At dusk, Lin Ye returned to his little wooden hut.
He closed the door, sat on the bed, and looked at the words before him again.
[Points: 365]
"First, I'll try deducing the complete manual."
Lin Ye took the Basic Fist Manual from his clothes.
The manual had only three pages. The first three forms were "Thrust Punch," "Swing Punch," and "Mountain Crushing Force." There should have been six more, but they had long since been lost. Qingshi Martial Hall only had the first three, too; to learn the rest, he would have to go to a large martial hall in the county seat.
"Deduce the six forms that follow the Basic Fist Manual." Lin Ye silently repeated the words in his mind.
[Deduce the six forms that follow the Basic Fist Manual: 100 points required] [Proceed with deduction?]
Lin Ye hesitated.
He had enough points to deduce three complete sets of follow-up techniques. But points were hard to come by, so he had to use them carefully.
"Let's deduce the form after the third one first and see how it goes."
Lin Ye chose the fourth form, the one after "Mountain Crushing Force."
[Deduce the fourth form of the Basic Fist Manual: 20 points required] [Proceed with deduction?]
"Yes."
Twenty points were deducted.
A cool current surged into his mind again.
This time, the phantom wasn't demonstrating an improvement. It was performing an entirely new fist technique.
After "Mountain Crushing Force," the phantom lowered its hips. Its fists shot out like dragons emerging from the sea, one high and one low. Wave upon wave of force surged forth.
[Deduction complete] [Basic Fist Manual, Fourth Form: Layered Wave Force] [Effect: Building on "Mountain Crushing Force," this technique turns power into successive layers of waves. Each strike is stronger than the last, stacking up to three layers of force.]
Lin Ye opened his eyes, a glint flashing in them.
He rose and assumed a stance in the cramped hut.
He began with "Mountain Crushing Force," twisting at the waist and driving out a punch.
Then he lowered his hips in one fluid motion and thrust both fists forward.
"Ha!"
The first punch cut through the air.
The second added to the force, and the air rumbled with a dull boom.
The third—
Bang!
The hut's wall shuddered violently, and dust sifted down.
Lin Ye drew back his fists and looked at his hands, breathing slightly harder.
The power of those three punches had built layer by layer. The third punch was already close to the one Zhao Tieshan had demonstrated that day.
And Lin Ye was only a poor kid who had spent ten years practicing basic fist techniques.
"One point to improve a form, twenty points to deduce a follow-up form..."
Lin Ye calculated silently.
If he spent all his points on deductions, how many forms could he come up with?
A question suddenly occurred to him.
"What if I use points to deduce a more advanced manual?"
Lin Ye's eyes lit up.
The Basic Fist Manual was the lowest grade of martial arts. In this world, there were higher grades: "Mortal," "Spirit," "Profound," and even greater ones.
What if he directly deduced an advanced manual?
But he quickly put the thought aside.
A meal had to be eaten one bite at a time.
He hadn't even mastered the basics yet. Aiming too high would only send him down the path of cultivation deviation.
"I'll master 'Layered Wave Force' first. Once I've got it down, I'll deduce what comes next."
Lin Ye made up his mind and began practicing the newly learned technique over and over in the hut.
Moonlight spilled through the window, illuminating the youth as sweat poured from him.
What he didn't know was that, at that very moment, Zhao Tieshan was staring blankly at a shattered wooden practice dummy in Qingshi Martial Hall.
"That punch the kid threw earlier..."
Zhao Tieshan murmured to himself.
He had taught fist techniques for twenty years and had never misjudged anyone.
The way Lin Ye had generated force from his waist was definitely more refined than what Zhao Tieshan taught. Lin Ye had covered it up afterward, but Zhao Tieshan had seen that fleeting flash of perfect force generation clearly.
"Could he have invented his own way of generating force?"
Zhao Tieshan shook his head, deciding it was impossible.
How could a seventeen-year-old boy with no master's guidance invent something like that?
Zhao Tieshan sighed and turned back toward his room.
Meanwhile, Lin Ye had already practiced "Layered Wave Force" until he could wield it as naturally as moving his own hands.
He drew back his fists, stood upright, and regulated his breathing as he looked out at the brightening sky.
A new day was beginning.
And his points had increased by one.
[Points: 346]
"Tomorrow, I'll keep going."
Lin Ye lay back on the bed, a faint smile on his lips.
One month later.
The central square of Qingshi Town was packed with people, voices rising in a clamor.
Today, the major sects had come to Qingshi Town to recruit disciples. Every boy and girl of the right age in town had gathered here, their faces full of nervousness and anticipation.
Lin Ye stood at the edge of the crowd, his faded cloth clothes making him stand out among the youths in fine silks.
But his expression was calm as his gaze swept over the raised platform ahead.
Five people sat on the platform.
At the center sat an old man in a green robe, his beard and hair as white as snow. He was Elder Xu of the Qingyun Sect, one of the strongest sects within a thousand li. Whenever the Qingyun Sect recruited disciples, it only accepted the most outstanding geniuses.
On the left sat a beautiful woman in red, an enforcer from the Chiyan Sect.
On the right sat a middle-aged man in black robes, from the Heishui Fortress.
The other two were from Tiejian Villa and the Jindao Sect. They were small sects, but they were also the only chance the youths of Qingshi Town had.
"Silence!"
Zhao Tieshan strode onto the platform, his voice booming like a bell.
The square fell silent at once.
"The sects are recruiting disciples today, and the rules are the same as always. First round: bone age and cultivation. You must be at least sixteen but under eighteen, and have reached the third level of Body Tempering, to advance to the second round."
When Zhao Tieshan finished, he waved his hand.
Two martial hall disciples carried a gray stone tablet, half a person's height, onto the platform.
"Place your palm on it, and it will show your bone age and approximate cultivation."
Zhao Tieshan looked down at the crowd. "Start from the left and come up one by one."
The first to step up was Zhou Ming.
He strode over to the stone tablet with his head held high and pressed his palm against it.
The tablet glowed pale yellow, and two lines appeared:
[Bone Age: 16 years, 7 months] [Cultivation: Body Tempering, Fourth Level]
"Not bad."
The Qingyun Sect elder nodded slightly.
Zhou Ming smiled smugly and walked over to the side.
One youth after another stepped up next.
Most were at the third or fourth level of Body Tempering. Every so often, someone at the fifth level would draw a burst of astonished exclamations.
At last, it was Lin Ye's turn.
He walked onto the platform and, under countless gazes, placed his hand on the stone tablet.
It glowed:
[Bone Age: 17 years, 1 month] [Cultivation: Body Tempering, Third Level]
Soft snickers rose from the crowd below.
"Only the third level of Body Tempering at seventeen?"
"With talent like that, he dares to take the test?"
"He'll probably only make it through the first round."
Zhou Ming laughed outright. "Lin Ye, I'd advise you to go home. Don't make a fool of yourself here."
Lin Ye's expression didn't change. He withdrew his hand and stepped aside.
Only he knew that over the past month, he had used points to deduce the Basic Fist Manual up to its sixth form. That was how he had gone from the second level of Body Tempering to the peak of the third.
"Next!"
The tests continued.
An incense stick later, the first round ended.
Of the more than a hundred youths, only thirty-five had passed: twenty at the third level of Body Tempering, twelve at the fourth, and three at the fifth.
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