From what Li Niu and the other martial arts disciples said, Gu Qingfeng finally realized that the deaths in Lin County were not a recent occurrence. As early as a month ago, people had been dying under strange and tragic circumstances.
Because Lin County was relatively small, and Gu Qingfeng mostly traveled between the martial arts gym and his home, he hadn't paid much attention to the outside world, which is why he was unaware of the situation.
In the following days, Gu Qingfeng learned more about the events in Lin County. He discovered that the frequency of deaths was increasing at an alarming rate. Initially, it was one family every few days, but now people were dying almost daily, sometimes even two or three families in a single day.
As the death toll rose, rumors about "unclean" entities began to spread, causing widespread panic. Some families were even considering leaving Lin County altogether.
In response, the government issued a notice claiming that a fugitive murderer had fled to Lin County and was responsible for the killings. They assured the public that the authorities were tracking the criminal and that an arrest would be made soon, calming the people's fears for the moment.
However, when Gu Qingfeng heard the news, he frowned.
"A fugitive murderer… it can't be that simple," he thought.
While these thoughts weighed on his mind, he still lacked enough information to piece together the truth.
Back in the courtyard, Gu Qingfeng saw his son, Gu Yang, practicing the Collapsing Mountain Fist. He frowned slightly and asked, "Shouldn't you be at the private school today?"
"The teacher said that due to the recent unrest in the county, classes have been suspended for a few days. He'll notify us when they resume," Gu Yang replied.
Gu Qingfeng nodded and glanced at his attribute panel, feeling his worries start to dissipate.
"Why bother overthinking this?" he thought to himself. "Whether it's some strange entity or a mere fugitive, strength is all that matters. As long as I become strong enough, nothing will be a problem."
Determined to increase his strength quickly, Gu Qingfeng decided to help Gu Yang break through first. His son's growth would also indirectly aid his own progress.
With that in mind, Gu Qingfeng calmly pulled out a Qi and Blood Pill and handed it to Gu Yang.
"This pill will assist you in practicing the Collapsing Mountain Fist. Since your school is closed for now, use this time to train. Take one pill a day, but be careful not to overdo it. Too many could damage your meridians—at worst, it could even be fatal."
Gu Qingfeng's stern tone made the consequences sound dire, even though the pill wouldn't actually kill anyone. His exaggeration was intended to ensure Gu Yang took his words seriously.
As expected, Gu Yang's face paled at the warning, and he quickly promised, "Don't worry, Dad, I won't take too much."
"Good," Gu Qingfeng said, satisfied. After giving Gu Yang some pointers on his technique, he moved to the other side of the yard and began practicing the Iron Body Technique himself.
It had been a month since Gu Qingfeng acquired the Iron Body Technique. Perhaps due to his breakthrough in skin refining, he found his progress with the Iron Body Technique to be much faster than it had been with the Collapsing Mountain Fist. In just one month, he had reached a level of proficiency in the Iron Body Technique.
He could feel his skin toughening, though the change wasn't immediately obvious. Regardless, he was certain he was growing stronger.
Despite these gains, Gu Qingfeng noticed that his realm hadn't progressed on the attribute panel. He didn't mind, though. Just because the panel didn't reflect his growth didn't mean he wasn't getting stronger. In these turbulent times, he needed to enhance his strength by any means necessary.
Three months passed quickly.
During that time, Lin County had grown much quieter. The string of mysterious deaths had ceased, and life appeared to return to normal. Gu Qingfeng stopped concerning himself with the earlier disturbances.
When the Qi and Blood Pills were used up, he used his savings to purchase more body-strengthening medicinal baths and pills from the Jinniu Martial Arts School. Most of these resources went to Gu Yang for his training, while Gu Qingfeng used only a small portion for himself.
Even with this limited use, Gu Qingfeng successfully reached the "minor success" stage of the Iron Body Technique after three months.
Testing his newfound strength, he grabbed a sharp weapon and slashed his arm. The blade couldn't even leave a white mark on his skin. Then, gripping the weapon firmly, he crushed it into a lump of scrap metal.
"Good!" Gu Qingfeng nodded in satisfaction. While achieving perfection in skin refining had given him some resistance to weapons, the Iron Body Technique had elevated him to an entirely new level of invulnerability.
At that moment, the information panel, which had been silent for some time, updated with new messages.
"Your offspring 'Gu Yang' has broken through to the mid-stage of the Leather Refining Realm!"
"Reward: 2 Improvement Points!"
"Reward: 30 Qi and Blood Pills!"
"Reward: 10 Blood Refining Pills!"
This time, there were no new martial arts techniques, but Gu Qingfeng received two more improvement points and a new type of elixir—Blood Refining Pills.
These pills were designed to help warriors in the Blood Refining Realm refine their qi and blood, accelerating their breakthroughs. Warriors who had completed the Skin Refining Realm, like Gu Qingfeng, could also use them to step into the Blood Refining Realm.
"Could two improvement points be enough to take the Collapsing Mountain Fist to the next level?" Gu Qingfeng wondered as he gazed at the skill listed on his attribute panel. Suddenly, new information appeared in his mind.
Breaking the limit of the Collapsing Mountain Fist would require five improvement points!
Gu Qingfeng felt a surge of excitement. Perfecting the Collapsing Mountain Fist had already allowed him to reach the peak of Skin Refining. If he could surpass its limits, he might even be able to break through to the Blood Refining Realm with this technique alone.
But his excitement waned when he realized he only had four improvement points so far. He would need at least five to break the limit.
"Looks like I'll need more time to save up," he thought.
Turning his attention to the Iron Body Technique, Gu Qingfeng resolved to focus on improving it first. Strengthening his current abilities would be his priority. "I'll deal with the rest later," he muttered.
For now, he would increase his power as much as possible.