"I know, but I'm just a martial apprentice at the muscle-training stage. If I don't display formidable strength, I won't attract the attention of wealthy families. Only by gaining their notice and entering their households as a family guard or head of security will I have the chance to quickly accumulate wealth to buy meat and medicinal herbs for nourishment, and only then will I have the opportunity to break through to the skin-membrane stage," David Morgan said.

William Carter, seeing David Morgan say this, didn't try to persuade him further. He assumed a horse stance, holding a stone lock with one hand, swinging it up and down from between his legs to the front and above, training his muscle strength. Yet, he couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy in his heart.

In the past, he didn't feel much about the saying "mastering civil and martial arts to serve the emperor's family," but now he truly understood it.

David Morgan, seeing William Carter fall silent and focus on his training, moved his lips as if to speak, but in the end, closed them again.

As he swung the stone lock, William Carter could clearly feel a surge of vital energy and blood flowing and surging with the tension and pull of his muscles, like water sloshing back and forth in a bucket, constantly impacting the skin membrane.

But the skin membrane was thin and riddled with pores, full of holes, so when the blood and energy surged, it would dissipate as heat and leak out.

William Carter's blood and energy were already lacking due to insufficient nourishment from meat and medicinal herbs—like a bucket with little water in it—so after a few surges, there wasn't much strength left.

Only his pair of hands, trained in the Cold Iron Palm, had relatively thicker skin membranes, so less blood and energy leaked out. He could more clearly feel the force of the blood and energy impacting the skin membrane, and as the membrane was constantly struck by the blood and energy, it was subtly tempered and nourished, becoming thicker and more sensitive.

"Ever since my rebirth, my senses have been very sharp, but that's only toward the outside world. My internal perception hasn't been as keen. I didn't expect that after practicing the 'Indestructible Star River Visualization Technique' yesterday, my sense during today's strength training would be so different and acute. It seems that before, without practicing the 'Indestructible Star River Visualization Technique,' I had a powerful soul but didn't know how to condense it into a focused force. My strength was scattered, so I couldn't perceive my body in detail."

"Now that my soul has undergone specialized training, my internal senses have also become much sharper. The scripture says, the body is the boat, and the soul is the one who steers it. The stronger the soul, the greater the control over the body. It seems that training the soul is a great help to martial cultivation." This discovery greatly delighted William Carter, and his confidence in reaching the skin-membrane stage in a short time soared.

To achieve the skin-membrane stage of the Cold Iron Palm, there are essentially two factors: internal and external.

The external factor is to constantly slap the palms against fine iron sand mixed with medicinal herbs, then use a secret medicinal wash to disinfect and reduce swelling, nourishing the skin and flesh, and strengthening the hand's muscles and bones. Internally, one must use certain Cold Iron Palm energy techniques to sense the blood and energy impacting and nourishing the skin membrane, then gradually learn to control the membrane and seal in the blood and energy.

If one could supplement with meat and medicinal herbs every day, the blood and energy would be abundant, the impact would be strong and obvious, and it would be easier to step into the skin-membrane stage.

Of course, controlling the skin membrane's force is quite different from controlling muscle force. Even with abundant blood and energy, a certain amount of talent is still required to reach the skin-membrane stage.

Therefore, the skin-membrane stage is considered the first threshold in martial arts. Many people get stuck at this threshold, especially those from poor families who lack meat and medicinal herbs, making it even harder to break through. The vast majority are stuck at this stage.

William Carter used to have only average talent and no meat or medicinal herbs to supplement his blood and energy. Despite practicing the Cold Iron Palm diligently every day, all he achieved was tough and strong skin and flesh on his palms, but he couldn't feel the blood and energy surging and impacting the skin membrane, so the skin-membrane stage was out of reach.

Now, with his powerful and condensed soul, William Carter has sharp internal senses and strong control over his body, making him instantly as talented as a prodigy. Even without meat and medicinal herbs, as long as he follows the Lin family's Cold Iron Palm training and uses the secret medicinal wash, he will definitely be able to seal the skin membrane and reach the skin-membrane stage.

However, without abundant blood and energy to impact and nourish the skin membrane, it will certainly take much longer. But as long as he can get enough meat and medicinal herbs, he will be able to break through to the skin-membrane stage quickly.

William Carter put down the stone lock and practiced the Lin family's Cold Iron Palm routine a few more times, carefully feeling the blood and energy crash against the skin membrane of his palms as his muscles exerted force. But with insufficient blood and energy in his body, both the force and frequency of the impacts were limited, and the membrane couldn't seal in the blood and energy at all.

"It seems the key now is to find a way to quickly get some meat and medicinal herbs for nourishment." After another round of palm techniques, William Carter slowly pressed his hands down to his abdomen, exhaled a long breath, and pondered silently.

"You're warmed up enough, right? Now let your senior brother show you a few moves." At this moment, Edward Grant, who had just finished his extra lesson, walked over, looking at William Carter with a cat-and-mouse expression.

"Senior brother Grant, you're already at the skin-membrane stage, a whole level above William, and his foundation is just average. How about I spar with you instead? My skin is thick and my flesh is tough, so even if I take a few hits, it shouldn't be a problem." Seeing Edward Grant approach William Carter, David Morgan frowned slightly, hesitated, and then walked over to William Carter's side and spoke.