Cloud Palm!

The Training Ground was enormous.

As the area of Lingyun Fist Manor specifically responsible for teaching martial arts to disciples, it housed not only newly admitted disciples, but many older ones as well.

Some sparred with one another to verify their skills, while others practiced new martial arts. The spacious grounds were bustling with activity.

Lin Yin followed Xu Chang to a secluded corner.

"I'll demonstrate it once first."

Xu Chang chuckled.

"Any disciple who enters the school may learn our school's ultimate art, Cloud Palm. It is a Palm Technique that decides victory through offense!"

Xu Chang said solemnly.

"When this palm reaches great accomplishment, it is like Yun Hai churning, layer upon layer without end. Its essence lies not in the sudden clap of thunder, but in an unbroken, dense succession, all in one seamless flow... Watch closely!"

As his words fell, he flashed before a Wooden Stake.

He first swept his hand levelly, his palm shadow swaying gently like wisps of cloud just beginning to gather, still without fixed form. When his palm extended flat, Xu Chang's gaze sharpened. He suddenly stepped forward with his lead foot and sent out another palm. Its trajectory resembled the previous strike, but his body turned, his steps driving his palm onward!

In an instant, Xu Chang's palm force became like streams converging into rivers, surging into a sea.

Lin Yin focused intently, watching every detail.

On the Training Ground, Xu Chang's movements grew faster and faster. His figure fluttered through the air; one palm had barely fallen, its aftershock still trembling in the air, when the next followed like a shadow, continuing onward.

There were no cliff-like pauses between his palms. They were linked like sinews and veins, palm winds layering atop one another, Qi force continuing without break, his Aura rising step by step.

Before long, Lin Yin saw only countless palm shadows before him, like overlapping mountain ranges. Before the foremost peak had ended, the next had already arrived, leaving the eye unable to take it all in!

"What a fast and exquisite Palm Technique!"

Lin Yin's eyes gleamed. What he lacked most was a technique for killing and combat.

Golden Bell Shield was the foundation of his defense, but it lacked killing power. This Cloud Palm continued on without end, yet its momentum was ferocious—exactly to his liking!

As he reached the final form, Xu Chang suddenly focused his mind and gathered his strength, letting out a low shout.

His left palm withdrew and his right palm thrust out. The strike appeared ordinary, yet it seemed to stack its force into a single instant.

Before the edge of his palm even reached the Wooden Stake, Lin Yin felt an invisible Gang Wind arrive first, stirring the dust around them.

When the palm struck the stake, it exploded with a bang, and the Wooden Stake gave a muffled, earthshaking crack like torn silk.

"Hmm?!"

Lin Yin fixed his eyes on it. A sharply defined palm print had appeared on the hard Wooden Stake, its edges smooth as though sliced by a blade, sunk more than an inch deep!

The Wood Chips had not burst apart and scattered. Instead, they seemed to have been precisely squeezed out by an invisible hand, fine fragments rustling down before being swept away by Xu Chang's palm wind.

[Heaven rewards diligence, Will achieve something]

[Cloud Palm: Entry Level (1/100)]

Lin Yin's gaze flickered as he stepped forward to inspect it closely.

Deep within the palm print, even the grain had been shaken slightly out of shape. Clearly, the force had penetrated straight into the wood's texture rather than merely damaging its surface.

"What powerful palm strength!"

This Qi had actually faintly penetrated straight through the Wooden Stake...

Lin Yin was secretly startled. Outwardly, he observed the Qi, but inwardly he weighed whether he could withstand that palm strike!

The answer was obvious: he could not. At the very least, he would need to bring Golden Bell Shield to Minor Accomplishment!

"What do you think? Haha, this palm of your Senior Brother's contains a full two years of accumulated skill!"

"Two years?"

"That's right. It has been two years since I entered Bright Strength. Over those two years, I diligently studied Cloud Palm. My Stance Skill has yet to succeed, but this Palm Technique reached great accomplishment first!"

As he spoke, a trace of pride appeared on Xu Chang's face.

Clearly, cultivating Cloud Palm to great accomplishment was enough to make him proud.

"Cloud Palm at great accomplishment... two years of skill... such a long time..."

Lin Yin's gaze flickered.

If Xu Chang knew that Lin Yin was actually thinking this, he would surely be dumbstruck. He already believed his cultivation speed surpassed that of his peers; even among this generation of disciples, he was one of the best!

"How was it? How much did you learn? Do you need me to demonstrate it again?"

After his brief delight, Xu Chang returned to his earlier refined, gentlemanly demeanor and asked curiously.

Naturally, Lin Yin could not reveal the truth. He deliberately put on a bitter expression.

"Senior Brother, this palm is profound and exquisite. Your Palm Technique has reached perfection. This is Junior Brother's first time seeing it, and I have yet to grasp even the surface."

"Haha, no need to be discouraged. Cloud Palm is, after all, a Superior Martial Art. Even when I first began learning it, it took me more than a month just to barely enter the gate!

No rush. I'll demonstrate it for you a few more times with care."

After that, Xu Chang slowed his movements somewhat. Rather than displaying Cloud Palm's fierceness and offensive power, he now demonstrated it meticulously.

He explained every move and every form, its motions, breathing, and even the transitions of rhythm, each in turn, with exceptional detail.

Lin Yin listened attentively, nodding from time to time. As Xu Chang demonstrated more and more times, he gradually began to follow the movements, imitating them with a fair semblance of form.

"!!"

Xu Chang instructed him while observing, and the longer he watched, the more alarmed he became.

Though some of Lin Yin's movements looked somewhat clumsy, Xu Chang, who had reached the Great Accomplishment Realm in Cloud Palm, could naturally see the underlying principles.

His movements are unfamiliar, yet the transitions fit together with unexpected coherence...

Junior Brother Lin's bone structure definitely can't be that poor!

He secretly became certain of it. As a result, he taught even more earnestly, not hesitating to spend extra time giving Lin Yin meticulous personal instruction.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Over those three days, Lin Yin studied and trained diligently under Xu Chang, without the slightest slackening.

On the third day at dusk, the sun setting beyond the western hills.

Feeling that the time was about right, Lin Yin finally "barely" performed an entire set of Cloud Palm from beginning to end.

Applause came from beside him.

Xu Chang clapped in delight. "Junior Brother, what excellent comprehension!"

Watching Xu Chang applaud endlessly, his face filled with excitement, Lin Yin wore an odd expression and finally could not help voicing the question in his heart.

"Senior Brother, how long does it normally take an average person to initially grasp this Palm Technique?"

"Seven days for an ordinary person! Even someone with fairly good bone structure would need at least four or five days!"

Xu Chang's gaze burned brightly, while Lin Yin's heart began to pound wildly.

Well then... he had done a terrible job of hiding his abilities!

But when he thought of how he had already linked the entire Palm Technique together seamlessly and could execute it smoothly, Lin Yin suppressed his annoyance.

Though his performance had been outstanding, what he had hidden ran even deeper.

So long as he did not reveal his true realm, what was wrong with appearing a little exceptional? Besides, after spending just a few days together, Lin Yin trusted Xu Chang's character.

He was a friend worth making.

"Many thanks to Senior Brother Xu for your careful instruction these past few days. Without your one-on-one teaching, your junior brother would never have made such progress!"

Lin Yin clasped his fists and bowed, his expression exceptionally solemn.

"Ah, what are you saying? We're fellow martial brothers, after all."

Though he said that, seeing that the sincerity in Lin Yin's eyes was no act, Xu Chang could not help but feel gratified.

After pondering it over and over, he was about to say something else when footsteps came from the direction of the Staking Ground.

"Well, well... if it isn't Junior Brother Lin, who got in through the back door. I never would have guessed you and Senior Brother Xu were so close. No wonder..."

Before the person arrived, that mocking, insinuating voice had already come first, instantly shattering the cheerful atmosphere.

Lin Yin's brows furrowed slightly, and the smile on Xu Chang's face vanished at once.

"Who's making all that noise!"

His face darkened as he shouted in a low voice.

Xu Chang turned to look at the newcomer, his words utterly unceremonious.

They had already come knocking at his door—how could he possibly be courteous? Did they really think Xu Chang was some pushover?

A pushover could never cultivate Cloud Palm to the Great Accomplishment Realm!

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