Chapter 80

The next day.

The sky had not yet fully brightened when Chen Changqing finished his meditation.

He came to the courtyard.

After absorbing the first thread of purple qi from the heavens and earth, he began the next round of arduous practice.

In the blink of an eye,

Three months had passed.

During this time, Chen Changqing had been diligently practicing three martial arts, day after day, without doing much else.

During this period,

He also wanted to cultivate the Invincible Golden Body.

After some thought, Chen Changqing gave up on the idea.

There was no way.

The sixth level of the Invincible Golden Body was already extremely profound. To break through to the seventh level, it would normally take several years, or even a decade, to achieve.

Even if he spent several months in seclusion, there would not be much gain.

Therefore, Chen Changqing decisively abandoned his original plan.

Moreover,

He had completed the mission of guarding Lin'an City and did not need to undertake any missions for the next year.

For three months, no one had disturbed him.

Jiang Feng had come to see him once after completing his mission, but there was no further contact after that.

At this moment,

Chen Changqing's status panel had undergone some changes.

Name: Chen Changqing

Faction: Great Qin Demon Suppression Bureau

Identity: Yellow-Rank Demon Exorcist

Martial Arts: Invincible Golden Body (6th Level, Unupgradable), Heavenly Martial Qi (14th Level, Unupgradable), Hundred Battles Saber Technique (3rd Level), Iron Sand Palm (4th Level), Heavenly Luo Stepping Technique (2nd Level)

Kills: 7

"The Hundred Battles Saber Technique, after three months of diligent practice, has barely reached the 3rd level, but it is still far from being fully mastered."

"The Heavenly Luo Stepping Technique has also reached the 2nd level, but the progress is not the greatest. The greatest progress has been in the Iron Sand Palm—"

Chen Changqing withdrew his mind from the status panel.

The greatest gain over the past three months was that the Iron Sand Palm had nearly reached a perfect state.

The 5th level Iron Sand Palm is now at the 4th level, and it is not far from the 5th level.

The reason for such rapid progress

Is that Chen Changqing's physical body is strong enough to withstand the long-term training with iron sand.

Otherwise,

It would be impossible to bring the Iron Sand Palm from the 3rd level to a nearly perfect state in just three months.

"Being proficient in all is not as good as specializing in one!"

"Since the Iron Sand Palm is nearly perfect, I can now focus all my efforts on it."

---

A stove was set up in the small courtyard, with a large iron pot placed on top.

The iron pot was filled with iron sand, and steam rose from it, distorting the view.

Chen Changqing, bare-chested, plunged his hands into the iron sand, the scorching heat and friction turning his palms slightly red.

He paid no attention to this,

Fully immersing himself in the training with the iron sand.

Chen Changqing could clearly feel

His hands were undergoing a strong transformation in the scorching iron sand.

This transformation

Made him feel itchy and unbearably hot, even the 6th level Invincible Golden Body seemed unable to withstand it.

The more unbearable the heat, the more Chen Changqing endured.

Because he understood that this was a sign that the Iron Sand Palm was about to reach a high level.

The sun was high in the sky.

The scorching sunlight made Chen Changqing sweat.

Suddenly,

The temperature of his hands in the iron sand rose sharply, and the heat inside seemed to surge into his palms.

This sensation made his face contort.

Pain!

It hurt!

Since he achieved external martial arts, apart from fighting powerful demons, nothing else could make him feel such pain.

The previous training in the Iron Sand Palm, although difficult, was not as painful as this moment.

Chen Changqing endured the pain, allowing his hands to transform in the iron sand.

After an unknown amount of time,

His arms trembled violently, and the heat that had penetrated his hands suddenly withdrew. The iron pot shook violently and then shattered, scattering the iron sand.

Chen Changqing paid no attention to the scattered iron sand.

His eyes were completely drawn to his hands.

Under the scorching sunlight, his normally pale hands now had a hint of steel-like color.

Then,

Chen Changqing used his true qi to activate his hands, which turned black, and a strong fiery energy gathered in his palms, ready to burst out at any moment.

"Ha!"

With a light shout, he struck a wooden post with both hands.

He retracted his hands and stepped back two steps.

On the wooden post, two black palm prints appeared, and a burnt smell wafted out.

Looking down at his palms, the pale red color gradually faded.

"The normal training of the Iron Sand Palm requires specific medicinal wine to prevent fire toxins from invading the body and causing internal injuries, which can become chronic and incurable.

However, since I have achieved external martial arts, I can skip this step and don't have to worry about fire toxins entering my body.

Now that my Iron Sand Palm is complete, my hands have gathered fire toxins. When I strike the wooden post, it can burn and char. If I strike a person, the consequences are obvious.

Even against demons, it can be effective."

Chen Changqing smiled.

Although the Iron Sand Palm is not a high-level martial art, it is comparable to the original Seven Kill Saber Technique.

But now that the palm technique is complete, its power has increased significantly.

Especially the fire toxins in his hands, combined with the pure yang energy of the Heavenly Martial Qi, can produce extraordinary power.

Demons are extremely yin and cold.

The Iron Sand Palm is a yang martial art, and the two are mutually restraining.

"Yin and yang naturally restrain each other, but if yin is too strong, it can extinguish yang, and similarly, if yang is too strong, it can easily overwhelm yin. The restraint depends on which is stronger.

For example, demons, being yin creatures, are not afraid of sunlight.

Although sunlight is a form of yang energy, it is not strong enough to affect demons with strong yin energy.

A typical complete Iron Sand Palm might not have much effect on demons, but when combined with Heavenly Martial Qi, it is different."

Chen Changqing looked at his hands, feeling very satisfied.

With the Iron Sand Palm complete,

His strength has reached a new level.

As a result, the number of people in the innate realm who can match him has decreased.

"Unfortunately—"

"Even with the Iron Sand Palm complete, I still cannot comprehend the true meaning of martial arts. Otherwise, I might already be a master."

Chen Changqing was happy but also a bit regretful.

He still did not understand what the true meaning of martial arts was.

It is said that when martial arts reach a profound level, one can comprehend the true meaning of martial arts.

But even with the Iron Sand Palm fully complete, there was no sign of the true meaning of martial arts.

For a moment,

Chen Changqing became more curious about the true meaning of martial arts.

"If I have the chance, I can seek advice from martial arts masters, but I am not familiar with any of the Earth-Rank Demon Exorcists."

Having been in the Demon Suppression Bureau for so long, he had not stayed in his place to practice.

Apart from the batch of people who came in with him, he was not very familiar with many others.

Now,

Most of the people he was familiar with have died in missions, and very few have advanced. None have reached the level of a martial arts master.

Not to mention martial arts masters,

Even in the innate realm, there are none.

Chen Changqing immediately thought of Zhou Yuanzheng, whom he had seen before.

But after some thought, he gave up the idea of seeking advice from him.

The main reason

Is that he is not familiar with Zhou Yuanzheng.

To put it bluntly, he is just a small Yellow-Rank Demon Exorcist, while Zhou Yuanzheng is a Guardian, several ranks higher.

Even meeting him would be difficult.

Chen Changqing estimated that he would be intercepted before he even reached the meeting hall.

"The complete Iron Sand Palm is a powerful martial art. If it can be combined with other palm techniques, it will become even stronger."

"Moreover, a complete Iron Sand Palm combined with a beginner-level martial art will mainly focus on the Iron Sand Palm."

"Thus—I don't have to worry about the fire toxins in the Iron Sand Palm being lost in the combination."

Combining two martial arts, he understood that the combination would only make the martial art stronger.

However,

After combining the Hundred Battles Saber Technique, Chen Changqing did not have the intention to combine again.

It is simple.

Martial arts are not necessarily better at higher levels.

For example, the Hundred Battles Saber Technique cannot be upgraded with kill points. The higher the level of the combined martial art, the slower the subsequent improvement. If the martial art cannot be transformed into one's own strength, even a high-level martial art is useless.

Therefore,

Unless he thoroughly understands the Hundred Battles Saber Technique, Chen Changqing will not combine other saber techniques in the short term.

Similarly,

The Heavenly Luo Stepping Technique is the same.

The higher the level of the martial art before combination, the higher the starting point of the combined martial art.

As for the Invincible Golden Body—

Chen Changqing thought about it and decided not to combine it for now.

First, the Invincible Golden Body is not complete. Combining and upgrading it now would not be cost-effective in terms of kill points and strength gained.

Second, combining the Invincible Golden Body to the next level would require more kill points, which he currently does not have.

After much consideration,

The only suitable combination target is the now complete Iron Sand Palm.

Having made the decision,

Chen Changqing left the small courtyard, which he had not stepped out of for months, and headed towards the library.

He showed his identity token and entered smoothly.

Upon entering the library, he went straight to the second floor.

After spending some time there, Chen Changqing came out with a new martial art.

The Mountain Splitting Palm Technique!

Compared to the Iron Sand Palm, this martial art has a higher growth potential, but it is more geared towards dealing with ordinary martial artists, unlike the Iron Sand Palm, which can gather fire toxins and harm demons when complete.

Having obtained the new martial art,

Chen Changqing did not plan to practice it immediately but continued to focus on the Hundred Battles Saber Technique and the Heavenly Luo Stepping Technique.