"Hahaha... Isn't it a match made in heaven?"
"Your name is Zhang Shenshu, and you temper your body with [Big Tree Stump]. Who knows? One day, you might really become a mighty figure on par with a divine tree of heaven and earth!"
"Haha, I'll take your good wishes, but... I don't quite dare imagine it myself!"
"Come on, you've got to have dreams. Otherwise, how are you any different from a salted fish? What's the point of us martial artists training so hard?"
"Uh..."
Zhang Shenshu froze, unsure how to answer.
Still, that exchange with Li Yun had helped him release some of the pressure weighing on his heart. He looked much more relaxed.
He even took the chance to joke with Li Yun.
"You're right. A man needs dreams, so I'll dream a little more from now on. But you're so capable—when you have time, you'll have to give me a few pointers!"
"Pointers? I wouldn't dare... But I really am interested in all kinds of unusual Martial Arts. If you're willing, could you let me have a look at your Big Tree Stump?"
"Huh?"
"Why wouldn't I be? You taught me a two-star, upper-grade Martial Art like [Earth Burrowing Technique]. If I begrudged you a mere Body Tempering Realm Cultivation Technique, I'd be laughed out of town!"
"Here... This is [Big Tree Stump]. If you're interested, take a look."
Zhang Shenshu readily pulled a yellowed old book from inside his robe.
Li Yun smiled.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony..."
"Go right ahead!"
Li Yun took the book and flipped through it.
He soon finished the slender, twenty-page volume, and the System Panel in his mind responded at once.
A new technique appeared under Cultivation Techniques.
Li Yun glanced at it without thinking, and his heart suddenly