Chapter 17: The Maximum Limit of the Soft Hedgehog Armor

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: The Maximum Limit of the Soft Hedgehog Armor

After Chen Sha cleared Hong Qigong’s "Martial Arts Teaching Segment," this Cosmic Light Fragment seemed to collapse, turning the surroundings into a vast expanse of white space.

Several objects appeared before him.

"Dropped items?" Chen Sha was astonished. He wondered what this meant. Could he actually take these things out?

"These things are..." Chen Sha looked down and saw exactly four items lying in front of him.

A dagger, a book, and a piece of soft armor.

The final object was rather peculiar. It looked like a transparent soap bubble or a glass marble, refracting various magnificent colors through the light.

As Chen Sha’s gaze swept over these items one by one, text materialized on the Southern Heavenly Gate in his mind.

"Profound Iron Dagger: Dropped by Guo Jing."

"Secret Manual of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms: Dropped by Hong Qigong."

"Soft Hedgehog Armor: Dropped by Huang Rong."

The last one read:

"Cosmic Light Fragment: After the Sect Leader clears the Cosmic Light Fragment, the fragment collapses and drops one-third of a Cosmic Light Fragment."

Chen Sha’s Heart Spirit was instantly captivated. A Cosmic Light Fragment?

His expression grew extremely solemn as he recalled all the realistic sensations he had experienced inside it. "Wasn’t that just a real miniature world?"

Could he obtain such a real Cosmic Light Fragment world every time he cleared a fragment Chapter? It sounded incredibly miraculous. This definitely exceeded the Martial Arts Level of the real world.

However, what was the use of obtaining this Cosmic Light Fragment? How was he supposed to use it?

Perhaps the Southern Heavenly Gate’s explanation of the "Cosmic Light Fragment" had not yet finished, or maybe it was directly answering Chen Sha’s inner thoughts. More text descended from the void above the gate in his mind:

"The Cosmic Light Fragment is a trace of space and time, appearing both illusory and real. Compared to the True Realm, its existence is both true and false.

"What the Sect Leader holds is a one-third fragment from the collapse of a Cosmic Light Fragment. It can be completed by finding the remaining pieces.

"By infusing True Qi or power, a complete Cosmic Light Fragment can evolve and manifest objects."

Chen Sha read the words, only half understanding them. What did it mean to evolve objects by infusing True Qi or power?

"Since it’s only a fragment and not a complete set, it doesn’t seem to be of much use at the moment," Chen Sha said, letting out a breath.

Holding only a one-third fragment, he had no way to test how it worked. His only option was to clear more of Hong Qigong’s Chapters in hopes that each would drop a similar piece. Only by assembling a complete fragment could he verify its effects.

"I’ll set the matter of the fragment aside for now. Let’s see if I can bring these items into the real world first."

Chen Sha picked up the objects from the ground. Soon after, as the surrounding light distorted to the extreme, he was transported back to Hong Qigong’s Earth God Temple.

From there, he followed the path paved by the Southern Heavenly Gate and walked out through the doors.

Inside the Sect Leader’s room on Dao Yi Mountain.

As Chen Sha’s consciousness emerged from behind the Southern Heavenly Gate, he immediately felt a heavy weight in his hands. Looking down, he murmured, "I actually brought them out."

Resting in his lap as he sat cross-legged were indeed the three items: the dagger, the armor, and the book.

"What about that Cosmic Light Fragment?" Chen Sha muttered to himself. He distinctly remembered grabbing that as well.

He closed his eyes to look within and immediately opened them again. "So it’s hanging on the Southern Heavenly Gate."

Deep within the unknown recesses of Chen Sha’s consciousness stood the magnificent gate. Before today, there had only been the two large doors. But now, a sparkling, bubble-like object hovered above them, suspended in the air like a star adorning the archway.

Since it was still there, he didn’t need to worry about it. Chen Sha looked down to inspect the three items he had brought out. "They feel completely real..."

He picked up the dagger. It gleamed with a chilling light, its edge incomparably sharp. The name "Yang Kang" was carved into the hilt. This was the very dagger Guo Jing had carried with him since childhood—the same one used to kill Copper Corpse Chen Xuanfeng. Qiu Chuji had gifted two such daggers to the parents of Guo Jing and Yang Kang, serving as proof of the sworn brotherhood between the Guo and Yang families.

Chen Sha had always assumed that place was purely a world of consciousness, an illusion. Yet, upon clearing the level, it had dropped objects that physically existed in reality.

"Could this be the explanation for the Cosmic Light Fragment being both true and false?" Chen Sha wondered, lowering his head in thought for a moment.

His gaze returned to the three items in his hands. He examined the Profound Iron Dagger before setting it aside. While weapons of this caliber weren’t exceedingly common in the Dao Yi Sect, there were certainly quite a few. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be worthy of its status as the number one Major Sect in the world.

Chen Sha then flipped open the Secret Manual of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms dropped by Hong Qigong. His eyes lit up slightly as he read. "It contains the Cultivation Route and acupoint pathways, as well as the Inner Power breathing techniques for sitting and lying down."

Though he had managed to secretly learn all the variations of Hong Qigong’s eighteen palms by fighting him thousands of times within the Cosmic Light Fragment, what he had grasped were merely the physical moves. After thousands of battles, anyone would have memorized the forms of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. Thus, Chen Sha could use his own Inner Strength to execute the Palm Technique variations.

However, Martial Arts cultivation involved much more than just physical movements; it also required Inner Power and a Heart Method. The Beggar Gang’s Sect’s Divine Skill in his hands now included the corresponding Cultivation Route alongside the Palm Technique—something impossible to learn simply by fighting.

He never expected that defeating Hong Qigong would actually yield the Inner Power Manual of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

"Beyond the Southern Heavenly Gate, if I ascend the Nine Heavens, what if there’s a temple for True Monarch Erlang? If I can clear the ’Erlang God Chapter,’ would there be a chance to drop things like the ’Eight-Nine Profound Skill’ or the ’Seventy-Two Transformations’?" Chen Sha couldn’t help but dream big.

Leaving aside whether a temple for Erlang God actually existed behind the Southern Heavenly Gate, even if there was one, he would need the strength of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven to clear such a Chapter. Chen Sha shook his head with a chuckle and pushed the thought away.

This, at least, proved one point: the power system he possessed behind the Southern Heavenly Gate was more than enough to crush the current Martial Arts system of the world countless times over!

"I cultivate the Great Yellow Court Inner Power, so simply learning the Palm Technique of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and some of the Hand Manipulation and Qi Raising Methods will suffice. I don’t really need to practice its specific Inner Power," Chen Sha mused, carefully placing the secret manual under his bed. "Still, this is a Grandmaster Level Palm Technique Martial Arts. If I ever take in an apprentice in the future, it would be perfect to pass down."

Finally, Chen Sha looked at the last item.

"The Soft Hedgehog Armor," Chen Sha sighed in admiration, gently stroking the steel spikes on the surface of the Treasure Armor in his hands. "Out of the three items, this is likely the most precious."

This Treasure Armor was the core treasure of Peach Blossom Island. Not only did it render the wearer invulnerable to blades and spears, but it also offered resistance against Inner Fist Palms and even kept the wearer warm. When worn by Huang Rong, it was already enough to withstand the Palm Power of many contemporary First-class Experts. If a Grandmaster were to wear it...

Chen Sha remembered that the story of the Divine Eagle seemingly provided a specific example of what happened when a Grandmaster wore the Soft Hedgehog Armor.

When Xiangyang was besieged by the Mongolian Army, heroes from all walks of life came to aid Guo Jing, only for the majority to be slaughtered by the Mongolian Army’s rain of arrows. Under those circumstances, even a Grandmaster would struggle to endure for long; after all, a Martial Arts expert’s True Qi was not limitless. But with the Soft Hedgehog Armor for protection, everything changed.

During the siege, Huang Rong came up with a plan and lent the Soft Hedgehog Armor to Old Mischievous, who was already considered the uncrowned number one expert by everyone at the time. This allowed him to battle head-on through the torrential rain of arrows, single-handedly crushing the Mongolian Army’s assault.

Thinking about it revealed just how terrifying that was. While a Martial Arts Grandmaster was powerful, facing a synchronized volley from an army of ten thousand would turn even them into a sieve. No matter how great their Qi Power, it would eventually run out.

But with the Soft Hedgehog Armor, it meant never having to fear being surrounded and killed by an army ever again. That was the absolute peak potential of the Soft Hedgehog Armor.

"What a wonderful treasure." Chen Sha was ecstatic as he held the Treasure Armor. "With this, taking the head of a top general from an army of ten thousand is truly as easy as reaching into a bag for a trinket."