Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

Chapter 157: Chapter 109: Blood Refining Great Success! Overt and Covert Struggles!_3

Gu Sheng slowly reined in his stray thoughts, opened the panel, and couldn’t help but smile.

[Name]: Gu Sheng

[Age]: 16

[Realm]: Blood Refining Realm (Great Success)

[Martial Arts]: Chopping Wood (First-level Tear), Archery (First-level Penetration), Iron Stone Fist (First-level Mighty Strength), Shapeshifting Skill (First-level Strong Body), Snake Breath Skill (Perfect 85%), Flying Thunder Leg (Great Success 93%), Golden Body Skill (Small Success 3%)

...

The martial arts section was growing increasingly abundant.

In recent days,

both the Snake Breath Skill and Flying Thunder Leg had progressed significantly. The former was edging closer to unlocking its special effects, while the latter was nearing perfection – just another seven to eight days, and it would be complete.

Now, Gu Sheng’s leg skin and muscle layers had entirely caught up with the strength of his arms and fists.

Only his head and torso remained.

”But perfecting these weaker areas is only a matter of time. With Iron Stone Fist and Flying Thunder Leg laying the foundation, my cultivation speed in Golden Body Skill is incredibly fast!”

Gu Sheng picked up a barrel of well water and splashed it over himself, a faint smile curling his lips.

Cultivating Golden Body Skill required certain supplementary medications, but fortunately, he was not lacking money nowadays, so the progress wasn’t hindered by resources – he only needed to grind diligently to accumulate experience.

”Once all three body-strengthening martial arts reach the special-effect level, I can’t even begin to imagine how terrifying my strength will become!”

Gu Sheng was deeply anticipating it.

At least for now, having broken through to Great Success in the Blood Refining Realm, he felt like he could dominate anyone in this realm effortlessly.

His vitality and blood were significantly thicker, and combined with the two special-effect abilities, First-level Strong Body and First-level Mighty Strength, he had no idea where the limits of his peak combat power lay!

Gu Sheng’s strength had grown dramatically.

Within the territory of Canghe County, there were now very few martial artists who could pose a threat to him.

More importantly, Gu Sheng had far fewer weaknesses compared to ordinary martial artists. He could fight, run, defend, hide and disguise, wield ranged attacks, and engage in close combat – abilities ordinary people couldn’t even fathom.

”Still, I can’t afford to be careless. If I were surrounded by too many enemies right now, I might still tire myself to death. Only if I reached the level of the Flying Thunder General, who could take the head of his enemy amidst an army, would I truly be carefree!”

Gu Sheng thought of the first time he entered the city and heard the storyteller talking about the Flying Thunder General.

In some ways, this was likely the strongest individual he knew, and it became the goal he aimed to chase for the foreseeable future.

Back when he began practicing martial arts,

Gu Sheng had set his sights on the three top experts of Gu’s Manor as his targets. But now, even if the three of them joined forces, they wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

As for the few Bone Refining Realm experts like Zhao Honglie and Liu Yuanhu, Gu Sheng felt confident that it wouldn’t take long for him to surpass them.

It was time to set a much farther-reaching goal.

Suddenly, Gu Sheng’s eyes lit up.

”What if I have a set of heavy armor made from cold iron? Then, even if I’m besieged, I could fight my way out!”

The idea became increasingly appealing to him.

”Once my Golden Body Skill reaches perfection or even the special-effect level, coupled with sufficiently thick heavy armor, low-level martial artists would pose no threat to me, and even martial artists at the same realm would find it hard to hurt me.”

”Ordinary martial artists wearing such heavy armor would need to worry about stamina, but my vitality is far beyond others in the same realm. Plus, with the special-effect of First-level Strong Body, I’d be able to sustain myself for a long time!”

”It looks like I need to find an opportunity to commission a blacksmith to craft one...”

However,

Gu Sheng knew he couldn’t rush it.

First, crafting such a set of cold iron heavy armor would undoubtedly require a large amount of silver coin. Second, his relationship with the blacksmith was merely transactional, and forging such armor involved major complexities, so the blacksmith might not agree.

”I’ll wait until the beginning of next year to test the waters.”

It was currently just days away from the year’s end.

Gu Sheng decided to stay at Gu’s Manor and quietly focus on grinding experience.

But in these final few days, a flurry of major incidents occurred in Canghe County.

December 23rd.

An assassin mission faced a catastrophic accident—one of the targets teamed up with other targets to strike back, killing fifteen assassins, including the well-known Zhou Song the Fast Blade.

Zhang Guangqun flew into a rage, launched a thorough investigation into the assassin guild, and uncovered numerous spies.

All were executed by decapitation.

At the marketplace, severed heads rolled everywhere, the stench of blood filling the air.

Among those originally slated for execution was Yan Heng, wielder of the Autumn Water Sword, but he suddenly erupted with Blood Refining Realm Great Success-level strength. With assistance from someone else, he escaped and vanished without a trace.

December 25th.

The former magistrate of Canghe County, Cao Shiduan’s residence, was engulfed in flames, the blaze stretching skyward, leaving dozens dead or injured. The estate had been gifted by Liu Yuanhu to his trusted subordinate, Song Zhicheng.

Liu Yuanhu was furious and ordered an exhaustive investigation.

December 27th.

White Stone Town was attacked by rebel forces!

The rebels, whose origin was unknown, possessed extraordinary combat ability. With traitors working from within the town, they seized it overnight. The rebels behaved with utter savagery—pillaging, killing, burning everything in sight, sparing no one.

Song Zhicheng led troops in swift defense, ultimately overturning the rebel attack, leaving only scattered remnants of their forces escaping in panic.

However, White Stone Town was left in chaos, requiring countless manpower and resources for rehabilitation.

Rumors began to spread.

In fury, Liu Yuanhu rampaged through the county hall. It was said that he was originally set to assume the title of acting magistrate next year, but the present chaos might delay his promotion.

December 29th.

The county town turned oppressive and grim. Liu Yuanhu, brimming with murderous intent, personally took action under the pretext of searching for rebel spies, shutting down numerous gambling dens and brothels,

including underground markets.

Many influential forces suffered from the crackdown, but the most severely impacted was the Black Sand Gang. Its gang leader, Zhao Honglie, personally sought an audience with Liu Yuanhu but was refused outright.

...

When these reports reached Gu Sheng, he remained silent for a long time.

He felt a sense of impending storm.

Gu Sheng knew that behind these major incidents, there had to be a fierce struggle among the various factions in the county town. Likely, it wasn’t just Liu Yuanhu and Zhao Honglie; other forces were probably involved too.

The open conflict and hidden rivalry among these factions—one performing before the curtain falls while another takes the stage—meant that chaos was bound to erupt soon.

Gazing into the distance, Gu Sheng resolved to accelerate his own strength improvement.

Only unparalleled strength could give him peace of mind.