Eric Bennett nodded in satisfaction. Before he transmigrated, he could only lift this stone lock, and even then, only for the time it takes to burn one stick of incense. Now, it felt as light as holding a piece of foam—he could swing it around for half a day without feeling tired.

　　After putting down the 200-jin stone lock, Eric Bennett moved on to the 300-jin one. It was no challenge at all; he lifted it easily. Four hundred jin... five hundred jin... To Eric Bennett, these heavier stone locks felt no different from the previous ones.

　　As for the 600-jin stone lock, Eric Bennett’s family didn’t have one. Back then, he never imagined he could train Iron Body Art to this level. Let alone a 600-jin stone lock—even 300 jin was a luxury for the old Eric Bennett. But he never expected such a transformation to happen in the blink of an eye. For Eric Bennett, this change was nothing short of a complete rebirth.

　　Five hundred jin is equivalent to the strength of a first-rank martial artist, but now his strength had reached six hundred jin. In other words, Eric Bennett’s current strength surpassed even the explosive power of someone who had just entered the first rank.

　　Of course, in actual combat, it’s a different story. Martial artists not only cultivate techniques but also martial skills. When techniques are combined with martial skills, they can unleash power beyond their base strength. It’s said that the higher the level of the technique, the greater the power it can unleash—some techniques can even allow a person to explode with several times their own strength. This is far beyond what body training alone can achieve.

　　Eric Bennett had accepted the memories of his predecessor, and after thinking it over, he understood that whether it was martial cultivation or body cultivation, their essence was the same.

　　Body cultivation is about training oneself; both paths ultimately lead to the same destination. However, body cultivation is based on digging out one’s own potential, squeezing every bit of strength from the body, which easily leads to injuries.

　　Martial cultivation, on the other hand, develops the inner self. Its advantage is that while developing the inner self, it also strengthens the body. Although it can’t match pure body training, it’s still much better than ordinary people. Besides, the spiritual energy of the outside world is endless—how could a mere human body compare? That’s why there are almost no pure body cultivators, because even if you train in external techniques, you won’t achieve much.

Chapter 4: Qingshan Town

　　“Little Bennett, there’s an operation today. Are you coming or not?” Just as Eric Bennett was lost in his thoughts, a rough voice suddenly sounded at the front gate.

　　Hearing the voice, Eric Bennett turned around and saw a burly man in his thirties, with a full beard, standing at his front door looking at him.

　　“Mike, I’m coming. Wait for me a moment, I’ll get ready and we’ll head out!”

　　The man’s name was Michael Bolton, captain of the Flying Tiger Squad, a true martial artist. Although only at the second rank, compared to them—these commoners who couldn’t cultivate—he was already someone high above.

　　That’s also why Eric Bennett and Michael Bolton had known each other for four years. Eric Bennett’s diligence and toughness had earned Michael Bolton’s genuine respect, so Michael Bolton treated Eric Bennett very kindly, without the usual arrogance martial artists showed toward commoners.

　　Soon, Eric Bennett and Michael Bolton arrived at a crossroads outside Niujiao Village.

　　At the crossroads, more than twenty teenagers around fifteen or sixteen years old were waiting. These were all members of the Flying Tiger Squad.

　　“Heh, just because you’re a veteran, you sure have some nerve—actually making the captain come invite you!” As Eric Bennett and the others approached, a seventeen-year-old youth glanced at Eric Bennett and mocked him coldly.

　　“Paul Carter, watch your mouth!” As soon as the youth finished speaking, another boy, about fifteen or sixteen with a cute baby face, spoke up to defend Eric Bennett.

　　“Heh, so as soon as the master calls, the dog jumps out?” The youth named Paul Carter glanced at the baby-faced boy and sneered.

　　“Brian Cooper, forget it. Why bother stooping to his level? If a dog bites us, are we supposed to bite back?”

　　Eric Bennett knew this Paul Carter. They’d never gotten along, and he was the only other person in the Flying Tiger Squad besides Eric Bennett who had trained Iron Body Art to the second level.

　　As the saying goes, ‘two tigers cannot share one mountain.’ In a team, when there are two people at the second level of Iron Body Art, naturally one will try to suppress the other.

　　Moreover, the Flying Tiger Squad was split into two factions: Eric Bennett and the baby-faced boy on one side, and the rest following Paul Carter on the other.

　　The baby-faced boy was named Brian Cooper, and he’d known Eric Bennett for two years. His family background was similar to Eric Bennett’s, and he was one of Eric Bennett’s only two friends. Over the past two years, Eric Bennett had saved Brian Cooper more than five times, so Brian Cooper was firmly loyal to him.

　　It wasn’t that Eric Bennett was unpopular, but he was usually quiet and focused solely on training. Paul Carter, on the other hand, was very good at making connections and winning people over. Besides, most of the Flying Tiger Squad members had joined with Paul Carter, so naturally they stuck together.

　　“Eric Bennett, are you looking for death…” Paul Carter hadn’t expected Eric Bennett to retort so sharply. In the past, whenever he mocked Eric Bennett, Eric Bennett would just stay silent and only Brian Cooper would fight back. Now that Eric Bennett was fighting back himself, it caught him completely off guard.

　　“All right, enough! Anyone who keeps arguing can get out!” Before Paul Carter could finish, Michael Bolton frowned and shouted.

　　As the captain of the Flying Tiger Squad and a second-rank martial artist, Michael Bolton had absolute authority. As soon as he spoke, Paul Carter had no choice but to swallow his unfinished words.