Chapter 64: The Battle Begins

Bang!

Hao Yi threw a punch into Li Fei's chest, producing a dull thud.

The force of this punch was not light, yet Li Fei stood his ground, not moving an inch.

This time, the Myriad Blood Bead did not absorb much of the damage for him; most of the impact was rebounded by the force within his body, which acted like a super-compressed spring.

Then, Hao Yi unleashed a streak of crimson Innate Qi toward Li Fei.

In the past, the Innate Qi he projected would enter Li Fei's body quite smoothly, but today, this streak was repelled.

Li Fei felt that as soon as the scorching energy touched his body, the compressed force beneath his skin was completely triggered, exploding with a boom!

His own vigorous blood energy collided with Hao Yi's Innate Qi, scattering it and vibrating it out of his body.

Whether it was the impact of external force, strikes, or the various special damages brought by Innate Qi—including spell damage—he could resist them, or even rebound them.

This was the extraordinary power brought by the Steel Armor Implant—Tyrant Body!

With the Myriad Blood Bead, Li Fei's "health bar" would only grow thicker, and now the extraordinary power from the implant increased his defense, turning him into a boss-like existence with high defense and thick health!

After hard-tanking one of Hao Yi's Innate Qi strikes, Li Fei felt his internal blood energy had depleted significantly, and the compressed force beneath his skin had released a portion, no longer as potent as before.

"You are currently at the early stage of Body Breaking. Each time you use Tyrant Body, the duration will not exceed one minute at most. Furthermore, the more hits you take, the shorter that duration will become."

Hao Yi said to Li Fei, "Previously, I had you cultivate the Heavenly Gang Tyrant Body not only to better absorb the Steel Armor Implant, but also so that at this stage, you could better master this extraordinary power and extend the duration of Tyrant Body as much as possible. Now, try to control the power within you using the techniques of the Heavenly Gang Tyrant Body."

Li Fei did as instructed, attempting to manipulate the power from the Steel Armor Implant using the force-exertion techniques of the Heavenly Gang Tyrant Body.

Sure enough, he felt much more agile, and his control over the power within his body had increased.

"Catch."

Hao Yi tossed a long saber to Li Fei.

This time, it was not a wooden saber, but a real, sharpened blade!

Hao Yi himself held a real saber as well:

"Come, let's fight with these."

"Alright."

Li Fei was not afraid of fighting with a real saber; he swung the blade at Hao Yi without hesitation.

Although "Tyrant Body" primarily enhanced defense, his speed and strength also received a certain boost while in the "Tyrant Body" state.

Clang—

A shower of sparks erupted. Hao Yi easily parried Li Fei's blade with a Rolling Thunder stance, then followed up with a slash at Li Fei.

Swish!

Li Fei's clothes were torn, and a white mark was left on the skin of his chest.

He looked down at his chest; Hao Yi had used significant force, yet the blade failed to break his skin and was instead rebounded.

This gave him a further understanding of the defensive power of "Tyrant Body."

It could not only defend against punches, kicks, and blunt weapons, but also against the slashes of blades and swords!

Next, Li Fei and Hao Yi continued to trade blows, with Li Fei fully utilizing the advantages of his "Tyrant Body," attacking without defending.

During the exchange, Li Fei discovered that his perception had become much sharper than before; he could sense danger before Hao Yi made a move, and could even predict the landing point of the opponent's attacks.

This perceptual ability gave Li Fei a great advantage in the fight, and by predicting Hao Yi's moves in advance, he even nearly landed a hit on him!

"Hm?"

Hao Yi looked at Li Fei in surprise.

He was very familiar with this student's level of blade technique; surely, after obtaining the "Tyrant Body," his blade technique couldn't have advanced by leaps and bounds, could it?

"Teacher, I feel my perception has become much sharper."

Li Fei voiced his realization.

"So that's it."

Hao Yi said, "Ordinary Steel Armor Implants only have the 'Tyrant Body' ability. You are using a second-grade superior Steel Armor, which is why you have an additional extraordinary ability in perception. This ability is very precious; you must polish it well. In the future, the uses of this ability might even surpass those of 'Tyrant Body'."

Li Fei nodded.

In just this short while, his swollen muscles and stretched tendons returned to their original state, and his skin color faded back—the time for "Tyrant Body" had run out.

After it ended, there was an indescribable sense of emptiness.

"Only lasted a few dozen seconds..."

Li Fei felt this duration was a bit too short.

"Again!"

Still unsatisfied, he triggered the Steel Armor Implant once more, entering the "Tyrant Body" state.

After using "Tyrant Body" three times, Li Fei felt a strong sense of hunger; the Steel Armor Implant could no longer "exert force."

"At the early stage of Body Breaking, you can only trigger the implant's power two to three times in a short period, after which you need to replenish nutrients. You can take Iron Origin Pills; one pill is enough for a day of cultivation."

Hao Yi told Li Fei.

"Teacher, besides Iron Origin Pills, are there other pills I can take?"

Li Fei asked.

"The Martial Arts Hall has two other types of pills available for purchase: Gold Birth Pills and Force Transformation Pills. However, the effects of these two are not as good as the Iron Origin Pill. The Gold Birth Pill is better, while the Force Transformation Pill is the worst. Once you finish your Iron Origin Pills, remember to buy Gold Birth Pills for cultivation; definitely do not buy Force Transformation Pills."

Hao Yi warned.

"Understood."

Li Fei nodded, "Teacher, I have some matters at home, so I'll head back for today."

"Hm."

Hao Yi, suspecting nothing, nodded.

Li Fei then bid farewell to Hao Yi and headed toward the supply building, familiar with the route:

"Hello, how much is a bottle of Force Transformation Pills?"

"55 yuan a bottle, sixty pills per bottle."

"What about Gold Birth Pills?"

"78 yuan a bottle, forty pills per bottle. The efficacy of these two medicines is about the same, but the Gold Birth Pill is slightly better."

Because Li Fei had left a good impression on the administrator here, the person took the initiative to explain a bit more.

"Hm, give me five bottles of Force Transformation Pills, thanks."

Li Fei was now considered well-off; he handed over a stack of bills and ordered five bottles of Force Transformation Pills directly.

From the pricing and quantity of the pills, one could see that the efficacy of one Gold Birth Pill was roughly equivalent to 1.5 Force Transformation Pills.

A normal martial artist would definitely choose the former, as it meant taking fewer pills.

But Li Fei definitely chose the latter.

After receiving the pills, he opened a bottle on the spot and took one to test the effect.

Just as Hao Yi said, the effect of this pill was mediocre; after taking one, the hunger was only barely satisfied.

If it were the Iron Origin Pill with the best efficacy, taking one would be enough to keep the Steel Armor Implant inside his body "full" for several meals.

However, using pills like the Force Transformation Pill was not just about saving money for Li Fei; it also allowed him to level up faster.

Because the quantity of pills consumed increased, the damage shared by the Myriad Blood Bead increased, and naturally, the energy absorbed increased as well.

"It took me only 25 days to break through the Embryo Nourishing stage. I wonder how long it will take to break through the Body Breaking stage?"

Li Fei looked up at the azure sky above.

The sky was high and the clouds were light; it was a fine season.

On the night of August 11th, outside the main gate of the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold.

Liu Saner was pacing back and forth outside the gate in anxiety, while Sister Hua, still dressed in her usual flamboyant style, stood to the side with a gloomy face.

"Sister Hua!"

A lackey from the stronghold ran up to Sister Hua, "They are urging us very urgently over there, saying they will wait at most another ten minutes. If our candidate hasn't arrived, they will replace him immediately."

"Screw them!"

Sister Hua was furious, "Does that Wang Huzi dare to replace my man?!"

"Sister Hua..."

The lackey looked at her timidly.

Tonight was the day of the "Dragon-Tiger Fight" that Sister Hua had mentioned to Li Fei. Sister Hua had recommended Li Fei to be the "Tiger General," but Li Fei had been out of contact for several days, and with the match about to start, his absence naturally made people anxious and irritable.

"What exactly did he tell you before?"

Sister Hua asked Liu Saner this question for the umpteenth time.

Liu Saner was also jumping with anxiety: "He just told me he had something to deal with and would come to the stronghold after a while, but he would definitely arrive before the Dragon-Tiger Fight started."

"Then why hasn't he come yet?"

"Holy crap!"

Liu Saner suddenly exclaimed, then sprinted forward at the speed of a hundred-meter dash.

Sister Hua looked up and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Ahead, a figure appeared wearing a cyan ghost mask, dressed in a black martial robe, and holding a saber; the dim yellow lights stretched his shadow long on the ground.

The Cyan-Faced Ghost had arrived!

PS: This coming week, we are facing the most important recommendation period for a new book. It mainly depends on the follow-up reading data, so I hope everyone will follow the reading every day. This is the most critical period for this book.

(End of chapter)