High-level martial arts: Starting with a heart of steel, stats crush everything.

"this one?"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow and grinned, showing off his big teeth.

Instantly, golden light burst forth, so dazzling that Gu Feng immediately covered his eyes.

"What, what is this!?"

"It's nothing, it's just that my body is starting to turn into a golden body."

"Ouch, my teeth are a bit hot, let them cool down."

Chen Mo fanned his golden teeth as if he were really hot.

"Golden Body Transformation!?" Gu Feng didn't care about the dazzling light emanating from Chen Mo's teeth anymore. He took a step in front of Chen Mo and tapped his teeth.

Ding Ding Ding!

A crisp metallic clang rang out, and Gu Feng's previously cheerful expression instantly wilted.

"You touched my teeth without washing your hands? Go away, get out of here!"

Chen Mo waved his hand and put away his "big gold tooth".

"Golden Body Transformation... Isn't this a change that only occurs when a level 12 martial artist is about to break through to the Grandmaster level...?"

Gu Feng was starting to doubt his life. He thought that he could have some control over Chen Mo at level seven, but the kid had turned into a golden body.

Could it be... that he's about to advance to Grandmaster?

Wouldn't I be completely at his mercy?

"You...you're not going to want a Grandmaster, are you?"

"No, it's just a bone mutation caused by tempering the bones under the pressure of a Grandmaster for a long time. I call it Golden Bone."

Chen Mo shook his head and did not continue to scare Gu Feng.

"That's good..." Gu Feng had just breathed a sigh of relief when Chen Mo continued.

"Although I'm not about to advance to the Grandmaster level, the difference between my body and the Grandmaster's indestructible golden body is not significant. I can still easily defeat you with one hand."

Chen Mo shook his right hand, which had been fully muscularized, and the sound of air being blown apart echoed repeatedly.

"..." Gu Feng was somewhat withdrawn. He turned around and left Chen Mo's courtyard to go back and collect the little pearls.

Seeing that Gu Feng had left, Chen Mo took out a document from his pocket.

"The Black Cloud City underground mine...?"

Chen Mo wasn't worried about how he would get into the Black Cloud City underground mine, but if he made any big moves, the Demon Phantom's invisibility would fail, and that would be the real trouble.

"We need to find where they store their minerals..."

A few days later...

On October 7th, Gu Feng and his friends began their daily routine as usual.

Ma Wanglin also successfully tempered his steel bones a few days ago and advanced to the sixth level of the steel bone realm.

Previously, Xishan Province was too lacking in resources. Only in a place like the Great Xia Grandmaster Academy, where resources were plentiful, could Ma Wanglin truly showcase her talent.

"I haven't seen Chen Mo these past two days, not even at mealtimes."

Gu Feng said while chewing the bloody food in his mouth.

"Indeed, I haven't seen him for the past two days, not even at night.

Yang Zuo nodded. The longer he spent with Gu Feng and Chen Mo, the richer his emotions and language skills became.

"They probably went to the deep abyss to do a mission, in preparation for tempering their steel marrow."

Ma Wanglin put down her chopsticks, frowned, and guessed.

"Who knows? Anyway, nothing's going to happen."

Gu Feng shrugged. He realized that Chen Mo's toughest asset was his life force; even if his grandfather died, Chen Mo might not survive.

Gu Ji, far away in Yanjing, sneezed and rubbed his nose in confusion.

"Wait a minute, how can I, a grandmaster, catch a cold?"

"Could it be some wicked person cursing me?"

"Father, the battle report from the Southern Island Newborn Abyss Rift has arrived."

Wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, Gu Shuo pushed open the door and placed a battle report in front of Gu Ji.

"How is the battle going?" Gu Ji asked, picking up the battle report and glancing at it.

"The battle is extremely intense. The Abyss Warriors have already deployed six Grandmaster-level experts, and Governor Song is finding it difficult to hold the line alone."

"The reinforcement force composed of fourth-level martial artists has arrived, but their top-tier combat strength is still lacking."

"It's unclear how many more Grandmaster-level experts will enter the middle-level abyss via the Path of No Return; we'll need a certain number of Grandmaster-level experts to provide support."

Gu Shuo adjusted his glasses and explained his thoughts.

"These Abyss warriors have gone mad. They've actually invaded the middle level of the Abyss. Don't they plan to go back?"

Gu Ji frowned deeply. He didn't know what was hidden in the middle layer of the abyss that could make these life-loving abyss warriors risk their lives to block them.

There were even faint signs that they were about to fight back.

"Notify the military to immediately dispatch five practical master-level warriors to the newly formed abyss rift in the southern island for support. We must not allow the abyss warriors to break through to the outside world."

"Even if it means giving up the opportunity to continue exploring the middle abyss, we must never let the tragedy of that year repeat itself."

"Do you understand?"

While the newly formed abyssal rifts on the southern island present a great opportunity for humanity to explore the middle abyss, we must not allow such an event to cause disaster to the outside world.

If there really is something hidden in the middle abyss, they will eventually have a chance to find out, but not now.

"I understand." Gu Shuo nodded; he had already guessed Gu Ji's choice.

They abandoned the exploration of the newly formed abyssal rift on the southern island and changed their aggressive offensive strategy to a more conservative defensive one.

If this still fails to make those Abyss warriors retreat, then the only option is to withdraw everyone and find a way to temporarily seal this precious Abyss Rift that connects to the middle layer of the Abyss.

"I wonder how Gu Feng and Chen Mo are doing. I heard they went to the Great Xia Grandmaster Academy."

"That old bastard Qiu Lin will definitely target that kid Chen Mo. I just hope he doesn't go too far..."

At this moment, Chen Mo, whom Gu Ji had described as being "targeted," lay lifeless on the gray earth of the deep abyss.

"Damn, there are so many people..."

Chen Mo looked at the bustling entrance to Black Cloud City and felt a headache coming on.

That's the weakness of the Demon Phantom; once an enemy appears within five meters of him, he will be detected.

But the entrance to the city was so narrow, it was practically shoulder to shoulder, let alone five meters wide. If he really went in through the main gate, he would definitely be discovered.

"If that doesn't work... how about using the Cloud Step technique?"

Chen Mo himself wasn't sure if using the Cloud Step would cancel the Demon Phantom's stealth state, but how could he know if he didn't try?

Moreover, a vast amount of energy stones were right in front of him, and he was only one step away from unlocking the storage space.

If we don't put in the effort now, when will we?

"Damn it, I'll give it my all."

Chen Mo gritted his teeth and gathered wisps of qi and blood in the soles of his feet.

The Demon Phantom's invisibility effect trembled for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.

"That scared me to death..."

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief. There were several level three or four Abyss warriors patrolling not far from him.

Although they posed no threat to Chen Mo, the fourth-level martial artists in Black Cloud City could.