Chapter 26: A Historic Moment, Absorbing the Properties of Pig Iron

Page 1/3
21:43 [Current consumption rate 46.4%].
A grim chill crept up my left shoulder.
22:43 [Current consumption rate 47.4%].
My arm was claimed by the cold; my hand felt icy.
23:43 [Current consumption rate 48.4%].
My left arm was completely lost, and the chill stealthily ambushed my buttock—I felt half of my backside turn deathly cold.
00:43 [Current consumption rate 49.4%].
My backside surrendered; I felt as if my entire body were submerged in cold water, with only my head poking out.
00:47 [Current consumption rate 50.0%].
My head was submerged as well. I sank completely into the icy water, my breath exhaling bone-chilling cold. I felt my bones pulsing, vibrating like raw iron.
In the cold spring, a massive iron hammer swung down. I became a lump of raw iron, being hammered, pressed, flattened, and forged.
Tempered by cold and fire, amid the agony and the collisions, the impurities within me were purged. I became dense and hard, reborn.
I turned into ten-fold iron, hundred-fold iron, thousand-fold steel.
I was forged into a sharp sword, a blood-drinking spear, an armor-piercing arrow, a heavy shield, hard armor, a whistling bullet.
I master slaughter; where I go, there is war. I deliver death; when I depart, rivers of blood flow.
I am ruthless destruction, a cold reaper, scorching bloodlust, an agent of violence.
And yet,
In the beginning, I was nothing more than a piece of ordinary raw iron!
01:00
Feng Mu snapped his eyes open. Within his black-and-white pupils, a metallic luster flashed and vanished.
He had experienced a bizarre dream, dreaming that he had become a piece of raw iron.
[Currently detecting consumption of iron—ordinary raw iron, consumption rate 50.0%.]
[You have absorbed the raw iron's trait—Embryonic Molding (White).]
"It wasn't a dream, because that piece of iron is now growing inside my body, integrated into my very bones," Feng Mu muttered to himself. "Embryonic Molding, is it?"

Page 2/3
Feng Mu habitually stuffed a few more iron beads into his mouth.
[Consumption rate ↑↑]
The consumption rate jumped as usual, but the chill within his body did not increase further. It was clear that once the ironization had covered his bones, it reached saturation and would no longer erode his flesh and skin.
Feng Mu felt a hint of regret, yet he also let out a long sigh of relief.
After all, if his bones were hidden beneath a layer of flesh and skin, how could he continue to hide and blend into human society if his flesh and skin were also ironized?
At that point, he would have no choice but to join the Calamity Corps, and even then, there was no guarantee they would accept him.
Feng Mu flexed his wrists. As he clenched his five fingers, abundant power surged at his fingertips, accompanied by an urge to claw through or shred something.
He looked down in shock, feeling a stinging pain in his fingertips.
The next second, the pads of his fingers split open. Amidst a trickle of blood, bone-white and bluish finger bones gruesomely protruded.
Following the instinct surging through his body, Feng Mu pressed his fingers lightly against the tabletop. The finger bones instantly pierced through the wood like iron hooks, gouging out holes.
Feng Mu swallowed hard, raising his hand to manipulate them. The finger hooks, stained with wood shavings, slowly deformed according to his will.
One moment they were curved hooks, the next, thin needles, then deformed barbs. Although they were not long—only extending half a finger's length—they all exuded a bloodthirsty and sinister aura.
Like a child with a new toy, Feng Mu manipulated his ten fingers, causing them to break through his skin.
In an instant, his palms were stained with blood, and the ten finger bones danced wildly like demons bursting from his body.
"This is the power of Embryonic Molding. It truly doesn't feel like martial arts; it feels more like the Calamity Corps. Still, it feels incredibly powerful. I like it." Feng Mu was overjoyed. The effect of the Iron Eater absorbing traits was even more absurd than he had anticipated.
Having played enough, Feng Mu retracted his fingers. His gaze drifted unconsciously to his gauze-wrapped wrist.
"Does the Embryonic Molding ability only work on fingers, or...?" he wondered.
He tried to test it, but failed decisively.
"It doesn't work?" Feng Mu frowned. He clearly felt his wrist bones responding to his intent, but they ultimately made no move, let alone breaking through the skin.
Feng Mu pondered: "Perhaps it's not that it doesn't work, but that I'm not capable enough yet. The current effect of Embryonic Molding can only act upon the more flexible and controllable fingers."
"Perhaps when the consumption rate reaches 100%, it will strengthen?"
"Or perhaps Embryonic Molding can be upgraded. Since it's marked as (White) in parentheses, does that imply there are colors like cyan, blue, red, and purple?"
"How does an Iron Eater upgrade absorbed traits? Does it synchronize with the Iron Eater's own rank, or are there other methods?"
Many speculations flashed through Feng Mu's mind. His final conclusion was to first raise the consumption rate to 100% and then see what changes occurred.

Page 3/3
With the daily enhancement of [Blood Frenzy], the remaining half of the consumption rate was within reach without needing to rush.
Lowering his head, he wiped the blood from his palms with a tissue. Observing the split fingertips, they had already healed quietly in an unreasonable manner; one could only faintly see thin, vertical lines cutting through each fingerprint.
"That's convenient, saves me the trouble of bandaging," Feng Mu tossed the tissue into the trash can.
He pulled open the drawer; the remaining iron beads were running low. Surrounded by them, the irregular black core stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens.
"If the trait effect of raw iron is this absurd, the traits of the fragments of the 'Yin-Sha Nine-Nether Calamity Grievance Iron' must be beyond imagination~"
Every time Feng Mu saw the black core, an intense desire surged uncontrollably in his heart.
Closing the drawer, the burning heat in Feng Mu's eyes dimmed. "Iron must be eaten step by step; the path must be walked one step at a time. Tomorrow, I'll go restock the iron beads. Later, when I practice the 'Crane Claw Technique,' I can buy more at once."
Calming his emotions, Feng Mu took out his phone, removed the SIM card, and swapped in a new, anonymous one.
After a moment's thought, he put on his earphones, entered a number, and edited a text message.
—Did you sleep well last night? I hope your answer can extend your life.
Send?
Feng Mu's finger hovered over the send button, then he suddenly released it, deleted the message, and edited a new one to send.
—Are you sleepless in the middle of the night? Do you have too much energy with nowhere to put it? Please dial 157xxxxxxxxxx. Local ladies are willing to be the angels in your dreams.
He had gone to such lengths to plant this eye; he couldn't let it be exposed because of a careless text message.
As for the worst-case scenario—if Ma Wei’s phone was confiscated and the other party didn't fall for the trap but instead called back to verify—then he would have to blame Ma Wei's bad luck and destined demise.
The fate of a planted eye is to be rooted out. What can one do? Just plant another one.
The worst-case scenario did not happen. Ma Wei was clearly smarter than Feng Mu had expected. Not long after the message was sent, the phone rang.
Beep, beep, beep...
After the phone rang for 10 seconds, Feng Mu picked it up without saying a word.
For a moment, there was dead silence on the line, with only the sound of faint breathing. After a long while, Ma Wei's voice came through eerily: "Hello? Big boss, is that you? I waited for your call all night, too afraid to sleep. Please don't scare me anymore~"
A corner of Feng Mu's mouth curled into a smile. He lowered his voice and sneered: "I'm relieved to hear you're still alive, but I'm not very happy to hear rumors going around that I'm a cripple."