Two upgrade points were spent on the Iron Body Skill, instantly pushing this Low Grade martial arts into the Perfection Realm.
The moment the Iron Body Skill reached Perfection, a flood of memories related to cultivating it surged into Gu Qingfeng's mind. He then felt his skin itch, and a layer of dead skin peeled off, revealing bronze-colored skin underneath.
When Gu Qingfeng found a weapon and slashed his skin with full force, he only felt a slight sensation; his defense wasn't broken at all.
Afterwards.
Gu Qingfeng circulated the Iron Body Skill again and unleashed another full-force slash.
When the blade touched his skin, a metallic clang immediately sounded. In the next instant, the long saber snapped in half.
"Good!"
Having truly verified the power of the perfected Iron Body Skill, Gu Qingfeng was overjoyed.
Now, simply relying on his physical defense, he could completely ignore the attacks of Refining Skin Perfection Martial Artists. If he fully circulated the Iron Body Skill, whether he could withstand the attacks of Refining Blood Martial Artists was currently unknown.
But at least.
With two martial arts perfected, Gu Qingfeng had the capital to dominate the Skin Refinement Realm.
After that.
Gu Qingfeng took out the blood refinement pill.
The blood refinement pill was entirely crimson, as if forged from fresh blood. A peculiar aroma assailed his nostrils. Gu Qingfeng merely took a simple sniff and felt his Qi and blood faintly boiling.
Immediately.
Gu Qingfeng swallowed a blood refinement pill.
The pill entered his abdomen.
The medicinal power, ten times stronger than a Qi Blood Pill, erupted from his abdomen. Surging Qi and blood, like a mighty river, continuously washed over his flesh and skin.
Under such immense medicinal power, Gu Qingfeng's entire body turned red, like a cooked shrimp. It wasn't until a long time later, when the medicinal power gradually subsided, that his skin returned to normal.
"Whoosh!"
Gu Qingfeng let out a long breath.
The effect of taking the blood refinement pill was more useful than a year of his arduous cultivation.
Now, he could already vaguely sense the barrier of the Skin Refinement Realm.
Normally speaking.
To break through to the Refining Blood Realm, one must have corresponding martial arts.
But nothing is absolute.
The blood refinement pill is a shortcut for Skin Refinement Martial Artists to break through to Refining Blood.
However.
With Gu Qingfeng's current cultivation, he could only take one such pill per day. Taking too many would only damage his Foundation.
...
The next day.
Gu Qingfeng went to the Golden Bull Martial Arts School.
The atmosphere inside the martial arts School was heavy. Before Gu Qingfeng could figure out what had happened, a Disciple came and asked him to go to the martial arts School's main hall, stating that the martial arts School Master had important matters to discuss.
Gu Qingfeng didn't think much of it. When he arrived at the martial arts School's main hall, he saw Xu Jun, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
Since Gu Qingfeng joined the Golden Bull Martial Arts School, the number of times he had met Xu Jun was few and far between.
He learned from other instructors that this person had been in seclusion for years, attempting to break through to the Refining Blood Realm, which was why he rarely appeared in public.
However.
When Gu Qingfeng looked at Xu Jun now, he noticed that although the other party's aura was strong, it didn't put much pressure on him, indicating that the other party had not successfully broken through.
On the other side.
Xu Jun also looked at Gu Qingfeng.
When his gaze fell upon Gu Qingfeng, his expression changed slightly, and then he smiled and said, "Instructor Gu, long time no see!"
"Greetings, martial arts School Master!"
Gu Qingfeng also cupped his hands in greeting.
Xu Jun immediately stood up, pointed to an empty seat beside him, and said, "Since Instructor Gu is here, please take a seat first. We will discuss the matters in detail after the other instructors arrive."
"Mm..."
Gu Qingfeng nodded, without any intention of declining, and sat directly beside Xu Jun.
When the other instructors saw this scene, their gazes became strange.
Among the many Senior Instructors, Gu Qingfeng was not the most senior. When facing other Senior Instructors, Xu Jun was not seen to be this enthusiastic.
The current change made some people have other thoughts in their hearts.
However.
Before others could speculate for too long, they saw Xu Jun say, "I didn't expect my Golden Bull Martial Arts School to produce another expert at Refining Skin Perfection. Instructor Gu, how long has it been since you broke through to Refining Skin Perfection?"
"I merely had a lucky Breakthrough a few months ago."
Gu Qingfeng smiled slightly and casually made up a time.
Although his own Qi and blood were concealed, they could not escape the eyes of an expert like Xu Jun. It was normal for his true state to be seen through.
"Refining Skin Perfection!"
Upon hearing Xu Jun's words, the gazes of all the instructors towards Gu Qingfeng changed.
All the previous doubts and jealousy now turned into awe.
That's right.
It was awe.
The path of a Martial Artist has always emphasized respect for the strong.
Since Gu Qingfeng could step into Refining Skin Perfection and become one of the only two experts in the Golden Bull Martial Arts School, the remaining people naturally dared not underestimate him in the slightest.
"Congratulations, Instructor Gu!"
"It is truly cause for celebration that our Golden Bull Martial Arts School has produced another Refining Skin Perfection expert!"
Everyone offered their congratulations, and Gu Qingfeng responded to each of them with a smile.
"You are all too kind."
...
After a long while.
The remaining few instructors had also all arrived.
The previously noisy main hall instantly became much quieter.
Xu Jun's expression was solemn. He looked at everyone present and said in a grave voice, "I, Xu, won't say any more unnecessary words. We received news today that a strange blood mist has appeared outside Lin County. Everyone who entered the blood mist died in a strange manner."
These deceased people were disemboweled, their internal organs completely removed, exactly like the various tragic cases from a few months ago.
If I, Xu, haven't guessed wrong, I'm afraid Lin County has been targeted by Evil beings!"
Evil beings!
When this sentence fell, everyone's expressions changed drastically, as if they had heard something unbelievable.
Gu Qingfeng's expression also froze. He immediately asked, "martial arts School Master, what exactly are the Evil beings you mentioned? Why have I, Gu, never heard of them?"
Hearing this.
Xu Jun said with a bitter smile, "It's very normal that Instructor Gu hasn't heard of the existence of Evil beings, because wherever Evil beings appear, most of the time, no one is left alive."
In the past, I, Xu, heard about Evil beings when I was young, fortunately learning about them from someone.
What are called Evil beings cannot be explained in just a few words. You only need to know that they are extremely terrifying existences. Whenever Evil beings appear, at the very least they destroy a city; at worst, an entire prefecture could turn into a dead land."
"For example, Qingjiang Manor back then, and later Xuan Shui City, external rumors said that a plague occurred, causing all the common people to perish."
In reality, that was not the case. It was because Qingjiang Manor and Xuan Shui City suffered disasters caused by Evil beings, and all the common people in the manor and city perished at the hands of the Evil beings.
It was just that the Imperial Court fabricated the rumor of a plague to cover up the truth.
Now that such a situation has occurred in Lin County, it's highly likely that Evil beings have also targeted this place!"
Speaking of this.
Xu Jun's face was full of regret.
If he had known about the Evil beings earlier, he definitely wouldn't have stayed in Lin County, but now it was somewhat too late to say anything.