"What's wrong? Is there something up with the Golden Bell Shield?" Qin Yuesheng asked upon seeing Qin Yu's expression.
"Young Master, the Golden Bell Shield is a technique that trains both the exterior body and Inner Strength, but it's one of the four Divine Skills never taught outsiders by the Grandmaster Damo, ordinary people can't obtain it."
"Grandmaster Damo, four Divine Skills?" Qin Yuesheng scratched his head: "I don't understand, tell me more."
"Three hundred years ago, the Shaolin Temple was the foremost martial arts sanctuary in the Central Plains, housing a vast collection of martial arts cultivation techniques, revered by people worldwide. Later, a young Martial Monk was expelled by the Shaolin abbot for breaking the monastery rule against killing,
this person named Damo was a once-in-a-century martial arts genius, who even while at Shaolin had already comprehended and mastered all martial arts in the Scripture Pavilion,
after leaving Shaolin, he traveled north from the south, challenging countless martial arts experts and renowned masters, some of whom had been famous for years and held great esteem.
But they all failed one by one before Damo's skills, earning him fame as the Shaolin ex-disciple. Later, Damo established the Damo Temple in the north, widely recruiting disciples, and stood in opposition to Shaolin Temple, becoming known among martial artists as the Twin Temples of Buddhism."
"Grandmaster Damo lived until he was one hundred and twenty-six, his martial prowess and Inner Strength were beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Before his death, he passed down four Divine Skills, each with tremendous power, the Golden Bell Shield is one of them. So young master, this is something I really can't manage."
Qin Yuesheng awkwardly clapped his hands: "Haha, so that's how it is. If that's the case then I'll learn the iron shirt instead."
"Alright. Here's the book on iron shirt training. You can take it back and practice it yourself." Qin Yu took out a blue-covered book from his chest and handed it to Qin Yuesheng.
Qin Yu felt inexplicably perplexed about why carrying a martial arts manual wasn't uncomfortable.
Given his duty to reclaim stolen goods, Qin Yu did not linger longer. After bidding farewell to Qin Feng and Qin Yuesheng, he departed swiftly.
These past few days, Qin Yuesheng hadn't spent any points, but had saved up 30 points of All-Purpose Essence. Counting leftover 20 points from consuming Dragon Tiger Frost Jade Dew that night, he currently had 50 points of All-Purpose Essence available.
After tasting Small Rejuvenation Pill and Dragon Tiger Frost Jade Dew, which were superior in taste and effect, Qin Yuesheng no longer felt content with consuming herbs.
The day after returning from the Celestial Immortal Pavilion, he asked the Qin Mansion's chief steward, Qin Zheng, to go to West Qi Mountain Temple and buy pills.
However, unexpectedly, West Qi Mountain Temple had mysteriously closed its mountain doors for a while, even stopping pill sales, leaving Qin Yuesheng bewildered, forced to continue relying on eating raw medicinal herbs to increase All-Purpose Essence.
Super Auxiliary Tool
Attributes | Skills | Enhancement | Decomposition | Fusion
...
Strength: 2.0 (far surpasses ordinary people) (+)
Agility: 2.5 (exceptional speed) (+)
Constitution: 1.0 (normal) (+)
Spirit: 1.0 (normal) (+)
Charm: 1.0 (normal) (+)
All-Purpose Essence: 50
...
Personal Skills:
Thievery (3/20) Introduction
Passive ①: [Silent as a Whisper] - Theft success rate +10%
Flying Knife Skill (0/10) Beginner
Universal Text Recognition (0/160) Mastery
Passive ①: [Text Affinity] - Decreases difficulty of learning text.
Passive ②: [Text Mastery] - Increases speed of learning text.
Tiger Crane Double Form Fist (0/40) Proficient
Passive ①: [Vigorous and Rapid] - Tiger form's strike power +5%, Crane form's speed +5%
Bear Stance (0/20) Introduction
[Fragmentary] Nourishing Skill (0/240) Minor Achievements
Passive ① [Circulation Rotation]: Breathing speed +30%
Passive ② [Breathing Rejuvenation]: Breathing speed +20%, each breath refines a stream of True Qi stored in Dantian.
...
Through multiple upgrades to learned martial skills, Qin Yuesheng gained a preliminary understanding of the upgrade level realms in the Super Auxiliary Tool.
Beginner, Introduction, Proficient, Minor Achievements.
Subsequent realms remain unknown since Qin Yuesheng hasn't advanced them yet.
Upon reaching the Introduction and Minor Achievements stages in martial arts realms, a passive skill activates, enhancing Qin Yuesheng's strength to some extent.
Holding the iron shirt book, he said a word to Qin Feng, and Qin Yuesheng left the Guest Hall.
He already knew about the Mountain Guardian Escort Agency being robbed by Hulao Stronghold, but such matters were outside his purview.
Qin Feng had previously told him that there were numerous Outer Forging Realm experts in Hulao Stronghold. With his current ability, facing those experts would be equivalent to courting death.
Once stepping out the door, Qin Yuesheng saw Hua Shique leading two medicine boys towards the Qin Mansion's entrance, their steps looked hurried.
"Doctor Hua." Qin Yuesheng called out: "Where are you going?"
"Oh, it's the young master." Hua Shique quickly stopped in his tracks, "There's a village supplying a precious medicinal herb that's having some trouble, and I need to go check it out."
"Medicinal herb?" Qin Yuesheng was immediately intrigued. "What kind of trouble? Is it serious? Do you need me to send some people to accompany you?"
"That would be great." Hua Shique stroked his beard and nodded, not being polite.
"Cao Zhengchun, go find ten hospital guards to accompany Doctor Hua on his trip." Qin Yuesheng said to Cao Zhengchun, who stood waiting at the door.
He immediately went off to execute the order.
With nothing else to do, Qin Yuesheng asked Hua Shique about what exactly went wrong.
It turned out that a small portion of the precious medicinal herbs in the Qin Mansion's pharmacy were locally sourced, the most famous being Earth Three Immortals, Ma Touzhi, and Water Lotus Boy.
About ten miles outside Cyan Yang City, there is a small village beside a mountain and river called Baihe Village. This village is near the Gusu Fisherman's Bay, which is a flourishing area for cultivating Water Lotus Boy. Hua Shique often goes there to purchase high-quality Water Lotus Boy and then has the local villagers transport it by ox cart to the Qin Mansion in Cyan Yang City.
However, recently, a villager employed by the Qin Mansion came to inform Hua Shique that something strange had happened in their village, causing everyone to be too afraid to go to Gusu Fisherman's Bay to collect Water Lotus Boy.
As a result, this affected the pharmacy's daily requirement for Water Lotus Boy. Water Lotus Boy is a medicinal herb that, when consumed regularly, is extremely beneficial to the body, with effects comparable to sea cucumber, abalone, and ejiao.
Qin Feng, Duan Hongjin, and Qin Yuesheng each consume a bowl of porridge made from Water Lotus Boy daily.
Now, with no new supply of Water Lotus Boy, Hua Shique was naturally worried.
According to the villager who reported to the Qin Mansion, many villagers from Baihe Village have mysteriously disappeared while diving into the water to collect Water Lotus Boy. Several days have passed, and they are still missing, neither alive nor dead.
Initially, the villagers had hope, but after discovering one or two severed arms on the shore, they confirmed that those who disappeared had surely met with misfortune.
Judging by the injuries on those severed arms, the deceased must have encountered something in the water.
At first, some people were skeptical and continued diving, but as more people went missing, no one in Baihe Village dared to dive into the water anymore, at least not until this problem was solved.
After listening to Hua Shique, Qin Yuesheng immediately realized that this situation wasn't as simple as just sending ten hospital guards to solve it.
When Cao Zhengchun returned with ten hospital guards, Qin Yuesheng promptly said, "Cao Zhengchun, go to my room and fetch my black saber. This time I'm going with you to Baihe Village to see what's happening."
"What? Young master, you're going too!" Hua Shique was taken aback. The road to Baihe Village was extremely bumpy, unsuited for carriages, requiring one to travel on foot for miles, which wasn't something a pampered young master like Qin Yuesheng could endure.
"Yes, I am." Qin Yuesheng nodded.
Since the young master insisted, no one else could oppose. When Cao Zhengchun hurriedly returned with the Evil-Subduing Saber, they all left the Qin Mansion, led by Qin Yuesheng.
...
The journey to Baihe Village was smooth for the first half and bumpy for the second half.
Qin Yuesheng rode in the carriage while the others followed on foot.
Seizing the leisure time before arriving, Qin Yuesheng immediately decomposed the Iron Cloth Manual, instantly learning it as one of his martial arts.
Iron Cloth (0/10) Novice
An external martial arts skill, also known as the Outer Forging Realm, it consists of tendon, bone, and skin stages, primarily focusing on strengthening the physical body to withstand blades and swords.
In a duel between a regular martial artist and one specializing in outer forging, the latter can drain the former's endurance just by using their body to block attacks, ultimately winning without a fight.
"Qin Yu only mentioned that by learning tendon, bone, and skin refinement martial arts, one can enter the Outer Forging Realm, but didn't specify to what extent one should train to achieve minor success in it. It seems I'll have to ask him again when he returns with the escort." Qin Yue silently mused.
Currently, the super auxiliary device still holds 50 points of All-Purpose Essence.
Qin Yuesheng first allocated 10 points each to his physique and spirit, as he would soon need to get off the carriage and walk. If his physique were at level 1, walking would be exhausting.
Increasing his physique and spirit was to maintain a good combat state.
Strength: 2.0 (far exceeds average) (+)
Agility: 2.5 (exceptional speed) (+)
Physique: 2.0 (endurance and stamina) (+)
Spirit: 2.0 (highly rational) (+)
Charm: 1.0 (average person) (+)
All-Purpose Essence: 30
Qin Yuesheng then allocated all the remaining 30 points to Iron Cloth, advancing it two levels from novice to proficient.
Suddenly, he felt that his muscles had solidified considerably, with a hardness surpassing what it was before.
Iron Cloth (0/40) Proficient
Passive①[Iron Skin]: Physique +2, Defense Power +5%
"Hmm?" Qin Yuesheng was taken aback.
When Iron Cloth gained its first passive, his physique attribute increased by two points simultaneously on his attribute panel.
This was the first time he'd seen a martial art enhance his attributes.
Prior to this, the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist, Bear Stance, and Nourishing Energy Skill did not have this effect.
"As expected of martial arts used to enter the Outer Forging Realm, this effect is indeed different from ordinary martial arts." Qin Yuesheng couldn't help but laugh.
As a result, his strength had improved once again.