chsdbacks Chapter 26 Struggle for Protection
Chapter 26 Struggle for Protection
Sixty-one masters of skin refining, including sixteen masters of flesh refining!
These people are generally able to achieve good results in the major exams and become promising martial arts talents.
At the grand martial arts arena, everyone was eager to participate after Wei Jinlin gave his speech.
If one can obtain demon flesh to aid in cultivation, one can gain a significant advantage over others and is more likely to be favored by martial arts sects and join them.
It's important to understand that even among martial arts talents, there's no guarantee of joining a sect. Especially for established sects, even those ranked in the top fifty of the Martial Arts Division struggle to gain entry.
Because every county has a military service department, and although they may rank in the top fifty here, they may not be as good as the disciples of other military service departments.
Wei Jinlin said, "Now, you can try anything you want and are allowed to use all martial arts techniques. However, there are a total of thirty rows of iron stakes. You must strike the stakes before you can move on to the next row."
As soon as these words were spoken, many people rushed forward.
Among them was Chen Jinyang, who, who was usually arrogant and indifferent, now charged forward, looking at the corpse of the Iron-Scaled Python Demon thirty feet away, a hint of greed in his eyes.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
He slammed his hand down on each iron stake as he passed it, and soon passed three stakes in a row.
But just as he passed the fifth obstacle and was eager to move on, he suddenly realized that his internal energy and blood were disordered. He caught a stitch, felt a sharp pain in his chest, and coughed up blood.
His expression changed drastically, and he finally calmed down, belatedly realizing that the oppressive aura emanating from the Iron-Scaled Python Demon not far away was already unbearable for him.
My chest feels tight, and my breathing is somewhat labored.
He hurriedly retreated, his face showing shock and resentment. He saw that Chen Feng, a cousin of the same age and one of the sixteen flesh-refining martial artists, had already reached the tenth position.
I could vaguely hear people talking around me:
"Chen Jinyang actually coughed up blood and staggered back? Isn't he the Chen family's genius?"
"He's hardly a genius! He just has the name of the eldest son of the Chen family. In reality, Chen Feng is the real genius. They are both members of the Chen family and are serving in the same year, but he has been training his body for a long time."
"Yes, I heard that Chen Jinyang failed to break through to the Body Refinement Realm a few days ago, and he doesn't seem to have any chance of breaking through anytime soon!"
Chen Jinyang retreated outside the area of the iron stakes, listening to the discussions of the crowd, his face somewhat grim.
Seeing this, Lu Ming's eyes flashed. He hadn't expected that Chen Jinyang, as the eldest son of a martial arts family, would also fail to break through to the Body Refinement stage.
The transition from skin refining to meat refining is a hurdle that has stumped many people.
At this moment, many people understood this and looked at the sixteen flesh-refining martial artists at the forefront with longing in their eyes.
Lu Ming didn't stand still; he stepped forward into the area of iron stakes and gave it a try.
He immediately realized that the deeper he went into the area of the iron stakes, that is, the closer he got to the corpse of the Iron Scale Python Demon, the stronger the oppressive aura he felt.
boom! boom! boom!
He struck the iron stake with the Nine Palaces Palm technique, making a loud noise.
However, the further he went in, the stronger the pressure from the Iron-Scaled Python Demon became, requiring him to expend a large portion of his power to resist it.
With his advanced skin-refining cultivation, by the fifth strike, his remaining strength was only enough to barely strike the iron stake. If he didn't control it properly, he would get a stitch in his side and be injured!
Thinking of Chen Jinyang's fate, Lu Ming did not force his way forward. Instead, he stayed in the area of the fifth stake, trying to guess Wei Jinlin's intentions while continuously using the Nine Palaces Palm to strike the iron stake.
boom! boom! boom!
The iron stakes made a series of clanging sounds, and at the same time, a message came through the supernatural power panel.
[Currently evolving the Palm Dao Divine Power (21/100)...]
[It's evolving...]
[Currently evolving the Palm Dao Divine Power (25/100)...]
As his experience in mastering the Dao steadily increased, while others struggled to keep going, Lu Ming felt a sense of satisfaction every time he saw his experience in mastering the Dao increase by 1 point, and his whole body was filled with fighting spirit.
Half an hour later, he was finally exhausted and could no longer withstand the oppressive aura of the Iron-Scaled Python Demon. Only then did he retreat and withdraw from the area of the iron stakes.
"I feel like my body has become stronger after training in the iron stake area."
"Yes, I feel so relaxed after I came out."
Hearing the whispers around him, Lu Ming nodded secretly.
He also discovered that cultivating under the oppressive aura of the Iron-Scaled Python Demon seemed to yield better results.
The pressure alone can actually increase cultivation efficiency?
The sheer terror of the demons left Lu Ming speechless. And this was just a dead demon; how terrifying must the living one that ravaged the city be?
At the same time, a fiery look appeared in his eyes as he looked at the area of iron stakes in front of him.
If he could cultivate here every day, he might be able to break through to the Great Perfection of Flesh Refinement without using demon flesh!
At this point, most of the disciples could no longer withstand the strain and retreated.
Only four or five people were still struggling to hold on. They were also the ones who had gone the furthest, reaching around the fifteenth stake, and they were very powerful.
One of them was Chen Feng, the genius from the Chen family.
There were two other women, each with a different kind of beauty. One of them had a cold and aloof expression and held a bamboo weapon; she was none other than Feng Qingzhu.
The other one, with long, slender legs, tall and graceful, and skilled in leg techniques, was Liu Yiyi.
These people persisted for a while longer, but ultimately could not take another step forward to get the red tag, so they had to retreat.
"As you've probably all noticed, cultivating under the oppressive power of the Iron-Scaled Python Demon can increase cultivation efficiency."
On the high platform to the left, Wei Jinlin saw that all the disciples had retreated and spoke.
"My original intention in setting up this special training was to enable you to resist the pressure when facing monsters and increase your chances of escaping."
"The ability to increase cultivation efficiency under pressure is merely a side effect. Moreover, this method carries certain risks; I just saw some people injured and vomiting blood."
"Therefore, this large martial arts arena is only open for three hours a day, and martial artists in the Flesh Refining Realm can cultivate throughout the entire time."
"Martial artists who have not reached the Flesh Refining Realm can only cultivate once a day. Once they cannot persevere and have to retreat, they cannot enter the Iron Stakes Area again."
"Unless a flesh-refining martial artist is willing to provide you with protection and rescue you when you are in danger and unable to retreat on your own, then even if you achieve the Great Perfection of Skin Refining, you can still cultivate throughout the entire process."
Even so, each flesh-refining martial artist can only protect one person.
Upon hearing this, Lu Ming frowned slightly. If that meant he could only cultivate here for half an hour each day, wouldn't that mean he could only cultivate here for half an hour each day?
Then the enhancement effect on cultivation will be minimal!
As for seeking refuge with a martial artist specializing in flesh refinement...
Lu Ming looked around and saw that after Wei Jinlin finished speaking, many martial artists who had reached the Great Perfection of Skin Refining were already looking for those experts in Meat Refining, their faces showing respect, and they started to take out their wallets!
"Senior Brother Zhao, would you be willing to protect me? I am willing to offer you ten packets of Qi-Nourishing Powder."
"Senior Sister Liu, we are both from the Flying Dragon Martial Arts School, could you please do me a favor? I'll offer half a bottle of Qi-boosting pills."
"Fifth brother, we are all direct descendants of the Chen family. I am willing to give up my share of the family business next quarter and transfer it to you, hoping only... hoping only that you can provide some protection."
Even Chen Jinyang, somewhat embarrassed, approached his cousin Chen Feng for protection.
All of this is related to whether he can advance further. The difference between half an hour of cultivation every day and three hours a day is enormous!
Exam results are crucial to everyone's future, so naturally everyone has to strive for them!
Lu Ming glanced at the price and a thought struck him.
With the Li family gone, his own Ganlin Powder is now priceless and unavailable, but he can make it himself as long as he has the money, so it should be very popular!
He took out several packets of Ganlin powder in exchange for two and a half hours of extra time to cultivate in the iron stake area, which was definitely worthwhile.
Thinking this, he immediately walked towards those flesh-refining martial artists.
But just as he approached, those people frowned and turned away.
All that could be heard were whispers from those around them:
"Lu Ming has offended Shen Changfeng, and he still wants to make deals with those flesh-refining martial artists? I'm afraid there's no hope."
"Yes, when Senior Zhou from Lingyun Sect returned to the city to open a money exchange, the Shen family contributed the most. It is said that Senior Zhou met with Shen Changfeng several times after his return, and praised his talent."
"If Lu Ming doesn't achieve good results in the final exam and can't join a sect, he'll likely face certain death. However, if he can't get the protection of a flesh-refining martial artist, he'll probably fall behind others and struggle to rank among the top in the final exam."
"Hehe, isn't this a good thing for us? We have one less competitor."
Upon hearing these words, Lu Ming abruptly stopped and carefully observed the expressions of those people. Indeed, none of them wanted to have anything to do with him.
Unexpectedly, even with Ganlin San (a type of medicinal powder), I can't spend it!
Lu Ming felt frustrated and thought to himself, "You're all so scared by Shen Changfeng? Where is your martial spirit?"
A group of people with weak wills will definitely not achieve much in the future!
He muttered a few curses to himself, then suddenly his eyes lit up when he saw that one of the flesh-refining martial artists hadn't retreated and was walking towards him.
That was... a woman!