Like Thin Ox Hide

"This feeling of surging power..." Chen Ping'an savored the sensation in the courtyard for a good while before slowly opening his eyes. "Incredible!" He walked straight into the kitchen, his eyes falling upon the water vat filled more than halfway with water. Placing both hands upon it, he exerted a sudden burst of strength. With an abrupt heave, the water vat was actually lifted by him. Though the vat in their home was not exceptionally large, filled more than halfway with water, it weighed no less than three hundred jin. "Brother! How did your strength..." Chen Er Ya, having witnessed the whole scene, clapped a hand over her mouth and cried out in surprise. She was utterly astonished. When had her brother's strength grown so enormous?! "I still have strength to spare!" After gauging his limits, Chen Ping'an set the water vat back down. Turning to Chen Er Ya, a smile spread across his face. "It's from martial practice!" "Martial practice..." Shock still lingered on Chen Er Ya's face. Her brother had only been practicing for a few days! How could he... Perhaps sensing Chen Er Ya's bewilderment, Chen Ping'an added, "Your brother here happens to be a one-in-a-ten-thousand martial genius!" Indeed, in less than ten days, he had gone from an ordinary person to a martial cultivator of the qi and blood first layer, perfected. If such speed was not genius, what was? "Qi and blood first layer, perfected—my strength has grown!" "Now let's see what changes lesser mastery in Iron Shirt brings!" Bare-chested and with his qi and blood surging, Chen Ping'an struck his own chest with a palm. Uncertain of what to expect on the first strike, he used less than half of his strength. Thud! A dull sound echoed, as if striking ox hide. Chen Ping'an felt only a faint shudder in his chest, without much sensation beyond that. "Again!" This time, Chen Ping'an increased his strength and struck with another palm. Thud! It was still a profoundly dull sound. This time, however, he felt a wave of numbness. "Qi and blood first layer, perfected; skin tempering achieved, tough as thin ox hide!" After several repeated tests, Chen Ping'an finally confirmed his current state. Right now, his ability to take a beating had vastly increased. Perhaps due to the golden finger, his skin appeared no different from an ordinary person's on the surface, but in truth, its defense and strike resistance were like thin ox hide. Even if a delicate young woman took a blade and hacked at his skin, she likely wouldn't even be able to break the skin at first. It felt much like using an ordinary knife to cut through the thickest meat on a pig. Struck with normal strength, the blade certainly wouldn't break the skin. At this moment, Chen Ping'an possessed an uncanny likeness to that. These were not Chen Ping'an's only gains. The most precious of all was the combat experience in Iron Shirt that felt as though he had painstakingly accumulated it over years of bitter training. Though Chen Ping'an had yet to fight a single real brawl, he had the subtle applications of various Iron Shirt combat techniques thoroughly down by heart. "This golden finger truly is marvelous." With Iron Shirt at lesser mastery and the qi and blood first layer, perfected, Chen Ping'an was by no means inferior to any registered runner in the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office. In fact, in terms of overall prowess, he could easily rank in the upper-middle tier among registered runners. After all, some registered runners in the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office had already begun to enter the period of qi and blood decline. "Now that I'm at qi and blood first layer, perfected, it's time to visit the black market." The black market! That had been Chen Ping'an's plan from the very start. He owed Little Tiger of the Tiger Head Gang ten taels of silver. Under normal circumstances, with a one-year loan period, paying it back with interest through his monthly stipend while pinching pennies would not have been difficult. However, Little Tiger had changed the terms. Within ten days, a total of fourteen taels of silver had to be repaid in full, principal and interest combined. Currently, Chen Ping'an lacked the strength to flip the table, so he could only obediently repay the silver. To scrape together that much silver within ten days, the quickest method was to head to the black market and sell the martial art manual of Iron Shirt! Yes, the martial art Iron Shirt! Although he had not brought out the book recording Iron Shirt, its contents had been preserved by his golden finger. A few days ago, he had bought paper and a brush and already transcribed the martial art in full. He had even bound it simply with thin string into a crude booklet. No matter how ordinary Iron Shirt was, it was still a martial art that allowed one to achieve entering the martial path. Even as a handwritten copy, selling it for a few taels of silver would not be difficult. If it were a standard edition, he could sell it at the Treasure Pavilion in the commandery city. But for this handwritten copy to change hands, the only route was the black market. Nanquan Lane was rife with gangs, rogues, ruffians, and all sorts of shady characters making fortunes through illicit means. For items of dubious origin to circulate and be traded, they naturally required underground channels. It was against this backdrop that the black market had come into being. The Nanquan Lane Suppression Office turned a blind eye to the black market's existence as well. As long as things did not go too far, they permitted it to exist. Still, being a black market meant there were risks. That was precisely why Chen Ping'an had delayed going there until today. Now that he had reached lesser mastery in Iron Shirt and the qi and blood first layer, perfected, his self-defense capability had risen drastically. Even against two or three burly men wielding broadswords, so long as they had not stepped onto the path of martial cultivation, he could easily maneuver against them and even strike them down. Going to the black market to sell the handwritten copy of Iron Shirt was the final piece of his plan and the foundation for repaying his debt tomorrow. This trip was essential! Because he had to head to the black market, he needed to keep himself in peak condition, so Chen Ping'an did not exploit the bug to keep practicing Iron Shirt. "Nannan, I need to head out for an errand," Chen Ping'an said to Chen Er Ya beside him. The little girl had not yet recovered from the sight of him lifting the water vat. "Ah, it's so late. Where are you going, Brother?" "The black market." Hearing this, the little girl furrowed her brows. Young as she was, she still knew what kind of place the black market was. "It's so chaotic there, and it's already so late..." the little girl worried. Chen Ping'an walked over and ruffled her hair vigorously until it was a mess before pulling his hand away. "Don't worry. You saw it just now. My strength is no joke these days. It's perfectly safe." "Mm, I suppose so... but still..." The little girl hesitated. "Nannan, relax. Two shichen at most, and I'll definitely be back," Chen Ping'an comforted her. "Well... all right. Be careful, Brother." The little girl pouted, relenting reluctantly. In truth, she knew her brother was going out on serious business. Her hesitation was born purely out of concern. Having soothed Chen Er Ya, Chen Ping'an changed into dark, snug-fitting clothes and took a piece of black cloth that he could use to cover his face later. Just as he was about to leave, feeling uneasy, he picked up a wood-chopping knife as well. Then, tucking the handwritten copy of Iron Shirt into his robe, he stepped outside the courtyard gate. "Nannan, remember to set the crossbar on the door latch, and wait obediently for me to return."