Chapter 39: Adapting to Thunderclap Bagua in Advance

Unearth the human body's treasures to enhance physical strength.

This was exactly what Siano wanted most right now; hesitating for even a second would be disrespectful to his own flesh, so he added it directly to his shopping cart.

As for this final item...

【Peter Griffin's Jeans】

【Type: Equipment】

【Price: 500 Points】

【Description: Upon wearing, intelligence will decrease slightly, and there is a chance your hatred value in the eyes of others will increase.】

【Seller's Note: Also suitable for those with large stomachs.】

The effect of this thing was somewhat interesting, but the cost-performance ratio wasn't high; after pondering briefly, Siano shook his head, deciding it wasn't necessary to waste points on such a thing.

Submitting the shopping cart and checking out.

The items that appeared this time included quite a few desirable ones, totaling four pieces, costing 3,500 points altogether.

Remaining points: 39,525, still quite abundant.

Closing the trading market, Siano opened his inventory and first took out that black training suit capable of adjusting weight.

The default initial setting was the minimum 1KG, similar to ordinary athletic wear.

It fit perfectly on his body; while offering extremely high toughness and elasticity, it also maintained quite good breathability.

The tactile sensation was very comfortable; after simply moving his limbs around, he immediately began attempting to adjust the weight.

"It's better to start cautiously and take it slow; let's try 250KG first..."

Thud!

A muffled sound rang out; the pressure on his body surged abruptly, causing Siano's body to sink slightly for an instant before he calmly regained his footing as if nothing had happened.

He performed a set of handstand push-ups, jogged a lap around the orchard, and then used "Soru" back and forth between several wooden posts—

The landing points remained precise, only the speed was slightly slower.

"Not enough, far from enough."

Siano shook his head; a 250KG load might have posed some pressure for him before setting sail.

But for him now, he could adapt to it quickly, rendering it largely ineffective.

He continued to increase it incrementally.

300, 350... continuing until it reached 500KG.

Only then did Siano finally feel that stagnation where every movement required expending massive effort, as if walking through thick liquid.

Yet it wasn't to the point where his muscles couldn't bear it.

It could be said he had found a perfect balance point.

"Let's settle on this number for now."

Siano was very satisfied with the current effect.

After some time, once he had fully adapted to this pressure and could treat it as nothing during training, he would begin increasing the weight further.

He then opened the secret manual for "Copper Head."

After a rough skim, he thought for a while and decided to cultivate it alongside "Iron Body."

Both were body-tempering martial arts with compatible aspects, so cultivating them together wouldn't risk conflict or delay.

However, looking at their Cultivation Methods, the two had some fundamental differences.

Although the name "Copper Head" seemed crude, the "Flesh and Blood Smelting Furnace Method" it belonged to was a legitimate internal energy secret manual.

It placed greater emphasis on comprehension and technique; one had to constantly study and realize its profound mysteries while undergoing high-intensity physical tempering to truly master it.

As for "Iron Body,"

In comparison, it was purely an external art, and its Cultivation Method was far simpler and more brutal.

As the sole defensive technique among the Six Forms, its principle involved controlling blood flow speed, concentrating blood into the muscles to enhance hardness.

To achieve this, besides constantly increasing muscle strength through various daily physical training,

the core content was actually specialized anti-impact training!

In plain terms, this meant continuously striking the body with various hard implements to gradually improve resistance to impact.

When the Marines and CP departments trained this, they worked in pairs, striking each other with wooden sticks; when one grew tired, the other took over, cycling repeatedly.

In other words, to ensure the efficiency of "Iron Body" cultivation, one person couldn't do it alone; a training partner was essential.

Fortunately, Siano currently lacked no one around him.

The processing workshop wouldn't start up until next year, so the refugees he had brought only had matters in the tangerine orchard to handle and were relatively idle.

He could draw a few young, strong individuals from among them daily to accompany him in cultivating "Iron Body."

He disliked postponing things until tomorrow; having made a decision, he wouldn't delay.

Thus, after cultivating "Copper Head" for an entire morning, when the afternoon time for "Iron Body" arrived,

—Scar and that "Fat Bandit" whom he had once punched into a tree were dragged to the training ground, each gripping a hard wooden stick, looking anxiously at Siano.

"My lord, let me confirm once more, did I hear correctly?"

Scar looked at the wooden stick in his hand, swallowed hard, and asked, "You really want me to use my full strength to hit you five hundred times?"

"Mm, start with the back first, but it's not just five hundred; that's only the first round, merely to prevent you from getting too tired to exert force."

Siano stretched his back muscles and instructed, "After hitting five hundred times, switch to Fat Bull; you rest on the side, and when Fat Bull gets tired, switch back to you."

Fat Bull was indeed the name of that "Fat Bandit"; having a somewhat dull-witted personality, he nodded hurriedly upon hearing this: "Okay! Understood, Boss!"

"But..."

Scar, however, was still hesitating.

Only after Siano turned his head and glared at him did he finally dare not delay; gripping the hardwood club tightly, he suddenly smashed it down toward Siano's back.

Siano had already rooted his stance, settled his mind and calmed his qi, and according to the tricks mentioned in the Iron Block secret manual, accelerated the blood flow in his back muscles as much as possible, awaiting this strike.

Thud—a dull sound rang out; Manba's Hukou went numb from the shock, and immediately unease rose in his heart: had he used too much force?

"Hmm?"

Siano turned his head, his face full of dissatisfaction: "I told you to use your full strength, so why are you holding back? Are you tickling me? I don't feel a thing!"

Manba gritted his teeth; this time he finally exerted his full strength and smashed down viciously. Seeing that Siano did not turn around, he immediately followed up with another club strike, then another—

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Dull sounds like war drums echoed continuously through the tangerine grove, but they did not last long; after about twenty or thirty swings, the hardwood club suddenly let out a crisp crack and shattered into several pieces.

"Ah?"

Manba raised the remaining small half of the club in his hand, utterly dumbfounded.

This was something he had brought from the Korobo Mountain Range; it was the hardest wood that could be found in the entire mountain range!

Yet it had actually shattered like this after lasting only such a short while?

Siano also sighed, turned around, and looked at the debris scattered on the ground with a headache.

His current muscle strength was indeed already very high; using a wooden club to pound his flesh was truly difficult to produce much effect.

"Throw the wooden club away."

Siano shifted his gaze to Fat Ox: "Try using your spiked club."

"Hah?"

Even someone as simple-minded as Fat Ox was stunned by this; Manba could not help but say, "Your Excellency, Fat Ox's spiked club weighs sixty or seventy kilograms; it is a genuine combat weapon."

"It's fine; I like this weapon."

Staring at the large spiked club that was nearly as tall as himself, Siano grinned: "Just consider it early adaptation to the Thunderclap Eight Trigrams."

"Alright, but... shouldn't we grind the sharp parts a bit duller?"

Manba asked again hesitantly.

There were many sharp spikes on Fat Ox's spiked club; if left unmodified, one or two strikes might be fine, but after hundreds of hammer blows in a round, would he not be pierced like a sieve?

Siano nodded; this suggestion was indeed reasonable.

A moment later, the modification of the spikes was complete.

Manba and Fat Ox took turns stepping forward; like blacksmiths forging a weapon, they continuously swung the spiked club, smashing it down toward Siano's back.

Siano remained expressionless, his gaze fixed dead ahead; occasionally, when he truly could not bear it, he would bare his teeth and grimace, but he quickly suppressed it again.

Did it hurt? It certainly hurt, but if one could not even endure this much pain, how could one become strong quickly?

There was a nearly mad expectation in his eyes: Just like this! It must be like this!

—With the statue and the training suit enhancing him, constantly tempering his flesh with high-intensity strikes; day after day like this, once "Iron Block" and "Copper Head" were both fully mastered, what level would his physical strength reach?

(End of Chapter)