerful, and utterly invigorating. Even the Yin Yang Jade Crane inner force he had depleted earlier to upgrade Golden Veil Skill had fully returned.
‘Today is the day I achieve full mastery of Dusk Dantian Inflating Skill.’
He lowered himself to the ground, sitting cross-legged as rivulets of sweat slid down his skin, dripping freely onto the stone floor beneath him.
…………
Mountain-Edge City, She Lin Garden.
Zhang Yuandong sat beneath the shade of the garden pavilion. Thick brows framed his large eyes, and his tall, powerfully built frame exuded an imposing presence. His arms hung long and slender, reaching nearly to his knees—an unusual trait that had earned him the moniker Long-armed Ape King.
His Heavens Tipping Palm was legendary, its might unmatched among practitioners at the pinnacle of Spirit Focus. Even in a clash against the Crimson Whale Sect’s Chen Ying at his peak, Zhang Yuandong could fight on equal footing. Under him served three Ape Warriors, each an Intent Proficiency expert in their own right.
Yet despite such formidable strength at his command, he now sat in the headquarters garden with deeply furrowed brows, worry etched across his face.
‘Zhen Family… even they have abandoned the Crimson Whale Sect?’ As a Spirit Focus expert, he naturally had direct ties with the Zhen Family. Though considered a vassal beneath Crimson Whale Sect’s hierarchy, he still received confidential news of the family’s unusual movements.
‘Crimson Whale Sect has always been Zhen Family’s arms and legs in the Northern Lands. To cast aside such a massive power… what are they thinking?’ Zhang Yuandong was utterly perplexed.
“Brother Dong,” a voice called.
A short but broad-shouldered man strode in, a black battle axe strapped across his back, giving him an intimidating silhouette.
This was Li Shan—the Deputy Leader of She Lin Society. His Nine Mountains Hard Qi Skill had long reached full mastery, elevated to Intent Proficiency through his own insight and fortitude. Once merely a Strength Proficiency technique, he had pushed it into an unprecedented realm. Within the entire She Lin Society, he was second only to Zhang Yuandong.
“Ah Shan, you’ve come,” Zhang Yuandong rose to his feet. “How goes the matter I asked you to investigate?”
Li Shan’s expression darkened. He cast a cautious glance around them before leaning in and speaking quietly.
“The Transformation Clan Chief has indeed been burned to death.”
“Seriously!?” Zhang Yuandong’s voice shook, his body trembling.
“Without a doubt.” Li Shan’s reply was firm.
Zhang Yuandong let out a long, heavy sigh. With his hands clasped behind his back, he began pacing slowly across the garden path.
“Something is definitely wrong here! The Transformation Clan Chief is the son of the Crimson Whale Sect Master. His strength was at the Spirit Focus realm. Though he hadn’t reached its pinnacle, his Blood Brilliance Sword Technique was terrifying. Even I wouldn’t be able to defeat him in under a hundred moves. How could someone like him be burned to death so easily? Who would believe that?”
Li Shan nodded gravely.
“Even in a fire, any Strength Proficiency expert with decent qinggong could escape—let alone an Intent Proficiency or Spirit Focus expert… unless he was trapped in a chamber with no way out.”
“That’s impossible!” Zhang Yuandong shook his head strongly. “Others may not know, but I’ve crossed paths with the Transformation Clan Chief before. He kept an incredibly sharp dagger hidden inside his sword hilt—sharp enough to slice through metal effortlessly. What wall or door could possibly stop a weapon like that?”
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