Was He Still Human?

[Basic Body-Tempering Technique raised to Entry Level]

Effect: basic attribute growth rate increased by 40%

"Another 20% increase."

As Qin Yan looked at the message floating in his mind, he felt streams of warmth coursing through his body, and his recovery speed also rose a notch.

This invisible effect was of vital importance to his future training.

[Qin Yan]

[Talent: Infinite Physique]

Strength: 5.1

Speed: 4.5

Spirit: 4.3

By rights, he should have reached the Skin-Refining Realm of martial cultivation by now.

But as Qi and blood continuously washed through the body, the skin on its surface should also undergo a transformation, the old skin shedding to reveal new, tough skin.

Yet he felt nothing of the sort.

His flesh and skin had simply become much tougher.

This left him somewhat baffled.

"Forget it! My body is different from ordinary people's. I can't judge it by common sense."

Qin Yan shook his head slightly and stopped dwelling on it.

"Brother Yan!"

Bathed in the morning light, Song Bao and the others arrived at his old house with seven or eight people.

Qin Yan looked at them in puzzlement. What was this about?

"Brother Yan, these people want to join us, but I couldn't make up my mind, so I was hoping you'd decide."

Song Bao scratched his head, speaking somewhat sheepishly.

His words surprised Qin Yan. He knew quite a few of the people before him, and some even belonged to the same Qin clan.

Two others were seventeen or eighteen, all of them honest youths from respectable families.

"Why do you want to follow me?"

Qin Yan asked, curious instead.

"Ah Yan, everyone in the village can see that you're the most capable person around.

"You beat up Shi Xiaodao and his gang of thugs until they didn't dare let out a fart.

"Our village was struck by disaster this year. I want to follow you and lighten the burden on my family.

"Just give me enough to eat!"

The speaker was Qin Xiaoyi, a youth of seventeen or eighteen. Somewhat nervously, he said, "Ah Yan, could you do it for the sake of us belonging to the same Qin clan?"

The others had more or less the same reasons.

But more than that, they admired Qin Yan himself.

Qin Yan looked at the people before him, and something stirred in his heart.

If he gathered some people and trained them, their loyalty would go without saying, and they were honest youths from the same village besides.

Training people like that would be a considerable help to him.

Song Bao and the others numbered eleven in all, a force of no small size.

"All right!"

After thinking it over, Qin Yan finally nodded. "I don't care what you were like before, but from now on, you'll call me boss!

"I'll teach you skills too, but if you ever betray me, don't blame me for turning ruthless."

Qin Xiaoyi and the others immediately lit up with delight and respectfully called him boss.

With their numbers having suddenly grown so much, the training ground they had cleared before was no longer big enough.

Next, they naturally needed to clear a large training ground.

The woods on the mountain behind the old house were on level ground, and the area needed clearing.

There were plenty of pine trees there, each at least as thick as a person's waist, making them quite troublesome to deal with.

Qin Yan handed the brush knives to several of the men to deal with the smaller trees.

He, meanwhile, faced a tree so large that one person could just wrap his arms around it. Planting his stance and driving from his waist, he threw a punch in an instant.

Thud!

The dull impact immediately drew everyone's attention. A deep mark had been left on the thick tree.

Qin Yan nodded to himself. This was already five times the strength of an ordinary person.

His body possessed extraordinary powers of recovery. By punching over and over, he intended to forge his fists until they were as hard as iron.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Dull impacts echoed through the woods without cease.

They seemed to strike at their very hearts. Song Bao and the others watched Qin Yan in shock as each of his punches sank into the tree like a nail.

If one of those punches landed on a person, it would probably kill them on the spot.

Besides their shock, a trace of longing also arose in their hearts. They hoped that one day they could reach Qin Yan's current heights.

They grew all the more enthusiastic about chopping down trees.

Qin Yan kept attacking the trees with every part of his body to strengthen his bones.

He felt his body exert itself with each blow, each punch heavier than the last and growing immensely powerful.

In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, the thick tree could no longer withstand Qin Yan's attacks.

It toppled in an instant.

"Boss, you're amazing!"

Song Bao's eyes burned with fervor as he looked at Qin Yan with the reverence due a god.

Looking at the traces of blood on his fist, Qin Yan paid them no mind. It had taken him nearly the time it took an incense stick to burn to smash a tree apart.

He walked straight toward another large tree. These trees were ready-made punching bags.

Nor was he afraid of anyone coming to make trouble for him. The wild mountains behind the old house were all unclaimed land.

Besides, the mountains were high and the emperor was far away. The authorities wouldn't concern themselves with such trivial matters and simply turned a blind eye to the tree-felling.

[Skill comprehended: Boxing (Beginner Level)]

Effect: punching speed increased by 10%, strength increased by 10%.

"Not bad!"

A smile appeared in Qin Yan's eyes. Of all martial arts under heaven, only speed was unbreakable; speed was the most direct way to knock down an enemy.

There was another saying in martial cultivation: better one skill that shocks the world than a thousand techniques learned.

Every martial artist had a signature move, and some practiced only a single move.

They honed it to a level of divine mastery, defeating their enemies in one strike.

Qin Yan's training utterly stunned the eleven people present.

With their own eyes, they watched Qin Yan use his bloodied fists to punch down one large tree after another.

"Is he still human?!"

Qin An swallowed. Even a monster could be no more than this.

Not only was Qin Yan more talented than they were, but when it came to hard work, they could only gaze at his back from afar.

For three days straight, Qin Yan used his fists to smash down trees one after another, slowly clearing a training ground.

Compared with a physical monster like Qin Yan, the others were worn out.

Clearing the land every day left them utterly exhausted.

Qin Yan also understood that the young men at his side couldn't compare with him in stamina, so he gave them time to rest as appropriate.

From time to time, he caught fish in the rushing river and brought them back to make fish soup.

As for food, Qin Yan also provided them with some as appropriate.

The greatest taboo in martial training was the depletion of blood and Qi. Without proper nourishment, one would instead drain the body and be left with a host of hidden injuries.

Every day, he felt the Qi and blood filling his body, streams of warmth flowing through him.

Qin Yan watched his strength and speed values rise steadily.

With each punch, a faint sound of air tearing could be heard. His fists were so fast that ordinary people couldn't even track their path.

He sank his Qi into his dantian!

Qin Yan wrapped his arms around a broken stump, and the muscles all over his body bulged in an instant.

The soil heaved, and the sounds of roots snapping rose and fell in succession.

Though they had seen it many times, the others still couldn't help drawing in sharp breaths.

They watched Qin Yan pull the stump out by its roots, bit by bit. Such terrifying strength was already beyond their understanding.