Chapter 182: Dragon Thunder Tempering, Primordial Skin Rivals Implant, Is Xue Jing Accepting Discipl

Chapter 182: Dragon Thunder Tempering, Primordial Skin Rivals Implant, Is Xue Jing Accepting Disciples? (4K)



Yesterday, Li Qi mentioned that the current Zulong School dojo was too small and already packed with disciples. They needed to move to a larger place.

He had found a suitable location, but there were still some issues to address.

Li Qi put down his brush and, pushing his wheelchair, approached Xue Jing with a puzzled expression. As he was about to respond, he paused, a curious look on his face as he reached out and grabbed Xue Jing's palm for a closer inspection.

"Hmm? Your skin..."

His long, flawless hand was smooth and delicate, without any calluses or roughness that one might expect from martial arts training. It was even more beautiful and refined than the hands of women who had been pampered their entire lives.

But that wasn't what surprised Li Qi the most.

What caught his attention was the translucent, crystalline quality of Xue Jing's skin, as if it had an otherworldly glow to it.

"Did you just finish practicing the Shaking Armor Technique's Skin Refining section?" Li Qi asked.

Xue Jing nodded, confused. "Is there a problem, Master?"

Li Qi extended a finger and poked Xue Jing's palm.

Despite being half-paralyzed, Li Qi was once a powerful immortal who had crossed the Dragon Gate. His profound understanding of martial arts remained, and although the strength he could currently muster wasn't exceptionally powerful, his control was still impeccable.

At that moment, his true energy condensed into a needle-like form, sharp and piercing. Even an iron block would be punctured by it.

However, when this needle-like energy probed Xue Jing's palm, it seemed to freeze.

Xue Jing's pale, translucent skin was incredibly resilient, showing only a slight indentation without any sign of penetration.

"Not a single pore, every inch of your skin is sealed tight." Li Qi was astonished.

"It's flawless and impenetrable, a sign of 'Crystalline Skin,'" he added.

"Strange. Have you been practicing some new technique?"

Xue Jing shook his head. "No, for body tempering, I've only practiced the Zulong School's techniques."

He had only recently started using Dragon Thunder to assist in his training... but explaining that would be a bit complicated, so Xue Jing decided to keep it to himself for now.

Li Qi stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... Could it be a natural gift?"

"Is something wrong, Master?" Xue Jing asked.

Li Qi nodded. "Yes, something is amiss... but it might be a good thing."

"You should know about the 'Protective Skin' implant, right?"

Xue Jing nodded, indicating that he was aware of it.

By now, he had encountered it many times—first with a man named Zhu Yingkun during his containment mission, then with the mountain troll, members of the Giant God Legion on the cruise ship, and more. This skin implant, capable of greatly reducing the impact of a martial artist's true energy, had caused him no small amount of trouble.

"The 'Protective Skin' implant is specifically designed to achieve the 'Crystalline Skin' effect," Li Qi explained.

"Oh?" Xue Jing's eyebrows arched in interest.

"The skin becomes like impenetrable jade, flawless and without any openings. Once one achieves this state, there are no weak spots or gaps in their defense, as their spiritual energy, blood, and qi are locked within, and the outside world is shut out."

"In scientific terms," Li Qi continued, "at a microscopic level, the atomic structure of such skin is extremely stable and densely packed, with unparalleled compactness."

"The purpose of the 'Protective Skin' implant is to achieve this level of 'absolute stability and compactness,' mimicking the properties of crystal. Even the strongest external impacts would be unable to penetrate this perfectly sealed atomic structure, rendering any attack completely ineffective."

"Your skin seems to be exhibiting similar qualities."

Li Qi's tone conveyed his bewilderment.

"When I condensed my true energy into a needle-like form and tried to pierce your skin, I couldn't find any gaps between the layers of your skin. It's truly bizarre."

"How strange. When I crossed the Dragon Gate and attained the 'Immortal Body,' my skin was indeed much tougher than yours, but it didn't have this peculiarity of being seamless. If it weren't for the fact that your body is harmoniously coordinated without any signs of deviance, I would suspect you of secretly practicing some forbidden martial arts technique..."

Hearing this, Xue Jing's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be the result of his Dragon Thunder tempering and gravity training?

Under the influence of ten times gravity, his body's cellular structure had changed, and the electrical stimulation of the Dragon Thunder might have, to some extent, affected the electromagnetic forces between the atoms that made up his cells, causing the atomic structure of his skin to become more compact and stable?

Unexpectedly, his skin seemed to be evolving towards the legendary 'Crystal Skin'.

Could it really be...

Li Qi grabbed Xue Jing's arm again and, with a forceful grip, tested his skin for a while before nodding and saying, "The protective effect of your skin is now roughly equivalent to a B5-level protective membrane."

"Unless they're a soft-energy master like your sister Meng, any martial artist below the seventh profession will have at least 70% of their energy dissipated when hitting your skin."

Xue Jing asked, "Master, how are the levels of protective skin calculated?"

Li Qi smiled and said, "It's calculated based on the stability and strength of the structure, among other things... from the lowest D1 to D10, then up to C1 to C10... and B1 is military-grade. The highest-level protective skin on the market is A10."

"The A10 level is already an extremely exaggerated strength. Even a limit-breaking master's full-force attack won't be able to break through. But this is just the highest on the market; there are rumored to be even higher-level protective skins, but they're just urban legends, and I haven't seen them myself."

After a pause, Li Qi continued, "Anyway, although I don't know how you got this skin, it should be a good thing... Compared to an implant that can't grow, if your skin can continue to strengthen, maybe I'll be able to witness the legendary 'Crystal Skin' for real."

He turned his wheelchair towards the desk and picked up an ancient-looking scroll with five beautiful traditional characters written on it in a bold and powerful style: 'A Master Produces Outstanding Students'.

Although Xue Jing didn't understand calligraphy, he could tell at a glance that the words were beautifully written.

Li Qi blew on the ink, which was already drying, rolled up the scroll, and handed it to Xue Jing.

"In three days, it will be Master Zong JinKui of the Tiger Spirit Dojo's 70th birthday, and also the day he retires. He will hold a birthday banquet at his dojo, and you will give this to him at that time."

Xue Jing took the scroll without saying a word, waiting for Li Qi's further instructions.

"Master Zong JinKui is quite old, a few years older than me. Theoretically, martial artists like us have a higher life expectancy than ordinary people because of our strong bodies and health-improving practices. But in reality, the average age of martial artists doesn't exceed 40."

"Martial artists are hot-blooded and impulsive, and their lives are full of fighting and killing. That's why most of them die in their prime... Reaching the age of 70 is quite a rare feat."

Li Qi said with some emotion.

"Master Zong has an excellent disciple who has established herself in the Inner Ring Yuan City. Now that his legacy is secure, he can retire in peace."

"He plans to close down the Tiger Spirit Dojo here in Qingcheng and sell the place to me."

Li Qi tapped his wheelchair's armrest with his finger.

"It's a large space... and the location is good too. The equipment and layout inside are also fine, so we can move in directly and won't need to do much renovation."

"Master Zong and I are on good terms, and he's selling it to me at a friendly price... We had a good deal going, but then some issues came up."

"He has a beloved granddaughter named Zong SiChan, who is 12 years old this year... Even though she's just a child, Master Zong has carefully cultivated her since she was young. She has good roots and has achieved a high level of martial arts. Even many adult disciples in their dojo are not her match."

"This little girl doesn't want the Tiger Spirit Dojo to be sold. She said she doesn't want to go to the Inner Ring; she wants to stay in Qingcheng and inherit the Tiger Spirit Dojo, becoming the new master."

"Master Zong dotes on his granddaughter, and he apologized to me, saying he wouldn't sell it after all... That would have been the end of it, and although it was regrettable, there was nothing I could do."

At this point, Li Qi stroked his beard and looked Xue Jing up and down with a meaningful smile in his cloudy old eyes.

"But a few days ago, things took a turn."

"That little girl saw your match on TV."

"Now, she admires you and has even made you her idol... She said she doesn't want to practice the Tiger Spirit style anymore and wants to practice your Hidden Dragon style instead, which really upset Master Zong."

"That kid is mature for her age. Two days ago, she came to me and made a condition: if she could become your disciple, the Tiger Spirit Dojo would be sold to me."

Xue Jing's jaw dropped.

Li Qi smiled and said, "Little Jing..."

Xue Jing quickly shook his head. "No need to say more, Master. I refuse."

He didn't have the time to teach disciples; he was still learning himself.

Li Qi waved his hand dismissively and said, "Don't worry about it for now."

"Saying that you're accepting a disciple is just a formality. You don't actually have to teach her anything, so it won't be much trouble."

"Just humor your old master and make a small sacrifice, alright?"

Xue Jing: "......"

"Rest assured, I won't force you. Just go and meet her first. If you really don't want to accept her, then refuse. It's not a big deal."

Li Qi patted him on the shoulder.

What else could Xue Jing say? Seeing that things had come to this, he nodded in agreement.

If it was just a formality, then it wouldn't be too much of a hassle.

However, if the girl turned out to be an annoying brat, he wouldn't even give her that much.

He'd deal with it when the time came.

...

At noon, Xue Jing left the Zulong Dojo, hailed a taxi, and returned to his neighborhood. After buying some ingredients and daily necessities at the supermarket, he made his way back home.

As soon as he walked through the door, he saw Xue Wan sitting on the sofa, hugging her knees with her thumbs in her mouth, looking resentfully at Nan Jiayu, who was sitting across from her.

Cat was currently lying on Nan Jiayu's plump thighs, its face full of bliss as it enjoyed Nan Jiayu's gentle caresses.

The sight brought a smile to Xue Jing's face.

Cat had found a great patron in Nan Jiayu; as long as she stayed by her side, she wouldn't have to worry about enduring Xue Wan's so-called affection.

"Mom~~ Let me pet Xiao Fenwan for a bit. She really likes it when I pet her......" Xue Wan pleaded.

Nan Jiayu slapped away her hand, which had reached out towards Cat, and said leisurely:

"Xiao Fenwan likes me, not you. Stop being delusional."

Xue Wan pouted.

She turned her head and saw that Xue Jing had put down his things and was standing there. She immediately jumped up from the sofa and hugged him like a koala, coquettishly saying, "Ah Jing, Xiao Fenwan is your cat. Who do you think should pet her?"

Xue Jing said calmly, "I'll listen to Mom."

Nan Jiayu coughed lightly, her youthful and beautiful face full of pride.

Xue Wan huffed, "Can't you have a backbone? Are you a momma's boy or something?"

Xue Jing hugged her and then mercilessly threw her back onto the sofa, saying indifferently, "Let Mom pet her."

Nan Jiayu smiled happily, "You're truly my good son, both considerate and filial."

Xue Wan covered her face and looked up at the sky, "Oh heavens! Is there no place for me in this family? Someone take my side! Where's Dad? My daughter is about to be bullied to death!"

Xue Jing stroked his chin, "You know how it is, Dad listens to Mom too."

Facing Nan Jiayu's smiling and charming face, Xue Wan buried her head in the sofa in despair.

"Deceased, RIP."

Xue Jing smiled.

At that moment, his phone, which was in his pocket, started ringing.

He took it out and saw an unexpected caller ID.

Ning Yuantai.

The second generation member of the special forces 'Zhi Go' from the Sixth Organization.

His background was quite impressive, as he came from one of the Thirteen Giant Chambers of the Zhuxia.

Xue Jing thought for a moment, then went into his room and answered the call.

"Hello?"

A respectful voice came from the receiver, "Brother Xue, it's me."

"Oh? What's up, Yuantai?" Xue Jing asked with a smile.

"There's a mission for 'Zhi Go'... I didn't want to bother you, but I think you'll be interested in this one." Ning Yuantai said.

Xue Jing's curiosity was piqued, "Oh? How so?"

He then remembered that he had agreed to Ning Yuantai's invitation and had become an 'external member' of Zhi Go, similar to White Crow.

"Starting a few months ago, in various cities outside the Seventh Urban Circle, there have been occasional cases of murder and skinning."

Ning Yuantai explained.

"All the victims had their skin completely peeled off, and the technique was very skillful, not tearing any extra tendons or membranes."

"According to our investigations, the murderer, codenamed 'Flayer', is a very powerful martial artist. Therefore, the case has been entrusted to us, 'Zhi Go'."

"A few days ago, for some unknown reason, 'Flayer' appeared in Qingcheng..."

"Our investigations suggest that the reason 'Flayer' is committing these crimes is likely due to—a Godly Relic!"

Xue Jing's interest was piqued, and he asked, "Oh? Tell me more."

"【GOD-1291·Little Girl's Matchstick】......"

Ning Yuantai said solemnly.

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end