Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 47 Hidden Strength
Early in the morning, an old man and a young boy appeared near the observation post in the north of Qizhou City. The old man had his hands behind his back, and the young boy had two long spears on his back.

"How do you feel?" asked Mr. Sha who was walking in front.

"I feel very good. The effect of the pill is amazing. After not sleeping for a whole night, I feel more energetic than before." Jiang Xuan said excitedly.

Jiang Xuan still felt a little resentful about Mr. Sha's actions before going to bed last night. However, after a night of meditation and experiencing the changes in himself, Jiang Xuan did gain a lot of benefits.

Since leaving Qizhou City, Jiang Xuan has been undergoing an extremely intense training. Whether it is the black rhino spear, fine iron armor or the heavy rag bag, they have greatly tested Jiang Xuan's ability to carry weight and also consumed a lot of his physical strength.

With his strength running low, Elder Sha instructed Jiang Xuan to swallow the entire bottle of recovery pills. Every inch of his body, bones, and muscles greedily absorbed the pills' effects, leading to a rapid breakthrough. However, after the breakthrough, the absorption of the remaining effects slowed rapidly, and it wasn't fully absorbed until the following morning.

"The energy brought by the fifth level of the Heavenly Stage is indeed powerful." Jiang Xuan looked down at his arms and felt that his arms were full of energy at this moment. He could feel that his strength at this moment should have increased by several percent compared to the fourth level.

In addition, Jiang Xuan also noticed that the terrifying weight of the Black Rhino Spear on his back and the fine iron armor he was wearing now felt much lighter. As a result, Jiang Xuan's steps became much lighter, allowing him to better keep up with Sha Lao's increasing speed.

"Stop, the canyon ahead is only for warriors to pass through, everyone else please take a detour." Old Sha was stopped by a soldier wearing standard armor.

The standard armor was slightly different in shape and less refined than the armor worn by the guards at the Qizhou City gates, but it was significantly thicker. Clearly, the armor worn by the guards at the Qizhou City gates and the armor worn by the northern observation post had slightly different functions.

Jiang Xuan saw Sha Lao being stopped by the soldiers at the observation post, while several other soldiers wearing similar armor nearby made no attempt to stop Jiang Xuan. Clearly, those soldiers had already identified Jiang Xuan as a warrior based on the two spears on his back. And since Sha Lao, walking in front without any weapons, was naturally not a warrior either.

Jiang Xuan looked around and found that he and Sha Lao had already walked to the vicinity of the tall observation post, and not far from the observation post, there was a canyon.

Perhaps because the canyon was not wide, or perhaps because it was blocked by the expanded observation post, Jiang Xuan had to walk so close to discover the canyon behind the observation post.

"Why are only warriors allowed to pass through this canyon?" Jiang Xuan frowned slightly and asked the soldier who stopped Old Sha.

Since Old Sha was a peak Heavenly Rank warrior, he could easily pass through this canyon by simply demonstrating his abilities to the soldiers. However, Old Sha had been somewhat secretive about his martial artist status since his encounter with Jiang Xuan in Qizhou City. It seemed that Old Sha was reluctant to let others know not only his peak Heavenly Rank strength, but also his martial artist identity.

On the other hand, Jiang Xuan was also curious about this rule that sounded a bit strange. What exactly was the reason that made the City Lord's Mansion make such a rule?
"It seems that you are from another state. Across this canyon is a large forest. This road is the most convenient to go north from here. However, a few years ago, the activities of wild animals in the forest began to increase, and sometimes ferocious beasts appeared. This road became extremely unsafe." The soldier replied.

"If a wild beast appeared, a few strong men might still have some strength to fight. But if a ferocious beast appeared..." Another soldier tutted his lips and said, "Even if it was a Heavenly Rank warrior, it's hard to say."

Throughout the Yuan Nation, most states refer to beasts that are more ferocious than wild beasts as fierce beasts, and categorize them from level one to level nine based on their combat power. Among them, level nine beasts are the most powerful.

If a first-tier beast appeared, not only would a non-martial artist be unable to defeat it, even a peak-tier Earth-tier warrior would be nearly powerless. When a warrior reaches the Heaven-tier, due to the significant difference in physical strength between the beginner and peak levels, judging their strength requires a more specific approach. Regardless, the limit for a peak-tier Heaven-tier warrior is just barely enough to defeat a third-tier beast. Furthermore, defeating a third-tier beast is extremely rare, requiring not only their own strength but also superior weapons, elixirs, and other favorable factors.

Therefore, for an ordinary peak-level Heavenly Rank warrior, the upper limit is to defeat a second-level ferocious beast.

In this case, since there are ferocious beasts in the forest behind this canyon, the rule that only allows warriors to pass through is actually a kind of protection for ordinary people.

"Are you underestimating me, an old man?" Old Sha said with a kind face.

Amid the soldiers' puzzled expressions, Elder Sha pointed at Jiang Xuan and said, "Although this old man is not as strong as my grandson, he is also a warrior."

Seeing the doubtful expressions of several soldiers, and even one with a slightly contemptuous look, Old Sha did not get angry. He stretched out his hand and said to Jiang Xuan, "Grandson, bring me the gun."

Although Jiang Xuan had some thoughts about Sha Lao's behavior of taking advantage of him, in order not to reveal his true identity, he stepped forward and handed the Black Rhino Spear to Sha Lao.

Old Sha grasped the Black Rhino Spear and repeated the same spear technique he had used yesterday. He was very skilled in the spear technique and also wielded it with great grace.

However, Jiang Xuan could easily observe that the spear skills that Old Sha performed today were completely incomparable to those he performed yesterday. This must be the result of Old Sha deliberately concealing his strength.

However, several soldiers were unaware of this and they all applauded Sha Lao.

"You should be an Earth-level warrior, right?" a soldier asked in a tone of great admiration.

If a warrior's strength remains at the Earth Rank at Sha Lao's age, it means that he has stopped breaking through when he was younger. Every warrior has different talents, but they cannot be forced.

Therefore, the affirmation of several soldiers is more of an encouragement to Mr. Sha's vigorous mental state.

Amid the praises of several soldiers, Sha Lao seemed to have lost himself. He smiled with his eyes narrowed, casually threw the Black Rhino Spear to Jiang Xuan, clasped his fists to several soldiers, and walked towards the canyon with a smug look on his face.

Jiang Xuan was helpless when he saw this. He clasped his fists to several soldiers and hurried forward to chase after Sha Lao.

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(End of this chapter)