Hesitation

The first light of dawn broke through, but the thin mist had yet to lift.

By the bamboo fence of the little courtyard with its gray-tiled roof, several orchids trembled in the breeze, their leaves beaded with dew.

Lin Yin sat cross-legged on the stone steps, his qi and blood surging. He had been sitting here for more than an hour, all to break through in Cloud Palm.

Cloud Palm took its name from the word "cloud," with each palm strike surpassing the last, like layer upon layer of clouds piling up.

Yet this palm art was not simply about stacking palm force. He had to fuse the techniques of the first three stages—"Flowing Cloud," "Accumulating Cloud," and "Shattering Cloud"—into one, making his palm strikes surge like a sea of clouds, seemingly soft yet concealing the might to shatter mountains.

Lin Yin's eyes were half-closed. Suddenly, he let out a clear cry and sprang up like a crane!

His front foot shot forward, and he struck out with one palm. Bamboo leaves rustled, yet not a single one was harmed.

The second palm, "Accumulating Clouds Press the City," followed close behind. Its force gathered as densely as cotton. The teacup on the stone bench in the corner of the courtyard did not budge, yet fine ripples spread across the water inside.

The third palm, "Shattering Cloud Splits the Sky," sent overlapping palm shadows crisscrossing through the air. Several withered leaves were sliced from the branches by an invisible force, fluttering down like butterflies.

"Break!"

At his soft shout, a buzz rang through his mind. The Blood Qi surging from within him boiled in an instant like waves overturning rivers and seas.

[Heaven rewards diligence; those who persevere will achieve something]

[Cloud Settling Stake Technique Minor Accomplishment (1/100)]

[Cloud Palm Minor Accomplishment (1/100)]

A golden light seemed to surface in his eyes. Lin Yin's aura surged to a whole new level, and the next moment, he shot toward the Stone Stake.

Thud—

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

As the first palm strike landed with tremendous force, countless palm shadows flew. In the blink of an eye, Lin Yin had struck twelve times.

The strikes landed in sequence from top to bottom along the wooden stake. His movements went from gentle and slow to swift and urgent, all over in the span of a breath.

The dazzling sea of palm shadows suddenly drew back. Lin Yin seemed to sweep one palm forward with an easy, measured motion.

Thud—

The Stone Stake, struck near its base, snapped with a sharp crack. The three-meter-tall, massive stone post slid half a step backward!

"Whew..."

An invisible wave of air seemed to surge outward from him. Lin Yin drew back his palm and settled his breathing, his gaze calmly fixed on the Stone Stake before him.

It was a good thing it was stone. Had it been the wooden stake he used before, it would have been smashed to pieces by now.

The force of Cloud Palm rolled on without end, each palm strike connecting with the next, its power erupting stronger with every blow.

Lin Yin reckoned that even without Golden Bell Shield, he would not have needed to rely on cunning to kill Li Qianjiang that night. A few palm strikes would have been enough to crush his opponent with overwhelming superiority.

"Now that both Golden Bell Shield and Cloud Palm have reached Minor Accomplishment, and I have two Stance Skills under my belt, I'm probably without equal at the Bright Strength stage... Maybe I should find a time to spar with someone."

Lin Yin pondered to himself.

He had always trained alone. Of the people he had killed before, apart from Li Qianjiang, the rest had been ordinary mortals.

Lin Yin wanted to spar with a true expert, someone like Senior Brother Xu Chang.

Though only at the Bright Strength stage, Xu Chang had trained his palm art to Great Accomplishment. He was a rare and worthy sparring partner.

Once the thought came to him, he acted on it. Glancing at the sun blazing overhead, he judged that it was getting late. He hurriedly said goodbye to his mother, then ran toward the martial arts school.

It had been a while since he had run into Xu Chang, and Lin Yin was curious about how he was doing.

As a well-known martial arts school in Langshi Town, Lingyun Martial Arts School was quite large. Besides the courtyards where ordinary disciples lived and carried out their daily routines, it also had a few secluded compounds.

These compounds were generally reserved for the school's Personal Disciples. In a sense, anyone living in one of them was destined to become a high-ranking figure in the school.

At that moment, voices drifted from a secluded compound.

"Senior Brother Li, Second Senior Disciple Brother recruited Zhang Da Niu, and many of the junior brothers who were still wavering followed him as well. If you don't make some changes soon, sooner or later he'll push you aside."

Xu Chang looked anxiously at the handsome young man seated in the place of honor, his brows drawn together.

As Li Xing's close ally, Xu Chang had even gone so far as to teach Living Stake at Fist Manor to recruit fresh talent. Officially, he was there to teach Living Stake, but in truth, he was quietly getting in touch with several of the more promising newcomers to the school.

Everything he did was for Li Xing—or, to put it another way, for himself as well.

Aside from the resources and support the school received from above each year, Li Xing also had to oversee the shares of profits from the Escort Agency and trading companies.

The reason they had to form factions and pull people to their side was Yun Hai's attempt to monopolize resources.

His belief was that all resources should be concentrated in the hands of a select few, so they could break through as quickly as possible during next year's Spring Hunt.

This clashed with the views of Li Xing and Xu Chang!

Perhaps even the master and Martial Uncle had tacitly accepted this state of affairs, and the two factions hidden within the school had grown increasingly hostile toward each other.

The foundation they should have spent years building had changed dramatically in just a few days.

Even Li Xing, who cared little for fame and fortune, had furrowed his brows.

As the nominal choice to take charge of the school next, he usually focused more on improving his own martial arts and seldom paid attention to this sort of thing.

Now that Xu Chang had come to see him, the situation had clearly grown dire.

"Junior Brother Da Niu's aptitude really is exceptional..."

Seeing Li Xing still praising Zhang Da Niu's aptitude, Xu Chang could only shake his head in helplessness.

Even at a time like this, Li Xing's priorities were impossible to understand.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother Shi Yan failed to break through. Although Junior Brother Li Shi's breakthrough to Bright Strength is good news, Zhang Da Niu has put us at an even greater disadvantage. Perhaps... perhaps we need to bring something to the table."

Looking at Li Xing, who sat in silence, Xu Chang gritted his teeth and made the suggestion.

"You mean the Great Medicine..."

Understanding what Xu Chang meant, Li Xing's usually placid expression shifted.

"Now that Senior Brother Shi Yan failed to break through, he can only focus on stabilizing his qi and blood for the time being. It's only reasonable that he needs some medicine.

Junior Brother Li Shi has accumulated his strength over time and just broke through to Bright Strength. He'll need more time before the Great Medicine can help him.

Besides those two, do you have anyone else in mind?"

After considering the matter, Li Xing asked curiously.

"Yes. I have someone in mind, Junior Brother. If he receives support from the Great Medicine and the risk of breaking through is reduced, we may well gain another Bright Strength expert!"

Xu Chang's gaze sharpened, and he spoke in a solemn voice.

"You don't mean that Junior Brother Lin Yin, do you?"

Li Xing's expression turned strange. He had already heard other junior brothers mention that Xu Chang had been spending a lot of time with Lin Yin, who had been "making quite a name for himself" lately.

But "making quite a name for himself" meant something different for Lin Yin than it did for Zhang Da Niu. Zhang Da Niu was widely regarded as a prodigy; Lin Yin had the opposite reputation.

Quiet and unsociable, with mediocre bone structure, a weak qi and blood foundation, and a reputation for getting in through backdoor connections—Li Xing had heard all of this, even though he rarely paid attention to current affairs.

"That's right!"

Meeting Li Xing's odd gaze, Xu Chang spoke firmly, his voice ringing with conviction.

"Junior Brother Lin's aptitude is exceptional; his bone structure is absolutely not mediocre.

He's reserved, but loyal and true to his friends. From watching his palm techniques, I can tell he's just a hair's breadth from breaking through. As for Cloud Settling Stake, if his palm art continues to advance, reaching Bright Strength will come naturally!"