Chapter 35: Iron Shirt Upgrade, Demonic Iron Shirt

Chen Xuan secretly curled his lips.

Calling others demonic villains while failing to look at themselves. He still clearly remembered the shady dealings Wang Shutian had been involved in earlier.

"Everyone, we must be extremely cautious from here on out. Regardless of what conspiracy the Five Poisons Sect is brewing, we must eradicate them completely this time to restore peace to Yunzhou!" declared Wang Hongtian, a Silver-Badge Constable of the Six Doors.

"Indeed!" the group nodded repeatedly.

Eventually, the various sect leaders and heads of clans cast their gazes upon the severed half of the infant's body on the ground, their eyes narrowing.

"This thing was left behind by that monster; perhaps we can uncover its secrets from it!" said Li Zedao, the helmsman of the Li clan.

"This object contains strange poisons. If you all trust me, I can keep it in my custody. Anyone who wishes to examine it may do so at any time," said the Venerable Beiku.

"That is only right!"
"Many thanks, Master."

The various sect leaders and clan heads spoke one after another. Since Shaolin was the leader of the righteous path, no one would object to them holding the item. If anyone else were to control it, it would inevitably breed resentment and sow seeds of discord among them, which would be detrimental to the further development of the alliance. Furthermore, the infant was highly poisonous and eerie, and the severed torso might harbor other dangers. Having Master Beiku take charge was, for them, a move with only benefits and no harm, and they could still view it whenever they pleased.

"Amitabha."

Master Beiku chanted a Buddhist name and stepped forward. His hands glowed with a faint, auspicious, and sacred glaze-like Buddhist light as he slowly lifted the severed torso, using his internal energy to seal the remains.

Chen Xuan had been observing all of this when his heart suddenly skipped a beat. A cyan light screen popped up before his eyes, filled with surprise.

[Task 1] Complete!
Task performance: Average!
System calculating...
Calculation complete!
Reward: 300 Experience Points!
Reward: 100 Stamina Points!
Reward: 2 Luck Points!
Chain task activated!
...

"Huh?" Chen Xuan felt a surge of joy.
The task was complete? He could hardly believe it. As he had suspected, he could complete tasks by borrowing the hands of others. But what did it mean to activate a chain task? Wasn't that infant already destroyed?

As Chen Xuan was filled with astonishment, the light screen before him changed again, and lines of text appeared.

'Chain Task: The life and death of the cyan monster infant remain a mystery. While it has lost the ability to absorb human blood for the time being, it may return at any moment, or become even more powerful.'
'Step One: Thoroughly uncover the whereabouts of the cyan monster infant. Upon completion, a generous reward will be granted based on performance.'

Chen Xuan felt a chill. It wasn't dead? It would appear again? And it was part of a chain task? He took a deep breath and fell into thought. The task did not specify a deadline, which meant this chain task relied entirely on his own initiative to trigger. If he encountered the cyan monster infant, he would naturally complete it; if he didn't, it might simply remain pending indefinitely.

This was different from previous tasks. The cyan light screen quickly dissipated and vanished entirely. Soon, another line of new text appeared.

'The Five Poisons Sect has made too many enemies on the land of Yunzhou, triggering a joint siege by the righteous alliance. However, this siege of the Five Poisons Sect is not as simple as it appears on the surface; it involves a mysterious opportunity.'
'Task 1: Uncover the truth behind the joint siege of the Five Poisons Sect.'
'Task 2: Under the guise of a spy for the Five Poisons Sect, secretly assist the heterodox factions in poisoning the ten elders of the righteous alliance. For each one poisoned, receive a reward of 200 experience points.'
'Task 3: Improve your personal strength as quickly as possible and strive for a ranking on the Human List.'

"Huh?" Chen Xuan’s eyes flashed with curiosity. No time limits for any of these? And it even provided task hints! Had the interface mutated?

The light screen vanished again, and he immediately opened the interface. Sure enough, the task column was different from before; all time limits had been removed. He took a light breath. Had he passed the beginner trial period? Had the system finally fully accepted him?

Chen Xuan pondered for a moment and stopped overthinking. Having no time limits was perfect—it saved him from rushing around in anxiety. Now, he could do as he pleased, acting only when he felt like it. He continued to look at the tasks on the interface. The siege of the Five Poisons Sect was indeed suspicious. One had to consider that the entire Yunzhou region spanned tens of thousands of miles; even traveling with light-foot techniques, it would take half a month to get there. If there were no profit involved, not even a ghost would believe it.

"But what is this profit? The task hint mentioned a mysterious opportunity. Could it be a secret manual? A technique? Or a treasure map?" Chen Xuan rubbed his chin, pondering in the dark.

Suddenly, his heart brightened as he looked at the 300 experience points in his experience column. He was rich now. With 300 experience points in hand, he could add them to whatever he wanted. He would test if the Iron Cloth Shirt had reached its limit in a moment. He didn't add it right away, fearing that if some kind of transformation occurred after upgrading the Iron Cloth Shirt, it would be disastrous. Those present were all leaders of various sects; if they discovered anything abnormal, he would surely be unable to escape.

He closed the interface, acted as if nothing had happened, and watched quietly as Master Beiku sealed the severed cyan infant. Eventually, Master Beiku placed the creature into a jar, chanted a Buddhist name, and took it to a room. The other prominent figures left one after another to discuss further matters. The crowd in the plaza was still whispering, feeling amazed by the incident with the cyan infant.

Chen Xuan turned and left, heading toward his room. This task completion had not only granted him 300 experience points but also directly increased his stamina by 100, making him feel light on his feet. Soon, Chen Xuan entered his room, bolted the door from the inside, and opened the interface once more.

He lightly tapped on the Iron Cloth Shirt entry.

*Whoosh!*

A faint light emerged, his experience points instantly decreased by 140, and the characters "Iron Cloth Shirt - Great Success" flickered with mysterious black light, twisting and changing automatically. Soon, the light dissipated.

"Demonic Iron Cloth Shirt - Entry (0/280)," the black characters glowed eerily.

Chen Xuan felt a surge of joy. Sure enough, the Iron Cloth Shirt could be improved further! But what puzzled him was why it hadn't evolved into the Golden Bell Shield. And what the hell was a "Demonic Iron Cloth Shirt"?

*Whoosh!*

Suddenly, he felt his body swell violently, as if a powerful current were surging through him. His muscles grew beyond his control, bulging from his skin. His body expanded horizontally and vertically, tearing his clothes. His muscles stood out like knotted roots, veins popped, and his skin flashed with an ancient cyan light. It was as if he had instantly turned into a little giant, his height exceeding two meters in a flash.

Chen Xuan was stunned. Damn it! He really had transformed!

Looking at the muscles on his arms, waist, abdomen, and thighs, he was nearly driven mad. He hurried to the mirror in the room and looked inside, almost vomiting a mouthful of blood. Who was this guy?! The reflection showed a figure, exceptionally burly, with a ferocious expression, ancient cyan skin, and bulging muscles—thick and sturdy, like a humanoid elephant.

"I was the one in flowing white robes! I was the one as elegant as jade! I was the one with the spirit of a celestial!"

*Pfft!* Chen Xuan almost coughed up blood. "Damn it, change back!" Chen Xuan gritted his teeth and cursed.

*Whoosh!*

As if it had heard his sorrowful roar, the muscles on his body began to shrink and retract rapidly, as if losing air. Soon, he returned to his original height of about 1.8 meters. Chen Xuan looked on in amazement, quickly feeling his body up and down. It really had changed back? This was too miraculous! He had almost felt despair just a moment ago.

Chen Xuan felt his body repeatedly, becoming more and more amazed. Suddenly, he opened the interface. He saw that the stamina value on the interface had changed directly from 700 to 920. His strength had surged by 220 jin. However, his internal energy remained the same—still 11 years' worth.

"Did it only increase my stamina? But this increase is too small, isn't it?" Chen Xuan frowned. What was the situation with that transformation earlier? Should he try again?

He focused his attention and strained to push his energy. Soon, the same feeling returned; his muscles grew like tumors, bursting out from every corner of his body, tearing his clothes again as he expanded horizontally and vertically.

*Whoosh!*

Once again, he transformed into the terrifying figure over two meters tall, powerful and bursting with muscle. Chen Xuan looked at the interface again. The entire screen had completely changed, looking nothing like before.

[Host: Chen Xuan]
[Martial Arts: Demonic Iron Cloth Shirt - Entry (0/280)]
[Strength: 1600 jin]
[Speed: 4 seconds per 100 meters]
[Function: Impervious to blades and spears, resistant to water and fire. Attacks with less than twice your strength will fail to penetrate your defense.]

The entire interface shimmered with a faint black light, looking mysterious, unfathomable, and eye-catching.