Chapter 6: Skin Refining

"Eh? Is this a Dragon Cry Grass of about thirty years?"

Miao Qingyun picked up one of the medicinal herbs and observed it carefully.

He also sniffed it with his nose, his eyes shining slightly.

A moment later, he checked the other two medicinal herbs.

Only then did he place them back on the counter.

"This old man is willing to offer two taels of silver for these three medicinal herbs; I wonder what you think, little friend?"

His tone was unhurried and quite confident.

The price he offered was already very fair.

"Then let's trade."

Lu Changsheng smiled and agreed directly.

Even if he ran to a few more places, the price wouldn't be much higher.

Two taels of silver were enough for him to initiate the Iron Cloth Shirt.

The most urgent task was to rapidly improve his own strength; wasting time for a few more copper coins would be putting the cart before the horse.

Miao Qingyun smiled and took out two taels of silver, placing them on the counter.

"Please accept it, guest."

He said, then put away the three medicinal herbs.

"Hmm."

Lu Changsheng nodded with a smile, picked up the silver, and turned to walk outside.

After leaving the pharmacy, he walked quickly along the street.

The figures on both sides gradually increased, and the air was filled with bursts of conversation and bargaining, all entering his ears.

There were also quite a few wealthy beautiful women taking their own daughters out to play.

This world was quite enlightened, without the rule that women must stay in their boudoirs.

Some young women even boldly threw winks at Lu Changsheng after seeing him, causing the female relatives beside them to giggle.

Lu Changsheng was naturally quite handsome, and after practicing martial arts for these days, he added a bit of masculine spirit.

Naturally, it made some women quite "fond" of him.

Relying on this "background," if he decided to lie flat and eat soft rice, he would likely have a great chance of achieving his wish.

Lu Changsheng smiled dumbly, put away his thoughts, and soon walked to a meat stall.

A big man wearing coarse linen clothes and covered in fat stood in front of the stall, holding a pig-slaughtering knife.

"How much for this whole sheep?"

Lu Changsheng pointed to the whole sheep meat on the left.

"One tael of silver."

The big man raised his eyelids and spat out a few words lightly.

Lu Changsheng frowned; the price of meat had risen again.

The purchasing power of silver was still quite firm; one tael of silver was equal to one thousand copper coins, and sometimes it would even have a slight premium.

In the past, one tael of silver could buy two sheep; now the price had risen by about double.

"Sigh... grain prices have been skyrocketing for the past half year, so meat prices naturally have to follow..."

The big man explained casually.

"Give me a bag to pack it up."

Lu Changsheng nodded expressionlessly and threw a tael of silver onto the other's stall.

"Alright."

The big man's face was full of joy; he took out a sack, packed the whole sheep meat, and then handed it to Lu Changsheng.

Lu Changsheng carried the sheep meat on his back and walked toward the rear.

Everything was ready, and he didn't have the mind to play, so he started to return the same way.

Walking all the way, just as he reached a corner, familiar words came to his ears.

"Big brother, we looted more than ten taels of silver from that Lu kid; it's enough for us to have a good time."

"That kid actually didn't take the initiative to honor big brother; he's really looking for death..."

Two men wearing blue tight-fitting clothes were walking away along the street.

Each of them was holding a long knife, talking in low voices while walking.

One of them was tall, like a mountain, with a full sense of oppression.

A pair of tiger eyes were filled with evil spirit.

This person was Zhao Erhu, a small leader of the Sanhe Gang.

Hearing the conversation between the two, Lu Changsheng stopped immediately, and murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

His predecessor's head had been cracked open by this person, who not only robbed him of his blood-money but also ransacked his home.

If the other side knew he had "come back from the dead," trouble would probably descend immediately.

This person was already on his must-kill list.

However, as one of the top two gangs in Changping County, the Sanhe Gang had many experts inside, which was not something he could provoke at this moment.

The Sanhe Gang was involved in some water transport businesses, as well as brothel and medicinal herb businesses, and was widely involved.

He could only lie low first.

After his martial arts were initially successful, he would go to the other side for revenge.

Lu Changsheng pondered to himself.

Watching the two walk far away, he walked out of the corner and hurried toward his home. Walking quickly all the way, he soon arrived in the center of his own courtyard.

After slightly processing the whole sheep meat, he started to stew a large pot.

He even gave a few pounds of meat to the Fang siblings next door; eating alone was not his style.

After receiving the sheep meat, the two siblings were even more surprised.

However, Fang Qing and the other didn't ask much, just assuming it was the family fortune left by Uncle Lu.

Time passed slowly.

Soon it was noon.

After eating and drinking his fill, Lu Changsheng came to the center of the courtyard and started standing on a stake.

He saw him standing with his feet apart, his hands hugging in a circular arc, looking forward, very solemn.

Even his breathing carried a mysterious rhythm.

This magical posture was the stake skill in the first diagram of the Iron Cloth Shirt, and it was also the fundamental technique.

As Lu Changsheng gradually entered the state, the sheep meat in his stomach began to digest rapidly, and bursts of warm current emerged.

The deficiency of the past few days was also recovering slowly.

This state lasted for more than half an hour.

His face gradually climbed with wisps of red, appearing much healthier.

"Clatter..."

Just then, several light footsteps came, and Fang Tao crossed the courtyard fence and walked toward Lu Changsheng.

"You came just in time; I plan to start practicing again."

Seeing the person coming, Lu Changsheng smiled slightly.

"Good."

Fang Tao didn't talk nonsense, picked up the wooden stick on the stone table, and prepared to act immediately.

He had also seen Lu Changsheng's changes these days, from initial suspicion to being shaken quite a bit at this moment.

He even felt that Lu Changsheng really might succeed in practicing.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Bursts of knocking sounds echoed in the courtyard, and Lu Changsheng gritted his teeth, quietly feeling the pain coming from his body.

With his breathing, trickles of warm current surged toward his upper body skin, and even the stinging pain lessened a bit.

His mind gradually fell into a state of emptiness.

"Seventy-two percent, seventy-three percent..."

The progress bar of the technique was also increasing rapidly.

Five days later.

Center of the courtyard.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

A roar resounded in all directions, and Fang Tao held the wooden stick and smashed it crazily toward Lu Changsheng's body.

Even his forehead was covered in sweat, and his cheeks were red.

If it weren't for the fact that he had often eaten meat these days, he probably wouldn't have had the strength to swing it.

Lu Changsheng stood with his feet apart, his upper body exposed, covered in red marks, quite shocking.

Countless heat rose on his body, gathering on the top of his head to form a miniature vortex, very magical.

He looked at the numbers on the panel, Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Shirt (Uninitiated 99%), and felt very satisfied in his heart.

In the past five days, the whole sheep had been eaten, and he had to buy another one.

Driven by a large amount of meat, the martial arts practice was also very smooth, only one step away from initiation.

This practice had already lasted for two hours.

But it was still missing just a little bit.

Lu Changsheng didn't call for the other to stop; he prepared to go all out and break through this barrier.

As the wooden stick kept striking his body, many warm currents emerged from his body, and even his skin began to bulge, full of toughness like cowhide.

I don't know how long it had been.

Lu Changsheng suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and a mysterious feeling surged into his heart.

"This is the moment."

"Break for me."

With a roar from him, a powerful warm current instantly flowed through his whole body, turning into a stream of air from the top of his head.

Even the surrounding mist was blown away.

"Buzz, buzz..."

A buzzing sound came to Lu Changsheng's ears, as if his skin membrane was vibrating.

The wooden stick striking his body no longer had any pain, but instead felt a bit tingling.

The skin membrane of his entire upper body was emitting a glowing light, very magical.

At this moment, the Iron Cloth Shirt was finally initiated.

It was not in vain for his many days of planning and running around.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 7 =====