Chapter 63: Chapter 63: False Breakthrough

"I’ll go first!"

The tall and sturdy disciple slowly walked over.

His name was Hu Hui. When he first arrived at the Martial Arts Hall, his Talent was considered quite good. He quickly broke through to Stone Skin and cultivated to the Peak of the Stone Skin Realm.

After failing his first attempt to break through to the Iron Skin Realm, his Realm fell. He then spent three years cultivating back to the Peak of the Stone Skin Realm.

But his second attempt also ended in failure.

This time, not only did his Realm regress, but his meridians were also damaged.

However, his will was extremely firm. After recovering from his injuries, he had once again faintly reached the Peak of the Stone Skin Realm.

Luo Kun nodded, took his wrist, and circulated a trace of Jin Qi into his body to feel it out carefully.

Although a Martial Artist could roughly judge a person’s Qi Blood level with their eyes, it was ultimately imprecise.

Sometimes, their judgment could be skewed by the person’s current condition, leading to miscalculations.

Only by using Jin Qi to probe inside the body, as Luo Kun was doing, could one get an accurate Perception.

"Not bad. You’ve reached the Peak of the Stone Skin Realm again!" Luo Kun nodded in satisfaction.

"And this time, your Qi Blood is more harmonious! As long as you can overcome your Heart Demon, I feel that this attempt is very promising!"

"Thank you, Master!"

Hu Hui’s expression was calm and unfazed. After giving a serious bow, he stepped back.

Next up were the short-haired female disciple and the effeminate-looking man.

The former tested at the Late-stage Stone Skin Realm, while the latter was at the Mid-stage of the Stone Skin Realm.

Then, it was Gong Yulei’s turn.

He strode forward with his head held high.

Seeing Gong Yulei approach, Luo Kun was also full of anticipation.

After taking Gong Yulei’s wrist, he closed his eyes to begin Sensing.

"Stone Skin Realm... Peak!" Luo Kun’s voice was tinged with excitement.

’This disciple’s Talent is truly exceptional!’

Gong Yulei returned to the crowd with a proud look on his face.

The short-haired female disciple was somewhat surprised.

"Hasn’t he been at the Martial Arts Hall for very long?"

Her voice was a bit rough, not very feminine.

"Yeah, I heard he only came this year. When I was at his stage, I don’t think I’d even broken through to Stone Skin yet!" the effeminate male disciple lamented, his voice somewhat shrill.

The short-haired woman’s expression was complicated.

"Looks like Master has accepted a remarkable disciple!"

To the side, the sturdy Hu Hui remained expressionless, as if all of this had nothing to do with him.

Next, it was time to test Zhang Xiong and Lin Xue’er.

Zhang Xiong had just broken through to the Mid-stage of the Stone Skin Realm.

Lin Xue’er, on the other hand, was still in the Early-stage, but she was also on the verge of breaking through to the Mid-stage.

Luo Kun was also quite satisfied with this.

Although their Talent couldn’t compare to Gong Yulei’s, their progress wasn’t slow either.

The short-haired female disciple couldn’t help but feel a little dejected.

"Are all the new disciples in this batch this strong? In our group, only Shao Jianbo managed to break through to Stone Skin!"

The effeminate male disciple didn’t speak. He had been training for several years and was only just at the Mid-stage of the Stone Skin Realm. Seeing his junior brother and sister being so formidable, he felt a pang of jealousy.

As for the other two new disciples, they showed no particular expression.

They had just broken through the Qi Blood Realm and had no concept of the Realms that followed. Besides, all these people were their senior brothers and sisters.

Who was strong and who was weak made no difference to them.

Finally, it was Jiang Che’s turn.

The short-haired female disciple muttered:

"This one’s Qi Blood seems a bit weak. Looks like he just broke through."

"You can’t judge accurately just by looking. Some people are stronger than they appear, but others are weaker, and it could even be a false breakthrough. We should wait to see what Master says," the effeminate male disciple said, shaking his head.

When Jiang Che went up, Luo Kun nodded slightly and then took his wrist.

Although it looked like Jiang Che had broken through to Stone Skin, he still needed to personally investigate to be certain.

This was because sometimes, when a person reached the Peak Qi Blood of their current Realm,

they would temporarily show the illusion of a breakthrough for various reasons.

But this wasn’t a true breakthrough, and they would revert to their previous Realm after a day or two.

This illusion was especially common in those who had taken too many Elixir Pills.

Therefore, Luo Kun was actually a little worried.

After a careful examination, he found that Jiang Che did indeed have the Qi Blood of the Early-stage of the Stone Skin Realm.

He instantly felt relieved.

He was just about to let go when he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

So, he infused more Jin Qi and began a more detailed investigation.

’Master hasn’t discovered something strange, has he?’ Jiang Che felt a little nervous. ’I have a pile of secrets, especially now that I have the Heart of the Black Abyss. I don’t even know how I would explain it.’

The crowd below also found it a bit strange.

Luo Kun, however, grew more and more alarmed the longer he checked.

Although Jiang Che’s Qi Blood was at the Early-stage of the Stone Skin Realm,

the quality of his Qi Blood faintly resembled that of the Iron Skin Realm!

"Jiang Che, come with me!"

Luo Kun turned and entered the inner room.

Jiang Che was a bit apprehensive, but he followed him in.

’Worst case, I’ll just lay my cards on the table. Master probably won’t harm me.’

Seeing that the master had actually taken Jiang Che into the inner room, the crowd looked at each other in confusion.

"Did this junior brother take some kind of potent tonic?" the effeminate male disciple suddenly asked Lin Xue’er, who was not far away.

"That’s right, he took a Qi Replenishing Pill," Lin Xue’er nodded.

"It seems it might be a false breakthrough then. People who use external aids to force a breakthrough often experience this illusion. It looks like they’ve broken through, but their foundation is unstable, and they’ll fall back to their original Realm in a few days," the effeminate male disciple said with certainty.

"So it was a false breakthrough." Lin Xue’er sneered and shook her head.

"Hmph, trying to rely on Elixir Pills to break through is underestimating the Martial Dao!" Gong Yulei snorted coldly.

Hearing their words, Zhang Xiong also grew a little worried.

’Could Junior Brother Jiang really be having a false breakthrough...’

Inside the room.

Luo Kun frowned and said,

"Jiang Che, circulate your Qi Blood for me to see."

Jiang Che sighed, then nodded and did as he was told.

He circulated his Qi Blood, and soon, the skin on his fists turned a grayish-black color, faintly taking on a metallic texture!

"Iron Body Great Success?!" Luo Kun exclaimed involuntarily.

His right hand shot out like lightning and gripped Jiang Che’s forearm.

Jiang Che felt his master’s hand clamp down on his arm like an iron vice.

Even though he had cultivated multiple Iron Body Skills to Perfection, he instantly felt a piercing pain.

This power was extremely strange.

It seemed to be countless tiny strands of Qi Force, like fine needles, drilling into his skin to destroy the muscles and bones beneath!

He was horrified. ’Is this the so-called Strength of a Force Integration Artist?’

’It’s too powerful!’

Luo Kun quickly released his hand.

Jiang Che instantly felt a great sense of relief.

"When did you start practicing Iron Body Skills?" Luo Kun asked slowly.

To Jiang Che’s surprise, his tone was not very stern.

"Reporting to Master, it has been several months. I came across them by chance while working as an escort and practiced them in secret. If Master wishes to punish me, I will not utter a single word of complaint!"

Jiang Che couldn’t reveal that he had a system panel, so he could only use the escort job as an excuse. It was impossible to verify anyway.

"Why would I punish you? I don’t forbid disciples from cultivating other Martial Arts. I just say that practicing them simultaneously can easily divide one’s Qi Blood and delay one’s Cultivation," Luo Kun said with a slight frown.

"Thank you, Master!" Jiang Che secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems that when you weren’t at the Martial Arts Hall, you were at home practicing Iron Body Skills! And here I was, thinking you had given up on the Martial Dao and thrown yourself away! It seems I have wronged you!" Luo Kun sighed.

"How could you say that, Master? It was I who acted improperly. You would be right to blame me!" Jiang Che said quickly.

"I never expected that although your Qi Blood progression is slow, you have a constitution naturally suited for Iron Body training!"

Luo Kun patted Jiang Che’s shoulder, a smile on his face.

He turned his back, looked out the window, and said slowly,

"You know, I have met someone like this before. Although that person only ever reached the Iron Skin Realm,"

"he was able to fight a Force Integration Artist to a draw, which was nothing short of astounding!"

"In the beginning, his Qi Blood progression was also extremely slow, and many people looked down on him."

"But now, he has become a renowned master here in Lin Yuan City!"

At this point, Luo Kun turned back around to face Jiang Che, his eyes shining brightly.

"Jiang Che, I believe your future accomplishments may not be inferior to his!"