Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill-Chapter 53: First Body Tempering

Xi’Er had heard people talk about the rules for being a maid in a large household. She knew that a maid had to be cautious in all matters, understand her place, and never anger the Patriarch, or else she might be beaten, scolded, or simply thrown out.

’I’ve finally found a place to stay; I can’t go breaking the rules. If I make the young master unhappy and get thrown out, I’ll be in big trouble.’

Chen Cheng smiled slightly and said, "My family doesn’t bother with all that. Just listen to Xiaowan."

"Okay," Xi’Er answered earnestly. Then she looked around the courtyard, ran to the water vat, and scooped some water to wash her face.

She had noticed as soon as she entered the gate: the Chen Family’s courtyard was spotless, and the young master and young miss were also clean. She, on the other hand, was filthy from head to toe. ’I can’t let the young master and young miss be disgusted by me.’

Mu Xiaowan patted her forehead and said with a laugh, "I have some old clothes. I’ll get them for Xi’Er to wear for now."

After saying that, she went into the house to get the clothes and then set about boiling water for Xi’Er’s bath.

After her bath and a change into clean clothes, Xi’Er was completely transformed.

She was eleven years old this year, with delicate and pretty features. Her eyes were dark and bright, with a hint of cleverness. Her frame was a bit thin and small, but her constitution was fairly good. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Alright, let’s eat." The more Mu Xiaowan looked at Xi’Er, the more she liked her. She pulled her into the kitchen.

Xi’Er came from a poor family and was very diligent. Without needing to be told by Mu Xiaowan, she started helping set out the bowls and serve the food.

Fluffy white millet rice, a large basin of radishes stewed with mutton, a big platter of braised pork knuckle, and a cabbage and tofu soup.

Xi’Er’s eyes widened. Although she had helped bring the food to the table, seeing it all laid out before her was another sight entirely.

’What kind of heavenly life do the young master and young miss live?’

In her memory, she had never seen a family eat so lavishly.

Even that time her father had hunted a half-grown wild boar, her family had only eaten a little bit of the stewed pork. They couldn’t bear to eat the rest and took it to the county town to sell.

Mu Xiaowan placed two pieces of pork knuckle and a large chunk of stewed mutton into Xi’Er’s bowl, smiling. "Xi’Er, you must be starving. Hurry up and eat."

"I... can I really eat this?"

"Of course. Go on, eat."

...

"Xi’Er, you must have suffered a lot after being abducted by those human traffickers, right? Did they hit you? Did they not feed you, letting you starve?"

"They were counting on selling me for a good price, so they didn’t starve me."

...

After Chen Cheng tidied up the storage room, he made a bed for Xi’Er, and she settled into the Chen Family’s home.

The little girl was well-behaved and sensible, as well as diligent. She was quick and deft with housework, proving to be very competent.

A few more days passed. There was still no news about the Black Lotus Sect from the Ruyi Square Sub-Department, and things were quiet on the Jiang Family’s end as well.

Chen Cheng was finally able to put his mind at ease.

The Money Bag he had taken from the Black Lotus Sect member he killed that day contained gold coins, silver notes, and broken silver, totaling over one hundred and twenty taels of silver.

Adding the twenty-odd taels of silver he already had, Chen Cheng’s total wealth was now more than one hundred and forty taels.

Although the Iron Armor Skill, an Inner Breath Technique, could be cultivated to Skin Grinding Realm Perfection, it focused more on the Breathing Method and lacked in skin and membrane conditioning. Within the same Realm, the resulting skin toughness was far inferior to the strength one could gain by cultivating a Body Tempering Technique.

Fortunately, Inner Breath Techniques and Body Tempering Techniques didn’t conflict with each other; cultivating them simultaneously could even be mutually beneficial. Moreover, practicing different Body Tempering Techniques at the same time also had a cumulative effect on one’s physique.

Therefore, with so much wealth, Chen Cheng began to prepare for the cultivation of the Bear Bear Body Tempering Method.

He made a trip to Luo’s Shop. After haggling with Qian Bin, he bought a set of Medicinal Materials for the Bear Skin Grinding Technique’s Herbal Decoction for fifty taels of silver. The materials included ingredients for both the external decoction and the corresponding internal medicine.

Next, he dug a large pit in the courtyard and had Wang Laoshu and his son bring coarse sand from the sand field to fill it, creating a sandpit. He also bought a medicine pot and other such items, thus completing his preparations for cultivating the Bear Skin Grinding Technique.

On this day, Chen Cheng woke up before dawn, brewed the Herbal Decoction in a pot, and then, completely naked, slid into the coarse sandpit to begin cultivating the Bear Skin Grinding Technique.

Following the Heart Method Mantra of the Bear Skin Grinding Technique, Chen Cheng performed various movements in the coarse sandpit, letting the rough, hard grains of sand grind against his skin and membranes.

Body Tempering Techniques for the Skin Grinding Realm all used external forces to hone the skin and membranes. These methods included rubbing the skin with iron sand or striking wooden and iron posts. Through repeated training, the skin would transform and then regenerate. This cycle was repeated, honing the skin again and again until it was as tough as ox-hide—or even as hard as Copper Hide or iron.

During this training, the skin would naturally be damaged. This required soaking the entire body in an Herbal Decoction. While soaking, one had to take an internal medicine formulated to stimulate qi and blood, absorbing the medicinal power from both to repair and strengthen the skin and membranes while also bolstering one’s own qi and blood.

Compared to other Skin Grinding Techniques, which often involved grinding with iron sand or striking wooden posts, the cultivation of the Bear Skin Grinding Technique was relatively gentle.

In the rice-grain-sized coarse sand, Chen Cheng continuously performed various movements: Brown Bear Rolling, Brown Bear Digging, Brown Bear Back-Scratching, Naughty Bear Antics, Brown Bear Butt-Up... The coarse sand constantly ground against his skin and membranes.

He was already close to Great Success in Skin Grinding Realm, so his skin and membranes were extremely tough and firm, like ox-hide. When he first began the cultivation, it felt like taking a bath in coarse sand. His movements were smooth and natural, and it was even somewhat pleasant.

However, as the grinding gradually intensified, the damage and bruising to his skin worsened. His movements became sluggish, and he gritted his teeth in pain. Fortunately, his willpower was strong, and he was able to persevere.

Later on, his pained grimace evolved into an expression of agony, resembling a furious rolling brown bear, ferocious in its intensity.

[Bear Skin Grinding Technique progress has increased.]

...

[Skills: Bear Skin Grinding Technique (Uninitiated 1/10)]

...

[Skills: Bear Skin Grinding Technique (Uninitiated 2/10)]

...

Fortunately, the panel notifications appeared from time to time. Although Chen Cheng was in torment, he was truly experiencing a painful sort of bliss.

’My Cultivation Progress in the Bear Skin Grinding Technique is ridiculously fast! The future looks promising!’

Half an hour later, his Cultivation Progress for the Bear Skin Grinding Technique had already reached 3 points. Chen Cheng’s expression was pained, but his eyes shone like stars.

An hour later, as the sky began to pale in the east, Chen Cheng’s progress with the Bear Skin Grinding Technique had astonishingly reached 8 points, just 2 points away from the Beginner Level.

At this point, the skin and membranes all over Chen Cheng’s body were bruised and swollen. Even the slightest movement, the faintest friction from the coarse sand, felt like ten thousand rice-grain-thick iron needles stabbing him, an unbearable agony.

According to the description in the Bear Skin Grinding Technique’s Cultivation Technique Manual, he had reached his limit for this session. If he forced himself to continue, he would inflict wounds on his skin and membranes that would be difficult to heal.

Chen Cheng endured the searing pain of the coarse sand scraping against his injured skin and slowly climbed out of the pit. The cool morning breeze blew past, and even the chill on his skin was agonizing.

The complete Body Tempering process also required soaking in the Herbal Decoction and taking the internal medicine. He placed the prepared internal medicine next to the wooden tub.

Then, he ladled the prepared Herbal Decoction into the wooden tub, added boiling water, and waited until the decoction was scalding hot but would not burn his skin. With a SPLASH, he plunged into the tub, completely submerging his body in the Herbal Decoction.

Instantly, a fiery, scorching sensation spread throughout his body. Chen Cheng felt as if he were immersed in volcanic magma, his entire being on the verge of being boiled alive.