Dual Techniques, Practiced Together!

Twilight clouds first gathered, the setting sun sinking westward.

Half the sky was woven with amber and deep purple, cloud wisps like crushed gold leaf floating in the gradually sinking halo of light.

Though late winter was cold, the bright sun carried a unique warmth.

At this moment, inside the tall courtyard, no one had the heart to appreciate the beauty of the sunset.

They slumped against the wall edge, drenched in sweat, panting heavily, their palms resting on their thighs trembling along with their limbs.

Three hours... a full three hours!

They had trained from morning until now...

At this moment, they only felt soreness in their limbs, weakness in their hands and feet, and darkness flickering before their eyes.

Cultivating stake techniques was never an easy task—they had mentally prepared for it—but now they still groaned endlessly.

They didn't know what rhythm to maintain while practicing stake techniques; they just followed that figure and trained desperately alongside him.

But that was where they went wrong—they shouldn't have followed that madman's lead!

Now they slumped beneath the wall, nearly collapsing, but that figure on the wooden stake was still moving slowly through his forms.

The movements weren't skilled, nor fast, and some were even questionable, but they were steady—stroke by stroke, never stopping.

"That guy..."

"He doesn't even look that sturdy—how does he have such endurance..."

Among the youths, the burliest one, Shi Zhong, wore a look of unwillingness.

Who knew how that guy managed to keep going?

He even noticed the youth's trembling body swaying slightly on the stake.

That proved the other's body had also reached its limit... like hell it had!

He remembered seeing the guy's body swaying two hours ago and had sneered at it then.

Who knew that two hours later, the guy was still up there training, while he himself had nearly passed out from exhaustion.

"That guy's movements aren't even smooth, and some are ridiculously wrong—doesn't he get tired practicing like that?"

Wan Qing's face was deathly pale, covered in sweat, looking like he'd seen a ghost.

Among these youths present, he was the first to collapse, and he wasn't surprised—he knew his own physical condition well.

He couldn't understand how that youth, as thin as him and even looking more "frail," could hold out for so long!

In the end, he was the only clown!

No, maybe...

Glancing subconsciously at the burly Shi Zhong and the others beside him, Wan Qing's dejection swept away.

Alright, he wasn't the only one.

"..."

Calm and steady, breathing matching the rhythm of his movements, Lin Yin calmly executed the Cloud Settling Stake Technique's Wing Spread Lift, and the next moment, transitioned into the Vajra Stake Technique's Falling Stone Sink Crown.

He could feel the occasional glances sweeping toward him from below, but right now, he was immersed in the improvement of his stake techniques and paid them little attention.

"The Cloud Settling Stake Technique actually enhances my own Qi and Blood too!"

This new discovery felt like Lin Yin had found a new continent.

Don't be fooled by his rigid-looking movements—in truth, every set of forms was standardized to perfection, perhaps even with slight adjustments compared to Senior Brother Li's version.

This was the training method most suited to him; outsiders only thought some of his movements were off, but that wasn't the case.

Rigid and methodical, yet steadily improving.

He dismantled the subsequent sets of combos into scattered pieces, then practiced each one in turn.

Heaven rewards diligence, will achieve something.

Cloud Settling Stake Technique - Beginner (4/100)

Vajra Stake Technique - Beginner (82/100)

"This progress rate... it's flying."

Lin Yin slowly withdrew his palms and stood, crossing his legs to sit on the wooden stake, a brilliant light flickering in his heart.

A wisp of Qi and Blood was emerging inside his body, bringing a touch of rosiness to his originally pale complexion.

The Cloud Settling Stake Technique also brought Qi and Blood enhancement, though it was noticeably less compared to the boost from just practicing the Vajra Stake Technique.

But compared to Qi and Blood improvement, the greatest benefit Lin Yin felt lay in another aspect.

If the Vajra Stake Technique's practice greatly enhanced Qi and Blood and strengthened bones and tendons, adding a bit of "heaviness" to his body, then the Cloud Settling Stake Technique was a kind of "lightness"!

One set of movements revealed power, the other revealed agility and nimbleness.

With the Vajra Stake Technique nearing Minor Accomplishment, he could deeply appreciate its boost to his stamina and Qi and Blood, which naturally made him more curious about the Cloud Settling Stake Technique.

Originally, he had only treated it as a showy routine to let him stay at Fist Manor, with his focus still on the Vajra Stake Technique.

But that light, buoyant feeling of Qi and Blood suddenly made Lin Yin change his mind.

With the foundation of the Vajra Stake Technique, the improvement in the Cloud Settling Stake Technique was progressing day by day—why not train both at once?

This was precisely why Lin Yin, once he started, found it increasingly impossible to stop.

"I wonder if anyone here practices two stake techniques simultaneously, or even three?"

Lin Yin was very curious about what kind of improvement such a training method would bring to a person.

"Phew! That guy finally came down..."

"Scared me—I thought he was going to keep at it."

From a distance came murmuring voices, and he caught a glimpse of Shi Zhong and the others instantly relaxing their expressions.

Lin Yin pretended not to see, walking over to the wall edge on his own to rest.

Gurgle...

Just as Lin Yin let his guard down, a sudden loud rumble erupted from his stomach.

With the taut string of his mind loosened, the hunger he had forcibly suppressed surged in like a raging tide.

This sudden and unusually intense change made Lin Yin's usually calm expression shift instantly.

His vision went dark, his steps wobbled slightly, and his whole body lunged forward unconsciously.

"Junior Brother!"

The embarrassing scene of him falling flat on his face never happened. The darkness before his eyes faded, and Lin Yin snapped out of that feeling of exhaustion in an instant.

Opening his eyes, he found a hand resting on his shoulder.

The owner of that hand was propping him up.

"Senior Brother Xu!"

Lin Yin, pale-faced, hastily clasped his fists.

"You're new to the Cloud Settling Stake Technique—you overdid it all at once."

Xu Chang, who had reached out to steady Lin Yin, looked at the youth before him with a helpless expression.

As he spoke, he pulled two steaming hot buns from his bosom.

"Take them!"

The moment the words fell, Lin Yin took the buns.

"Training Qi and Blood for such a long time makes replenishing your own energy especially important. You overdid it all at once, so naturally you couldn't hold out."

Xu Chang gave careful instruction, lightly patting Lin Yin's joints on his arms and legs.

Lin Yin's eyes flickered. He could feel a strange force burrowing into his body through his Flesh and Blood.

The soreness and numbness in his limbs and torso faded noticeably, replaced by a warm sensation.

This was...

"Alright, remember to be more careful next time."

"Senior Brother, these buns..."

"Eat them in peace. They're from the dining hall—everyone gets their share."

Xu Chang tilted his chin, signaling Lin Yin to look behind him.

On a waist-high wooden cart sat two large pots. Through the gaps in the lifted lids, white steamed buns were faintly visible.

Shi Zhong and the others, who had been sitting against the wall or lying around, had already scampered over to the wooden cart in a flash, staring eagerly.