Lin Xiao's Shock: Is Liu Yuan Stronger Than I Was at My Peak?

Up ahead, Liu Yuan had not noticed Lin Xiao and Qing Tan's arrival.

On one hand, he and Lin Dong had their backs to the direction where Lin Xiao and Qing Tan stood, with all their attention focused on the training before them.

On the other hand, Liu Yuan had always been serious about everything he did.

He was the kind of person who either did not do something at all, or did it to the very best of his ability.

Since he had decided to teach Lin Dong, he taught him wholeheartedly, imparting without reservation every essence of the [Stone Splitting Palm] that he understood. There was no chance of him holding anything back or going through the motions.

Therefore, in such a highly focused state, he did not spare much attention for his surroundings.

But it had to be said that Lin Dong's talent truly was excellent.

Worthy indeed of the future Martial Ancestor, the Child of Destiny.

After merely a few short hours of training, under Liu Yuan's continuous guidance and corrections, he seemed to have found some of the knack.

At this moment.

Lin Dong took another deep breath, gathered all the Inner Energy within his body, and fiercely struck the large tree before him—a tree he had already battered hundreds of times—with his palm!

Bang!

The Palm Wind from this strike howled, its momentum completely different from before!

The thick tree, so wide that it took an adult to wrap their arms around it, shook violently under Lin Dong's palm.

Then, with a crack, countless fractures instantly spread from where his palm had struck, webbing across the trunk like a spiderweb!

The next moment!

Boom!

The entire tree snapped in two, its upper half crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust!

Hidden in the distance, Qing Tan saw this and parted her small lips slightly, her eyes filled with disbelief.

She knew how diligently Brother Lin Dong trained every day, but she also knew that his strength had always been merely average within the Body Tempering Realm. He had struggled to even shake a small tree.

But now...

He had snapped such a thick tree with a single palm strike?!

Lin Xiao's pupils suddenly constricted as well.

He saw more deeply and farther than Qing Tan did!

His Inner Energy had condensed, while fierce force remained hidden within!

To bring an unfamiliar Second-grade Martial Art to such a level in only a few short hours...

His son's talent in Martial Arts was far greater than he had imagined!

Up ahead.

Lin Dong looked at his handiwork, yet showed not the slightest joy.

He remained immersed in training, his brows furrowed as though he were reliving the sensation of that strike.

He felt that although his palm had improved enormously compared to before, it was still far, far too lacking when compared with Liu Yuan's Understated palm strike that could shatter a giant boulder.

He turned around and humbly sought Liu Yuan's guidance.

"Brother Liu Yuan, I still feel like something is wrong. Although my Inner Energy has condensed, it seems I didn't fully release it. There is always a force trapped inside, and it feels especially awkward. Where exactly is the problem?"

Liu Yuan nodded and, without holding back, pointed out his problem.

"Your circulation route for power is basically correct, but you are still not proficient enough."

"The essence of the [Stone Splitting Palm] lies in the word 'penetration.' Inner Energy moves from outside to inside, then erupts from within outward. Your Inner Energy has only gone from outside to inside; you have not successfully made it explode within."

"Watch carefully. I'll demonstrate it for you once more."

As he spoke.

Liu Yuan demonstrated it himself again.

As usual, he found another enormous bluestone about the same size as before, five or six meters tall.

With the same light, effortless palm, he silently pressed his hand against it.

Bang!

A muffled sound came from within the bluestone once more.

Crash—

The next second, the enormous bluestone once again turned into a pile of uniformly sized rubble!

This time, Lin Dong's eyes widened as he watched more carefully than ever before.

Under Liu Yuan's guidance, he finally discerned a hint of where the problem lay.

So... it was the technique of exerting force at the instant his palm touched the rock!

It was an extremely subtle yet crucial method of vibration!

Behind them, Lin Xiao and Qing Tan were once again deeply, utterly shocked!

Snapping a tree trunk with one palm and directly shattering an enormous boulder five or six meters tall from the inside with one palm were fundamentally not the same thing!

The gap in difficulty was immeasurably vast!

Qing Tan's beautiful large eyes were now filled with Little Stars. As she looked at Liu Yuan's upright back, her gaze overflowed with admiration and worship.

In her heart, Brother Liu Yuan was insanely strong!

Lin Xiao's feelings, however, were far more complicated.

A stormy sea had been stirred in his heart, accompanied by a trace of incredulous emotion.

He clearly remembered that when he had still been at his Peak Period, as a Heavenly Origin Realm expert, even when he used a Second-grade Martial Art, it seemed... he had not possessed such devastating power as Liu Yuan!

Could it be...

Was Liu Yuan now even stronger than he himself had been at his peak?

The moment this thought arose, even Lin Xiao was startled.

The more he thought about it, the more shocked he became, and the more unfathomable Liu Yuan seemed.

A teenage boy whose strength might even surpass the Heavenly Origin Realm?

How was that possible!

If that were true, then he was no longer a genius. He was a Monster.

Up ahead.

Liu Yuan glanced at the sky and found that it truly was getting late.

He said to Lin Dong, who was still pondering what he had learned.

"Let's stop here for today. Training requires a balance between work and rest. You were beaten today, and you also consumed Crimson Ginseng. Your body needs rest."

"Go back and get a good night's sleep. Review what you learned today in your mind, and we'll continue tomorrow."

Lin Dong did indeed feel tired, so he nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Brother Liu Yuan."

The two of them tidied up briefly and prepared to turn around and head home.

But the moment they turned around, Liu Yuan's sharp gaze immediately discovered the two somewhat flustered figures behind a nearby tree.

He paused slightly, then called out.

"Qing Tan, Uncle Xiao?"

"Why are you here?"

Upon hearing Liu Yuan's words, Lin Dong also looked over with a face full of confusion.

"Father? Qing Tan? Why are you here?"

Caught red-handed, Qing Tan's little face instantly flushed, and she stepped out from behind the tree somewhat embarrassed.

Lin Xiao's expression, meanwhile, was as awkward as ever.

He had clearly come to the Back Mountain late at night because he was worried about his son.

After seeing Lin Dong's astonishing improvement earlier, his heart had also been filled with the satisfaction and gratification of a Father.

But now, before the two children, he still could not bring himself to admit it. He put on a stern face and said in that tone of disappointment:

"Qing Tan was worried about you two and insisted on coming out to look for you."

"The Back Mountain is so dangerous at night. I was afraid that a little girl like her might encounter danger, so I came with her."