My martial arts have no bottlenecks.

Chapter 13 Year-End Martial Arts Competition

Reef cave.

Liang Cheng, panting heavily, looked at the three corpses on the ground. The process seemed brief, but it was extremely dangerous. If it weren't for the fact that he had mastered the Hunyuan Stance, the Wild Bull Strength, and the Stone Armor Skill to a minor level, the outcome would have been uncertain.

After calming down, he squatted down and began searching the body. Scarface had an oilcloth bag in his arms, which contained forty-odd taels of silver.

The skinny monkey had only a few strings of copper coins on him, and hidden in the one-eyed boot was a piece of kraft paper with some crooked symbols drawn on it that were completely incomprehensible.

Liang Cheng carefully put the silver and the parchment away from his body, then checked his wound. He had been cut by a harpoon on his ribs, and a little blood was seeping out.

While the Stone Halibut is resistant to knife cuts, it is somewhat weak against sharp thrusts.

"We still need to practice."

He dragged the body to deep water, tied it to a reef, and sank it into the sea. After cleaning up the bloodstains and signs of a struggle, it was already dawn.

When I returned to the martial arts gym, morning practice had not yet begun.

Liang Cheng changed into clean clothes, hid the silver, and applied ointment to the wound under his ribs; it was nothing serious.

That afternoon, news came that the Black Reef Island clearing mission was completed, Yangwei Martial Arts School had only injured one disciple, and the pirate leader Jiao Laoda was killed by Zhou Hu and others, and the remaining gang was scattered.

Besides Zhou Hu, Zhao Yuan also rose to fame because he single-handedly killed two Ming Jin bandits this time, proving himself to be a formidable young man!

No one knows that three more fish escaped the net and died in the deserted reef cave last night.

Two more days passed.

Big Head took his leave.

This time he finally gave up completely. Sometimes God is just so unfair. He had to do hard labor and carry bags since he was a child, which damaged his physical constitution. Not everyone is Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng watched Da Tou's departing figure, quickly composed himself, and continued his cultivation.

Three days later, Yang Wei summoned all his disciples from the back courtyard to the main hall.

"During the clearing of Black Reef Island, we seized some items, and the town's garrison gave us some of them today." He pointed to several leather bags on the ground, "Cold Iron Sand, which is beneficial for tempering muscles and bones. Each of the participating disciples will receive three catties, and the rest of the disciples will each receive one catty."

Liang Cheng also received a pound of dark blue iron sand, which was cold to the touch and much heavier than ordinary iron sand.

Zhou Hu told him privately, "Cold iron sand comes from deep-sea cold iron ore. It can stimulate the deep layers of muscles and bones. Those who practice hard kung fu can use it to achieve twice the result with half the effort. However, it is expensive. On the market, it costs at least twenty taels per kilogram."

Liang Cheng quickly thanked him, but in his heart he remembered that the scarred pirate had also lost his goods, which probably referred to these cold iron sands.

That night in the reef cave, he mixed the cold iron sand into the iron sandbag.

The ointment was also prepared anew, with increased dosage of iron vine juice and half a qian of blood sand added. After all, it was unexpected wealth, so why not make the most of it?

The safest approach is to transform it into real strength.

This time, when the iron sandbags were used to pound him, each one felt like an ice needle piercing his flesh, causing him to clench his teeth in pain. However, after the sandbags were used, the warm sensation in his muscles was several times stronger than before, as if there was fire burning inside.

The progress of the Stone Armor Technique has accelerated significantly.

[Minor Success in Hunyuan Zhuang (195/500)]

【Raging Bull Strength, Minor Success (93/800)】

[Stone Armor Technique (Fragment) - Minor Completion (52/800)]

Feeling the progress, Liang Cheng couldn't help but grin.

……

At the end of the month, Liang Cheng went to the town's security office to collect his pay.

Liu Qi handed him three taels of silver and said with a smile, "Young Master Liang, will you be coming again next month? With you here, the docks are much more peaceful."

Liang Cheng weighed the silver in his hand. This month, patrolling only took two hours a day, which didn't interfere with his cultivation at all, and he could still earn three taels.

Although it's not much, it's a steady and reliable way to make money over time.

"Come on." He nodded.

"Great!" Liu Qi patted him on the shoulder. "Next month, it'll be the same as always, from 5 PM to 9 PM every day. If there's anything urgent, just let me know in advance."

After leaving the town's protective center, Liang Cheng went to a pharmacy and bought three qian of Iron Bone Vine Juice. The Stone Muscle Style Cultivation Ointment was very expensive, and the three taels of silver were quickly spent.

He also grabbed a bag of quicklime, which was worthless, and the shopkeeper didn't pay any attention to it.

"We still need to find ways to earn more money."

He pondered to himself, but knew he couldn't rush things.

Over the next five months, Liang Cheng's life returned to normal.

He practiced standing meditation at dawn, boxing at dawn, learning to read in the afternoon, patrolling at dusk, and practicing stone armor kung fu in the reef cave at midnight.

The effects of the cold iron sand were remarkable. The muscles and tendons became increasingly tougher through the alternation of ice and fire. The Hunyuan stance progressed steadily and had reached a high level. The old injuries to the waist and knees were completely healed.

The overall power of the Wild Bull Force has become increasingly refined, and the sound of wind and thunder can be faintly heard when it punches.

【Mastery of Hunyuan Zhuang (115/1000)】

【Raging Bull Strength, Minor Success (781/800)】

[Stone Armor Technique (Fragment) - Minor Completion (697/800)]

Inside the martial arts school, Zhao Yuan became the focus, subtly overshadowing his senior brother Zhou Hu.

With Yang Wei's personal guidance, the medicinal baths were doubled, and there was also a medicinal diet to nourish him once a month. Zhao Yuan lived up to expectations, and his Mangniu Strength improved rapidly. In just over three months, he touched the threshold of Anjin (hidden strength).

That day, Yang Wei summoned all his disciples to the main hall.

"The martial arts schools in the three towns will have a competition at the end of the year," Yang Wei said bluntly. "The Zhennan Martial Arts School produced another disciple with hidden strength last year, so we can't afford to be at a disadvantage this year."

The disciples responded in unison, which pleased Yang Wei. With their morale in good hands, he dismissed the disciples, leaving only Zhao Yuan behind.

He took out a jade box, pushed it open, and saw that it contained a thick, amber-colored medicinal soup.

"Nine Treasures Soup." Yang Wei looked at Zhao Yuan. "You've already touched the threshold of Dark Force. Today I'll help you break through. If you succeed, you'll be Yangwei Martial Arts School's second Dark Force disciple. If not...

Zhao Yuan stared intently at the bowl of soup, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Master, rest assured, I will definitely break through to the Dark Force realm!"

Yang Wei nodded. Three breaths later, Zhao Yuan picked up the bowl, tilted his head back, and drank it down. As the medicine took effect, his skin turned red and his veins bulged.

Yang Wei pressed his palm against his back, the force penetrating and guiding the medicinal power to break through the barrier. The sound of blood churning echoed throughout the main hall all night.

At dawn, a deep mooing sound came from Zhao Yuan's body, his tendons throbbing like thunder, his strength penetrating to his bone marrow, and his gentle power permeating his entire body.

The hidden strength has been achieved.

Zhao Yuan couldn't help but look up to the sky and roar.

……

On the same night, in a desolate beach and reef cave.

Liang Cheng was still swinging iron sandbags and hitting his back.

"Bang!"

A series of dull sounds, each carrying the crisp crack of metal striking stone, followed by a fleeting flash of grayish-white light on the skin's surface. The muscles, like wrought iron that had been hammered a thousand times, were firm and resilient.

He reached down and pressed his ribs; the spot where he had been slashed by the harpoon was now as hard as leather, with almost no scar visible.

[Stone Armor Technique (Fragment) - Minor Completion (700/800)]

Liang Cheng exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling the newfound power within his body. Ordinary swords and blades could no longer break through his defenses, and now, if he encountered the harpoon of that scarred pirate, it would at most leave a white mark.

He packed his things and returned to the martial arts school.

As I passed through the front yard, I overheard several apprentices discussing, "Senior Brother Zhao has broken through to the Inner Strength realm!"

"This puts us in a strong position for the year-end competition!"

"Our martial arts school has two hidden strength practitioners. Let's see what those Zhennan Martial Arts School has to say about being arrogant!"

Liang Cheng kept walking without paying attention. No one knew that Liang Cheng was also not far from breaking through to the Dark Force realm.

If it weren't for his ephemeral fate, which allows him to break through to the next level in a perfect state, he could have already broken through to the Dark Force realm.

Passing through the backyard, I happened to see Zhao Yuan surrounded by his fellow disciples. This time, when Zhao Yuan saw Liang Cheng, he actually took the initiative to greet him.

"Junior Brother Liang."

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhao, on breaking through to the Dark Force realm."

Everyone wants to carry a sedan chair, so Liang Cheng wouldn't deliberately disgust Zhao Yuan at this point. After all, it would only take a few words, and he wouldn't lose anything.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuan felt as if he had eaten a ginseng fruit, his pores relaxed, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

This time, Liang Cheng finally lost out.