Chapter 46 - 47: Hong Ming Injured, Guo Martial Arts Hall

Chapter 46: Chapter 47: Hong Ming Injured, Guo Martial Arts Hall

Being able to take a bath while improving his strength was pure bliss.

Twenty minutes later, Su Chen looked at the interface, slightly taken aback:

[Martial Arts: ... Iron Cloth Shirt - Incomplete (Layer Two 1%)]

[Easy Mode: ... Iron Cloth Shirt - Incomplete 0 times (Extreme Ape Arm Skill + 10 portions of Qi and Blood Powder/time)]

On the interface, the Iron Cloth Shirt had already been upgraded to the second layer. However, upgrading it to the next layer now required an additional condition. Aside from ten portions of Qi and Blood Powder, he also needed to train the Ape Arm Skill to its absolute limits. Su Chen merely confirmed this and did not pay it much more attention.

He thought, "I was just wondering what to upgrade with Krypton Gold next. Well, this solves it. There’s no need to hesitate anymore. I’ll upgrade the Ape Arm Skill to its limit first, then collect the Qi and Blood Powder to upgrade the Iron Cloth Shirt. It kills two birds with one stone."

After finishing his bath, Su Chen stood up, itching to test the power of the second layer of his Iron Cloth Shirt. He could faintly feel that the internal force in his palms had grown considerably thicker. With a single thought, the force swam rapidly through his hands. After getting dressed, he went to the backyard and struck a rock with his palm. In the blink of an eye, the rock split apart with a loud CRACK.

Seeing this, he didn’t stop but continued testing. He struck five consecutive times before the internal force in his palms was finally depleted. This meant that he could now use his internal force for five attacks—a sudden fourfold increase from before.

He thought, "If I had this level of strength when I fought those two, I wouldn’t have hesitated at all. I could have slapped them to death with two strikes!"

Because of the Iron Wire Fist and Iron Sand Palm, his internal force was several degrees stronger than that of ordinary Beginner-level Martial Artists. If a sneak attack could previously kill his opponent in one move, the increased volume of his internal force meant he could now easily slap them to death.

Another thought surfaced in his mind: "Then again, with my current strength, I wonder how I’d rank in White Stone City." The thought dissipated quickly. He shook his head and went back inside to sleep.

Over the next two days, Su Chen barely went out, staying home to study medicine instead. He still remembered how Zhu Ming had previously trashed his poison as utterly worthless, so he planned to spend this time developing something new. While researching, he also worked on his delivery methods. He figured that his previous failure to drug Zhu Ming wasn’t just because the poison was weak, but also due to his crude application. Others poisoned their targets silently and seamlessly, while he still relied on traditional methods. It was only natural that he had been caught.

He thought, "Whether it’s medical skills or poison techniques, I have to keep learning and advancing with the times. Otherwise, I’ll be left behind."

After two days of study, although he hadn’t made much progress in developing new poisons, his delivery methods had vastly improved. While it still wasn’t a masterful technique, he could now slip poison with a mere flick of his sleeve—a massive improvement.

On the third day.

Su Chen continued studying in the morning and planned to visit the martial arts hall in the afternoon. Seven days had passed since his last visit; today was exactly the eighth day, meaning he could collect his Qi and Blood Powder. After eating, he bought some gifts for Hong Ming. After all, he felt bad showing up empty-handed every time.

Upon arriving at the martial arts hall, Su Chen immediately noticed the strange atmosphere. The disciples were gathered together, whispering among themselves. A few who recognized him instinctively stood a bit straighter upon seeing him and greeted, "Brother Su."

Su Chen nodded and asked, "What happened?"

Hearing this, the group was clearly taken aback for a moment. But remembering that Su Chen rarely came to the martial arts hall, one of them explained, "You might not know this, Brother Su, but Master has been injured."

"What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and train!"

Just as Su Chen was about to ask more, a loud shout rang out. Li Mo walked over, interrupting the crowd’s murmurs. Hearing this, everyone scattered like startled rabbits and began practicing their martial arts.

"Junior Brother Su, you’re here," Li Mo said as he approached. Catching sight of the gifts in Su Chen’s hands, he paused briefly before smiling.

"Senior Brother Li Mo, what exactly happened? How did Master get injured?" Su Chen asked, voicing his confusion without bothering to explain the gifts.

"You don’t know?" Li Mo stared blankly, somewhat surprised.

Su Chen shook his head. Noticing Li Mo glancing at the gifts in his hands, he gave a brief explanation for them.

"I thought you already knew," Li Mo said, scratching his head. "Master was injured by someone in a fight."

"Injured by someone?" Su Chen frowned.

Li Mo nodded. "Yeah, he was hurt during a martial arts spar..."

Through Li Mo, Su Chen learned the whole story. The situation had grown increasingly severe recently. News of rebel uprisings had spread from the neighboring Yellow Stone City. Although the Government Office had dispatched troops to suppress it, the rebellion remained unquelled. As a result, various factions within Yellow Stone City began relocating to surrounding cities, including White Stone City.

Three days ago, a group of martial artists arrived in White Stone City, set up an arena, and challenged many of the local martial arts halls. This group was incredibly strong. Many martial arts masters were defeated, and eventually, they set their sights on the city’s top three martial arts halls.

The Hong Family Martial Arts Hall was their first target. The challenger put up one hundred taels as a prize and demanded a spar with Hong Ming. If Hong Ming won, he would get the one hundred taels. If he lost, he was not allowed to interfere with them opening a martial arts hall in White Stone City. Left with no choice, Hong Ming was forced to accept the fight. To his surprise, the opponent was already an Entering the Realm Martial Artist. Hong Ming was naturally no match for him and was easily defeated.

"You don’t need to worry too much, Junior Brother," Li Mo comforted him, seeing Su Chen’s solemn expression. "Master’s injuries have improved over the past few days. He’ll be recovered before long."

"I’ll go in and see Master first." Su Chen didn’t bother explaining that injuries caused by internal force weren’t so easily healed. Leaving it at that, he turned and headed into the inner courtyard.

Stepping into the inner courtyard, Su Chen saw Hong Ming sitting on a stone bench, leaning on a cane while instructing Qin Hao in his training. He had a stern expression and a ruddy complexion, making his injuries look less serious than expected. This allowed Su Chen to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Junior Brother Su!" Qin Hao was the first to spot him, calling out upon seeing him.

Su Chen nodded and walked up to Hong Ming. He set the gifts down and asked, "Master, are you alright?"

"What could possibly be wrong with me?" Hong Ming glared at him. "What did you bring all this stuff for?"

"Uh, these are just a token of my respect," Su Chen replied with a sheepish smile.

Hearing this, Hong Ming’s expression softened a bit, and he didn’t press the matter further. He then gave a half-smile and said, "Aside from paying your respects, you came to the martial arts hall today to get your medicine, didn’t you?"

Su Chen remained speechless.

"Alright, wait here for a moment." Hong Ming stood up and hobbled away with his cane. A short while later, he emerged from his room with a medicinal packet in hand. Handing it to Su Chen, he coughed several times. "COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... Here, take it!"

Looking at the coughing Hong Ming and the Qi and Blood Powder being handed to him, Su Chen’s heart trembled. He reached out and took the Qi and Blood Powder, suddenly feeling that the packet was inexplicably heavy.

"Thank you, Master," Su Chen said softly.

Hong Ming waved his hand dismissively, seemingly trying hard to endure something, and said nothing more.

Seeing this, Su Chen bowed and took his leave. "Master, I’ll be going now."

With that, Su Chen turned and walked away. Hong Ming gave a slight nod.

Standing off to the side, Qin Hao watched Su Chen’s graceful departure with a hint of envy in his eyes. He too wished to be treated so gently by their master.

"What are you looking at? Keep training!"

"Yes, Master!"

Upon leaving the inner courtyard, Su Chen sought out Li Mo and asked, "Senior Brother Li Mo, could you tell me which faction injured Master?"