Chapter 226: Primordial Iron Garment

The ripples caused by Du Yan Lu Zhigang gradually dissipated; after all, Lu Zhigang was elusive and hard to track, even more difficult to find than a flower-plucking thief.

At first, many people searched for him, but as time passed, they gave up one after another, and the matter was left unsettled.

Those in Gongliang City with sensitive sources of information were shocked to hear of his exploits in Fucheng.

It turned out that under the hands of Du Yan Lu Zhigang, there were already the wronged souls of martial masters.

The martial master Gao Laozhuang, who had a bounty on his head from the Thousand Faces Hall, was taken down by the person who left their name to claim the reward: Lu Zhigang.

Du Yan was truly poisonous; he had actually killed a genuine martial master while being of a lower rank.

Even if that was a notorious, stray-dog martial master, he was still a formidable existence with copper skin and iron bones, and jade-transformed meridians.

Lu Zhigang killed an enemy of a higher rank while still in the Blood-Qi stage; regardless of whether it was through poisoning, sneak attacks, or planned assassinations, it was a battle record of true gold and silver.

By comparison, Bao Tiefeng only losing one hand was considered lucky.

As Lu Zhigang hid and disappeared once again, the sensation he caused gradually subsided.

The name Du Yan Lu Zhigang also became an unavoidable topic for those practicing martial arts, even serving to stop infants from crying at night.

Another person of interest, Zhou You, was like the center of a storm, yet he remained incomparably leisurely and calm.

Using "recovering from injuries" as an excuse, he usually stayed indoors, keeping to a strict, punctual routine between his home and the medicine hall.

After all, he had fought 4 life-and-death duels during the day and killed 3 Transformation Phantoms at night in a single day; it would be unbelievable if he didn't have some injuries on him after such frequent, fierce battles.

In reality, Xingren Tang was just a cover.

Every time, Zhou You would leave halfway through to go to Tianjing Fang to practice boxing and accumulate Experience Points.

When night fell, he would shuttle through the streets and alleys of the city, searching for the traces of phantoms.

The panel was also very helpful; once a phantom was discovered, it would immediately issue a Trial Project, ranging from one star to three stars.

Whether they were Void Phantoms or Transformation Phantoms, strong or weak, they hid in residential houses wearing human skin, feasting on living people.

As soon as Zhou You scanned a target, he would immediately break in and take action, resolving it cleanly and efficiently.

He wasn't afraid of the commotion being too loud; in any case, the City Gate Guard would seal the scene afterward and eliminate the traces.

In just 4 or 5 days, the battle record Zhou You handed over to the City Gate Guard already included 23 Void Phantoms and 5 Transformation Phantoms.

He hadn't noticed it before, but now he was startled—it turned out so many phantoms were hidden in the city.

The phantoms he killed alone were merely a drop in the bucket compared to the vast number hidden away.

What is a chaotic world? It already was one.

When Zhou You handed in his battle records, it caused a sensation among the City Gate Guard.

Normally, when the City Gate Guard surrounded and killed phantoms, it was like hunters hunting tigers in groups; they had to have strength in numbers to succeed.

They also had to conduct multi-faceted reconnaissance beforehand, catching clues to precisely locate the target.

Zhou You, on the other hand, was like an angler who never returned empty-handed; he always succeeded, and every time he brought back a whole string of them.

Some City Gate Guards didn't even have a lifetime of achievements that could compare to what he had gained in just a few days.

"This kid is born to do this job."

A Captain urged Captain Chang, "We cannot let such talent go; hurry and recruit him."

Captain Chang spread his hands helplessly and said, "This person is proud and arrogant; he responds to soft tactics but not hard ones. Forcing him will only be counterproductive. Don't you all forget how he left the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall?"

Wang Jianxiong had neglected Zhou You and concentrated resources on cultivating Lu Jianqing, which led to the split of the Five Tigers and the great event of Zhou You's departure.

In the past, no one paid attention to the low-key and peaceful Zhou You.

After the day of the Five Tigers' split, everyone realized that Zhou You had a strong character and would not compromise on certain matters. Now, the City Gate Guard was using the assessment period as an excuse to establish a connection with him, and they were at peace with each other.

Once there was an attempt to break this tacit situation, not only would it fail, but it would also be counterproductive.

"Then forget it, let it be."

Captain Chang raised his hand and said, "Because of Zhou You, our hunting performance for this quarter ranks 2nd in this prefecture, only behind the Fucheng City Gate Guard. This is an unprecedentedly good result."

"The rewards from above have been issued; everyone has a share."

Someone asked, "What about Zhou You? He is not yet a member of the City Gate Guard."

Logically, Zhou You was the greatest contributor and should be rewarded, but due to his status, many internal rewards were inconvenient to give.

Captain Chang, confident and composed, stroked his beard, "No need to reward him yet; I have already given it in advance. These are things he should have done."

Tianjing Fang...

Zhou You opened the box given by Captain Chang. Inside was a set of City Gate Guard official robes, with a piece of iron-wood and copper-skinned waist token pressed on top. On the front were two lines of small characters: "City Gate Guard Squad Leader, in charge of thirty men," and on the back, the four large characters: "Enfeoffed Monarch World Guard."

Captain Chang was playing tricks; this set of robes and the waist token were only for official status. Putting them on meant becoming an official City Gate Guard Squad Leader, capable of managing 30 elite soldiers and strong warriors.

"A pity; the fabric is good, and the cut is nice, but I can't really wear it."

Zhou You shook his head with a faint smile. He thought that was all there was in the box, but when he lifted it to the bottom, he saw something else.

"General Unloading Armor: Primordial Iron Garment Chapter"

A secret record of the City Gate Guard's internal fist technique. The content was the training and fighting methods for the General Unloading Armor from entry level to the late stage of Blood-Vitality, and it even included a Hard Qigong... Primordial Iron Garment.

The "General Unloading Armor Great Cloak" passed to him by Li Hao, as well as Zhang Shiyu's "Thousand Scales Facing the Sun, Ten Thousand Helmets," were all parts of this Hard Qigong, Primordial Iron Garment.

This was a secret technique that the City Gate Guard did not pass on to outsiders.

Zhou You felt this thin booklet was extremely heavy. This was clearly bait; eating it would bind him even deeper to the City Gate Guard.

However, the temptation of the Hard Qigong, Primordial Iron Garment, was too great.

Once this Hard Qigong was mastered, his physical strength at the Blood-Qi stage would rival that of a martial master, and it would also have an amplifying effect on his Lightness Skill and fist techniques.

Why had his Lightness Skill been slow to progress? Because his physical strength was not up to standard; his speed had already reached the ceiling, and any faster would cause his body to collapse.

The power of his attacks was not strong enough, which ultimately came down to insufficient physical strength.

Cultivating this Hard Qigong could make up for all his current shortcomings and raise his strength to a higher level.

After thinking it over, he finally decided to take the bait.

"General Unloading Armor Great Cloak Lv5, converting to Primordial Iron Garment, processing in progress!"

"Primordial Iron Garment has reached the introductory level, level Iv2."

During the transformation process, Zhou You felt his entire body loosen, as if he had taken off a cast-iron vest weighing several dozen catties; as the rolling heat flowed beneath his skin and spread throughout his body, it felt like he was wearing a soft outer garment woven from gold and silver threads, close-fitting and light.

Although the level decreased from the General Unloading Armor great mantle to the Primordial Iron Garment, the transformation it brought was immense.

Without any decrease in defense, the flexibility and agility of his body rose by several levels.

This meant that activating Hard Qigong would not affect the free movement of his joints, remaining as agile and swift as in his normal state.

Like the Hard Qigong of some farm-style martial arts, punching iron sand or head-butting stone pillars, which directly causes the joints and meridians to necrose and the flesh and blood to keratinize, ultimately reducing one to a clumsy, stiff, foolish brute who can only take a beating but cannot strike back—stupid!

The Primordial Iron Garment is truly worthy of being the top-tier Hard Qigong of the City Gate Guard; the boost it brings to one's strength is comprehensive.

Zhou You sensed that his overall strength had faint signs of further improvement.

(End of this chapter)