Free Web NovelChapter 46: Chapter 46: Ambush
The Quiet Chamber.
The Iron Armor Realm required daily medicinal baths and beatings using Cold Iron Essence and Red Copper Sand as the main ingredients, supplemented by nine other materials. The main ingredients needed for the subsequent Copper Armor and Golden Armor Realms were even rarer. ’No wonder the Elder Guarding the Tower said it would be a thankless effort.’
Fortunately, he had already redeemed the first batch of herbs.
The herbs he had redeemed for three hundred Contribution Points were piled in a corner. They included three catties of Cold Iron Essence and five catties of Red Copper Sand, enough to support his cultivation for a while.
Liang Cheng didn’t hesitate and began that very night.
In the wooden tub, the medicinal liquid was dark red. Steam rose from it, carrying a strong, metallic, bloody scent. Liang Cheng stripped off his clothes and stepped into the tub.
"TSSS!"
The moment the liquid touched his skin, it felt like a branding iron searing his flesh. An excruciating pain pierced his heart, but he gritted his teeth and endured. The medicinal power then stabbed into his flesh and muscle, forcibly remodeling every inch of his skin.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the liquid’s color had faded from dark red to a pale gray. Its medicinal power was fully absorbed. Liang Cheng stepped out of the tub. His skin now had a faint metallic luster, but it was still soft to the touch.
’Not enough.’
He grabbed the iron hammer he had prepared and began to strike his own body, starting gently and gradually increasing the force.
"THUD! THUD! THUD!"
The dull thuds echoed through the Quiet Chamber.
With each strike, the skin at the point of impact would quickly shimmer with a grayish-white halo, converting the force of the blow into a refining power that drove the medicinal energy deeper.
The sound of hammering in the Quiet Chamber continued all night without a single whisper escaping. The soundproofing of the Martial Arts Academy’s Quiet Chambers was truly extraordinary.
By dawn, Liang Cheng let out a long breath. His body had reached its limit. He had to rest and recover; otherwise, he would be overdoing it.
[Stone Armor Skill (Iron Armor) Beginner Level (6/200)]
’The cultivation progress is faster than I imagined.’ Liang Cheng couldn’t help but break into a wide grin.
The feeling of his strength surging with every passing moment made his blood boil with excitement. He was intoxicated by it.
After that, Liang Cheng returned to his regular routine: practicing his saber during the day and body refinement at night. It was a monotonous life, but an incredibly fulfilling one.
「Seven days later.」
Liang Cheng stood bare-chested in the center of the Quiet Chamber. His skin flowed with an iron-gray luster, no longer the grayish-white of the Stone Armor Skill, but a texture that was deeper and heavier.
He slowly curled his fingers into a fist and punched.
"HUMMM—"
A low resonance hummed from his muscles and bones in unison. Faint, dense patterns were vaguely visible beneath his skin, like the lining of an iron armor. He threw a casual punch at a prepared block of granite. The granite shattered on impact, yet he felt no pain in his fist.
[Stone Armor Skill (Iron Armor) Minor Success (1/1000)]
"I’ve done it." A sharp glint flashed in Liang Cheng’s eyes.
With the Iron Armor Realm at Minor Success, his defense had increased by nearly fifty percent compared to the Perfection stage of the Stone Bone Style. Ordinary Transformation Force attacks would now have trouble harming him in the slightest.
More importantly, he could feel his Qi Blood growing stronger again, driven by the Iron Armor Realm. The so-called minor realms of Transformation Force were no longer applicable to him.
Current Status:
[Mixed Element Stance Perfection]
[Fierce Bull Force Perfection]
[Gale Saber Technique Minor Success (485/800)]
[Stone Armor Skill (Iron Armor) Minor Success (1/1000)]
[PS: From now on, Cultivation Techniques at the Perfection Realm will no longer be recorded.]
’If I can cultivate the Iron Armor Realm to Perfection, I’ll be able to block experts at the Transformation Force Late Stage of the Inner Cultivation Method with my Hard Skills alone.’
But now, a problem had arisen: his Body Refining Herbs were all used up.
Three hundred Contribution Points’ worth of herbs had only been enough to reach the Minor Success stage of the Iron Armor Realm. To continue his cultivation, he would need at least five hundred points’ worth of Cold Iron Essence and Red Copper Sand.
Unfortunately, his current Contribution Point balance was only 100.
’I have to find a way to earn more.’
Liang Cheng washed up, changed into a fresh robe, and headed to the Foreign Affairs Hall.
...
When Liang Cheng stepped into the Foreign Affairs Hall, dozens of disciples were browsing in front of the mission Jade Disc. He walked over to look as well, searching for a suitable mission for himself.
When he saw one particular mission, he couldn’t help but smile. ’It seems Elder Huang and I are truly fated to cross paths.’
[Collect Tier Four Iron-Backed Bear paws. 200 Contribution Points per pair. Limit 5 pairs per person. Unlimited number of people can accept the mission. Issuer: Elder Huang of the Alchemy Room.]
The Iron-Backed Bear had thick skin, tough flesh, extremely strong defense, and immense strength. Even an Earth House Disciple of the Inner Cultivation Method would typically find it hard to break through its defenses.
’But it’s perfect for me. With my Iron Armor Skill at Minor Success, the Iron-Backed Bear will be nothing more than a punching bag!’
Liang Cheng no longer hesitated. He showed his Disciple Token to Zhao Ming behind the counter. "This one."
This time, instead of making things difficult, Zhao Ming put on a fake smile and processed the registration with swift efficiency.
Liang Cheng took the mission voucher and turned to leave.
Shortly after he left, Wang Li emerged from a side door, his face dark.
"Which mission did he take?" Wang Li asked.
"Hunting the Iron-Backed Bear," Zhao Ming said in a low voice.
"Good. Wait for my signal."
Wang Li left decisively. Zhao Ming watched his back, a vicious look in his eyes. Liu Meng was his cousin; what Liang Cheng had done was a slap in his face.
Following the mission’s directions, Liang Cheng ventured deep into the Black Wind Forest alone. Ancient trees towered into the sky, making the light dim and gloomy. A faint, foul, gamey smell permeated the air.
He moved with light steps. With his Pile Skill at Perfection, his control over his body was precise down to every inch of skin. When he wanted to be heavy, he could crack boulders with a stomp; when he wanted to be light, he could step on a leaf without making a sound.
After advancing for about half an hour, he finally discovered fresh tracks. The palm prints were as large as cattail fans, and the claw marks were sunk deep into the mud.
’It should be nearby.’
Liang Cheng’s right hand rested on the hilt of his saber as his gaze swept across the bushes ahead. Almost at the same instant, the bushes shook violently, and a deafening roar exploded forth!
A massive creature reared up on its hind legs, standing nearly ten feet tall. Its black fur was like steel needles, and a crescent of white fur marked its chest. It was a Tier Four Iron-Backed Bear!
Having smelled the scent of a human, its eyes turned crimson. With no warning, it swung a giant paw straight at Liang Cheng. The wind from the blow howled with enough force to shatter a boulder.
Instead of retreating, Liang Cheng advanced, raising his left arm horizontally to block in front of his chest.
"BANG!"
The collision of fleshly paw and arm unexpectedly produced a muffled clang, like metal striking metal. Liang Cheng’s body sank slightly, and fine cracks spiderwebbed across the ground beneath his feet. However, the blow only left a few white marks on his arm, which vanished in an instant.
’The defense of the Iron Armor Realm at Minor Success is truly formidable!’
The Iron-Backed Bear froze for a moment, as if it had never encountered such a tough human. But Liang Cheng had already seized the opportunity to counterattack. His long saber flashed from its sheath, slashing toward the bear’s relatively soft abdomen.
"SHLIIICK!"
The blade sliced through, but only penetrated about an inch before it was caught by tough muscle. Roaring in pain and fury, the Iron-Backed Bear swept its other paw at him.
Liang Cheng pulled his saber free and retreated hastily. The toughness of this Iron-Backed Bear’s hide and flesh was not much inferior to his own Iron Armor Realm. He changed his strategy, no longer aiming for a one-hit kill, and instead used his superior agility to dance around the giant bear.
He focused his flashing saber on weak points like the eyes, nose, and joints. Although he couldn’t inflict a serious wound right away, he provoked the giant bear into one furious roar after another, making it increasingly agitated.
...
Dozens of yards away, in the canopy of an ancient tree.
Wang Li and Sun Yan held their breath, watching the battle intently through a gap in the leaves. Wang Li held three Bone Penetration Nails in his hand, each coated with the potent Sealing Vein Powder, a poison designed specifically to disrupt the flow of Qi Blood.
"His defense is astonishing. We really can’t let him live any longer," Wang Li said, his eyes sinister. "But the Iron-Backed Bear is stupid and only knows how to use brute force."
He waited patiently for the right moment.
In the clearing, after a prolonged struggle, Liang Cheng finally found his chance and stabbed his saber into the Iron-Backed Bear’s left eye. The intense pain drove the bear completely berserk, and it charged forward for an all-out bear hug!
If that hug connected, it would be powerful enough to crush and deform even his Iron Armor. Liang Cheng retreated rapidly, but his back hit an ancient tree. His escape was temporarily cut off.
Now was the chance!
A vicious glint flashed in Wang Li’s eyes. Three Bone Penetration Nails shot out silently, aimed straight for Liang Cheng’s heart from behind!
At the same time, he and Sun Yan leaped down from the treetop, each wielding a short blade, and lunged for Liang Cheng’s neck. It was a two-pronged attack, a killing blow they were determined to land!
The hairs on Liang Cheng’s neck stood on end. The sense of life-and-death crisis was like a douse of ice-cold water. He had no time to turn around. Relying purely on instinct and the power of his Perfection in Mixed Element Stance, he forced his body to shift sideways half a foot—an seemingly impossible feat.
"PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!"
The three Bone Penetration Nails all sank into the tree trunk. However, Wang Li’s short blade followed close behind. Because of Liang Cheng’s sideways shift, the strike lost its accuracy, merely tearing the robe on his shoulder and leaving a shallow, bloody line on his skin.
’As expected of an expert ranked thirtieth in the Earth House!’
Liang Cheng used the momentum to dash forward, escaping the pincer attack of the bear and the humans. He spun around abruptly. Wang Li and the other man had landed and now stood about thirty feet away, their faces as dark as water.
The Iron-Backed Bear, now blind in its left eye and enraged, saw the two newcomers and, failing to distinguish friend from foe, swatted a paw directly at Wang Li and his companion.
Wang Li dodged hastily, his figure flickering as he evaded. But Sun Yan wasn’t fast enough. The paw slammed into his chest. His whole body shuddered, blood poured from his nose and mouth, and he staggered a few steps, his aura weakening.
"Save me!"
Unfortunately, Sun Yan’s plea was answered only by the Iron-Backed Bear’s other paw. His skull shattered, and his life was extinguished.
Liang Cheng’s pupils contracted slightly. His voice was calm.
"Wang Li. Have you been waiting long for me?"
Wang Li’s smile was icy. "Not long. Just in time to send you on your way. Your progress is too fast. So fast it’s been keeping me up at night."
Before his voice had even faded, he took a step forward, closing in on Liang Cheng!
Liang Cheng’s pupils contracted. His right hand slowly closed around the hilt of his saber. Behind him was an enraged Iron-Backed Bear; before him, a fellow disciple brimming with murderous intent.
This was a deathtrap. The only way out was to fight!
