boyutpedia Chapter 11 Minor Success in Stone Armor Technique
Chapter 11 Minor Success in Stone Armor Technique
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
Liang Cheng's days were very regular: he practiced standing meditation at dawn, boxing at dawn, learning to read in the afternoon, taking a medicinal bath at dusk, and practicing Stone Armor Kung Fu at night.
The effects of the medicinal bath gradually became apparent.
Yang Wei's specially formulated prescription has been nourishing his old injuries to his waist and knees. Now, when he exerts force, there is almost no resistance, and his blood and qi circulation is becoming smoother.
[Minor Success in Hunyuan Zhuang (102/500)]
【Raging Bull Strength, Minor Success (23/800)】
[Introduction to Stone Armor Kung Fu (Fragment) (199/200)]
The Stone Armor Technique is about to break through the Stone Skin Form and enter the next Stone Muscle Form stage.
As night deepened, Liang Cheng slipped away to a cave on a desolate beach.
He took out the hidden wooden stick and ointment, applied the ointment to his body, and felt a burning pain pierce his flesh. He then assumed the stone-skin stance, grabbed the wooden stick, and began to beat his body.
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
The sound echoed in the cave, his skin turned from red to purple, and sweat poured down like water. He gritted his teeth and continued to persevere.
With his last blow, he used all his strength to smash his left chest.
"Bang!"
The wooden stick broke instantly.
It felt as if a hard shell beneath the skin had suddenly shattered, followed by a surge of heat that coursed through the entire body. A layer of rock-like grayish-white light appeared on the surface of the skin, lasting for three breaths before slowly fading away.
[Stone Armor Technique (Fragment) - Minor Completion (1/800)]
[Unlocked: Stone Skin Pose]
It became.
Liang Cheng exhaled a breath of stale air and felt that his skin and flesh were much firmer, like he had an extra layer of thin nails, but his skin color was no longer as noticeably gray and white as before, and had returned to a normal skin color.
However, if he were to be hit by ordinary punches and kicks, he probably wouldn't even leave a red mark. He wiped off the medicine residue on his body and threw the broken stick into the sea.
Next, when practicing the Stone Muscle Pose, you need to use an iron sandbag filled with ten pounds of iron sand mixed with sawdust, and then pound it with your body. Also, the ointment needs to be upgraded.
The ointment was made with oyster powder and coarse salt as a base, plus iron vine juice and blood sand, but the cost suddenly increased.
Liang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, cleaned up all traces, and returned to the martial arts school.
Early the next morning.
In the front yard, Big Head is being scolded.
"Seven days of standing meditation and you're still like this!" Zhou Hu glared. "Have you even put your heart into it?"
Li Mao, standing nearby, couldn't help but sneer, "What's a poor wretch like you doing practicing martial arts?"
Big Head lowered his head, clenched his fists, and his eyes were red.
He practiced desperately for those seven days, but unfortunately his physique was too poor and his progress was desperately slow. However, since his family had borrowed money to pay for the tuition, he was determined to persevere.
Unfortunately, even if he secretly practiced at night until his legs went weak and he collapsed, his waist was still weak and his legs were still wobbly.
When Liang Cheng passed by the front yard, he saw Da Tou in a sorry state, but he didn't go up to help. Not everyone is as lucky as him, with the fate of a mayfly to protect them.
If you can't even get through this stage, what's the point of practicing martial arts?
It's better to give up sooner rather than later.
……
The next day, Liang Cheng went into the pharmacy.
"Iron bone vine juice?" The old doctor looked up.
"Yes."
"One tael and one mace." The old doctor took out a ceramic jar from the bottom of the cabinet, peeled off the wax seal, and a pungent smell wafted out. "One mace at a time, every other day."
Liang Cheng paid five taels of silver directly, and then went to another place to buy blood sand and iron sand to sew cloth bags.
Fortunately, there was an unexpected windfall; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to withstand it.
That night at Shi'ao.
The dark red ointment was prepared according to the instructions and applied to the skin. The burning pain was twice as intense as before. Liang Cheng assumed a stone-like posture and his breathing became short and deep.
The sandbags were thrown down directly.
"Bang!"
His skin turned red, and a stinging pain penetrated his muscles. The veins on his forehead throbbed, but he didn't stop, continuing to pound his limbs, chest, and back.
When the beating ended, his whole body was red, and sweat mixed with ointment dripped down, but his muscles gradually warmed up, and a weak heat flowed between the fibers.
[Stone Armor Technique (Fragment) - Minor Completion (2/800)]
The progress is slow, but it's real and tangible.
Liang Cheng resumed his routine in the days that followed, practicing standing meditation and boxing during the day and refining his Stone Armor Kung Fu at night, making steady progress.
Before we knew it, another half month had passed.
[Minor Success in Hunyuan Zhuang (145/500)]
【Raging Bull Strength, Minor Success (63/800)】
[Stone Armor Technique (Fragment) - Minor Completion (19/800)]
The martial arts school stopped distributing medicinal soup once during the course of the training. Except for Zhou Hu and Zhao Yuan, all the other disciples were the same. Otherwise, their progress would have been more obvious.
However, Liang Cheng didn't think too much about it. He was focused on steady progress and didn't want to think about anything else.
In the front yard, Big Head's struggle was even more brutal.
Even when I practiced standing in the horse stance, my legs would still tremble. I would bump my face against the stake and get bruised and swollen. I would even catch a cold and be sick for three days, then grit my teeth and get up.
Despite his persistence, he was defeated in three moves by a fourteen-year-old boy during sparring, and he squatted down in the corner, burying his face in his knees.
Liang Cheng happened to be passing by: "Feeling unwell?"
"Am I not cut out for martial arts?"
Big Head's voice sounded somewhat bitter.
"Of the hundred people who come to the martial arts school, only three to five will eventually reach the Ming Jin level," Liang Cheng said calmly. "If you leave now, no one will laugh at you."
After a long silence, Da Tou finally said, unwilling to give up, "Then I'll try for another month."
"Where's the money?"
Liang Cheng's question was direct, like a knife stabbing into Da Tou's heart. Da Tou opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
His family had already borrowed money to pay for his tuition. If his martial arts training went smoothly, it would be fine, but now he felt he had no confidence to ask for more money.
"I……"
His throat was a little dry.
"Without money, practicing martial arts is just empty talk," Liang Cheng said calmly. "Can you really afford to fail at martial arts and end up in debt?"
Big Head's eyes reddened: "Then what should I do? How did you manage to do that in the first place?"
Liang Cheng was very direct: "I have a good understanding, we are different."
Big Head fell completely silent.
"Think it over carefully before you come back to me."
After saying that, Liang Cheng turned and left.
Da Tou stood there, staring at Liang Cheng's back, then gritted his teeth, turned around, and ran back to the training ground.
It's still a few days until the month is up, I'll try again!
……
On the way back to the backyard, Liang Cheng was also doing some mental calculations.
Five ounces of iron bone vine juice, two ounces of blood sand, and another sum of money from the iron sand bag—half of the more than twenty ounces of silver he had taken from Liu Biao had already been spent.
The Stone Muscle Cultivation method requires daily medication, costing at least fifteen taels a month.
We need to make some money.
Liang Cheng never expected that now that he has become a disciple of a martial arts school, he would still face the same problems he had when he first transmigrated.
The saying "wealth, companions, methods, and land" is truly accurate.
In fact, martial arts school disciples can receive some jobs from the school every month, such as escorting goods, patrolling the streets, and clearing out small groups of pirates.
The reward depends on the difficulty, ranging from three to five taels to tens of taels. The martial arts school will also take a cut, otherwise where would the disciples' medicine soup cost?
Furthermore, to establish a martial arts school, one must demonstrate their strength and avoid unnecessary trouble.
However, accepting a mission means leaving the martial arts school, which would interfere with training. Moreover, swords and blades are indiscriminate, and while Stone Armor Kung Fu can resist blunt force, it is ineffective against sharp weapons...
Liang Cheng clenched his fist, and the toughness beneath his skin was faintly visible.
"The Stone Armor Technique has been partially mastered, so it's safer to proceed with caution."
The next afternoon, Liang Cheng found Zhou Hu.
"Want to take on a mission?" Zhou Hu wasn't surprised. After all, learning martial arts was extremely expensive, and it was difficult to make ends meet by relying solely on the allowances for martial arts school disciples.
With the exception of Zhao Yuan and him, one being the eldest disciple and the other the disciple with the highest talent valued most, Yang Wei naturally treated them differently.
"For a newcomer's first mission, it's best to choose 'street patrol' or 'dock defense' for the safest option, and the reward is two taels of silver."
Liang Cheng looked at the bulletin board.
[Street Patrol]: From 7 PM to 11 PM daily, patrol the three streets east of the town to prevent theft and fights. Monthly reward: two taels of silver.
[Dock Defense Assistant]: Assist the town's security office in maintaining dock order and resolving disputes. Monthly remuneration is three taels of silver.
[Escort]: Escort a caravan to a neighboring county. The round trip takes three days. The reward is five taels of silver. Requires a martial artist at the mid-stage of Ming Jin or above.
[Suppression]: It has been reported that a small group of pirates is causing trouble on Black Reef Island. A team of five is needed to suppress them. The reward is ten taels of silver.
Liang Cheng's gaze lingered on the word "suppression" for a moment.
Ten taels of silver would have been enough for him for half a month, but the situation was unknown and the danger was too great, so he decided to give it up. At this point, Liang Cheng already had a plan in mind.
"I'll take on the 'dock defense' mission first."