Martial Saint with Passives

"We won?"

"For real?"

The men at the table asked one after another.

"Would I lie to you? It’s just that news travels slow in a small place like ours. It’s already all over the State Mansion!" the man said with certainty.

"Then the Court will definitely send troops to wipe out the bandits! This True Mother Sect, I reckon they won’t be around for much longer!" someone said with a laugh.

"Exactly. From what I can see, these rebels are just a bunch of mud-legs who farm for a living. How can they fight the Court’s army? Isn’t that just asking for death?"

"Yeah, they’re just fooling those mud-legs. What Mother of Non-Birth? What a load of crap!"

...

These men seemed to be in much better spirits now that the Court had won a battle.

They then started gossiping about various things happening in the city.

Seeing that there was no more useful information to be heard, Jiang Che left.

But hearing that the Court had won a battle didn’t put his mind at ease.

Although they thought the rebels would be easy to eliminate,

Jiang Che knew it wasn’t that simple.

In an era where many common people couldn’t even fill their stomachs, the appearance of such a persuasive religion that also offered mutual aid...

...was like a spark falling into a haystack. It would soon burst into a raging fire.

This force was incredibly fierce. It might even sweep through the entirety of Great Chu!

After mulling it over, he decided that the most important thing was still his own strength.

Money and possessions might become impossible to spend.

Houses would be even more worthless.

But as long as he was strong enough to fight, he wouldn’t have to fear being killed by marauding armies, nor would he have to worry about finding food.

If worst came to worst, he would just take his sister and find a place to hide, only coming out after the chaotic times were over!

...

...

...

In the days that followed, Jiang Che began to focus on practicing the Prison-Suppressing Saber.

During this time, he visited the Martial Arts Hall a few times to see his master and sister.

Jiang Ling’s White Cloud Fist was getting better and better.

Her Root Bone wasn’t particularly exceptional, but it was much better than his had been.

It was probably just a bit inferior to Zhang Xiong’s and Lin Xue’er’s.

This news brought him considerable relief.

As long as she kept practicing, she should be able to reach Stone Skin.

As for Iron Skin, the hope was far too slim.

But for an ordinary person, Stone Skin was already enough.

Before he knew it, his Skill Level with the Prison-Suppressing Saber had reached Great Success.

Since Jiang Che was still in the Stone Skin Realm, his Skill Level could no longer increase with practice, so he stopped.

Next, Jiang Che began to practice the final Qi Blood Martial Art, the Eight Sufferings Vajra Zen.

The Eight Sufferings referred to eight strange postures.

Jiang Che felt these postures were a bit like the Ancient Yoga from his previous life.

This martial art was completely different from anything he had practiced before; it took him three days just to reach the Entry Level.

However, it got a little better after he became more proficient.

On this day, Jiang Che came to the Martial Arts Hall to visit his master and sister.

Suddenly, he noticed that there were many people in the courtyard.

Only then did he realize that it was the day for the monthly check of cultivation progress and for answering everyone’s cultivation questions.

Seeing Jiang Che arrive, Zhang Xiong smiled and waved.

When Jiang Che got closer, he said with a hint of surprise:

"Jiang Che, you’ve reached the Late-stage Stone Skin Realm too?"

Jiang Che nodded. "My progress has been relatively fast recently."

On second thought, Zhang Xiong figured that since Jiang Che had previously obtained many resources, especially Top Grade Exotic Beast Meat, such fast progress was to be expected.

"By the way, Gong Yulei has reached Iron Skin," he whispered, leaning closer to Jiang Che.

"Oh? That’s really good." Jiang Che was a little surprised.

He looked at Gong Yulei and saw that the man’s Qi Blood was vigorous, his skin even faintly glowing with a metallic luster. He was undoubtedly in the Iron Skin Realm.

’A genius is a genius, after all. His progress is so fast...’

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

’I wonder how many of my saber strikes he could withstand...’

He subconsciously began to compare Gong Yulei to the Black Beast he had hunted.

’Why do I get the feeling I could kill him in one strike, even without a critical hit...’

The thought suddenly crossed Jiang Che’s mind as he looked at Gong Yulei’s neck and compared it to the Black Beast he had slain.

’Wait... What am I thinking?’

He was startled by his own thought and quickly suppressed it.

Gong Yulei, seeing Jiang Che looking at him, gave him a rare smile.

There was no arrogance, no hostility—only gentleness and indifference.

After breaking through to the Iron Skin Realm, Gong Yulei had come to see things differently.

His fellow disciples were no longer competitors.

Instead, they were weaker juniors who needed his guidance and care.

He was like a senior in college who had graduated and found a good job.

That’s how he now saw the underclassmen who hadn’t graduated yet and were worried about internships.

Past grievances? Conflicts?

None of it mattered anymore.

His sights were no longer set on just the Martial Arts Hall.

Even the Fish Dragon Gang was a bit too small for him now.

An Iron Skin Realm expert was a master no matter where they went and would be treated as an honored guest!

He knew his future was limitless!

Just then, Master Luo Kun arrived.

His gaze swept over the crowd, and his expression froze when he suddenly noticed Gong Yulei had broken through to Iron Skin.

He instantly strode over and grabbed Gong Yulei’s wrist.

"Iron Skin Realm! You really broke through!" he exclaimed in delight.

When the crowd saw their master confirm Gong Yulei’s Realm, they all cast envious gazes his way.

At the same time, some people looked with pity toward a disciple named Hu Hui.

This was the disciple who had repeatedly failed to break through to Iron Skin, only to cultivate back up to the Peak of the Stone Skin Realm each time.

At this moment, his face looked somewhat pale.

A while ago, he had once again attempted to break through to the Iron Skin Realm.

Unfortunately, he had failed again.

His Realm had also dropped to the Mid-stage of the Stone Skin Realm.

Zhang Xiong looked away, his expression turning somber.

Although he had now reached the Late-stage Stone Skin Realm.