Punching Technique Breakthrough, Perfection of Skin Refining

Inside the cave, time seemed to slip away in the roar of fists and the surging of blood essence. The sun rose and set, and the cold wind howled through the cracks at the entrance, sometimes sharp, sometimes low, but none of it could disturb Li Bufan, who was utterly immersed in his training.

He was completely lost in the thrill of rapidly growing strength, tireless and relentless. The abundant vital energy from the Silver-Crowned Snow Fox meat served as the finest fuel, supporting his near-frenzied training, squeezing every ounce of his energy to the limit.

When hungry, he mechanically gnawed on frozen-hard dry rations, along with the previously hunted Mountain Boar meat—roasted but still a bit tough, dry, and gamey, yet quite tasty—swallowing it all in big bites just to replenish his stamina and maintain his strength and blood essence as quickly as possible.

When thirsty, he tilted his head back and gulped down the icy, bone-chilling water that had repeatedly thawed and refrozen after the campfire died.

When the water ran out, he simply grabbed clean snow from the cave entrance, stuffed it into his waterskin, and leaned it against the still-warm embers of the fire, or tucked it into his chest to let his body heat slowly melt it.

Everything was stripped down to the bare essentials, all for the sake of training. The quality of life was compressed to the absolute minimum.

Every day, without fail, he would cut off about a jin of the precious Silver-Crowned Snow Fox meat. He skewered the tender, fine-textured meat, faintly pink between the fibers, onto a sharpened branch he'd picked up, and roasted it carefully over the fire. Watching the meat turn golden, with fat dripping and sizzling into the flames, releasing a strange, alluring aroma that blended meaty richness with a hint of sweetness—this became the sole pleasure and anticipation in his otherwise monotonous training.

Each time he ate the tender, springy slices with their faint, lingering sweetness, a vast and gentle surge of vital energy spread quickly through his stomach, like the finest warm current, rapidly seeping into every limb and bone, nourishing his skin membrane, bringing a slight tingling and a sense of reinforcement. Every punch he threw, every step he took, felt more powerful and precise, his control over his strength becoming exquisitely fine.

The [Heaven Rewards Diligence] destiny was constantly at work, like an incredibly efficient furnace, absorbing every bit of energy from the Silver-Crowned Snow Fox meat and every subtle insight gained from each practice session without waste, transforming and distilling them into tangible cultivation progress.

Mighty Ox Fist, the martial technique he had trained the longest and built his deepest foundation upon, under this reckless, cost-be-damned, relentless training and the continuous nourishment of top-tier blood food, its proficiency skyrocketed at an unprecedented rate! The progress was so fast that even he was startled.

"Ha!"

"Hmph!"

The fist wind surged within the relatively cramped cave, striking the stone walls with dull echoes, faintly carrying a hint of a Mighty Ox's bellow.

His fist techniques grew heavier and more domineering, yet the moves became smoother and more seamless. The subtle, almost imperceptible hitches and blood essence wastage between transitions were ground down and smoothed out under this high-intensity training and abundant energy support. Blood essence surged and roared through his body with each fist posture, repeatedly tempering and compressing the skin membrane across his entire body, pushing its toughness, strength, and density toward the extreme limits of the non-human realm.

Mighty Ox Fist, Proficiency +35...+48...+52...+61...

Every day, when he finished training and paused to catch his breath and check his gains, he could see the proficiency jumping at a jaw-dropping rate. Over the course of a single day, the increase amounted to hundreds of points! If this terrifying speed of progress were to spread, it would be enough to drop the jaws of countless so-called geniuses and invite endless prying eyes and trouble.

As the precious Silver-Crowned Snow Fox meat in his leather pouch dwindled day by day, Li Bufan could clearly feel that Mighty Ox Fist was gradually reaching an unprecedented state of perfection. Every move and stance seemed carved into his bones, turned into instinct. The moment a thought arose, the fist technique flowed, blood essence circulating flawlessly, reaching the theoretical peak of this basic fist art. He could no longer sense any room for improvement.

Finally, after swallowing the last piece of fragrantly roasted Silver-Crowned Snow Fox meat and feeling the final surge of pure energy merge into his limbs and bones, Li Bufan experienced a sudden epiphany. His state felt unprecedentedly complete. He took a deep breath, slowly assumed the opening stance of Mighty Ox Fist in the center of the cave.

This time, he didn't deliberately circulate his blood essence or mobilize his strength. He simply let his mind guide his movements, naturally flowing through the forms. His fists shot out like a Mighty Ox charging, heavy and powerful yet effortlessly light; his steps landed like a giant ox plowing the earth, steady as a mountain yet agile and adaptable. This most basic of fist techniques, in his hands, took on a unique rhythm—smooth and fluid, strength concealed yet contained within, giving off an overwhelming, unstoppable weight.

When the final move, "Mighty Ox Horn Strike," suddenly burst forth, his fist halted mid-air, not touching the cave wall ahead. But a condensed, nearly invisible fist wind shot out with a puff, striking the hard stone wall and leaving a shallow but clear fist-shaped dent!

At the same time, the blood essence within Li Bufan, already boiling to its peak, erupted violently. Like a long-dormant volcano or a breached river, it surged even more fiercely!

A faint but dense buzzing tremor ran through the skin membrane across his entire body, as if countless well-tempered ox-hide drums were vibrating lightly in unison, announcing the final transformation! The "membrane" beneath his skin became incredibly tough and elastic, enough to withstand ordinary blades to some extent.

Mighty Ox Fist, Perfection (∞/∞)!

It came naturally! This widely circulated basic fist technique, through his insane methods, had been pushed to an unprecedented state of ultimate perfection!

And what surprised him even more was that the moment Mighty Ox Fist broke through to perfection, the vast blood essence instantly fed back into his body. Combined with the long-term, near-limit tempering of his skin membrane, quantity finally triggered a qualitative change, reaching a critical point!

Boom!

A far more powerful aura burst forth from his body. The total volume and quality of his blood essence leaped to a whole new level, becoming purer and denser! The skin membrane across his body radiated a subdued luster, taking on a healthy bronze sheen, its toughness reaching an entirely new tier! Along with it came a comprehensive boost in strength, speed, and neural reflexes! His five senses also seemed sharper.

Realm Breakthrough: Perfection of Skin Refining!

"Hah—!" Feeling the surging, seemingly inexhaustible power within him, Li Bufan couldn't help but let out a long roar. The sound echoed and rolled through the cave, shaking the dying embers of the fire and sending dust trickling down the stone walls. Perfection of Skin Refining! This meant he had laid an incredibly solid and deep foundation at the very start of the martial path, far surpassing his peers, and had earned the solid qualification to charge into the next stage, [Muscle Tempering]!

After the wild joy and excitement, he quickly calmed down. The path of martial arts was like sailing against the current—if you don't advance, you fall back. Since his fist technique had reached perfection, he immediately poured more energy into practicing the footwork of Spirit Monkey Three Leaps.

The cave space was ultimately too cramped to fully execute the technique, making long-distance leaps and bounds impossible. But he still did his best to pivot, dodge, sidestep, and make short-range bursts within the confined space, carefully experiencing the subtle shifts in center of gravity and the instant force application required by the footwork in various complex situations.

Though limited by the environment, the improvement speed was far from the terrifying pace of Mighty Ox Fist, but with the powerful boost from the [Heaven Rewards Diligence] destiny and the enhanced body control, explosive power, and balance from Perfection of Skin Refining, the proficiency still grew steadily and firmly. Each practice session brought new subtle insights.

Spirit Monkey Three Leaps, Proficiency (670/1000)

However, several days of nearly sleepless, high-intensity training had taken a massive toll on his body. The dry rations were long gone. The once plentiful boar meat had been devoured by his astonishing appetite, leaving only some hard-to-process scraps. And the few jin of priceless Silver-Crowned Snow Fox meat had already been transformed into the precious fuel for his breakthrough.

Li Bufan looked at the empty, deflated leather pouch and pack, feeling the clear, strong hunger returning to his stomach. He smiled helplessly. Training in the cave was safe and progress was fast, but it was ultimately like building a cart behind closed doors—lacking real combat testing. And most importantly, without sufficient, especially high-quality, blood and flesh supplies, continuing such intense training would only become less efficient. It might even damage his foundation due to energy deficiency, a loss far outweighing the gain.

"Time to go out again." He clenched his fist tightly, joints cracking with a sharp pop, feeling the immense power from Perfection of Skin Refining and the strong confidence from mastering Mighty Ox Fist to perfectly control his strength.

Now, compared to a few days ago when he was chasing the Silver-Crowned Snow Fox, his speed had more than doubled. He had a strong premonition that if he encountered a similar Silver-Crowned Snow Fox again, he wouldn't need to chase it for so long. In the same environment, he could take it down in less than half a cup of tea!

He carefully checked his equipment. Two of the Armor-Piercing Arrows had been crushed by falling rocks during the Mountain Boar hunt, and three had worn arrowheads. The remaining fifteen still gleamed coldly. The Hardwood Longbow's string was taut, full of power. He tucked the hunting knife into his belt, packed everything up, tidied the traces of his stay in the cave, and thoroughly buried the embers, leaving no risk of open flames.

He pushed aside the stone blocking the cave entrance again. Bright but cold daylight flooded in, making him squint slightly. It seemed a fresh snow had just fallen outside. The world was a pure, silver-white expanse. The crisp, clean air rushed into his lungs, carrying the unique chill of ice and snow.

Li Bufan took a deep breath of the cold air, his eyes gleaming with sharp, confident, and expectant light. The hunt begins again. This time, only one snow fox remained to reach his goal. He had been in the mountains for only a few days and was about to complete the task, allowing him to train even more freely.

This vast, dangerous snowy mountain range surely hid even stronger Fierce Beasts and more precious resources, waiting for him to discover and challenge.

His figure flickered, like a nimble, agile spirit monkey, silently vanishing into the boundless snowy forest. His steps were lighter and steadier than before, each one full of fluid grace. The evenly spaced footprints he left in the snow were quickly erased by the wind-blown snow powder.