Learning the Second-Rate Manual, Qing Tan: "Brother Liu Yuan, Why Aren't You Wearing Clothes?!"

Lin Dong naturally understood his father's personality very well.

Stubborn on the outside, soft-hearted within. Always saying the opposite of what he truly meant.

Whenever words of concern reached his lips, they always turned into scolding and reproach.

So after hearing Lin Xiao's clumsy excuse, Lin Dong merely felt warmth in his heart and did not expose him to his face.

Liu Yuan stood nearby, his gaze strangely sweeping over Lin Xiao as he muttered silently to himself.

So... Uncle Xiao's personality would be considered "tsundere" in this era?

The night had grown deep, and the chill on the Back Mountain was steadily worsening.

The group no longer lingered and began making their way home along the path they had taken earlier.

Once they arrived home, the sweat-soaked Lin Dong immediately ran to his room to get a change of clothes, preparing to enjoy a hot bath.

As for Lin Xiao, only after confirming that Qing Tan had also returned to her room to rest and that only he and Liu Yuan remained in the courtyard did the sternness and awkwardness finally fade from his face.

He turned toward Liu Yuan and solemnly clasped his hands in greeting.

His weathered face was filled with sincere gratitude.

"Xiao Yuan."

"Thank you for what happened this time."

"Thank you for teaching Dong'er Martial Arts, and thank you for talking him through it and helping him pull himself together again."

Seeing this, Liu Yuan quickly stepped forward to support him, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

"Uncle Xiao, didn't we already agree on this last time?"

"There's no need for such politeness between us."

Lin Xiao smiled upon hearing that.

"That may be true."

"But I'll remember this kindness in my heart. I really should thank you properly."

Seeing how serious he was, Liu Yuan knew that refusing any further would only make them seem distant, so he smiled, nodded, and accepted the gratitude calmly.

"Alright, Uncle Xiao. I accept your feelings."

"Mm. Get some rest early."

After their brief conversation, Liu Yuan also took his leave and returned to his room to rest.

The days that followed seemed to return to their usual peace.

Lin Dong had completely turned into a cultivation fanatic.

He had always been an exceptionally hardworking person. Back when he did not even possess a single Martial Arts technique, he could still rely on his unyielding determination to train desperately on the Back Mountain.

That went without saying now.

He trained like a madman, wanting to improve himself as quickly as possible.

Of course, Liu Yuan did not personally guide Lin Dong every day.

Other than giving him the most detailed instruction and demonstration on the first day, he mostly let Lin Dong practice and comprehend things on his own afterward.

When it came to cultivation, a master could lead one through the door, but the journey depended on the individual.

Blindly spoon-feeding someone would instead limit a Martial Artist's growth.

Only things comprehended through one's own falls, blood, sweat, and relentless tempering could truly become one's own ability.

Lin Dong was also very sensible. He knew that Brother Liu Yuan had his own matters to attend to and could not always be troubled by his questions.

So aside from seeking advice when he truly encountered a bottleneck he could not understand, he spent the rest of his time training silently by himself.

This gave Liu Yuan plenty of free time to handle his own affairs.

He devoted all his energy to cultivating the system reward, the Second-Rate Manual—[Thunder Spirit Art].

As a Second-Rate Manual, [Thunder Spirit Art] could open as many as fifteen hidden special Meridians!

More importantly, once cultivated to a certain degree, it could condense a "Thunder Spirit Orb" within the Dantian Qi Sea.

A Thunder Spirit Orb could gradually transform the power within a Martial Artist's body into highly destructive lightning-attributed power!

To Liu Yuan, this was undoubtedly an excellent thing!

At this moment, he sat Cross-legged on the bed in his room, sinking his consciousness into his body and following the method recorded in [Thunder Spirit Art] to guide the power within him toward the first hidden Meridian.

The process was tedious and painful.

Every attempt felt like using a Steel Needle to forcibly carve a new path through his flesh and blood.

But Liu Yuan's will was firm, and he did not care in the slightest.

Time quietly Flowed Away amid the day-after-day monotony of cultivation.

Then, on this day.

After Liu Yuan had spent many days of hard work to finally open his third Meridian and felt the power within him grow more robust, his door was suddenly kicked open with a bang.

Lin Dong's excited face poked through the doorway.

"Brother Liu Yuan! Good news!"

His face was full of excitement.

"Today, I gave that bastard Lin Shan a good beating! It felt amazing!"

"It's all thanks to the [Stone Splitting Palm] you taught me!"

Liu Yuan slowly ended his cultivation and opened his eyes.

After hearing Lin Dong say this, his heart stirred, and he roughly understood what had happened.

He carefully examined Lin Dong.

Sure enough!

At this moment, Lin Dong's entire demeanor was completely different from before.

His aura was clearly much more powerful than before. He had astonishingly broken through to the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm!

Such rapid progress further confirmed Liu Yuan's guess.

Lin Dong had probably already obtained that Mysterious Stone Talisman.

Thinking about the timing, it was indeed about time.

Liu Yuan felt not the slightest jealousy over this.

Instead, he was sincerely happy for him.

He smiled faintly at Lin Dong and said calmly.

"This is the result of your own hard work. What does it have to do with me?"

But Lin Dong vigorously shook his head and refuted him with a serious expression.

"That's not how it is!"

"Without the [Stone Splitting Palm] Brother Liu Yuan taught me, there's no way I could have improved this quickly!"

"You deserve a great deal of the credit this time!"

Liu Yuan merely smiled and did not say anything more on the matter.

In the days that followed, Liu Yuan continued to ignore all outside matters and devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivating [Thunder Spirit Art].

Opening three Meridians was only the beginning.

According to the Cultivation Technique, once he opened the seventh Meridian, he could attempt to condense his first Thunder Spirit Orb.

That would be the true beginning of [Thunder Spirit Art] displaying its might!

Finally.

On this day, Liu Yuan felt that the power within him had accumulated to its peak.

He prepared to assault the seventh Meridian!

Inside the room.

Liu Yuan sat Cross-legged. To allow his blood and qi to circulate more smoothly, he simply removed his upper garment, revealing a body of streamlined, explosively powerful muscles.

His Eyes Closed, his mind and spirit became one.

Under his control, the power within his body turned into a raging torrent and launched fierce attacks against the seventh Meridian again and again!

Boom!

Boom!

No one knew how much time had passed.

Liu Yuan only felt as though a clap of thunder had sounded in his mind!

The next moment!

An indescribable feeling of comfort spread throughout his entire body!

The seventh Meridian... had opened!

He immediately guided that newly born power within him to gather in his Dantian. Following the method of [Thunder Spirit Art], he began compressing and condensing it!

Strands of Silver White lightning arcs began flickering within his power.

In the end, all the power condensed into a silver ball of qi roughly the size of a thumb, flickering with faint Thunder Light as it quietly floated within his Dantian Qi Sea.

The first Thunder Spirit Orb had formed!

Liu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. Feeling the power within him that brimmed with an aura of savagery and destruction, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He could feel that although his power had not increased by much in quantity, it had undergone a world-shaking transformation in quality!

This was lightning-attributed power!

"Brother Liu Yuan! Good news! I found the medicinal herbs you asked me to look for!"

At that very moment, a clear and urgent voice rang out.

With a creak, the door was violently pushed open from outside.

Qing Tan's pretty figure rushed in like a joyful little deer.

The moment she entered, before her words had even finished, her gaze collided directly with the masculine body standing in the middle of the room.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Qing Tan looked at Liu Yuan's bare Upper Body and the powerful lines of his muscles. Her little face instantly flushed red all the way to her ears.

She froze for a moment, then abruptly turned around like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, covering her eyes with both hands.

A shy cry escaped through her fingers.

"Brother Liu Yuan! You... why aren't you wearing clothes?!"