A rich golden light enveloped Gu Chen, making his hair seem to glow. Seated in meditation, his flesh exuded a fragrant scent, and he bore the solemn and sacred appearance of one who had attained bodily sanctification.
Inside his body, the flesh, bones, meridians, and even the internal organs were undergoing transformation. They gleamed with the translucence of jade, while a mysterious energy refined Gu Chen's physique, continuously enhancing and strengthening his body's condition.
Hum!
At this moment, Gu Chen's protective Golden Bell Shield condensed to an extreme, shining brilliantly, twinkling with dazzling light, indistinguishable from a real, majestic, and solemn bell — as if it were the great, world-steadying bell from the Great Thunder Sound Monastery.
Simultaneously, the images of dragons and tigers on it grew considerably larger, vividly coiled atop the Golden Bell Shield, incredibly solid as if they were living creatures, possessing their own spirituality. Their eyes exuded majesty, filled with immense authority, as if true dragons and white tigers from the celestial realm had descended to the world, overlooking all creation.
At this moment, anyone standing beside Gu Chen would feel an overwhelming pressure within the room. Whether it was mental or physical, those who were slightly weaker in cultivation or spirit would not even be qualified to stand in front of him.
Having perfected the Golden Bell Shield with the roars of dragons and the cries of tigers, Gu Chen instantly comprehended the corresponding martial truth. One must understand, this was the martial truth of a Superior Martial Skill, and the enhancement it offered to Gu Chen's spirit was immensely significant.
Currently, Gu Chen felt his vitality, energy, and spirit were at their peak, his perception was keener than ever, intuition greatly heightened, the range of the imagery in his mind expanding further, and every movement carried unparalleled strength. A violent force surged within him, and he felt as though he could split the heavens and earth.
As Gu Chen's flesh underwent cleansing, it expanded and then contracted, with countless black impurities being expelled from the pores. This process continued until dawn before finally coming to an end.
Ultimately, Gu Chen's physique returned to its previous appearance: tall and well-constructed, with muscles that were well-defined but not overly pronounced, evenly distributed across his frame.
Gu Chen's features became even more defined, handsome, exuding a very intense masculine charm.
It might seem easy for Gu Chen to increase his Superior Martial Skill, but that's due to the enhancements from his panel. Even so, to perfect the Golden Bell Shield to the ultimate realm, Gu Chen still spent over two hundred points.
For a common martial artist, even those at the peak of the Gang Qi Stage, merely reaching the entry level of a Superior Martial Skill would already signify exceptional talent.
Indeed, many martial artists in the Gang Qi Stage use only high-quality martial skills. Only some powerful external Gang Qi warriors or prodigies like Chen Yu can comprehend Superior Martial Skills.
Looking across the world, there is not a single young Vajra Stage martial artist who has cultivated a Superior Martial Skill to complete perfection.
With two hundred and fifty thousand catties of strength, plus Gu Chen's terrifying cultivation age of five hundred six years, he now felt confident enough to arm-wrestle with martial artists of the Gang Qi Stage, even defeating them.
Of course, this was limited to the internal Gang Qi realm, for external Gang Qi warriors could externalize their Gangqi. Unless in close combat, Gu Chen would certainly not be their match.
External Gang Qi warriors, possessing much deeper powers than those of the internal realm, and being generally much stronger overall, wouldn't be weaker than Gu Chen in explosive power due to the might of Gangqi. They could even surpass him.
Therefore, even after achieving a body as sturdy as a savage dragon, Gu Chen did not overestimate himself, believing he could face enemies across an entire realm.
His true aim was to achieve what no one in the Nine Provinces had reached in hundreds of years: the state of indestructible Vajra.
Also known as the ultimate realm of martial physicality, one could rely on the body alone to match an external Gang Qi warrior without defeat, where even Gangqi would struggle to break through their defense.
If it came to close-quarters combat, external Gang Qi warriors would be undoubtedly defeated and killed instantly.