The Second Leg Dao Divine Ability, Earth-Splitting!

"The effect of Sweet Dew Powder is incredible!"

Inside the courtyard, Lu Ming stepped out of a medicinal barrel. Gazing at the murky, black liquid and breathing in the pungent smell of Chinese herbs, he instead felt his spirits lift.

After three hours of training today, he had been utterly exhausted, but after soaking in the medicinal barrel, he had nearly recovered to his peak condition.

No wonder this was the Li Family's secret training medicine!

With this medicine's aid, he could train for a full six hours each day.

That was basically the limit; any longer and he couldn't hold out. Not just his body, but his mind as well.

[Currently evolving Leg Dao Divine Ability (958/1000)...]

Lu Ming dried himself off and put on a gray training uniform. He always trained in gray; otherwise, white uniforms got dirty too easily.

Glancing at his Leg Dao experience, which had reached 958, his heart surged with excitement.

Four days had passed since he returned that day.

With Sweet Dew Powder in hand, he cultivated the Cloud-Stepping Technique, gaining a full 180 Leg Dao experience points each day. By now, he was closing in on the 1,000 mark.

He could still train for another three hours today, meaning he would evolve his second Leg Dao Divine Ability today!

His spirits lifted, and he immediately resumed training.

[Currently evolving Leg Dao Divine Ability (962/1000)...]

[Currently evolving Leg Dao Divine Ability (966/1000)...]

[Currently evolving...]

[Currently evolving Leg Dao Divine Ability (1002/1000)...]

[Evolution complete!]

[Acquired Leg Dao Divine Ability: Earth-Splitting.]

[Earth-Splitting]: Feet generate immense force, splitting the earth and sealing borders.

[Leg Dao Divine Abilities]: Godly Movement (Initial Mastery), Earth-Splitting (Initial Mastery).

Earth-Splitting!

Lu Ming finished his last round of the Cloud-Stepping Technique and saw that he had obtained the Earth-Splitting divine ability. Instantly, he felt a surge of powerful strength hidden within his feet.

He had a sensation that the land within three zhang of him was faintly under his control.

With just a light stomp, he could split the ground beneath his feet, as if creating a man-made earthquake!

Lu Ming's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected such a formidable divine ability.

After all, he was merely at the Skin Refining cultivation level. Forget someone like him—even a Flesh Refining cultivator, or one at the peak of Flesh Refining, couldn't crack the ground with a single step.

Though he could only split the earth within three zhang for now, that was because his cultivation was too low. As his cultivation improved, the power of Earth-Splitting would also grow.

Staring at the ground beneath his feet, Lu Ming's heart itched. He couldn't resist the urge to give it a stomp and see the effect.

But in the end, he held back.

If he tore a massive crack into the Military Service Bureau's courtyard, he had no idea how he'd explain it to Wei Jinlin.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

Just as Lu Ming was feeling regretful, a knock suddenly sounded. His heart stirred, and he hurried over to open the door. Sure enough, it was Wei Jinlin. He promptly welcomed him into the courtyard.

These past few days, because he was training in the Cloud-Stepping Technique instead of the Nine Palaces Palm that everyone else practiced, Wei Jinlin hadn't forced him to go to the Martial Arts Arena every morning to train.

After days of hard practice, his Cloud-Stepping Technique had finally reached the beginner level.

So now, he could legitimately propose learning additional martial arts, which was why he had invited Wei Jinlin over.

"Eight days, and you've finally reached the beginner level?" Wei Jinlin watched his demonstration, his expression unchanged.

Lu Ming asked, "Teacher Wei, is this speed fast or slow?"

Wei Jinlin said, "The Cloud-Stepping Technique is a first-rate lightness skill, but it's the type that's easy to learn and hard to master. Reaching the beginner level isn't difficult.

"You had the foundation of Grass Gliding at the beginner level, yet it still took you eight days to reach the beginner level of Cloud-Stepping. This talent isn't outstanding."

Lu Ming thought to himself, it seemed that while his training talent was above average among this batch of Military Service Bureau disciples, it still appeared mediocre in the eyes of someone like Wei Jinlin, who had seen many.

He wasn't discouraged. He had the Divine Ability Panel—a capability no one else possessed. If his training talent was ordinary, he'd make up for it with diligence.

One day, he'd grind his way to becoming the Divine Lord of Myriad Daos!

Seizing the moment, he said, "I feel the same way, which is why I'd like to ask Teacher Wei to teach me other martial arts."

Wei Jinlin heard this and looked at him silently.

Lu Ming quickly handed a heavy cloth pouch to him, smiling, "I understand, I understand. Need to add more money, right? Here's three hundred taels of silver. Please teach me, Teacher Wei!"

Wei Jinlin weighed the money pouch in his hand, accepted it without ceremony, and nodded, "Do you want to learn finger techniques or palm techniques?"

Lu Ming tested the waters, "Can I... learn both?"

Wei Jinlin frowned. Last time, he had already told Lu Ming that biting off more than one could chew led to indigestion. He hadn't expected him to say the same thing again this time.

He was about to speak up and scold, but the words caught in his throat, and he suddenly paused.

He thought to himself, Lu Ming's persistence might simply be his nature.

Lu Ming had previously studied the Nine Palace Living Stakes, the Bone-Unraveling Technique, finger techniques, Grass Gliding, and the Cloud-Stepping Technique—all within a little over a month, and he had achieved a basic grasp of every single one.

Now he wanted to learn another palm technique and a deeper finger technique.

Could this, too, be part of his talent?

Could it be that this child actually had a gift for cultivating the Formless Divine Art?

The Formless Divine Art was a unique martial art; to master it, one needed to dabble in most different types of martial arts.

Wei Jinlin's heart stirred slightly. If this year's Military Service Bureau could produce such a disciple, it would bring him some benefits.

But in the end, he calmed down. It was still too early to say such things.

He then pondered and said, "Fine, I'll first teach you a second-rate finger technique, the Cloud-Piercing Finger! If you can reach the Skin Refining Great Perfection within seven days—that is, by the halfway point of the service period—I can then teach you a palm technique."

Regardless, even if he was a seedling suited for the Formless Divine Art, his cultivation talent had to keep up. Reaching Skin Refining Great Perfection in a month and a half was the bare minimum.

Hearing this, Lu Ming was both surprised and delighted. He had just casually pushed for it, never expecting it to actually be agreed to.

He couldn't help but wonder suspiciously, "Teacher Wei suddenly being so generous? Could it be he's looking for an excuse to punish me, and if I don't meet the requirement, he'll throw me out of the Military Service Bureau? Is Teacher Wei also afraid of that abandoned disciple of the Lingyun Sect?"

These days, the matter of the Li Family Bank had gradually become clear. It turned out that a new bank was to open in Red Cloud County, called the Chongyun Bank.

The bank's owner was actually an abandoned disciple of the Lingyun Sect.

This man was named Zhou Zhen. He had once been a martial arts prodigy from Red Cloud County, entering the third-rate Lingyun Sect for cultivation.

But reaching middle age without being able to break through, he left the sect, calling himself an abandoned disciple of the Lingyun Sect. He came here to open a bank, reportedly to retire.

Don't be fooled by the Lingyun Sect being just a third-rate sect; in truth, even a third-rate sect was rarely joined by anyone from Red Cloud County in past years.

Third-rate wasn't the bottom; below third-rate were many unranked small sects—those were the true bottom-tier sects.

Disciples who could enter the Lingyun Sect were already considered genius martial artists in Red Cloud County.

Zhou Zhen returned with his skills, his cultivation reaching the peak of Red Cloud County, unmatched even by the heads of the three great families.

So, as soon as he hinted at returning to open a bank, the Chen and Shen families, along with various powerful factions, to curry favor with him, took the lead in crushing the Li Family Bank as a gift.

Lu Ming, as the one who had turned the tide for the Li Family in the arena battle, had recently been sought out by many, urging him to go pay respects to Zhou Zhen early and confess his guilt. Otherwise, once Zhou Zhen grew angry, it would be too late to regret.

At this moment, Wei Jinlin heard Lu Ming's speculation, furrowed his brow, and scolded, "Nonsense! If you don't want to learn, I'll save myself the trouble."

Lu Ming gave an awkward smile and said, "I want to learn, I want to learn."

With that, Wei Jinlin snorted coldly, taught him the Cloud-Piercing Finger technique, gave a bit of guidance, and then turned and left.

Lu Ming saw him out the door, closed the courtyard gate, and thought to himself that Wei Jinlin seemed to think highly of him. Otherwise, he would have simply refused and not set up such a test.

Recalling how Wei Jinlin had earlier said even breaking a wooden token would require him to pay for a replacement out of his own pocket, and now three hundred taels of silver could get him both teaching and guidance for two second-rate martial arts, Lu Ming felt a secret thrill.

In the end, it still came down to recognizing his extraordinary talent.

As for the matter of Zhou Zhen, he wasn't actually worried. He had just been joking with Wei Jinlin earlier.

Before Zhou Zhen even arrived, he had made a big show of it, letting those families destroy the Li Family Bank. But once he arrived and planned for long-term development, he wouldn't act too aggressively.

Moreover, Lu Ming had only fought in an arena match. Given Zhou Zhen's status, he wouldn't be so petty. Perhaps he didn't even know about it.

But the Li Family's situation was indeed very awkward now. To this day, Li Youning hadn't returned to the Military Service Bureau, and no one knew what fate awaited the Li Family next.

That could only be left to them to handle.

"Cloud-Piercing Finger!"

Lu Ming had originally planned to go to the Public Kitchen for dinner, but for some reason, the meal time was delayed today.

He could only return to his courtyard to cultivate. In the twilight, he recalled the second-rate finger technique Wei Jinlin had just taught him, a hint of anticipation in his heart.

After the arena battle, Qin Zhonghai of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion had exchanged a second-rate light-footed technique, Water Gliding, for his Grass Gliding.

However, the bonus from a second-rate light-footed technique was certainly inferior to a first-rate one, and since his Cloud-Stepping Technique hadn't yet reached the basics, cultivating Water Gliding would have added even less Leg Dao experience.

So he had put off practicing Water Gliding for now.

This meant he still didn't know whether the experience bonus from second-rate martial arts was as he imagined.

Now that Wei Jinlin had just taught him the Cloud-Piercing Finger, it was the perfect time to get familiar with it.

Thus, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and cultivate the Cloud-Piercing Finger, while also seeing the bonus effect of a second-rate martial art!