109: Chapter 19 Silver Skin Completed!

The sheer luxury of his cultivation regimen.

It was likely even more bountiful than the setups provided to the core disciples of many martial arts families during the First Grade Realm!

After all, the academic credits he had accumulated through alchemy.

were practically at the "richest" level among the entire freshman class.

"Copper Skin is complete, so can Silver Skin... be far behind?"

Feeling the immense power within himself, Qin Yan was filled with confidence.

For the next week, Qin Yan devoted his main efforts to challenging the Mechanism Alley.

He would hone his movement techniques at the Mechanism Alley during the day.

and return to the manor in the afternoon to continue his assault on the Silver Skin Realm using his resources.

In the Mechanism Alley, the duration he could endure grew longer and longer.

From forty minutes, to fifty minutes, sixty minutes...

Each failure allowed him to accumulate more experience, making his movement techniques more fluid and natural.

Finally, after experiencing who-knows-how-many instances of being 'ejected' by the mechanisms.

at the end of that week, Qin Yan's figure moved through the trap-filled alleyway.

as agile and flickering as a butterfly flitting through flowers, precisely evading all attacks for a full ten minutes!

"Challenge successful! Endurance time: 10 minutes! Congratulations on obtaining the full first-clearance academic credit reward for the Mechanism Alley!"

When this pleasant notification sounded, Qin Yan let out a long sigh of relief.

A smile of relief and profound accomplishment spread across his face.

Forty-five academic credits, secured in full!

However, Qin Yan encountered another problem that gave him quite a headache—a full seven days had passed.

Despite his continuous use of golden body marrow and various elixirs, that long-awaited 'Silver Skin' realm still had not arrived.

"No wonder Sun Kong and Leng Feng were stuck at this hurdle for so long... so the Silver Skin Realm is actually this difficult to break through!"

Only after experiencing it firsthand did Qin Yan deeply understand the difficulty involved.

It wasn't just a matter of consuming resources; it was a comprehensive test of talent, perseverance, and even a touch of serendipity.

Nevertheless, he was not discouraged.

Deep down, he had a strong premonition—he was already very, very close to that barrier!

The next day, January 20th.

When Qin Yan entered the classroom, he overheard his Classmates discussing a freshly released piece of news—Leng Feng had successfully broken through to the Silver Skin Realm late last night!

Hearing this news, Qin Yan instinctively glanced towards Sun Kong, who was sitting not far away.

Sure enough, Sun Kong's expression was exceptionally grim.

It was so dark it seemed water could drip from it, and his fists resting on the desk were unconsciously clenched.

This once brilliant and highly-ranked third-place genius had not only fallen out of the top ten rankings.

but now watched as his former rivals broke through one after another, while he himself remained stagnant.

The disappointment, anxiety, and resentment in his heart were palpable.

Sun Kong seemed to sense Qin Yan's gaze, abruptly raising his head. Their eyes met briefly in the air.

Qin Yan could no longer see the condescending arrogance that had been in the other's eyes at the start of the term.

In its place was a complex mix of emotions—anxiety, stubbornness, and a hint of weariness.

This was merely a minor episode on the cultivation path. Qin Yan didn't dwell on it much.

Competition was everywhere. The only true path was to constantly improve oneself.

After class, Qin Yan did not go to the Mechanism Alley again—he had already obtained all the rewards, so there was no need for repeated challenges.

Nor did he immediately head to the Secret Realm Tower.

Although, with his current peak Copper Skin strength and perfected martial skills, passing the eighth floor—which had previously defeated him—shouldn't be a problem.

But he had no confidence whatsoever regarding the ninth and tenth floors.

"It's better to wait until I successfully break through to the Silver Skin Realm and my strength undergoes a qualitative leap before attempting to challenge the higher floors."

He made a prudent decision.

Thus, following his original plan, he once again came to the Sixth Institute's Alchemy Room.

to continue his stable and efficient 'academic credit generation' enterprise.

In the afternoon, he returned to the manor as usual, using the earned credits to exchange for resources.

and poured them into the final, most crucial sprint—the breakthrough to the Silver Skin Realm!

January 22nd, late at night.

Inside the cultivation chamber on the manor's third floor, Qin Yan sat cross-legged.

The Qi and blood throughout his body were circulating with unprecedented speed and intensity.

The deep, ancient bronze-colored luster on the surface of his skin, symbolizing the peak of 'Copper Skin,'

was currently fading and receding like an ebbing tide.

And beneath this bronze color, tiny, thread-like points of silver light, pure as quicksilver and shimmering faintly,

began to seep out and emerge from the deepest layers of his skin!

At first, they were just scattered points, like cold stars in the night sky.

But soon, as if summoned, these silver points grew more numerous and dense.

They attracted, converged, and flowed into one another... finally, like a silver tide, they rapidly spread across Qin Yan's entire body!

From head to toe, every inch of his skin was covered by this restrained yet mysterious silver radiance.

At this moment, Qin Yan seemed transformed into a statue carved from pure silver ingot.

His entire body exuded an extraordinary texture and sheen.

The entire process lasted roughly the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

When the last trace of bronze was completely replaced by silver,

and that dazzling silver light gradually withdrew inward, finally merging completely beneath the skin, leaving no visible trace—

Qin Yan's tightly closed eyes snapped open!

In the moment his eyelids parted, a flash of silver lightning seemed to flicker within!

"Silver Skin... is finally achieved!"

He slowly raised a hand, lowering his head to gaze at it.

The skin on his palm appeared no different from an ordinary person's—fine, warm, full of life's elasticity.

He lightly touched it with his fingers; the sensation was soft and real.

It was nothing like the cold, hard metallic texture one might imagine.

However, when he focused his mind and circulated his Qi and blood, beneath the skin,

that layer of profound silver light would shimmer faintly, emitting an awe-inspiring aura of resilience.

To test the legendary defensive power of this 'Silver Skin,'

Qin Yan picked up the long spear beside him, reversed it, and gently pressed the spear tip against his own arm.

When the spear tip touched his skin, the sensation transmitted was not that of piercing flesh.

but rather like pressing against an extremely resilient, super-strong rubber!

No matter how much force he applied, the seemingly soft skin remained unmoved, steadily blocking the spear tip!

Qin Yan's gaze sharpened. A faint golden spear force suddenly flickered at the spear tip! He thrust down with force once more!

This time, the spear force and the Silver Skin engaged in a more intense confrontation!

Qin Yan could clearly feel the sharp, invasive energy of the spear force frantically eroding, attempting to penetrate this defense.

The Silver Skin slightly indented inward.

displaying astonishing elasticity, yet it still tenaciously held the final line of defense!

"Such incredible toughness!" Qin Yan inwardly praised.

Although it felt as if being pierced was just a hair's breadth away,

that hair's breadth gap was like a vast chasm!