"Master Wei, please take a seat!"
Wei Fan stepped into a restaurant; he was a regular at Ma's Restaurant. Upon entering, he was immediately greeted and seated by the waiter.
"The usual, please!"
His usual was a bowl of fried rice, half a pound of braised meat, and a vegetable soup.
After ordering, he sat and waited. By now, the sky had turned dark, and there were few people left on the streets.
Yun City did not have a curfew, but due to the numerous Demon Fiends and Evil Spirits, ordinary people usually did not go out at night.
In this world, Demon Fiends and Evil Spirits have always existed and can never be completely eradicated. Hence, the Government Office's policy was simply to maintain a facade of peace.
The demons also wouldn't wantonly eat people openly; they would manipulate groups like the Fierce Tiger Gang to secretly deliver them victims.
The government was aware of these issues; as long as things didn't become too blatant, they would turn a blind eye.
Of course, this also had to do with the City Lord's administrative policies. The current Cloud City Lord was known to fear Demon Fiends.
Since taking office, the disaster caused by demons in Yun City had only worsened. There was collusion between officials and bandits, leading to public discontent.
"Master Wei, your meal is served!"
As Wei Fan was deep in thought, the waiter brought out the dishes—crispy trotters, marinated beef, steamed bass, roast chicken, and a jar of old wine.
"This is not what I ordered," Wei Fan remarked in surprise.
The waiter whispered, "The Shopkeeper is treating you. Since you eliminated Yang Jun, the troublemaker, the Shopkeeper said you won't have to pay here again.
Master Wei, you might not know, but the Shopkeeper had a daughter who was violated by Yang Jun, and she hanged herself a few days later.
Today you killed Yang Jun, and countless families in the nearby streets are secretly celebrating. If not for the Fierce Tiger Gang, they would be setting off fireworks to celebrate."
Given this, Wei Fan didn't hold back and started eating heartily.
Although he earned a decent salary working at the Government Office, he couldn't afford such lavish feasts every day.
Half an hour later, satisfied from the meal and slightly drunk, Wei Fan headed home. He hadn't reached his house when the slight drunkenness was purged by the spontaneous circulation of True Qi.
In the past, he was alone; his mother had passed away two to three years ago, and his father, who was a governmental officer, never returned from duty three months ago, leaving only blood-soaked clothes behind, without a body.
They said he encountered a Great Demon while on a case and was swallowed whole.
As a result, he was able to take over his father's position and became a patrolling governmental officer.
He wasn't the only child, though; he had an elder sister who was already married, so he lived alone.
Upon reaching home, Wei Fan immediately lay on the bed and opened the panel.
[Martial Arts:]
[Golden Bell Shield (Ninth Layer)]
[Blood Evil Saber Technique (Perfection)]
[Flowing Cloud Chasing Wind Step (Perfection)]
[Iron Body Skill (Uninitiated)]
[Current Power Level: 46 years]
Of the four martial arts, three had reached the highest realm, but the Horizontal External Training Iron Body Skill was still uninitiated.
"Ten years of power, add to Iron Body Skill!"
For the first time, Wei Fan allocated ten years of power. The Golden Bell Shield took ten years to cultivate to the Ninth Layer; Horizontal Martial Arts Training would take even more time to reach the Ninth Layer!
[Deducting ten years of power!]
[You cultivated the Internal and External Martial Art Golden Bell Shield, with a strong foundation, one year of power, and the Iron Body Skill reached the Third Layer, achieving a single-arm strength of three thousand pounds]
The Golden Bell Shield was said to train both internal and external aspects, but in reality, it mainly cultivated True Qi, with body refining being a secondary effect. Many True Qi Martial Arts also have some body tempering effects, but they vary in depth.
With the Golden Bell Shield at the Ninth Layer, his single-arm strength was two thousand pounds.
But Horizontal Martial Arts Training only required the Second Layer for the pure physical strength to reach two thousand pounds. In terms of body tempering, True Qi Martial Arts and pure Horizontal Martial Arts Training cannot be compared.
At the same time, Wei Fan discovered another reason fewer people practiced Horizontal Martial Arts Training: not only was its effect on Demon Fiends with no flesh limited, but it was also excruciatingly painful.
The training felt like being deep-fried in hot oil.
An instant of bone-piercing pain spread throughout his body, nearly causing him to faint.
Wei Fan gritted his teeth and endured in silence.
[Two years of power, you reached the Fourth Layer of Iron Body Skill through extreme training, achieving a single-arm strength of four thousand pounds]
[Three years of power, your Iron Body Skill broke through to the Fifth Layer, achieving a single-arm strength of five thousand pounds]
[Four years of power, your Iron Body Skill broke through to the Sixth Layer, achieving a single-arm strength of six thousand pounds]
...
This is what makes Horizontal Martial Arts Training more terrifying than True Qi Martial Arts. Nearly every breakthrough resulted in a thousand-pound increase in strength.
Reaching Ninth Layer Perfection, a single-arm strength could hit a monstrous ten thousand pounds.
If not for the specific use in resisting bodiless Demon Fiends, relying on sheer willpower to combat them, many more people would practice this martial art.
[Five years of power, your Iron Body Skill encountered a bottleneck and didn't break through]
[Six years of power, your Iron Body Skill remained at the Sixth Layer, but the bottleneck showed signs of weakening!]
[Seven years of power, you persevered like dripping water wearing down rock; your Iron Body Skill reached the Seventh Layer, achieving a single-arm strength of seven thousand pounds.]
...
[Ten years of power, Iron Body Skill did not breakthrough to the Ninth Layer]
[Iron Body Skill (Eighth Layer)]
[Current Power Level: 36 years]
Ten years of power wasn't enough to reach the highest Ninth Layer of Iron Body Skill, even with the foundation from the Golden Bell Shield.
Without the previous body tempering from the Golden Bell Shield, it would likely take years longer to reach the Eighth Layer.
After a short rest, Wei Fan immediately added another three years of power to Iron Body Skill.
[Deducting three years of power!]
[Eleven years of power, your Iron Body Skill still couldn't break through, yet you remained patient, continuing to forge your physique]
[Twelve years of power, your physical strength began to grow slowly, nearing a breakthrough]
[Thirteen years of power, through persistence, you broke the limit of the flesh, reaching the perfect Ninth Layer of Iron Body Skill; your body is as hard as iron, with a single-arm strength of ten thousand pounds]
[Iron Body Skill (Ninth Layer)]
[Current Power Level: 33 years]
...
The last layer took four years of power.
"Creak!"
Wei Fan stretched, and the bed beneath him emitted an overwhelmed sound.
The Ninth Layer Perfection of Iron Body Skill significantly changed his body weight.
Looking down, Wei Fan saw well-defined muscles; his skin appeared polished like a finely refined metal, glimmering with a cold sheen, as if forged from steel.
He flicked his skin with a finger, producing a ringing sound, and when he drew a sword lightly across it, it nearly slipped.
"Thirteen years of power, worth it!"
Joy spread across Wei Fan's face.
The combination of perfect Horizontal Training Martial Arts and perfect True Qi Martial Arts wasn't just as simple as one plus one.
The ten-thousand-pound strength combined with the overwhelming True Qi of the Ninth Realm substantially magnified the power of a single strike, not to mention the enhancement in defense.
"There are still thirty-three years of power left!"
After reviewing the panel, he decided to hold off adding power to other martial arts.
Spending years perfecting one Horizontal Training Martial Art concentrated what should have been years of hardships into a short period, and though his body was now powerful, his spirit was exhausted.