Chapter 9 of 10

Chapter 9

17 min read4,171 words

"Ha ha ha..."

Elder Feng laughed long and hard, smugly saying, "Boy, you thought I didn't know you were just stalling for time to recover your strength by chatting with me! I played along, using the time to cut off the nine pulses and gather my strength. The taste of my God-Annihilating Fist, which has the power of three oxen, must be unbearable, ha ha ha..."

Xu Yi felt pain everywhere, as if his bones were about to fall apart. When that shocking punch came, it felt like he had been hit by a small mountain, nearly knocking him unconscious. It wasn't until Elder Feng's words reached his ears that he suddenly shuddered: "Three oxen's strength, how is that possible!"

He had learned from Chensheng that ordinary people, when they reach the peak of Body Tempering, have the strength of one ox. Due to differences in cultivation techniques and talent, the weak might be slightly less than one ox's strength, while the strong could have a significant boost, but at most, it would be one and a half oxen's strength.

Like himself, he had completely pushed the limits of the human body, and with all his might, he could also exert one and a half oxen's strength.

But now, Elder Feng's single strike had the power of three oxen, which completely shattered his understanding.

After his long laugh, Elder Feng looked at Xu Yi coldly, as if he were already dead. He tore off a hard branch, lightly scraped it with his nails to make it sharp, and it became like a newly made spear. He thrust it swiftly, as fast as lightning, directly into Xu Yi's left shoulder blade.

Elder Feng intended to capture Xu Yi alive. This throw was meant to pin Xu Yi to the ground, and then he would take his time to extract the secret of Xu Yi's rapid cultivation.

Whoosh!

The spear, empowered by great force, tore through the air and instantly struck Xu Yi's shoulder blade with a dull thud, but it wasn't the sound of flesh being pierced.

Elder Feng's face didn't change. Xu Yi sprang up like a carp leaping out of water, staring at Elder Feng and said, "I bet you can't deliver a second punch with three oxen's strength."

In fact, the moment he hit the ground, Xu Yi had already figured it out. It wasn't that Chensheng was wrong about "Body Tempering only having one ox's strength." Elder Feng must have used a secret technique. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken so long to deliver that punch. Such a powerful blow must have its drawbacks and couldn't be repeated.

As he spoke, Xu Yi tore off his hemp robe, revealing not skin but black iron blocks. The iron block on his abdomen, which had been struck by Elder Feng's God-Annihilating Fist, was already cracked. The one on his shoulder, hit by the wooden spear, had a hole in it.

Elder Feng's eyes bulged, and his mouth snapped shut, nearly biting his tongue. "Heavy iron, you actually carry heavy iron with you, this is impossible!"

Heavy iron was the most common material for forging heavy weapons in the world, with a dense texture and a weight several times that of ordinary refined iron. It was often used by those with great strength to forge heavy weapons.

At this moment, Xu Yi's body and legs were almost entirely covered by heavy iron, roughly estimated to weigh no less than five hundred pounds.

A peak Body Tempering expert's full-strength strike had the power of one ox, which was about two thousand pounds.

Five hundred pounds, in itself, wasn't much.

However, the principle was different. It was like how a normal person could lift a two-hundred-pound sack with all their might but couldn't possibly bind a fifty-pound sandbag and live a normal life.

The difference was between explosive power and endurance.

Elder Feng, with his keen eyesight, could see that these heavy iron blocks had been bound to Xu Yi's body for a long time, almost becoming a part of him.

This method of Body Tempering was simply shocking.

As everyone knew, the Transcendent Realm was divided into four stages: Body Tempering, Qi Sea, Condensing Liquid, and Sensing the Soul!

In the Body Tempering stage, one toughened the skin, strengthened the bones, and increased qi and blood, which was the natural progression.

But no martial artist dared to carry such a heavy load like Xu Yi, not because the body couldn't bear it. After all, with the help of precious medicinal herbs, a martial artist's body could withstand much more.

It was because long-term overloading could be maintained by drugs, but the mental fatigue was insurmountable, and the risk of the soul disintegrating was real.

Yet, Xu Yi had managed it, which completely shattered Elder Feng's understanding of martial cultivation.

Xu Yi had no obligation to explain himself to Elder Feng. He removed all the heavy iron from his body and said proudly, "I started carrying this five hundred and eight pounds of heavy iron three months ago. For the first three days, the pain was unbearable, and I couldn't sleep. For the next four days, my whole body swelled, and my bones were broken. It was like being in hell for two months before I could move normally again. Last night, I reached the peak of Body Tempering, and this heavy iron is no longer useful to me. Today, it helped me withstand Elder Feng's powerful strike, and now it's time for it to retire."

With that, there was a clatter as all the iron blocks were removed. Xu Yi casually pushed them away, throwing them deep into the grass.

The weight of five hundred pounds, several times that of a normal person, was suddenly lifted, and Xu Yi felt as light as a feather, almost floating.

Elder Feng never expected to encounter a monster today. In their initial encounters, he had looked down on Xu Yi, even when he realized Xu Yi had also reached the peak of Body Tempering. Elder Feng still felt confident in his victory.

The reason was simple: he was a seasoned peak Body Tempering expert with vast combat experience. Just based on that, he was confident he could handle the novice Xu Yi.

But now, Elder Feng's mindset had completely changed.

Could he really defeat Xu Yi, who could still display such combat power while carrying hundreds of pounds of heavy iron?

Although Elder Feng was confident that his combat skills and experience far surpassed the novice, the speed Xu Yi displayed while carrying five hundred pounds of heavy iron was unimaginable. He couldn't even imagine how fast Xu Yi would be without the heavy iron.

Elder Feng knew that in Body Tempering combat, it ultimately came down to speed and strength. Martial techniques, while important, were secondary. For example, his God-Annihilating Fist, if used to catch an opponent off guard, was a deadly move.

But there were no shortcuts in martial cultivation. The God-Annihilating Fist, with its shocking power, came at the cost of significant physical damage. After cutting off the nine pulses and forcing qi and blood to surge, the tendons and meridians suffered considerable injury.

In other words, to injure the enemy, one must first injure oneself.

Because his body was already damaged, Elder Feng's courage had long waned. Seeing Xu Yi's extraordinary talent, his remaining fighting spirit was completely extinguished. However, a killing intent suddenly appeared on his face. He let out a long howl and shouted, "God-Annihilating Fist!" He struck Xu Yi with a powerful punch, using his divine strength to leap off a large tree and fly back like lightning.

Realizing he couldn't win, Elder Feng decided to flee.

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