12: Black Armor Elite

However, what Gu Chang didn't tell anyone was that the most important reason he was willing to join the ranks of elite soldiers was to obtain the secret medicine formula.

Soon, Gu Chang packed up and led his trusted soldiers to the Xuanjia Army's military camp.

Compared to the treatment of the Auxiliary Army, the Xuanjia Army's treatment was clearly much better.

Zhou Qing directly received a complete set of finely crafted armor and a steel military knife, and even his soldiers were equipped with new gear.

In addition, the Xuanjia Army was much more abundant in terms of food and other supplies, and they didn't need to do miscellaneous chores normally. They only needed to complete two tasks.

Those were training and fighting on the battlefield. It could be said that their status was completely different from that of the Auxiliary Army; they were the direct lineage troops of the army.

Aside from the preferential treatment in daily life, there were also certain benefits in martial arts training.

“Although you are one of us, the secret medicine cannot be supplied freely. You still need to pay for it.”

“However, the price, of course, will be cheaper. From now on, you will only need twenty gold to buy a bowl.”

After arriving at the Xuanjia Army, Zhou Yun directly told him about this hidden benefit.

Gu Chang felt quite satisfied with this and decided to drink a bowl every day from now on!

Thus, life in the military camp continued, but now those training with him were elite soldiers, and Colonel Zhou Yun also became his direct superior, guiding him in martial arts with noticeably more detail.

“Hoo~ Hoo~”

“Again!”

“Hit harder!”

Soon, more than a month passed quickly. Through continuous training, tempering, and the enhancement of the secret medicine, Gu Chang's progress in martial arts was remarkably fast.

“Clap clap clap!”

At this time, his skin had obviously thickened a lot. Even if a wooden stick wrapped in cloth strips was struck hard against his body, it would only leave a shallow red mark.

Hearing Gu Chang's command, Qian Dazhi and Li Ergou swung their wooden sticks again, continuously striking various parts of his body.

“Hah!”

Suddenly, as Gu Chang circulated the Qi and blood throughout his body, his veins bulged, his skin rapidly turned crimson, and then gradually became a bluish-gray color.

“Hahaha! Stone Skin has finally reached Major Achievement!”

Feeling the changes in his body, Gu Chang instantly cried out in joyful surprise.

“Congratulations, Big Brother!”

“Tsk tsk, this is incredible!”

Li Ergou and Wang Da Niu also appeared exceptionally happy upon seeing this, as they were now considered one with Gu Chang, and Gu Chang's increased strength also benefited them.

“Again! Try hitting harder!”

“Alright!”

“Thwack! Thwack!”

Soon, they struck again, but this time, Gu Chang's somewhat bluish-gray skin showed no changes at all.

Clearly, this meant that the wooden sticks wrapped in cloth strips were already ineffective against him.

“Remove the cloth strips!”

“Yes!”

Gu Chang directly gave the order; he needed to test his current limits.

“Thwack!”

Without the protection of the cloth strips, the wrist-thick wooden stick struck directly against his body, leaving another red mark, but it was much shallower than when he first began Flesh Refining.

“The next step will be Copper Skin!”

“Only then will I be completely unafraid of ordinary wooden sticks and sharp objects.”

After successfully achieving a Breakthrough, Gu Chang's mood improved significantly, but it would not be easy to make rapid Breakthroughs again from now on.

Simply put, the bounty he had was running low, and the difficulty of practicing martial arts increased the further he progressed.

Some martial artists can only reach the Stone Skin or Copper Skin level in their lifetime, and then they must begin Flesh Refining to increase their physical strength. Otherwise, continuing to expend resources on skin refining would just be a futile effort.

It is worth mentioning that different levels of skin refining do not have a direct connection with whether one can proceed to the next step of Flesh Refining.

According to Zhou Yun, strengthening blood, refining skin, and Flesh Refining are all actually about building a foundation and are not directly corresponding relationships. The three can be carried out simultaneously, but doing so is too inefficient and would require a large amount of blood food and secret medicine for replenishment to even be possible.

It is best to proceed separately, laying a solid foundation step by step until one can no longer make a Breakthrough before moving on to the next step.

However, after Flesh Refining, it is different; one can only begin Refining Bone after reaching Perfection in skin refining and Flesh Refining, and only after reaching Perfection in Refining Bone can one begin Marrow Refining.

Upon learning of Gu Chang's Breakthrough, Zhou Yun encouraged him and also informed him of something:

“In half a month, the army will break camp again, with its spearhead pointed directly at Weishui. The fighting will likely become even more intense then, so intensify your martial arts training during this period to improve your strength, and you will have more confidence when you enter the battlefield.”

According to what Gu Chang knew, among the various forces currently, Prince Mu's progress was quite smooth. His armies were continuously capturing cities and territories, having already occupied the entire Qingzhou region, but it would likely not be so easy from now on.

They were bound to encounter the elite main forces of other vassal kings and rebel armies, and there would definitely be a series of tough battles to fight.

“Yes!”

Gu Chang could only agree to this, as his current strength was still far from enough after all.

Among the elite soldiers, a Platoon Leader was at least a martial artist of the Copper Skin level, and some more formidable ones even reached the Iron Skin level, and they had already begun Flesh Refining.

As for elite soldier colonels like Zhou Yun, their strength was even more terrifying; they were true Marrow Refining masters, capable of crushing stones with their bare hands, directly withstanding blades and weapons, and tearing apart tigers and leopards!

Returning to his barracks, Gu Chang began to ponder what he should do next.

After more than a month of familiarization, he had basically gotten a good grasp of the entire Xuanjia Army military camp.

“The brewing of the secret medicine is mainly handled by the mess hall. I've memorized some of the medicinal ingredients, but the most crucial quantities and proportions are still unclear.”

As the saying goes, 'the one nearest the water gets the moon first.' Gu Chang hadn't spent the past month in vain, especially since he bought secret medicine every day, and naturally became familiar with the place by going there frequently.

Furthermore, the elite soldiers were relatively trusting of their own people, so they didn't deliberately keep some things from him.

But thinking of the even more brutal battles to come, Gu Chang understood that he must obtain the secret medicine formula as soon as possible!

Therefore, after a short rest, he went directly to the mess hall.

As was his usual habit, Gu Chang came here to buy secret medicine, while silently estimating the layout of the surroundings in his mind.

When night fell, Gu Chang waited until the dead of night before quietly leaving his barracks, then stealthily made his way towards the mess hall.

It was clearly unrealistic to directly ask someone for the medicinal formula, and he didn't have the ability to apprehend someone in the military camp. So, the best method now was to steal the pre-mixed secret medicine, or even the dregs of the brewed medicine would suffice.

As long as he was diligent, he would still be able to discern the quantities and proportions of the various medicinal ingredients.

Thanks to his familiarity with the military camp, Gu Chang easily bypassed some guards and sentry points, sneaking into the mess hall.

There was a dedicated room here for brewing the secret medicine, but at this time, the stove was cold, and the air was filled with the lingering scent of medicine.

Gu Chang quickly found some medicinal ingredients, but these ingredients were not pre-mixed. Left with no choice, Gu Chang could only look for the medicinal dregs.

However, just as he had succeeded and was about to return to his barracks without anyone knowing, he suddenly heard footsteps.

“Where did this little thief come from, daring to be presumptuous right under your grandpa's nose?”

Immediately after, a rough voice reached Gu Chang's ears. When he looked out from the mess hall window, he suddenly discovered a Xuanjia Army Platoon Leader leading ten elite soldiers to surround him.

“Fire!”

“Swish swish swish!”

What was even more annoying was that the opponent did not rush in recklessly, but instead waved a hand, ordering the elite soldiers nearby to draw their bows and shoot arrows.

“Swish swish! Thud thud thud!”

“Kill!!!”

Immediately following, arrows burst forth, shouts of battle erupted, and the Platoon Leader, holding a long spear, charged directly towards Gu Chang.

“Damn it!”

Upon seeing this, Gu Chang couldn't help but curse under his breath. There was no doubt that there had been arrangements around him all along, but he simply hadn't noticed them before.

However, surrendering was not Gu Chang's style, so he immediately drew his blade and charged towards these elite soldiers.

“Clang clang clang!”

“Pfft!”

“Crack!”

“Ah!”

Although he had now achieved Major Achievement in Stone Skin, he gained little advantage when facing the encirclement of these elite soldiers.

Soon, Gu Chang felt a cold, sharp blade pierce into his body, his hot blood rapidly receded, and finally, his vision went black, and he completely lost his life.

【Martial Dao Initial Achievement, Fearless of Death, Fighting Against Overwhelming Odds, Battling to the Death!】

【This Reincarnation Rating: D-Upper】

【This Reincarnation Reward: 5 Reincarnation Points】

【You currently have 15 Reincarnation Points. You can use Reincarnation Points to exchange for: Finely Crafted Iron Armor (10 points), steel military knife (4 points), Current Cultivation (12 points)】