"Kun's" Cultivation Method and Basketball Spirit

After the terrifying experience of sneaking into the academy at night, Lin Kun became even more determined to quickly improve his strength. Before dawn on the second day, he quietly got up and sneaked to a secluded clearing in the back mountains of the academy—this was his newly discovered secret cultivation spot.

First, he needed to solidify his newly acquired movement technique. The knowledge from the Basic Movement Technique Outline needed to be integrated into his instincts through practice. Lin Kun weaved and dodged in the clearing, his steps slightly awkward but possessing a unique rhythm, sometimes like a butterfly flitting through flowers, sometimes like a cunning rabbit leaping over an eagle... Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration. In reality, it was more like—

"Left foot trips over right foot, falling on flat ground! Ouch!" Lin Kun got up, rubbing his sore knee. "This movement technique is harder to practice than I thought! My body feels like it's not listening to me, like I'm dancing a completely new dance..."

He tried to follow a side-step with a turn, but the movement became distorted, his arm involuntarily drawing a circle, and he subconsciously hummed a strange rhythm: "Ji ni tai mei~~ Oh beibei~~"

As soon as he finished humming, Lin Kun froze, then his face flushed red. He awkwardly looked left and right. "Damn! Did that broken system influence me? Why did I even think of that! If anyone saw this, wouldn't my hard-earned low-key persona be ruined?"

He shook his head, driving the strange rhythm out of his mind, and continued to practice with focus. This time, he concentrated on the simplest evasions and advances, and the effect was much better. It was just that occasionally, when the movements didn't connect smoothly, a hint of the "Iron Mountain Lean" or the illusion of "dribbling" would still appear...

"Am I practicing a movement technique or a dance technique here?" Lin Kun couldn't help but laugh and cry. "Forget it, as long as it works, I'll just dance for the opponent before a fight to confuse them!"

After practicing the movement technique, he began to experiment with the fine control of the Mental Thread. He found a few fallen leaves and tried to control them simultaneously with his mental threads, making them sway in the air.

"Controlling one is fine, but controlling multiple at once makes me a bit flustered... It feels like playing with several yo-yos at the same time?" Lin Kun concentrated, and the leaves trembled and flew up, drawing crooked trajectories in the air. "If there was some background music right now, could I perform a 'Leaf Basketball' live?"

A playful impulse struck him. He tried to use his mental threads to pick up a small stone, imitating a classic move, and provided his own voiceover: "Watch me sing, dance, rap, and play basketball! Go!"

The stone shot out with a "whoosh," and then... it softly landed on the ground about three meters away.

"...Alright, the attack power is negligible." Lin Kun put his hand to his forehead. "I'll just stick to using it as a reconnaissance skill."

Although the process was full of humor and self-deprecation, Lin Kun could feel that through this seemingly nonsensical practice, his control over the Mental Thread was indeed improving little by little, becoming more precise and flexible.

After a short break, he began his daily Spirit Power cultivation. He summoned his ancient Book Spirit, and his consciousness sank into it. The light crystals flickered, and the surrounding spirit particles seemed to be attracted, gathering at a slightly faster pace than usual.

"Sigh, if only my Martial Soul could accelerate cultivation. It's a shame it can only speed things up a tiny bit now, not as good as Tang San's cheat." Lin Kun mused as he meditated. "Speaking of which, will my Book Spirit evolve into a 'Practice Life Spirit' in the future? Automatically condense a yellow Spirit Ring after two and a half years? Skills would be singing, dancing, and playing basketball?"

He was amused by his own absurd thoughts, almost losing his meditative state.

"Stop, stop! If I think any further, the style will be ruined!" Lin Kun quickly gathered his thoughts and earnestly guided his Spirit Power.

After the cultivation, he felt his Spirit Power had advanced a notch, steadily moving towards level 5. He put away his Martial Soul, patted the dust off his clothes, and prepared to return to the dormitory.

Just as he reached the edge of the clearing, he saw Xiao Wu hopping towards him, nibbling on a carrot.

"Huh? Lin Kun? Why are you coming out from here?" Xiao Wu tilted her head, her big eyes full of curiosity. "What were you doing in there just now? I thought I heard something like 'Ji ni tai mei'?"

Lin Kun: "!!!"

The crime scene arrived late!

He forced himself to remain calm, his expression unchanged and his heart not skipping a beat as he lied: "Oh, nothing, just practicing my movement technique. Maybe I accidentally stepped on something and made a strange noise. Sister Xiao Wu, why are you here?"

Xiao Wu eyed him suspiciously for a moment but didn't pry further. She shook the carrot in her hand. "I came to find some fresh carrots! The ones here seem sweeter! By the way, look at this new move I learned!"

As she spoke, she suddenly performed a light backflip, her ponytail tracing a graceful arc. She landed silently and proudly lifted her small face. "How was it? Amazing, right?"

Lin Kun looked at her move, then thought about his own awkwardness of tripping over his feet just now, and tears welled up in his heart: Is this the gap in talent?

He gave her a thumbs-up, sincerely (and a little enviously) praising, "Amazing, amazing! Sister Xiao Wu, this move is so elegant, so elegant!" Unlike him, who almost turned his movement technique into a basketball tutorial.

Xiao Wu hummed contentedly and then hopped off to find more carrots.

Lin Kun watched her receding figure and wiped away a cold sweat. "Good thing I managed to fool her... I need to find an even more secluded spot for cultivation in the future. This 'Kun's Cultivation Method' is too prone to misunderstandings!"