Chapter 6: Skin Refining

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

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

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

A moment later, he checked the other two herbs.

Only then did he place them back on the counter.

"This old man is willing to pay two taels of silver for these three herbs; I wonder what the little friend thinks?"

His tone was unhurried and quite confident.

The price he offered was already very fair.

"Then let's trade."

Lu Zhangsheng smiled and agreed directly.

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

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

The top priority was to quickly 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 keep it well, guest."

He said, then collected the three herbs.

"Hmm."

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

Leaving the pharmacy, he walked quickly along the street.

The figures on both sides gradually increased, and bursts of conversation and bargaining sounds drifted into his ears.

There were also some wealthy beautiful women taking their own daughters out to play.

This world was quite open, without the rule that women must stay in the boudoir.

Some young women even threw flirtatious glances at Lu Zhangsheng after seeing him, causing the female relatives beside them to giggle.

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

Naturally, he was quite "favored" by some women.

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

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

"How much for this whole sheep?"

Lu Zhangsheng 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 Zhangsheng 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 overflow slightly.

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

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

The big man explained casually.

"Give me a bag to pack it up."

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

"Alright."

The big man was delighted, took out a sack, packed the whole sheep meat, and handed it to Lu Zhangsheng.

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

Everything was ready, and he had no intention of playing, so he returned along the original path.

Walking all the way, just as he reached a corner, familiar conversation drifted into his ears.

"Big Brother, we looted more than ten taels of silver from that Lu kid, 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 in blue tight-fitting clothes were walking away along the street.

Each held a long knife in their hands, talking in low voices as they walked.

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

A pair of tiger eyes were filled with evil spirit.

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

Hearing their conversation, Lu Zhangsheng stopped in his tracks, killing intent flashing in his eyes.

His predecessor's head was cracked open by this person, and not only was his blood-money robbed, but his family property was also looted.

If the other party knew he had "died and returned to life," trouble would likely 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, 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 for now.

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

Lu Zhangsheng thought to himself.

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

He processed the whole sheep meat slightly and then began 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 thinking it was the family foundation left by Lu Uncle.

Time passed slowly.

Soon it was noon.

After eating and drinking his fill, Lu Zhangsheng came to the center of the courtyard and began to stand 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 figure of the Iron Cloth Shirt, and it was also the fundamental technique.

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

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

This state lasted for more than half an hour.

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

"Da da..."

Just then, a few light footsteps came, and Fang Tao crossed the courtyard fence and walked toward Lu Zhangsheng.

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

Seeing the visitor, Lu Zhangsheng smiled slightly.

"Okay."

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

He had also seen Lu Zhangsheng's changes these days, from initial suspicion to now being quite shaken.

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

"Bang, bang, bang..."

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

With his breathing, trickles of warm current surged toward the skin on his upper body, 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, Fang Tao held a wooden stick and smashed wildly against Lu Zhangsheng's body.

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

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

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

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

He looked at the numbers on the panel, Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Shirt (Not yet entered 99%), feeling very satisfied in his heart.

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

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

This practice had lasted for two hours.

But it was still a little bit short.

Lu Zhangsheng didn't call for the other party to stop; he prepared to break through this barrier in one go.

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

I don't know how long it had passed.

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

"This is the moment."

"Break for me."

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

Even the surrounding mist was blown away.

"Buzz, buzz..."

A buzzing sound rang in Lu Zhangsheng's ears, as if his skin membrane was vibrating.

The wooden stick hitting his body didn't cause the slightest pain, but rather some tingling.

The skin membrane on his upper body was emitting a faint glow, very magical.

At this moment, the Iron Cloth Shirt finally entered.

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

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