Through-the-Back Fist

A day passed quietly.

Because his injuries had not yet healed, Lin Mu stayed in his room all day. Liu Yan brought him all three meals, while Lin Dong and Lin Xiao came to visit him during that time.

Name: Lin Mu

Primal Energy Cultivation: Body Tempering Second Layer (+)

Spiritual Power Cultivation: None

Martial Skills: None

Spiritual Secret Skills: None

Cultivation Technique: None

Life Talisman Seal: None

Special Items: None

Yang Yuan Pills: 30035

After a day, the number of Yang Yuan Pills had exceeded thirty thousand. Lin Mu noticed a slight change on the panel: a "+" had appeared after his Primal Energy Cultivation.

Lin Mu tapped the "+" with his finger. Instantly, Body Tempering Second Layer became Body Tempering Third Layer, while the number of Yang Yuan Pills decreased by thirty thousand.

Before Lin Mu could feel heartache over losing thirty thousand Yang Yuan Pills, a warm current surged through his body. His physical condition and physique both grew stronger.

Of the nine levels of Body Tempering, the effects of the first three were not particularly obvious; they merely made the body stronger. Only upon reaching the fourth level, Skin Tempering, would the benefits of cultivation gradually reveal themselves. At that level, the skin would slowly become as hard as wood and stone, while both strength and speed would improve significantly.

"My injuries have basically healed!" Lin Mu discovered that the pain throughout his body had completely vanished.

"Just raising my cultivation from Body Tempering Second Layer to Body Tempering Third Layer cost thirty thousand Yang Yuan Pills. The resources it consumes are just too much." Seeing that the Yang Yuan Pills he had accumulated were nearly exhausted, Lin Mu felt another pang of heartache.

For an ordinary person, three Yang Yuan Pills would probably be enough to advance from Body Tempering Second Layer to Body Tempering Third Layer.

"But the system can directly raise my cultivation. As long as I have enough resources in the future, becoming stronger will be incredibly easy," Lin Mu thought.

Cultivation was an extremely painful matter. If he had to cultivate as diligently as Lin Dong, he might not have been able to persist.

In the blink of an eye, another two days passed. Although Lin Mu's injuries had all healed, he did not know how to explain it, so he pretended to recuperate in his room for another two days.

Over those two days, he obtained another sixty thousand Yang Yuan Pills. He spent forty thousand Yang Yuan Pills to raise his cultivation to Body Tempering Fourth Layer. His skin became as hard as wood and stone, and his strength increased tremendously. Only then did he understand just how vast the gap between himself and Lin Shan had been.

On the morning of the third day, when a faint sliver of dawn had just appeared on the horizon, Lin Mu arrived at the Back Mountain.

When he arrived, two people were already there: Lin Dong and Lin Xiao. Lin Dong was training desperately, while Lin Xiao watched from the side, offering occasional guidance.

"Mu'er, you're here!" Lin Xiao glanced at Lin Mu.

"Father!"

"Big Brother!" Seeing Lin Mu arrive, Lin Dong also stopped cultivating.

"You've both reached Body Tempering Third Layer. Very good!" Lin Xiao nodded in satisfaction.

"I relied on the medicinal effects of Red Ginseng to break through. Little Brother broke through on his own," Lin Mu said. Over the past two days, he had discovered that the system had another function: it could conceal his cultivation, allowing others to see only the level he chose to display.

"With Body Tempering Third Layer cultivation, you can barely begin practicing martial skills. Today, I'll teach you a fist technique," Lin Xiao said.

Lin Mu and Lin Dong both grew excited at once.

"Martial arts are divided into nine grades and three tiers. Grades one through three are Lower Grade, followed by Middle Grade, while grades seven through nine are Upper Grade. What I will teach you is a Lower Grade First Class Fist Technique: Through-the-Back Fist," Lin Xiao said.

"Martial skills have rankings, but what matters most is the person using them. As long as your own strength is sufficient, even a first-class martial skill can possess earth-shaking power." Lin Xiao stretched out his hand and crooked a finger at Lin Dong. "Attack me with your greatest strength and fastest speed."

Lin Dong did not hesitate. He used all his strength to attack Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao casually reached out, his palm brushing across Lin Dong's arm. With a smack, Lin Dong bared his teeth and leaped back. Rolling up his sleeve, he saw that his entire arm had turned bright red.

"Through-the-Back Fist uses force through the clinging of clothes. If I had used Primal Energy just now, the bones in your entire arm would likely have shattered," Lin Xiao said.

"To practice Through-the-Back Fist, one must use clothing to train. This fist technique focuses on generating force with the palm clinging to one's clothes. During practice, you cling to your own clothing and produce a sound. Through-the-Back Fist has nine forms, also called Nine Sound Force, because every form produces a crisp sound when executed. Each sound is stronger than the last. Once all nine sounds are completed, its power rivals that of a second-class martial skill."

"I'll demonstrate it once now. Watch carefully!"

Lin Xiao spread his limbs and moved his feet. His figure was like that of a tiger, while his arms, as they swung, resembled a long-armed ape stretching its body. Crisp smacking sounds of clothes clinging together rang out one after another.

Lin Mu watched with utmost focus, memorizing every movement.

Name: Lin Mu

Primal Energy Cultivation: Body Tempering Fourth Layer

Spiritual Power Cultivation: None

Martial Skills: Through-the-Back Fist [Not Initiated] (+)

Spiritual Secret Skills: None

Cultivation Technique: None

Life Talisman Seal: None

Special Items: None

Yang Yuan Pills: 22589

"Just as I thought!" Lin Mu figured that since cultivation could be improved, martial skills surely could as well. So after Lin Xiao demonstrated the Through-the-Back Fist, Lin Mu opened the system panel and discovered that the martial skill category was no longer marked 'None'; there was now a '+' sign beside it.

Lin Mu tapped the '+' sign. Ten thousand Yang Yuan Pills instantly disappeared, while the Through-the-Back Fist changed from Not Yet Initiated to Initiated. It felt as though enlightenment had been poured into his head, and all the experience of practicing the Through-the-Back Fist flooded into his mind.

"Did you see it clearly?" Lin Xiao asked.

"We did!" Lin Mu and Lin Dong answered at the same time.

"Then show me. Dong'er, you go first!" Lin Xiao said, somewhat surprised. Though the Through-the-Back Fist was only a first-grade martial skill, memorizing it after watching it once was no easy feat.

Lin Dong stepped forward and performed a set of punches based on what he had just remembered, though his movements were somewhat stiff.

"Not bad!" Lin Xiao nodded in satisfaction.

"Father, why doesn't my Through-the-Back Fist make any sound?" Lin Dong asked disappointedly.

"You brat, if the Through-the-Back Fist were that easy to learn, would it still be called a martial skill?" Lin Xiao said irritably, then turned to Lin Mu. "Mu'er, your turn!"

Lin Mu stepped forward, spreading his arms and legs as he began to perform a set of Through-the-Back Fist techniques.

Smack!

At the very end, a crisp sound rang out.