Chapter 18

"This Feeling of Power"

Chen Ping'an stood in the courtyard, immersing himself in the sensation for quite a while before slowly opening his eyes.

"Feels great!"

He walked straight into the kitchen, placed his hands on the large water vat that was more than half full, and exerted force.

In an instant, he lifted the vat off the ground.

Although their household's vat wasn't particularly large, when filled with more than half a vat of water, its weight was certainly no less than 300 jin (about 150 kg).

"Brother! How did your strength—"

Chen Er'ya, who had witnessed the entire scene, covered her mouth and gasped in shock.

She was stunned.

When did her brother become this strong?!

"Still have strength left!"

After sensing his current power, Chen Ping'an carefully placed the vat back down. He turned to look at Chen Er'ya and smiled.

"It's from practicing martial arts!"

"Practicing martial arts…"

Chen Er'ya's face was still full of astonishment.

Her brother had only been practicing for a few days! How could he…

Seeing the doubt in her expression, Chen Ping'an added,

"Your brother is a once-in-a-million martial arts genius!"

Indeed, in less than ten days, he had transformed from an ordinary person into a martial arts practitioner with Qi and Blood Level One, Perfected. If that wasn't genius, then what was?

"Qi and Blood Level One, strength has increased!"

"Now, let's test the changes after reaching Iron Cloth, Minor Achievement!"

Chen Ping'an took off his shirt, revealing his upper body. With his Qi and blood surging, he struck his own chest with his palm.

Since he wasn't sure how much force to use at first, he only used half of his strength.

Boom!

A deep, muffled sound, as if hitting cowhide.

Chen Ping'an only felt a slight vibration in his chest, nothing more.

"Again!"

This time, he increased the force and struck once more.

Boom! Another dull, heavy sound. This time, he felt a tingling sensation.

"Qi and Blood Level One, skin refining achieved—like thin cowhide!"

After several tests, Chen Ping'an finally confirmed his current condition.

His resistance to attacks had greatly increased. Likely due to his golden finger (cheat ability), his skin looked no different from that of an ordinary person, yet its defense and resilience were as tough as thin cowhide.

If a delicate young lady wielded a knife and tried to slash his skin, she might not even be able to break it.

It felt like using an ordinary knife to cut through the thickest part of a pig's hide—without extra force, it simply wouldn't cut through.

And now, Chen Ping'an had reached a similar level.

But his gains weren't just limited to physical improvements. The most valuable thing he had acquired was battle experience as if he had trained Iron Cloth through sheer effort.

Though he had never been in a real fight, he was already well-versed in the combat applications of Iron Cloth.

"This golden finger is truly miraculous."

With Iron Cloth at Minor Achievement and Qi and Blood Level One, Perfected, Chen Ping'an was now at least on par with any official enforcer in Nanquan Alley's Town Patrol Division.

In fact, in terms of overall strength, he could even rank in the upper-middle tier among them.

After all, some of the official enforcers in Nanquan Alley's Town Patrol Division were already starting to enter their Qi and blood decline phase.

"Qi and Blood Level One, Perfected. It's time to visit the black market."

The black market—a plan Chen Ping'an had in mind from the very beginning.

He owed the Tiger Head Gang's Little Tiger Lord ten taels of silver. If it had been under normal conditions with a one-year repayment term, he could have easily saved up and paid it off with his monthly wages.

But the situation had changed. The deadline was now ten days, and the total repayment had increased to fourteen taels of silver.

At present, Chen Ping'an didn't have the strength to overturn the table. His only option was to pay the debt properly.

And the fastest way to gather the money in time—

Was to sell the Iron Cloth martial arts manual in the black market!

Yes, the Iron Cloth martial arts technique!

Although he didn't have the original book, the technique had been recorded by his golden finger.

A few days ago, he had purchased paper and a brush, transcribed the entire technique, and bound the pages together with twine, creating a simple hand-copied martial arts manual.

No matter how common Iron Cloth was, it was still a martial arts technique that could serve as an entry point to the martial path. Even a handwritten copy could sell for a few taels of silver.

If he had the original, he could have sold it to the Treasure Pavilion in the county. But since this was only a copied version, he could only sell it through the black market.

Nanquan Alley had many gangs, rogues, and scoundrels—people making dirty money and engaging in illicit trades.

For things of questionable origin to circulate, they needed underground channels. The black market was born from this demand.

The Town Patrol Division of Nanquan Alley turned a blind eye to its existence. As long as things didn't go too far, they allowed it to continue operating.

However, since it was the black market, there were bound to be risks.

This was why Chen Ping'an had waited until today to go.

Now that his Iron Cloth had reached Minor Achievement and his Qi and Blood Level was perfected, his ability to protect himself had significantly improved.

Even if he faced two or three strong men wielding knives, as long as they hadn't stepped onto the martial path, he could easily evade, counter, or even eliminate them.

Going to the black market to sell the hand-copied Iron Cloth manual was the final step in his plan—

And it was also his confidence in being able to repay the debt by tomorrow.

This trip—was a must!

Since he had to visit the black market, he needed to stay in peak condition. So, he didn't push himself further in Iron Cloth training.

"Little One, Brother needs to go out for a while."

Chen Ping'an turned to Chen Er'ya and said.

The little girl was still in shock from the water vat incident.

"Huh? So late… where is Brother going?"

"The black market."

Upon hearing this, the little girl frowned. She might be young, but she knew what kind of place the black market was.

"That place is really dangerous, especially at night…"

She spoke with concern.

Chen Ping'an walked over, ruffled her hair until it was a mess, and then withdrew his hand.

"It's fine. You just saw it yourself—your brother's strength isn't a joke. I'll be completely safe."

"Mm… I guess that's true… but…"

The little girl hesitated.

"Little One, don't worry. Brother will be back within two hours, at most."

Chen Ping'an reassured her.

"Alright then… Brother, be careful."

The little girl pouted slightly, reluctantly agreeing.

She understood that her brother had serious matters to handle. She tried to stop him out of concern, but she couldn't change his decision.

After comforting Chen Er'ya, Chen Ping'an changed into dark, tight-fitting clothes, grabbed a black cloth to cover his face later, and prepared to leave.

Before stepping out, he hesitated, then took a hatchet for safety. Finally, he tucked the handwritten Iron Cloth manual into his chest and walked out the door.

"Little One, don't forget to slide the wooden latch into place. Be good and wait for Brother to return."