Eight Desolations Palm

The summer heat blazed on, and a month passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.

During this month, aside from cultivating diligently in his little wooden hut, Lin Yan would occasionally run over to Lin Dong's home.

After that dinner last time, Lin Yan had clearly grown much closer with Lin Dong's family. On top of that, after he had used some unknown method to ease the cold aura erupting from Qingtan's body, Lin Xiao and his wife, as well as Lin Dong, felt even more favorable toward him.

As for why Lin Yan often went to Lin Dong's house, his purpose was simple. First, he wanted to see Qingtan, that little beauty. After all, amid these dull days of cultivation, looking at a beauty now and then was pleasing to the eye. Balancing work and rest could ease his tense mood. In his previous life, Lin Yan had often joked around with the girl who sat beside him between classes to temporarily forget the fatigue of studying.

And under Lin Yan's constant interruptions, Qingtan's feelings toward him slowly began to change.

In the original work, Qingtan had almost existed as the image of a girl with a brother complex. Lin Yan guessed it might have been because Qingtan had been abandoned by her birth parents when she was young, making her especially sensitive to emotions from the outside world.

Lin Dong had accompanied her since childhood, and could be said to be her only emotional anchor, which was why she had slowly become a "brocon."

But Lin Yan's sudden intrusion had somewhat disrupted this process. Whether it was saving her life from the Scorpion Leopard or "warming her up" when her cold aura erupted, he had made her feel a different kind of security. Without Qingtan realizing it, a crack had opened in the heart she had always kept sealed away.

Lin Yan could also sense Qingtan's change, but he was no lecher. When it came to feelings, he believed in letting things happen naturally. It had been that way in his previous life, and it was the same after his rebirth.

The most important reason he went to Lin Dong's house was the second one: to ask Lin Xiao for guidance on martial arts.

Although Lin Yan had broken through to Body Tempering Fifth Level in a short period of time, in truth, his foundation was far inferior to Lin Dong's, who had been influenced by Lin Xiao since childhood.

On the path of martial arts, working behind closed doors would not do.

Last time, after just a few brief pointers from Lin Xiao, Lin Yan had suddenly seen the light, feeling as though something had clicked. That was why Lin Yan kept going to Lin Xiao to ask about martial arts.

Faced with Lin Yan's requests for advice, Lin Xiao, whose injuries had improved greatly over the past few days thanks to the Stone Talisman Spirit Liquid Lin Dong had given him, did not refuse. He also greatly admired this studious clansman.

However, in the process of teaching martial knowledge, Lin Xiao also discovered Lin Yan's astonishing learning ability and martial talent. He had originally thought that his son Lin Dong already counted as one of the top talents in the clan, but he had not expected someone else to be no less remarkable.

Later on, Lin Xiao simply taught Lin Yan a martial art.

Eight Desolations Palm, a lower-grade second-rank martial art.

Lin Yan was also very satisfied with this palm technique, because in the original work, Lin Xiao had passed this martial art to his son Lin Dong. Moreover, Lin Hong of the clan's second branch also seemed to mainly cultivate this palm technique.

After obtaining this martial art, in the days that followed, Lin Yan fully immersed his mind in practicing Eight Desolations Palm. Eight Desolations Palm was known for its forceful power, its movements wide and bold. It looked plain and simple, but the palm wind was filled with a sense of strength.

After watching Lin Xiao perform Eight Desolations Palm several times with full concentration, Lin Yan seemed to gain some insight. He discovered that the Eight Desolations Palm Lin Xiao displayed had more than enough hardness, but not enough softness.

Knowing the original work, Lin Yan knew that after being modified by the stone talisman, Eight Desolations Palm carried strands of soft force within its fierceness. With hardness and softness combined, it might not look like much at a rough glance, but in a fight, it could make an opponent suffer quite a loss.

After returning to his little wooden hut, Lin Yan began cultivating diligently, focusing most of his energy on Eight Desolations Palm.

For some unknown reason, perhaps because the endless void had also strengthened Lin Yan's talent, in just a few short days, Lin Yan fully mastered Eight Desolations Palm. Not only that, he even figured out the soft force on his own, and was able to try combining Fire Force with the soft force of Eight Desolations Palm, multiplying its power.

"With hardness and softness complementing each other, the killing power of Eight Desolations Palm will become even stronger. If I master it and can skillfully pair it with Fire Force, its power probably won't be weaker than a third-rank martial art. But achieving that won't be easy."

Of course, Lin Yan had long been mentally prepared for this, so he was not discouraged. Instead, he became even more spirited. The stance of Eight Desolations Palm unfolded, and his coordination of soft force and Fire Force also grew increasingly practiced...

During cultivation, time was like sand slipping through the fingers. Quietly, another month passed just like that.

In recent months, the cultivation atmosphere throughout the entire Lin family had been rather intense. Even those mischievous fellows who used to cause trouble had been forcibly dragged back by their parents. In another two months, it would be the Lin Family Competition. To everyone in the Lin family, this was an extremely important contest.

Those who stood out in the clan competition would not only receive focused nurturing themselves, but even their parents' status in the Lin family would rise along with them. Therefore, many people hoped their children could perform well in the clan competition.

Even Lin Yan, who had been cultivating in his little wooden hut all along, could sense this tense atmosphere. It felt rather like the surging excitement before final exams in his previous life.

In the courtyard of the wooden hut, Lin Yan's arm shook, and both palms suddenly swung out. A fierce gust of force cut like knives, stinging the skin.

Beneath that sharp palm wind, there was actually a whistling sound. If any outsiders had been present, they would certainly have been moved.

However, Lin Yan remained calm. The blade-like, fierce palm wind abruptly changed, unexpectedly gaining strands of softness. If one looked closely, one would discover that within that softness was a terrifying aura that was scorching and violent.

The next moment, Lin Yan's arm gave an eerie shake. That extremely fierce power, containing strands of terrifying, fiery, violent force, surged out like a tide in an instant.

Bang!

The fierce power burst forth. Wherever the palm wind passed, those originally sturdy trees were actually snapped in half at the waist, slowly toppling like a collapsing building.

One could imagine how terrifying the result would be if this palm landed solidly on a person's body.

And all of this happened to be seen by Lin Yun, who had just entered.

The one-month period had arrived, and the Amethyst Origin Fruit was about ripe. He had come today to find Lin Yan and go pick it together.

He had not expected to see such a terrifying palm strike the moment he entered. Lin Yun, who had already had some estimate of Lin Yan's strength, could not help but begin doubting life all over again.

He had also been cultivating diligently this past month, but compared with Lin Yan's progress, his own seemed to have become not worth mentioning.

At this moment, Lin Yan also noticed Lin Yun's arrival. As for the latter's shock, he pretended not to see it and said with a light smile, "Cousin Lin Yun, you're here. Perfect timing. The Amethyst Origin Fruit should be about ripe. Let's go meet that Scorpion Tiger King..."