It had taken only a few short days to advance the Iron Armor Skill of the Muscle Strengthening Realm from the Beginner Level to Small Success. The pace of his progress was truly astonishing.

However, as his Major Tendons grew stronger, the effect his Qi and blood had on their training diminished. This rapid rate of improvement was beginning to slow.

The deduced Cultivation Technique for the Iron Armor Skill of the Muscle Strengthening Realm still emphasized weight training. The heavier the weight, the more effective the Cultivation.

The total weight on his body, including the Dragon Eagle Iron Claw, was a full 110 pounds. This had been quite effective before.

But with Chen Cheng’s current strength, this weight felt far too light. Even carrying 110 pounds, his steps remained swift and his movements were like the wind.

To increase the weight further, he couldn’t rely solely on his Iron Armor. After all, with the Refined Iron Plates sewn into the lining of his clothes, seventy pounds was about the maximum.

If he added more Refined Iron Plates, he would inevitably look bulky and draw too much attention.

Chen Cheng estimated that with his current strength, a weight of about three hundred pounds would be ideal.

However, clothing that weighed three hundred pounds wasn’t easy to find. If he were in the military, he could wear Armor. He could get heavy Armor weighing five or six hundred pounds, or even a thousand pounds, let alone just three hundred.

For civilians, however, Armor was prohibited under Great Yu Law. Even City Guard Department Officials weren’t allowed to wear it.

The Iron Armor Chen Cheng wore was legally similar to things like the Soft Armor or Heart-Protecting Mirrors used by Jianghu figures for self-defense, so it didn’t break the law.

To increase the weight now, he would have to start with the metal plates sewn into his Iron Armor.

Ordinary Refined Iron Plates were clearly not heavy enough. Even Profound Iron Plates would be insufficient. Only Alloy Metal Plates smelted with Mithril, or the even more precious Black Gold, could meet his needs.

But when he thought about the price of Mithril and Black Gold, Chen Cheng couldn’t help but frown.

His thirty-seven-pound Dragon Eagle Iron Claw had cost a full five hundred taels of silver, and that was with Luo’s Shop only charging him half-price for the alloy materials.

Three hundred pounds of Alloy Metal Plates, even at half price, would cost four or five thousand taels of silver.

Furthermore, all the various metal ores in Linji City were managed by the Smelting Department. Given the Luo’s Shop’s influence, it would likely be very difficult to acquire three hundred pounds of alloy metal plates.

’This is going to be difficult.’ Chen Cheng frowned, touching the rather empty Money Bag inside his robes.

He had spent a lot of silver coins recently on Demon Beast Meat and Great Qi and Blood Replenishing Herbs. Now, his entire fortune was just a little over one hundred taels of silver.

’I’ll go ask first.’

With that thought, Chen Cheng tossed two copper coins on the table, strode out of the tea shop, and headed for the Luo’s Shop branch in Lishui District.

The Lishui District branch of Luo’s Shop was on a bustling street near Qingshui Pier, which was under Chen Cheng’s jurisdiction. In that part of the district, it was one of the most well-known shops.

However, across the whole of Lishui District, it was far from a major player.

In a major district like Lishui District, the Four Great Clans of the Inner City all had numerous businesses. Although the Luo Family was also an Inner City Clan with some influence, how could they possibly compete with the Four Great Clans?

Setting up their branch in the most remote part of Lishui District, near Qingshui Pier, and surviving in the margins was the wisest move.

Before long, Chen Cheng arrived at the Lishui District branch of Luo’s Shop. The shop was also a two-story building, but it was much smaller than the Ruyi District branch and didn’t offer as wide a variety of goods.

On the first floor, only three clerks were attending to customers while the Shopkeeper, Shu Xiuming, sat behind the counter.

As a Tributor for Luo’s Shop who was also on duty in Lishui District, Chen Cheng had met Shu Xiuming before.

Seeing Chen Cheng stride through the shop’s entrance, Shu Xiuming hurried out from behind the counter to greet him.

"Mr. Chen." Shu Xiuming cupped his hands in a respectful greeting.

"I have a few questions for you. I was wondering if you have a moment, Shopkeeper Shu?" Chen Cheng also cupped his hands and got straight to the point. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"I wouldn’t dare presume to instruct you, Mr. Chen. Please, come inside." Shu Xiuming was visibly flattered. He quickly led Chen Cheng into a back room with a smile plastered on his face and personally brewed some tea.

Chen Cheng described the weight, size, and specifications of the metal plates he needed. After listening, Shu Xiuming grew pensive.

After a long pause, he finally said, "Mr. Chen, as far as I know, if we forge these plates from Secret Silver Profound Iron—an alloy of Mithril and Profound Iron—the most we can achieve is a weight of two hundred pounds.

"To reach three hundred pounds, you would need Profound Gold, which is smelted from Black Gold and Profound Iron. Moreover, the amount of Black Gold required would be over two hundred pounds.

"In Linji City, precious metals like Mithril and Black Gold are all centrally managed by the Smelting Department and sold in limited quantities. Our Luo’s Shop is only able to purchase a quota of thirty pounds of Black Gold each year, and we use it all as a precious supplementary material in forging. It’s nowhere near enough.

"It’s not just our Luo’s Shop; other shops don’t have enough Black Gold either. I doubt any of them would sell it publicly.

"Only the Four Great Clans of the Inner City could possibly come up with two hundred pounds of Black Gold at once."

Even though he had anticipated this, Chen Cheng couldn’t help but frown.

"Are there no other channels for buying Black Gold?"

"Well..." Shu Xiuming thought for a moment before replying, "There are other channels. I’ve heard that in the Black Markets of the Four Outer City Districts, people sell precious metals like Black Gold and Mithril, and in considerable quantities. The price is just a bit higher than the official market rate."

Chen Cheng’s interest was piqued. "What’s the price of Black Gold on the Black Market?" he asked.

Shu Xiuming replied, "Our shop buys Black Gold from the Smelting Department for twenty taels of patterned silver per pound. The Black Market price is roughly twenty percent higher, so it should be around twenty-four taels per pound.