Chapter 121 - Stone Armor Technique

Cassius just wasn't sure if the power gained through this method would be recognized by the external system when he returned.

In any case, it'd be a bonus if it was acknowledged, as his strength would soar to new heights. Even if it didn't, it wouldn't affect the transfer of Cassius's own trained power back into his main body.

The reason he cared was mainly because with the Black Rain Manor's help, he could quickly get through the period of weakness that happened right after a time-travel, and regain his original strength. It would consequently increase the success rate of fulfilling the original owner's lingering attachment.

Cassius snapped back to reality and returned to the Bolt Sect's base. On his way back to the room, he ran into Darkblade again.

"Are you done with your enhancements? Not bad. You look different... More energetic. Seems like your Deng Tingda Storm of Arrows has improved quite a bit." Darkblade smiled and draped a white towel around his neck.

"Sort of. I did have a minor breakthrough," Cassius said. He sidestepped the comment about his Deng Tingda Storm of Arrows improving and brushed Darkblade off casually.

"

Haha

, no need to be modest. There's a small gathering around nine tonight in the right-wing conference hall. You should check it out if you're free. It's just so us Bolt Sect folks can bond and share information. Maybe you can make a few friends there." Darkblade patted Cassius on the shoulder and left.

A small gathering, you say? Might be a good chance to gather some intel.

Cassius walked into his room. The kerosene lamp he lit on his desk brightened his surroundings considerably. He quickly tidied up the room and made the bed. Cassius had no plans to stay for very long at the Black Rain Manor. Perhaps a night or two, just enough to gather information. As such, he didn't bother with the hassle of sweeping or mopping.

The trip to Black Rain Manor was rushed, so he hadn't had time to buy herbs to make medicine or ointments. He could only put on his training clothes and head to the Bolt Sect practice room to hone his fist techniques.

Bang, bang, bang...

The sandbag hanging in the corner swayed constantly, the iron rod swirling up some dust as it groaned from where it was connected to the ground.

A fist sliced through the air and struck ferociously with a loud thud, forcing the sandbag to swing violently and brush against the wall. Cassius retracted his slightly reddened fist, rolled his shoulders back, and relaxed his muscles. His lean muscle mass contracted and expanded, with sweat dripping down his reddened skin.

With his physical prowess surpassing the Federation's five stages, he was now confident he could take down that Blood Race without the use of a mechanical crossbow. After all, Cassius's Elephant Herd stage of the Wind Elephant Fist when he was a pugilist was still intact. With his physical prowess enhanced by two minor stages, he strongly believed that he could kill the Blood Race and come out of it with some superficial scrapes.

Picking up the nearby white towel, Cassius wiped off some sweat. It was already past 6 p.m. and the smell of sweat permeated the dark room. While the members of Bolt Sect also used the training room, it wasn't often. They did, however, have an obstacle-dodging training room that was frequently in demand because the Bolt Sect placed their emphasis on two crucial skills: archery, which was the first thing they trained, and movement technique.

Its members relied on a kite technique to hunt dark creatures where they wound through the battlefield with deadly grace like how one might dance on a knife's edge. Learning to dodge attacks and use terrain were all part of the basics.

Cassius wasn't really a fan of Bolt Sect's combat style. It was certainly aesthetically pleasing and elegant, but it was much too delicate and breakable. The margin for error was too small and simply not something he preferred.

When Bolt Sect experts fought, they looked like elegant dancers, and they were rarely wounded. But that was because if they got injured, that meant a dark creature had gotten too close. In cases where the archers were caught, they wouldn't even have the opportunity to get hurt because they'd be killed instantly. A low injury rate meant a high death rate.

Cassius much preferred brutally crushing others to death than having an elegant style and being the one crushed to death!

With a creak, Cassius pushed open the door and took a shower in the washroom. As he raked his fingers through his wet hair in front of the mirror, he laid his eyes on Twilight's extraordinarily handsome face. He had fine black eyebrows that added a level of refinement to his eyes. Below that delicateness was a very muscular physique.

Cassius raised his right hand to examine his muscles, recalling his original body's strong, sturdy arms. He sighed and shook his head. Putting on some fresh clothes, he headed to the Bolt Sect canteen. Basic food like bread was free, but aside from that, everything else had to be paid. Moreover, it was pretty expensive—much higher than prices outside. However, that was to be expected, considering no one knew where in the world Black Rain Manor was. The only way to transport goods here was by carriage.

He had a simple dinner and dawdled around for a bit until it was 9 p.m. One of the halls in the Bolt Sect base was brightly lit.

Dozens of new and old members sat around several tables, chatting in small groups. There were some drinks and snacks available. There was no host around to entertain them; everyone was just there to get together and chat.

Seated at a table in the corner with his arms crossed, Cassius observed his surroundings quietly. The others at the table were chatting animatedly, where an older member was explaining the differences between missions to two new members.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Hellsings had to complete missions on a regular basis. Shield-level members did one every three months, sword-level every six months, badge-level every year, and knight-level every two years.

The higher the rank, the longer the interval between missions. The difficulty in missions clearly varied with lower-ranked missions being easier, while those at a higher rank were often extremely challenging and potentially involved battles where it was do or die.

If they completed the mission, all was well and they'd get stronger. If they failed the mission and the marked-one hadn't died, Black Rain Manor would send out a Decaying Knight to kill them! If they managed to survive through sheer grit, well, congratulations! They've earned the chance to redeem themselves. The lucky one would then have to complete the next mission, the difficulty of which would be adjusted to the maximum. If successful, all would be forgiven. Every marked-one had two chances for redemption.

Additionally, if one betrayed Black Rain Manor, the manor would send Decaying Knight after powerful Decaying Knight out to kill them. It didn't matter where you hid because they would follow you to the ends of the earth. Marked-ones were under the manor's control for life.

Besides the periodic missions, marked-ones could take on extra tasks from the Mission Hall. In theory, there was no limit to how many they could take; they could take them all if they so wished. However, no one would be foolish enough to do that since the deadlines for extra tasks were the same.

For instance, if a shield-level member took two extra tasks, they'd have to complete three missions within three months. If they took five, they'd need to finish six missions in the same timeframe. The more you took, the harder it got, and the faster you'd die.

The difficulty of the shield-grade missions may be lower relative to the others, but they were still dangerous. Some missions could have hidden complications or unexpected situations.

For example, when Cassius went to hunt Charles, he ended up finding not just Charles, but also his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather at Jasmine Mansion waiting to eat together! Maybe his entire family tree was there. After all, those who spawned from the same blood pool counted as part of the same family. In such a case, tragedy was almost inevitable.

During the small gathering, Cassius listened closely to the others' conversation and picked up some useful information.

For example, there was a small sect within the Hellsings called the Body Refinement Sect that specialized in combat moves and Qigong. However, the numbers were low, likely because body refinement involved close combat with dark creatures, and they tended to die quickly.

The combat moves they studied were, at most, on par with the Wind Elephant Basic Combat Arts, which meant they were quite inadequate. If not for a hardening Qigong manual left by an elder, the Body Refinement Sect would have disbanded long ago.

In actuality, hardening Qigong wasn't weak for its level but because the Hellsings' physiques couldn't break beyond the human limits, its full potential couldn't be realized.

With weak internal strength, external strength was severely restricted. As a result, the Body Refinement Sect remained a minor sect, and not a popular one. Recently, members even started selling off their core technique of hardening Qigong at a low price of only one unit of dark essence. They even offered a 30% discount when sales were bad: pay 0.7 units, and you were guaranteed to learn and master it.

At Black Rain Manor, dark essence couldn't be directly transferred or traded. However, when taking extra tasks in the Mission Hall, the handover involved mission tokens and target items which members could give to others so they could complete the task in their stead. It essentially allowed for indirect transfer of dark essence.

"Hardening Qigong? I wonder what stage that is..." Cassius's interest was piqued. He hadn't forgotten the time when the Duststorm group ambushed him, and his body had been riddled with holes from the machine gun. If he could have a hardening Qigong protecting his body, he might actually be able to withstand bullets without getting even a scratch!

Half an hour later, the Bolt Sect gathering came to an end, and Cassius went back to his room to sleep. Early the next morning, he went to a simple room with a low ceiling in the Body Refinement Sect's base where a young man greeted him.

Upon hearing that Cassius was interested in hardening Qigong, the young man got very excited and began chattering away. Cassius asked a few questions and ended up extremely disappointed.

The hardening Qigong of the Body Refinement Sect was called the Stone Armor Technique, and it had only two stages. Reaching the peak of the second stage would be the equivalent of a badge-level. The fact that it couldn't even reach the knight-level showed how weak it was, suggesting that the upper limit of the supernatural Dao was rather low.

Then Cassius thought again. Hardening Qigong was closely tied to physical prowess. Since Hellsings couldn't break through human physical limits, the abilities of the hardening Qigong were naturally restricted as well. Perhaps, when combined with the pugilist or higher realms, the Stone Armor Technique could shine in a different way?

Cassius hesitated. At that, the young man gritted his teeth and offered a 50% discount. It would only cost 0.5 units of dark essence to learn it!

It was too good an offer to refuse so Cassius didn't wait any longer. He went back to Bolt Sect, borrowed some essence from Darkblade, and acquired the Stone Armor Technique. Cassius wasn't in any hurry to learn it, tossing the new manual into his room, and heading into the Mission Hall. Extra tasks were going to be released today at noon.

Cassius needed to regain his strength, so he couldn't afford to be stingy. If he had to rely on doing missions every three months, it would take him years to regain his strength. He needed to choose a faster way, which was to take on many extra tasks to earn more dark essence.

The Mission Hall was quite crowded, with four blackboard-like panels on the walls, each facing a different direction. The shield-level panel had about twenty to thirty people in front of it, and boasted the largest number amongst the panels.

At exactly 12 p.m., numerous white strips with black text appeared on the panels, and the crowd rushed forward to select their desired tasks.

Cassius, who had sharp eyes and swift hands, wasn't picky. He swiped a handful of task strips, but when he reached for more, the area had already been cleared out. He stepped away from the crowd a little and opened his hand where five crumpled task strips lay in his palm.