Chapter 41: Gold Touch

Too light!

Wang Yu tossed the two stone weights aside onto the ground, pulled his feet free from the soil, and shook his head.

Since fully awakening his Iron-Eating Crocodile bloodline, though his physique hadn’t changed dramatically, his strength and endurance had surged far beyond his half-awakened state—he now lifted six or seven hundred jin as easily as playing, and in overdrive mode, his explosive power could double again, allowing him to effortlessly raise over a thousand jin.

Then Wang Yu walked to the weapon rack, drew out a sharp wooden sword, and drove it hard into his own arm.

“Crack”

The wooden tip shattered instantly.

He rolled up his sleeve, exposing his entire arm.

The spot where the wooden sword had pierced showed only a faint white mark—not even a scratch on the skin.

Wang Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

After full awakening, his skin had become extraordinarily tough—not even wooden blades could cut it, and even an iron dagger would struggle to pierce it.

He felt that compared to his original body on Blue Star, this body was nothing less than a humanoid T-Rex, capable of crushing elephants and tigers with a single hand.

Beyond that, his spiritual power had also significantly increased after full awakening—though not as dramatically as his physical boost, it had risen by a full quarter, yet these were not his only gains from awakening.

As Wang Yu thought of this, a strange expression crossed his face, and he slowly closed his eyes, standing motionless.

“Thump” “Thump”

In the corner of the courtyard, a black-gray stone the size of an egg began trembling on its own; as time passed, its shaking grew more violent.

“Rise”

Wang Yu muttered lowly, opened his eyes, fixed them on the black-gray stone, and his pupils subtly widened.

“Whizz”

The black-gray stone shot abruptly from the soil, hovered briefly in midair, then floated slowly toward Wang Yu’s position.

Wang Yu’s forehead veins bulged, beads of sweat visible on his cheeks, yet he gritted his teeth and held on desperately.

“Crash”

The black-gray stone trembled all the way, then fell to the ground, unable to sustain its flight half a meter from Wang Yu.

Wang Yu plopped onto the ground, his face etched with exhaustion.

After half a year of experimentation, he had finally confirmed that his awakened talent was not Copper Skin and Iron Bones or Stone Armor, but “Gold Touch”—a rare ability to sense metal ores or metal objects.

“Gold Touch” was one of two rare abilities of the Iron-Eating Crocodile, rarely awakened, but as Cloud-Piercing Daoist had said, it was utterly useless.

He could only vaguely sense metal objects within a hundred-meter radius; for metal veins buried miles underground, this range was practically useless.

Yet during his experiments, Wang Yu discovered that Gold Touch could also move nearby metal objects in reality, much like the “telekinesis” once hyped in Western nations on Blue Star.

But he could only sense metal, move objects no farther than seven or eight meters, control only two or three jin at a time, and it drained his spiritual power immensely.

Moving a stone of that size with Gold Touch had already drained most of his spiritual energy—he couldn’t imagine any practical use in actual combat.

With his current physical strength, even a casual throw could send an object ten times farther.

Compared to Gold Touch, Wang Yu had wished to awaken “Copper Skin and Iron Bones” or “Stone Armor”—even the other rare ability, “Blood Rage,” would’ve been better.

The first two were clearly solid survival abilities; the latter would let him fight desperately in battle.

Thinking of this, Wang Yu sighed and stood up again.

Training to control metal objects with Gold Touch drained spiritual power too severely—he’d practiced it only a handful of times since awakening.

He spent most of his time instead on daily Qi absorption.

With his greatly enhanced spiritual sense and daily supplementation from Spirit Gathering Elixir, his Yin Water Technique had advanced rapidly over the past half-year—he now felt the second-layer bottleneck approaching.

But unfortunately, the few bottles of low-grade Spirit Gathering Elixir and Yin Spirit Qi had been exhausted recently; his cultivation speed plummeted, and now he could only endure barren, grueling practice.

After stretching his limbs, Wang Yu bent down, pressed his hands and feet against the ground, and moved like a quadrupedal beast in full sprint—the Wolf’s Four Steps.

After prolonged practice, he found the Wolf’s Four Steps improved his bodily reflexes and agility more noticeably.

This was also why, in previous battles, he could effortlessly dodge attacks using the Wolf’s Four Steps.

With his current physical strength, Blood Refining Soup had lost all effect; only the Four Beasts Figure Body Cultivation Method, if practiced daily, could still steadily enhance his strength.

Moreover, the half-bottle of Stone Essence Milk gifted by Yin Linglong was truly excellent—after each Four Beasts Figure session, just a sip restored most of his stamina, letting him resume training at full capacity.

If he ever got the chance, he must acquire more—it was invaluable for body cultivation.

Wang Yu had mastered the Wolf’s Four Steps thoroughly; in moments, he completed one full round.

He did not rest or repeat the Wolf’s Four Steps; instead, he lifted his head, drew in his chest, spread his legs straight apart, curled his hands into claws, opened his mouth—like a standing tiger ready to pounce and devour.

The First Form of the Tiger Pounce Diagram!

At half-awakened state, he could barely manage the Wolf’s Diagram; now fully awakened, his body could finally endure the Tiger Pounce Four Forms.

The moment he assumed this posture, his blood surged uncontrollably, the tendons in his arms grew numb and tingly, his ten fingers began pulsing rhythmically, and his heartbeat alternated between rapid and slow…

After about ten minutes, Wang Yu’s skin flushed slightly, and faint heat radiated from his entire body.

His movement suddenly shifted—he arched his back, thrust his spine backward like a spear, raised his shoulders as high as possible, and crossed his hands in a tight grip…

An hour later.

“Huff”

“Huff”

Wang Yu lay again in the center of the courtyard, gasping heavily, drenched in sweat, his skin faintly veiled in a thin white mist that clung and did not dissipate for a long while before slowly fading.

What was the origin of this Four Beasts Figure body cultivation method? Even with his bloodline-awakened physique, he could only reach the first eight forms.

The Bear Hug Diagram—he’d only attempted it once in overdrive and winced in pain, retreating immediately; let alone the final Monkey Roar Diagram.

Wang Yu pondered silently.

According to his super-thinking mode calculations, he’d need to increase his physical strength three or fourfold before he could barely complete the Bear Hug Four Forms.

Yet even so, the Tiger Pounce Four Forms’ effects were clearly superior to the Wolf’s Diagram, especially in dramatically enhancing wrist and finger strength.

After regaining some stamina, Wang Yu raised an arm, glanced at his seemingly ordinary palm, then curled his fingers into a claw, drove his hand backward into the nearby ground, and yanked upward.

A clay brick caked in soil was ripped from the earth, five fingers sunk halfway into the brick.

“Crash”

His fingers clenched—and the brick shattered from the center into a pile of rubble scattered across the ground.