Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill-Chapter 62: Fist as a Blade

During his three days off, Chen Cheng only left home to buy food and supplies at the market. The rest of the time, he was at home, completely focused on cultivating his Iron Armor Skill.

Just as he had guessed, the heavier the weight, the faster his Cultivation Progress for the Iron Armor Skill. After increasing the weight to seventy pounds, his cultivation speed increased significantly.

After three days of single-minded cultivation, his Iron Armor Skill Cultivation Progress had risen by 36 points, reaching 888. By his calculations, it would only take another ten days or so to reach the Great Success Level.

Not only that, but cultivating the Iron Armor Skill, an Inner Breath Technique, was also a great boon to his Bear Skin Grinding Technique.

In just three days, he had managed to digest and absorb most of the medicinal power left in his body from the Herbal Decoctions and oral medicines.

The damage to his skin from cultivating the Bear Skin Grinding Technique was also completely healed by the medicinal power. His Cultivation Progress for the Bear Skin Grinding Technique rose to 63 points, and he would soon reach the Small Success Level.

With his Iron Armor Skill approaching Great Success and his Bear Skin Grinding Technique nearing Small Success, the combined effects made his skin far tougher than ox-hide. It seemed he was even much stronger than a Martial Artist who had reached Great Success in the Skin Grinding Realm by cultivating only a Body Tempering Technique.

As for the strength of his vitality, his near-Great Success Iron Armor Skill alone already put him far beyond a Martial Artist who had achieved Great Success with a Body Tempering Technique.

Adding the boost in vitality from his near-Small Success Bear Skin Grinding Technique, Chen Cheng felt his vitality had reached a whole new level, seemingly on par with a Perfect Martial Artist who had cultivated a Body Tempering Technique.

Even while wearing the seventy-pound weighted undergarments, Chen Cheng could still move freely. In fact, he seemed even faster than an ordinary Martial Artist who had reached Great Success with a Skin Grinding Technique.

’With my current Martial Arts Power, I should be strong enough to defeat Zhou Fang, even while wearing a full suit of Iron Armor.’

...

In the rear courtyard of the Ruyi Square Sub-Office of the City Guard Department.

The training ground was surrounded by a bustling crowd of two or three hundred people. All eyes were fixed on the center of the field, and people whispered amongst themselves from time to time, making for a rather chaotic scene.

Of these two or three hundred people, only twenty or thirty were off-duty constables from the City Guard Department who had come to watch the excitement. The rest were various well-known figures from all walks of life in the Ruyi District.

By tradition, the official constable assessments for each Sub-Department of the City Guard Department allowed for influential local figures to be invited to observe, demonstrating the fairness and impartiality of the process.

In the past, not many people were invited to observe the assessments—at most, ten or twenty.

This time, there was only one open position for an official constable, so Shen Qingshuang had only invited a few people.

The reason so many had shown up was because of Zhou Xu.

As an Official from the South City District City Guard Headquarters, Zhou Xu had come under the pretext of supervising the assessment, and he had also invited many influential figures from the Ruyi District to observe.

Chief Constable Shen Qingshuang stood on the viewing platform, her expression cold and solemn, not uttering a word.

As the assessment time drew near, the sky, at some point, had become covered with dark clouds, gradually growing dim. Seeing the dense crowd surrounding the training ground, Shen Qingshuang felt an inexplicable wave of irritation.

She realized she seemed to have overlooked something: she didn’t know the true extent of Zhou Fang’s Martial Arts Power.

When Zhou Fang joined the Ruyi Square Sub-Department, he was only seeking a Preparatory Constable position, so Shen Qingshuang had naturally assumed his strength was mediocre.

But for Zhou Xu to invite so many people to observe, he was clearly brimming with confidence about Zhou Fang’s promotion to official constable.

This official constable assessment, she feared, might have some unexpected turns.

"Lord Shen, the hour has arrived. Let’s begin the assessment," Zhou Xu said from the side. Seeing Shen Qingshuang’s anxious expression, a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes as he spoke with a smile that wasn’t a smile.

Shen Qingshuang shot him a cold glance, the ominous feeling in her heart growing stronger.

"Since Lord Zhou has come to supervise, do you have any objections to the match order for this assessment?"

Zhou Xu spread his hands nonchalantly, a look of indifference on his face. "The goal is to find the strongest of the four. The match order is irrelevant to the outcome. Lord Shen can make the arrangements. I have no objections."

Shen Qingshuang raised her hand. The observers stopped their discussions, and the training ground fell silent in an instant.

"First round of matches: Chen Cheng versus Li Sheng, and Zhou Fang versus He Zhiling. The losers will be eliminated. The winners will continue to the next round of assessment."

After announcing the rules of the assessment, Shen Qingshuang glanced at Chen Cheng before continuing:

"Chen Cheng, Li Sheng, you two will compete first."

Chen Cheng was about to step forward with his Long Saber when Li Sheng cupped his fists toward the viewing platform and said, "Lord Shen, I request to compete against Chen Cheng in Fist Technique."

The man knew his own limits. He admitted to himself that he had no chance of defeating Chen Cheng in Saber Technique, and he intentionally wanted to wear Chen Cheng down, so he proposed a match of Fist Technique.

The assessment matches didn’t restrict the type of Weapon used. If one believed their Fist Technique was superior, they could fight with their fists.

However, Li Sheng’s meaning was clear: he was demanding that Chen Cheng also use his fists. This request was obviously unreasonable.

Shen Qingshuang frowned and looked at Chen Cheng. "Chen Cheng, are you willing to compete with him in Fist Technique? If not, you may use your Long Saber."

Before Chen Cheng could speak, Li Sheng raised his massive fist and said in a taunting tone, "Chen Cheng, don’t tell me your Fist Technique is so poor that you’re afraid my Iron Fist will beat your face into a swollen mess?"

"It’s fine if you’re scared. Just get on your knees, admit you’re wrong, and declare that Master Li’s Fist Technique is supreme. Then I won’t force you to fight with fists."

"Otherwise, even if you beat me with your saber, it’ll just mean you were afraid of my Fist Technique. It would be a dishonorable victory."

The man was spouting pure nonsense, employing a goading tactic. But it was such a clumsy attempt that any normal person, upon hearing this, would be even less likely to agree to a fistfight.

Such shameless behavior drew a roar of laughter from the observers.

Shen Qingshuang frowned. She had a mind to scold him but refrained, conscious of her status.

"Fine," Chen Cheng said flatly. He handed his Long Saber to Liao San for safekeeping and walked straight into the center of the field.

Li Sheng was overjoyed. To be honest, he hadn’t actually expected Chen Cheng to agree.

Since his goading had worked, it was a fantastic outcome. Li Sheng didn’t forget to cup his fists to the observers all around, putting on a righteous and awe-inspiring expression as he announced loudly:

"Everyone, I was just asking casually. Since Chen Cheng was reckless enough to agree, you can’t blame me for what happens next."

With that, he strode over to stand opposite Chen Cheng. Not in a hurry to start, he gloated, "Chen Cheng, just so you know, I reached the Beginner Level of the Skin Grinding Realm a month ago. My Fierce Tiger Fist..."

Before he could finish, Chen Cheng suddenly moved, striding forward in a rapid charge and throwing a punch straight at his face.

Li Sheng’s expression sank. He quickly lowered his waist into a horse stance and unleashed his full-power Fierce Tiger Fist to meet the attack.

Though he was a scoundrel, his Fierce Tiger Fist had long since reached Great Success, and he possessed some real skill. He easily dodged Chen Cheng’s punch and countered with a Black Tiger Heart Stealing strike aimed at the vital point on Chen Cheng’s chest.

His first punch having missed, Chen Cheng suddenly spun around and threw another punch to meet Li Sheng’s incoming fist.

Li Sheng knew about Chen Cheng’s Innate Divine Power and didn’t dare to clash head-on. He quickly retreated to dodge while simultaneously striking at Chen Cheng’s left side.

He had already made up his mind: he wasn’t aiming for victory, only to drain Chen Cheng’s stamina. Therefore, while this punch seemed to carry the might of a tiger, it was actually a feint.

As long as Chen Cheng dodged or tried to clash head-on again, he would quickly switch moves and drag the fight out for several dozen exchanges.

Who would have thought that Chen Cheng would neither dodge nor evade? He didn’t seem to intend to block with his fist, either. He looked completely defenseless.

Seeing a rare opportunity, Li Sheng’s heart turned vicious. He turned his feint into a real attack, putting his full power into the punch.

In that split second, Chen Cheng suddenly moved. His right hand swept out horizontally. The move didn’t resemble a Fist Technique; it was more like a Saber Technique.

He was using his fist as a saber, swiftly striking Li Sheng’s incoming punch.