Chapter Three: Mastering the Iron Cloth Technique

Outside, the clamor persisted through the night, echoing ceaselessly. Eventually, tranquility returned.

At dawn, a group of elders from the Five Venoms Sect appeared in the plaza with dark, sullen faces. The plaza was crowded with disciples, and at the very front lay seven or eight shriveled corpses, as if all their blood had been drained, each one grotesquely twisted.

“The three righteous families of Yunzhou are on the verge of besieging our Five Venoms Sect. We’re already overwhelmed, and now, at this critical moment, this happens—damnable!” an elder in green robes ground out between clenched teeth.

The other elders’ expressions were equally grim.

“The Third Elder chased after the culprit last night but hasn’t returned. Who could have done this? May the Third Elder be safe,” another murmured.

“All these disciples had their blood sucked dry—it looks like someone is practicing a demonic art!”

“Demonic art? We’re already a cult; who could outdo us in evil?”

…

The sect leader, Gao Rulai, looked over the corpses with a gloomy expression and said deeply, “Have someone take the bodies away. Our Five Venoms Water is still in short supply; we must speed up the refining process. Even if we don’t deal with the three righteous families, we must confront this unseen murderer.”

“Yes, Sect Leader!” several elders responded, summoning people to carry the corpses.

Suddenly, a terrified shout rang out from afar, “Reporting—!”

Gao Rulai and the elders immediately looked over.

“What’s the panic?” Second Elder He Yun barked.

“Sect Leader, esteemed elders, the Third Elder’s corpse was found outside the mountain,” the disciple stammered in terror.

“What?” Gao Rulai, He Yun, and the others all changed color.

“Lead the way!” Gao Rulai commanded.

The disciple, shaking, hurried ahead, and the elders swarmed after him.

As they departed, He Yun shouted loudly, “The remaining disciples, accelerate the production of Five Venoms Liquid! No one is allowed to slack off!”

“Yes, Elder!” the disciples replied in unison.

Yet a subtle, invisible fear rippled through the crowd.

The Third Elder… dead as well.

He was a renowned master on the “Black List,” whose abilities hadn’t been tested in seven or eight years. Who could have done this?

Among the crowd, Fang Dao quickly summoned a disciple and said in a low voice, “Wang Chao, go to Chen Xuan’s quarters and bring him here. We need him to lure venom again today!”

Only certain special venomous insects could be used to refine Five Venoms Water, and those insects were hard to catch. It required someone to ingest a special herbal medicine to attract them; thus, each bottle was painstakingly difficult to produce.

“Yes, Senior Brother Fang Dao!” the disciple replied and rushed to Chen Xuan’s quarters.

Fang Dao frowned, scanning the crowd.

That damned Chen Xuan hadn’t come to the plaza this morning?

Now he had to send someone to fetch him, wasting precious time.

Wang Chao ran all the way, finally arriving at Chen Xuan’s quarters. He kicked the door aside and shouted, “Chen Xuan, come out!”

Chen Xuan, still half-asleep under the bed, was startled awake by the shout and held his breath.

Damn, they’re here for me, just as expected.

But at least that baby didn’t show up last night.

“Chen Xuan, where the hell are you?” Wang Chao called as he entered, lifting the bedding. The bed was empty.

He frowned.

Chen Xuan hadn’t returned last night? Or had he slipped out again this morning?

“Chen Xuan!” Wang Chao searched the room for a while, then stepped outside, shouting for him.

But after a long while, there was still no response.

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“Damn it, has the brat betrayed the sect and run off? Hell, if I don’t find him to lure venom, Senior Brother Fang Dao will probably make me do it. I have to find him!” Wang Chao’s face twisted as he hurried off to shout near the latrine.

“Chen Xuan! Chen Xuan! Get your ass out here—!”

“Screw you,” Chen Xuan cursed quietly from under the bed.

Luckily, he had packed ten or so steamed buns; living under the bed for two days would be no problem.

He knew this task wouldn’t be easy.

Fortunately, he was a step ahead!

Half an hour later.

Wang Chao still hadn’t found Chen Xuan, and by then, Fang Dao, impatient and anxious, rushed over, roaring, “Wang Chao, what the hell are you doing? Where’s Chen Xuan?”

“I… I couldn’t find him,” Wang Chao stammered, trembling with fear.

“Damn it, stop looking. You’re coming with me—you’ll lure venom today!” Fang Dao snapped.

“Me? No, Senior Brother Fang Dao, spare me!” Wang Chao cried, falling to his knees in terror.

“You have no choice. Come with me!” Fang Dao’s hand struck out.

Wang Chao tried to resist, but against Fang Dao’s superior skills, it was useless. He was struck, spat blood, and flew backward. Fang Dao then sealed his acupoints and hauled him off.

“Spare me, Senior Brother Fang Dao, I don’t want to lure venom—!” Wang Chao howled miserably.

The other Five Venoms Sect disciples along the way were indifferent, as if they’d seen it all before.

If Wang Chao didn’t lure venom, Fang Dao himself would suffer.

Competition among the sect’s disciples was fierce, especially now, when every disciple was divided into dozens of teams. Each team’s Five Venoms Liquid output was tallied nightly.

Any team that ranked last would see its leader punished harshly.

Fang Dao was one such team leader.

He had every reason to be anxious.

Previously, they could capture villagers or righteous warriors to lure venom, but now, with the three families about to attack, all the villagers had fled, leaving only their own disciples for the task.

…

Time crept by.

Chen Xuan hid under the bed, munching more steamed buns and pickles. Bored, he drifted into sleep again.

When he awoke, it was already dark.

Seeing the night, Chen Xuan was delighted and quickly opened his panel.

Current task: Survive one day in the Five Venoms Sect (remaining time: 0 hours, 1 minute, 13 seconds)

Chen Xuan rejoiced.

Just over a minute left—the task would be complete.

He stared eagerly at the panel, heart pounding.

Time ticked away, and finally, the minute passed.

Swish!

The panel changed, displaying text:

Task complete!

System calculating!

Calculation complete!

Reward: 60 experience points!

Reward: 2 luck points!

Reward: 1 year of internal energy!

The text vanished and the panel transformed.

Host: Chen Xuan

Identity: Five Venoms Sect disciple

Internal energy: 1 year

Stamina: 120

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Experience: 60

Skill: Iron Shirt, Beginner (0/20)

Title: Martial Novice

Fame: Unknown (0/80) (Every 5 points of fame earns 1 luck point)

Luck: 2 (Accumulate 20 luck points to unlock a major reward)

Current reward: unavailable

Current task: Survive three days (remaining time: 71 hours, 59 minutes, 58 seconds)

…

Seeing the 60 experience points credited, Chen Xuan was overjoyed. He was about to invest them in Iron Shirt, but suddenly changed his mind and tried to add them to internal energy.

But after several attempts, internal energy remained unchanged.

“As I thought—it’s just like in my previous life, internal energy can’t be increased directly,” Chen Xuan muttered.

He’d hoped for shortcuts, but it was impossible.

He promptly allocated all points to Iron Shirt.

Iron Shirt quickly advanced—from Beginner (0/20) to Basic (40/40), then from Basic (40/40) to Intermediate (0/80).

He leaped two ranks!

Stamina instantly increased to 220.

A surge of fierce, powerful energy coursed through Chen Xuan’s body. Even his skin grew rougher, with blue veins bulging beneath the surface.

Iron Shirt, Minor Achievement!

He rolled up his sleeves, clenched his fists, and crackled his knuckles.

“So tough, so strong, so resilient…”

With Iron Shirt at Minor Achievement, he was nearly impervious to blades and spears.

However, blades imbued with internal energy could still harm him.

The real benefit wasn’t just increased stamina but enhanced defense; stamina boost was merely a side effect!

He glanced again at the task panel.

The task had changed:

Survive three days in the Five Venoms Sect!

He pondered.

Are all these survival tasks?

If so, he could lay low, train Iron Shirt to perfection, then escape the sect—how wonderful!

But then again, what if that baby appeared?

Was it a ghost?

Could Iron Shirt at peak mastery withstand it?

Chen Xuan’s mind spun with confusion.

Suddenly, a fierce hunger gnawed at his belly, rumbling loudly. His stomach churned as if all his energy had been consumed, the hunger so intense his vision blurred.

He realized this was a drawback of training external martial arts—energy consumption was enormous!

Internal arts lacked this defect.

He grabbed the remaining buns and pickles and devoured them.

Munch, munch…

The dozen buns and a jar of pickles disappeared rapidly.

“Useless, I’m still hungry,” Chen Xuan’s stomach gurgled.

Now, he felt he could eat half a cow.

But it was dark outside; could he risk going out for food?

What if he encountered that baby again?

After enduring for a while, the hunger intensified. Chen Xuan gritted his teeth and crawled out from under the bed.

He could accept any death—except starving to death.

Praying silently, he dashed toward the kitchen in the night.