However, a shocking technique that targeted the internal organs was extremely effective against Cross-training Martial Artists, whose insides were still vulnerable.
Xu Yunfan felt a pang of regret. 'If I had a Heavy Hammer right now, I could've easily killed Yang Gan on the spot.'
Suddenly, an idea struck Xu Yunfan. He spun around, leaped into the hole, and snatched up the Iron Pickaxe. He then scrambled out and charged straight for Yang Gan.
Yang Gan was panting heavily. Seeing Xu Yunfan charge at him again, his eyes went wide. He quickly raised a hand and yelled, "Wait! We're both Cross-training Martial Artists! It would take at least a thousand rounds to determine a winner! You…"
Before he could finish, he saw a silent Xu Yunfan swing the Iron Pickaxe viciously toward him. Yang Gan took a deep breath, circulating his Blood Qi. Instantly, his muscles swelled, and thick veins bulged across his body like writhing serpents.
He declared in a deep voice, "It's useless. An ordinary blade would, at most, leave a white mark on my body. It can't even break my skin… UGH, AHHH!!!"
Just as the words left his mouth, the Iron Pickaxe—embedded with a fragment of the Purple Gold Earth-Shattering Hammer—was upon him.
The tip of the pickaxe plunged into his chest as if it were the softest tofu, sinking deep without any resistance and aiming straight for his heart.
Yang Gan's eyes bulged, filled with terror and utter disbelief. It looked as if they would pop right out of their sockets.
The excruciating pain from his heart felt like a million steel needles piercing him all at once, making every cell in his body tremble.
He instinctively shot out his hands, clamping down on the Iron Pickaxe with all his might, as if that could stop the deadly weapon from plunging deeper.
'How is this possible… My Horizontal Training Body was broken by a single strike from this pickaxe!'
Shock and rage churned within Yang Gan. He couldn't believe that the Cross Training Skill he had painstakingly cultivated for so many years, his greatest pride, had been shattered so easily.
The muscles of his arms bulged, veins throbbing madly beneath his skin like enraged serpents as he desperately tried to stop the Iron Pickaxe from pushing in any further.
Xu Yunfan's own muscles were now bulging as well, each one a dense knot of power.
The Blood Qi in his body surged like boiling, tumultuous magma.
As his Blood Qi raged, his muscles continued to expand, swelling layer upon layer. From a distance, he looked like a monstrous, over-inflated strongman, radiating a terrifying aura that would chill anyone to the bone.
"I finally… know the extent of my power!"
Xu Yunfan's voice was deep and low.
The Martial Arts progression granted by the Attribute Panel, governed by his Skill Level, allowed him to achieve perfect mastery as he advanced. It was a level of control that ordinary martial practitioners of the same rank could not compare to.
"Wait, wait! I know what's buried under Ninggu Tower! I can share it with you! And—I have a chest of gold and treasure, it can all be yours! Wait, just wait!"
As Yang Gan watched in utter terror, Xu Yunfan remained silent, slowly applying more force. The muscles in his arm tensed like steel, every fiber unleashing immense power.
Under his relentless push, the Iron Pickaxe sank inch by inch into Yang Gan's chest, steadily piercing his heart.
Yang Gan's body stiffened violently, and then his bulging muscles deflated in an instant, like a punctured balloon.
His hands fell limply to his sides. As if he'd lost all support, his body slowly began to topple backward.
His eyes remained locked on Xu Yunfan, the light within them gradually dimming until the last spark of life was extinguished and he breathed no more.
Xu Yunfan let out a breath and pulled the Iron Pickaxe from Yang Gan's body with one hand.
He glanced at the Purple Gold Earth-Shattering Hammer fragment embedded in the tip of the pickaxe and clicked his tongue in amazement. He truly hadn't expected that a tiny shard could so easily break through the defenses of and kill a Martial Master who had achieved Great Mastery of Skin Cultivation and specialized in a Horizontal Training Skill.
'A Divine Weapon is really something else,' he thought.
With Yang Gan dead, Xu Yunfan felt an inexplicable sense of relief. Back in the mines, Yang Gan's stare had made him extremely uncomfortable. Many nights, just the thought of that cold, murderous gaze had kept him from sleeping.
Now, he could finally, completely relax.
He glanced at the messages in his vision. Notifications about his Copper Body Skill's advancement were flooding the screen.
'Fists and feet rain down on your body. You feel the Blood Qi of your Copper Body Skill surging. Copper Body Skill Level has increased.'
'Your opponent's strikes are heavy. Though you are forced back, you sense the warm current of the Copper Body Skill flowing through your limbs. Copper Body Skill Level has increased. Your physique has grown tougher.'
'...'
In a short period, he had gained thirteen Skill Level points. If Yang Gan hadn't been trying to kill him, he might have considered keeping him alive to practice his Kung Fu and grind his Skill Level.
His Copper Body Skill's Skill Level increased very efficiently in such high-intensity combat.
"The Purple Gold Earth-Shattering Hammer, if it were complete, would be a weapon that surpasses Tier Six Treasure Artifacts to reach the level of a Tier Seven Divine Weapon."
Li Haomiao slowly climbed out of the large hole. He looked at Yang Gan's lifeless body on the ground and sighed. "In all of the Great Zhou, there are precious few Divine Weapons."
Xu Yunfan glanced over at Fang Mushan, who was still fighting in the distance. Seeing that his companion had the upper hand, he called out to offer help. After Fang Mushan decisively refused, Xu Yunfan turned his attention back.
"If a Divine Weapon can so easily break through a Cross Training Skill, then what's the point of cultivating Horizontal Training?"
Hearing this, Li Haomiao's gaze drifted to the distance, watching Fang Mushan wield his Long Spear. The man and his weapon moved as one, his footwork as swift as the wind.
"What a fine tiger general. Given time, he might one day become as famous as his father."
After a moment of admiration, he said calmly, "Long ago, at Mituo Temple, there was an unknown old monk who cultivated the Amitabha's Golden Body Sutra. When his temple was on the verge of destruction, he emerged and withstood two Divine Weapons, his Golden Body remaining completely unharmed. In this day and age, such a feat is nothing short of world-shattering."
"Are you trying to say that in the end, whether it's a Divine Weapon or Martial Arts, it all comes down to the person?"
Li Haomiao nodded. "Exactly."
Xu Yunfan frowned. "You could have just said so. Why beat around the bush with all that?"
Li Haomiao sighed in resignation. "Rotten wood cannot be carved."
Xu Yunfan couldn't be bothered to argue with Li Haomiao. Instead, he focused on feeling the power that came with achieving Great Mastery of Skin Cultivation in his Copper Body Skill.
'The Attribute Panel isn't saying I can't advance any further,' he thought. 'That must mean if I max out these five thousand Skill Level points, I should be able to achieve the Golden Skin Li Haomiao mentioned.'
Golden Skin and Jade Veins, Vermilion Blood and Silver Essence.
"If I advance my Copper Body Skill one more step, to the Perfection Realm, that should be enough to manifest the Golden Skin, right?"
Hearing this, Li Haomiao couldn't help but glance at Xu Yunfan, whose Blood Qi had yet to settle and whose skin still carried a coppery sheen.
"If you cultivate the Copper Body Skill to its absolute limit, you can indeed achieve that. However…"
Li Haomiao shook his head. "Striving for Perfection… even most of those with True Blood can't achieve it. It's just a waste of time. How many prodigies in this world have spent decades pursuing the Realm of Perfection, only to fail? They could have climbed to greater heights on the Martial Dao, but in the end, they were stuck as First-Level Martial Artists. You—what are you doing?"