As the days passed, Li Yuan settled into a steady routine at Blustering Wind Martial Hall.
By day, he practiced the basic stances of Iron Body Technique in the training yard with the other apprentices, doing stance training and tedious physical exercises. He deliberately kept his qi and blood and strength under wraps, acting neither too well nor too poorly, and even making himself look a little clumsy. His progress ranked near the bottom of Class C Room, perfectly blending him into the ranks of the "mediocre" and "good-for-nothings."
Naturally, this only brought Zhao Hu's mockery to new heights.
"Tsk, tsk. Look at that kid. He's been training for seven or eight days, and he's still as weak as a kitten!"
"He can't even hold the most basic Iron Bridge Stance. What a complete waste!"
"Your Fat Grandpa here can already feel my skin toughening up. Bet he can't even find where his qi and blood are!"
Zhao Hu seemed to have made putting Li Yuan down a source of amusement amid his tedious training, and his taunts grew increasingly blatant. The skinny boy at his side, Li Gou Er, often chimed in as well, looking at Li Yuan with the gleeful schadenfreude of someone currying favor with the strong.
Even some of the other Class C apprentices who hadn't paid the matter any attention began to look down on Li Yuan after Zhao Hu went on about him day after day. A poor kid with no connections, slow progress, and no nerve to fight back was undoubtedly at the bottom of the pecking order in a martial hall that revered strength.
Li Yuan had only two words in response to all of it: silence.
He was like a reef by the shore, battered over and over by the waves. No matter how Zhao Hu jeered and taunted, his face remained blank. He trained when it was time to train, ate when it was time to eat, and returned to his room when it was time to go back, as if those grating words were no more than a breeze passing his ears.
In Zhao Hu's eyes, Li Yuan's endurance was proof of his cowardice and incompetence, and it only emboldened him further. But to the few who were paying attention, it looked nothing like that.
Take Shi Feng, for example, his quiet roommate. A few times, when Li Yuan had woken at dawn or remained awake late into the night, Shi Feng had caught a fleeting glimpse in his eyes of a calm, keen look like that of an abyssal pool. It was not the look of someone truly timid or despairing. Still, he couldn't see through Li Yuan's true capabilities, so he kept his distance and watched coldly.
Li Yuan wasn't without a temper. Every insult from Zhao Hu was like a steel needle pricking the deepest part of his pride. But he understood even better that a moment's impatience could ruin a greater plan.
His strength was his greatest trump card. He absolutely couldn't reveal it lightly.
Night was when he truly transformed.
When the entire martial hall had fallen asleep and snores filled Class C Room Seven, Li Yuan would quietly rise—or simply lie on his hard plank bed—and enter a deep state of cultivation.
Crimson Sun ran at full force, efficiently devouring the pitiful bit of essence in his daily medicinal bath and converting it into pure qi and blood. Then, using the unique Crimson Sun Tempering Method, he guided that qi and blood like the most precise of carving knives, tempering his arms again and again, and even beginning to extend the process to the skin of his chest and back.
He could clearly "see" the skin on his arms undergoing a qualitative change as Crimson Sun Qi and Blood repeatedly seeped into and nourished it. Its fibers had grown as tightly interwoven as steel wire, giving it astonishing resilience. Ordinary wood thorns and bits of gravel could scrape across it without leaving even a white mark. He had even secretly tested it by pressing the blunt end of an iron rod against his skin with all his strength. It left only a shallow dent, which quickly disappeared.
This was a sign that his Iron Body Technique had reached Minor Accomplishment! And his skin had been tempered by the purer Crimson Sun Qi and Blood, making it far tougher than the skin of someone who had reached Minor Accomplishment in ordinary Iron Body Technique!
Yet on the outside, his arms looked no different from anyone else's. His skin merely seemed a little smoother and tighter, giving no hint of the terrifying defensive power beneath.
That night, Zhao Hu was in high spirits after feeling that he had "improved by leaps and bounds" during the day. He bragged in the room for half an hour, until Shi Feng shot him a cold glare and he sheepishly fell silent.
Before going to bed, Zhao Hu once again made Li Yuan his target as he prepared to lie down.
"Hey, Li Yuan!" Zhao Hu folded his arms and looked at him askance. "The Half-monthly Exam is in a few days. They'll be testing our skin toughness for real. With a cowardly wimp like you, you probably won't even meet the minimum standard, will you? When they kick you out of the martial hall in front of everyone, you'll be so humiliated you won't be able to show your face!"
Li Yuan paused while spreading out his straw mat, but didn't turn around.
When Zhao Hu saw that he still wasn't answering, it felt like punching a cotton ball. A surge of anger rose in him, and he stepped forward, jabbing Li Yuan in the back with a finger. The touch felt unexpectedly firm, making him pause in surprise, but he gave it no further thought. "I'm talking to you! Are you deaf? You good-for-nothing!"
Li Yuan slowly straightened and turned around, looking at Zhao Hu with a calm, ripple-free gaze, as if he were looking at an inanimate object.
That look sent an inexplicable chill through Zhao Hu, and he instinctively took half a step back. But then he grew furious with himself for that moment of retreat and shouted, trying to sound fierce despite his misgivings, "What are you staring at? Got a problem? Believe it or not, I'll knock you flat right now!"
Li Gou Er shrank back in fright.
Even Shi Feng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, cracked them open.
Li Yuan looked at Zhao Hu's face, red with anger, for a full three breaths. Then he said nothing, simply turned around and lay down on the hard plank bed, facing the wall, and closed his eyes.
Total disregard.
"You...!" Zhao Hu's fat quivered with rage, and his fists clenched with a creak. But the martial hall strictly prohibited fighting, with severe punishment for anyone who broke the rule, and in the end he didn't dare actually lay a hand on Li Yuan.
"Fine! Fine! Just you wait!" Zhao Hu ground out through clenched teeth. "At the Half-monthly Exam, you'll see how I expose you for what you are in front of everyone and get you kicked out of the martial hall!"
He stomped angrily and climbed back into his bed, still muttering a string of curses.
The room fell quiet again.
With his back to the others, Li Yuan opened his eyes in the darkness.
His gaze was cold, like ice that had endured for ten thousand years.
He gently stroked the skin on his arm, which looked ordinary but had grown far tougher than that of anyone his age.
The Half-monthly Exam...
He was looking forward to it, too.
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