Qi and Blood Second Layer

Dawn was just breaking. In Pear Blossom Alley of Nanquan Lane, inside the Chen family's small courtyard. Chen Ping'an was stripped to the waist, rolling relentlessly over a mound of sand and gravel. The sharp, hard grit scraped and pressed into his skin without pause. Gravel churned; his qi and blood surged. After keeping this up for a long while, a +1 experience indicator appeared in his vision. "Done!" Chen Ping'an beamed, getting up from the gravel. Name: Chen Ping'an Realm: Qi and Blood First Layer, Perfected Martial Art: Iron Shirt, Lesser Mastery (40/40) *** Six days had passed since the announcement that Zheng Shiyong had entered the martial path. Just two days after that announcement, his official assignment had already been decided. Suppression Office night watch duty. The division of labor within the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office was meticulous. Standard duties were generally split into patrol, apprehending criminals, watch duty, and clerical work. Watch duty was far superior to patrolling the streets. As the name implied, watch duty meant standing guard inside the Suppression Office itself. Those on this detail handled the coordination and compilation of various affairs, reporting directly to the head runners. Not only was there no need to patrol the streets every day—shielding them from the scorching sun and the biting wind—they also had frequent contact with the head runners. It was an exceptionally sweet gig. To say nothing of the head runners, they even had a fair chance of seeing the exalted office chief and deputy office chief of the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office. Even if one could not strike up a conversation, showing one's face often enough to be remembered by the office chief or deputy office chief was a tremendous advantage. One should never underestimate being kept in the chief's mind; at critical moments, it could make or break a person's future. When there was only one vacancy on the registry but several candidates possessed matching merit and seniority, how was the decision made? Naturally, it came down to the office chief's word. A familiar face was inevitably treated differently from an unfamiliar one. This went unstated in the Suppression Office's formal regulations, yet it was an unspoken rule tacitly understood by all. Generally speaking, watch duty was reserved for registered runners. Even the small number assigned to night watch duty were temporary runners with vast seniority who had entered the martial path. Though Zheng Shiyong had entered the martial path, his tenure was far too short; under normal circumstances, such an assignment would never have fallen to him. Nobody believed that Head Runner Zheng's influence was absent from the final decision. Still, others were others; whatever went on with them had nothing to do with Chen Ping'an. During this time, he ate meat every day to nourish his body. Day in and day out, he practiced Iron Shirt without interruption, honing his physique, refining his qi and blood, and accumulating cultivation experience. Finally, this morning, he had gathered the full forty points of cultivation experience. "Let's do this!" Smiling faintly, Chen Ping'an focused his mind and tapped the faintly shimmering plus sign behind Iron Shirt. Whoosh! On the panel, the forty experience points stirred instantly, dissolving into specks of starlight that surged toward the space between his eyebrows. As the starlight entered his glabella, the familiar sensation washed over him once again. A vast array of intricate memories concerning Iron Shirt's forms, insights, practical applications, and reflections flooded Chen Ping'an's mind. This knowledge was not mechanically forced upon him. Instead, through a wondrous and profound process, it allowed Chen Ping'an to grasp and digest it completely. From the moment the starlight merged into his body, these insights were no longer foreign; they had become Chen Ping'an's own hard-earned experience, crystallized bit by bit through tireless, daily practice. Iron Shirt, greater mastery! His skin had become tough as ox hide, capable of taking blows from ordinary blades and swords head-on. Although taking a blow would still leave a mark or bruise, the injury would be minimized to the absolute limit. A martial cultivator of above-average aptitude would typically need over a decade of bitter toil, practicing day after day without slackening, to reach such a level! More than just Iron Shirt reaching greater mastery, the qi and blood throughout Chen Ping'an's body ascended to a new plateau under that mysterious guidance. Qi and blood second layer: the realm of flesh tempering! The first layer tempered the skin; the second layer tempered the flesh. Reaching the second layer, coupled with Iron Shirt at greater mastery, meant that Chen Ping'an could take on five or six grown men armed with blades entirely on his own. If he fought more aggressively, adopting a ruthless style that traded minor wounds for his opponents' lives, he could even overpower seven or eight armed men. Of course, fighting like that would not leave him entirely unscathed either. After all, while Iron Shirt was an external hard-body art, it was still merely a low-grade technique and could not truly make him immune to blades and swords. If Chen Ping'an were to display his current strength, he would already be considered a figure of consequence among the various gangs in Nanquan Lane. Even among the registered runners of the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office, his prowess would place him in the top ten. He possessed youth and robust qi and blood, far outstripping those aging registered runners whose strength had begun to decline. Chen Ping'an's eyes flickered, and his gaze fell upon the panel in front of him. Name: Chen Ping'an Realm: Qi and Blood Second Layer Martial Art: Iron Shirt, Greater Mastery (0/100) *** "The qi and blood second layer!" Chen Ping'an felt a surge of exhilaration. This meant he had stepped onto an entirely new stage. "After greater mastery comes perfection. Does reaching perfection in Iron Shirt require a hundred experience points?" he mused. However, because he still had to go on duty shortly, he did not dwell on the matter. Having just broken through, he was in peak condition and could easily practice Iron Shirt twice more. Knowing early on that he would accumulate enough experience today, he had risen earlier than usual, leaving himself ample time. He rolled back into the sand and gravel, resuming his practice of Iron Shirt. Now that Iron Shirt was at greater mastery, the stimulating effect of the grit against his skin had noticeably weakened. *Looks like I'll need to switch to larger stones,* he thought during his exercises. In his vision, the +1 experience indicator appeared twice in succession. Yet Chen Ping'an discovered that he could still push himself further. "Should I keep going?" He hesitated briefly. While he had woken up early and had plenty of time, pushing for another round would make things rather tight. "Keep going!" After a moment's hesitation, Chen Ping'an made up his mind. "Time waits for no one; not a single moment can be wasted. One more!" When the +1 experience indicator surfaced once more, Chen Ping'an gave his body a quick wipe, threw his clothes on in a hurry, called out a goodbye to Chen Er Ya, and sprinted straight out the courtyard gate. He had practiced a little too long this morning. Judging by the hour, it was almost time to report for duty; he had no choice but to run. Though he was cutting it close, his spirits were high. With Iron Shirt at greater mastery, he could now steadily gain three experience points in a single morning session. Even if he could not push for four points in the evening, he would still rack up six points a day. At this rate, perfecting Iron Shirt was just around the corner! Running briskly, Chen Ping'an reached the entrance of the Suppression Office. Checking the time, he realized he was not late after all. Chen Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to step through the main gates of the Suppression Office, a deep voice rang out from behind him. "Rushing and scrambling about—where are your manners?" Hearing that, Chen Ping'an's expression stiffened.