Chapter 18: Stone Skin and Stone Bones

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“Didn’t eat?”

The Eighteen Bronze Men froze.

They could not believe that this frail-looking young man had not only remained standing after blocking a full-powered punch from their leader, but could also speak so calmly afterward.

“How is that possible!”

The leader of the Bronze Men stared at Chen Tiansheng in disbelief before finally roaring the words.

Chen Tiansheng said mildly, “Seeing is believing, and you experienced it yourself. Why do you still refuse to believe it?”

The Bronze Man flew into a rage. As a disciple of the Hanging Sect of the Mortal Way Association, he had just been mocked by someone who had yet to earn disciple status and was still undergoing evaluation. It was something he could not tolerate.

In his fury, the Bronze Man raised his left hand to slap Chen Tiansheng. Yet in the instant he lifted it, Chen Tiansheng suddenly seized the wrist of the fist that was still pressed against his chest.

Chen Tiansheng tightened his grip with tremendous force. The Bronze Man’s wrist cracked loudly, as if clamped in an iron vise. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free. It was difficult to believe that such a young man could possess such terrifying strength in his hands.

Shocked, the Bronze Man grew even more furious. He struck at Chen Tiansheng with all his strength using his left palm. At the same time, Chen Tiansheng violently twisted the wrist of the Bronze Man’s right hand.

The pain made the Bronze Man’s body tilt to one side, causing his left-hand strike to miss. Chen Tiansheng immediately kicked him in the left knee. His left leg buckled, and he was forced down onto one knee.

Chen Tiansheng braced his right leg against the Bronze Man’s back. Every time the Bronze Man tried to resist and stand, Chen Tiansheng twisted harder, and the agonizing pain robbed him of all strength.

“Do you concede?” Chen Tiansheng asked calmly.

Concede?

Those were the very words the Bronze Man had spoken to Chen Tiansheng at the beginning. Now they had been turned back on him.

The Bronze Man was furious, but no matter how angry he became, he could not break free. All he could do was curse viciously.

“Enough noise.”

Chen Tiansheng gave a cold snort and suddenly tightened his grip. As the Bronze Man cried out in pain, Chen Tiansheng smashed an elbow heavily into the back of his neck.

The Bronze Man collapsed on the spot and lost consciousness.

Chen Tiansheng glanced at the motionless figure on the ground before raising his eyes.

If others showed him a measure of respect, he would repay them tenfold. But if someone insisted on humiliating him after being given a chance, he was not afraid to tear off all pretense of civility.

Turning his gaze toward the remaining Bronze Men, the smile vanished from his face. His expression became indifferent.

“Come together, or one at a time?”

The remaining seventeen Bronze Men had completely abandoned their initial contempt. Every one of them became serious.

A Bronze Man had been knocked unconscious. This was the first time such a thing had ever happened.

One of them stepped forward and demanded, “What did you hide beneath your shirt? How could you take a direct punch without injury? You cheated!”

In their eyes, Chen Tiansheng must have placed some hard object against his chest to withstand that punch.

After all, it had been a full-powered strike from a disciple of the Hanging Sect. How could someone who had not even earned disciple status receive it so easily?

He must have cheated!

Cheated?

Chen Tiansheng smiled faintly and said mockingly, “If you can’t beat me, does that automatically mean I cheated?”

He practiced Chest-Hammering Stone. It was no ordinary street trick, but a carefully selected technique for tempering the body. After striking his chest with stones every day, his chest had developed a resistance far beyond that of ordinary people.

He had chosen a technique for strengthening the body because he believed that before learning how to fight, one had to learn how to take a beating.

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After reaching the mortal grade, Chest-Hammering Stone had greatly strengthened his physique.

Chest-Hammering Stone

Status: Mortal Grade, Initiated

Trait: Stone Skin and Stone Bones; the chest can shatter stones weighing one hundred pounds

If his chest could shatter a stone weighing a hundred pounds, what was one punch from an ordinary disciple by comparison?

As for his strength, he had spent every day striking his chest with stones, while also absorbing the frigid poison within Fang Chenghu’s body to strengthen himself. His physical power now surpassed that of an ordinary disciple. Combined with his Stone Skin and Stone Bones, once he locked someone down, an ordinary disciple would find it extremely difficult to escape.

As for martial techniques, he had not learned them from anyone since arriving in this world. In his previous life, he had learned a few grappling moves during safety training. He had never expected them to come in handy here.

Although he knew only a handful of techniques, they were more than enough to deal with these eighteen Bronze Men.

As long as his body was hard enough that others could not injure him, while each of his own punches caused them considerable pain, victory would eventually be his.

At first, he had planned to play it safe, relying on his tough body to endure until the time limit passed. But that would not do now. He needed to strike back and pass the evaluation as quickly as possible, thereby attracting the attention of the higher-ups and gaining their protection.

He did not possess the strength to chase down all eighteen Bronze Men and attack them one by one. That was why he had chosen to provoke them. Only by making them attack him together could he create opportunities to throw punches.

Seeing the seventeen Bronze Men growing angry, Chen Tiansheng mocked them again.

“If you refuse to accept this, then come at me. If you don’t, the time will keep slipping away, and I’ll pass the evaluation without lifting a finger.”

At those words, the seventeen Bronze Men exchanged glances, then nodded in silent agreement.

One Bronze Man stepped forward and said, “This brat is far too arrogant. He knocked one of our men unconscious and still dares to mock us. If we don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll really start thinking he’s invincible. Come on—let’s deal with him together!”

Normally, having all the Bronze Men attack at the beginning would violate the rules. But if the examinee himself requested it, there was no problem.

As soon as the Bronze Man finished speaking, all seventeen of them charged toward Chen Tiansheng.

Chen Tiansheng licked his dry lips, raised his fists, and laughed.

“Excellent!”

…

In front of the Bronze Men Chamber.

Ever since Chen Tiansheng entered, enormous commotion had erupted inside. Nothing like it had ever happened before.

Everyone whispered among themselves, wondering what was happening within.

What puzzled them even more was that as time passed, the noise inside showed little sign of fading. It was hard to imagine that Chen Tiansheng could remain in there for so long.

According to everyone’s expectations, Chen Tiansheng should have lost the moment he encountered the first Bronze Man. There was no way he could have held out this long.

Could the Bronze Men be going easy on him?

But did the sounds inside really resemble them going easy on him?

After roughly half an incense stick had burned, the door to the Bronze Men Chamber opened, and a person limped out.

It was Chen Tiansheng.

His clothes were in tatters, and his face was swollen and bruised. He had clearly been beaten badly.

The moment the onlookers saw him, they all burst into laughter.

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“I told you this brat wasn’t up to it. Look at him—just look at what they did to him! Hahaha, he’s in a sorry state.”

“Even though he lost, lasting this long means he has some ability.”

“Sure enough, no matter how skilled someone is at street arts, that doesn’t prove they know real martial arts.”

Those who had arrived later had heard about the talent Chen Tiansheng displayed on the Grade Platform, but they firmly believed he could never pass the Bronze Men Chamber.

He had come out before one incense stick had burned. Clearly, he had failed.

Of course, if he could defeat all eighteen Bronze Men within the time limit, like Jiang Yu had, then leaving early would also count as passing.

But did Chen Tiansheng look like someone who had passed?

When Jiang Yu saw Chen Tiansheng’s condition, he slapped his thigh and roared with laughter. In a sarcastic tone, he called toward Chen Tiansheng, “You brat with the surname Chen, looks like you’re not much after all. What a waste of the expectations I had for you. Ah, I’m leaving!”

He had heard earlier about Chen Tiansheng’s exceptional skill in street arts, and it had infuriated him. He hated seeing a rival surpass him. Now, seeing Chen Tiansheng in such a miserable state, his resentment vanished at once. He even felt a little sympathy for him.

At the entrance, Elder Yu Huan had already anticipated Chen Tiansheng’s failure, so he showed little reaction. Extinguishing the incense in the burner, he said, “Someone, take Chen Tiansheng to the treatment room.”

Being highly skilled in street arts was certainly impressive, but the Hanging Sect did not judge people solely by their street arts. Moreover, Chen Tiansheng was arrogant and did not know when to concede, which was why he had ended up in such a state. Someone like that would be difficult to train and was unsuitable for the Mortal Martial Pavilion.

At Yu Huan’s command, two people came forward to take Chen Tiansheng away.

But just as they climbed the steps and reached the doorway, the scene inside left them utterly stunned. They stood there foolishly, frozen in place.

Yu Huan was displeased and shouted, “Why are you standing there like idiots? Take him away! Can you afford to delay the evaluation?”

Only then did the two men recover. They looked blankly toward Yu Huan, and one of them said cautiously, “Elder Yu, I think the people inside should be taken to the treatment room first. We also need to call more people.”

At those words, Yu Huan stared at him in confusion and rebuked him softly. “What nonsense.”

Even so, Yu Huan cast a sidelong glance into the room.

With that single glance, Yu Huan instantly froze. The notebook in his hand slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground.

The crowd grew curious. One after another, they rose onto their toes and craned their necks to look inside.

The moment they saw the scene, everyone was stunned.

No one could laugh anymore.

“All eighteen… all eighteen Bronze Men have been knocked down! Every one of them is unconscious!”

Someone suddenly shouted the words.

Jiang Yu had just reached the entrance to the courtyard. He stopped in his tracks and mocked, “He knocked all eighteen Bronze Men unconscious? What kind of joke is that?”

At that moment, Yu Huan said in a trembling voice, “Chen Tiansheng, you actually managed to defeat all eighteen Bronze Men by yourself!”

Jiang Yu: “???”