Counterattack

After an unknown amount of time, a green entry suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

'While mining, you felt a stir in your heart, and the rhythm of the hoe in your hands suddenly changed. An inexplicable cadence seemed to emerge naturally. Your body twisted, your arms became hammers, and your skin tightened slightly. Your Crimson Flame Copper Body Art has entered the beginner stage.'

'Crimson Flame Copper Body Art (Beginner)'

'Crimson Flame Copper Body Art 0/500 (Beginner)

Effects: Initial Vitality, strength surging throughout the body, Power Concentrated in Meridians, Tough Skin and Solid Flesh, Unaffected by Light Shocks'

In his memories, he had endured the blows of four or five people every day. At first they used parchment, then wooden sticks, tempering his skin until it became as tough as cowhide.

Besides that, he had swung a heavy iron hammer, constantly honing himself.

Without knowing the passing of days and months, Xu Yunfan's distracting thoughts were beaten clean away amid those instinct-like hammer blows. With every strike, he could sense the changes in his body's strength and the way it was channeled.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. He held his breath and focused, raised the hammer with both hands, and curled his toes into the ground. Strength rose from the earth, passing through his thighs, waist, abdomen, spine, shoulders, and arms.

That power flowed through his entire body and into both arms. The scattered strength within him twisted together into a single rope at that instant.

Clang!

The stone he had been hammering let out a deafening clash of metal and iron. The huge bluestone before him was smashed into pieces by that single blow.

In an instant, a majestic force seemed to awaken within him, transforming into more than a dozen warm streams. Like trickling currents at the first spring thaw, they carried an unyielding vigor as they rushed toward his limbs and bones.

The hot currents surged onward. Wherever they passed, his muscles and sinews seemed to be repeatedly hammered by a blacksmith. Every fiber absorbed strength and gradually became taut and powerful, while his once-scrawny body rapidly filled out.

"Whew..."

Carefully feeling the slightly tightened muscles in his body, Xu Yunfan moved a little, his expression excited.

Good, good, good!

As expected of the system panel!

My own talent isn't bad either. I actually comprehended the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art in such a short time.

How was it as terrible as Li Haomiao said? He claimed it would take three or four months before I achieved anything, but I got it done in less than a day.

He could not help glancing at Li Haomiao.

Li Haomiao: "?"

Xu Yunfan held his breath, gathered his strength, and swung the pickaxe again.

His feet dug tightly into the ground, his waist and hips suddenly exerted force, and his muscles instantly tensed like steel cables twisting together. Veins bulged across his body.

A fierce power erupted from the springs beneath his feet like an Earth Dragon Turnover, climbing through his muscles and sinews layer by layer, surging upward before gathering in both arms.

Clang!

A far grander clash of iron and metal resounded through the entire mine. When the Iron Pickaxe struck the iron ore, a string of sparks hissed out, and a large chunk of ore was directly dug loose.

"Eh?"

Li Haomiao, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them and stared at Xu Yunfan in astonishment.

"Your Crimson Flame Copper Body Art has entered the beginner stage?"

Xu Yunfan lowered his head and glanced at his ragged clothes. Though they were full of holes, they still covered his body well enough that Li Haomiao could not see the changes to it.

He answered, "By your description, my vitality is surging and roiling without pause. With such signs, I should have entered the beginner stage."

What followed was an extremely long silence.

After a long while, Li Haomiao let out a breath.

"I misjudged you."

He was utterly shocked, to the point of doubting his life.

Back when Li Haomiao had begun martial training, it had taken him a full seven days to reach the stage where his vitality surged and roiled without pause.

How long had Xu Yunfan taken?

Even counting it generously, only half a day.

And Li Haomiao had cultivated the Dao Sect's supreme art, his innate foundation far surpassing Xu Yunfan's by more than a little.

What kind of monster was this?!

Li Haomiao recalled how he had once been called Great Zhou's foremost martial genius in Jade Capital. Thinking of how he had accepted Xu Yunfan with a smile, a subtle sense of shame spread through his heart.

"My aptitude is decent, right?"

Li Haomiao's expression did not change. He tightly gathered his thoughts and restrained his Dao Heart, which had nearly shattered, before slowly saying, "Passable. In the Dao Sect, with your aptitude, you could become an Outer Sect Disciple."

Xu Yunfan nodded slightly at those words. It seemed he was not too bad after all.

Just as he was about to rise, a commotion suddenly came from outside the mine.

Li Haomiao's ears twitched, and he turned to look outside.

"Looks like the trouble from killing Jiang Ming's son has arrived."

Xu Yunfan's expression remained calm as he stood and looked over, only to see Cui Ye leading the way.

By the light of the torch, Cui Ye spotted Xu Yunfan standing in the mine at once. His gaze turned sharp, and he raised the Iron Pickaxe in his hand as he charged forward, roaring.

"You Vile Slave, die!!"

Thud!

Cui Ye rolled away like a tumbling gourd for four or five meters, then lay on the ground howling miserably.

Xu Yunfan calmly withdrew his foot, his eyes carrying a trace of icy coldness as he looked at the remaining three.

Another man rushed in right after him and brought down his Iron Pickaxe. Xu Yunfan did not stop moving. He shifted slightly aside and dodged the pickaxe descending at his head.

The Iron Pickaxe that had once seemed swift and urgent now looked dull and slow in his eyes.

A simple backhanded Liver-Bursting Fist struck the man squarely in the waist and abdomen, folding him into a giant shrimp. He let out an "Urgh!" as the Iron Pickaxe flew from his hand. Clutching his stomach, he dropped to his knees and could not move for a long while.

Xu Yunfan looked at his hand and loosely clenched it.

The improvement in his physical condition was not limited to his physique and strength. His vision and reactions had risen across the board as well.

Merely entering the martial path had brought such an improvement. He wondered what it would be like once he cultivated the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art to the minor mastery stage.

These people had colluded with one another, relying on their families' backgrounds and influence to run wild in Jade Capital. Yet they had keen eyes and knew whom they could provoke and whom they could not, which was why they had been able to strut about for so many years.

When the remaining two saw Cui Ye taken down with one kick, and especially when they saw Xu Yunfan effortlessly evade the pickaxe, moving with the agility and smoothness of the guards who had always accompanied them, fear rose in their hearts. They no longer dared step forward.

Seeing this, Xu Yunfan did not hesitate in the slightest and walked straight toward them.

One of them put on a fierce front to hide his fear. "You dog slave, dare take another step forward?"

The moment the words fell, Xu Yunfan took one great stride and rushed before him. His hands struck left and right, slapping the man's cheeks until they rang out. In the blink of an eye, the man's face had become a pig's head.

"Don't, don't hit me anymore! Don't hit me!"

"Beg me!"

"I'm begging you!"

The visitor, beaten into a pig's head, was in such pain that he knelt and begged through tears. He feared nothing—his own father dying before him would not have drawn a single tear from him—but he was afraid of pain.

Xu Yunfan withdrew his slightly numb hands and looked at the man kneeling before him.

He Changgong, son of He Jin, the Prefectural Governor of Jade Capital Prefecture. He was arrogant and tyrannical, wantonly reckless, his conscience utterly extinguished. He had even dared to kill people in the streets.

Unfortunately, he had a good father. Countless people had ground their teeth in hatred over him. Now that the Empress had confiscated his family and exterminated his clan, it truly made people clap their hands in delight.

He turned to look at the other two. They immediately tried to run, but froze in place upon hearing his voice.

"If you dare run, I'll spend all my remaining time doing nothing but hunting you down."

One of them swallowed and forced himself to remain calm as he asked in a low voice, "What do you want?"

Xu Yunfan said, "Leave behind your food and water."

A newbie is begging for investment, bookmarks, follow-up reads, votes—begging for everything! Thank you, everyone!