The Kui Ox Fist That Transformed Its Level (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

For fifteen years, you have been diligently practicing the Kui Ox Fist, day and night without rest, to the point of almost losing control. Thus, you stopped your practice and pondered methods for improvement.

In the seventeenth year, you suddenly had an inspiration. Although the Kui Ox Fist is a boxing technique, its practice requires engaging the entire body. The Kui Ox is one of the disaster beasts of the Great Wilderness, standing on a single leg, moving like thunder. Gradually, you understood.

In the twenty-first year, you finally comprehended the essence from the Kui Ox standing on one leg, supporting the sky. You realized that standing on your left foot, channeling energy through your right fist, twisting your waist and rotating your hips, your punch could then resemble the charge of the Kui Ox.

In the twenty-fifth year, you seemed to truly awaken, and further grasped the profound mystery of the Kui Ox stepping to gather strength, with your fist following your movement.

Over the next eight years, you wished to further comprehend the essence of the Kui Ox, but your mind became as rigid as a boulder again.

After expending thirty-three years of lifespan, you successfully upgraded the low-grade Kui Ox Fist to the inferior-grade level. During practice, you could engage three-tenths of your muscles, bones, and blood in unison.

Inside the house under the night sky, Shen Can's body twitched as if in a dream.

About half an hour later, he suddenly opened his eyes, a trace of weariness showing.

"Thirty-three years of great dream, it felt quite real."

All the memories of practicing the boxing technique were now in his mind, as if he had truly undergone rigorous training in a confined space.

"Inferior-grade Kui Ox Fist."

"Am I a genius?"

After sitting up from the stone bed, Shen Can suddenly had this thought.

The Kui Ox Fist of the Blazing Flame Tribe had been passed down since the tribe's establishment. Over the years, there had been attempts at improvement, but none had reached his level.

He had only spent a little over thirty years to achieve a transformative improvement.

Engaging three-tenths of his body's blood and bones in unison – although he didn't know how much was engaged in the previous low-grade version, it seemed quite impressive now.

If not a genius, then what?

With this thought, he got off the stone bed and assumed the starting stance of the Kui Ox Fist he had comprehended in his 'dream'.

The Kui Ox Fist had three moves: Kui Ox Splits Mountains, Kui Trembles Four Directions, and Kui Ox Startles Thunder.

He had only improved the first two moves, and this had already elevated the quality of the boxing technique by one level.

At this moment, as Shen Can initiated the stance, he felt a strong pulling sensation in the muscles of his arms and legs, followed by distinct movements in his arm bones, leg bones, and spine.

This was an experience he had never had while practicing the Kui Ox Fist in his memory.

The tribe's tempering methods primarily focused on refining energy into the body by consuming beast meat and soaking in beast blood.

Naturally, the more muscles, bones, and blood engaged, the more energy could be refined into the body.

After a few movements, he felt a growing heat within himself.

In less than half an hour, Shen Can suddenly stumbled.

After a few moves of the Kui Ox Fist, he suddenly felt a bit hungry.

"It's working."

Feeling hungry, Shen Can was delighted rather than surprised.

Feeling hungry indicated that his body was consuming energy, showing that the improved Kui Ox Fist had significantly increased its efficiency.

While increasing the refining efficiency didn't negate the danger of breakthroughs, the risk of breakthroughs could be reduced with the improved Kui Ox Fist.

In fact, with the increased refining rate of the Kui Ox Fist, he might not even need to soak in beast blood. As long as he could perfectly absorb the essence of the beast meat he consumed daily, he might be able to reach the Stone Splitter Realm standard.

As for how to determine if he had advanced to the first stage of the Stone Splitter Realm, it depended on whether he could shatter Black Yuan Stone, a common type of stone in the Great Wilderness.

Generally, ordinary adult desolate beasts possessed the strength to shatter Black Yuan Stone.

Human martial arts developed from desolate beasts, hence the first realm of martial arts cultivation was named Stone Splitter.

In other words, possessing the strength of one desolate beast meant being a Stone Splitter Realm martial artist.

In Shen Can's view, this level of classification was too crude, easily leading to variations in the strength of different martial artists.

Of course, these were not his immediate concerns. His most pressing concern now was how to steal the ancestral offerings.

If not for this heavy rain, the tribe would go out hunting every few days, bringing back a live desolate beast whenever possible, allowing him to continue plundering the lifespan of desolate beasts.

At that time, he might even be able to deduce the Kui Ox Fist to the medium-grade, or even high-grade.

But now, this damned rain.

"I have a method for deduction; I shouldn't just focus on immediate matters. The offerings will come."

After calming his emotions, Shen Can glanced towards the cave entrance and then walked out of his ear cave.

"Master said stealing some offerings isn't stealing."

As he came out, Huo Xian also lifted the curtain of his ear cave and emerged.

Seeing Huo Xian up so early, Shen Can knew that stealing was impossible, so he decided to take it openly.

Seeing that Shen Can was ready and had come out, Huo Xian nodded, clearly satisfied.

If nothing else, his attitude was very good.

Then, Shen Can followed behind Huo Xian and began cleaning the inside and outside of the Ancestral Temple, including wiping the divine seats, the offering table, sweeping and sprinkling water to remove dust, and so on.

Finally, Huo Xian took down a piece of the offering from the sacrificial table.

"We'll cook this piece, and the rest will be distributed to the little ones in the tribe."

The meat offered after the sacrifice is called zuò meat, also known as fú meat, symbolizing blessings from the ancestors.

Every day after the hunting party returned, the children of the tribe would come to receive blessings from the ancestors. When Shen Can was young, he also used to come to the Ancestral Temple to ask for these blessings, hoping to become a true warrior.

To put it plainly, this was all about spiritual belief.

"Thump thump!"

Before long, chaotic footsteps sounded outside the Ancestral Temple, and one by one, they knelt at the cave entrance.

"You go distribute the meat to everyone."

Huo Xian was already used to this; he used to do this himself.

Shen Can, holding the zuò meat, walked towards the children at the cave entrance.

"Brother A'Can, you've really become the Temple Guardian. Will you not go hunting anymore?"

Seeing Shen Can emerge, the dozen or so little ones at the Ancestral Temple's entrance all looked up in unison. Huo Yuan, kneeling on his knees, crawled towards Shen Can.

"Everyone be quiet here at the Ancestral Temple."

Shen Can immediately told Huo Yuan to shut up. If this little guy started chattering, the other children would definitely follow suit.

And then they'd ask him why he dissolved into water, which would be quite embarrassing.

"Here, one piece each. Ancestral blessings."

Huo Yuan wanted some, looking at Shen Can with eager eyes, but he didn't rush forward to snatch it. Instead, he obediently waited in line.

Shen Can placed the last piece of zuò meat, from the shoulder area, into Huo Yuan's hand.

"Brother A'Can, are you not going home to live anymore?"

Shen Can patted the head of the little one living near this place.

"From now on, every time you come to get zuò meat, you can see me."

"Go back now. After eating the zuò meat bestowed by the ancestors, you can become a powerful warrior in the future."

"Brother Can, don't cry secretly. When I become a powerful warrior, I'll hunt a Mountain-Cleaving Kui and have Brother A'Can preside over the ancestral sacrifice."

Huo Yuan, clutching the zuò meat, ran home with a cry.

Shen Can scoffed at the words of the young child.

He would cry?

He only wanted to be a good Temple Guardian now, to protect the ancestors for the tribe.

As long as the weather cleared up and the tribe resumed normal activities, his lifespan would arrive.

He didn't believe this rain could last for another two and a half years.

After pacifying the children, Shen Can smelled the aroma of roasted meat. Huo Xian was already grilling the meat. If it weren't for the children, he would have been so hungry he'd have wanted to gnaw on the zuò meat raw.

He came before the divine seat and saw that the blood goblet still contained more than half of the beast blood.

Seeing that Huo Xian hadn't come over, he bowed towards the divine seat and carefully reached for the three-legged cauldron-shaped blood goblet.

"The Zuo Zhuan" records: "On the day after the sacrifice, the zuò meat is distributed to the dukes and ministers."