77: Iron Arm Skill and Martial Arts Integration

Night once again became the best cover.

Chen Linsheng skillfully changed his appearance, shaping himself into a man with a sallow complexion and a bit of a down-and-out Jianghu air, silently blending into the dense forest path leading to the Mangshan Black Market.

This time, he came with a clear purpose.

Tucked in his chest were two small porcelain bottles containing "blood qi pills" he had recently made using the "Qi and Blood Furnace" method with ordinary medicinal materials provided by the Water Patrol Division; the quality was decent, totaling about twenty pills.

Although they were only mortal grade Low Grade, they excelled in refined refining techniques and pure medicinal power, so there was no worry about sales in a place like the black market.

He needed Silver, whether for purchasing medicinal materials, forging weapons, or saving for his family; he could not do without these yellow and white objects.

Another more important goal was to find the prerequisite body-tempering Cultivation Techniques required for the Golden Robe Skill.

He had already mastered the Iron Clothes Art and the Golden Bell Shield, but he still needed three High Grade mortal grade body-tempering Cultivation Techniques of different focuses to meet the harsh requirements for cultivating this peerless Cultivation Technique.

The black market was still noisy and chaotic, with all sorts of people moving under the swaying light of torches and lanterns, whispering and looking wary.

The air was thick with the smell of medicinal materials, leather, rusty metal, and a faint hint of blood.

Chen Linsheng did not linger too long at those fixed stalls; like an experienced hunter, his gaze swept over the moving crowds and those seemingly casual street stalls.

He did not directly ask for body-tempering Cultivation Techniques, as that would be too conspicuous.

He just wandered around seemingly aimlessly, but in fact, the keen perception brought by Tracking Perfection had quietly covered the surroundings, capturing any fragments of words or the scent of items related to "hard skills" or "body tempering."

He first found a hidden stall that specialized in buying Medicinal Pills.

The stall owner was a thin, withered old man with drooping eyelids, looking like he hadn't fully woken up, but the occasional glint in his eyes revealed shrewdness.

Chen Linsheng handed over the porcelain bottles and said in a raspy voice, "Freshly refined blood qi pills, check the price."

The old man took them, uncorked the bottle, took a light sniff, poured one out into his palm, scraped off a bit of powder with his fingernail to taste it, and lifted his drooping eyelids slightly: "The heat is decent, not many Impurities. Ten taels of Silver per bottle, twenty taels for two."

Chen Linsheng sneered inwardly; this old fellow was driving the price down hard.

On the market, average quality blood qi pills could sell for fifteen taels a bottle; with his quality, twenty taels a bottle would be fair.

"Fifteen taels a bottle, firm price. If not, I'll find someone else."

Chen Linsheng's tone was flat but carried an unquestionable firmness as he reached out to take back the porcelain bottles.

The old man pulled his hand back and gave a dry laugh: "Don't be in a hurry, friend, business is negotiable. Twelve taels, just to make a friend."

"Fifteen taels," Chen Linsheng repeated, his gaze showing no emotion.

The old man stared at him for two seconds, and seeing no sign of relenting, smacked his lips and finally counted out three ten-tael banknotes: "Deal. Friend, if you have more pills of this quality in the future, you can come straight to find me, Old Ghost."

Chen Linsheng took the banknotes, tucked them into his chest, nodded, and turned to leave.

Thirty taels of Silver in hand, though not much, solved his immediate needs; more importantly, it verified the feasibility of obtaining resources through Alchemy.

Having solved the money problem, he continued to patrol the market.

Hard work paid off, and in an inconspicuous corner near the edge of the black market, several worn-out Secret Manuals on a stall caught his attention.

The stall owner was a burly man with a face full of flesh and a fierce aura, seemingly a Strongman who dealt in shady business.

Chen Linsheng squatted down, his gaze sweeping over those Secret Manuals: Crushing Stone Punch, Reckless Bull Strength... the names all sounded crude. His finger finally stopped on a booklet with a damaged cover and yellowed pages titled Iron Arm Skill.

He picked up the Iron Arm Skill and flipped through it carefully.

The Secret Manual recorded a hard skill focused on tempering the bones, muscles, and skin of both arms. Through special medicinal baths, striking, and Qi-guiding methods, the arms would be trained to be as hard as iron, with strength capable of moving a thousand catties. Although it was only a High Grade mortal grade skill, its concepts were clear and its methods complete, perfectly meeting his requirements for a prerequisite Cultivation Technique.

"How much for this one?" Chen Linsheng shook the Iron Arm Skill in his hand, his voice raspy.

The burly man glanced at him and said gruffly, "Eighty taels."

Chen Linsheng didn't even blink, directly taking out the thirty taels in banknotes he had just gotten from Old Ghost, plus the fifty taels of loose Silver he had brought as a backup: "Eighty taels, I'll take it."

The burly man didn't seem to expect him to be so straightforward; he froze for a moment, then quickly pocketed the Silver and stuffed the Secret Manual into Chen Linsheng's hand, as if afraid he would regret it.

With the Secret Manual in hand, Chen Linsheng felt at ease.

The Iron Clothes Art focused on overall defense, while the Iron Arm Skill focused on local offensive power; their directions were different, but both were for tempering the physique.

Although it wasn't the Hundred Refinements Steel Body he wanted, it was still good for enhancing his defense.

He did not stay long in the black market; after obtaining the Iron Arm Skill, he was like a drop of water entering the sea, quietly vanishing into the dark woods and quickly returning to Qinghe County.

When he returned home, it was already late at night.

Chen Linsheng did not disturb anyone and directly dived into the river-bottom Immortal Cave.

Under the glowing strange stones, he impatiently took out the Iron Arm Skill Secret Manual and began to study it carefully.

Unlike the thick and long-lasting nature of the Iron Clothes Art, the Iron Arm Skill focused more on instantaneous explosive power and extreme hardness.

Its cultivation method was quite domineering, requiring a special medicinal oil to be applied to the arms, then continuous striking with wooden sticks, stone hammers, and even iron sand, combined with a unique breathing method and blood qi circulation route to stimulate the muscles and bones of the arms, making them increasingly tough and powerful through repeated destruction and Rebirth.

"It actually has some similarities with the explosive nature of the dragon strength in the Python Dragon Strength," Chen Linsheng thought to himself.

He was in no hurry to perform external striking exercises, but instead followed the blood qi circulation method in the Secret Manual, attempting to guide his own blood qi to gather in the Meridians of his arms.

The moment he activated his blood qi, a sudden change occurred!

The solid Foundation in his body, built through ten times of Skin Quenching and the Perfection of thirty-two muscles via the Hunyuan True Body, was like a dormant volcano being triggered.

The majestic blood qi almost didn't need intentional guidance; it naturally and surgingly poured toward his arms!

The tiny Meridians that the Secret Manual described as needing painstaking effort to slowly open were almost easily broken through and expanded under the impact of this vast and pure blood qi!

The muscle fibers in his arms were like parched land meeting sweet rain, greedily absorbing this pure blood qi that far exceeded that of ordinary Flesh Refining Realm Martial Artists, emitting a subtle humming sound.

A layer of dark, metallic luster faintly appeared on the surface of the skin, yet it was more resilient than metal.

Chen Linsheng could clearly feel the strength in his arms growing rapidly, and the toughness of his skin was also improving.

The entry-level hurdle of this Iron Arm Skill practically did not exist for him!

"The Hunyuan True Body... truly extraordinary!" Chen Linsheng was shaken.

What this Perfection Foundation brought was not just an increase in strength, but also a very high martial "starting point" and "compatibility."

Cultivating other body-tempering Cultivation Techniques of the same or even higher grade would yield twice the result with half the effort; many Bottlenecks for ordinary people were perhaps just a thin sheet of window paper for him that could be easily poked through.

In the following days, while bitter Cultivating the Python Dragon Strength and digesting the crimson blood flesh paste, Chen Linsheng began his cultivation of the Iron Arm Skill.

He prepared the "Iron Arm Oil" recorded in the Secret Manual, carefully applying the medicinal oil to his arms every day, then using the shaft of the Solid Iron Long Spear instead of a wooden stick, controlling his strength to evenly strike various parts of his arms. At first, they were only slightly red, but as the force increased, the skin gradually turned purple-black, yet under the nourishment of the majestic blood qi and medicinal power, they recovered extremely quickly, and after each recovery, he felt his arms become a bit more solid.

At the same time, he did not give up on practicing the Hunyuan Palm.

This was the prerequisite Martial Skill for the Hunyuan True Body, and it was quite effective for improving the progress of the Hunyuan True Body.

While practicing the Iron Arm Skill and gaining a deeper understanding of power attributes such as "firmness," "hardness," and "explosiveness," he found that his understanding of the Hunyuan Palm was also deepening.

In the past, when he performed the Hunyuan Palm, he relied more on the fierce strength driven by the Python Dragon Strength.

Now, he could start trying to cleverly integrate the condensed and penetrating "Iron Strength" brought by the Iron Arm Skill, as well as the "Python Dragon Combined Strength" that was integrated into one after the Major Achievement of the Python Dragon Strength, into his palm techniques.

He practiced his palm techniques in the Immortal Cave, the wind from his palms howling, sometimes as heavy as a mountain, as if it could suppress everything.

Sometimes it was incomparably fierce, with a sharp whistle that tore through the air.

Sometimes it was like a needle hidden in cotton, with the palm power fluctuating and containing subsequent explosive waves like overlapping tides.

Under the command of his Hunyuan True Body, the three different power characteristics actually began to show signs of Fusion; although far from Perfection, they caused the power of his palm techniques to suddenly increase by several tenths!

A single palm strike was no longer just about great strength, but also carried a composite power that seemed capable of disintegrating, penetrating, and vibrating with multiple effects!

"So that's how it is... strength is not isolated, and Cultivation Techniques are not barriers.

The Hunyuan True Body is the Foundation, the soil, while other Martial Skills and Cultivation Techniques are different plants growing upon it, nourishing each other and flourishing together..."

Chen Linsheng had a realization, his eyes flashing with the light of excitement.